AJ got baptized at church this last Sunday! It was so awesome to watch.
A cool thing is that his father happened to be in town for the weekend (from TN) so he came to church with us as well. Then we all went to lunch after. (yes, I did eat something fattening!) It was a great day!
It so wonderful to see AJ taking these steps before the wedding. I’m so happy for J that their marriage will be starting out as that of a Christian couple.
Amen!
I missed J’s shower and bachelorette party back in MI last week, so I planned a day out with her to take her lingerie shopping and out to lunch. We had a really good time and I am so excited for her as she prepares to be married next month.
We went shopping – found something pretty for her. Then decided to hit CiCi’s Pizza for lunch.
Have you ever been to this place? (I think it’s a chain) Well, I had not been here before and let me know tell you – it is a calorie disaster waiting to happen if you are dieting. lol I had allowed myself permission to splurge a bit as I eat out so infrequently these days, BUT it is very easy to go overboard at this place. It’s a pizza buffet that serves up every different kind of pizza you can imagine. (so of course you want to try the Mexican pizza, potato pizza – well, you get the idea) Not to mention the bread, salad (OK a bit of salad is a good idea!) and desserts available.
Good grief! Well I can just say that I left this place feeling that uncomfortable kind of full that I haven’t felt since beginning the weight loss challenge back in Jan. This is NOT a good thing! Live and learn, I guess. It was bound to happen. Again, it is MORE important what I do tomorrow – and I am planning a day of healthy living!
Here’s to pizza! 😉
Yesterday, we started another big launch at work. This one will be a lot bigger and busier than the one last month which I don’t mind. Hopefully I will start figuring out a way to balance times like this with my eating and exercise because so far I’m not doing so well with this. 😉
I guess I could just really plan for it by having a "Boot Camp" week before and/or after. That’s not a bad idea. I will think of doing that after next month’s trip to Chicago. My family is meeting up to celebrate with J before her June wedding…kind of sisterhood event of sorts. Parents, brother and nephews will also be there so I’m really looking forward to it.
I guess we’re always going to have something on the horizon that has the potential to throw us off of our routine. I think the key really is planning for these events – before, during and after. And of course we don’t want to go crazy with calories during this time. I look at it as a time to splurge a bit, while at the same time using the 80/20 rule even while I’m away or having a strange week. I figure if about 80% of the time I’m making healthy choices, the other 20% splurge on dessert or an extra drink shouldn’t be so bad. Also, during these times I don’t really intend to lose, but am happy to maintain for a week.
So, back to work for me…I really will try to get some exercise in here at some point! 😉
Ever since I moved to NC from CA, I’ve had a difficult time finding a doctor. The key for me has actually been that I need something that I can easily walk to or take the bus as it is these types of things that frustrate me about not having a car.
In CA, I had a doctor (actually she was a nurse practitioner) that I loved. I went to a low cost (actually it was free) women’s health care clinic. Don’t let the price fool you – it was wonderful! They were always so supportive and encouraging with me. (at the time I was struggling with my weight)
I’ve been on blood pressure medication for the past few years. My blood pressure has not been crazy high but enough so that treatment was recommended. I really fought having to take medication and have wanted to get it down through weight loss and exercise.
This is a BIG goal for me this year with my weight loss! I really want to get off the medication (this, along with a decrease in weight will also help lower my health insurance costs) and see my blood pressure become normal.
I believe that these physical goals and health concerns are what need to be my main motivation for losing the weight and getting healthy. If we don’t have our health, what else really matters? I’m determined to NOT be someone that is a walking risk for things such as heart disease, diabetes and everything else that is highly associated with obesity.
During my walks up the street to the grocery store, (about a 30 min walk) I discovered that a new clinic had opened. Score! Walking distance! This could be great!
I had my initial appointment yesterday. I needed to get my blood pressure medication refilled so this is what had created the urgency to find a doctor. As I suspected, my blood pressure is still on the high side, but the doctor was very encouraging about my weight loss and exercise when I told him what I’ve been doing. I go back in 2 weeks and then I will probably go on a monthly basis (or so) to monitor my blood pressure. (actually at least to begin with, they’ve given me a trial of one of the more expensive medications which is great!)
Will keep you posted. Here’s to moving towards good health! 🙂
My sister (M) was in town visiting for a week. She lives in MI near my parents and it was great to spend some time with her. J, AJ, and I are ALWAYS trying to convince her that she needs to move here.
BIG news of the week…
AJ accepted Christ on Easter Sunday! How awesome is that?! It was wonderful that M could be here with us and the whole week was really very amazing. This is something that we have all been praying about and it is such a joy and a testimony to who God is for sure. I am so excited for he and J as they plan their lives together. (wedding is in June)
On another note, I knew that this would be an unusual week again in terms of being able to totally stick to my food and exercise routine. It’s OK – this is real life, right? We need to be able to handle the out of the ordinary times. I always say when I am making a choice that it less than perfect 😉 – it’s more important what I do tomorrow, than what I’m choosing right now. (mind you, this is only if a "poor" choice is infrequent!) I know that in the past when I was doing the diet/yo-yo thing, I would "mess up" one time and everything would be over! This is ridiculous and really makes no sense at all. lol
The weight loss challenge is all about FORWARD motion! The past is in the past and we keep moving!
(Having said all that, you may notice that my weight loss for the week was 0! – Next week – rock-n-roll!)
