Week 17 on Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from April 26 through May 2, 2017. I do tend to get discombobulated a bit so while the weight/measurements run those weeks, what I write about may not. :-)

While not perfect, I did much better about staying on plan this week.  There were still a couple of Panera mornings but overall, much better and much more conscious of what I was eating when I was off plan.  And it showed:

I'm pretty tickled with that.  And, because it's the start of a new month, here are measurements, which won't be too unchanged from a couple of weeks ago:

Still, there is some loss and I'll take it, for sure and for certain.  It is a bit frustrating to still be ordering the same size clothes but then I remember, they actually fit now, versus too tight and never getting worn.  In fact, I bought 2 pairs of cropped jeans for summer last week and the one pair is already able to be pulled off without unzipping...and I'd bought them one size smaller than usual.  The pair in the store were a bit snug - the pair we had to order is the pair that are a bit loose!  So, a wonderful NSV (non-scale victory) there!  And, just to remind myself of the body composition changes - I'm wearing the same tank top in these pictures but clearly not the same pants.  When I tried on the other pair of crop pants and looked at myself in the mirror, I was kind of gobsmacked at the difference in side view of my legs.  

Definitely progress!!

And this week's FitBit stats:

A couple of decreases but overall, an improvement!  The weekly challenge among some of my FitBit friends has helped, along with the overall weather, and one friend at work who walks over to my desk to tell me what she saw of me walking on my morning break - be it that she really likes my shirt or that she noticed I didn't have as much "pep in my step" and wanting to make sure I was okay.  Thank you, sweetie!!

This is our last week of 3am wake-up calls - yes!!  And only 4 days - his last day at Panera is the Thursday, we're taking Friday off to spend with family, and he starts the winery Saturday.  Well, officially starts - he's worked the last 2 Fridays for a couple of events they had.  We'll be doing almost a complete turn-around in schedule as my new schedule will be 9:30am-6:00pm (versus 6:30am-3:00pm) and his will vary from 10am-6pm, 11am-7pm, or 12pm-8pm+closing duties.  My intent is to still wake up relatively early - 6am - and do a quick walk/hike/strength-training before we head out - I'll be dropping him off in Hill City by 8:45am to ensure I can get to work in Rapid City by 9:30am.  The first week will get us some time frames worked out but then it will be smooth sailing!

So, until next week!

Heather

Weeks 11 & 12 Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from March 15 through March 21, and March 22 through March 28,2017. I am starting to get discombobulated a bit so while the weight/measurements run those weeks, what I write about may not. :-)

So last weekend was super busy with overtime on Saturday and walking around the Home Show with Dad and Casey. Sunday Dad and I were going to work on his computer as he is learning how to use it - but we got distracted by some really good shows on TV!! I never made it to the computer room - oops!!

Here's last week's numbers:



Not a lot of progress, but progress is still progress.

And this week's numbers:



Those inches are interesting, aren't they? Sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes no change. I talked to my Profile by Sanford coach today about that and agree that it's most likely due to restructuring going on. Our bodies do things their own way, and I doubt we'll ever really fully understand how they work! But I was still pretty tickled with my progress because last Saturday I went to Lane Bryant to look for a good-fitting strapless bra, very hard to find right now!! But I need it for this upcoming weekend sooo...I happened to come across an adorable pair of crop pants, white with tan stripes. Of course they don't have them in my size, just the size below! But the saleslady was so nice and helpful, she said try on the blue pair of the same style and if they fit I can order the striped pair online. Clever! So I tried on the blue pair and they fit, even a smidge loose. On a whim, I tried on the striped pair - and they came home with me! They're a smidge snug but by the time I'm wearing only crop pants and need to rotate the 3 pair I have, they'll be a great fit! Non-scale victory for the win!! Or would that be the loss...? Hehehe.

This blog post is a two-fer. We've got a very busy weekend coming up and I plan on being offline for most of it. Next week's weight/measurements may reflect this - there will be no following of plan this weekend - although I don't intend to make poor choices, either. I'm learning how much is enough and how much is too much as far as volume goes - and believe me, when I eat too much now I feel it and regret it! So I'm working on learning to control that. I also need to experiment with vegetables - broccoli and cauliflower are getting kind of old at work (and the last few things of frozen broccoli have been pretty gross, to boot!). I also need to incorporate exercise into my day - especially strength training. I enjoy strength training but there's a mental block because I remember how much I used to be able to do and keep comparing my current self to my old self. So hopefully the following weekend I'll have some updates there, too!

On that note:



And I do love my cheese!

