The Sunday Skinny

This was a really tough week. Let's see the results.

Starting Weight: 218.7 lbs

Last Week's Weight: 215.0 lbs

This Week's Weight: 213.8 lbs

+Gain/-Loss This Week: -1.2 lbs

+Gain/-Loss Overall: -4.9 lbs

I had a lot of really low point mood swings this past week. It pains me that I'm crying over food, but honestly, it's not really the lack of food that's so upsetting I guess. I'm having a really hard time dealing with the fact that I've gotten myself into this situation and it's my own fault that I'm now having to take such drastic measures to get where I need to be. The fact that it's so slow going is also very frustrating. I know that I didn't put all of this weight on overnight, but I'm so driven to get this weight off now, that it's just not coming off as fast as I would like. I'll accept it sooner or later...I just hope it's sooner.

This weekend was super tough because I went on a scrapbooking retreat where all of the meals were prepared for me and I had no idea ahead of time what would be served. Dinner Friday went fine and I sailed through breakfast & lunch yesterday, but that's when the ship started to sink. For dinner last night, every single thing served was loaded with carbs and definitely NOT on my approved food list. I could either suck it up and eat a little of the contraband or go hungry and this girl doesn't just go hungry. Within 20 minutes of eating the stuff, I had such horrible guilt that I nearly made myself vomit. Horrible. And then this morning, they served hash brown potato casserole and quiche, which are also 2 no-no's. I managed to scrape the crust off the quiche and pray that the small slice I ate wasn't too bad on my diet.

So, let's move on from my depressing rant. I'm now feeling more motivated to start exercising, which is great. Guilt can be a handy tool sometimes! My goal is to get in 4 workouts this week and to stick really close to my diet. I know that falling of the wagon this weekend isn't the end of the world, but I'm so paranoid about falling into those old habits. Thanks for the support!

Goin' to the Chapel

Way back in 1996, I was in wedding planning mode BIG TIME. I was also into cross stitching BIG TIME. I had this grand plan to cross stitch a picture of the chapel where hubby & I were going to be married. Here is the chapel. Isn't it pretty?

Well, things got really hectic and even though I started the project, it ended up in a box with a plethora of other projects that I started and just didn't manage to finish. I've picked up the project every now & then over the years but still couldn't manage to finish it.

And so, 16 years, 2 house moves, 2 kids and many life experiences later, I am now extremely proud to say that I can finally mark this project COMPLETE!

Off to the framing shop I go tomorrow!

The Sunday Skinny

I've been on this new diet for a week now. Let's see some numbers! (And for those following me on Facebook, these are not going to be the same numbers that I posted this week. Those posts are based on my weight at the dr's office. These numbers on my blog are my home weigh in numbers.)

Starting Weight: 218.7 lbs

Last Week's Weight: 220.0 lbs

This Week's Weight: 215.0 lbs

+Gain/-Loss This Week: -5.0 lbs

+Gain/-Loss Overall: -3.7 lbs

PROGRESS!!! That first week on the diet was brutal. I cried and had fits and mood swings and was in just a generally horrible mood for 7 days. Phew, glad that's over.

This week, I am bumped up to a 600-800 calorie/40g of carbs per day diet and I'm supposed to implement exercise. I'm a little lacking on the exercise part, but the diet is going well. I was able to bring a serving a fruit back in and vegetables on on the menu again. Hallelujah!

I know that my loss next week is going to be slight, but if I can keep up a steady minimal loss each week from here on out, I know that I'm moving in the right direction. Thanks for all of the support!

The Sunday Skinny

Since I'm going with a new posting day, I wanted to come up with a new graphic and so I'm using this one that Shannon & I used last year on our Dieting to Disney blog (which shall become active again!). So, let's see what this week's results are.

Starting Weight: 218.7 lbs

Last Week's Weight: 222.2 lbs

This Week's Weight: 220.0 lbs

+Gain/-Loss This Week: -2.2 lbs

+Gain/-Loss Overall: +1.3 lbs

So, the big news is that I started the new diet regime last Friday and it's going well. Aside from being hungry (because I turned down the appetite suppressant) and having a headache for the last 2 days, I'm feeling pretty good and I'm already seeing results!

I'm limited to 500 calories/day for the first week, so on Friday, I'll be bumped up to something a little more reasonable and I'll be able to start exercising. Color Run, here I come! I'm looking forward to adding some fruits and veggies next week, but I can already see it as a challenge because most of the fruits and veggies that I prefer have a low calorie/high carb count. Grrrr. This week I'm limited to 10 carbs/day but next week it will only bump up to 30/day. It's going to be hard, but I know this is for the greater good!

Thanks for the support!

Busy Bees

If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably noticed that when school is in session, my status updates wane. In an interesting turn of events, I've blogged more here in the last month than in did in about 6 months last year. Weird, but I'll take it! Here are a few camera-phone shots of what we've been up to for the last month.

My girls hosted their very first sleepover at our house and it was a success! There are sisters at their school who are the same ages as my girls and have very similar personalities. They all get along like peas & carrots, so we were happy to have them over. The next morning, hubby & I took the girls to Home Depot so they could participate in the kid's clinic. They each built keepsake boxes and had a great time!

