August 25

It has been a while since I have logged in, I am still hanging in there. I am down to 191 lbs as of this morning. It has been hard to stay with the eating habits because I want to eat all of the things... but walking has been easy. I am sticking with it and once school starts next week, the eating habits will be a necessity. I am still at eating 1400 calories because any lower and I feel I might be starving myself. I am walking 2 and 1/2 miles a day at night + what ever I do during the day. Sometimes I am walking in excess of 8 miles.

Staying motivated is hard but necessary.

August 19

It has been awhile since I posted. I was in a bit of a funk and had to really fight through to make sure that I was close to my goal of eating and walking. With the exception of a couple of days where I did not go out and walk due to evening meetings or plans, I did okay. I woke up this morning and I am down to 192.4 .... that is 6.4 lbs down...am I happy? not sure. I am glad that I finally broke the 5 lb mark but I really won't be happy until I am down at least 10 lbs. Mainly because the first 5 are the easiest to lose...I could have lost it for any reason ... not just fat.

I am still staying motivated. I will walk tonight as planned. I will maintain the 1400 calorie intake and see how I do. I know my original plan was to reduce the calories every week, but I am finding that I am still hungry at the end of the day so I need to make sure that my calorie intake and my exercise balance out.

August 12

I am a couple days behind on checking in. I have not forgotten not have I faltered. I am still on track with eating and walking. I have lost a total of 5 lbs. I hope this trend continues and that I do not sit here at this stage. It is what broke me last time. Only seeing a 5 lb weight loss and then nothing....I will continue to work on eating and exercising.

Today I will drop my calorie intake by another 100 calories. This was a bit of a decision. I was trying to decide if I really wanted to do that but have determined that it is necessary if I want to keep losing weight. I know as I drop the pounds it will get tougher.

Stay motivated.

August 9

Doing really well. Trying to stay motivated is the hardest part of this whole thing. Temptations are every where. Yesterday my mom wanted to go have frozen yogurt and then decided that we wouldn't go because I was on a diet. I told her she could go, I just don't need to have any. or I could take a bite of hers. Walking is still enjoyable but it is also a task. I have to force myself to go and right now I have a neighbor who will walk with me. It is great because my boys are tired.

Weight loss so far = 4.8 lbs. While I am happy with the loss and I know that it is real (last time I tried to lose weight I lost only water weight and it was discouraging). I am still trying for 20 lbs and I know this is a total lifestyle change and because of my personal situation, I really need to change my mindset and make better choices.

August 8

Feeling a little down this morning. For the past few days I have had a small weight loss each day. It has felt good, however today I woke up and it showed that I had .6oz weight gain...I know I should be happy with the fact that I have lost 3.6 lbs. but I just don't get it.

I was on track with my eating and I went walking so I am not sure what happened. Back to figuring things out and keep moving forward.

August 6 - Need to stay motivated.

I have to say that I am enjoying eating healthier. Tonight my family wanted to have hamburgers for dinner and I know that having a hamburger would be high in fat. While I was at the store I saw Portobello mushroom caps so instead of having a hamburger I had a mushroom. I did not eat it as a hamburger, I treated it just like a burger without a bun. It was really great.

I will go for my walk in a little bit but I have to say that staying motivated to keep walking is hard. I just want to stay home, climb in my pj's and chill but I know I need to keep up with the exercise otherwise this is all a waste.

Need to stay motivated.

Day 8

Did pretty good today. I even went out with a friend to a restaurant and made sure to eat of the healthy menu. Not to bad...Went for my walk...2 1/2 miles is feeling pretty good. I did wake up and weighed myself...I am down to 196 lbs...yea! I do however hope that I don't gain any weight.

One change to my original plan ... originally I was going to decrease my calorie intake by 133 calories. I did decide to only drop it by 100. I am not sure if it is the amount of calories I am eating or the exercise or both but I don't want to drop the calorie intake too much too fast because at some point I will stop decreasing my calorie intake and try to maintain.

Day 7

As I said this morning, I am excited that I woke up and showed a 2 lb weight loss...now on to  2 more.

Today was a good day. I was good with my eating for morning and afternoon. Dinner is a little trickier as I am cooking for my parents, children and myself. So today my mom wanted BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. I decided to make homemade baked beans, and homemade coleslaw. The trick to eating such a heavy meal, I took a small plate and made sure to take small portions. I think I did okay with that. I most definitely went on my 2 1/2 mile walk with my youngest. It isn't that hard to get up and move anymore...but I have to say, it is difficult to make sure that I keep walking. Losing weight isn't easy it is a mental change. I have to make sure to keep at it every day.

