Week 7: Slimmer This Summer

My goals:

-Journal my meals

-Be under 165g of Carbohydrates/day (with fiber adjustment)

-Exercise 5 times a week for 45-60 minutes

-10 glasses of water a day

-Run/walk a 5K in under 40 minutes GOAL MET!

-Build a support network

-lose an average of 2 lbs/week, 24lbs total

Beginning Weight: 201.3

Week 1: 198.6 (-2.7)

Week 2: 198.6 (0) No change

Week 3: 196.9 (-1.7) Total loss 4.4 lbs

Week 4: 193.9 (-3) Total loss 7.4

Week 5: 193.2 (-.5) Total loss 8.1   

Week 6: 193.3 (+.1) Total loss 8.0   

Week 7: 190.3 (-3) Total loss 11.0

(19.7 loss since I began my journey in January)

Before I go on any further I need to add a personal update.  Yesterday my husband got very sick with vertigo (first time he has ever had it).  He was throwing up so violently that his whole body lurched all over.  He took his first ambulance ride, which led to an ER visit, which then led him to being admitted in the hospital.  We are hoping it is an inner ear problem that will clear its self up over a few days, not greater issues.

So the short is, things are a bit thrown off right now.  I was not able to weigh myself, or measure.  I posted the last weight I remember from a few days ago.  I was really looking forward to weighing myself this morning, due to my next reward (a pedicure)coming when I hit 189.

Given the circumstances, I need to focus on getting the hubs better and home.  I did however prepare most of this post yesterday before things went out of control.

I did good this week.  I stayed with in my goals for my carb count with the fiber adjustment.  I am going to try to continue to be good, but with hospital/fast food plus not being able to get in good workouts, we will see how things work out.

I am going to try to get in a walk while my hubs is resting.  That may be the extent of my exercising this week.

Daily Carb Count:

(out of 165g carbs with adjusted fiber intake)

Monday: 150carbs –fiber adjustment -35 115carbs (60 under)

Tuesday:163carbs –fiber adjustment -22 141carbs (24 under)

Wednesday:138carbs –fiber adjustment -30 108carbs (57under)

Thursday: 146carbs –fiber adjustment -41 105carbs(60 under)

Friday: 178carbs –fiber adjustment -48 130 (35 under)

Saturday: 189carbs –fiber adjustment -35 154 (11 under)

Sunday: 134carbs –fiber adjustment -43 91 (74  under)

To view my food diary, visit myfitnesspal.com. 

Profile name: ambreee

Exercise:

I did most of my exercising at home this week.  My kids have had a bug of some sort so we spent the whole week at home.  I did however get all of my workouts in still, six total!!  I love being 100% on one of my goals for this summer challenge.  I hope I can keep it up somehow!

Water Intake:

Did good on water.  I was a little low on Saturday and I woke up feeling totally dehydrated.  It is amazing how your body adjusts to the extra water intake and really seeks more liquid when you fall behind.  I am still working on getting re-hydrated.  Sitting in the ER for 5 hours didn’t help!

Measurements:

No measurements today.  I hope to get them in sometime, it just isn’t a priority right now.

For all of you out there who wouldn’t mind. I would appreciate prayers in my husbands behalf, that he will soon recover so we will be able to return home to our babies!!

Thank you!

Week 6: Slimmer This Summer

My goals:

-Journal my meals

-Be under 165g of Carbohydrates/day (with fiber adjustment)

-Exercise 5 times a week for 45-60 minutes

-10 glasses of water a day

-Run/walk a 5K in under 40 minutes GOAL MET!

-Build a support network

-lose an average of 2 lbs/week, 24lbs total

Beginning Weight: 201.3

Week 1: 198.6 (-2.7)

Week 2: 198.6 (0) No change

Week 3: 196.9 (-1.7) Total loss 4.4 lbs

Week 4: 193.9 (-3) Total loss 7.4

Week 5: 193.2 (-.5) Total loss 8.1   

Week 6: 193.3 (+.1) Total loss 8.0   

(16.7 loss since I began my journey in January)

The bad news... I had my first gain for the 12 week Slimmer This Summer Challenge.  Not a big gain, only .1 lb, but none the less, a gain that really easily could have been avoided.  Last week I basked in a few pieces of wonderful pumpkin bread and didn’t track yesterday and ate more than I have in quite a while.  We were visiting my in-laws and I decided to take a day off.  I knew I would have some sort of gain.

