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.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
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:
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 15 minute(s)
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
- Brown the ground beef in a skillet and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove the beef from the pan and set aside. Drain off the fat if you wish.
- 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.
- Stir in the hot sauce, soy sauce, sugar or sweetener, vinegar and ginger.
- Add the ground beef back in and mix well to combine.
- Serve with hot sauce on the table for people who like it extra spicy.
Cooking time: 15 minute(s)
Friday, January 10, 2014
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!
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!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
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.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
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.
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.
Friday, July 5, 2013
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.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Exercise and A New Plan for Eating
Exercise has always been my problem, or maybe since kids and work have gotten in the way. I am proud of myself because I am really making an effort this time. Yes, I didn't get up today to go walk like I said that I would, but I am trying to find ways to put at 30 minutes a day into exercising. Yesterday I went to the pool to swim laps. I probably overdid it because I woke up at 3 am and my whole body hurt. But that is the pain of working hard. It didn't seem that hard when I was swimming because I love to swim. Tonight we have tickets for the theatre at 7:30, but I might try to get a swim in early, maybe around 6. Otherwise I need to find a way to exercise sometime today, even if it is just 30 minutes of walking or the wii.
Eating meat and vegetables without carbs has been relatively easy for me. Although I can live without all of the eggs and meat. I have been reading a book by Joel Fuhrman about switching to a vegetarian lifestyle. I am considering it. I think that the weight might come off faster by making the switch. The lifestyle change is focusing on fruits and vegetables. I will see about it when I finish the book. But it sounds like something that I could live with and do. I just want to get the weight off and looking at losing more than 100 pounds seems daunting. When I got on the scale the other day, I am close to 20 pounds down, but I have been doing this for about 3 months too. I had hoped to be down more pounds by now.
The other day I went to have a pedicure done. Amber mentioned that she could see that I have lost weight or at least shifted some of it. It was good to hear, because I don't feel that it looks or feels like I have lost anything. That is probably the most frustrating, the speed of the weight loss and the feeling that I am not getting anywhere. But I will keep going. Right now I have good momentum and I need to just keep moving forward. Setting small goals for myself might be useful. Something small for me to attain and keep going.
Eating meat and vegetables without carbs has been relatively easy for me. Although I can live without all of the eggs and meat. I have been reading a book by Joel Fuhrman about switching to a vegetarian lifestyle. I am considering it. I think that the weight might come off faster by making the switch. The lifestyle change is focusing on fruits and vegetables. I will see about it when I finish the book. But it sounds like something that I could live with and do. I just want to get the weight off and looking at losing more than 100 pounds seems daunting. When I got on the scale the other day, I am close to 20 pounds down, but I have been doing this for about 3 months too. I had hoped to be down more pounds by now.
The other day I went to have a pedicure done. Amber mentioned that she could see that I have lost weight or at least shifted some of it. It was good to hear, because I don't feel that it looks or feels like I have lost anything. That is probably the most frustrating, the speed of the weight loss and the feeling that I am not getting anywhere. But I will keep going. Right now I have good momentum and I need to just keep moving forward. Setting small goals for myself might be useful. Something small for me to attain and keep going.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
A treat for myself
So, I have been on this journey for about 2 months now and I hope that there are results. At times I think that I can see results, but then I wonder if I am just fooling myself. Some of my clothes actually fit, so then I wonder, have there been results and my clothes were really tight before I started this? Or am I fooling myself, and the scale is wrong, and there aren't results. I guess I will need it to be a drastic change before I am convinced. I have been sticking to the low carb menu and it has worked well up to this point. I did have some ice cream yesterday, which was the first ice cream that I have had since April. I am trying new recipes and staying low carb. I got on the scale on Monday and it showed no change since last week which is 16 pounds total gone. Then I got on the scale today and it showed that I was down 3 more pounds. So we will see what happens as the week goes on. The only change I have made recently is to add green tea tablets to see if that helps. I have also added exercise. I put a Couch to 5 K app on my phone and have been using it. But I wonder about it since my knees are hurting a little bit. So I am wondering how good it is to run on asphalt or concrete, which is what I have been doing. Tonight I am going to swim and see how that works. I can also go to the Middle School track to run which is a little more giving on the knees. Finally, I want to get my bike out to ride. Adding exercise to my routine is something that I have been trying to do.
