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WooHoo and Hallelujah!

Finally this morning my scale is my friend again. 😉 I got a good solid 199.8 reading.  lol

Hey, I’ll take it after fighting with the scale all week.

I must say that I’ve been feeling absolutely amazing lately. Reaching this goal is a big one. I WILL not go back to being above 200 again – ever. (err….unless I do something crazy during Thanksgiving this week) You have my word on that! It’s true what they say about nothing tasting as good as thin feels. BUT I would substitute the word thin for healthy, fit or something like this.

I feel good about Thanksgiving coming up – really looking forward to spending the day with J and AJ and really I’m not worried about the food. I’ve had 1 1/2 really solid weeks of good exercise and intend to keep it up as the weather has been so gorgeous here. Most days I’m biking and walking or doing 2 walks.

OK, cross your fingers for me that I have this (or better) as my "official" weigh-in weight tomorrow. If not, I really might do serious damage to my scale!

Hope your weekend has been great!  Keep it up – I know that you’re reaching your own milestones. Please do share if you feel so inclined because I do love to celebrate with you all.

God Bless!

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Yes – this is what I feel like doing this week! Grrrrrr!!!!!

No, I haven’t thrown the scale out yet, but I might do if the stinkin thing doesn’t show me below 200 soon.  lol

I am SO close this week and determined. My scale (which reads to the 10th) keeps going between 200.4 or 200.2 and 199.8 – seriously! I refuse to count it as less than 200 until it is actually there for me when I step on the scale twice with the same reading. Yikes! Have I really gotten that crazy for the scale?!

Let’s talk about this…

I SO don’t want to be this way and I admit that I do step on the scale every morning (at least) even tho my "official" weigh-in day is Monday. I think I’m going to have to make myself NOT step on the scale except for Mondays and Fridays – just as a check-in point before the weekend.

I’m going to attempt to do this AFTER I reach my big milestone of getting under 200. I think that’s fair. So I can probably obsess for a few more days. Hopefully not more than this. I set a weekly goal for myself this week to reach 198 which would be fantastic at my 80lb loss mark.

The scale is really just one way to monitor how we’re doing. When I get really frustrated with the numbers, I remind myself of the inches I’ve lost, the fact that I am feeling so amazing and healthy and the way my clothes are fitting.

Whew! We’re almost there folks…keep going!

🙂

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Well, ok aside from the fact that I still have 50+ lbs to lose. 😉

I’ve been regularly (for about the last 4 yrs or so) going to the doctor for blood pressure checks and as I posted earlier I’ve recently been taken off all medication. (was taking 2 different things for the high blood pressure)

Yesterday I check in with doc, blood pressure is good and when I ask him when he wants to see me again he replies that there is no need!  WooHoo! You mean I’m actually healthy?! You don’t know how excited that makes me. The high blood pressure and other potential health concerns have been the biggest motivator for me to lose this weight. The fact that I’ve actually accomplished this goal before the end of the year is amazing to me!

I feel like I’ve literally changed/added to my life with what I’ve done this year! Now, that is something to feel good about. 😉

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As we near the end of 2007, I’ve been thinking of what it is I would like to focus on for next year. I cannot believe the amount of progress I’ve made this year and even though I will not reach my original goal of losing 128 lbs in one year (ok, maybe that was a bit unrealistic!), I DO feel that I’ve made incredible progress.

Currently, I know that I can be at 85 lbs lost…possibly even 90. So, I still have a way to go with the weight loss challenge, but I think that 2008 will be a year of focus for another big goal of mine. The one thing that I can say that I’ve really learned this year is that intense focus really does create a very powerful momentum that will allow you to reach your goals. Losing this weight has allowed me to feel that I can accomplish anything!

I think I will intensely focus on business/financial goals (I have a lot of debt!) in 2008 – with the same kind of drive that I had with the fitness goals this year. I am not in any way saying that I am quitting my weight loss challenge – this will continue and I will be as determined as ever to reach my goal weight. I just don’t think that it needs to have the same kind of intensity as it once did. Just thinking out loud here…

It’s not too early to start thinking about what it is you want to accomplish in 2008. Got any ideas?

