Update on my weight lost

As female or at least I know I do we pay too much attention to the scales.  But sometimes when the scales don't move like we think they should we become frustrated and give-up.  I know I am bad about it.  This week I think I've done good but the scales doesn't reflect it.
I have found an app on my Nook tablet called Loseit.  I can keep a record of what I eat and my exercising.  And on the days that I exercise I seem to eat less, because I either burn more that I eat or don't miss it by much.
For Valentine's Day I told Scott not too buy me any candy and he didn't.  I told him what I really wanted was to start going to the gym here in town.  It's an all women's gym and I love it.  I got 7 days free to see if I would like it.  And I did so this past Monday I joined.  I hope to get to the point where I can go 6 days a week,  this week I made to 4.  The gym has helped me feel so good about me.  I can't remember the last time I felt this good about myself.
I started out doing 5 minutes on a stationary bike, then twice around the exercise circuit, and finish with 10 minutes on the treadmill.  I am now up to 10 minutes on the bike, twice around the circuit and 45 minutes on the treadmill.  In distance I made a mile and 3/4 this morning.  I looked up a 5K walk and told Scott that's only 3.1 miles.  I'm halfway there.  So that's something else I would like to do in the near future. 
I will get weighed and measured again at the gym on the 12th.  So I'm excited to see how much difference there isI know I have dropped one size so far.   But if I did look at the scale I have lost 21 pounds so far.  My goal when I started was to lose 20 by the time I go back to the Doctor this month.  Whether I come off the blood pressure medicine this month or 6 months from now.  I'm not stopping until I reach my goal weight.

Hodge Podge Wednesday

Straight to the point because it's nice and sunny today and the outside is calling me.  So to join in the fun click on over to Joyce's blog and answer your own questions

1. The Hodgepodge falls on the last day of February this year, a leap year. How will you spend that extra day?
Today is Scott's birthday so we celebrated with the kids Saturday while his kids were here.  But today I will fix his favorite meal for dinner.  Meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

2. What has recently required a leap of faith on your part?
Some will think this is weird, but a golden retriever took up here back in December.  You could see his ribs he was so hungry.  He was frustrating at first chewing on everything and dragging stuff up in the yard.  But now that he has grown out of that stage we had all become attached to him.  Well Saturday night he disappeared and all day Sunday we drove around calling him.  Monday morning I prayed a simple prayer that if he was okay bring him home to us.  A couple of hours later we heard a noise at the front door and it was him.  He walked right inside the door in which he has never done.  I gave Linda a towel to dry him off while I got him some food.  And he hasn't left the yard since.

3. We're one week into the season of Lent...are you marking these 40 days in some way? Giving something up or adding something extra to normal life? How's it going so far?
Haven't given it any thought.  But I'm still trying to stick to healthy eating, and exercising.

4. When was the last time you sat beside a fire?
Probably a couple of years.  I know it's been a while since we built a fire outside and roasted marshmallow's with the kids.

5. Surf and Turf is on the menu. Do you order as is or do you ask for just the surf (lobster), just the turf (steak), or a menu so you can select another option?
Both would be just fine.  I wouldn't complain at all.

6. If you could have any television program back, not in reruns but in new episodes, what program would you choose?
When I was a teenager I didn't miss an episode of One Day at a Time.  Even today I could watch it if it was on.  Maybe I need to look on Netflex and see if they have them.  LOL

7. They say an elephant never forgets. These days would you say your memory is more like an elephant or a gnat?
A gnat.  At times I can even be in mid-sentence and forget what  I was talking about.

8. Insert your own random thought here
Even though I haven't updated my weight lost lately I haven't given up.  I do terrible on weekends so I think I'm going to start doing my weigh-in on Fridays.   But I am still eating healthy and exercising, and losing weight.  I will update this Friday what has been going on with it the last couple of weeks.

Another weigh-in day

Well this week sure wasn't as good as last week.  But I had a terrible weekend.  I gained a half a pound.  I know that's not much but it was a gain not a lost. 
I was doing good on the elliptical, then I got slack on the weekend.  Not to mention Friday night we ate at Cracker Barrel.  But it didn't stop there.  Saturday we finally started moving everything out of  my Mother-in-Laws house into a storage building.  So we were busy with that so we ate at Pizza Hut for lunch.  Sunday I did okay until we visited Bruster's after church Sunday night.  For those who may not know what Bruster's is, I had an ice cream cone.
So last night I got my butt back on the elliptical, and surprised myself by making it for twenty minutes.
So how about y'all?  I've had several leave comments that they needed to eat healthier and/or they needed to exercise.  So are any of y'all that weren't exercising, have y'all started a routine yet?  Would love to hear if you have and what results you are seeing.

