New Year, New Start?

Hello!  It seems with the holiday season, I kinda gave up on losing any weight or getting in shape.  Thankfully, I didn't GAIN any weight, so I'm not starting OVER, just starting ANEW.  :)

I've been thinking about trying out the P.I.N.K method; saw it on Dr. Phil, and it looks more in depth than W.W.  I did W.W. after having Aidan, my 4 year old, and it worked great, I lost weight like crazy, but I'm thinking it was only because I was working on the ramp at the airport and not counting that as excersize.  Because when I was working at a desk after having Asher, it did NOTHING for me.  But they don't really place an emphasis on exercise, just watching what you eat. 

I need motivation to exercise.  Watching what I eat has helped me maintain, but I want to LOSE.  I don't know if this will work for me, but I'm willing to give it a shot.  It's cheaper overall than a gym membership, and easier--I don't have to lug my kids anywhere or find someone to watch them so I can hit the gym.

Also, it's come to my attention that I need a dream.  I was reading a friend's blog, and she was talking about how she's kinda stalled out lately--she's living her dream from when she was young, and has realized that she needs a new dream.  And it occurred to me that I'm in the same boat.  I have a loving husband, 2 wonderful children, a home in which to raise my family, great neighbors, and a church family that I love.  My health isn't as tip-top as I would like.  I'm still hovering around 204 lbs.  Which doesn't look HORRIBLE on my 5 foot 9 inch frame, but it's not flattering.  I look at pictures of myself when I was in Maine, how I thought then that I was heavy, and WISH I was back at that weight.

Just "losing weight" isn't working for me, though.  I need something more...concrete.  I think I need to commit to running a 5k or something similar, though I'm not going to commit to that just yet.  Maybe I commit to committing to running a 5k?  :)

One thing I need to do is commit to writing on here more.  Maybe once a week?  Because just writing this post is motivating me.

Update!!!

As of today, my mother-in-law has lost 51 lbs. using this method described earlier on this blog. (Remember?  4 to 5 8-ounce meals a day and 6-8 glasses of water?)  She said that when her sister was visiting they had American chop suey and strawberry shortcake--both big favorites--so she weighed out 4 ounces of both and enjoyed her meal!  I am totally getting a food scale.

Way to go Iris!!

the weight of health: can you be FAT and still be HEALTHY???

yes you can!!! hahaha! i know i haven't posted in a long while, but i do check up on the blog and read everyone's posts and comments a couple times a week so KEEP ON POSTING!!

anyway, i regularly get SPARKPEOPLE updates and articles in my email and saw this one today and it reminded me of the comment i left on mal's latest post about how i believe that people can be relatively healthy and still be overweight. now, i don't say this because i want or intend to be a fat girl for the rest of my life, but rather because as a female who has almost always struggled with her weight, i can tell you that over the past ten years i have personally experienced the various stages of being thin and healthy, thin and unhealthy, fat and unhealthy, and yes, even fat and healthy (SHOCK!!). now you could say "but all the doctors and research and conventional wisdom tell us that the state of being overweight is unhealthy". but if there is one thing i've learned from my extensive years in college it's that conventional wisdom (usually derived from scientists and research) soon becomes traditional which eventually becomes old-fashion (because of new research conducted by new scientist) and in my experience this is particularly true when it comes to the "science" of human health. now for me personally, i have struggled with some serious health issues over the past few years and they can all be tied into being fat. the catch is, however, that when i first experienced these problems i was not fat at all! in fact, i would say that my fatness has come about primarily because of these health problems, not the other way around and in actuality since i've been fat, i've never been diagnosed with a new health problem. the reason i am addressing this is not because i'm a fan of obesity, i am not going to join the fat club of america or sue a clothing company for not carrying a plus size. i plan to lose weight simply because i know and believe that health issues can occur by the extra fat carried around. the dead weight (which is what i call fat) that your body carries. i am addressing this issue because i have personally witnessed the prejudices and assumptions placed on fat people, and while it may be an annoyance or esteem-killer to hear it from friends, family and strangers, i think it is especially harmful to have these assumptions and prejudices made by your healthcare provider.