I know YOU can do anything – what is the thing in your life that you want to change. 🙂

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Today I happened to look at the odometer reading (total distance traveled) while riding my bike and noticed that I had just passed the 1000 mile mark!  WooHoo!

Let’s think about what this means… 

One year ago, practically to the date – I remember having a real struggle with a 30 Day Challenge I had set for myself to walk 60 minutes a day. I hadn’t really done much physically in a long while at this point and my goal was to get moving again! At that point, I remember feeling overwhelmed (alarmed!) that I really couldn’t walk for 60 minutes (or even 30) without feeling really bad. I did stick with that challenge by doing 4 15 minute walks each day until I felt that I could do 30 minutes at a time.

So, fast forward to today’s big Aha! moment – 😉

The fact that I’ve (joyfully!) ridden my bike for 1000+ miles in just over 3 months is pretty amazing to me!

I’m so happy that I’ve found a form of exercise that I enjoy this much and encourage you to try to find something that you really look forward to doing as well.

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Today, I planned to take the bus to Walmart for a bit of shopping and I also want to be taking my blood pressure at least once a week. (they have one of those cool machines near the pharmacy)

There is a bus stop right outside of my apartment complex, but when I take the bus from here, I am riding the whole loop of the bus route. I usually opt for the option of walking for about 30 min. and then catching the bus on its way to the end of the route. (Walmart – my destination)

After waiting for the bus for quite awhile I called to see what was up and they told me that on Saturdays this bus doesn’t start until later. Doh! At the point, I made the decision to walk – it was a nice morning and I had lots of good podcast material to listen to on my Ipod.

It took me another 40 minutes or so to walk to Walmart and as I was doing so I realized how much my attitude has changed since the beginning of the year.  Back then I was SO depressed about not having a car. I felt stuck! Now I just walk or ride my bike and feel wonderful about it. (OK, I do have my moments still)  But overall, the fact that I don’t have a car since moving to NC has been a good thing. It’s definitely helped in my quest for weight loss.

I don’t know why I felt that I could only get to Walmart by bus. It’s really just around the corner and I can ride through the neighborhood that is right next to my apartment complex. When I first started riding my bike, I was concerned about the busy road that it is off of. But now that I’ve got more experience under my belt, I don’t think it will be a problem at all. WooHoo! One more place I can get to on my bike! And J and AJ’s neighborhood is right across from this part of town.

All in all, a very encouraging day AND my blood pressure was great! 😉

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Today was an important milestone for me.

When I started my weight loss back in January, my physical health was a very important motivator. I’d been on blood pressure medication for the past 3-4 years. I knew all the risks of carrying the extra weight – each time I would feel something was wrong with my body, I feared being diagnosed with Diabetes.

The time had come to make some serious changes…my body had been telling me this for awhile.

I think officially my blood pressure has been borderline or at least on the low-ish side of high…maybe? Maybe not. Typically a reading would be 130’s over mid-90’s.  Actually that’s with the medication, so probably not that great.

For the past months, it’s been normal when I check-in with the doctor and I’ve also been taking it myself with the machine at Walmart. Have you seen these? They’re great and my doc says that they are accurate.

As I wrote last month, I had already cut out the one medication – Metoprolol. Today we cut the Diovan and now I am medication free. WooHoo! Blood pressure reading today was 120/80 which is excellent.

OK, truth be told – I made the nurse take it twice. 😉 When I first arrive at the office, I’ve been walking or riding my bike and I know this means a higher reading. I’ve learned this at Walmart as well. If I take it and it’s high, but then relax for a minute and take it one more time – I’ll get a different/better reading.

So today was a great day – an achievement for all of my hard work so for and the almost  70 lbs that I’ve lost. A real feeling of accomplishment to say the least.

Doc wants to monitor me and see me in a month. I guess this will be the true test as to whether my lower blood pressure has been due to the medication or the weight loss – Of course I’m praying for option 2!

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I did order pizza again this month while I was in the midst of PMS and I thought I’d write a quick post about it as I was thinking about how I was feeling about the whole thing.

