What I Wore Today

OMG Shoes

Obligatory work bathroom pic. I need to get a better full-length mirror at home.

I like to call this one "Nobody looks good in flourescent lighting."

Pardon the crappy phone pics! I just felt cute today. :)

Weigh-in

So, I had a weigh-in today. I lost 2.9 more pounds, bringing my total to 33.8. I was expecting to lose a little more as I have been around the 4-5 pound mark every 2 weeks, but I will take it. The other good news is that my bod pod measurement shows a 7-pound fat loss. I have incorporated more strength training, so I *may* be building a bit of muscle.

Total weight loss: -33.8 pounds

My Plan

I thought I'd give an overview of how I've been losing the weight thus far. Back in January, I had my metabolism tested at Target Metabolism. As I've mentioned before, my metabolism is high. This is partially due to my weight, but it is also higher than others who weigh the same as me. This is why I'd gotten stuck so many times in the past. I simply wasn't eating enough. This is a difficult concept to understand for many people who have tried to lose weight. Sometimes, your body isn't getting enough fuel, and it will hold onto every calorie it gets.

Anyway, when I started, my resting metabolic rate (RMR) was close to 3000 calories a day. This is what my body burns if I were to do nothing except sleep for 24 hours. Imagine that? That's almost a pound a day! Add in normal activity and exercise on top of that, and you're above a pound a day (before you eat, of course). They told me to start at 2500 calories a day. Target Metabolism weighs you in using the Bod Pod every two weeks. They are very focused on your fat:lean ratio and not as focused on the numbers. This is great, but I'll admit I still get hung up on those numbers. How can I not? Now, I kind of expected the weight to fly off the first two weeks, but it really didn't. I think I lost maybe 3 pounds in the first couple of weeks. I was admittedly not pleased with the results, but I felt I hadn't given it a fair chance yet. I think my body was just adjusting to everything, because it started to come off at a pretty steady pace after that. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

My metabolism was retested at the beginning of April, and I was told to take my daily intake down to 2400 calories a day. They give me a "danger zone" of 2200 calories (now-it will change later) that I am not to go below. So far, this is going well. I'm glad it wasn't a huge drop in calories yet. However, ask me again when in 75 pounds. I forgot to mention initially that I keep track of all of my calories and fitness minutes on Spark People. It's an amazing (FREE) site. Check it out!

So, what do I eat? During the week, I eat a balanced diet. I usually have 3 reasonable meals and 3 good snacks a day. I try my best to get in my fruits and veggies. Though I will admit I'm not always perfect at that. Some of my favorite snacks are strawberries, Fage 2% Greek yogurt with honey, almonds, and Clif Mojo Peanut Butter Pretzel bars (lots of protein!).

As for the weekends, I am usually busy, and I don't have enough time to get in my 3 meals and 3 snacks. I do, however, still track everything, and make sure I hit my calorie target. I also try to work out both days on the weekend. This is where I get to splurge once in awhile. It helps quite a bit! I'll have a reasonable breakfast (usually later in the morning), a bigger late lunch/early dinner, and maybe a snack later if I have the calories left.

All in all, I don't feel deprived at all. I think this will help me stick to it for the long haul. A lifestyle change, perhaps?

Trader Joe's Chicken Stir Fry

Yikes, I have been a bad little blogger this week. It's been fairly hectic at home and at work. I'll try to make it up to you by sharing a quick recipe. As you'll soon figure out, I LOVE Trader Joe's! There are so many easy things that you can make quickly and not blow your calorie budget. This recipe is super easy, and I make it nearly every week.

Trader Joe's Chicken Stir Fry

*I think I took this picture before I added in the sauce. It's like a thicker soy sauce, and very yummy!

Makes two VERY hefty servings

1 bag Trader Joe's Asian Vegetables with Beijing Style Soy Sauce (frozen)
10 ounces of Trader Joe's Grilled Chicken Strips (frozen)
1 bag Trader Joe's Organic Brown Rice (frozen)
I usually add in at least part of a bag of additional stir fry vegetables (but I don't add in more sauce than what comes in the first bag). This is all depends on what you prefer.

1. Spray pan/wok with nonstick cooking spray and heat on medium. Add veggies.
2. While veggies are cooking, thaw chicken in the microwave (these are already cooked, and take about 8 minutes to thaw)
3. By the time the chicken is done, the veggies are close to finished. Add chicken to mixture.
4. Cut the corner of the rice bag, and microwave for 3 minutes
5. Add sauce to stir fry, and heat through.

