Weekly Check In

I had to be on the run all day yesterday. Well... kind of.

As with most companies, my husband's requires lab work done every year or pay a higher insurance premium. Me... I'd pay it. I don't go to doctors. So bright and early yesterday morning, off I went on an empty tummy and no morning fluffy to get blood drawn. Everything went well, except their scales do NOT agree with mine and NOT in a good way. hehe

But I'm sticking with mine...

This week I'm still at  184.

But I didn't go up!

I won't be having the big Thanksgiving dinner. Nice, quiet alone time for me. So that should help.

As you enjoy time with family tomorrow, remember....
You can eat most anything - as long as you do it in moderation.

After dinner - take a walk! You'll be proud of yourself.

Thankful to be on this journey

A SQUEE MOMENT!

What a beautiful day in the Ozarks. The sky is what I call 'puzzle perfect'. You know, that blue sky you find in all nature puzzles. Granted, it's only 24 degrees outside but I am cozy warm in my rural home.

I stepped on the scales this morning. Because my husband weighs the Thursday after he comes home from the boat and again on the Tuesday morning as he's getting ready to leave, I've started using Tuesday as my Weekly Weigh-In.  Now that doesn't mean I'm not checking the numbers throughout the week. But Tuesdays are weigh-in day for me.

When we checked the scales last Tuesday before he left, I weighed 189! Accckkkk! That was not going to be a permanent number in my life.

This morning I stepped on the scales, and after moving the cat off (she's a tubbo kitty and I DID NOT need her help), The pretty red numbers came up.....

184

I've lost 5 pounds in a week! I don't feel hungry, I haven't been counting calories. I've just been watching my portions and avoiding the high-caloric foods (like the cheesecake bites my sister left her last weekend).

I'm not pushing for 5 pounds the next week, though that would be AWESOME. I'll be happy with three.

Let's see how things go. But whatever happens, I'm just going to...

Enjoy the Journey!

MONDAY Musings

Good morning!

Even though it was a crisp 45* here in the Ozarks this morning, the sunshine lends promise to the start of a great week... and so did my scales.

A week ago I weighed my heaviest EVER! I was soooo not happy. I clocked in at 189.  Umm NO! NOT an option.

So when Bob left on Tuesday, I kicked right in to eating the way I always do when he's gone and I lost 3 pounds. I'm now back to 186. That's a long way from where I want to be but it does solidify in my mind I CAN DO THIS! And so can you.

I went 'window' shopping in a western store the other day. First off, I have a major interview coming up in three weeks with a prominent entertainer. The current wardrobe options will have to suffice. I'm thinking dress Jeans and a nice blouse will work.

But at some point I want to get to Texas... the heart and soul of my freelance business. I'll need something business-casual befitting a journalist mixing and mingling with artists, producers and club owners. Jeans and pretty blouses are only going to get me so far.

As I had not one but three sales ladies helping me pick out a wardrobe I'd already warned them I wasn't buying... yet, I realized something very important. Although I don't think I'm an ugly duckling in this pond, I know I want to dress better. That requires losing the weight, toning up and ultimately being able to enjoy my resurrected career.

A walk through Dillards drooling over my favorite designer's new handbags didn't help. :-) A girl has to accessorize!

And the journey continues...
Kelly
189/186/130

NEW YEAR - NEW BEGINNING

For those of you who've not checked out my profile and see that I have other blogs besides this one, I have another blog called the Cauldron Cafe. I am an earth-practicing Witch. I am of Celtic descent so it stands to reason.

Samhain - you know it as Halloween - is our New Year. It marks the end of the growing season, everything going to rest for the Winter and preparing for rebirth in the Spring. The new year is also a time for us to look back on the past year, count our blessings, and say goodbye to another year of trial/ error/ achievements. Once that is done, we look ahead to the coming year. We search our hearts for what we'd like to achieve in the coming months, make our requests and begin the process with earnest.

So here I am.

Though I'm not sure how, I've managed to gain 10 pounds back! WTH is that all about?! So with the new year, and a new promise it is even more important that I not just try but DO what needs to be done to SUCCEED at my GOAL.

I'm spending some time today determining what I really want this blog to showcase. I think it should be more about my journey than just pounds gained/ lost and workout routine - though those things are important to share as well.

I had plans for what I wanted to do here but just not enough hours in the day- especially as my freelance business has begun picking up steam.

