Annual Physical

Yesterday, I went to the doctor for my annual physical.  She and her nurses were amazed when they entered in my weight.  "You're 50 pounds lighter than last year", they said.  It felt good.  Tonight while I was working at the library, a little girl, who comes in with her mom asked me if I was smaller and had lost weight. I told her yes, that I had lost almost as much as she weighs.  Both of those conversations felt pretty good.  Now to get down to business and get the other 50 off.  I will be interested to see what my test numbers look like and if I can make changes in my medications. 

Last night, I went to a Zumba class here at the university. One of the students that I work with in HPER teaches it.  I was definitely the oldest one there, but I can keep up for the most part.  The problem is I can't dance well and my hips don't move like theirs do.  Oh well, at least it is movement.

I haven't gone back to the induction phase with Atkin's, but I believe that I need to do that to get things going again.  I was noticing today that clothes that haven't fit me for years are now starting to get a little baggy.   A good sign!

A friend of mine wants to do the Nitty Gritty Dirt Dash.  It is on April 12th at Camp Alexander. That is prom, but if I go early enough, I should be okay.  It might be fun.  If I do that, I need to start doing more exercise and get in better shape. 

Dr. Appointment Tomorrow for my Annual Physical

Tomorrow is my annual physical appointment with my doctor.  I will be interested in seeing what my blood work looks like and her response to where I am right now.  I also want to ask her about long term plans.  My total weight loss at this point is about 50 pounds, give or take a pound.  This is about halfway where I want to be ultimately.  People have said to break it down in smaller segments.  So my next small goal is to be 10 pounds lighter when the semester is over.  Since I have been plateaued since November, I am going to return to the Atkins Induction Phase for at least 2 weeks to see if that will jump start more weight loss.  I need to have a renewed commitment to exercise.  One step in that direction is joining the Healthy Hornets program at work.  With this promotion, I need to do weight training exercise for 30 minutes 3 times a week and Cardio exercise for 30 minutes 3 times a week.  The weather is also getting nicer, so I can go outside and exercise again, which is what I prefer.

The other day I started reading another book, New Atkins for a New You.  This book lays out the Atkins plan moving from induction to pre maintenance to maintenance.  I think that I can follow this to see what results I get from moving back to being more restrictive in what I eat.   http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392677561&sr=1-2&keywords=dr.+atkins+new+diet+revolution

One thing with getting healthier is that I have been trying more vegetables in different ways.  The other night I made a recipe called Low Carb Crackslaw.  It really isn't coleslaw, but a version of hamburger mixed with a coleslaw salad mix that is cooked.  It is similar to the filling that would be in a Runza or Bierock.  It was really good. 

This is the recipe that I used:

Recipe: Classic Crackslaw

Summary: The classic recipe, blending ground beef with cabbage, ginger, soy sauce and other low carb ingredients. This is super-addictive and oh so tasty.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon white sugar or sweetener
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 3 sliced green onions
• 14 oz coleslaw mix (or shredded white cabbage)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside. Drain off the fat if you wish.
3. Heat up the sesame oil and sauté the garlic, onions and coleslaw mix or cabbage in there until the cabbage is cooked to the desired tenderness.
4. Stir in the hot sauce, soy sauce, sugar or sweetener, vinegar and ginger.
5. Add the ground beef back in and mix well to combine.
6. Serve with hot sauce on the table for people who like it extra spicy.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Rebooting for the New Year - Getting off that plateau

Yesterday I decided that I needed to reboot for the new year and start over.  So I moved back to the induction phase again to see if I can get off this plateau.  The good news is that I maintained through the stress and eating of the holidays.  But I have been stuck in this same place for about a month.  When I started this journey I weighed about 272 pounds.  This is probably the first time I have publicly announced what I weigh. Since I carry weight well on my body, I have a feeling that no one would believe that I began at that point.  For the past couple of months, I have been stuck at 229-232 pounds.  That is a weight loss of over 40 pounds, but I still have about 70 more to go.  I am fitting into clothes that I haven't worn for a while. 

