Not over the hump :(

Well, as it has been about 3 weeks ago that I last
posted, you can probably guess why. I just don't
get how the body works. I basically do the exact
same things week in and week out yet, sometimes
I loose and sometimes I gain. I am not giving up!!!
I have come this far and have full intentions of
going further. So, with that said - Please keep me
in your prayers that what ever I need to be doing
I will figure out or someone will help me figure it
out. I really do want to see new numbers on the
scale soon.

Over the Hump!?!?

I think I may be coming off that terrible, horrible,
no good, very bad plateau I have been on for the
past 5 months. I lost again this week, 2.5 pounds
to be exact. That officially puts me at a new number
by 1/10 of a pound. If feels good to finally be a
a new "lowest" weight. Now, the true test will come
next Wednesday when I have to face the scales again.
I so hope and pray that the plateau is over and I
am now back on the loosing track. I guess we shall
see. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Down .5 this week

It is a small one, but it is a loss. I am hoping for
another next week. If I am successful I will
declare my time on the plateau over. I have
not lost 3 weeks in a row since March. I am
hoping to get into "new numbers" in a week
or two. I will let you know.
I am still enjoying whole grains. Last Sunday
I made Whole Wheat pasta - yum yum!! Other
than that I am still sticking to my Melba Toast
and Whole Wheat English Muffins.
I have been running this week and am sooooo
thankful for the rains on Thursday that has
given us some much needed relief from the
thick humidity - even at 5:30 in the morning.
I got out Friday morning and was shocked at
how easy it was to get into the run. The air
was so clean and crisp - Ahhhhh. I plan to
run everyday for as long as this weather holds.
Curves can wait until the Arkansas humidity
returns. See ya next week.

Oh, Wow - Its been a while

Well, the couple of weeks after vacation I yo-yoed a bit,
but stayed the course. Week before last I got a call in
the middle of the week from my weight loss counselor.
It seems she had been talking to a doctor and in general
terms, without violating any of my rights, discussed my
plateau and the trouble I am having with getting over it.
He suggested she help me add back whole grains. He
believed it would be what my metabolism needed to
jump start again. So, I went in for "the whole grains
talk" and cautiously added a few last week. WELL, I
think it might be working. I lost 3.4 pounds. Now, the
real proof will come in a couple more weeks if I can
continue to loose. In the meanwhile, however, I am
enjoying Whole Wheat English Muffins with Walden
Farms Peanut spread (a peanut butter substitute) with
banana a couple times a week, and I have fallen in love
with whole grain Melba toast. I love the crunch, and
only 60 calories per serving. This week I tried a Subway
Veggie Delight on Whole Wheat - it was delicious!
Anyway - we will see if the grains thing is indeed what
my body needed and I will keep you posted.

Vacation - Down 4.9 pounds

I knew vacation was going to be a wonderful
experience, but who knew it would also be
a good weight loss experience as well. I had
a wonderful time with all my friends who went
to Nashville and hung out around the 4th of July.
The fireworks in Nashville are truly AWESOME.
The food in Nashville is GREAT, and the opportunity
for exercise (walking) is abundant. I can't wait
until I can vacation again!

Holiday Week - No Class

Well, it is a holiday week and HMR is moving to a new building,
so we did not have class this week. I was up just a little last week,
but am working hard to be down by next Wednesday.
I am so excited that I will be at the Fireworks show in Nashville
this 4th of July. I have always watched it on CMT and wanted to
be there. Thanks to all my great friends, who seem to all have
family in the Nashville area, I will be there with my friends. FUN!!!
I will post again next week and let you know just how much fun
we had.

Down 2.6 this week

Finally, a good weight loss. I hope this is the beginning
of several weeks to come of good weight losses. I did
a little diet experimenting and the change of routine
seemed to do my body good.
What did not do my body good was trying to be helpful
last Saturday evening at Grandma's. Her yard was
a bit shaggy, so I volunteered to mow (push mow) for
her. Well, after fighting to get the mower started, I
made almost one "lap" around the yard and pulled
the muscle in my calf. Anyway to make a long story
short, my parents had to finish the lawn while I sat
with my leg iced and up. Now, you would think with the
exercise I have been doing something like this wouldn't
happen so easily, but it did. So, I am now back on the
stationary bike and trying to work on my core by doing
some set-ups everyday. I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS
would have thought this next statement would have ever
come across my lips, but I MISS RUNNING. I know what
I was doing might not be considered really running, but
I miss it just the same. I am not sure how long it will take
for this thing to heal or for me to get back to the place I was
with my workout routine. Please pray that the healing goes
quickly and I can get back to training for the 5K.

Pictures

Here are the promised "before" and "now" pictures.
The one on the left was taken at my parent's house
in June/July 2006. Then in February of 2007 I began
the HMR weight loss program through St. Bernards Regional
Medical Center. To date I have lost 116 pounds. The
picture on the right was taken about 6-8 weeks ago as
a part of a set that will be used on the HMR local
website. If you are new to my blog and want to know
the story in between the pictures that is what this
blog is all about. I have posted almost every week
from the beginning of this journey until now. I am not
finished with the journey. I would like to loose another
30-50 pounds. It will depend somewhat on what my diabetes
will allow. As I wrote last week, it seems at some point
weight loss and diabetes don't mix too well. However, I
am not convinced I am at that point just yet. I lost
a pound this week and will be working hard to have an
even better loss next week. Until then...

Running

I have finally worked up to actually "doing" the
Hal Higdon 30/30 plan.I have built enough stamina
to run for 1 minute, then walk for 1 minute, then
run for 1 minute and so on for a sustained 25 minutes.
The way I do it is I walk the first 7-10 minutes just
getting my joints warmed up. Then, I start the minute
intervals of running and walking. I do that for 25
minutes. The last 3-5 minutes I walk to cool down.
I accomplished these times for the first time yesterday
and was able to repeat the process today. Now, I will
work to be able to 1. increase the distance I am able
to go during those times and 2. run longer than I walk.
All of this is great for the calorie burn, but...

It seems (or so the diet counselor thinks)that the
increase of intensity in my workouts has triggered
something in my body that is causing it to think it
is not getting enough nutrition. Therefore, it is
holding on to more than it should. This week I was
actually up a little. The counselor has asked me to
add into my daily plan one extra shake. We are hoping
that extra protein in the shake will help my body
release some of what it feels like it needs to store.
We also know we have run into some problems with
insulin resistance. It seems when you are insulin
dependent there comes a point when your need for insulin
actually works against being able to loose weight. I
don't exactly get it, but I think I am at that place.
I am going to keep working on it (stay in the box)
and in the meantime focus more on running and training
to run a 5K and a little less on the number on the scale.

Exactly the same

Well, I held my own this week. My PA was down a little,
but my eating was in the box. So, I guess I know I have
to keep the PA up in order to be successful. To that end
I am going to walk in the Rely for Life benefiting
the American Cancer Society on June 6-7. I am walking with
a team from Curves. We had a meeting tonight to pick up our
cool shirts and make plans for event night. It sounds like
great fun. Between now and then I want to walk/run some
everyday in addition to the Curves workouts. Exercise used to
be a challenge just to do it. Now I don't mind doing it so
much, but finding the time to get in enough to make a difference
is tough. I will let you know how I am doing with this challenge
next week.

Catch up time

Wow - I really didn't realize how long it
had been since I blogged. Sorry - I have
been out of town for work every week for
the last 3 weeks. Enough of that...

Anyway, tonight I lost 3.1. pounds. I am
very happy about that, because during the
time I was out of town I had gained some.
I don't quite have it all back off, but am
very close. The bonus is I learned some
valuable lessons through travel such as,
1. Even healthy selections at a restaurant
have a lot more salt than I am used to.
2. Salt leads to water retention - boo.
3. Not all menu descriptions are created
equal. What sounds healthy may not be.
4. Some restaurants are VERY diet friendly
(i.e. Outback and Chili's) and will even
let you substitute grilled veggies for the
rice or potatoes if you ask :)
5. Yes, they can grill the shrimp and
scallops without the oil - if you ask.
6. Some observant waitresses will notice
when you are making healthy choices and
actually ask if you would like the bread and
butter before just slapping it on the table
in front of you.
7. They will sometimes even offer you choices
(like grilled asparagus - yum) that are not on the
regular menu if they realize you are trying
to make healthy choices.

Enough lessons learned. I read Brad's blog and
see that he has had similar experiences with travel
and weight control. I don't remember where he is on
our little wager to loose 30 pounds, but I have lost
2.3 in that effort. So, if you are actually reading
this and haven't given up on me ever blogging again -
Please keep the cheers coming. I am at the point of
needing the encouragement to get back on the right
downward trend. I will blog next week - until then
Happy Memorial Day.

Down another 2.1 - WOOHOO!!

Wow! Are you guys cheerleaders or what? Way to
go. I actually read my own blog more this week
because I wanted to see the comments you all were
leaving to encourage me. Mommymeepa - I love
team spirit - Thanks. I have a lot to tell you
all tonight, so I better get started.

First, I walked/ran my first ever 8K last weekend.
I was very proud of me. I finished in 1H 13M 16S.
The most exciting part for me was at mile 3 - which
is the distance of the 5K I did 2 weeks earlier - I
has shave 5 minutes off my time from 2 weeks ago. That
was the push I needed to get me through mile 4 (almost
all up hill)which I thought would kill me. I had a
friend take a picture at the end. When he e-mails it
to me I will post it.

Speaking of pictures - Thursday I "posed" for the St.
Bernard's HMR photo shoot. They asked me and a few
others who have had great success with the program to
pose and bring a before picture. They are going to
use them on their website. I will post that as well
when it is up. It was really a lot of fun. They hired
a professional photographer and everything. Can you
tell I was impressed :)

Next week may see a late, or no post because I will be
out of town. I am going to try really hard to get into
the weightloss center when I get back to weigh in, but
I don't know if I will make it. I had to "bank" my
meeting by attending an extra one last week and will be
calling in all my numbers, but the actual stepping on
the scale will obviously have to wait until I am back
in town. I promise not to leave you hanging too long.

Until then - Please keep cheering me on. It is so much
fun to see what you all are saying to me and on those
really hard days - to log on and see 8 comments...
Even if some comment more than once - it just helps me
to realize how much you are behind me and support what
I am trying so hard to accomplish. I can never thank
you enough for your support. Keep it coming.

Yo - Down

I like it when the yo-yo is going down. Last week my yo-yo
stayed the same, but this week I am down 2.6 pounds. I am
logging in more than 3,000 calories of PA each week and
staying in my "box". Now, I don't remember if I have told
you that my "box" has changed a little. I am doing something
called maintenance boot camp. I have 3 shakes, 5 fruits/veggies,
and Lean Proteins everyday. Lean Proteins can be HMR entrees,
commercial entrees (i.e. Lean Cuisine), or actual lean protein
(i.e. turkey, chicken, fish). This sure has allowed for more
variety in the diet. It also requires more planning. You see
with more choices comes more responsibility for making good ones.

One good choice I am making this week is to participate in the
K8-8K on Saturday. I am going to try pushing in a little jogging
this week. I jogged a little yesterday and it really felt good.
The pace felt good, the breathing felt right, and I wasn't as
sore today. I have been doing at least two workouts per day -
either a workout video and curves or curves and walk/running.
Some days I have actually done all three. I have found that I
MUST keep the PA way up to loose well.

I haven't checked Brad's blog yet to see if I am behind on our
challenge, but I suspect I am - anyway I am not out and I would
only need to loose 27.4 more to win. So where are the Losing
Debbie Cheerleaders - Let's hear your best cheers!!!

Long time No Blog - Sorry

Boy, life can get busy. I have neglected the blogging
for a while - Sorry. Well, here is what has been going
on. The week I didn't blog I lost 1 pound. This week
I found it. I always enjoyed yo-yo's as a child, but
this yo-yo weight thing is about to drive me nuts. People
keep telling me, "But you have to look at how far you
have come..." and I know that is so true, but it is hard
to push on when the body just doesn't seem to be cooperating
as well as it used to. However, I will keep on!

Brad has issued me yet another challenge. He says "double
or nothing" - But what he is proposing is not exactly that.
He proposes - No CD for me at this time, but we start this
week and the next person to loose 30 more pounds gets a prize.
He says he will get me a Barnes and Noble gift card if I win
and I should get him an itunes gift card if he wins. Sounds
like a pretty good deal - Brad, you are on! It is now
official. I have accepted the "double or nothing" challenge.
I weighed in last night - and as a true woman will not tell
here what I weigh, but I will write the number down and give
it to a mutual friend. Brad should be going to his weigh in
tomorrow I think and he can record his number and we will start.
Cheerleading is encouraged on this blog!

I am going to run/walk a 5K this weekend and have registered for
2 more this month. To be more accurate, I will probably walk this
weekend and begin the run/walking in the next one. The weather
here has been so bad, I have not been consistent with the training
and don't want to hurt myself this weekend, so walking is probably
best. Plus I have a wonderful friend who is also walking this
weekend, so we will have a chance to do that together.

Well, please keep me in your prayers for safe, but quick weightloss
and effective exercising. Thank you all for the support you continue
to give me. It is GREAT!

