DAY 13: Stormy Day in the Bluegrass

As Pooh would say, "this is undoubtedly a very blustery day today!"
Warm in the beginning and windy and cold to end the day. Today was a very productive day. I Inc our business, spoke with our accountant, opened a business account at the bank, invoiced and billed out  January's business stuff, but the most important thing that I should have done I did not do.....
EXERCISE!


I also did not eat the five meals a day. I am so food and exercise challenged. When my life gets busy I just don't think there is another minute I can squeeze in for anything. I managed to go to bed at a decent hour last night. 11:30pm. However I am still having trouble getting out of bed in the morning. My alarm goes off at 630am but my body says no.
Got to work on getting rid of  those bad habits I have formed over the past 15 years.
Still working on my jug of water a day...LOL
I weigh in again on Friday morning. I am not too hopeful as this week has not been kind to me.

I have however managed to stay within my calorie amounts but have eaten more salty foods. We also ate out twice this week due to being out late working on job sites. Paris KY and the Restaurant Jerry's was soooooo good for my tummy but bad for my Goals...:( I did eat a salad and corn pudding..LOL
I gave in and had some yummy sweet tea. My first sweet tea in two weeks. It was GOOOOD!!
I will continue to allow myself sweet pleasures occasionally because I know if I don't I will not be successful on this long journey I am on.
Exercise will be my focus coming up as I have mastered the keeping track of my food and calorie intake. However I will also continue to keep adding more veggies and fruits to my meals as well and less carbs.
Hope you all are doing well on your own journeys!:)

DAY 12: Another Doctors Appt...

My doc appt this morning was for the diabetic counselor at our family practice. I got some good news today, that my A1C last week came back within normal range and I am back to the pre diabetic status....however that being said I am to still follow the rules for carbs and sugars and still take my blood once every morning. This change is what I needed as I have been working to get this under control. Watching the amount of food I am eating is all I have been doing. I have cut nothing out of my diet, just the quantities. 

The dietitian was very proud of me!:) She said this is still serious and that I have to be very careful as my blood sugars are prone now to be out of control. As long as I stay on the same course I am on now with my diet and exercise that I will continue to improve my type 2 status. 

So folks, I may not have lost the weight I wanted but I did cut down on my sugars like I should and it got my sugars under control. That is a HUGE victory. Another reason to believe that the number on the scale is not all a healthy life style is about!:)

Things to keep working on: Finding time to exercise, going to bed earlier and eating the five meals a day...:(

DAY 10 & 11: The Weekend Cometh!

Been a busy weekend! Still only managed to eat 3 times out of the five I am suppose to be doing! I got a steroid shot in my heel yesterday(which was Friday) which has curbed my walking on treadmill! Apparently I have a heel spur and plantar fasciitis! Another nail in my coffin! However it's not stopping me! I have been doing great with the water! My son kyle has his jug next to mine and i am still winning lol! Still not up to a whole gallon a day but getting closer! My kids are being very supportive!
Writing down everything I am eating has also helped to curb putting things in my mouth, because sometimes I am just too lazy to record it on my Lose It app so I don't eat it..LOL
I like writing my food intake down because it helps me see what I have eaten and it typically correlates to how I am feeling.
My exercise this weekend has been work. No extra exercise so I feel like I have failed myself there but 12 hours of cleaning a filthy foreclosed home and cleaning all debris out really should count for some exercise...:)

HOW I FELT:  TIRED!

THINGS TO IMPROVE ON TOMORROW:try to go to bed at a decent hour. and exercise more.

Drink even more water!:)

DAY 9: Weigh In Friday!

Today was not my favorite. It was weigh in day! My thought was I would lose at least 2 pounds maybe five...however, that was not the case. I have over all lost 1.5. My start weight was 277 originally. So my weigh in today was 275.5. I will admit I was sad and couldn't believe it but then my inner spirit and I believe God, told me to fear not that the number is nothing in the journey I am on. 