A treat for myself, was to buy a couple of new shirts this last weekend while I was in Stillwater. The size hasn't gone down yet, but it was nice to be able to have something new to wear. And the treat of clothes is better than a treat of ice cream or food, which I need to move away from. My next treat is to buy a better pair of shoes for walking and running. My tennis shoes are all at least 5 years old.
So the journey goes on....
A treat for myself, was to buy a couple of new shirts this last weekend while I was in Stillwater. The size hasn't gone down yet, but it was nice to be able to have something new to wear. And the treat of clothes is better than a treat of ice cream or food, which I need to move away from. My next treat is to buy a better pair of shoes for walking and running. My tennis shoes are all at least 5 years old.
So the journey goes on....
Monday, June 3, 2013
So this is not a good week for me, or it has started out bad. I got on the scale yesterday and for some reason I was up 3.5 pounds. I have been following the eating plan, so I am not sure what happened. Maybe I just need to stop eating all together. This is one of those humps that I have to get over or get past. It is kind of defeating though if I let it be. I know that it has put a damper on my excitement. I did a lot of walking on Saturday and then I cleaned house yesterday for my exercise. I am going to try to go to yoga tonight and get started with it again to at least improve my flexibility. I did try a new recipe yesterday, Jalapeno Popper Chicken. It was pretty good and low carb. I am also reading a book about low carb eating. Will let you know more as I move forward. I am just not in the mood to write today.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
The Journey Continues - through another holiday
When I jumped (okay stepped cautiously) upon the scale this morning, it said that I am about 14 pounds down since I began this journey. I managed to make it through another weekend (and holiday) sticking to the plan. I am not sure if I can see a major difference yet, but I plan to keep going. As long as the scale shows me going down, something must be working. I told Mark that I crossed another decade threshold, which is also good. This weekend we traveled out to western Kansas to see Mark's dad. While we were out there, I did some climbing around when I was geocaching. We climbed out onto the chalk bluffs by Castle Rock and walked into some others. No where was really far, but I did get out of the house and walked around. I plan to find time to do more walking.
In the past few weeks, I have tried a few different recipes. I pureed up cauliflower a couple of times with cheese to make "mashed potatoes". It really wasn't bad and fills my craving for the potatoes. I made a recipe called "oopsie bread" and it worked too. Recipe - http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=259930. This recipe was pretty good too. I even tried using zucchini as hashbrowns and making cheesy potatoes. This would have been better had I let the zucchini dry out a little bit, or maybe put it in a skillet and let it brown up for a little bit first. I bought avocados and a cucumber last night to try to make salsa from it. It will be my next experiment.
I will admit that it isn't always easy, but then no journey always goes smoothly. Last night I came home from the grocery store and Mark was drinking a beer on the porch. I really wanted one but held out and didn't have one. In the future, I could have one occasionally without doing too much harm. But for now, I plan to keep on the straight and narrow path. Diverging from the path hasn't worked in the past.
Which leads me to another topic. I picked up a First magazine at the grocery store and an article talked with Dr. Oz about the Eat to Live plan of Dr. Fuhrman. I went ahead and ordered his book to see if it might be an eating plan that would work better for me and not be so much meat and fat. In a quick glance at the Eat 4 Your Type book, my blood type would work best on a vegetarian diet. I am okay switching to mainly fruits and vegetables and not having the meat. What I read in the article was a focus on healthy nutrition rich fruits, vegetables and beans. I have already cut out the starchy and sugary foods, so that won't be a problem. So another thought as I travel down this road to becoming slimmer and healthier.
In the past few weeks, I have tried a few different recipes. I pureed up cauliflower a couple of times with cheese to make "mashed potatoes". It really wasn't bad and fills my craving for the potatoes. I made a recipe called "oopsie bread" and it worked too. Recipe - http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=259930. This recipe was pretty good too. I even tried using zucchini as hashbrowns and making cheesy potatoes. This would have been better had I let the zucchini dry out a little bit, or maybe put it in a skillet and let it brown up for a little bit first. I bought avocados and a cucumber last night to try to make salsa from it. It will be my next experiment.