The good news... We are half way through the challenge and I am down 8 lbs.  I am not on track for loosing a total of 24lbs, but it is still possible if I kick butt and get back in gear! Also more good news below on my measurement report.

I am 4 pounds away from reaching my next reward: a pedicure.  My feet need some summer pampering in a major way.  I want this bad.  My mother-in-law wants to go with me even, but if I don’t hurry up and lose the next 4lbs, she is going to go without me!

Daily Carb Count:

(out of 165g carbs with adjusted fiber intake)

Monday: 141carbs –fiber adjustment -39 102carbs (63 under)

Tuesday:178carbs –fiber adjustment -65 113carbs (52 under)

Wednesday:144carbs –fiber adjustment -33 111carbs (54under)

Thursday: 220carbs –fiber adjustment -28 192carbs(27 over)

Friday: 216carbs –fiber adjustment -41 175 (10 over)

Saturday: 217carbs –fiber adjustment -65 152 (13 under)

Sunday: Didn’t track, way over!

To view my food diary, visit myfitnesspal.com. 

Profile name: ambreee

Exercise:

I got my five work outs of 45-60 minutes in, despite not really feeling well a good part of the week.  I was moody,  dizzy and really tired all week.  I don’t know what is up.  The kids were crazy too. Maybe we are all fighting a bug.

Water Intake:

Did good on water, even exceeded my goal a couple of days with the summer heat getting to me.

Measurements:

Despite the gain, I am still shrinking. This week I lost ½ inch off my hips, belly and rib cage and a ¼ inch off my arms.  Here are my total losses (lbs and inches) since the beginning of the challenge.

Weight	201.3	193.3	8
Neck	13.5	13.5	0
Chest	43.5	42.5	1
Ribs	39	36.5	2.5
Waist	41	40	1
Belly	46	44	2
Hips	45.5	44	1.5
Calf	16	16	0
Arm	15	14.5	.5
	6/6/11 Start Measurements	7/18/11 Current	difference

Goal Clothing

I decided to rummage through my closet and find a few items to deem as my “Goal Clothing”.   

Goal Clothing #1 White Shirt:

I can actually fit into this shirt right now, but I don’t like how it fits.  I would like to be able to wear white and not feel like a bloated whale. It is a size large, but I need to be less than large for it to look right.  It isn’t so much that I love the shirt, but I want to be able to wear white.

Overweight+white=no good.  That is why this is a goal shirt.  I want to look good in white.  There will be a day where I don’t hide in my sheltered black tops!

I took out my trusty old measuring tape and did some measuring.  For me to be more comfortable in this shirt I need to lose another 9 inches off my belly and 3.5 inches off my arms.  We will get there!

Goal Clothing #2 Vintage Like Dress

I am not one for fancy clothing, but when I found this dress at a thrift store I fell in love with it.  It is hard to tell from the picture, the dress is a light silver rather than white. I will wear it with a shrug for modesty purposes.

The tag says size 12.  I was a size 12 when I bought it and it didn’t fit then.  I couldn’t get it zipped all the way and was sucking in for dear life. I bought it as a goal piece.  The only problem is I went up instead of down (darn marriage and pregnancies!)

I am guessing the dress is closer to an 8-10.

So again I did some measuring and I need to lose 7 inches on my chest and 5 inches off my ribs for this beauty to be able to zip and to be able to breathe.  When I reach my goal weight I plan on going on a special vacation with my husband and I would like to be able to wear this dress on my special trip.  I am thinking a cruise may be in order!

Goal Clothing #3 Brown Shorts

At my smallest I would have fit into these shorts.  That is why I am setting out to be able to wear this size again.  The tag says size 6.  I will need to lose 10 inches off of my waist and about 14 inches off my belly.  Aiming high really, but I do know it is possible with the right motivation!

So what are some of your goal pieces of clothing?  I would love to hear (or see!)!

Where are you going to go, if you don’t shoot for the stars?

Five Week Update: Slimmer This Summer

My goals:

-Journal my meals

-Be under 165g of Carbohydrates/day

-Exercise 5 times a week for 45-60 minutes

-10 glasses of water a day

-Run/walk a 5K in under 40 minutes GOAL MET!

