237.4 - Woo hoo!!! A new low!!

I’m still here! After a few weeks of yo-yo dieting and bouncing between 238 and 245, I am at a new low! I’ve been on track all week and I’m feeling great. I’m motivated to stick to it now (as long as the weight keeps coming off). I’ve been back at the gym a few times this week, and am going to dust off the ol' treadmill tonight and see if I can’t get my butt on it a few mornings a week (and maybe a few evenings, too – if hubby can wrangle the kids for an hour!). My friend/neighbor has a nice elliptical trainer that she’s rarely using, so I’m going to see if she wants to bring it over and we can be workout buddies, keep each other on track and share machines. I found out this week that my gym is closing for 3 weeks so they can re-do the floors. They’ll be closed as of Feb 28 and will re-open the day I leave for Mexico. Damn!!! Oh well, I’m going to have to figure something out. I’m considering getting a universal gym but I don’t think it will get enough use to justify the space it takes up. Wii workouts? Another gym? Videos? I don’t know, but I’ve got another week to make a plan.

I am going to a ‘clothing exchange’ with a bunch of friends tomorrow night, and am planning on getting a bunch of new stuff. I’m finally getting back down into normal sizes so will actually be able to take some stuff! The last few years I’ve been wearing size 20-22 and all my friends are smaller. There is usually a lot of size 16 and 18 stuff, so I’ll be competing for those things now, too!

So yeah, I’m here, I’m on plan, and I’m motivated. I’m hoping to see 235 in the next few days and that will be 20 pounds down!! First big milestone!

239 - It's about time!!!

I’m out of the 240s!!! So excited. My total weight loss for January is 16 pounds. I can deal with that!! My weight has been so up and down these past couple of weeks, bouncing back and forth between 241 and 246. I seem to be back on track with my eating and hopefully can keep it under control and keep the weight coming off now. We are going skiing this weekend with some friends so it’s going to be really hard to stay on track, but I will take several protein shakes with me and just down one of those when I feel like pigging out. One of my diet buddies is coming up with us so we will keep each other on track and motivated, and get out for some nice, snowy hikes together. Should be fun, though! So yeah, the plan for this week is a protein shake for breakfast (along with my usual Chai tea with sugar-free Coffee Mate), then a bologna sandwich for lunch (on lower-carb bread), a small salad if I get hungry, then another protein shake for dinner with some steamed veggies if I need more food. 2 days of that should get me down a couple more pounds and then I can relax a bit while we’re away. Onward and downward! So motivated again!

241.4 - Well, briefly anyway...

So I got down to 241.4 but now I’m back up to 243.4. How does one gain 2 lbs in 2 days? Super frustration has set in. I am having a lot of trouble staying on track in the evenings. It all started on Sunday when we went for lunch with my in-laws. I had a grilled chicken salad and diet coke, but then they bring out this double-fudge cookies & cream cake. Not just a piece, the whole damn cake. So I had a small piece, and then they made me take the rest home. And, with cake being my weakness, I’ve been nibbling at it. I know, I should just throw it out or give it away, but I can’t bring myself to do that. There’s about ¼ of the cake left and it’s now sitting in my freezer, way at the back where I can’t see it. Not sure what I’m saving it for. It’s weird. It’s my birthday tomorrow and we’re going to my parents for dinner. My mom said she’s going to get a cake. Maybe I’ll whip up a low carb cheesecake tonight and we can have that instead! We are also going out to dinner on Friday with a bunch of friends. It's gonna be REALLY hard to stay on track this week. I’ve started doing a Dr. Bernstein type diet. Basically low carb, low fat, low calorie – yes, I’m starving. But if I stick to it, I can lose 3-5 lbs a week, which is exactly what I need. I leave for Mexico in 58 days and ideally would like to be under 200, but I’m not holding my breath for that. I’d be happy to be under 220. Well, not happy, but I’ll take it. So I need to step up the exercise and get serious with my eating.