I’m always pretty deliberate when I do this and it definitely seems to follow a pattern. I figure if I let myself have this as a treat every 4-6 weeks or so (dare I say once a month) it’s not going to kill my progress. I mean, this is real life we’re leading, right? AND we’re bound to have craving, especially when we’re PMS-ing big time. lol 😉

I think there may be times when I can have the craving and NOT give in to it, and most often during the month, I do not crave this and I’m perfectly fine with my "normal" healthy meals. Also, I do hate to do this right before a weigh-in…especially if it is a monthly weigh-in, so I will definitely try to wait until after if these 2 events coincide at all.

Pizza and chicken wings…strange – I’ve always loved pizza, but never really went for the chicken wings before so I’m not sure what all that is about!

What are your craving? Feel free to share and also let us know how YOU deal with them.

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This morning I rode my bike to a nearby Lake. This is a great Sunday ride for me because there is a road that on other days is quite busy where on Sundays it’s no problem, so I like to take advantage of the early quiet Sunday morning. Of course when I get there, it is a beautiful ride around the Lake which is roughly 4 miles. The whole ride is about 16 miles and on the way back there’s a bit of a hill to climb.

I find myself playing this little game as I go up the hill where I pick a spot just ahead (maybe a driveway, tree or mailbox) and make that my goal.  Typically when I ride I have a goal to go for distance or speed and today I was thinking that when I’m on an incline, the goal is not necessarily the distance or the speed, but rather just not getting off the bike to walk it up the hill. 😉

The mantra in my head at this time is "Don’t Quit" – round the peddles go – "Don’t Quit" – a little further up the hill – "Don’t Quit". AND of course in just a bit of time and with legs burning, I’ve made it to the top AND it feels so awesome!

After clearing the top today and then coasting for a bit I was thinking how making it up this hill is such a metaphor for the weight loss challenge and our quest to lose weight. Every month and week so far this year, I’ve had goals that I’ve been trying really hard to attain, but because this journey is NOT fast and NOT necessarily easy (who said that it would be, right?) sometimes the goal of the DAY is just NOT to quit! Do you know what I’m saying here?

I don’t ALWAYS feel like exercising when I get up in the morning and I sometimes do want that pizza or sweet, BUT I know that I will not quit at this, so any concession I make does not lead to throwing in the towel. Sometimes we DO exercise when we don’t "feel" like it and we DO use restraint when we want to make an unhealthy food choice because like riding your bike to the top of the hill, it is the little choices that we make along the way that will get us to the top – to our goals – to health and freedom!

I predict the view’s gonna be great! Are you with me?! 🙂

Don’t quit! Keep going!

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The Biggest Loser Season 4 Premier aired last night.

I’ve been really excited for this show to start up again because it was such a big part of my own motivation to lose weight this year. I don’t know that it is completely realistic for the average person to lose as much weight as fast as they do on the show, but it is encouraging to watch. Of course they are going to lose much faster and bigger as they have really intense workouts and this is basically what they are doing for weeks on end. Meaning that they don’t have the distractions of "regular" life and can 100% focus on their weight loss, exercise and dieting.

For me, it has shown the value of focus and back in Dec. I had decided that weight loss/health goals would HAVE to be my #1 focus/goal for 2007…and so far it really has. I think sometimes you really do need this intense amount of focus on ONE big goal to get the momentum going.

I thought the show was great and I really look forward to this season. I love it that Alison Sweeney is the new host and I think she will be great! The show started with all of the contestants being dropped off in the middle of a desert. Yikes – what must they be thinking?!

Trainers, Bob Harper (Blue Team) and Kim Lyons (Red Team) then skydive to the ground to greet them. Pretty cool! The big twist this season is the make-up of a surprise Black Team – they were the ones not chosen by the original Blue and Red Team captains – who will be led by Jillian Michaels. They will secretly be training in the desert and meet up with the other teams a bit later in the show.

The season is off to a great start and I’m hoping that it will help with my own motivation as well as provide a source of good diet and exercise tips that I can follow from home as I continue with my own weight loss challenge.