I will admit that it isn't always easy, but then no journey always goes smoothly. Last night I came home from the grocery store and Mark was drinking a beer on the porch. I really wanted one but held out and didn't have one. In the future, I could have one occasionally without doing too much harm. But for now, I plan to keep on the straight and narrow path. Diverging from the path hasn't worked in the past.
Which leads me to another topic. I picked up a First magazine at the grocery store and an article talked with Dr. Oz about the Eat to Live plan of Dr. Fuhrman. I went ahead and ordered his book to see if it might be an eating plan that would work better for me and not be so much meat and fat. In a quick glance at the Eat 4 Your Type book, my blood type would work best on a vegetarian diet. I am okay switching to mainly fruits and vegetables and not having the meat. What I read in the article was a focus on healthy nutrition rich fruits, vegetables and beans. I have already cut out the starchy and sugary foods, so that won't be a problem. So another thought as I travel down this road to becoming slimmer and healthier.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Slowly but surely
Well today I jumped on the scale this morning and I am officially over 10 pounds lost since I started this journey. It doesn't sound like much in the almost 6 weeks that I have been doing this, but it is something. It is more than I have been able to do in a while, so I need to be proud of that. A week ago yesterday, I turned in my last qualifying exam and so that pressure is off. If I need to rewrite parts of it, in the instance that I don't pass, then it will be easier than writing it the first time. The information that I included is good. With that pressure gone, and my eating doing okay, now I need to focus on adding exercise to my plan. I am not sure if it is my imagination or not, but some of my clothes feel like they are fitting looser. I have not taken my measurements, but I need to do that to begin tracking them. So my next goal for this upcoming week is to find ways to add exercise to my life by doing things that I like to do such as walking to find geocaches, swimming, walking in general, riding my bike and maybe trying to do some frisbee golf. So, next week, more movement here I come. I hope to be seeing more results in the future. As to eating low carb, it really hasn't been that difficult.
Monday, April 29, 2013
The Journey Continues through Temptation
So I have to say that I am proud of myself at this moment. I hope the saying "pride goeth before a fall" isn't true in this case. I got on the scale yesterday (my weigh-in day) and I was down about 3 pounds more. That makes a total of 10 pounds since my weigh-in on the Monday after Easter. So not too bad for 4 weeks. I can do better by adding exercise, which is my next step. I have been trying to get through my qualifying exams and I am on the last one. My goal right now is to get through the next 2 weeks and turn my last exam in to the readers.
But onto the temptation that I journeyed through this weekend. On Saturday, I helped with the After Prom event at the HS. No, Derek is not a junior this year. They wanted some of the sophomore parents to help with the event. Which was actually good, because I know what they had planned, what worked and what didn't work so well. So that when I help plan for next year, I have that knowledge. At the event (which ran from 11 pm until about 3 am), I was assigned to watch one of the entrances (exits) and to help serve pizza and keep the "candy bar" well stocked. The "candy bar" had little candy bars, Twizzlers, M&Ms, marshmallows, pretzels, and little graham crackers. A lot of "red light" foods available for grazing. But this is what makes me proud, is that the only touching I did of that food was to stock the containers for the kids. Granted, we were really busy for about an hour serving pizza to the kids, but after that rush died down there was a lot of free time with the candy staring me in the face, especially those Twizzlers. It was late at night, I was tired, and the candy was readily available; all were the makings of the perfect storm or a chance for me to fall off the wagon. But I held strong and just drank water instead! Actually, following this eating plan is not too difficult. I do miss rice, potatoes, tortillas and fruits, but if I can use this to jump start my weight loss, then in July I can rejoin Weight Watchers and keep up the success.
Beyond that, most of my weekend was spent reading and working on the research to begin writing my qualifying exam. I hope to get stuff on paper this week, at least a start.