Day 6

I forgot to post last night. I am sticking with it. I am working on trying to make the right choices. I find it easier to do when I am not at home because I have to think ahead of time about what I am going to eat. I have to admit that after a long day of meetings, I did have a soda but stayed away from the copious amounts of candy that is always present at these meetings.

I am really enjoying the walks with my boys...did 2 and 1/2 miles. I know my boys complain (on occasion) about going with me, but I think they actually enjoy going. We are enjoying the time talking. They really do push me to keep walking. We are finding different ways to walk around our town and I am learning how far different locations are (as I have lived in this town almost my entire life and I never really payed attention). So now to find new locations and new walks...tonight we might take a much longer walk....

OH! Happy news....got on the scale this morning and I am down to 196.8 (I have to admit that I actually started this adventure at 198.8 so I have actually lost 2 lbs.)...I know, it isn't a lot but for me...it means everything. I also am reminded by a friend that I can lose inches but not really lose weight. I will build some muscle in the process and rearrange the weight.


2 LBS down

Day 5

Did pretty good on my food intake but still no weight loss...am I bummed, YES! but this is a process. I will be going for my walk at 7:30 and plan to just keep trudging along. I will lose weight, it just takes time.

Tonight I made pork tenderloin. I cut them into pieces and breaded with panko and baked them. Really good. I also made a reduction of plums, balsamic and a little sugar. I made pasta and corn. I ate one piece of pork, about 2 tablespoons of the sauce, a salad and 1/2 cup of pasta. not to bad, I think.

While I haven't lost any weight, I haven't gained any and I am actually enjoying eating a healthier diet.

Day 4 part 2

Ok, I was able to go for my walk...did 2 miles with Saige (my oldest son). It felt good. I have enjoyed these walks. I have had one or both my boys with me everyday and it is a great chance for us to talk. It is something that I think has to happen more. It gets them away from the computer/games/cell phone/iPods... it gives us time together.

Have I lost any weight .. nope... not sure why but I am only on day 4... I have changed some of my eating habits but I have not gone to the extreme. I still eat what I like just make sure that it is a healthier choice...smaller portions or no bread. Try to cut out the extra sugars, etc. I know that it won't happen over night but I do hope to start seeing some changes...sooner vs later.

Day 4 - part 1

This morning I wok up at the A$$ crack of dawn to meet up with my brother, sister in law and friend, steve to go and do a workout at their "boot camp" style training. The different stations weren't to bad. I had to stop a few times because I have realized that my upper body is not as strong as I wish it was but my legs are strong. The 50 ladders, 50 roadrunners, 100 of something else, 25 up downs and 25 modified burpies...kicked my but...that was just the warm up. The different centers were good...nice variety of exercises. Finally, the "cool down" - OMG - 10 push-ups and than about 20 leg lifts that had to be held at 6" off the ground, together, open, closed and then down... OMG ... Kicked my BUTT....

I am still planning to go walking later...

Day 3

I am late with my reflection for day 3. I had a meeting, stuck in traffic and then dinner at a friends house. Got home late and was unable to write...so here it is...

It went well food and water wise. I stayed within my calorie count but need to continue to make better choices. I did not have any candy but I did break down and have a soda. The first one in over a month. I am disappointed in myself. I really didn't need it but I wanted it. Oh well, get back on the wagon today.

I did not get to walk like I wanted to but will make up for it today. I am up at 5:30am on a saturday because I have agreed to go with my brother and sister in law to one of their "the camp" work outs. They tell me this is very intense and I think I am a little scared. As it is I have asthma and I am stressing about having a massive attack.

I just started this diet and while I have not lost any weight, I do have to say that I am feeling good after walking. My hip does hurt but for the most part I actually feel really good.

Day 2

Changed the way I am doing things. I am not going to log my calories or exercise on this page, I am using an app on my phone to keep track of that. It is a little easier.

Today was an okay day. I had a meeting for work and I was prepared for the day with food and drinks. I did eat my breakfast oatmeal...and I have to say that it was tasty. I think however I want to put it in a slightly larger jar or container simply because I really did not get a 1/4 of a cup of fruit into it and I really would like more fruit. Otherwise, it was very flavorful and had great texture. I had taken a sandwich wrap from Trader Joe's...the Vietnamese style chicken wrap...really good. I also tried a quinoa bowl with artichoke heart and bell pepper from Mother's market...this was not so great. It had a sour taste that wasn't very pleasing to me. However, others might like it.

