6 Weeks and Counting

Well at the end of 6 weeks of hard work I am at 219. I lost another half pound this week and brought my total weight loss to 6 lbs. I also lost another 6 inches this week which brings me up to 12 inches lost total. I didn't expect to lose much this week, given the large loss last week. I've also been doing a lot of strength training and trying to build up my muscle base. Here's a fun fact for you, most of you know that muscle weighs more than fat, but did you know that the more muscle you have the more calories you burn when you're doing nothing at all. I'm all for that!

I bumped up my carb intake this week, I think I've been undereating slightly for how much exercise I've been doing. And I'm doing a lot of research into insulin resistant diets, which recommend a high carb (healthy carbs) and low fat diet. I'll be moving closer to getting refined sugar out and more fruits in.

Since it's been 6 weeks since we all started I think this might be a good time for an offcial tally.. For those of you who pledged by the pound we are going with an official 6 lbs lost. I think I'll be getting a massage with the pledges so far. :) I sure could use it with all this weight lifting. I hope you enjoy the new pics and can see the difference, I can sure feel it!

WOO-HOO

Half the time I don't understand what's going on with my crazy body and this was definitely one of those weeks! However, this time it was working for me instead of against me. Yes, that's right--I lost weight this week. Not only did I lose weight but I lost 5 lbs! I took a picture of the scale so everyone could share in my joy at being under 220!



As you can see I am 219.5 this week (I round to the nearest half pound to make calculation more easy). Which means I have lost 5.5 lbs total and I've also reached my first goal! I will be collecting a pedicure from David this week!

Why the dramatic difference? I can't be sure but I did make some changes this week. I changed up my exercise routine (thank you Lindsay for this tip). Instead of my exercise bike I took the kids for a ride in our bike trailer. If you've never pulled 80 lbs of kids behind a bike in a stiff wind...that's the way to burn calories! I also switched from 5 to 8 lb weights for my nightly lifting. As far as food is concerned I cut down on the amount of refined sugar I've been eating and upped my protein intake. I think it worked. :)

I'm so excited to see results. The cherry on top is that I also lost 6 inches this week! Including more than 1 inch off each thigh! I just bought a new exercise DVD called Turbo Jam so I'll be working that into my routine this week. Eating healthy and loving life. Here's to never being 220 again!

10 Things I Love About My Body

1. Smelling the Daisies David brought me this week.
2. Kisses
3. Hearing Emma sing the mother's day song in Sacrament.
4. My hands
5. My neck
6. How it heals itself every time I cut myself with a knife.
7. Being able to see my beautiful children.
8. That achy feeling in my muscles after I lift weights.
9. Tasting new foods for the first time.
10. My eyes.

1 thing I hate about my body. It's inability to lose weight no matter what I do. After a perfect week of eating healthy and exercising over an hour each day this morning the scale showed a pound and a half gain. That's right, after a month of trying so hard my weight is 224.5! Bringing my weight loss for the month to half a pound.

I don't think I need to tell you how upset and discouraged I am. I don't know how I could be trying any harder than I am now. I started this with such high hopes 4 weeks ago and it's hard now to feel that the hour and a half I log on my bike everyday isn't just a waste of time.

I'll be adding a daily food log to the right hand side of the page, so you all can see what I'm eating. I guess in a way I feel the need to prove to everyone that I really am trying. I don't know if I'll ever lose this weight, and I don't know if I'll ever get pregnant again. What I do know is that I tried my hardest. I'm eating healthy and I'm exercising.

What else can I do?

Car Trip + Tired Kids = Emotional Eating

There's nothing to describe the experience of being in a car with 2 small children for 13 hours. It would drive any one to drink..or in my case to a box of oatmeal creme pies. Which I might point out I don't even like! I've always been an emotional eater and it's more then choosing to eat something bad or to eat something good. How many times have you seen an overweight person at a fast food restaurant and thought something like this, "If they didn't eat so many french fries, they wouldn't be so fat!" If losing weight was as simple as choosing to eat one food over another don't you think everyone would be thin? Who would choose to stay in a situation that makes them so unhappy? It's true that the basic science of weight loss is burning more calories then you eat, but the reality is much more complicated.

Emotional eaters eat to make themselves feel better about something, which in turn makes them feel guilty about their weight and self-control, which in turn drives them to eat more so they can feel better. The key to breaking this cycle for me is to find something that will make me feel better without turning to food. A lot of people will use exercise for this but I place exercise more in the "necessary evil" category then in the "reward" section. Any ideas? What do you do when you are upset to make yourself feel better?