Wednesday Hodge Podge

It's Wednesday or as some would say hump day.  Or rather time for hodge podge.  By now you know the routine.  Here's the link join in on the fun.

It's that most wonderful time of the year...tax season! Do you complete your own returns or farm that job out to the professionals?
We let the professionals at H & R Block fill them out.  It just seems easier since we have to itemize.

2. This next question comes from Kansas Bob...he posed it in his response to something I asked in an earlier Wednesday post and I asked him if I could add it to the Hodgepodge some day. Today's the day....
Which do you think has changed you more-love or pain?
That's a hard one.  I have changed from my past because of God's love for me.  But I also know I have changed because of past hurts.  I'm sure the love outweighs the hurt.

3. Tangerine Tango has been named color of the year for 2012. Your thoughts? Would I find this color anywhere in your house? How about in your closet? If not, will you be adding this color to your life in some way in 2012? If you're not sure what tangerine tango looks like click here.
Can't think of anywhere it would be anywhere in my house or closet.  After looking at it I can't see myself buying clothing that color.  Lighter as more of a coral maybe. 

4. Are you a collector? What do you collect and does it get admired, used, and/or dusted regularly?
I use to collect angels but I haven't bought one in years.  I have gotten rid of some even, because of them being dust collectors.  LOL

5. February is National Heart Month...besides a green salad what is one tasty heart healthy dish you like to prepare?
I know chicken and fish is also good for your heart so I guess something as simple as baked chicken breasts.

6. When was the last time you had car trouble?
I believe it was a couple of years ago when Makayla was in the 4th grade.  I would pick her up from school and so not to be at the very back of the car pool line I would get there early.  There was a couple of days that once the line started moving my car wouldn't start.  Fortunately both times there was someone at the front of the line that came back around and jumped off the battery.

7. Have you been more demanding on yourself lately or less? Is that a good trend?
I'm not sure if I am more demanding of myself, but I feel sometimes like I find myself feeling overwhelmed when I can't get everything done that I need to get done.  There's so many that depends on me and I feel stretched in all different directions at times.  I keep saying that I have to make more time for my kids and then something happens and I'm pulled somewhere else.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
It was so strange waking up this morning and wanting to go walking.  It's been a long time since I have had this kind of energy.  I did 15 minutes on the elliptical last night while watching the Biggest Loser, instead of eating junk food.

Weigh-In Day

I have actually got on the elliptical twice this week.  Ten minutes each time, increasing my speed the second time.  I have also really watched what I ate this week.  No eating junk food or fast food.  It really paid off because I lost five pounds this week.  So since I went on blood pressure medicine I have lost fifteen pounds.  But to me the most exciting thing that happened this week is my middle number changed.  To a number I haven't seen in a while.  I'm embarrassed at how much I actually weighed when I went to the Doctor.  My immediate family didn't even have no idea.  I asked Megan yesterday and she guessed way low.  But I think she was just trying to be nice.  When I told Makayla last night how much I lost this week she asked me if I could be a certain weight by the summer.  I told her maybe not but possibly close.  I don't want to lose it fast, because my experience has been the slower you lose it the more likely it's not coming back. 
I didn't get this way over night and it's not going to go away overnight.  But it is and will continually to go away.  It has really clicked this time.  I don't want to be on blood pressure medicine or any medicine as for that.  My Mom's side of the family has all lived to be at least 90, some even 100.  So if there's something I can do to live a long healthy life, I want to do it.  I want to be here to see my grand kids grow up, and to be there for the birth of any others that may come along.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's already Wednesday so we know what that means, time for hodgepodge.  To join in the fun hop on over to Joyce's and answer the questions.
1. The NFL playoffs were held this past weekend and this year's Superbowl lineup will feature The New York Giants versus The New England Patriots. How do you define 'patriot'?

A person that is dedicated to serving and protecting their country.

