My Weightloss Ticker

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

This is becoming a big deal to me...

For two weeks now, I've been teetering between the 32 and 29 pound weight loss. TWO WEEKS. I know what you're going to say... believe me.


But really, it would be so great if I could just jump back over that 32 pound total and keep running that number up, you know?


After I got sick, I thought it would take me a few days to get the ice-cream/laying-around-being-pouty weight off, but just about the time that was all coming off, I started my period again. On Sunday, my legs were so tight and swollen. BLEH! I'm still trying to drink water, but it makes me want to dry out! lol.


I got a new "routine" with my trainer last Friday after work, as well... and it's getting more intense. I begin sweating pretty much right away... and she's having me do more things each time, too... plus an extra set. So three sets of 7 exercises before my cardio instead of 2 sets of 4 exercises. WHEW! Monday night I did pretty good, I think... and even increased on one exercise already (not for the full three sets, but I tried to "burn out" on the third set on the "smith machine," not that I even know what "smith machine" means...)


My new routine:

Killer Walk - (three sets of this) - stay in a squatted position, hold a 10-pound medicine ball, and do a side step walk (about 15-17 paces long) and come back. So approx. thirty paces per set.


Balance Lunges - (again, three sets... but mine look a little different for now) - Spread feet apart like scissors - pretty far apart... so that your back foot is only leaning on your toes (like a runner would have his back foot before taking off) Front foot is flat. Now squat. Back straight. Go as far down as possible - with your back knee headed toward the ground. EEK! These really burn... and I have to do 10 on each leg at a time for now. I usually can't get thru the 3 sets. I also have to at least have my hand pressed on a side wall - or I fall over.


Smith Machine - it's basically a bench press. I'm lying back on a bench that is slightly tilted up, not flat. The bar is actually attached to the machine - it's not a free bar that wobbles around. You "unhook" it by twisting and do bench presses. 20 of them. Three sets. Right now I'm doing 10 pound weights (in addition to the weight of the bar). This was the one I "burned out" on last night. My third set was 12.5 pound weights on each side instead of 10. hehe. HEY! Don't laugh.

Straight BiCep Curl - just a short barbell, thirty pounds, bicep curl (with elbows held still pressed into my sides) - twenty of those, three times. Usually, I can do 2.5 times.

Tricep Extension - it's a pull down exercise - 40 pounds - (elbows held still, pressed into my sides) - twenty of those, three times. Usually, I can do 2.5 times.

Row - That's not the full name of it - but I can't remember. I'm seated still on a bench and my legs at straight out on foot pads - knees slightly bent. Back straight. There is a v-grip that I pull toward me. Again, twenty times, three sets. I think I do this one on 60 pounds.

Stability Ball Crunches - This one had to be modified because I'm just not ready to lay down on an exercise ball. What if it bursts? I don't think I could ever open my eyes again. I'd have to just wait until everyone left the gym, then I'd run out to my car and never come back. Seriously. So for now, we do them either on a bench or on the floor. Me? I'm doing them in my room at home. I hate being layed out like that in front of people. 20 of those, three times.

I think that's it. I don't mean like "that's all..." but just that I'm done with the list. :)

Anyway. Whew. Then I do my 30 minutes on the treadmill. I'm up to being able to stay steady pretty much the entire 30 minutes at about a 2.4-2.6 speed. I do the fat burn setting, so it moves me up and down from 3.0 to 5.5 incline for the entire 30 minutes. Hope it's working... and that this weight non-movement is from fat being replaced with muscle.

want to tell me about your gym time?

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

another tuesday

well, sadly... another Tuesday weigh-in has come. i must say, i was sure that i had gained several pounds... so it's not the shock of the gain, but I'm sad to be below the 30 pound loss line again.

29.6 pounds lost. still amazing, but anyway....

thanks for your comments on the sugar-free stuff. generally, though, that stuff makes my migraines worse. :( i can do a little Splenda in water with lime sometimes at restaurants, but in general, the fake sweeteners are hard on my head.

I'm feeling better with the cold and such now. still some coughing, but in general, much better.

however, i always have this "morning after the gym" headache. my brother, who is a "sports guy," in many ways, said that it's from not consuming enough water after my workouts. He said, "you need to be drinking water from the time you're done working out in the evening until you go to bed." Being that I'm not a good "drinker" in general (of anything... not just water - I'm sure I'm always dehydrated!), this is difficult... but I do need to be better because I hate having headaches.

anyway - how much water do you consume during the day?

Monday, July 21, 2008

being sick stinks!

last wednesday, after being at work on Monday and Tuesday with a sick co-worker, i spent the day at work with a terrible sore throat. :(
thursday, i was out of work. :( i missed my gym time, too.
friday and saturday were alright... i did go back to the gym on saturday - then was a little sore yesterday from the movements...

but yesterday, i started feeling the sickness more in my chest.

and today, here i am at work - choking with each breath. :(

this is NOT cool for the diet... sitting around, drinking fluids (like juice, too - full of sugar and calories), eating ice cream and popsicles - just not good...

ugh.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Another Anniversary

Two months ago last night was when my friends approached me with their concerns and promises to help and love me.