But, I need to do something drastic to get moving again.  I am going to try the induction phase for a couple of weeks to see if that works.  If not, then I will try something different.  I have decided that I have made this commitment and I plan to see it through.  Exercise is the other area where I can beef things up.  Since the weather has turned colder, I have not been as consistent as in the nicer weather.  But this week, I have tried harder.  Monday and Wednesday found me back at the yoga class, which involves stretching and moving.  Tuesday night, I did some strength exercises with weights and resistance bands at home.  This morning, I managed to drag my butt out of bed to work out on the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes.  Later today, I want to do some core stuff.

So keep tuned!   

New Year's Day and Resolutions

Today is the start of a brand new year, 2014.  Last year I reached a personal milestone when I celebrated my 50th birthday.  This year, I plan to focus on me on several fronts.  This doesn't mean that I plan to be totally self centered and not think about others before myself, but I do need to focus on several things. 

• Eating!  This is where I need to continue to focus and think about myself.  I watched half of Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead today.  It helped to reinforce what I have been reading about carbohydrates, meat (especially beef), and the benefits of eating wholesome and healthy foods.  My resolution is to concentrate on getting 7-8 vegetables and fruits a day, focusing my diet more on those foods instead of meat.  I plan to continue to limit carbs, except for those found in whole foods such as fruits.
• Exercise: This is another area that I need to continue to focus upon and make time to work out.  To achieve this goal, I plan to sign up for a personal trainer, once school begins.  This will help me to remain accountable.  I can get up earlier in the morning to work out and find ways to add active movement to my day, such as walking to work, taking stairs more often, and standing instead of sitting.  I plan to change up my workouts and try different things.  To help with this, I bought a bike trainer to ride my bike inside during the winter months.
• PhD Research: Finally, I plan to set aside 2 hours every day to work on my research so that I can get my first three chapters written and present my proposal in the spring.  I need to make time to get my research accomplished.  
• Weightloss: I would like to accomplish my goal of losing at least 100 pounds by the end of 2014.  At this point I have lost over 40 pounds.  I maintained through the holidays and now can focus on it again.  I still have over 60 pounds to go.  Personally I would like to get to a weight between 160 and 170.  I think to do this, I can try different things with my eating plan.  I would like to move towards vegetarianism.  But with eating right and exercise, I should be successful.

Today, I ate a few more carbs because I made another batch of aebleskiver.  I enjoyed them, knowing that I won't have them again for a while.  Having time off from work has been nice because I can exercise when I want and for the amount of time that I want.  That changes tomorrow when I go back to work, except for the weekends.  I worked out this afternoon with 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer and then a 20 minute walk to the video store.  I came home and did a 20 minute resistant band workout and then day 2 of the abs challenge.  With this, I continue to move forward!

My weightloss journey and the Christmas holidays

Well, I was looking back at this blog and realized that it has been a long time since I posted on here.  I am not sure that anyone reads this or not, but it is a way for me to document what I am doing.  I need to do more of it.  So up until the holidays, I had lost over 40 pounds.  I still have a long ways to go to get to my goal, but I am on the way.  I just need to keep doing more of the same, working hard, eating right, and exercising.  I noticed that it was in August that I wrote here last.  I have plateaued a little bit with my weight loss, but I figured that I would make it through the holidays and then it it hard again.  Mark gave me a Ninja blender for Christmas.  I can use it to make healthy smoothies for breakfast and then concentrate on more fruits and vegetables for the rest of the day. 

I have been thinking about cutting meat out of my diet for the most part.  I can live without it most of the time and just eat it a few days a week.  I read a couple of books that talk about low carb living.  The thing that they have in common is the reliance on more fruits and vegetables, along with whole grains.  So far, I haven't been doing the grains.  Over the holidays, I have eaten and drank things that I shouldn't.  On Christmas day, I gave myself a pass to eat what I wanted to, without overeating.  It went well.  So far, I have maintained over the holidays, which is good. 

This fall, October and November, I signed up to have a personal trainer from one of the HPER classes.  It went well and Nikki gave me a lot to think about and work on.  She gave me four weeks of workouts, which I have not used yet.  But it gives me something to do in the future.  I also bought an inside trainer for my bicycle.  It turns my outdoor bike into an indoor bike.  I have enjoyed riding it.  I have also done the Wii fit a few times over the break.  I need to keep moving forward with adding in more exercise to my lifestyle.  This coming summer, I would like to ride the 20 miles bike ride in the Dirty Kanza.  A friend is interested in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Dash, so I might do that with her.  I also can sign up for a personal trainer at the Rec Center when school is back in session.  All of this will keep me moving forward. 