2. What's something in your life right now that feels like a 'giant'?
Exercising, I am eating healthier but I have yet the motivation to exercise.  Even getting out and simple walking.
3. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think back to being 18?
I had recently graduated high school, and was working at Shoney's.  Saved money for a down payment on a car.  Living at home with no worries.  Worked evenings and spend my days at the beach, what a life.
4. Coconut-mashed potatoes-vanilla ice cream-mayonnaise...which white food would be the hardest to give up?
I don't eat coconut that much other than in an almond-joy or coconut pound cake, but that's not an issue since I have cut out most of the sugar.  I don't eat mayonnaise at all, mashed potatoes is good but I can take them or leave them.  Vanilla ice cream is too plain.  So if I had to choose one I think the mashed potatoes.

5. Describe an incident or a day you remember as the coldest you've ever experienced?
It was December 1983, I was pregnant with Megan and we were living in this small older house.  I don't remember if there was an ice storm or what, but I remember the electricity going out in the middle of the night and we woke up freezing.  Went to my in-laws and slept.  The next day we went back to the house to get some clothes and the water in the toilet had ice in it.  That's how cold it was in the house.  I don't remember how many days we were without electricity or that we had to stay with my in-laws I just remember that I had never seen ice in a toilet before.
6. You're hosting a brunch...what's your favorite dish to prepare and serve?
I have never hosted a brunch but Megan did on Christmas day and made a wonderful breakfast casserole.  So that's what I would prepare because it was delicious and I keep saying I'm going to make one.  Maybe one night for dinner.

7. How do you combat negative thinking?
I try really hard not to think negatively.  If I catch myself doing so though I try to dwell on something positive.  Great uplifting music played loudly helps also.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Not a whole lot going on.  It seems more like Spring than Winter.  The highs have been in the 70's off and on since about Thanksgiving. 

Eating Healthier

I have had a problem with high blood pressure off and on, but on December 16th it all came to a head so to speak.  I woke up that morning with a headache that just wouldn't go away, and just kept feeling worse and worse.  I was out running errands that morning so I checked my blood pressure while I was in wal-mart.  It was 178/90, so I went to the Doctor and according to theirs it was 182/90.  She told me we have to get your blood pressure down.  She checked my blood sugar and cholesterol and they were both fine.  But being putting on medicine for high blood pressure has been an eye opener for me.  I have got to lose weight.  I have to go back to the Doctor in March and at the beginning my goal was to have lost 20 pounds.  But so far I have lost 10, so I'm setting my goal to have lost 30 pounds.  I'm making small goals because if I look at the big picture it can seem overwhelming.  It's also not about the weight, it's about being healthy.  It's about being able to walk up and down stairs, or long distances again without my feet and legs hurting.  It's about being an example for my family that if I can do it so can they. 
How am I doing it?  Some will disagree with it probably but I am drinking Slim-Fast shakes for breakfast and sometimes also for dinner.  But most importantly it's about portion control and eating healthier.  I try to stay away from fried foods, and sugar.  I am learning if it's not in the house I won't eat it.  Also prayer and self-control.  There is an awesome new bakery in town, that makes these monster good cookies.  They use an ice cream scoop if you can imagine how big that makes them.   I had to go to the store beside it a couple of weeks ago,  and I wanted to go in and buy a couple of cookies but I didn't.  Then yesterday I was at Dollar General and they had a shopping cart with boxes of chocolate covered cherries my absolute favorite candy to buy around Christmas.  They were marked down to .60 a box I could have bought several and put them in the freezer.  Which by the way is my favorite way to eat them.  But I stopped looked at them and kept going. 
Not sure if I have mentioned it but my Mother-In-Law gave me a Nook Tablet for Christmas in which I love it.  Scott says I'm addicted to it.  But the only drawback even though it has wi-fi I can't blog on it.  I can read blogs and comment on them but it won't give me my keyboard to actually write a post on it.   Anyways there is a free app on it called Loseit.  I can log what I eat everyday and keep up with my calorie intact, I can also log my exercise and keep up with calories burned.  It also logs the weight I lose.  I began keeping track on a Tuesday so I weigh every Tuesday morning.  It gives you nutritional information on most of your restaurants and it can be mind boggling the calories and sodium in alot of the foods served in them.  So from here on out on Tuesdays I hope to blog about my progress.