I took my girls for a haircut. This doesn't happen too often, so I like to document it. Wow, I've got some gorgeous kids!

I chaperoned a learning expedition for my Kindergartner's class. We went to the Tennessee Aquarium and had so much fun! We're really lucky to have such a great asset in our city and I recommend you guys checking it out if you're ever in the area.

This was just the tip of the iceberg for January! This month is going to pick up even more!

101 Things in 1,001 Days: Update 8

In April 2010, I came up with a list of 101 things that I want to accomplish in 1,001 days. I didn’t accomplish as much as I would’ve liked last month, but February has a ton of potential! My most recent updates are in BLUE.

Home Improvement Goals
1. Decorate my house - This particular goal was pretty broad, so I’m going to own this one by calling it complete as of Dec 2011. I finally managed to decorate my entire house for the holidays and it felt great!
2. Clean desk - I cleaned it in Dec 2010. Now let’s see if I can keep it clean.
3. Keep desk organized for 3 months
4. Finish remodeling the kids bathroom - I think I’m marking this one complete by default. I wrote this with my old house in mind and since that house is under contract with potential new owners, I don’t see us making any additional improvements. At my new house, the kids bathroom is in great shape, thank goodness!
5. Change the living room paint colors and window treatments -Completed in June 2010 at old house
6. Get a window treatment for the kitchen window
7. Create a manageable house cleaning schedule - I accomplished this in April 2011 and had hubby laminate it for me and everything. I should have added that I need to implement the schedule on a regular basis.
8. Have fresh flowers on the kitchen table every week for a month -Completed December 2010 and plan to keep this up because I loved having flowers on the table
9. Decorate inside & out for Christmas - Completed December 2010 and loved every minute of it

Hobby Goals
10. Enter a photography contest
11. Make a quilt
12. Read 100 books - In January, I read “Room”. (2012 book count - 1; Overall book count - 19)
13. Go to a book signing - My BFF Shannon & I went to see our FAVE author, Jen Lancaster at a book signing in Atlanta in May 2011. It was AWESOME!
14. Read all of the Harry Potter books - I have finished books 1 through 4 and am currently reading book 5.
15. Join a book club - I joined an online book club on Goodreads in October 2011, and I am so psyched! I’m starting my 1st book with the club this month.
16. Learn to knit or crochet
17. Knit or crochet a blanket
18. Craft with friends at least once a month - Got together with friends on several occasions to craft but not with consistency each month
19. Finish my Wreck This Journal
20. Learn how to use my sewing machine
21. Sew a dress for each of my children
22. Learn a new language
23. Finish the cross stitch piece I started for my wedding
24. Enroll in a pottery class
25. Print my blog in book form - After pricing this project out, I discovered that printing a year of entries at a time was my best bet. So, I've obtained the book form of 2011 and am working my way backwards. I should have the beginning (2008) through 2011 by the end of the year!
26. Enroll in a cake decorating class
27. Take a photography class & learn how to use my camera
28. Blog twice a week - I managed to blog twice a week for the entire month of January 2012. Yay! I’m trying to keep up this pace, which is definitely manageable.
29. Cross stitch the Rainbow Bridge poem
30. Finish a heritage scrapbook for my mom
31. Finish a heritage scrapbook for my dad

Health & Exercise Goals
32. Get a massage - Completed August 2010
33. Stop biting my fingernails - Completed August 2010
34. Take a cooking class
35. Start a skincare routine - Completed August 2010 (but need to do a better job of keeping up with it regularly)
36. Exercise 5 days a week for a month
37. Run a 5k
38. Treat myself to a massage after losing 30lbs total
39. Treat myself to a massage after losing 60lbs total
40. Enjoy a new wardrobe after meeting my weight loss goal
41. Donate all of my old clothes after meeting my weight loss goal
42. Get down to 120lbs
43. Maintain my goal weight of 120lbs for at least 3 months
44. Go on a horseback ride that involves galloping
45. Take my dog to the dog park once a week
46. Take my dog on a walk twice a week
47. Play in a disc golf tournament
48. Go 7 days without eating junk food snacks - Completed September 2010
49. Eat 5 things that I've never tried before - I tried zucchini for the first time in August 2011 and it was ok.

Outdoors Goals
50. Go camping
51. Grow an herb garden - Bought an herb garden in May 2010 and managed not to kill it for a month which is progress. Plan to actually plant an herb garden at our new house eventually.
52. Start a compost pile in the backyard
53. Landscape my front yard - Completed in June 2010 at old house
54. Build a flower box & plant flowers in it