But onto the temptation that I journeyed through this weekend. On Saturday, I helped with the After Prom event at the HS. No, Derek is not a junior this year. They wanted some of the sophomore parents to help with the event. Which was actually good, because I know what they had planned, what worked and what didn't work so well. So that when I help plan for next year, I have that knowledge. At the event (which ran from 11 pm until about 3 am), I was assigned to watch one of the entrances (exits) and to help serve pizza and keep the "candy bar" well stocked. The "candy bar" had little candy bars, Twizzlers, M&Ms, marshmallows, pretzels, and little graham crackers. A lot of "red light" foods available for grazing. But this is what makes me proud, is that the only touching I did of that food was to stock the containers for the kids. Granted, we were really busy for about an hour serving pizza to the kids, but after that rush died down there was a lot of free time with the candy staring me in the face, especially those Twizzlers. It was late at night, I was tired, and the candy was readily available; all were the makings of the perfect storm or a chance for me to fall off the wagon. But I held strong and just drank water instead! Actually, following this eating plan is not too difficult. I do miss rice, potatoes, tortillas and fruits, but if I can use this to jump start my weight loss, then in July I can rejoin Weight Watchers and keep up the success.
Beyond that, most of my weekend was spent reading and working on the research to begin writing my qualifying exam. I hope to get stuff on paper this week, at least a start.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Two weeks
Well, it has been two weeks on this low carb plan. I have lost some weight (about 5 pounds) although I hoped that it would be more. I just need to stick with it and see what happens. I still miss the carbs a little bit, but it has been easier than I thought it would be. I have noticed though that my plate is meat and green usually. This weekend we went camping and I ate according to plan. I also took time to do some walking. I know that I just need to stick with this and results will happen. I didn't gain overnight and so I won't lose it overnight. On Friday, I received a card of encouragement from a friend. It will be something to reread when I need more inspiration to be able to continue. Each day is a new struggle, but I have had lots of victories so far and hope to continue. Also, if I happen to have a bad meal, then I just need to continue on and restart instead of quitting.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
New Eating Plan
I've decided that with the big 5-0 looming in my future, at the end of the summer, that I need to take better care of myself. So one of the first things that I need to do is to lose the weight that has been hanging around for a while. I believe that by making this journey more public, it will help me to be more accountable and therefore be more successful. A friend of mine has been doing a modified Atkins diet - low carbs, and has lost about 30 pounds in about 3 weeks. So I decided to try the same thing. I was going to wait to start something until after I finished my PhD qualifying exams, but seeing Art's success spurred me to try it now.
So here I am four days into this new life. The first day (probably not a good day to start) was Sunday. Now that in itself wasn't bad, but the fact that we had the EHS Basketball banquet that night, was hard. But I did pretty well and only snuck a couple of bites of cheesy corn and cheesy potatoes. So maybe you could say that Monday was the real first day. Breakfast is eggs, meat, and cheese. Lunch is meat, salad and vegetables. Dinner is the same. I do get to have dessert, sugar free jello and whipped cream. Three days in and I have done really well. I want to get on the scale to see if anything is happening, but I am trying to wait until Sunday and the end of one week.
Tuesday, Mark and I went out to dinner at Chili's. I went ahead and ordered chicken without the mango salsa, without the mango vinaigrette, without the avocados and without the rice. After taking to Art, I could have probably had the avocados. Oh, and I ordered extra broccoli and grilled shrimp. I have discovered that Subway and their salads are a good way to eat lunch which is why I ate there the last two days.
My plan is to eat this way without changes until at least the 1st part of July. Now if I reach my goal before then, I can modify it. I am going to try to blog about my experience, my successes and challenges that I may face during my journey.
So here I am four days into this new life. The first day (probably not a good day to start) was Sunday. Now that in itself wasn't bad, but the fact that we had the EHS Basketball banquet that night, was hard. But I did pretty well and only snuck a couple of bites of cheesy corn and cheesy potatoes. So maybe you could say that Monday was the real first day. Breakfast is eggs, meat, and cheese. Lunch is meat, salad and vegetables. Dinner is the same. I do get to have dessert, sugar free jello and whipped cream. Three days in and I have done really well. I want to get on the scale to see if anything is happening, but I am trying to wait until Sunday and the end of one week.
Tuesday, Mark and I went out to dinner at Chili's. I went ahead and ordered chicken without the mango salsa, without the mango vinaigrette, without the avocados and without the rice. After taking to Art, I could have probably had the avocados. Oh, and I ordered extra broccoli and grilled shrimp. I have discovered that Subway and their salads are a good way to eat lunch which is why I ate there the last two days.
