Half The Battle... just not sure which battle I'm winning

Well, the last dose of prednisone has been taken...
and my arm is feeling...better?

Okay-to clarify- it feels better than it did but still is not feeling so great.

So,  where does that leave me?

No longer on steroids ...YAY!
And...
I actually lost 3 pounds during the week of steroid therapy!

YAY ME!

But I have been eating junk for the last 5 days...
BBQ chips
A Wendy's double cheeseburger and fries ( and large frosty)
Pizza ( home made but still...)
ice cream-- in multiple forms...
root beer floats
brownie fudge sundaes
coffee milkshakes

Yeah... Ice cream is my achilles heel...

But, today I am able to move with only a little pain...
as long as I move carefully and limit the amount of movement...

My Weight Loss Hero- no, really!

And my  legs feel just fine.

So, walking in place is the plan.

What? I know it's on your lips to ask, but...

In the words of the GREAT SUSAN POWTER...

"Keep moving, keep breathing..."

That is how you win the battle...
One  breath,  one step at a time...

And, hopefully, without any more steroid therapy!

Not Getting Any Thinner... Maybe I Should Do Something About It?

Like I don't know I'm a bit over weight.
Thanks Doctor's office paper work that spells it out...

BMI-33
Morbidly Obese

Again, Thanks!

Okay, this time I really mean it.

That 15 pounds I have gained since September has been bothering me.
And I have intended to do something about it.

Once I wasn't  so tired all the time.
Once I had better weather to go walking in.
Once...oh, who am I kidding.
Just like planning the perfect time to have a kid--- you can NEVER afford them on paper  no matter how much money you  make!
There is never the perfect time to start a diet and fitness routine.
There's always something that will deter you...

IF YOU LET IT!

So I am not going to let the snow or the ice or the ankle deep water from the glacial melt deter me...
Or the steroids I was put on this week for my shoulder injury...

Okay...that might be a deterrent...
Cuz steroids are hell on everyone's weight...

But No!
I will lose weight in spite of a week of steroid therapy...

I WILL!

I will let you know how this works out...

And the winner is... ????

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...ummm, yeah

 I sure hope they do a better job of it than I've been doing!

Yup...

Lennie and George LooneyTunes characters
modeled after Of Mice and Men novel

As one would think, as indicated by the title of this post, my weight loss plans are not going as I had hoped.

In fact, there is no weight loss going on at all.

However, on the good side, there has been no weight gaining going on either, so...

I really have to get off my rear and get it in gear!

I had a goal to lose 9 pounds in the month of October.

Ummm, well, that did not go so well.

So, New Plan!

I will lose 10 pounds in November.

That's it.
The End...

Okay, not really.
I will start walking on the treadmill...
And doing some aerobics videos...

And I will turn the second spare room in the basement ( now empty since ManBoy moved out in August- YAY) into an exercise room...

So I will need to...
1) vacuum and dust
2) move a tv stand and tv in- note to self- do not forget the dvd/vcr combo unit!!!
3) move the treadmill and weight bench in
4) move the loveseat and end table in to make a nice reading area/ relaxation after workout space
5) move the mini fridge in to keep water and yogurt and other healthy snacks in to prevent junk food attacks

Okay... Now that I have a plan I need to decide when to start said plan ...

Decided! Today is that day!
If I get the room in shape today/ tomorrow it will be set up just in time to get the month off to an awesome start and get me back on track ...

Hey, if Mice and Men can make plans
then I sure as heck can plans...
And stick to them!

Let's Get Started... or at least start to get started

When ONE wishes to lose weight ...
ONE must actually DO something to make the weight go away...

Okay...
sounds simple, right?

Well, you would be WRONG!

In order to lose weight ONE must first have the proper accoutrements in which to aid ONE's path to a thinner ONE...
In this case feel free to substitute ME or YOU or GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT for the word ONE at any time...

To get started on the road to losing weight ONE must first decide upon the road on which they plan to travel...

IE: find a gym and procure a membership... or...
purchase home gym equipment like a treadmill or stair climber...
(although you can walk up and down your own stairs for free anytime you want... unless you live in a rancher or ground floor apartment... okay I see why someone may need a stair stepper thingy)...

find a workout buddy...
shouldn't be too hard, I mean everyone is trying to get fit these days...
it just has to be someone who lives in the same area as you, has the same work schedule as you, can get the same free-time away from the family as you AND wants to work out when and how you do...
like I said- Piece of cake... or pie, if you prefer...

find some workout clothes that fit in a way that allows for free movement and air flow to important parts...
like your lungs...
while not making you look like you have either:
1) borrowed clothes from the homeless Sasquatch in yonder woods;
or 2) have painted on your clothes so that every dimple of cellulite is visible in all it's jiggly glory and your muffin tops have actually become full-on muffins-- the giant ones you get at the bakery...

find a diet that you can stick to...
because it tastes good and is easy to fit into your hectic life would be ideal...
but probably because you actually do lose some weight...
which is probably because it tastes like sawdust or dried grass and is easy to grab and go...

And last but by no means least...
ONE must decide why it is that ONE wishes to lose weight in the first place.

This sounds like a no-brainer, I know, but really, it's not.
ONE must figure out why they want to lose weight ....
and be truthful to oneself in the process or NOTHING WILL WORK!

Losing weight because someone else wants you to...
because you want to fit into a special outfit for a special event...
because everyone else in the family is skinnier than you...
These are all real nice...
but they do not have staying power as motivation when the carrot cake is calling your name!

And believe me...
that carrot cake and his friends red velvet and chocolate brownie will be ready and willing to pick up the slack when your will power ebs...