I did have a protein/fiber drink early this morning and am getting ready to have dinner. The plan is for tri-tip, baked potato, corn and carrots. I will use a smaller plate to help me with portion control and I will eat only a small portion of the potato.

I did break down at one point and ate 1 bite size butterfinger. Not to bad.

I will go for a walk tonight after dinner...My goal is for at least 2 miles around the park and the 1/2 mile back and forth from the house.

Water intake has been good. I grabbed an infuser water bottle and have put in cucumber and lemon. Right now I added a passion fruit tea bag and will see how that goes.

here is to taking it one-day-at-a-time.

Reflection of day one.

So today, I went over to a friends house and we discussed my weight loss goals. She does meal replacement drinks and it works well for her. I know that I have to eat something otherwise I will not feel well at all. So I took her information and then we went shopping. We went to Mother's market, Trader Joe's and even Walmart. I was able to find the protein and fiber supplement that she drinks and grabbed some oats and mango's to make an oatmeal grab and go breakfast. I also grabbed a wrap sandwich and a salad for my lunches for the next 2 days. I am looking forward to trying things out and finding new ways to eat healthier and change my metabolism. I am excited to try this. When I came home I started to make my breakfast oats and my oldest son (22) said that he would try this with me, so I made 3 breakfast oats ( I made mine for tomorrow and Friday and 1 for him). We shall see how it goes.

The recipe is as follows:

• 1/4 cup uncooked old fashion rolled oats (mother's market - by the lb)
• 1/3 cup low fat milk
• 1/4 cup low-fat greek yogurt
• 1 tsp dried chia seeds
• fruit (it says 1/4 cup but I noticed that I didn't have a lot of space in my half pint mason jar, so I put in what I could. This one has mango and raspberry)

variations:

• 2 tsp maple syrup

or 

• 2 tsp of strawberry jam

Calories - If you use the jam it is 230 calories. If you use the maple syrup it is 215 calories.

Recent picture

This isn't a great picture but this is me at my son's graduation form 8th grade.
June 2015.

My first thoughts

I know that this is going to be a difficult task. I have wanted to lose weight for a while and I have watched my brother do an amazing job being able to go to a gym and have someone to be accountable for. My sister in law has finally started the same program and is well on her way to losing weight. I am very proud of them and really need a kick in the pants to get myself started. If I had the time, money, and support, I would totally join my brother's gym. It sounds like a place that I would really hold myself accountable too but for now, I will have to try this on my own.

The last time I lost the weight, I was told by a doctor that I had acid reflux, my clothes were to tight, I had a lot of stress, and I was "fat"... it was a real wake up call for me and I immediately joined eDiets. It was great, I had someone to be accountable too. I had to check in on the website and I had a chat group of great individuals that I could talk with and share what I was feeling and they gave me the support I needed. It was a great experience and I lost 45 lbs in 3 months. I felt great.  About 6 months ago, I thought I would try and lose weight again but when I tried talking with someone there just wasn't a lot of support. It is very hard to lose weight when you don't have someone to be accountable too.

I have started this blog as my way of being accountable. I know that it is easy to say and easier to ignore. If I want, I could simply delete the blog but I am hopeful that people will see this and be helpful in sharing support and thoughts. This will not be easy and I will need support. If you are in the same boat and want someone to talk to, feel free to post on the blog and we can be supportive of each other.

Weight loss Goals

I am at an age where it is hard to lose weight. The last time I tried to lose weight I lost 45 lbs in about 3 months. It was great. I felt great and it took about 12 years to gain it all back. Do I want to lose 45 lbs again? No. I would like to lose 20 - 30 lbs. I would like to take about 2 months to lose 30 lbs but am fine if I simply lose 20.

After looking at the calorie intake and exercise that I currently do, I really need to change my mindset. I know that it is hard because I had some life changes and my boys and I live with my parents. Either my mother cooks or I do and while we talk about eating healthier, we really don't. I need to make a conscious effort to eat smaller portions and cut out excess sugars. I have already cut out sodas but have substituted the sparkling waters. They are zero calorie but they are sweet. I may have to cut some of those out.

I do not do a lot of exercising because I have a tendency to twist my ankles or my arthritic hip really hurts. So, the goal is to lose the weight so that I am not in pain and my clothes fit better. So here goes.

My Calorie plan will be as follows. Every week, I will reduce my calorie intake and try to increase my exercise.

Week    Calorie     Weight  
 -             1600          198
 1            (133)
 2            (116)
 3            (98)
 4            (80)
 5            (62)
 6            (45)
 7            (27)
 8            (9)