My plan is to eat this way without changes until at least the 1st part of July. Now if I reach my goal before then, I can modify it. I am going to try to blog about my experience, my successes and challenges that I may face during my journey.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Day Before Our Flight Leaves
Well, I think that I am ready. I went to the store and got my travel size stuff along with snacks for the trip. I think that I have everything packed and my passport ready to go. My flight leaves KC at 7 pm tomorrow night, so the trip is about 24 hours away. I weighed my suitcase and it is about 35 pounds, so we are doing okay at the moment. I think my nephew wants us to help bring back his books from Denmark, so it may get heavier on the way back. I bought some cute Green Eggs and Ham jammies to take too. I have been reading my Denmark book and hope to have things planned, or at least know about more when I get there. I meet up with my sister, her kids and my Dad in Chicago and we travel the rest of the way together. Just a few last minute things and then I am off tomorrow for my "native land".
Friday, June 22, 2012
A year later and another trip
So it has been a year since I went to Europe. I didn't expect to be going back so soon, but when the opportunity came up, I jumped. So, I will be heading to Denmark on Sunday with my sister Vicki, her kids (Blake and Mikaela) and my Dad. This will be another trip of a lifetime and a check on my bucket list. I am not sure how many more of these trips my Dad will be able to do and so I am looking forward to this one.
My oldest nephew (my child from a different mother, LOL)has been studying in Aarhus Denmark since January. He will be done with his studies on Monday. We are going over to see him and where he has been, but to also follow our roots. My Dad is 100% Danish. His father, my grandfather, came over from Denmark as a young man in the early 1900s. He is from Norre Vissing (a spot on the road in Denmark). My Dad's maternal grandparents also came over from Denmark and their original home is near where my grandfather came from in Denmark. So we will be tracing family roots along with viewing a beautiful country. It has been 27 years since I have traveled in that beautiful country and I look forward to this trip.
I plan to keep people updated while we are gone through this blog.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
On Our Way Home
wen
Monday and Tuesday were our travel days home. Monday started with our last breakfast at Our Chalet and had groups departing at different times during the morning so there were lots of good byes. Our departure time was about 10 am. We loaded the van with our suitcases and endured lots of comments from Christoph about how heavy they were. He told us if we wanted to leave the chocolate that we purchased behind, he would take care of it. Then we set off for our last walk down the mountain to the bus stop. Shortly after we arrived, Christoph brought our luggage down the mountain. We had to wait a few minutes for the bus, with trailer attached, and then when it arrived loaded our luggage and we were off down the mountain to Frutigen to catch our train. From Frutigen we caught a train to Spietz where we caught another train to Zurich that went through Bern.
It is amazing at how well our connections went because we did not have any troubles getting where we needed to be. Once we arrived in Zurich it took us a little while to figure out how to get to the hostel where we were spending the night. We knew what tram to get on and found a stop for it. The biggest hurdle was getting the tickets to ride the tram. But thanks to Brittany and I, we solved the problem rode the tram to the hostel. The hostel must be well known because a gentleman on the tram helped us with directions once we arrived at the Morgental stop and we were soon there and ensconced in our rooms.
Since we were hungry from traveling, we dropped off our stuff and headed back downtown to Neiderdorfstrasse (a street in the old part of Zurich with shops and restaurants) for dinner and some shopping. While there Angela C and some of the girls ran into our pilots for the plane the next day. They saw our Kansas shirts and our pilot commented on it because he is from Abilene. They then asked when our group was leaving and discovered that we were going on the plane that they were flying. After a couple of hours shopping and eating, we met to go back to the hostel to pack and get some sleep before our long travel day on Tuesday.
Tuesday morning we awoke, had breakfast at the hostel and some ran to a nearby grocery store to purchase some last minute chocolate. Then we caught a bus near the hostel to a train station and took the train to the airport. We arrived at the airport to get our boarding passes and check luggage and then walked to our gate going through customs on the way. Once we arrived at the gate we got on the plane for our 9 hour flight back to the US. The captain when he came over the loud speaker, welcomed the "Kansas Heartland Girl Scout group on the flight that was returning home after spending 20 days in Europe", so that was a nice touch.
We arrived at Washington D.C. Dulles airport and did not have a lot of extra time. So we went through the entry point, grabbed our suitcases, went through customs and loaded the suitcases back onto the plane. We arrived at our gate just as our plane was loading. So we loaded there and then headed on our 2.5 hour flight back to KC and home. It was good to see familiar faces at the airport when we arrived in KC. We had a great trip, a great experience and it was good to be back home. I think that each of us will have pictures and memories to last a lifetime.