Week 10 Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from March 8 through March 14, 2017. I am starting to get discombobulated a bit so while the weight/measurements run those weeks, what I write about may not. :-)

Saint Patrick's Day brought another potluck at work....I took a veggie tray but still ate small samples of things. Well, small samples except of the desserts...but overall not too bad. I went the week without taking my omeprazole but by the end of the week I was having a "sour stomach" so I started taking it again yesterday. (Of course, we had a greasy pizza Friday night - I did have a super salad with it but....) I'm not upset - I know that I will be able to stop taking it some day - maybe. Because I don't have a gall bladder anymore, I may be stuck on it for a long time but I'm hoping that it will ease up as I get closer to goal.

Non-scale victory - the jeans I couldn't zip up in January now will slide off without unbuttoning/unzipping. Which is funny since they're still sometimes tight in the button! So definitely things are shifting around in my body. I was also able to go to Gordman's yesterday, try one shirt on, and get 4 more in the same size but different brands/styles and have them all fit!! It's definitely progress - and things to keep me positive. I'm going to have to really focus on those as I get closer to 50 pounds. I've lost 45, 47, and 49 pounds in the past - each time gaining it all back plus some. It's like a switch goes off in my head that doesn't let me get past that 50 pound mark. I'm hoping to hit that point by my birthday - so time to refocus and hit it hard! It's actually an attainable goal at just under 3 pounds per week with this plan. So the rest of my computer time today will be spent looking at veggie recipes and formulating a plan. This week is supposed to be nicer (except Tuesday!) again and so I'll likely start walking outside on my breaks, too. And, depending on fatigue levels, after supper in the evenings versus watching TV and knitting or spinning!

I had fun with the spinach crust pizza again today by adding the Profile by Sanford sloppy joe meal replacement to it - it looked funky but tasted pretty good!!



I, of course, read the directions wrong and added too much water so used some extra cheese to thicken it up a bit. I love that spinach crust, though!!

And here are the numbers for this week:



Loving these numbers!

Have a great week, everyone!!

Heather

Week 9 on Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from March 1 through March 7, 2017.

Rough, rough week. I made a few poor choices, more than I should have, and it showed. I really need to re-focus - my coworkers, bless them, are so sweet and SO food-enabling! They bring in the treats and then say things like they try to bring things everyone likes - with a pointed look at me. I need to remember that my health is more important - they know I'm working on my health. What they don't know, and what I'm not comfortable telling them, is how hard this is mentally for me.

On a side note - my supervisor has "forbidden" me from wearing my favorite purple sweatshirt to work - it's just too big, she said!! And even with the poor numbers this week - there are other NSVs (non-scale victories). The black jeans now need to be constantly hitched up as well. And while this current weekend (the 11-12th of March) has been rough - Saturday we went to my brother's house where my sister-in-law made a wonderful meal (ham, mashed potatotes and green beans) AND cake for my Dad's birthday AND ice cream! (All fantastic!!) For supper we went to Pizza Ranch, as well. For those unfamiliar, it's basically a pizza buffet with a token salad bar. :-) I did have a large salad but I also had 3 small slices of pizza, a tiny cheesy breadstick, and a small piece of dessert pizza. Why is this on the NSV list, you ask? Because I didn't take my antacid yesterday. And I didn't wake up with acid reflux. Not even heartburn. NOT even a feeling of discomfort from overeating when we went to bed. So things are definitely changing for the better!

Without further bush-beating, the numbers.



Not a lot of difference. The measurements are all over the place, though, which was going to start driving me nuts. And then I read this article:

The Whoosh Effect

Interesting reading, and a very good reminder of not letting numbers affect my actions and thoughts as I go along this journey.

This week's goals are to re-vamp my thinking and try to figure out some way to get exercise in. I need to get in to Planet Fitness and do a walk-through on the circuit again - I'm thinking 1/2 circuit on the mornings Casey opens will be good (I really only have 15-20 minutes actual workout time before going to work) and then some walking or something in the afternoons. We'll see.

So until next time....keep on keepin' on!!

Heather

Week 8 on Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from February 22 through 28, 2017.

Last Friday we babysat our two fantastic nephews - and we got pizza again. But again with spinach and zucchini added. I decided to just not fret over the weekend as we spent some fun times with my brother, sister-in-law, and nephews. I did watch my portions and stopped when I was done instead of worrying about that clean plate club.



