Ode to me?

Exactly one year ago I started out on this journey. To lose weight, to get healthy, to do better. Now, an entire year later, I am not where I thought I would be. Originally last April I thought that I could lose all 80 pounds by October. :-) Well, obviously that didn't happen. But let's talk about what did happen.

I lost 35 lbs.
I've kept it off for months. Through holidays, birthdays, and special events.
I've lost over 2 feet in inches.
I've run a 5K.
I've droppped 6 pants sizes.
I've made being healthy a way of life...not just a diet.
I've moved up from my 3 lbs weights to lifting with 10 lb weights.

And it's all thanks to you. Without your support and accountability you provided I never would have gotten this far. It would have been so easy to give up if I didn't have to report back to you guys each Monday. Now, I'm not where I want to be quite yet, but I ma enjoying where I am for once. If I could lose another 35 lbs this year I would be thrilled. Thank you everyone for your support. I hope we'll all be healthier in 2009 than we were in 2008.

This is my starting picture one year ago and the other is a picture of me taken after my run this morning.

Enough is enough!

So after another hospital trip I am now up to 198! Sheesh, after dinner lat night I even saw the dreaded 200 on the scale. On top of that I feel tired and awful again, which I know comes from eating sugar, wheat, and dairy. How do you get to the point where emergencies in your life aren't an excuse to overeat? Cause I'm having way too many such situations to pull it off with out exploding like a blimp.

Anyway, today is devoted to reattaching my nose to the grindstone. I started weightlifting again this morning and tomorrow I'm going to start running again. Also I'm back on the protein shakes and trying to bulk up on fruits and veggies for some natural energy. I think I'm going to set my sights on running a 10K in the next couple of months. I have a vague inclination to maybe think about possibly considering training to run a marathon.

So my goal for this week is to lose three pounds. GRRRR, I hate having to re-lose weight I've already lost. Oh well, live and learn, right?

More exciting?

Well when I posted two weeks ago I was wishing for a more exciting posts, and then I had two crazy weeks. For complete details on that check my family blog. Because of the craziness, the not sleeping, and really bad hospital food I am back up to 195 this week. :-( Blah. I'm hoping since the weight was recent and just the result of stress and a weird eating schedule it will come off again quickly. So back on the wagon today.

Good news though, I had my doctor's appt last week and although I had gained weight I had actually lost 2 lbs of fat and gained 5 lbs of muscles. So my total body fat % is down to 33%. So a little sunshine in the forecast. I'm leaving for Utah in 4 weeks and want to lose 10 lbs before I go.

Blah Blah Blah

I could copy and paste any of my posts for the last month this week. I didn't lose any weight, I'm still exercising, I like my weight lifting program. Blah blah blah. I go into see my doctor on Thursday and I haven't lost any weight since our last appointment so I'm going to ask him to adjust my meal plan. And I'm going to do a 3 day cleanse today to see if I can shake things up a little bit. Check back in next week for a hopefully more exciting post.

Misery loves company

So today is day 9 of my 30 day weight training program and I'm really loving the program so far. I alternate arms and legs every other day and do a little ab work every day and take Sunday off to recover. I've already had to increase the weights I'm working with on a couple of exercises and pretty soon I'm going to need to go buy heavier weights. No weight loss this week, but that wasn't unexpected due to some stress and a lot of emotional eating. But I exercised every day and I'm proud of that. I've set a short-term goal of being on my meal plans every day in March, along with exercising ever day (excluding Sunday). We're going to Utah at the end of April for Women's Conference and I would like to be 10-15 lbs lighter by then.

The best news is that David asked if we could get up a little early and start lifting weights together before he goes to work! So now we're doing the program together. We started this morning and I'm sure he'll start feeling those squats pretty quick! Hopefully next week we'll both have some weight loss to show for it.

Passion

So obviously I haven't been very good about posting the last couple of weeks. David always says that one of the things he loves most about me is how I can get really passionate about a subject. The problem is I can typically be really excited about only one thing at a time. And the last 6 weeks it has NOT been weight loss, it's been trying to get pregnant. (Which, by the way, you think would be a whole lot easier, and more fun, than trying to lose weight. But alas, such is not the case with me). Anyway, I keep setting myself up for disappointment and heartache in that department so I decided it's time to rekindle some of the weight loss passion. I haven't lost any weight in the last 6 weeks. The good news is I haven't gained any either, but been able to maintain my weight with little to no dieting and no exercise. I'm pretty proud of that.

So today I am starting a new weight lifting program. It's a 30 day program, lifting weights 6 days a week. Since strength training seems to help me lose weight the easiest I have hopes that I can lose 8-10 lbs this month. Crossing my fingers. So, back to protein shakes and grilled chicken for me.

Because so many of you have asked me for, and because I'm pretty tired about blogging about myself all the time, I have set up a family blog. Here's the link to it.

www.drorbaughfamily.blogspot.com

I got carried away with family pics and posted 4 times this morning. SO if you want to keep scrolling after the first post there are some fun pics towards the bottom. Love you all! Have a great week!

Pay it forward!

I saw this on a blog from a friend in my Tempe ward. I love the idea!

Here's how it works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me.

What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well-before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. (Or you can cut and paste from this one like I did)

Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and wait to receive your fun gift!! Remember that only the first 3 comments will receive a gift from me, so hurry, hurry, hurry!