Well, I didn't do great in Utah. But I didn't do badly either. I was at 223 this morning which is up 1 pound from last week. But thinking about all the junk I ate yesterday on the way home I'm just happy it wasn't more. I'm thrilled to be home and back to my routine. Back with my exercise bike and my kitchen where I feel more in control. I'm not beating myself up about the mistakes of yesterday but instead am recommitting myself to this week's effort. I thankful for all of you who are following my progress and really appreciate your support.

Why I hate PCOS...

Well, from the title you probably guessed that this week did not go as well as last week. I did lose half a pound bringing my weight to 222, and my weight loss to 3 lbs. But it's definitely not the results I would have preferred. This is why I've had so many problems in the past with losing weight. It's so discouraging to eat well and exercise all week long and not see results on the scale.

PCOS can effect your metabolism and also make you insulin resistant. It can effect the way your body handles the sugar and fat you eat. Not much is known yet about this process and doctors don't have much advice yet on the best way to solve this problem. I've been doing a lot of research on the issue because I want to make sure my diet is as healthy as possible while still allowing me to lose weight. There's some evidence that a low-carb diet similar to a diabetic's diet will help women with PCOS. So I might be changing how I eat (again) in the near future.

This is the point where I try to remember that a healthy lifestyle is about more than losing weight. The exercise and healthy food is still helping me even if the scale didn't budge. That's my mantra for this week.

Special challenge for this week: I'm in Utah on vacation which usually means eating out a lot. So my goal is to eat at home as much as possible. (Special thanks to Celeste who will be cooking dinners for us this week). And when I do eat out to make healthy choices and control my portion sizes. I'm 3 lbs lighter then I was when I started! That's something to celebrate!

The First Lap!

Well I have made it around the track. One week of exercise and healthy eating and I'm happy to report success! I lost 2.5 lbs this week which puts me at 222.5 lbs. I had a panic attack last night thinking about what would happen if I hadn't lost weight, or worse gained some! When I came up with this idea I didn't think about the public humiliation that would follow a bad week! I guess that's just the motivation I need to keep me working hard.

Weight loss is silly. I swear it was pretty easy to put on the weight, so why is it so hard to take it off? Did you know it takes 3500 calories to gain a pound? So in reverse it takes 3500 calories not eaten or burned to lose a pound. That's a lot of calories. I decided I want to burn 3500 calories a week in exercise which is 700 calories a day (Mon-Fri). I didn't think it would be a big deal until I jumped on my exercise bike and started pedaling away. 45 mins later I had only burned 350! Sheesh! So now I'm doing 2 stints a day on my bike...one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Together these burn the 700 calories I need. I've already shaved 5 minutes off my time.

I know I said I'd post a picture each week but honestly it was kind of depressing studying this week's photo and last weeks and deciding that those two pounds apparently came off my feet! So we'll do pictures every 2 weeks or so.

My food of the week is dill pickles! They are 0 points on Weight Watchers, and they satisfy my salty food craving. Thanks to everyone for the support! I love you all. One lap down...23 to go!

The Starting Line

The race is on. My starting weight is 225 and my goal weight is 150. 75 lbs to lose. For the first time starting a weight loss plan I feel hope along with my enthusiasm. I feel humbled by the outpouring of love and support from my family and friends. Not wanting to disappoint all of you is the best motivation I can think of. Thank you to everyone who has pledged and those who've sent me encouragement and advice. Please keep it coming! I'll need all the help I can get over the next few months. Anyone who is still interested in pledging please feel free to email me or post here. Here are my very first pictures! They will also be my "before" pictures at the end of the journey.

My weight loss plan is three-fold: Nutrition, Exercise, & Sleep. As far as nutrition goes I will be following the Weight Watchers Food Plan, I will also be carefully controlling my portion sizes, eating less processed foods, and taking a daily multivitamin. Exercise will involve my brand new exercise bike (I love craigslist!) and my free weights. With a little sliding, swinging, and pretending to be a tiger with my kids. And finally I've always had a problem sleeping which has led to a lot of late eating, so I will be working on keeping a nightly bedtime and shooting for 8 hours of sleep.

Well, what do you think? Opinions, advice, and encouragement is very much welcomed!