Half of this recipe adds up to roughly 474 calories. When I have more calories left, I will add a Trader Joe's Chicken Egg Roll (140 calories). Yum, yum!

Clothing and Fears

The first time I lost weight, I remember my weight watcher leader telling us to get rid of all of our fat clothes. "That way," she said "you won't have any clothes to grow back into." I took her advice, and It felt good (no - great) to get rid of the fat clothes. Of course, I eventually ended up having to buy a whole new wardrobe in several sizes as all the weight came back (and then some). While I do love to shop, this is a very expensive habit. I also got rid of my clothes as I began to gain all the weight back, because, honestly, it was depressing to see them hanging in my closet. I felt as if they were taunting me. I'll see pictures (from whenever in my journey - losing and gaining weight) and actually miss pieces of clothing and kick myself for getting rid of them. Who has that kind of closet space though? Not me.

Now, once again, I currently have a pile of clothes that are too big for me. They've been laying on the floor by my closet for the last 3 weeks. Some of them, whether too big or not, just need to go. Some of them, though? I love. So, I'm now at an impasse as to what to do with them. Storage? Goodwill? Ceremonial burning? Through all of this, I used to tell my husband that there are probably some pudgy drag queens who shop at Goodwill who think I'm their savior.

I very much look forward to being at my goal weight (to be determined), and being able to buy quality, tailored to my (very pear-shaped at any size) body, clothes that will last me for a long time.

I am scared that I'll jinx myself if I throw away that pile of clothes....

Contest

There's this amazing husband and wife photography team in Indianapolis. I met the wife (Bobbi) briefly at a friend's wedding in 2006 (I think?). I just thought she was so funny and entertaining. It turns out that she and her husband are also INCREDIBLE photographers. I planned to do an engagement session with them before our wedding in 2007. Well, I was gaining weight at a rapid pace at that time, and I ended up canceling the session because I didn't want to be all blobby in such great pictures. I've been kicking myself about it ever since because I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to be photographed by them. I stalk their blog, and I always enjoy the pics. Here's the blog for those interested. http://www.bobbiandmike.com/blog/

Folks, here is my chance at redemption. http://www.bobbiandmike.com/blog/index.php/healthy-train-the-before/ I am the second blob from the left in the second row. Man, were those pictures ever difficult to see. I'm trying to figure out if that's Chad from http://iamlosingit.net/ next to me (one more over)? He's also a local friend, so that's helping step up the game even more! She's hosted a couple of healthy train contests over the years, and I never hopped on (or if I did-I did it in a half-assed manner). So, I'm pretty excited to see how this ends!

Fitness, etc.

When I started my (what do I want to call it? Not a diet, because it's forever-but "lifestyle" sounds cheesy-thing?). Uhm, back in January, my exercise consisted of playing "Walk it Out" on the wii. It was a great way to get moving inside, because we all know how lovely midwest winters can be. It helped me greatly and was easy for me to begin with as I hadn't worked out in so long that I was essentially a beginner again. Now, I've opened all the paths and songs on that game, and I'm beginning to get a little bored with it.

Last month, I started incorporating "Just Dance", which is a LOT of fun! I'm sure I look like a total putz when I do it, but who cares if the cats stare at me? I think it'll be fun to add into my routine once in awhile, but I'm going to need something else.

I've started walking outside here and there this week. I enjoy it, but most of the paths here are pretty busy, and it can be a little unnerving sometimes dodging bikers and rollerbladers. I did find a park with a small nature path near my home, so I'll be exploring that more. I think I might have to find a class or something soon. I have access to a free gym at work and at home. However, I have a shoulder injury (frozen shoulder), and my ortho doc has advised me to not do any weight-bearing exercises until it heals. It's gotten better over the last couple of months, but it's certainly not back to 100% yet. I really miss some of the classes that I used to take, but it's going to be a bit before I'm back to that level (or even close to it). Definitely a goal I want to work toward. One of my coworkers is trying to get me to go to her boot camp class that meets at 5:15 in the morning. Yeah, not happening.

Considering water aerobics....

I'm rambly today. I'll leave you with a pic of my binary solo necklace.