Monday and Tuesday were our travel days home. Monday started with our last breakfast at Our Chalet and had groups departing at different times during the morning so there were lots of good byes. Our departure time was about 10 am. We loaded the van with our suitcases and endured lots of comments from Christoph about how heavy they were. He told us if we wanted to leave the chocolate that we purchased behind, he would take care of it. Then we set off for our last walk down the mountain to the bus stop. Shortly after we arrived, Christoph brought our luggage down the mountain. We had to wait a few minutes for the bus, with trailer attached, and then when it arrived loaded our luggage and we were off down the mountain to Frutigen to catch our train. From Frutigen we caught a train to Spietz where we caught another train to Zurich that went through Bern.
It is amazing at how well our connections went because we did not have any troubles getting where we needed to be. Once we arrived in Zurich it took us a little while to figure out how to get to the hostel where we were spending the night. We knew what tram to get on and found a stop for it. The biggest hurdle was getting the tickets to ride the tram. But thanks to Brittany and I, we solved the problem rode the tram to the hostel. The hostel must be well known because a gentleman on the tram helped us with directions once we arrived at the Morgental stop and we were soon there and ensconced in our rooms.
Since we were hungry from traveling, we dropped off our stuff and headed back downtown to Neiderdorfstrasse (a street in the old part of Zurich with shops and restaurants) for dinner and some shopping. While there Angela C and some of the girls ran into our pilots for the plane the next day. They saw our Kansas shirts and our pilot commented on it because he is from Abilene. They then asked when our group was leaving and discovered that we were going on the plane that they were flying. After a couple of hours shopping and eating, we met to go back to the hostel to pack and get some sleep before our long travel day on Tuesday.
Tuesday morning we awoke, had breakfast at the hostel and some ran to a nearby grocery store to purchase some last minute chocolate. Then we caught a bus near the hostel to a train station and took the train to the airport. We arrived at the airport to get our boarding passes and check luggage and then walked to our gate going through customs on the way. Once we arrived at the gate we got on the plane for our 9 hour flight back to the US. The captain when he came over the loud speaker, welcomed the "Kansas Heartland Girl Scout group on the flight that was returning home after spending 20 days in Europe", so that was a nice touch.
We arrived at Washington D.C. Dulles airport and did not have a lot of extra time. So we went through the entry point, grabbed our suitcases, went through customs and loaded the suitcases back onto the plane. We arrived at our gate just as our plane was loading. So we loaded there and then headed on our 2.5 hour flight back to KC and home. It was good to see familiar faces at the airport when we arrived in KC. We had a great trip, a great experience and it was good to be back home. I think that each of us will have pictures and memories to last a lifetime.
Sunday - Hike to Elsigenalp
Today was our hike to Elsigenalp. We had a couple of options for today. We could either take the low road, which was a 2 hour hike to the gondola and then ride the gondola up the mountain and walk down. Eight individuals chose this route. Or we could take the high road, which was a 3 hour hike to the mountain lake, and then ride the gondola down the mountain. Eight chose this route. I chose the latter. It was a beautiful hike, but challenging at times. But according to the staff, we moved quickly and actually arrived at the lake earlier than planned. We had the Danish group on our heels the entire time and so that kept us moving.
Once we arrived at the lake, we could either dig right into lunch or jump into the lake and take a swim. We arrived about the same time that the group arrived that walked to the gondola and rode it up. Since we were warm from our hike, many of us chose to jump into the lake. Although this is a manmade lake, it is still fed from glacier springs and it was cold. The water was so blue and clear. It was cold when you first jumped in, but you soon got used to it and several of us swam for a little while before getting out, drying off and changing clothes behind the trees. We ate lunch next to the lake and then slowly the groups moved to the restaurant that was near by.While at the restaurant the clouds moved in and at times obscured our view. We had a couple of options from this point. Relax and enjoy the view, which several of us chose. Go to another mountain lake, three of the girls chose to do this. Or climb another couple of hours to the top of the mountain. Alice chose the last option. Because of the time and probably the clouds they made it within a few minutes to the very top and then turned around and came back.
