WeighIn March 26

I didn't report in last week... I was out of town, but weighed in at 226 when I got back -- up a pound.  Current March 26 weighin = 224lb.  Down 2 pounds and a new low.  I've been super snacky this week and ate food a number of times when I wasn't hungry and didn't need it...  and the "feasting" while I was out of town didn't help.  Though I didn't do terribly, it wasn't great either.  Trying to get back on track this week.  Still lost this week, but I'm not where I wanted to be.  I'm trying to deal with that mental issue too... any loss is good loss and slow is best, but I want to get it gone already!

WeighIn

I weighed in this morn, well noon by the time I got up, at 226lb, maybe 226.5lb.  That's down about 2 lb from last week.  :D  This coming week will be a difficult one... I'm on vacation from school.  Normally, I spend my breaks munching on food.  This will definitely test my new "habits"!!

Lab Results

I starting my weight loss in August of 2010 and I had blood tests done then... Seven months and 60 pounds later, I'm a bit over half way and I had blood tests done again. Just to see if there's a change. The results are in...

CHOLESTEROL (supposed to be < 239): 8/2010 = 182, 2/2011 = 146

HDL (good cholestrol, suppoesd to be >45): 8/2010 = 29, 2/2011 = 33

LDL (bad cholesterol, supposed to be < 129): 8/2010 = 125, 2/2011 = 97

TRIGLYCERIDE (supposed to be <199) 8/2010 = 141, 2/2011 = 82

So freaking happy!!! Major improvements in 3 of 4 areas in just 7 months of eating healthier!!! I'm within the "optimal", not just the "okay", but the "optimal" range on all but the HDL. If you're curious, here's a link that describes the different tests and what they should be at.  http://bit.ly/hcKmjg  HDL not much change, but exercise is suppose to help that. I'm getting ready to start seriously incorporating exercise. I'll retest in another 6 months or so. It'll be interesting to see if the exercise has an effect on the HDL. My own little science experiment! 

WeighIN

Weighed in this morning at 228.5, 4 lbs down from last week (which was inflated because of a Friday eve out), and 2 pounds down from 2 weeks ago.  Pretty decent.  Passing 229 puts me at my lowest adult weight, at least since I graduated college.  The last time I weighed 229 was sometime in college - not sure exactly.  I only have records back to Jan 2002.  If I had to guess, I think I was around 180-190 when I graduated high school ('95) and I was around 215 by my sophmore year of college ('97).  I've had few significant weight losses since then -- 20lb in 2002 and 30lb in 2008 -- but never a real serious effort.  I finally closed out my WeightWatchers account online.  I've been keeping it because it had a history of weights on it.  It feels good to close it -- I'm having more success just tracking calories and learning to eat right.  I felt like WW was learning how to game the system without making real changes (at least for me!).  This is the data from the last 9 years...



Weigh In

This week was MUCH tougher than last week.  Last week was a breeze; most days I was at 1300 at the end of the day and was not hungry at all during.  This week, I was hungry ALL the time.  Not sure what the factors are... could be the time of the month?  Or could be that eating less last week threw me off?  Or could be that eating so differently over the weekend threw me off?  No idea, but I was much more into carbs this week.  Much less able to control what I ate (one night dinner was 5 biscuits!).  And the happy hour on Friday just capped it all off!  Despite the difficulty, I never fully gave up.  Friday night was close, and I felt a bit of "whatever, this week is already screwed anyways."  But even then, I shared apps with others, only ate one taco off the dinner (took the taco, rice, beans home), and ate only 5-6 tortilla chips.  I guess it's progress that even when I felt like I was throwing in the towel, I still had some restraint.  It wasn't a total binge.  On the plus side, I did some shopping in the non-plus sections this week.  Mainly because the plus-section stuff was all too big - they were out of 16s.  I'm hitting that in between zone where it's tough to find small women's and/or big misses', but I'm okay with that difficulty!  Also had some nice compliments from friends I hadn't seen in awhile on Friday.  So, all in all a crappy eating week topped off by a couple of non-scale victories that reminded me that I have made progress and I just need to focus this week!  Oh, and the weigh-in?  I weighed in at 232.5 this morning, up 2 lb from last week.