for example, when i was 19 years old i was a freshman in college and weighed all of 115 lbs. Unlike a lot of people, i did not put on the notorious "freshman 15", in fact, i did not put on any weight at all that year and it wasn't because i was being particularly healthy either (i didn't exercise, i didn't diet, and there were all you can eat ice cream and waffle bars in the cafeteria of which i would usually have one on top of the other!) however, despite being thin, that year i was diagnosed with clinical depression, insomnia, and was placed on prescription medications for severe back pain. over the next two years i did gain about 45lbs as i dealt with my increasingly debilitating mind. at one point i moved back home and lost twenty pounds and when i moved from home to hawaii i weighed 140lbs, which, though considerably heavier than the 115 i was when i started college, i was now 22 years old, had been through some stuff and 140lbs was still considered within the "healthy weight range" according to the body mass index or BMI (which is a WHOLE other post!). now, in hawaii i not only suffered even more from my depression, but i was now additionally diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and something that one doctor said was an ovarian cyst while another thought it was endometriosis. i also was experiencing problems with my legs that no one seemed to be able to figure out. whenever i went in to see the doctor (which during this time i saw 4 doctors, 1 physician assistant, 1 nurse, and 2 psychiatrists), not one of them suggested that any of my health problems had anything to do with my weight or activity level. the reason i am bringing all of this up is because during all of the times that i was relatively thin, i did not have one healthcare provider suggest to me that any of my health problems were in anyway connected to my weight. however, since i have been obese, almost every time i've gone in to see a doctor they almost always suggest that my weight is the reason i am having problems until i explain that i had the problem long before i ever had the weight. now, i do not blame the doctor, they are simply regurgitating their training which is always in line with popular research which right now says that if a fat person walks into the room complaining of a headache then it's because she's fat. and though i do believe and understand that obesity can cause and advance all of the problems i previously mentioned, including the depression and anxiety disorder, the point is that in my case i had the illness before i was even fat.

anyway, this is kind of a long post in order to make my point. but i really just wanted to point out that although obesity can be dangerous because it can bring with it a whole host of medical problems, it is important, especially for physicians, to realize that not everything wrong with a fat person is connected to their weight. if your patient comes in complaining of a headache, yes, consider it might be because she is suffering from sleep apnea caused by her weight, but also consider that she might not have sleep apnea but rather interrupted sleep caused by her husband's snoring and a headache caused by the stress of raising three kids. it's just a thought.

My Get Healthy Strategy:

I got myself a puppy!  His name is Bandit, and he's an American Bulldog/Pitbull  mix.  He's 6 months old, great with the kids, and freaking adorable.  I love him.

I've had some health issues lately, been on leave from work because of the stress, and watched my weight creep up to 212 lbs two weeks ago.  Granted, it was at the doctor's office that I got that last number from, so I was probably only 208, haha.

Anyway, Bandit has been such a blessing.  Because he's so active, I need to take him for at least one 30 min walk a day, and then if I don't take him for another walk, I at least go outside and play with him, wrestle, and play catch.  I run with him, too.

I knew I was on the right track when I went to yet another doctor appointment and my weight was DOWN a few pounds.

As of yesterday, I weigh 202.8!!!  I'm *thisclose* to the good side of 200 lbs!!!  :)

Sweets Attack

I have been on a massive sweet binge lately. Not that that's a big surprise to anyone. I do try to keep my sweets under control--Mike and I are both big preachers to HEALTH not WEIGHT, if that makes sense. Obviously health and weight are connected, but as someone who knows firsthand what it's like to be thin and not particularly healthy, I feel it's important to keep a clear distinction between the two.

So, in my effort to keep myself over the sweets attack, I am focusing on not making cookies and instead making a dent in the gigantic container of dates we have in the fridge. (Admittedly, there is a bit of a dent, but it's largely from making date squares. For those of you who don't know, date squares+healthy=:(, BUT date squares+yummy=:)  )

I do love dates though, so this really shouldn't be difficult. Anyway, so I thought I'd share with you some of the health benefits of dates. I am getting my information from here, but I will put some highlights on here for you.

-Dates are rich in dietary fiber, which prevents LDL ("bad") cholesterol absorption. Dietary fiber also binds to cancer causing chemicals in the colon, which prevents abdominal cancers.
-Dates contain antioxidants called tannins (the same antioxidants found in teas). Tannins have anti-infective, and anti-inflammatory properties.
-They contain a lot of vitamin A, beta-carotene, and lutein, which are all antioxidants that help to fight numerous cancers.
-Dates contain a lot of iron, potassium, calcium, manganese, copper, and magnesium.
-Dates are rich in the B-complex group of vitamins and vitamin K.

So, hows THAT for a super-fruit. And they're sweet to boot! Not to mention, they always make me think of Harrison Ford, and that's always a good thing.

Fridge Sign

Here's a quote for the fridge:

"Nothing tastes as good

As THIN feels!"

