You are here: Home / Archives for weight loss / weigh-in
Oct 11, 2010

The Leaves Are Falling & My Weight Is Too

By ·

The stress of the past few weeks has been hard. Not only was I sick with a stomach virus, right in the middle of a crisis situation at work that required mandatory overtime, but then I came down with a cold last week just to feel completely miserable again.

It’s true – stress robs you of your ability to stay healthy. When you’re stressed and lacking in sleep, your body’s defenses are down and any passing infection can breeze right in past security without even a pat-down and get to work making you feel horrible. Viruses and stress are the original terrorists, working together to take us down from our position at the top of the natural order.

I’ve barely slept the past few weeks. I certainly haven’t had time to work out. And many of my meals haven’t been the best. (Although I’m still sticking to one Healthy Choice meal per day for my Better for BlogHer Challenge – honestly, grabbing a meal out of the freezer is the easiest part of my day.)

I knew my weight crossed into the 170’s after the stomach virus from hell, but I also knew it was likely temporary and that once I replaced my fluids it would bounce back up. As predicted, I stepped on the scale several days later and it was back at 181 pounds. Seeing the 180’s was a little depressing, but I knew that my short dip into the 170’s was really just a mirage brought on by dehydration.

For two weeks now I’ve avoided the scale. I haven’t had the time to focus on myself due to work, and I made the mental decision to not worry about the damage that happens during this stressful time and accept that once work calms down again, I’ll get back to running, get back to really focusing on my diet, and get back to finding some inner peace again. It seemed like the best decision to make, considering what I’ve been up against: stress, no sleep, long work hours, fast food when necessary (which is often), and no time to work out.

So I’ll admit I was a little surprised when I stepped on my scale before my shower Saturday morning and saw this number greeting me:

(Sorry for the blurry pic. I never expected to report the number, but when I saw this my iPhone camera was the only thing in reach.)

Of course I’m thrilled to see 177.8 pounds, although I’m not exactly sure how I got there. I know I’ve had more than an acceptable share of McDonald’s to eat and my running shoes can attest that they’ve been neglected for weeks now. Losing weight easily is a myth to me, so I’m a little perplexed by this development.

But I’ll take it, and as soon as work calms down I hope to get back to taking care of myself and working hard to drive that number even lower. My next mini-goal is to see the 160’s before the new year – a difficult challenge, indeed, considering the season of holiday eating is nearly upon us.

Anyone else ever have a surprise loss on the scale when you were certain you’d see a gain?

Filed Under: success, weigh-in · Tagged:


Aug 25, 2010

A New Low

By ·

But it’s a good kind of low.

I decided to step on the scale again this morning, and was delighted to see an even lower number displayed: 181 pounds. I’m so close to the 170’s that I’m twitchy with excitement.

Now that the high end of my “acceptable weight range” is slowly coming into view off in the horizon (160 lbs is considered the high end for 5’7″), I’m starting to think about what happens when I reach that moment. Will I stay at 160, or will I try to continue to go lower? I’ve got a larger frame, so I definitely don’t want to be on the low end of the acceptable range for my height (121 lbs – seriously, I’d be a stick!), but I don’t know if I want to be constantly flirting with overweight, either.

At my wedding, I was somewhere around 170 pounds. And I felt pretty good at that weight. It was the lowest I had been for a long time, and even though I still felt overweight, I didn’t feel completely self-conscious as I walked down the aisle in my silver wedding dress. I probably could have lost more weight, but the more weight I lost, the happier I was with my body, and the less motivated I was to continue losing weight. Not exactly the best plan.

I can’t wait to see 170 again, but I don’t want to let myself get too comfortable before reaching my goal weight. Whatever my goal weight is. Hmm…I guess I really should pick a goal weight, shouldn’t I? I’ll officially call my goal weight 160 for the moment, and then when I reach 160 I can re-evaluate and set a new goal if needed.

But for the moment, I’m so, so close to breaking through a mini-goal of saying goodbye to the 180’s and hello to the 170’s. And when I do, I’m posting new photos to show how far I’ve come.

Filed Under: weigh-in · Tagged:


Jul 27, 2010

I’m On A Roll

By ·

It’s been a big week of win around here, it seems. First, I ran for 20 minutes straight, which was a huge accomplishment.

Then, I survived six days alone with my children and only ate fast food for a grand total of once. ONCE. Six days, 18 meals and only one of them involved food ordered at a drive thru. And it wasn’t for lack of begging from my daughters. Remembering that I want to lose weight, have more energy and be healthier helped me avoid the grease traps.

As part of the Better for BlogHer challenge, I was asked to replace just one meal a day with a Healthy Choice entree. This has been amazingly easy, and has given me the chance to experiment with different Healthy Choice entrees. I’m usually a creature of habit and stick to 1-2 favorites that I eat over and over. But when the meals are provided for me, I’m willing to be a little more adventurous.