-Build a support network

-lose an average of 2 lbs/week, 24lbs total

Beginning Weight: 201.3

Week 1: 198.6 (-2.7)

Week 2: 198.6 (0) No change

Week 3: 196.9 (-1.7) Total loss 4.4 lbs

Week 4: 193.9 (-3) Total loss 7.4

Week 5: 193.2 (-.5) Total loss 8.1        

(16.8 loss since I began my journey in January)

Daily Carb Count:

(out of 165g carbs with adjusted fiber intake)

Monday: Didn’t track, but I did okay for being a holiday

Tuesday: Didn’t track, couldn’t access the internet

Wednesday: 222 –fiber points 86 136 adjusted (29 under)

Thursday: 202 –fiber points 46 156 adjusted (9 under)

Friday: Didn’t track, was out late with the fam.

Saturday: 179 –fiber points 37.5 141.5 adjusted(23.5 under)

Sunday: 226 –fiber points 58 168 adjusted (3 over)

To view my food diary, visit myfitnesspal.com. 

Profile name: ambreee

So not the greatest loss. I went off track a few times this week. I know I can lose weight faster if I were more disciplined in my eating.  One thing that is important to me is that I keep the weight off.  I would rather lose slowly than to lose big quickly and have the weight return once again.  There is always room for improvement.  This week I am going to do better in my eating!!

Exercise:

My goal is to get in 5 workouts (45-60 minutes) a week.  I am proud to report I have done just this!  In fact most weeks I get in 6 work outs.  I have failed to report my exercise last week.

Water Intake:

Doing well.  I make my goal of 80oz. most days.  Some days I do fall a bit short, but not by much, a few ounces here and there.

Measurements:

In the past week I lost a ½ inch on all of my mid section including: ribs, waist, belly and hips!  Since I have started the challenge I have lost the following:

Weight	201.3	193.2	8.1 lbs
Neck	13.5	13.5	0
Chest	43.5	43	-.5
Ribs	39	36.5	-2.5
Waist	41	40	-1
Belly	46	44.5	-1.5
Hips	45.5	44.5	-1
Calf	16	16	0
Arm	15	14.75	-.25
	6/6/11	7/11/11

 On to week six!! 

Week 4 Results for Slimmer This Summer

My Goals:

-Journal my meals

-Be under 165g of Carbohydrates/day

-Exercise 5 times a week for 45-60 minutes

-10 glasses of water a day

-Run/walk a 5K in under 40 minutes GOAL MET!

-Build a support network

-lose an average of 2 lbs/week, 24lbs total

Beginning Weight: 201.3

Week 1: 198.6 (-2.7)

Week 2: 198.6 (0) No change

Week 3: 196.9 (-1.7) Total loss 4.4 lbs

Week 4: 193.9 (-3) Total loss 7.4

(16.1 loss since I began my journey in January)

Daily Carb Count

(out of 165g carbs and adjusted for fiber intake)

Monday: 161 (4 under)

Tuesday: 204 adjused after fiber 174 (9 over)

Wednesday: 157 (8 under)

Thursday: 183-56 fiber bonus 127 adjusted (38 under)

Friday: 156 (9 under)

Saturday:172-39 fiber points 133 adjusted (32 under)

Sunday: 108 (57 under)

To view my food diary, visit myfitnesspal.com.  Profile name: ambreee

Measurements:

No big changes on my measurements. I lost a ½ inch off my chest and gained an inch on my waist.  I am sure I am retaining water due to my period. So hopefully I will see a greater change next week!

Here are the weekly goals I was working on:

-Get in two 40 minute runs

Accomplished!  I even reached my 5k in under 40 minutes!!  I ran 3.05 miles on Monday in 40 minutes and on Saturday I did a whole 5k (3.2 miles) in 39.17 minutes.  I will continue to work on improving my time.  I may sign up for a 5k in September.  I am looking for someone to join me.

-quit thinking about caloric intake, and focus on carb intake instead.  Counting calories is messing me up and I end up eating more.  I know backwards, but I am going to try it this week and see where it gets me.

It helped for me to focus on my carbs instead of calories.  I actually was much better about my eating overall, because I was able to keep my blood sugar under control.  I ate more fiber this week too, which is also helpful on my blood sugar.  And Heck, I lost 3lbs, so I am happy!!

-Start taking my vitamins and minerals again.  Many of these I quit taking when I was pregnant (as I was advised to), and it is time to get back into the swing of things for the sake of my mood, energy and blood sugar.