So, let's start to get started losing weight by...
Identifying the reasons why you want to, need to, hope to, wish to...
Lose 10 or 20 or 30 pounds or more...
and be honest...
because you'll only be fooling yourself...

And really, do you want to make yourself look like a fool...
and a Fat Fool at that?

Yeah, me neither...

You Are What You Eat...

I guess that makes me a Spring Mix salad with low-fat small curd cottage cheese and Poppy Seed dressing...

Or a soft pretzel...
Or a handful of dried fruit...
Or a bowl of low-fat chicken soup...
Or fresh strawberries and fat free yogurt...

Yeah, I am not getting much of a variety in my diet these days.

But, it is true that you are what you eat.

I mean, what else would you be?
All your vitamins and minerals and nutrients come from your food...
right?

Wrong!
You get a lot of that stuff from your water too...

So the saying should really be...
You Are What You Eat AND Drink!

But then there are the little things that you breathe in like...
residue from acid rain and toxic fumes from car exhausts and factories...

So the saying should be...
You Are What You Eat and Drink AND Breathe !

And then there are the things that you absorb through your skin...
chemicals and toxins that leach into your system from contact without even knowing...
ingredients in soap and lotions and cheap crayons like formaldehyde and lye and lead...

So the saying should be...
You Are What You Eat and Drink and Breathe and PUT ON YOUR SKIN!

I am a Spring Mix Salad with low fat small curd cottage cheese and poppy seed dressing.
I am Mango-Peach Green Tea.
I am fresh strawberries and fat free yogurt.

I am going to have to REALLY read the labels on everything that I put IN or anywhere NEAR my body from now on...

I'm thinking that perhaps having a limited diet isn't such a bad thing after all?

Weight Loss... past present and future

I originally started this blog to document my weight loss while using the Sensa program.

I started off really well....
And then...

Well, after a few short months the weight loss was at a stand still and...

Then my gall bladder became an issue.

Since November of last year...
Thanksgiving Day to be exact...
I have lost nearly 30 pounds.

I was at an all time high of 222 pounds that day and while shopping the all-night sales at the outlet mall on the Eastern Shore I began to have severe abdominal pain.

Please note...
When I say the pain was excruciating it really was.
This from a woman who gave birth to a 10 pound child without drugs without any problem...

I would have rather given birth to a 15 pound breech baby than go through the pain I had that night...
and for the next 3 weeks until my gall bladder surgery on December 16th.

Since the surgery, just over 8 months ago, I have lost about 20 pounds.
This sounds great except that it has been lost because I can't eat much of anything.

And when I say anything, I mean that quite literally.

Apparently I am one of those people whose body has trouble adjusting to being able to digest food without a gall bladder.

Lucky me!...
NOT!

I spent the entire summer walking about 5 miles a day at the mall...
I did not lose an ounce...
but I did lose inches so there was something good going on...
an interesting side note is that in doing so I also was able to see how a casino is built.

I have gotten into the habit of eating whatever I want...
as long as I will be within steps of a bathroom...
which means I only really eat at home.

Over the summer that is fine since I am home all day long.
But with the coming of this new school year...
and a new job as the school nurse in a local elementary school...
I will once again be forced to abstain from eating all day.

My go-to food of choice is Progresso Lite soup.
I buy it by the case at Sam's Club or Costco and can eat the chicken varieties in relative safety.

Although the lentil is my favorite, it evidently does NOT feel the same way about me.

I am going to continue to track my weight loss journey...
My struggles...
My milestones...
and hopefully will be able to reach my goal weight by sometime next spring...

Okay, my first goal is to lose 20 pounds by Christmas...

Weight Loss Rule #1:
Set small, realistic, attainable goals
this will help to keep you motivated and on track instead of getting discouraged and depressed...

Weight Loss Rule #2:
Eat what you crave... every now and then...
depriving yourself of special treats is a surefire way to sabotage any progress you have made...
and may lead to the ruination of your entire weight loss program.

Remember... Moderation is The Key!

Weight Loss Rule #3:
Get up and MOVE!
In the words of Stop the Insanity Susan Powter... breathe deeply and just move... even if you can only walk in place that's more than you were doing sitting on the couch!

That's all I have for today...
But hopefully for you and me...

It is enough to get back on track and re-focused on this weight loss journey to a healthier and happier ME!

Today Brought to You ... by the Letter P !

Looking back at my day it certainly seems as if the letter P was the influencing factor...

Potato Salad and

Peach Pie al a mode.... 

we'll call that lunch although it was actually eaten at 3pm.

Pasta with meat balls... minus the meat balls

and that would be dinner... eaten at the normal dinner-ish time of 6:30pm.

And throughout the day... 

Peach Mango Green Tea... of course! 

So yes, it most definitely does seem as if my day was indeed sponsored by the Letter P.

I wonder who or what will be tomorrow's sponsor...

But Saturday???

I already know it is being sponsored by the Letter M and the Letter V...

Margaritas

Martinis

Vodka

Nothing but the best in HeMan Hubby's Dragon-winged, eye-poking brass goblet for his and his mother's back yard BBQ  Birthday Party!

Oh and for those inquiring minds who want to know...

I am down to about 192-195 and holding...

However, I am walking at the mall at least 4 days a week...

I walk at a brisk pace for about 90 minutes

It takes between 10 and 15 minutes to traverse 1 lap of the mall...

which equals about 1 mile.

So I am walking roughly 5-7 miles a day and add running and laps in my pool several days a week on top of that...

I know right!

You would think that I would have lost a lot more weight by now but...

Apparently not.