7 Habits That Keep Us Fat

And yes, I recognized one or two of these things in myself (I promise that I will try very hard not to eat your food again Casey).  Here are the bad habits along with the good habits that we need to--and CAN--develop to overcome them.  http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44063730/ns/today-today_health/

***Also, I've been asked several times for an update on my mother-in-law's progress on the 8-ounces-of-food-every-3-hours diet and as of 2 days ago she says that she is still doing it and still happy with her downward progress!

WoOt!

I know it's been too long since I've posted, but I've been reading everyone's posts. I found the last one particularly interesting.

I've been eating a salad a day for the last couple of weeks, as well as making sure at least 60% of my plate is vegetables rather than meat, and it's working!

I weighed in this morning at 205.2--I've lost 7 lbs!!!!

Oh, and I read a column in yesterday's paper, and Dr Oz says when you measure your waist, you're supposed to suck your gut in, like you're trying to impress someone. That was news to me. And a woman's waist is supposed to be 32.5 inches or less.

Just FYI.

Four Rules for Weight Loss

My mother-in-law was telling Casey about this yesterday and said that she had decided to try it , so she bought a food scale and began last Friday.  She's been sticking to it for 5 days and she's lost 20 lbs.  I'm just sayin'.

Almost...

Another .5 lb. and I will have lost a total of 10 lbs.  Unfortunately, it's Saturday morning and the weekends aren't usually that great for me, so we'll see where I am on Monday morning.  Wish me luck!

Sweets...

The past two weeks have been so bad for me. I made brownies on Tuesday two weeks ago for the kids I was watching and it's been all downhill from there. The Fourth of July was absolutely no help in starting out week number two with its grilled burgers and homemade gelato.

And leftover gelato.

Mike and I are usually really good about our rule to only have/make sweets over the weekend--foregoing any extenuating circumstances like a holiday. But on holidays, we have the sweets, then they're gone and we don't deal with it all week. But this has just been ridiculous.

And so for the next week, starting tomorrow, I am OFF the sugar. And I'm resolved to work out (really work out, not going for a leisurely stroll) every day. I mean, really, there's no excuse except that I tell myself I have far better things to do. And certainly some things are better, but not enough things to fill up 24 hours. It's all about priorities, and this is now a priority.

Report!

Okay--here's a quickie.  Lost .5 lbs. this week--everything downward is good!  AND on Sunday, after a very long dry spell, somebody actually said I looked very nice in the skirt I had on.  Okay--it was Eden, but still....

Thyroid?

The thyroid has a big job: The hormones it secretes help regulate heart rate, maintain healthy skin, and play a crucial part in metabolism. When the gland is sluggish (hypothyroidism), it can rob you of energy, dry out your skin, make your joints ache, cause weight gain, and kick-start depression. When it becomes overworked—hyperthyroidism—and produces too much hormone, it can cause racing heart, sleep disturbances, and weight loss. That's a lot of grief for a gland the size and shape of a buckeye butterfly. 
Given what can go wrong, you may be surprised to hear that about half of the estimated 27 million Americans with thyroid disease remain undiagnosed, according to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
Most people with thyroid disease, about 80 percent, have the hypo version. Should symptoms drive you to make a doctor's appointment, one of the first things your physician will ask is if you have a relative with the disease, since thyroid disease tends to run in families. Your risk also increases as you get older; in addition, being female (the disorder is as much as eight times more common in women), or having another autoimmune disorder such as type 1 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis can worsen your odds. 


Here is how you can test yourself for hypothyroidism--this was sent to me by Janel--


If you suspect hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid function) – you may consider the following methods and tests to help identify this problem: 

Symptom Questionnaire

Complete a questionnaire on hypothyroid symptoms such as the one found in books by Mary Shomon’s Living Well with Hypothyroidism or Richard and Karilee Shames’ Thyroid Power. You may want to bring a completed questionnaire to your physician for his or her review. 

Basal Temperature

Record your underarm basal body temperature with a glass thermometer (not digital). The procedure for doing so is the following:

1. Get a glass thermometer, not digital (the digital ones stop reading after a minute or two and are not as accurate). Non-mercury glass thermometers are now commercially available at Walgreen’s and other pharmacies (if you have trouble locating a mercury thermometer). 

2. Shake down the thermometer the night before you do the test (using your muscles to shake the thermometer will raise your temperature and throw off the test). 

Place the thermometer at your bedside with a book (the book will be obvious in a moment).

3. Go to sleep without an extraneous heat source such as a bed partner (spouse, dog, etc), an electric blanket or on a waterbed (they are heated). You are allowed to wear pajamas and use as many blankets as you desire, as they do not throw off the test. 