Big oops!  I still have not been doing this.  I always think about it at the wrong time.  I have to take them when my daughter is not around, because she thinks she can take what ever I am having.  I am going to shoot for this one again this week.

Yeah for Week Five!  Happy Fourth of July!

My Weight Roller Coaster: The Past Three Years

I weighed myself on Thursday and I was 194, I could hardly believe it.  I was also starting my period so I expected the scale to start climbing.  I was just 196 on Monday.  I weighed again today and I am still 194.  I am hoping it isn’t a flaw.  I am not sure why I feel like this is such a milestone.  I still have a really long way to go.  But for some reason this gives me a glimmer of hope.

I am watching what I eat (especially how many carbs) and I am exercising at least five times a week, sometimes more.  I am allowing myself to have treats now and then, but I am trying to eat with moderation.

When I started my weight loss journey in January I weighed 210, my all time high (with the exception of pregnancy, which I got to 213).  I started a weight loss challenge on the first of June.  My start weight for the challenge was 201, and so at that point I had lost 9 lbs in 6 months.  I have been exercising, but I have had a terrible time changing my eating habits.  I also was still dealing with a lot of postpartum depression issues. 

When my two little ones, under two would start crying I would feel stress, and to relieve my stress I would snack.  There happen to be a lot of crying around my house with my babies and so I happen to be doing a lot of snacking.  Even with all of the exercise I was getting no where.  Well, not exactly no where.  But I was not seeing weight loss, and that is what I really wanted to see.

I have battled my weight all my life.  I have had to be a conscious eater, to maintain at around 155-160.  My two pregnancies threw me for a loop. The first one, I was very sick.  Talk about starvation mode.  I gained ten pounds the first month from crazy hormonal imbalance and by the time I was six months pregnant I lost over 25lbs (I was at 145lbs).  I threw up daily and around the fourth month for three weeks I kept NOTHING down.  I was to the point of getting IV’s, once from the ER and a couple others outpatient. I felt depleted and depressed.

Eventually after working with a naturopath I was able to take some enzymes that helped me digest food again.  I felt like it saved my life and my pregnancy.  Even though my heath wasn’t at jeopardy, I felt like I was dying.  It was hard to be sick.  I continued to throw up, I even threw up on the delivery table but at least I was able to eat and the throwing up wasn’t every day towards the end of my pregnancy.

I was able to gain, and the day prior to delivery I was a ripe 200lbs.  I can honestly say, the last month was my best month!  I finally felt semi-good.  I was so happy to eat again that I really packed on the weight quickly.

My second pregnancy wasn’t nearly as traumatic.  THANK GOODNESS!  I was nauseous and did throw up every few days the first six months or so, but I was at least able to function and not starve.  Even though it was much better, I still nearly always felt sick.  I only gained a total of 13 lbs the whole pregnancy.  I started at 200 and ended at 213.  And leaving the hospital I think I only lost eight pounds. I gave birth six weeks early when my water broke prematurely, my son weighed just under five pounds. I stayed in the hospital a total of a week (five days before the birth and two after).  I must have put on some poundage with all of the hospital food because when I got home I weighed 205.  Don’t people loose more when they have a baby????

 It didn’t take long to climb back up to 210 with my baby in the NICU for 3 ½ weeks and the holidays comforting me through post partum depression.  So in January I decided to buckle down.  Even though it has taken me seven months to lose 16 pounds, I am grateful I am losing something.  The Slimmer this Summer challenge has been so great for me. 

This morning I realized my sports bra (yeah, I only have one that fits right now) was in the washer and I didn’t have enough time to dry it before I headed to the gym, so I wasn’t able to run.  I challenged myself to get in two runs by weeks end.  I guess I will be heading to the gym again tomorrow!

As I was in a frantic rush this morning digging through my out grown boxed clothing searching for an old sports bra, I came across a pair of jeans I had forgotten I bought.  I  purchased them after having baby #1 with out trying them on and turns out they didn’t fit, so I never wore them and they got tucked away.  I pulled them out and tried them on after my work out. 

I didn’t expect them to fit, but I was able to get them on, and buttoned up.  A little tight, but here in a few weeks they should fit great.  So I am down a pant size!  Yeah!!!  Just got to keep working on this muffin top!  I can’t wait until they are starting to droop off of me like my other pants are.

So this post is random, but it is a peek into my wild ride of weight loss.