I will admit that there are days when I wonder why I am doing this and want to throw in the towel, but then I just keep going.  I have bought some new clothes because some of my pants were falling off of me.  I need to go through my closet and get rid of some of the things that I cannot wear anymore and things that I don't wear.  I am fitting into clothing that I haven't worn for a while.  So that is good.  I read an article the other day about not waiting until I reach big goals, but to set small goals and reward myself when I reach them such as 5 pounds or exercising for a certain amount of time each day.  So I think that I will try that and keep moving forward.  I have had a lot of people that have encouraged me on this journey and I am grateful to them, especially when I hit a low point or plateau.

30 pounds lighter

So it has been over a month since I have written anything down.  I had planned to write on a more regular basis, but I have not done that.  Life has gotten in the way.  Since then, my total weight loss adds up to over 30 pounds.  I still have a long ways to go, but I am almost 1/3 of the way to my final goal.  Eating this way isn't too hard most of the time, but occasionally I get a little depressed that eating has lost enjoyment and just become a way to fuel my body.  I guess that is what needs to happen though for me to be successful.  Since the 4th of July, I have survived vacation and my birthday without a weight gain.  My loss has been slow but steady, about 1-2 pounds a week.  For my birthday, I did treat myself with a blizzard and really enjoyed it.  But the other day I tried to eat a white roll and it really didn't taste as good as I expected, so I spit it out and threw it away. 

I am still reading books and trying to decide if I should stay completely low carb with lots of meat and vegetables, or potentially explore going most vegetarian with some meat a couple of times a week.  I have cut down what I was eating in the morning.  I have decided that too much bacon, eggs, and red meat is not good for me.  So I am trying to eat other things and having some meatless meals may be part of it.  I talked to a friend that switched to eating vegetarian and he said that he feels better and has lost over 25 pounds.  So it is something to consider.  I can slowly move that direction.  Salads are the mainstay of what I eat. 

Exercise is where I am doing much better than in the past.  I got my bike out a few weeks ago and have been riding it more, especially in the mornings.  I was doing a lot of swimming before they closed the aquatic center.  I need to make time to go to the rec center in town to swim, either in the morning or at noon.  Swimming is such good exercise overall, not only for my legs and cardio, but also for my arms.  Just moving 5-7 times a week has been a goal and I am doing well with it.  My biggest obstacle is getting out of bed in the morning.  Once I am out of bed, then I am good to go and enjoy working out (swimming, walking, and riding my bike). 

I was thinking the other day, what do I want to accomplish?  I know that my overall goal is to lose about 102 pounds, which is a lot.  But why?  I want to be healthier.  I want to feel better about myself.  I want to look better in clothing.  I want to be able to fit in a roller coaster or amusement park ride without the employees looking at me and saying, you'll have to wait for the extra large chair.  I want to be more physically fit.  I want to fit better in airplane seats and be able to put the seat belt on easier.  I know that there are other things that I want, but these are some of them.  I read one thing that said to concentrate on only 5 pounds at a time, I think that I can do that and it breaks it down more.  Right now, I am ready to break another decade in weight.  When I do that, I will be where I haven't been for a long time.  So I need to keep moving forward slowly and see what I can do.

July 4th and the Journey Continues

So I made it through the 4th of July and a picnic.  I didn't have any alcohol but I did eat one cupcake and a spoonful of cheesy potatoes, otherwise I did pretty well on the plan.  I got on the scale this morning and I cracked another decade on the way down.  So far I have lost over 20 pounds which is amazing.  This is the smallest weight that I have been in a while, probably about 15 years.  I need to continue this journey.  The place where I am still struggling is with exercise.  It seems that everyone is running now, but I don't think that my knees can handle it.  So I am walking, swimming and I want to get my bike out and try doing that.  Those are all things that I enjoy doing.  I took a long walk yesterday and plan to walk or ride my bike today after cleaning the house.  Exercise is my focus for now.  I seem to be eating okay, although I am still looking at the new plan and thinking about switching.  If I do switch, I need to invest in a good blender.