This morning, I was at a weight I haven't seen since... well, I'm not sure (remember what I said about scales and just being "not really sure how much I weigh.")


345.4


That's 4 pounds since Friday morning. Wow!


I still keep track of my weight on FitDay.com - although it might be good for me to go back to using that for my food, too. I still keep track of my calories, of course, but sometimes, just on a post-it by my desk. I love post-its. :)


Here's the two month report from FitDay. It shows my beginning weight from what I was on that Wednesday morning, May 14th. All the way down to today... (sometimes there are "drastic" drops because I don't put in my weight every day... just on the days I weigh.)



I honestly don't ever want to go back.

Friday, July 11, 2008

A Classic?

Well, it's not about the book today... it's about MY 80 days and the trip it's been... since I began tracking me weight and making changes. Woo! 28.4 pounds.
I am considering tossing in an extra day at the gym - perhaps going sometimes on Sunday afternoon... just to see what that would do to my weeks of losing weight and gaining tone and better (not round) shape...


When do you all go to the gym? How often? For how long?


Thursday, July 10, 2008

Still haven't weighed...

... although it was tempting this morning.

I don't know what it is... I just want to get on that scale so much! I guess I still don't believe this is real.

I made a step toward releasing some of this "baggage," if you will.

Remember I told you that some friends of mine had done a bit of an intervention and got me the gym membership, promised to walk alongside me, go to the gym, etc...?

Well, a couple of days ago, I told them about this blog... and told them how much I weighed. It was a really difficult email for me to write, but I told myself that when I lost 10% of the weight I needed to lose, 23.2 pounds, I would tell them the real deal. Lucky for me, the number jumped to 27.4, so I went on and wrote it.

here's a bit of the message:

here goes nothin'...
------------------------
I guess it's finally time for me to share with you all some information about the weightloss. As of this morning, I've lost 27.4 pounds, and I'm very happy. I'm not sure how the next months will go, but I really feel successful in this right now - and I'm so thankful for all of your help and support (in so many ways!!). I told myself weeks ago that when I got to a certain point in my weight loss, I was going to share with you all my true weight and the true magitude of the loss that needs to happen. I have never told anyone (outside of the general manager at the gym or at the doctor's offices) what I weigh. Not even my own mother. I always just say, "I'm not really sure."

Until I bought that new scale months ago, that was true - because most scales didn't really tell me - I was even too big for those. I'm still not ready to begin using the scale at the gym or anything, but I know that I could at this point... because I've reached the weight that those scales register.

It's still a lot, but it's going away - and I just don't know that I could let myself turn back at this point.I've also been blogging - since before I ever heard from you all about your plan to love and support me. I found an online group of people back in April when I was starting to make some small changes on my own and I clung to their stories about loss and struggles.

They are all over the world - and I want to share that the "power" to do these things isn't in me... it's not of me, rather - it's Jesus. They are all really encouraging with their blogging comments and are faithful to read my blog and check up on me.

I think I just really appreciate their role in this because they know what it's like to be this big. They know what it's like to fear food, yet love it so intensely at the same time. So, here goes... I'm sharing my blog with you ... as well as the numbers. I'm not sure why this feels like a step toward "healing," but it does.

So here it is.

My blog - iamabiggerloser.blogspot.com

Starting weight (on April 21st) - 377.8
Weight Today (77 days later) - 350.4
Total Loss - 27.4 pounds
Percent of Body Weight Lost - 7.25 percent
Weight Still to lose - 210.4

So, you see - I still have a lot to go. I had to lose almost TWO PEOPLE to get down to being a normal person weight. This is the magnitude I live with every day. This is why every single morsel is a decision for me... every restaurant... every family meal... every moment. I don't want it to be control me or be my master, but this is why this is HUGE for me to decide to do every single day.



They were all really encouraging, to say the least... very, very precious friends.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Well, I made it until Sunday...

...without getting back on the scale. I had a friend in town, though, and I really wanted to know if there had been any progress since the week-o-nothing.

I'm thankful to have seen a loss!

Another fun thing - we went shopping and I tried on a pair of pants that were a size smaller. They were even loose.. as in, I probably could have gone down even another size!
I bought them anyway, though, because I don't want to squeeze into anything, and you never know what washing and drying clothes will do, you know?!

I was so happy - I was screaming in the dressing room!! :)

So, I've passed the 10% mark - so great!

Gym again tonight.

(I'm just so glad that there was a loss, because for two days, even though I tried to be more careful than I would have in my past life, I still ate fun food for the weekend of the 4th~)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

I waited a whole week...

... and nothing.

no gain.
no loss.

:( I'm both settled and disappointed with this. Of course disappointed because I like seeing those numbers go down, down, down... but settled in that this time last month, I had gained a few pounds. Precious, precious time of the month.

So.. hopefully I can have self control and wait until next week again to weigh.

Tomorrow I get to have another day of exercise for the week. I'm going with some friends to a home about an hour away to play outside and in the pool all day. While I'm not super excited about ANOTHER summer fully dressed in the pool, I am happy to be in the water and swimming swimming swimming all day. Good thing it burns a lot of calories!