I usually eat the Cafe Steamers because I like simplicity. Pop it in the microwave and wait – no cutting slits in the top, no stirring halfway thru. My two favorites by far are the Balsamic Garlic Chicken and the Lemon Garlic Chicken & Shrimp. (Hmmm…apparently I like garlic.) But I decided to try some of the complete meals, which also come with a dessert. I now have two new favorites to add to my list: Fire Roasted Tomato Chicken and the Spicy Shrimp Diavolo. I never expect a frozen meal to have a lot of spark when it comes to spicy, but I’m pleased to say that the Spicy Shrimp Diavolo is actually SPICY. Yum! And while I was a little unsure of the fruit desserts, I’ve found them to be just as delicious and the perfect ending to a meal.

But here’s where the final part of my good week comes in. Combine running, avoiding temptation and replacing one meal a day with a Healthy Choice meal, and I finally have an achievement that I’ve been waiting on for months now:

The scale finally caved, and I broke through 187.

Well. It’s about time.

I’m hoping to see the 170’s by BlogHer. I haven’t seen them since my wedding in 2003, and I know I can do it.

Full disclosure: As I’ve mentioned before, Healthy Choice provided me with free entree coupons as well as compensation for the Better for BlogHer challenge, but my opinions are still my own and are 100% honest. And looking above, numbers don’t lie. OK, I suppose they could lie, but these aren’t. More importantly, my hips won’t lie when you see them in a fabulous dress at BlogHer.

Filed Under: success, weigh-in · Tagged: ,


Jul 1, 2010

Trying Again

By ·

Hmmm, OK, so I don’t seem to be doing a very good job with this whole keeping track of my weight loss stuff. However, a few things have changed, and I’m ready to keep myself accountable again. And – as every good recovering addict says – and this time, I mean it!

First off, I’m running again. OK, running isn’t exactly accurate. More like walking with periods of jogging so slow that a speed walker could lap me. I decided to start over with the Couch to 5K program, thanks to a little iPhone app that makes it ten thousand times more pleasant by giving me cues while also letting me listen to my own music. My stats so far –

June 14: Week 1, Day 1 of Couch to 5K (C25K from here on out)
June 15: Week 1, Day 2 of c25k
June 18: Week 1, Day 3 of c25k
June 22: Week 2, Day 1 of c25k
June 23: Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred DVD (evil…more on that later)
June 28: Week 2, Day 2 of c25k
June 30: Week 2, Day 3 of c25k

I’m finding I like running more than I did last year. I think it’s because I’m running outdoors, which I’ll admit is more challenging, but also just more interesting as well.

I’m also tapping into all kinds of social media to hold myself accountable. My iPhone app has a “publish to Facebook & Twitter” option. And I signed up at DailyMile. I understand my friends may not be all that interested in knowing that I finished week 2 of c25k, but if it helps me keep going, they’ll have to deal with my constant updates!

As for the 30 Day Shred – while it produced amazing results for me last year, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Shred and my knees are not compatible. Running I can handle, as it is a simple forward motion, but the lateral moves in the Shred leave my knees sore for days, making the next run so much harder. I love ya, Jillian, and I’ll always be a Shredhead, but I have to move on to more knee-friendly ways to get in shape.

The final topic for today: my weight. Go on, take a guess. If you said 187, you and my scale have a psychic connection! Or you’re a frequent reader. Or my scale needs new batteries. Either way, I’m still the same weight, and no running or eating vegetables seems to change that. It’ll come, it’ll come…and maybe I’ll convince myself of that someday, too.

Next week is a harder week – I go from running 1.5 minute intervals to having to accomplish a 3 minute interval. I remember this was hard to do last year, and I have no idea how my body will react this year. Maybe it’ll be the kick I need to finally dip below 187?

Filed Under: c25k, weigh-in · Tagged:


May 19, 2010

The Magic Number Appears To Be 187

By ·

So yet again I’ve let work take center stage and I’ve pushed my weight loss all the way off the stage to the role of director’s water boy. Last month I was working a 9-5 schedule as I went through training for my new job. I thought I did  pretty well with my lunches, packing most days, and eating healthy wraps when I did buy from the cafeteria.

However, I stepped on the scale at the beginning of May, and found myself at 192 lbs. again. Ouch. Not sure how that happened, but I know I don’t like it.

Then at the beginning of May I switched back to night shift and actually my eating habits took a turn for the worse. Trying to figure out when to eat overnight is hard, leaving you snacking all night long. And I don’t always snack on the good stuff, either. I also am far too tired to think of working out at this point. Maybe after I’ve given my body a chance to readjust to being a nightwalker I can start squeezing workouts into my schedule, but for now I just try to take the stairs instead of the elevator and call it good.

Amazingly, I stepped on the scale this week, and found my body has yet again settled back into its favorite weight of 187. I can’t explain how I lost the weight, but I’m not complaining, either.

The plan for the rest of May is to get myself fully adjusted back to a nocturnal schedule. I’m also making efforts to minimize the bad snacks I keep at my desk – more fruit cups, less bags of chips. And since giving up caffeine on night shift is a sure form of career suicide, I’ve instead tried to work a glass of water in-between each serving of coffee or tea.

And working out? Well, I want to do it again. I want to get back into shape for running a 5K. But we’ll see where I can squeeze it in to this already overstuffed schedule.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Filed Under: weigh-in · Tagged: