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.