Weigh In

Weighed in last week at 237, did well this week and expected to see 235.  The scale read 233lb.  Really!  A 4 lb loss!  So totally jazzed and exactly the motivation I need to keep me back on track after December.  Had a great time out with friends Saturday night and got some really nice comments from people about having lost weight.  And I realized when I got carded last night that I actually weigh what it says on my driver's license!! I'm in the zone this week!  :D

WeighIn

So I weighed in last Saturday at 238.5 and promptly ate a ****-load of crappy food.  That bumped me up to 243 by Tuesday morning. :(  But today, I weighed in at 237!!  Ate well the rest of the week and drank a TON of water.  Ate pretty well today -- too much "tasting" as I was baking, but not ridiculous.  It's not like I ate a bag of Fritos... again.  :0  Feeling pretty good and ready to attack another week.  It's so much easier to be motivated when you're on a downward trend! 

Aside:  I was noticing how colorful the pics of my meals were this week, so just for kicks I made a list of all the fruits and veggies I ate this week, Mon - Sat....  Apple, Arugula, Avocado, Baby carrot, Blueberry, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Butternut squash, Cauliflower, Cranberries, Green bean, Lemon, Mushroom, Pearl onions, Peas, Pineapple, Potato, Pumpkin, Red pepper, Rutabaga, Spinach, Sweet potato, Strawberry, Tomato, Water chestnut... whew.  That's quite a change from before when baked potato was my number one veggie!  I liked veggies, I just never made them.  I like this list!  With a few exceptions, it's also very seasonal - winter veggies.  I like the idea of eating with seasons!

Weigh-In #15

Down 3 more lb this week, though I hit that on Wednesday and sort of coasted into today...  Still feeling pretty good.  Ate much better this week, wasn't really hungry for snacking.  Ate a lot more fruit and string cheese -- less carb-y snacks.  I just don't think the carb-snacks, like Pirate's Booty or crackers, are as satisfying for me.  PLus, I stayed after school more days working and that keeps me from snacking in the afternoon.  On the other hand, I did stay home an entire day and didn't overeat, so that's an improvment!  I tried to really be aware of hunger levels -- stop eating when I'm full and don't eat if I'm not hungry.  Drank more water (still not enough though!).  When I skipped Bistro meals and ate at Mom's or friend's or Chinese place, I still did okay, a little high, but not outrageous.  Overall, a decent week!  I also downloaded the plan for Couch 2 5k.  Thinking about starting to use the treadmill a bit more.  I like having the plan to follow - makes it more official and a bit like an experiment.  I'll report back when I actually start. 
I'm going to need a new tracking chart very soon! :D

Daily average for the week = 1620cal

Weigh-In #14

Sooooo, despite the fact that this week still wasn't great in terms of eating choices (including an entire 1660cal "extra" meal Thusday night and 1.25 bags of potato chips this week - that's full size bags), I still lost two pounds.  What?!  Looking back, everything else I ate was decent, so who knows?  My overage calories totaled about a pound, so maybe I just lost 2 instead of 3 pounds.  Whatever - I'm still pretty happy.  I didn't think I was going to lose anything this week and that would have been 3 weeks of flatlining.  Those two pounds take me down to my next mini-goal!  Next goal is only nine pounds away!  I had planned to get a haircut at a nice salon at this mini-goal and it's been killing me to wait the last two weeks, but I waited!  Making the appt this afternoon.  Next goal = an iPhone!  I was going to get the phone anyways when my contract was up in October, but I decided to make it a reward for mini-goal #4, which is about half-way through the weight I want to lose.  Hopefully I'll have my phone in December!  BTW, I'm down 4 inches on my bust, 5 inches on my waist, and 5 inches on my hips!

Daily average for the week = 1990cal

Weigh-In #13

Still didn't do great this week in terms of food choice and quantity of snacks, but still down a pound from last week.  And I was up higher than reported by a couple of days after the last weigh-in.  At least it's movement in the right direction.  It shows me that my body will still respond if I do the right things.  I want this coming week to be a clean week.  Biggest goal - watch less TV.  I won't munch if I'm working on something else.  My calorie average was 1771 for the week.  Most days were too high (1830, 1547, 1835. 1780, 2140, 1500, 1765).  However, I ate something other than Bistro for 5 out of the 7 dinners.  So, I guess I made decent choices.  I think I needed a break from the food, but I'm ready to get back to it now! 

I need to get back on track... I sort of had a built in cushion because my planned weight loss was slower than the actual.  BUT I'm eating into that cushion pretty quick here.  Two dead weeks brought me a lot closer to that red line.