So all I can say is, with Cher and her determination always at the forefront of my mind, here I go.

And this time...

I WILL SUCCEED!
~Kelly
186/186/130

Kick-starting the Week

Happy Monday, everyone!

I'm able to get on the Wii today - Yeah!  I don't care how crappy my throat feels from the sinus drainage (thanks for sharing, Cindy!) I am determined to work out, regularly.

If Cher can do it, then I can.

So it's a Can-Do Attitude (from here on out known as my CDA) that will get me into shape.

Even with watching what I ate while at the convention this week, I managed to put 2 pounds back on! WHAT? So my report this week:

183c/ 130t

Have great week and
Enjoy the Journey!

Weekly Check-In

My question for this week is "Why do we have to be scared into doing something we knew we should have been doing all along?"

I met up with a young woman (I'll call her Cher) I hadn't seen since February. When I saw her walk into the restaurant, my mouth fell open. Wow! She looked AMAZING! Mind you, at her previous 232 pounds, I'd never saw her as fat or obese. She was a little on the heavy side but she is a bit taller than I am so I guess it didn't show that she weighed fifty pounds more than I do.

In March, she found two lumps. The doctors checked them out and just kept an eye on them by retesting over a period of weeks. But the thought that she could have cancer at 35 scared the crap out of her. She instantly began counting calories, staying within 1200-1500 per day and working out like a mad woman. She uses the Wii machine with The Biggest Loser workout program and Zumba Fit. She's lost forty pounds in almost five months! She said she isn't done fighting yet... either the weight she knew she should have lost a long time ago or the battle for her health. They've found a mass and we're awaiting the test results. In the mean time, she'll keep living her new path on the journey of life.

I don't want to be 'scared' into losing weight. I just want to do what I know I should be doing on a daily basis and enjoying the journey right along with Cher .... and you!

Blessings!
Kelly

Weekly Check-in

I know this is supposed to be a Monday post but may I ask a couple of questions first?
1) how many of you have in-laws?
2) how many of you feel you must 'clean' the house before said in-laws arrive?

I can raise my hand on both questions. Cleaning is what I did most of last week. Now that my in-laws are here, I can relax a bit and just enjoy our visit. Mom is taking advantage of my WiFi to work on genealogy research while I sit next to her with my own laptop doing my writing thing.

With family visits comes food. Because there are four of us instead of just two, I've been cooking some things I don't normally make because we can indulge a bit without feeling like we have to eat a larger portion. Monday night when they arrived I made a small roast with boiled potatoes and 'canned' peas. Canned because they're the only kind Bob will eat. I survived.

Last night was spaghetti and garlic bread. I measured the spaghetti for a 5-person serving so I could put at least one serving in the freezer for me. I do that with a lot of meals so I don't have to cook big meals for just me the three weeks Bob is gone. I only made 1/2 a loaf of french bread, giving us each a 1/4 of the 1/2 loaf. YUM! I can't remember the last time I had garlic bread. It was definitely a treat. For dessert I had a 1/2 a blueberry and 1/2 a peach pie left over from when our daughter and her family were here in July. I had a small piece of cherry pie, warmed up then 1/4 c up of canned milk poured over it. I grew up eating my cobblers that way. Again, not something we have on a regular basis.

Tonight we won't be as lucky. Normally we reserve Pizza Night at Memories Sweet Shoppe for the Wed. Bob comes home... so only once every six weeks. But this will be the only opportunity to take Mom and Dick, both who love pizza. We'll eat our share and hopefully I can bring 4 pieces hope to put in the freezer for later.

Before going to bed tonight I'll put a brisket in the oven to slow-cook all night long so we can enjoy a traditional BBQ brisket and all the fixin's in honor of Dick's birthday. We'll top it off with homemade ice cream. No cake.

So yeah, this week it is more about the portions. And I'm doing a better job of it than Bob. I told him last night I didn't want to hear any complaints when he steps on the scales Tuesday morning. So far, I've lost 1 pound.

I'll be back in here next week and hopefully getting things in line the way they should be. Wish me luck... there are days I feel I need it.
Enjoy the Journey!
Kelly

Weekly Check-In

Happy Monday everyone!

Last week was a learning process. Here's what I learned:

1) As much as I love Pepsi, it is not worth the discomfort it causes.
     Apparently, it makes my eczema flare up

2) Counting calories is UBER important.