The journey to good health isn't about a number on the scale. I felt better this week, and I had more energy. That in itself is a success.

So as far as the scale is concerned I will weigh once a week for my own reason. But I will not let that number define me or make me feel like a failure. What I hope it will do is help me to realize what I have done right and what I have done wrong. 

This journey is hard, and it will about kill me, but not doing it will surely kill me. So even though I am facing the ups and downs, there is no turning back this time. Now we are facing the weekend. I am armed with a weeks worth of positive so I am going to work hard to stay strong this weekend and resist the urge  to undo everything I have done with my eating habits. I wish you all success on your own journey this weekend. Have a great one everyone!! I love you all and thank you all for the awesome support you have shown. You really find out who your friends are when the going gets tough. Keep me in your prayers and  I will do the same for all of you. 

DAY 8- NO TIME FOR ME

My day has been very busy as usual...however my exercise is what is suffering. I do not find the time to exercise like I should. I have been drinking more water, eating within my calorie goal, and sporadically doing the exercises my trainer gave me.
When I am about to do it, I get a phone call or my husband calls for me to help him with an errand. Or the kids need me to do something for them. I am not good at taking care of ME!
My life has become an on call job for everyone but my self. I am 42 years old and I am not 100% sure how to change that about myself.
God called me to be a fixer of problems for my family and friends, a ear to listen, a shoulder to be cried on, and wisdom to bestow beyond my years. However, I am finding the taking care of me part of things to be non existent. Gotta find myself again, where I am important too.
For instance, last year my kids and hubby, when I got home from work had made a bath in our Jacuzzi tub complete with bubbles and glass of bubbly to help me relax..it was such a surprise that all I could say was, "thanks guys and I have so much stuff to do",,,they made me get in to the bath and once I did...It felt great, however I did not fully enjoy it because I felt guilty giving my self time when I had so much other stuff to be doing. That moment was defining for me and as I look back at it, I realized that is one part of my life I have got to  get better at. Thinking about me!
I know I am not the only mom or woman out there that feels this way, but I know this is sabotaging my weight loss goal.
I fear my weigh in tomorrow is gonna be less than I expected due to my inability to find time to work out.
I also have found out that I am an emotional eater. When finances knock at our door and when my kids and my schedules get really chaotic as they often do, I turn to carbs and oreos..LOL This journey is going to be even harder than I thought! I am still moving forward, one day at a time! Keep me in your prayers everyone. Thinking about me is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life. But I know in order to be successful in this journey that's what I have to do!

DAY 7: FIND JOY IN THE JOURNEY

Today I confirmed once again I have a problem with green veggies and fruits. It takes time to cut those guys up and put in zip lock bags and eat them.. I find myself learning what a produce section is again...so many changes to make and this focusing on my health is a lot of work...:(

I find myself focusing on the finish line and I need to embrace this journey I am on.

Try to find joy in it...:(

Teaching my self to rethink my way of eating. Not to eat for comfort but for substance. I am not perfect by any means, I still grab a few chips here and there but I am getting better every day. My weigh in is tomorrow. Hopefully I will see some progress from all this sacrifice! 

Exercising is still evading me, no time....gotta make time. Also though I try can't seem to get in the bed at a decent hour, fell asleep around 130 am this morning. 

Not good for me wanting to get up early. Figured I need to start getting up early and exercising before the day begins or I will not make the time for it. 

I also reconnected with Sparkpeople.com again as it is a great community of people like me trying to lose weight and get healthy. Here is the link.

.http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=SOULMATE94

Hope all my friends are progressing on their journey. Love you all!! And again thanks for all the support.

WOKE UP: 8:00 am

MEAL TIMES: 10:34 am, 4pm, 930pm

WATER:(suppose to drink a whole jug) drank 6 glasses today

EXERCISE COMPLETED: 12 minutes on Ustep machine at PT

TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED OUT OF 1793 CALORIE GOAL: .1946: went over 173 :(

MY TOTAL NUTRIENTS:

57 grams  PROTEINS

250  grams  CARBS

97  grams  FATS
I find I am still eating too many carbs even though I am cutting back and not eating enough protein...:( I see that is something I need to work on.