This past week has been a bit rough, too. But for the most part I was on plan. We were still on overtime Monday and Tuesday and that takes its toll on me - I worked over 13 hours on Tuesday. So I knew I wasn't going to have a lot of changes because when I'm tired and frustrated I retain water. When I am not moving for long stretches of time, my ankles start looking like softballs, poor things. But I am most definitely not complaining because I am still seeing progress:



Was it "only" 1 pound? Yup. But look at those hips - down 5 inches. That's a lot!! And in my blue jeans, it shows. They don't fit right there anymore and chafe a wee bit. My abdomen, which is measured at the belly button - 3-1/2 inches. And I know that this is not an all-or-nothing thing - I am not always going to lose weight. But I am healthier, and I can feel it. For the first time all winter, I got a sinus infection. That comes from eating healthier, people. I feel more confident, too. Of course, this might have helped in that area: I tried on a dress a couple of weeks ago and while Casey and the store attendant both said it looked great, I still wasn't sure. Three teenage girls came in and all three squee'd and said how fantastic/gorgeous/wonderful it looked on me. On me. And you know those teenage girls aren't going to lie! hehe (And yes, the dress came home and when the weather is appropriate it will get worn!) Those are all things that will help me along this path.

The air fryer is definitely getting used. Chicken, just plain with seasonings, no breading, comes out super moist in that thing. Fish last night, again, fantastic. And today I got up the gumption to experiment a bit!



Spinach pizza crust from Profile by Sanford here - spinach, grated Parmesan, an egg - we were out of basil so I added garlic salt (fresh ground) and some oregano instead. I put it in the air fryer for 15 minutes at 400. I was a bit concerned when I took it out as it looked almost over-cooked. But I flipped it over and it was not done on that side. I added a bit of marinara sauce and some shredded cheese and put it back in for 5 minutes at 350 (all temps Fahrenheit). SUPER good. I'll definitely be making more of these - time to prep onions, mushrooms, and other toppings! It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, almost like a bread crust would have been! I couldn't taste the spinach hardly at all, either.

This week is back to regular time at work and I'm hoping for some walks after work as the weather is looking to be pretty doggone nice! We got some tint for the windows of the Skoolie yesterday and that's on this week's agenda. Once the tint is up we can focus on final layout and get started framing. Progress!!

Heather

Week 7 on Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from February 15 through 21, 2017.

So, last Friday we also ate out and not in a healthy way. We went to a restaurant that sells pizza puffs - and I had really been craving pizza. I got a 3-pack, Casey got a 6-pack. Turns out, these things are huge. Like baseball-sized. And not as good as I had hoped. They were good, but I doubt I'll have them again. More overtime at work means no extra time for exercise but I am walking around the building a bit more and building up my steps on my FitBit so that's small steps (pun intended!). The problem with going to the gym after work is I'm mentally exhausted and just plain don't want to do anything other than go home and rest. That's a block I'll need to learn to work around because I know, too, that exercising will kick the brain back into gear as well. And come spring, we'll have the bicycles ready to go and hopefully a hitch on the SUV so we can take them with.

We did have pizza Tuesday night from a popular take and bake place. I had a large salad and 1 piece - which we had gotten the thin crust and had them add zucchini and spinach. I was pleased with that and it gave him plenty of leftovers for Wednesday! We have been making use of the air fryer - chicken, tater tots for him and veggie tots for me, steak, and it's all turned out delicious so far! One of my goals is to find the spinach pizza crust recipe and try that in the mini baking pan that comes as an accessory.

So, without further ado:





I am pretty tickled with that, to say the least! And for some non-scale victories - the blue pair of jeans that I couldn't zip at the beginning of the year now require me nearly constantly hitching them up as I'm walking and the black pair that I couldn't even get on at the beginning of the year are now comfortable enough to not require changing out of them when I get home. The flannel shirt Casey gave me for Christmas that wouldn't button now buttons with the exception of around my hips (which, given it's a men's shirt, that's not at all surprising). Most of the time, stairs are not a problem anymore, too. Small things adding up to big things!!

On the Skoolie side - we got our tub this past weekend - a 40-gallon livestock tub:



Our plan is to frame around it so we can add insulation as well. At the Restore store we also got five 12-inch square vinyl tiles with a rose in the center and we'll frame those in for decoration. We're still on the lookout for countertop - it seems that all we can find in the Restore stores is precut for a sink, understandably. Unfortunately, it's for a double-sink and we've got a single-sink. But the right one will come along - even if we end up building one!

So, until next time,

Enjoy life!

Heather

Weeks 5 and 6 on Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from February 1 through 7, 2017 and February 8 through 14, 2017.

So last weekend just flew by. Saturday the 11th we went in to town and met with my brother and nephews for lunch at Qdoba and then we walked around the Sport Show at the Civic Center. Fishing boats that cost more than either of my 2 houses I tried to buy several years ago!! And RV and campers, oh my! But the amazing thing was that for all their fluff and pomp and circumstance - not one of them felt as comfortable as our trusty Skoolie. Part of that was, of course, that they're very top-heavy and more prone to rollovers than a school bus - but a lot of it was the doors. I realize I'm not a small person - but here's the thing: I never will be. My nephews fit through the doors, but my brother and boyfriend, both over 6 feet tall with a solid build, couldn't walk through the interior doors easily. These things didn't feel very open and welcoming, even for all that they were emulating a home - some even had islands in the kitchens!! But it was an enjoyable day! We stopped at Celtic Connections downtown - super nice lady if you're ever in the Rapid City, SD area!