244 - Woo hoo! See ya, plateau!

Yay!!! That makes a total of 11 lbs for the week! I can’t believe I lost weight over a weekend! And coincidentally, I didn’t work out at all. Huh. I did 20 minutes on the treadmill this morning and am going to continue with that most mornings (if my kids will allow), then also do some sort of movement at night. No weights though… just cardio. I had a good weekend, food-wise - on Saturday I just puttered around the house, hung out with the kids, and didn’t each much. Total change for me, I’m usually grazing all day long on weekends, on crap food. Hubby and I went to a hockey game on Saturday night and I just had a diet coke (no beer – *sniff*). Sunday was my niece’s 6th birthday party and I had some veggies & dip, a few turkey meatballs, and that’s it! It’s soooo not like me to pass up birthday cake. Cake is my weakness. But I didn’t even flinch! Then we took the kids to a ‘Toopy & Binoo’ live show – they loved it and snacked on marshmallows the whole time, but I was good! Not even one! So, I’m re-motivated again. I can do this. I am really hoping to say goodbye to the 240s this week, so my goal is 239 for next Monday’s weigh-in.

247 - Argh! Stuck already!!

I am so frustrated. I nearly cried when I got on the scale this morning. I've been sticking to the low carb plan, working out, not snacking at night - what the hell? I'm wondering if it's the weight lifting, or if my portions are still too big, or both? Tonight I'm going to skip the gym and just have a protein shake for dinner and see if I can't get the damn scale to budge. It's so weird, I was absolutely stuffing my cake-hole with all the crap food I could find over the holidays, and maintained most of the time. Now I'm trying so hard and not eating any junk, and... maintain. OK, rant over, I will keep trying over the weekend and hopefully see a loss. If not, then Monday I may have to re-think how I'm gonna do this!

247 - Down 8 lbs so far!

I'm still here! I've been plugging away, doing the low-carb diet and have gone to the gym the last two days. I'm sore, but feeling pretty good. Funny thing, the scale hasn't moved in a couple of days. I started out on Sunday at 255 (gasp!) then quickly went down to 247 at Tuesday's weigh-in. And I've been at 247 for the last two days. What the hell? I have been eating low carb, but my dinners have probably been bigger than they should be. It's been meat and veggies for dinner, but the portions have been large. Tonight I'm going to have a salad and a protein shake for dinner and see if I can get the scale to move tomorrow. Hubby and I also joined a gym and have agreed to work out together on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday every week. I know it's kind of an odd schedule, but that's just what works for us and childcare... I'll be doing weights/cardio on Tue/Thur and an aquafit-bootcamp on Wednesdays. I'm also going to try to do some exercise at home on the other days - treadmill, Wii, or just walking outside. So, that's the plan and the scoop.

255 - 5 years later, still in the same place

Wow. I totally forgot about this blog. But it's still here! It's been 5 YEARS since I last wrote. A LOT has changed in that time. I am still happily married to the love of my life, and we have two beautiful daughters, ages 2 and 4. Weight wise, I am pretty much exactly where I was 5 years ago, but the bulges are in different places (thanks kids). I am again on the weight loss bandwagon, and it's more than a resolution. We are taking a family trip to Mexico in 10 weeks and I will be damned if I am going to be this fat when we leave. My goal is to be down 30 lbs in the next 10 weeks. So the plan is to cut down on carbohydrates and processed foods, eat more whole foods and try to get some exercise in. The exercise part is hard with 2 little kids, but hubby has agreed to help me out as much as possible. He has some weight to lose too, so we're going to make it a family effort. I've joined up with Jennie's Biggest Blogging Loser (#biggestbloggingloser) and I really, really, really want to win that jackpot. This Mexico trip is completely out of our budget and we weren't even going to go, but my brother is getting married there and my family guilted us into it (and is also chipping in). So, that's it in a nutshell. I'm looking forward to a successful journey and hopefully getting and giving some support via the blogosphere.