3) No matter how much work I THINK I have, I MUST make time to exercise.

So where does that put me for this week? NO MORE PEPSI. I don't drink it often, but when you get a taste for something and that's the only thing that will make it go away... Well. It's a mind set I'm going to have to reprogram.  Because of my history with PCOS (for which I refuse to take medication), I am prone to excema. It's not fun and cortizone cream has become my friend when it's really bad. But Pepsi makes it 10% worse to the point I'd give almost anything to make the itching stop. Well, I guess that 'anything' is Pepsi. Wish me luck!

I've must pay more attention to the calories and not what I think the portions are or over-eating what I think is okay foods. Must be diligent. Bob comes home on Wednesday so it will be easier because we make a good 'checks and balance' team.

Lastly, I must get back on the Wii. I had planned to last week but an old knee injury flared up, making it difficult to get up and down the stairs so I didn't figure dancing and step aerobics were going to be good for it. I'm better this week. While shopping on Saturday I picked up Country Dance 1 for the Wii. There are a lot of good tunes on there and my favorite part of the Wii is the step aerobics. So Get Up And Dance!

I am hoping to still work on some recipes this week and begin posting them on Wednesdays as well.

Whatever you're doing, LISTEN TO YOUR body. It will tell you what it does and does NOT need. Then follow it's direction.

Enjoy the Journey!

Back in the Swing of Things...

At least that's what I'm hoping.

Hi, I'm Kelly and I'm living through weight loss.

Today: 179
Target: 130

And so it begins... again.
I have been doing as the blog suggests and living through the weight loss. And I've been doing well until this past weekend when a Pepsi called my name... repeatedly. I gained 3 pounds over the weekend. I'd like to say 'live and learn' but I'm sure Pepsi will find it's way to me again. But for now I'm trying to be careful and stick to my iced tea with 1 Splenda.

I'm kind of combining methods and finding it works for me. Remember, I told you Bob started counting calories all on his own last December. He's lost over 30 pounds! I am so proud of him. I've noticed he breathes easier when he's working out in the yard and his hip seems to bother him less when we go for walks and shopping.

So when he's home, it's all about the calories. We hang right in around 300 for breakfast and for lunch, 500 for supper and make up the rest in 2 mid-day snacks. He tries to save enough for a scoop of ice cream in the evening and I have an extra fluffy coffee.

However, when he isn't home it's much easier for me to watch the portions. Of course, thanks to the calorie counting with him, I can usually eyeball both pretty well for a balance.

I just need to avoid the Pepsi!

Still on the Journey

It's been a really busy few weeks. The good news is, I'm still hanging in. Bob got off the boat and a week later we took a 3-day vacation. Well, you know what happens on vacation. Typically you eat all the foods you shouldn't, don't pay any attention to the calories and gain all your weight back. Such was not the case with us.

Bob and I were diligent about ordering off menus. Although we couldn't stick exactly to calorie counts like we would at home (mostly because Bob does NOT do vegies - for the most part) and because we did want little treats. It was vacation after all.

I don't know what Bob did, but I only gained 1 pound while we were gone. But somehow managed to add another one after we got back! Not sure how that happened at all.

I've not weighed in at the BL challenge for the past 2 weeks so I need to do that on Friday. I am determined to get back to at least the base line of 177 by weigh in on Friday. Then I can really push through the final four weeks.

One thing we have been doing is really looking at the nutrition information on the websites of places we used to eat out all the time. Things we thought were 'safe' are far from it! Example, I ate at KFC last week. Just dying for some fried chicken. I know.. not a good thing. But I thought I was doing okay by only ordering the 2 piece and a side. I got a chicken and thigh with green beans and didn't eat the biscuit. As it turns out, what I thought was a safety (our KFC doesn't offer the grilled options by the way) turned out relatively lethal. Not deadly, but not the safety I thought it was going to be.

1 Original Recipe leg - 120 cal.

1 Original Recipe thigh - 250 cal.

1 ser. Green Beans - 25 cal.

1/2 a small Pepsi - 90 cal.

485 isn't bad if you're going to count it as your major meal for the day but I still had dinner to do later in the day.

My tip for the day, make use of the nutrition information provided. There are books out there that carry the calorie count of all our favorite fast food places so we can be making smart choices.

Next time I get a KFC craving, I'll get an extra helping of green beans, pass on the pepsi and go for the unsweet tea instead.

Wherever you choose to eat along the way....