Weigh-In #12

So, not such a good week for losing weight. I gained a pound. Had a tough time staying on track this week. Ate a lot of snacky food. Had dinner at mom's a couple of times last week. Had three days over 2000 this week! Went out last night with friends. Totally caved late night and got french fries at In-n-Out AND later, ahamburger at Carl's JR. Old habits die hard. I think though, that I can't avoid it forever and trying to do so makes the inevitable crash worse. On the other hand, I don't think I'm someone who can eat just a little fast food. I think it's a trigger. idk. Oh well, motivated to make this week better and actually feel better and capable to do it. Plans: More water. Less TV. More work done (idle hands and all that.) Also, need to go buy some more fruit and carrots. Ate mostly carb-based snacks. Not so good.  Daily calorie average for this week = 1892cal

Weigh-In #11

Down 3.5 pounds this week, yay!  2 pounds away from the next mini-goal.  Weekly calorie average: 1561cal  Most days were right at 1600, with exception of 2 days at 1400.  Nothing too different this week, though I did try to drink more water and sleep earlier.  When I get home from work early, I'm pretty snack-y in the afternoon, but I really didn't want to be at work late this week.  Pretty sucky week.  I've developed quite a backlog of meals -- I currently have 2 full weeks plus 3-4 days in the inside freezer and another 1.5 weeks worth outside in the garage freezer.  I like running behind a bit, so I'm not screwed if something happens to the shipment, but this is ridiculous.  I'm skipping a box in a couple of weeks because I'll be out of town on delivery day, that should help. 

Weigh-In #10

Made a conscious effort this week to eat closer to 1500-1600 calories and not try so hard to keep the count low.  It kept me from overeating.  Official weigh-in has me down 2.5 pounds.  Decent, but a bit disappointing.  I have to keep reminding myself that about 2 lb a week was the goal!  Only 5 pounds away from next mini-goal, should will happen within two weeks.  Then I get to get a nice haircut!  By the way, I know my finger nails are growing faster than they used to and I think my hair is too!  Oh, and I'm having the wear the hell out of a few key clothes because they are getting too big, but I love them so much!
Note to self: Drink more water this week!

Weigh-In #9

Not a great week.  Weighed in on Friday morning, down 1.5lb.  A pound lost is a pound lost, but it should have been better.I think I was trying too hard to keep the calories pretty low 1300-1400.  Instead, I overate in the evenings to compensate.  Also, I wasn't drinking as much water and I was eating crappier foods (hello, apple crisp!).  Need to get back to evenly distributing calories throughout the day and aiming more for 1500-1600.  Still trying to zigzag calories though.  We'll see if next week is better at a slightly higher planned calorie intake. 

Weigh-In #8

Official weigh-in this morning -- down 3.5 lb.  Feeling a bit more on track this week and next week should be even better.

I'm down 12.5 lb for the month of September and I've lost 33.5 pounds overall.

 

Weigh-In #7

Weigh-in #7 has been postponed to Monday morning, Sept 20.  I ws out of town until Sunday afternoon and I refuse to weigh-in in the evening.  So, expect a Monday morning update... though I'm not expecting a dramatic loss.  I feel like I'll be lucky to break even.  In the last 7 days, I've been to two football games and a baseball game - all encourage snacking (darn peanuts!).  And I was out of town and knowingly ate one over the top meal (hamburger and fries, soooo good! But I did save half the burger for the next day).  SO, we shall see tomorrow...
Yeah, pretty much no loss.  I could fight for 257 or 257.5, but it's a stretch.  I'm just glad I lost what I'd gained last weekend.  And I now know that keeping the average calorie low isn't enough if one day is going to be ridiculously high!

Weigh-In #6

Down another 5 pounds, despite eating brunch last weekend.  Tried hard ofr the rest of the week to balance it out.  Talked to the doctor about rate of loss and she said I was fine as long as I keep to calorie average in the 1500-1600 range.  Calorie average this week was 1574cal.  Would have been higher if I hadn't slept through dinner time last night.  I also passed by my 2nd mini-goal of losing 10% of original body weight!

Weigh-In #5

As of Sept 4, 630AM, I'm down another 5 lb.  I'm pleased with the loss, but I worried that it's too fast.  I charted my weekly cal averages against the loss and there's a definite pattern.  On the weeks where my avg has been 1500, I've lost 5 lb.  On the two weeks where it was higher, I only lost 2-3 lb.  SO, I guess if I'm serious about slowing the rate down, I need to aim for 1600-1700 cal per day.  I don't really feel hungry or deprived at the 1500 level.  But, if I aim for 200 cal snacks instead of 100 cal snacks, that will bump me up.

Weigh-In #4

Officially down 3 more pounds - a total of 20 pounds total. :) That means I've met my first of seven mini-goals! Yay!

Weigh-In Week #3

Down 5 more pounds this week -- that's a total of 17 pounds!