Hi Marie and Terapet (and others in the group in lurk or semi-lurk mode)!
I've been following this thread for a while, after Marie invited me to check it out a year ago or so, but then left 3FC for a while. I hopped back on the site a few weeks ago and decided I really need it...just hearing other people's successes (and trials) makes me focus more on what I need to do, and hopefully I'll figure out a road map of my own to get me headed in the right direction on this journey, because burying my head in the sand obviously isn't working. :-)
To get you up to speed on me, here's some background:
My life is crazy busy, and trying to find a schedule for exercise or the time to focus on lifestyle changes food-wise has been my challenge. Just having time to sit and think and plan is a luxury that is elusive. So I'm nowhere near where the two of you are in terms of calorie counting and exercise and all that you do, but I'd LIKE to be like you. You two are rocking the diet and exercise! So maybe that will be my challenge. :-)
I have 3 boys (almost 18, 13, and 10) - the oldest started college last month but is living at home and needs transportation to bus/trolley stops daily. He's also in the marching band and playing at football games, so there are those to go to as well, and he joined symphonic band. So all of his classes are Tues/Thurs all day and then he has marching and symphonic band 5 nights a week (at different times, of course!). He also marched drum and bugle corps this summer, which kept me hopping with drives to rehearsals twice a week (mostly 70-100 miles away, though 2 weeks were here locally), competitions some weekends, etc. Awesome experience for us both (and if you're interested and really bored, they finally made the video link public so I can let you watch what he did LOL). They brought in a martial arts group from China that was pretty amazing to watch, who performed with them (and made me feel incredibly out of shape!)
My middle son just started 8th grade, so he's in middle school, and my youngest started 5th grade, at the elementary school. So pick ups and drop offs are similar for them time-wise, but opposite directions. They both played in the summer basketball league at the rec center all summer, so there were only 2 days a week we were NOT there, thanks to practices and games not being on the same days. LOL (They'll play next season, too, but we have a couple months off first thankfully!). Little one is also on school safety patrol, which changes up drop off/pick up times for him, and has jogging club before school 2 days week (LOVE that they implemented that a few years ago and so many kids get up early to do that!). My husband usually does the morning drop off while I sleep, since I work really late.
Then there's me....I do noon duty at the elementary school, supervising the kindergartners at the lunch tables and then up on their playground. Last year we had a huge group of 100 kinders, this year we're at 130...with 2 of us adults to watch them all. This soon in the school year, it's pretty much organized chaos. LOL I also work for 2 different medical transcription companies...one I work for Mon-Thurs days (and evenings if work comes in then), and the other I work Mon-Thurs evenings/nights (some daytime if certain work types are there early). Add in homework help, dinner, etc., and a little work can stretch for several hours. With the 2nd job, I also work every other weekend, Friday-Sunday, and those days are REALLY long...starting mid morning and generally not finishing till 4 or 5 am (partly due to family interruptions, but mostly just work volume). Both of those jobs are from home. I also freelance with a publishing company with a monthly project. Basically, I get 2 days off out of every 14, which is wearing me out...but we do what we have to do, right? :-) Before I had kids, I worked for the Dept. of the Navy as a budget analyst, and graduated college with a horticulture degree.....it's been a strange morphing of professions, but being home with my kids all these years and the flexibility to be at their schools and volunteer has been awesome.
So, if you've made it this far, there's a rundown of the chaos that is my life. On the weight loss/health front...I was kind of doing my own thing a year ago rather than anything specific and it was slowly working, though I felt I was spinning my wheels at times and going nowhere. Then I stalled, and my doctor noticed. I also have borderline blood sugars, though LDL, cholesterol, etc. are good -- but he's really watching and wants LDL down some and blood pressure to stay normal. He said technically if I was classified as diabetic, my parameters are "normal" in that range and he wouldn't treat with medications, but yet I'm not "normal" normal -- so I'm in no-man's land. With everything going on, and not being able to walk/exercise consistently, I hit one of those points where I quit actively doing anything. I'm behind on my appointment with him, and while I subconsciously thought about food choices, etc., I wasn't actively making the best. As a result, I avoided lab draws along with my scale for several months. Recently, I was ready to recommit and I came back to 3FC one night, started reading, and feel like it's time for me to hop on the wagon with you rather than waving to you as it goes by. When I did get brave and get on the scale, I had only gained 1.5 lbs from when I had last weighed in April (though that was up 10 lbs from last January). I was pretty surprised! Weight definitely shifted, though, as pants are tighter. LOL Seeing that I hadn't done TOO much damage was a happy day. So now my goal is to start consciously eating better, finding a way to work in some walks consistently, and to get back into routine medical appointments and lab draws (once my other habits stabilize the blood tests).
I'm hoping to finally figure out calorie counting and have a plan I can work with rather than just winging it like I am now. I'm down 3 lbs but I know I need something more solid and consistent to really make this happen. Looking forward to hanging out with you on this thread! Thanks for letting me be part of it!