Down 2 more

Last week I stayed the same, but this
week I lost another 2 pounds. I have
really been trying hard to burn a few
extra calories here and there, so maybe
it is beginning to pay off. I have taken
up jogging when the weather is nice, I am
still working out at Curves everyday, and
on mornings when it is cold or wet out I
Walk Away the Pounds with the DVD. I went
to the Doc. for a 3 month check up - blood
work up- to make sure all my levels are in
check with the diet and exercise, and I am
happy to report all is well.
I am on spring break this week, but with
the weather here the last couple of days, I
am having a hard time telling it is spring.
The days off have been wonderful, however.
I have had furniture delivered for the spare
bedroom, painted my room, seen a couple of
doctors, been shopping, and had my taxes done
and it is only Wednesday! I know a number of
people who say they don't retire because they
think they would get bored - I would like to
try it - so far I have been busier on spring
break than on a regular week. Oh well, about
20 more years and I can try retirement :)
Friday will mark the first official day of
Spring - I hope it is warm and sunny where
you are! Happy Easter!!!

I Lost, So I WIN!!!

I lost 2.4 pounds this week, and that
puts me 0.1 over the 30 pounds that
Brad and I had wagered for back in ...
October. Wow, it takes a long time
to loose 30 pounds. I guess now I need
to take a trip to the music store to
pick out a new CD.
I sure hope this week marks the beginning
of my second year of downward success. I
do not want to spend any more time on the
plateau. Today I am 56.4 pounds away from
my goal weight.
The HMR program nurse asked me last week
if she could contact a photographer to
take a couple of pictures to use on their
website. I told her if the website was
going to help others realize and achieve
their own weightloss goals, sure. So, I
am supposed to hear from their photographer
any day now and the website should be up
by April. I will let you know if you want
to see the pics.
Thanks for all the wonderful words of
encouragement - here and in person. The
last few weeks have really been challenging
and frustrating, but you all have really
come through for me pointing out the success
I have had and helping me to see the things
that I can do today that one year ago I could
not imagine - Like hop on one foot longer than
Isaac, or actually workout twice in one day.
Keep reminding me - especially if the going
gets rough again. THANKS

1 Year - 108 Pounds

Yes, it is hard to believe, but I have been doing
the HMR program for one year now. That also means
I have been writing to you all for a year now and
you are still reading - AMAZING!
Over the last year I have seen so many changes in
myself. My body, of course, being the biggest change.
But, also my determination and diligence. I am not
sure I have ever stuck with anything for a year before.
At least not anything good for me. I have about 60
more pounds I would like to loose before I stop with
the weightloss part of the program. But,my biggest
fear has become a reality I think. The weightloss has
slowed down to almost nothing over the last few weeks.
I have started exercising twice a day now to see if
a little extra calorie burn might jolt me back in to
loosing. I am also eating about 4 oz. of lean protein
per day and I am drinking more water. Maybe I will
get off this plateau soon.
Thank you for your support over the past year and please
don't stop now. I need you now more than ever because
this can get discouraging when the body doesn't cooperate.

Down a little

I lost just a little this week - 0.6
I am thankful for a loss with the craziness
that this week has seen. I think next week
will be better. I don't really have anything
new to report.
Up coming events - I will be working out for
St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital on
the 29th. Curves is hosting a St. Jude's day,
so I signed up to workout for donations.
Next Wednesday will mark the one year of HMR
for me. I will be happy to report the big
one year total and hopefully with next weeks
loss I will have lost the 30 pounds necessary
for Brad to pay up on our wager. Until then...
Thanks for your support and comments.

Maintenance

Maintenance - What a funny word. I have been
moved to "maintenance" so I can continue to
loose. I had hit a brick wall with the weight
loss over the last month, so in order to
jump start me they suggested I move to maintenance.
Now, don't get the wrong idea, I am not doing
full maintenance right now. They just had to
put me some where so we could play with me
meal replacement numbers and not get in trouble
with the HMR program people. It seem that if
you are in maintenance you don't have "minimums"
you have to reach each week, so you can mix it
up a bit. It worked - I lost 3.7 pounds in my
first week of maintenance. I am now eating
only one entree per day, but having five shakes,
at least 6 bottles of water, and at least five
veggies and fruits. I hope week two will go
as well because if it does I will have won the
wager Brad and I started back in October to see
who could loose 30 pounds first. I only need to
loose 2.4 more and I win!!! My prize will be
a music CD of my choice and I am open to suggestions.
Anyone bought anything really good lately? I
enjoy most kinds of music. Well, until next week -
Thanks for sticking with me.

Bad Week

Well, I guess you had to figure it was coming sooner
or later...but I would have chose later. I had
a little gain this week 0.8 I know, not even a whole
pound. My counselor is thinking my body may be
adjusted to the "routine" of the diet and I am going
to have to shake it up a bit. She and the nurse
will be helping me see if I can reboost my momentium.
So, I will once again ask for prayers that the weight
start coming off again. I will let you know in the
weeks to come how the changes are working out.