Oh to be just overweight!

I’ve met/passed my new years goal!!  Now, I have to at least maintain it through the rest of the year.  I’m so exited to say I’m down 11 pounds…25 to go to be overweight!  However, I am concerned how I will handle all the time away from home these next 2 weeks.  I know I CAN make it through, but this is new territory for me.  It makes me hungry to just think about Christmas!  I will be sure to post more regularly after the new year.  Until then, pray for me!!

I have pretty much gotten over the strep throat and the “cold” that followed.  Now I have to get back on track.  I have been good about my food, except for my planned cheat meal.  The exercise was, however, a challenge while I was sick.  Now I got my new DVD and tonight I will gove it a try.  Results will be posted.  So, my weight has been level for the last week or so, but no big deal.  At least I didn’t do anything too stupid and throw myself off course.  I am hoping for a 2-3 pound loss before Monday, so I can go into Christmas week with confidence that I can maintain the 10 pound loss through the rest of the month.  I know that seems like a lot, but I know it’s do-able since I’ve been stalled out for a week.  I will be traveling with my exercise DVD and begging my hubby to help me stay on track.  1.6 pounds ’til I’m completely in the 180’s (189.0).  It’s not too much to ask, is it? 

I thought I weathered the weekend pretty well.  I watched my portions at meals and ate very light at the supper after the big lunch meal.  I had very limited amounts of treats/pie and tried to drink lots of water (but it was mostly at night shortly before bed).  Long story short…I gained a pound or so.  I guess that’s not bad for an out-of-town “Christmas” weekend at the grandparents’, but I was hoping to stay even.  I didn’t exercise and that’s probably what did me in.  I have been sick for the last week and have had to scale back my exercise due to lack of energy and the coughing fits that it sent me into.  Strep throat is no fun!  This much I know.  Usually I recover much faster, but this time it really took hold!  Oh well…the point is I am not quitting or getting discouraged.  I know I must keep moving forward.  My new workout DVD is on it’s way from Amazon.  That should help me stay on track too.  Current Goal:  Get well and get back to pre-weekend weight!!

Not your normal mix of feelings here, but let me explain.  I went to the doc today and she let me know I had strep.  I was so happy, because that means I got medicine that will make this pain go away!!  Also, I worked out last night despite not feeling really well.  I thought I should try to stay on track as much as possible early this month since I have at least 3 Christmases in the next few weeks and can’t afford to slip up now.  So my other reason for happiness:  I am down another pound+ today!  I was thrilled!!  I made it through 2 of my kids’ birthdays in the last 2 weeks, now on to family events.   Our first Christmas is this Saturday.  It shouldn’t be too disastrous.  I behaved well at this one last year.  Just have to remember….NO GRAZING!!  I also realized my calculations were off before.  I will be “overweight” at 163 (I did an online calculator this time).  So, only 28.4 pounds ’til I’m there!!  I should throw a party when I reach “overweight”.  I’m excited to just thinking about it!     

I’m literally sick and tired.  I must’ve caught something from one of the kids or something.  I’m still down another pound, so I won’t even complain!  Only 3-4 pounds ’til I reach my New Years goal.  I’m very confident I can reach it.  I’ve been putting some thought into making a list of non-food rewards.  In the past, DH and I have always rewarded ourselves or celebrated with a big fattening meal out at one of our fave restaurants (2 of which are buffets!).  Now I am thinking of wonderful rewards like a massage, a piece of exercise or health equipment, etc.  My reward for meeting my new years goal is to join some kind of support group like Weight Watchers or TOPS.  I’m looking forward to connecting with people locally/in person since I’ve really enjoyed the support and encouragement of 3FC online.  Oh…Cool thing…I got a new scale that measures body fat and stuff.  I love it!  It’s so sick that I’m getting excited over such a weird thing, but oh well.  DH likes it too.  It gives a more complete picture…and more to think about than just weight.  I may set some goals based on body fat instead of just weight.  Yipee!!

Another pound gone!  I love it at the beginning when the weight comes off relatively easily.  If I could keep to a pound a day the whole time this would be a cinch!!  Oh well, I’m happy for the encouragement that it gives me at the outset.  Now, I gotta run…hubby’s coming home tonight!!