Personal Goals
55. Get a tattoo
56. Get a professional bra fitting
57. Get my passport
58. Volunteer at an animal shelter - I took my Daisy Girl Scout troop to a local animal shelter in October 2011 and we made food toys for the cats and dogs. It was awesome!
59. Become a published author - I’m totally claiming a win here since I printed my blog in book form and it’s professionally bound and pretty with a dedication page and table of contents and the whole nine yards. That’s not too much of a stretch, right?!
60. Throw a dinner party - Completed November 2010 when we hosted Thanksgiving here for some wonderful friends who are like family
61. Watch Gone with the Wind
62. See Josh Groban in concert - Completed in June 2011 and he was GREAT!
63. Start a review blog - Completed in April 2010
64. Take singing lessons
65. Move to a bigger house - Completed in July 2010
66. Finish my will
67. Inspire someone else to make their own list - Completed in April 2010
68. Learn to drive a stick shift
69. Go whale watching
70. Ride in a limo
71. Go to see 2 concerts - Went to see Kings of Leon with my BFF Shannon in November 2010 and August 2011; Went to see Bon Jovi with my friend Valerie in May 2011
72. Volunteer in my community - I have been volunteering a TON with my kids school, so I totally think this counts.
73. Stay organized for 3 months
74. Watch a movie at a drive-in theater
75. Buy a pair of boots
76. Learn to wear/walk in heels
77. Buy a watch & actually wear it - I bought a cheap watch at Target, in June 2011, and I’ve been wearing it pretty faithfully. So much so that it’s almost on it’s last leg. I think it might be time to fix my nice watch.
78. Go to Disney World with my hubby & kids
79. Get the interview with my grandparents converted to DVD - I finally did this and picked up the DVD’s in January 2012! This means a lot to me because this is the only video that my family has of my grandparents. My grandfather passed away more than a decade ago and I’m glad that I now have something to show my girls what a great person he was.
80. Book a trip to London
81. Assist in growing our Kindermusik program by 100% - I helped accomplish growing our program significantly before I left in August 2011. It was a tough decision to leave, but the best for me & my family.
82. Apply to be on the Amazing Race
83. Play my own lottery numbers - Completed in May 2010
84. But a ticket for a dream home giveaway
85. Sing karaoke at a bar/club
86. Use my bread maker
87. Send my grandma a card once a week
88. Be debt free (except for the house)
89. Apply for membership with the DAR
90. Own a minivan - I am the proud owner of a Toyota Sienna as of August 2011!!
91. Dye a blue streak in my hair
92. Go 3 days without getting online - Completed in July 2010
93. Go an entire day without watching tv - Completed in July 2010
94. Have a professional photo shoot done of just me
95. Buy myself a Dooney & Bourke or Coach purse
96. Go on a horse drawn carriage ride with my family - We took a carriage ride together in Charleston, SC in July 2011.
97. Play miniature golf - Completed in November 2010 when hubby & I played the new "Glow Golf" course in town and had a blast
98. Take dinner to a friend - Completed in May 2010
99. Give a compliment to a complete stranger - I told the drive-thru barista at Starbucks that his glasses looked nice, in November 2011.
100. Save all of my coin change for 3 months & deposit it into my kids savings accounts
101. Write a new list of 101 things in 1,001 days at the end of this project

So, I've completed 38 of 101 tasks in 22 months and made progress on another 3 tasks. I’m pleased with my progress so far and have the rest of this year to make some serious headway. This year is off to a great start!

The Sunday Skinny

Friday's are proving to be nearly impossible to get my weekly post up, so I've decided to rename this "The Sunday Skinny". Let's go!

Starting Weight: 218.7 lbs

Last Week's Weight: 222.0 lbs

This Week's Weight: 222.2 lbs

+Gain/-Loss This Week: +.2 lbs

+Gain/-Loss Overall: +3.5 lbs

This was a really tough week and not for the reasons that you might think. Yes, I'm not exactly happy about the gain this week, but I'm more upset that my master plan of a new weight loss program was put off for another week. I hate when money is the impeding factor between myself and progress. And I really hate it when the money issue is completely out of my control. However, that has now been resolved, so my new plan will be taking off this week. Yay! And what is the new plan, you ask?

There is a company called Blue Sky MD and they have an office in my city. It's a medically managed weight loss company that offers vitamin shots and personalized meal plans to help you achieve your goals. I have 1 friend who had a lot of success with the plan last year and my bestie is currently doing the program (with success, but while kicking & screaming).

I was very skeptical about the program for a couple of reasons. First, I'm totally needle-phobic and hate the idea of weekly shots, but I've researched it and it seems to be safe. Second, I didn't like the idea of exercise not being part of the program from the start. However, this program is about making the lifestyle changes necessary for a long-term solution, which starts with the food choices that I make. The program does incorporate exercise about 6 weeks in, which seems logical to me because the calorie consumption count during the first 6 weeks really doesn't allow for any exercise. It would be counterproductive to weight loss.

So, I'm going on Wednesday for my initial bloodwork and physical and then on Friday I'll go for my first shot and my meal plan. I know that starches are outlawed for quite a while and that I'll be eating a lot of protein for the foreseeable future, but I'm ok with that. I've been obese for so long now that I'm scared of my complacency. I don't want to be this person anymore. I am a happy person who enjoys doing things but this body prohibits me from living the life that I want to lead. I am so happy that I finally see a light at the end of this tunnel!

Next week's post probably won't show a lot of progress, but stay tuned to start seeing big results with me in the coming weeks and months. 2012 is the year of a new ME!!