RESTAURANT FOODS:  McDonald's-Bacon,egg,cheese biscuit and a hashbrown with coffee
(this could be part of why I went over today)

VEGGIES EATEN:  :(

FRUITS EATEN: banana, grapes

HOW I FELT:  pulled in a million different directions.

THINGS TO IMPROVE ON TOMORROW:try to go to bed at a decent hour. and exercise more.

BEDTIME: 130 am
Here  is hoping you are finding joy on your journey to better health.

DAY 6: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

I am on my 6th day to better health. My last six days have been incredible. I saw what I was putting in my mouth, what good and bad habits I have had and now working towards making positive and permanent changes. I have had friends asking me if I am taking anything (drug wise) and the answer is a resounding NO!! The journey I am on is a journey anyone needing to lose weight and eat healthy again can be on. No drugs, no quick fixes. No short term loss. No yo yo diets, No diets period...simply eating better and burning off more calories than I am taking in. Anything in life worth having is worth working for! 

That means a 2 lb weight loss per week is optimal and due to my size hopefully will lose a little more when you add water weight etc....

I am simply eating better and getting more active. My goal is life long goal. I want to lose this weight and keep it off for good. If you take pills or do anything else quick fix wise it is guaranteed not to last. I want to use the foods that God intended me to eat and exercise the body he gave me.

 I journal my food intake, I write it down. I am using a FREE app(because I am cheap and do not have a lot of money, lol) on my I phone called LOSE IT...its great because my phone is always with me and I can also download the app to my computer where I can type faster and keep track at home. 

I can scan bar codes and it gives me the nutrition info without me recreating the wheel. My personal trainer has told me that it is a great tool to use for keeping track of what your drinking and eating and how much exercise you are doing.He also recommended the Calorie Counter app, it does similar to Lose It but I found Lose it to  be more user friendly...:) More like Margaret Friendly...LOL

Whatever you use, just use it daily and log everything you eat. That way you know where you can improve the next day. Also it helps because sometimes I want something but I am  too lazy to write it down so I skip it and don't eat it..LOL

My life is busy. I have no time for complicated things. If losing weight is complicated I won't do it. So I am making things as stress free and less complicated as I can. 

Right now the first steps are to learn how to eat again. Healthy food can be good. I consider it my mission to find those recipes and foods.

I have had a bit of a setback with the doc today. Found out I have a heel spur, no wonder my feet have been aching so bad...:( See Podiatrist on Friday. Gotta get my feet good so my exercise does not suffer. Not a good day for exercise for me. :( But even if I have to virtually run in my bed on my back I will do something LOL

 WOKE UP: 8:00 am

MEAL TIMES: 11:34 am, 330 pm, 10pm...(got to do better eating earlier in evening)

WATER:(suppose to drink a whole jug) drank half a jug...yay.

EXERCISE COMPLETED: NONE...I am sad about that...should have at least done the squats but so busy. I need to set a timer and take breaks and do mini workouts...that might work.

TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED OUT OF 1793 CALORIE GOAL: 1576 was under 197 calories.

MY TOTAL NUTRIENTS:
31 grams  PROTEINS
194 grams  CARBS
72  grams  FATS

RESTAURANT FOODS:NONE

HOW I FELT:my feet hurt:( however I am feeling a little more energy, maybe its the water maybe its the mindset...no matter I will take it.

THINGS TO IMPROVE ON TOMORROW:exercise, spread my meals out more and make sure to eat five times....:) and Go to bed earlier.

WENT TO BED:12:30 am...

Good luck to all my friends on this journey with me!!:) And thanks to everyone for the wonderful support, it means more than you know.