When you wake up in the morning (or if you sleep during the day, when you wake up after at least 4 hours of sleep), use as little movement as possible (all movement moves your muscles and raises your temperature) and place the thermometer in your armpit. Why the armpit? Patients with low thyroid often have allergies or get sinus infections – which raise the temperature inside the mouth. Patients rarely get armpit infections, so this site is more reliable. I have had only one patient who had a difference in temperature between armpits, but that was due to unusual anatomy (she had something called an atrial-venous malformation (AVM) in one armpit). Leave it there for at least ten minutes (hence, you have a book to read. J)

4. Women who still have periods should take their temperature over the first 3 days of their period and average the numbers. Women who have had a hysterectomy but still have at least one ovary will probably want to test over a period of 14 days and use the 3 days with the “lowest" readings. Men and postmenopausal women can test for any 3 days and average. 

5. Normal axillary body temperature is between 97.4 and 98.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures below that are suggestive of low thyroid.

Resource: about.com and oprah.com

Yum-num-num-num

Check this out--I'm sure everyone who reads this is going to find something they like!  Snacks!  And all 100 calories or less AND healthy for you (see #26 and 27).  No need to thank me... :)

All Good Things Go Down

It's a success whether it's fast or whether it's slow, or big, or small, as long as it's down!

And I lost another pound.  Oh yeah. :D

C'mon Ladies!

Blog it off!  When you're cravings are ready to drive insane just log in and type it all here--talk yourself right out of it.  Think how great you're going to look in those skinny jeans.  Remember how clothes used to feel so comfortable you didn't even think about it?  You be in charge of you, not food in charge of you!

Thanks to Janel, Bob, Mal, and MJ for posting so far.  Post anything that you think will be motivational, inspirational, or just recreational--RE-creating is what it's all about my dears!  WE GONNA LOSE IT LOSE IT!

Weigh In

Well, this is kind of convoluted (that's what my mother would say anyway), but here goes.  When I started out I weighed 153 lbs.--I'm 5'4".  After a week on Atkins, I dropped the 6 lbs. to 147--the weight loss helped me ignore the fact that I felt blah.  After another week on Atkins - nothing but a headache.  After a weekend of self-soothing (aka eating), I weighed 152--slow learner, quick gainer.  After a week on the John-Alexa- blah-blah-blah diet, I weighed 148.5 lbs and this morning (the end of the 4th week) I weighed 146.5. :D  I'm a happy camper!

I'm also getting up at 6 am every morning to study scriptures for 30 minutes in peace and quiet and working out at the gym: MWF=weight training and 20 min on treadmill; TTH=40 min on treadmill; SS=I don't get up at 6 and I don't go to the gym.  Works for me!

Making Time

This is probably the fifth time I've tried to post. I keep getting distracted. Between the 3 year old, the 17 month old, potty-training (just the 3 year old), naps (for both, sometimes for me, too), the upheaval going on at my and my husband's place of work, and the insane stress of buying a house (we close in TWO DAYS!!), well, it's pretty easy to get distracted.

But the thing is, I NEED to make time for myself.

And I NEED the accountability that doing this on a blog will provide for me.

First weigh-in, today, Wednesday, June 8th, is 212.6 lbs. I'm 5'9".

And I could go into all the reasons I weigh what I weigh, but that's not the point of this. The point is to LOSE it.

I recently had my thyroid checked, and thankfully it came back normal (though I'd like to know where in the normal spectrum I fell, because this isn't the first time my doctor has wanted to check my thyroid...).

In any case, as things are now, I'm good to go in getting rid of this weight. The buying a house process is winding down, we've got everything we need paperwork-wise, just need to sign, (FRIDAY!!! 11am!!!!), and then starts the moving process, but that's something I'm excited to get done, not a chore that's going to stress me out. Oh, and did I mention we are NEVER moving again???? Yeah.

Now I need to make time for me.

Starting today, I'm going to write down everything that I eat. I'm not going to write down exact measurements, that is too tedious, but I am going to pay attention to portion sizes. I'll only drink 2 sodas today. Believe me, that's gonna be difficult enough.

That's enough for now. Otherwise, I'll get overwhelmed! :)

Post-Atkins

What?!!!  POST-Atkins?  How can that be?

I know, I know.  But here's the thing: I CAN'T LIVE LIKE THAT!!!  Atkins may be the final solution for oh so many, but not for me.  So, I've gone back to "The-John-Alexa-No-Fail-Get-Control-Of-Yourself-Diet" which has one hard and fast rule that is incredibly easy to remember (though sometimes tempting to ignore):

The-John-Alexa-No-Fail-Get-Control-Of-Yourself-Diet
1. Don't eat so much. Duh.