While the other activities were going on, the first group that took the gondola up, left on their walk down the mountain. The rest of us chilled, literally at times, at the restaurant on top and enjoyed the view, when we could see, before taking the gondola down the mountain and then a bus back to Our Chalet. The bus ride was interesting as the ride down the mountain was on their narrow mountain roads. I am amazed at how well these bus drivers do. I would probably be rolling down the mountainside.
Once we returned to Our Chalet we had a little time to relax and chill before it was time for the last patrol duties. That night dinner was brats, mashed potatoes and peas followed by Mousse Straticolli, which was whipped cream with chocolate chips.
Our evening activity was a picture in uniforms of the entire group on the steps of Main Chalet followed by our final campfire and closing ceremony.
During the closing ceremony they recognized the people that completed the Our Chalet Challenge. We had 74 total participants during the week and over 20 completed the challenge. From our group we had 8 people complete the challenge: Angela L., Angela C., Analicia, Kelsey, Alice, Ashley, Brittany, and me. Then each group had one representative participate in the final candlelight and campfire lighting ceremony. Each person had a word to describe our time at Our Chalet and then added a memory that corresponds to the word. Kelsey was our representative. Finally we finished out the night with a variety of campfire songs, fun, laughter, hugs, goodbyes and even some tears. It was a great ending to our time at Our Chalet.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Saturday Free Day
Today was our free day and so most of us slept in and several of us missed breakfast. I figured that I could get by with just a breakfast bar. We agreed to meet around 10 am to head out for the day. Since Adelboden is not very big and is very safe, we decided that the girls could wear what they wanted to wear. We walked down the hill from Our Chalet and then UPPPPPP the hill to Adelboden to get something to eat and to go shopping. We bought lots of different things and souvenirs for people. But you will have to wait until we get back to find out what we bought, I am not telling. Just think about what Switzerland is known for and you might get a hint. We found a little place that sold cheeseburgers and fries or chicken nuggets and fries and that is what we had for lunch. The man that ran it did not speak a lot of English, but enough and we tried out some of the Swiss German that have learned. He gave use 3 packages of cookies to take back for the girls for dessert. There was a festival in Adelboden today, so we got to see some of that. We left before the gigantic water fight though. We did top into the Shop that the Woodcarver has in town. The son that we met the other day was in there and so we had a good time talking to him.
After shopping we headed back down the mountain from Adelboden and then back up the mountain to Our Chalet. We did not have patrol duties tonight because it is our free day. Dinner tonight was Sweet and Sour Chicken with Salad. We had watermelon for dessert. Tonight everyone is hanging out, doing puzzles, working on the Our Chalet Challenge, and catching up on their journals. I am obviously catching up on the blog.
It is hard to believe that tomorrow is our last full day here. Time has really gone fast. I am not sure what my Internet options will be tomorrow and beyond. Tomorrow we have a couple of options again. We can either hike two hours to a gondola, take a gondola up the mountain and swim in a mountain lake, then hike down the mountain. Or hike three hours up the mountain, swim in the mountain lake and then take the gondola down the mountain. Most of us have chosen to hike up the mountain and take the gondola down with about 5 people chosing the other option. We will see how that goes. Then Monday we leave Our Chalet for Zurich. I will get on if possible and keep this blog updated.
After shopping we headed back down the mountain from Adelboden and then back up the mountain to Our Chalet. We did not have patrol duties tonight because it is our free day. Dinner tonight was Sweet and Sour Chicken with Salad. We had watermelon for dessert. Tonight everyone is hanging out, doing puzzles, working on the Our Chalet Challenge, and catching up on their journals. I am obviously catching up on the blog.
It is hard to believe that tomorrow is our last full day here. Time has really gone fast. I am not sure what my Internet options will be tomorrow and beyond. Tomorrow we have a couple of options again. We can either hike two hours to a gondola, take a gondola up the mountain and swim in a mountain lake, then hike down the mountain. Or hike three hours up the mountain, swim in the mountain lake and then take the gondola down the mountain. Most of us have chosen to hike up the mountain and take the gondola down with about 5 people chosing the other option. We will see how that goes. Then Monday we leave Our Chalet for Zurich. I will get on if possible and keep this blog updated.
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