Down another pound and a half today!  I am starting a 3 month Biggest Loser challenge on 3FC which should help me stay on track for at least that long.  I just realized this coming year (2009) is my next high school class reunion.  I don’t have any info about it yet, so I don’t know if I can even go, but it’s another tool to motivate me toward a healthier lifestyle.  I don’t really care what those people think of me, but I’d like to go and maybe catch up with some long-lost acquaintances.  I keep in touch with the few people I was close with in school and they are well aware or what I look like, etc.  But nobody wants to show up to something like that as “the fat chick” that people don’t even recognize.  That somehow reminds me…I am so jealous of the difference in pants or dress sizes for people who are my weight or more, but taller (sometimes much taller).  I guess I haven’t mentioned this here, but I am short (5′2″) and wear a size 18.  I now weigh 194.4 and really didn’t think much of my weight/height/pant size relationship until I got on 3FC.  OMG!  There are people on there that weigh the same as me and wear 2 or more sizes smaller than me!!  It’s like, “As if I’m not punished enough by not being able to reach things and having to have most of my pants hemmed…now I find out I wear 2-3 sizes larger than those tall ladies!!”  (Tall being anything over 5′5″, in my book).  God bless ‘em, I’m sure there’s some down side to being tall (at least there better be!).  Anyway, all just tools to motivate me to keep going and I hope when I’m a size 8, I will no longer be thinking, “I bet that tall chick is a 4.”  

I’m thrilled to post that I am 3 pounds closer to being overweight…just 40 more to go!  I was so happy I even put broccoli in my spaghetti sauce and it was so small the kids didn’t even notice.  The activity level has been up, though somewhat involuntarily (due to shoveling snow).  Anyway, thank God for giving me the strength to try again on the path to a healthier lifestyle.  Otherwise, I’m pretty positive I’d be still beating myself up over past “diet” failures…and there’d be plenty of beating to do.  But today is a new day and my confidence is growing that I could be down to the appropriate weight ballpark by next summer.  It would be so sweet to be less self-conscious in a swimming suit!  I don’t think of myself as a terribly self-conscious person, but there’s something about being nearly naked in a skin tight piece of nylon/lycra in front of strangers that can make even the hardiest person blush.  Anyway, today is going down and as a “good day” in my book.

My mom and I agreed at Thanksgiving to have a sort of contest for Christmas.  Whoever loses the most weight by the time we celebrate Christmas at her house has to do a certain chore/favor for the other one.  My mom is slightly taller and heavier than me, but she is very discouraged with her appearance and weight.  She wants to start again (she’s tried many things, many times), so I was hoping we could help each other.  I don’t want to make her feel guilty or whatever.  I’m just hoping to encourage her that she can do it, even though there are moments when I’m not sure if I can.  Anyway, how do I help encourage/motivate her without driving her crazy with checking-in?  I also want to win, but hope it doesn’t discourage her if she loses.  She’s had enough dissappointment with weight issues.  She works hard (a nurse) and makes “convenient” food choices.  She and my dad love a good Chinese Buffet…okay so do I…but it’s part of their lifestyle.  To top it off, somehow my dad is losing weight and down to a new low and he often eats horribly.  I guess what my parents do with their weight is their choice, but my mom and I are very good friends and I know she wants this.  Oh well.  Enough about that.  I’ll let you know how I’m doing with it and I hope for the same success for her! 

Well, as I mentioned, I like to think of myself as I was in my younger years:  active, vibrant, attractive, and healthy-ish.  The thing is I am officially OBESE!!  What the heck?!  Sure, I know I am overweight, but obese?  That seems a little cruel, doesn’t it?  Well, none-the-less here I sit well into the obese category on the BMI chart.  So, as sad as it may seem to healthy folks, my first long-term GOAL is to be OVERWEIGHT (rather than OBESE).  That goal requires me to either get a foot taller, which I understand is quite unlikely at my age OR lose about 43 lbs.  Personally, I’d rather get taller.  It seems the easier option, but I guess I have to resign myself to the fact that I indeed must take the longer, harder route of weight loss.   I have batted around about 10 lbs in the last couple years, but with the help and encouragement of you all and my family and friends here, I will conquer much more than those silly 10 lbs.  Today, was a decent day so far.  The scale didn’t move, but I won’t get discouraged.  If it stays that way for a couple more days, I will make necessary adjustments to my diet and/or exercise.  I’m in a contest with my mom and really want to win (but want it to be close), but more on that later!