It's working.  And the good thing is that I know that I CAN live like this even after I've lost what I need to lose.  And I feel good--no "Atkins Flu".  And, best of all, slowly but surely the scale is going down.   I've almost lost those 6 pounds that found me hiding behind Atkins.... ;)

Two Words:

Krav Maga.

Mike and I went to try out this not-so-ancient form of hand-to-hand combat at a gym here in town. They have three classes a week and they were giving us a free trial, but because the two self-defense/combat training classes (which is what we were particularly interested in) are on nights Mike has class we could only make it to the Krav Maga fitness class.

Two more words: holy crap.

I thought I was going to pass out in the first fifteen minutes. After the warm-up it wasn't quite so bad--I guess that's what the warm up is for--but now that it's the next morning everything between the soles of my feet and my lower back is in exultant post-intense-workout pain.

You have got to YouTube this stuff.

A Hard Day

I'm having a rough day today Atkins-wise.  Alexa said to me on the phone that I sounded tired.  I feel...not tired...weak, deprived, low-energy, unmotivated.  As I said to Alexa, nothing a big slab of cheesecake wouldn't fix!  I DON'T WANT TO SLIP BACKWARDS!!!  I don't want to go back to only having lost 5 or 4 or no pounds!  I'm hanging on by my fingernails today folks!  Yaaaaaaaahhh!

fight back the belly bulge

here are some articles about the dangers of extra fat around the belly; http://www.riversideonline.com/health_reference/Womens-Health/WO00128.cfm, http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2008/03/26/belly-fat-is-linked-to-dementia-risk, http://www.joyfullivingservices.com/handouts/dangersofmidsectionweightgain.pdf.

recent studies have shown that excess belly fat in particular is more dangerous than any other kind of fat because it is visceral fat that lies deep inside the abdomen and more directly affects the internal organs. having excess around the midsection has been linked to an increase in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancers and now they are finding that it also greatly increases risks for parkinsons and alzheimer's disease in middle age men and women. but never fear! each of these articles explain just how much is too much and give good advice on how to tone your stomach while at the same time lowering your chances for these diseases, but all of that's at the end. ;)

Week 1 Report

LOST

6 UNwanted pounds!

Oh where oh where can those little pounds be?

They may be on you, but they're not on me!

Tee-hee-hee!

So far...

I've been feeling good, but yes, just a tad hungry and still a bit like I'm not quite sure what I'm doing.  I think most of the latter feeling comes from not wanting to have to think--you know--it's so easy just to have someone tell me what to eat.  But this isn't just a weight-loss diet.  I want, like Janel said, a new me.  A healthier me, especially as I go into my older years.  I can do it!  Booyah!

Shhhh....

This is kind of a secret public blog--an oxymoron, I know, but I want to have it just for those of us who have a vested interest. And anyone WE invite of course.  ;)

First Day to A Better Me

There is no better time to start than NOW! Can't wait to see our first week's results! Good luck this week:)

The Atkins Maze

I just registered on the Atkins site today and although they have a lot of information and tools, I am feeling a little overwhelmed.  What keeps me going is that 1) Atkins has been around so long and has had so many fans that I figure if they can figure it out, so can I; and 2) Janel has been successful with Atkins before, so she knows what she's doing even if I don't.

I started out by using the tool to calculate my BMI and the site recommended that I start with the "OWL" (Ongoing Weight Loss) which is phase 2, but I'm starting with phase 1.  Phase 1, which is called "Induction" is only for 2 weeks and I think I can handle it--in fact, I think I need it to give me a kick start!  I also printed out their list of foods I can eat in this phase and have it stuck on my fridge.  No more than 20 net carbs in this part and 12-15 of those have to be "foundation vegetables"--pretty much salad veggies.

Anyway, I'm off and running.  I hope. :)

Heeere We Go!

We gonna lose it, lose it! Yes we are!

This blog is for support posts.  Whatever helps you is sure to be a help to someone else, so share it!  Is it the shoes you wear? The music you listen to? An article you read?  What helps you stay motivated, have a good attitude, or gets you back on track when you've strayed into forbidden paths? Let us know and spread the love around!

We're going to try to do a little post  at least once a week (by "we" I mean all the team members of this blog--thanks all!)  Other than that there are no other requirements--you can post your beginning stats, or not; words of wisdom from your own experience, whatever!  You don't have to be doing the Atkins diet--do whatever works for you--but come here at least once a week to do a brief post and make comments.

Before you know it, we'll be saying "We done and lost it, lost it!"