Enjoy the journey!

Biggest Loser Week 1 Begins

Today was the initial weigh-in of our 10-week round of the Biggest Loser challenge at our local mini-grocer. Interesting place for a weight-loss challenge, I know. But it's more of a corner quick grab when you're out of milk, cigs, beer, or need to pick up the weekly gossip.. I mean paper. We are a town of about 600 people. We take our encouragement where we can get it. Tania and Connie are super neat gals who, like many of us, want to get the weight off and think a little camaraderie - and the shot at some spending cash - is a good place to start.

I weighed in this morning at 181.4. I much preferred the 177 my scales showed. I know mine are accurate as I've tested them with the #10 hand weight. So every week I'll post both.

Week 1: 181.4/177

I think my body is sufficiently healed. So my plan for Monday is to get back on the Wii... with the program I had intended to start with before my sinus' had their own plans.

I'll be using the Wii Fit. Doing the stretching, game-type stuff to warm up, then go into the aerobics routine. In the evening I'll play more of the athletic type games like tennis and golf on Wii Sports.

My plan is that once my body is used to activity again, then I'm going to alternate the aerobics stuff with Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009. I've heard this is a really difficult workout so we shall see. I am going to reward myself with Zumba for the Wii when I've stuck with Jillian for 2 weeks. Based on rumors... wish me luck! In the mean time, I'd love to hear what you think of her workouts. Which ones have you tried. What did or didn't you like about them?

When it comes to eating, one program I've found really helpful in the past is FitDay . With FitDay you can track every aspect of your weight loss journey. You can set a Weight Goal, and the program will help you chart how many calories you can safely consume per day based on your activity level and lose pounds. There is a tab for entering your activity and the length of time you participate and it will tell you how many calories you've burned.

The food log is one of my favorite parts of FitDay. I can keep a daily food diary, create my own food list based on either pre-packaged foods or dishes fixed using my own ingredients. So I don't have to go back and recalculate every time I fix a particular favorite dish. For example, select any meat from a long list, pick your method of cooking for the portion and it will tell you how many calories you will use. It really does matter how it's cooked!

How you feel on any given day, at any particular moment will affect how you eat. FitDay provides a Mood for things such as Happiness, Clarity, Health for each day to help you keep an eye on things that might be triggering you to backslide on your journey.

And finally, a journal. A place for you to dump the garbage that can affect your over-all health, not just your weight loss journey.

The best thing about this program is it is password protected. No one need see any of the information but you.

You can use the FREE version on-line. If you'd like it a bit more handy, you might want to purchase the PC version so you don't have to be on-line or the more portable version for the iPhone. Any way you choose to use this tool, it's one of the best friends you make as you travel towards your GOAL.

Enjoy your Journey!

Happy New Year!

Okay, I know we're three weeks into 2012, but trust me I had a really good reason for not getting in here before now. New Years Eve I got hit with a serious sinus infection. I did virtually nothing but veg and sleep for almost 12 days! Without going into details, suffice it to say I was miserable. Thankfully hubby had come home 3 days before and we'd taken care of Christmas. New Years Eve... not so much celebrating. The Nyquil and I were in bed by 9 p.m. LOL Hubby rang in 2012 without me.

In case you're curious as to how hubby did on our challenge... he lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks. I am so proud of him. To keep him on track, I've been keeping an eye on calories. He is a stickler for staying within his calorie range throughout the day, allowing room for his low-cal fudge bar or 1/2 C of no sugar added ice cream for his late evening snack.

And yes.. he is measuring everything! I've tried for years to teach him the visual measuring system I've talked about on here with no success. Now he's using the measuring cups and spoons as well as the food scale. Did I mention I'm proud of him? LOL He lost another 6 pounds the 3 weeks he's home. That's good. The initial 15 was his body adjusting to the new way of eating. Now he's on the even keel of 2 pounds a week.

Thanks to being sick, I relied a little too much on my Mello Yello to keep the throat cleared of junk while I was sick. I didn't gain nor lose a single pound while he was gone. On the up side - I've lost 2 pounds since Monday. I'm watching my calories to keep me on track, too. It will help as over the next three weeks I begin to plan meals ahead of time for when he comes home again. We can look at the list and put a meal together rather than having to figure everything up first.

One of the programs I used to use and am going back to is Fit Day.com.

And that's my topic for tomorrow.

Enjoy the Journey