Are you with me?
I just wanted to mention how great it feels that I did meet my first target weight of the weight loss challenge for Q1! My goal was to lose 32 lbs in the first 3 months. I lost 32.4! WooHoo! Talk about close!
I can’t tell you how beneficial it has been for me to write everything down – goals, calories, foods, tracking, etc. I feel like this is really helping me to stay motivated and accountable. It’s so easy to "forget" about bites of food that we put into our mouths when we’re not writing it down. I also feel that over the long term the tracking of everything will help me to get through rough patches or plateaus. I think that my tracking will give me information that will help to push through plateaus and keep me motivated if and when the weight does not seem to be coming off.
Today I celebrate Q1 and a real feeling of accomplishment and victory! Hey, I’m officially 1/4 of the way to my goal of losing 128 lbs AND I am on track with timing to do this in a year! I do realize that this first quarter will probably be the fastest in terms of the weight loss and I’m prepared to have to adjust my goals as I go.
How are you doing? Please do share, no matter where you are in YOUR weight loss challenge. I’d love to hear from you! 🙂
This past week has been very busy for us at PortalFeeder (work) as we’ve just re-opened the doors for new members. I work in customer support with AJ and I do the billing so we’ve been busy getting all the newbies organized.
I love my job and I love that I can do this from home. You would think that I could make some time for exercise, but somehow when I get caught up in the busyness of work, this is the first thing to fall by the wayside for me…along with not taking the time to prepare good meals. This doesn’t happen too often, so hopefully I will get better at balancing this as I go.
So I’ve not exercise that much over the past week or so, but I am really looking forward to getting back into things next week! Wow! Did I say that? I actually miss my exercise routine! I guess that means that I have developed a nice healthy habit there. 😉
My parents left yesterday and I have to say that the week went great! We did eat out and at J and AJ’s quite a bit, but I feel that all-in-all I managed to do quite well with the eating and did stick to my exercise routine! AND as you can see from my weekly check-in, I DID lose weight and continue to do so!
My parents were in a bad accident a year and 1/2 ago. They were hit by a drunk driver while on their motorcycle. My father had a very badly broken foot/leg and has been dealing with pain, surgeries and a lot of therapy. As part of his physical therapy, he does a lot of work in the pool. I have a pool here at my apartment complex so he was able to continue with this while visiting this week. I actually joined him one day and decided that I really do need to fit swimming into my fitness routine at some point as it was quite fun for me.
I’m actually more nervous about sticking with things over the next few days as we are having a bit launch at work tomorrow. We’ve been working quite hard to get ready for this and tomorrow it all happens. What this has meant for me in the past, is a complete focus on work – we’re talking 24/7 between AJ (who I also work with) and myself as we make sure the ordering process and new members are taken care of right away. I will HAVE to plan for exercise and meals during this time as there’s really no reason why I can at least get outside for short (15 minute) walks at a time. And this is good for me as otherwise I’ll be indoors for about 3 days straight! 😉
I’m learning that so much of living a healthy lifestyle is really about planning for things like this. For example, I knew that I had this coming, so even though my parents were here last week, I really wanted to keep the exercise going.
Here’s to healthy living and planning for success! 🙂
My parents arrived a few days ago and will be here for about 1 week. They are here for a visit (they live in Michigan) as well as helping J with June wedding plans. They are staying with me and it is great to have them here.
In terms of my regular diet and exercise routine, this is a great test of what it means to keep moving through the times that are not ordinary to our day-to-day lives. I’ve decided to keep to my routine (exercise and eating) as much as possible while at home, knowing that there will also be a fair bit of eating out.
So far, so good. I’ve made the decision that I’m not going to pig out, but I am also not going to feel guilty. I think part of my strategy for planning the weight loss challenge is dealing with "real life" situations like this.
I think it’s one thing if you are trying to lose 10-20 lbs or so, but when you have 100+ lbs to lose, there is no real way to rush it. So we might as well live life along the way – especially if we are meeting our targets every month.
I tend to think that a good maintenance plan or "real life" plan for eating follows the 80/20 rule, meaning that if I eat very well 80% of the time (week/month, etc), I’d be fine eating out or have a bowl of ice cream for the other 20%. Makes sense to me!
I’ll post a report later of how the week goes and of course you will see the regular posted weekly results to see what effect (if any) this week has had on my weight loss.
For now, I am going to enjoy this time with my parents!
I love the 8 Minute Ab workout dvd – it comes in a serious with arms, butt and all that but for some reason the abs is the only one that I ever really got into.
I like it because it is quick (yes, it really IS only 8 minutes) and powerful. To start, I can’t quite get through the full workout for each set, but I know it will just be a matter of time as I have done this routine in the past. I will do a full review of this and other exercise equipment that I am using at a later date. For now, I just wanted to make mention of this addition to my routine.
I also feel great because I am sticking to my fitness goals and I’m really happy with the way that I have been working up to them. The ab work is a good example of that as I’ve been building starting with 1 minute of crunches just a month or so ago. You KNOW I will be celebrating here when I can sail through the whole 8 minutes without stopping.
I also love doing ab work because it makes me "feel" so darn skinny! 😉
I know that it is just a matter of time (OK, quite a bit of time) before I am working to not only get the fat off, but to define these muscles so that I could wear a two piece swimsuit if I chose to. 😉
Hey, ya gotta keep a picture in front of you as you are working through these goals.