Weigh-in

I had a weigh-in today. I weigh in every 2 weeks, and I also get a bod pod measurement. I lost 5.1 pounds over the last two weeks, which included my birthday and celebratory cupcakes.

Amazingly, this time, ALL of my loss was fat according to my bod pod measurement. My lean mass stayed the same. It's bounced around a bit in my first few weeks. Honestly, at this weight, I'm not as concerned with it. I will be once I lose more though.

Total weight loss: -30.9 pounds

Doctor Follow Up

So, as I mentioned in my first post, 5 months ago my doctor wanted me to start insulin. I (finally) went in for a follow-up appointment on Monday. Back in November, my A1C (measure of your blood sugar averages over 2-3 months) was 9.5%. The ADA recommends that it be under 7. My doctor wants it under 6.5. This is what the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommends (thanks, coeditor, Andrea!).

This week, my A1C tested at 7.5%. This is a significant drop from just 5 months ago (2 of which I wasn't being exactly healthy). He says that he wants to see me back in 6 months (instead of 3), and that we'll be looking at reducing my medications at that point. This is one of my long-term goals, so I'm very excited about that! Also excited about not having to start insulin! He said all of my other levels were in the healthy range (liver enzymes, kidney function, blood pressure, LDL and HDL cholesterol). That is also a great improvement from a few months ago. Very excited! I've used a lot of exclamation points in this post. Heh.

Oh, hai!

Don't let the lolspeak in the title fool you. I'm a grammar nerd except for when it comes to lolcatz. They are cute and furry, and they are allowed a grammar pass.

Anyway, I created this blog a few weeks ago. I suppose I should finally post something, eh? Where to start? It's kind of hard to sum up your story in a single blog entry, but I'll try to get everyone who doesn't already know me up to speed.

My story starts like so many others. I've been overweight (let's face it - obese) for most of my life. I remember being on weight watchers with my mother when I was 8 years old. I'm pretty sure that's a legal form of torture these days. Especially back then-I mean the weight watcher bread in the 80s? You might as well just eat the bag. It was that tasty. Thank goodness we've come so far in the development of healthier foods. More on this later.

I've had several false starts over the years where I lost a few pounds, but then something happened to derail me (something minor usually, but a few traumas too). In 2004, at the age of 29 (you're doing math now, aren't you?). I started weight watchers. It was kind of on a whim really. I didn't even seem that invested in it. It seems that was the trick for me because in a year and a half, I lost 100 pounds. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at the age of 25 due to my weight. After I lost this weight (even though I was still "obese" by those archaic BMI charts), I was no longer diabetic.

Right after I hit my 100-pound lost mark, I got downsized out of my job that I'd held for 7 years. No worries, it turns out that I ended up with a much better job! However, it did throw me out of my routines, and I'm a very routine-driven gal. I managed to hold my weight for over a year and half, but I was truly stuck.

At this time, I was working out hardcore: spinning classes, kickboxing, pilates. As it turns out, I simply wasn't eating enough calories to sustain my activities. This is why my body wasn't letting go of any more weight (even though I felt I had another 60-70 pounds to lose). I, like many others, had a hard time grasping the fact that you have to eat enough or your body will go into starvation.

I eventually got frustrated, and made the biggest mistake of my life: I gave up. I gained all 100 pounds back and also about 70 more. Diabetes came back and brought along its friend hypertension. I was on more medications than ever before. I flailed around in this state for at least a couple of years. Five months ago, my doctor wanted me to start on insulin. This was simply a road I was not ready to go down-particularly at such a young age. I watched my mother go through this. I watched her get both of her big toes amputated, and learn how to walk again. It took me a couple of months to get my act together, but I finally started back on a healthy road in January.

This time, I got my metabolism tested. It is, of course, high because of my weight, but it is also 300 calories higher than someone else of a similar weight. All those formulas you can find to test your RMR (resting metabolic rate) are based on averages. For most people, they work. For me, they did not (it was one of the many things I'd tried in the past). I'll go into more details about my plan later. I am still trying to keep this brief (fail). Long story short-I think something has finally clicked with me again. I have lost 26 pounds so far (maybe more - I weigh in tomorrow).

This will be mostly about my weight loss, but as my title (and probably my writing) suggests, I get distracted easily. I'm also a geek for pop culture, fashion, and beauty products, to name a few. So, that's the (sort of) brief version of my story. More to come. I plan to post often, so stay tuned.