Sunday the 12th I had agreed to work 5 hours overtime - we are no longer able to be in the building without a manager present so this was scheduled from 10am-3pm by the supervisor coming in. Having only 1 vehicle, that meant I dropped Casey off at work at 6 (they open an hour later on Sundays), washed the car, sat in the parking lot, and at 7 when they opened went inside and got a hot tea and sat and read until 9:30. Slowly made my way over to work, arriving at 9:50 to an empty parking lot. And I waited. And waited. And waited. At 10:20 I left and ran errands. When I got in on Monday I sent an email to my supervisor just asking that this not reflect poorly on me - because it turns out no one else showed up until 10:30 - including the supervisor who said they'd be there at 10. The main frustration was I spent an entire day in town for nothing because the few things we needed Casey could have easily picked up after work and I could have been at home working on things for the Skoolie, and general household stuff, like filling the wood closet, and all the little things that, when piled up, become big things. So a minor frustration, but we made it work.

So, last week's numbers, then, from the 1st through the 7th:



Super pleased - especially since I had one less day due to the week before having to wait until Thursday to weigh in!

This past week was an even bigger challenge: Valentine's Day! I had taken the day off to spend a day with Casey, not realizing it was Valentine's Day until after the fact. We went to Sturgis to meet with a friend of mine for lunch and at at Jambonz. Holy moly was it good food! I had a shrimp salad with a tangy vinaigrette that made my face pucker! haha It was a nice visit with my friend, and definitely one we need to do more often. Then Casey & I went up to Deadwood - we wanted to check out an antique shop. We stopped at a different one first, and I happened to think it'd be neat for Casey to see my brother's office in Lead - it's in the old Homestake Gold Mine. I was able to reach him and we had a nice tour. He has some pretty fun coworkers, too. That still left us enough time to stop at the antique shop we originally planned on - and wow, is that one packed full of stuff too! We enjoyed browsing through both of them and will definitely go back! However, at this point it was 5:00. An hour drive home then generally an hour for supper to get thrown together. And poor Casey - he'd gotten a whiff of the peach cobbler at Jambonz as they were taking it out of the oven and it had been on his taste buds all day....so, after a stop at Chubby Chipmunk for truffles from the vending machine, we drove back to Sturgis and had supper at Jambonz. Where I was definitely not so well controlled. I ordered a fried catfish poor boy with sweet potato fries - he ordered a fried crawfish poor boy with sweet potato fries - and we swapped half our sandwiches. They were really good - very well done with almost no grease on the fish. I didn't eat all the bread, and only a few of the sweet potato fries - but we had gone back for the dessert and dessert we had. Their peach cobbler is a huge serving alongside ice cream - and I had a piece of chocolate fudge cake. It wasn't a very large piece, but it sure didn't need to be. It was quite decadent and overall the day was well worth going off plan for a day. The numbers showed it the next day, though:



Yep - that's right. I'm up nearly 2 pounds - but still down an inch overall. Now, I'm not a bit upset over this for several reasons. One, I had read a lot on the Facebook group and with Optifast users that week 5 generally shows a gain for no reason whatsoever. Plus, I knew as I was enjoying that wonderful food at Jambonz, that I was making a choice to have a treat and that there would be consequences for that. But my coach and I had discussed treating myself now and again (as we had been talking about Popeyes chicken - yum!!) and that I was at a point in the program where it would be okay if I was comfortable with it. Plus, there's still that inch of loss in there and - probably most telling - my jeans that I couldn't zip up at the 1st of the year are now having to be pulled up constantly. (Had I known we were planning a taco party as a farewell/birthday party for one of my favorite coworkers Friday....but that's for next week!!)

We do have a game plan for this week for getting me to the gym while still doing overtime during the week - we have weekend plans and so I have to do my 5 hours during the regular week. Casey - bless him - is willing to wait around yet another hour (mind you, he's scheduled off at 1-1:30 and I don't get there until close to 3:30!) so I can go to the gym after work. We'll have to figure up some quick and easy supper recipes but I'm pretty happy with this. So either I'll be at the gym after work or doing a workout at home - working up to 150 minutes a week.

Wednesday night my friend and I went to Canvas 2 Paint and did "Release the Krakken." It was a lot of fun and I anticipate doing several more!



I think the neatest part is how we all follow the same directions, using the same paints (mostly - some people changed up their colors) and came out with such unique and great paintings!!

We ordered a Power XL Air Fryer last week, too, and it arrived Friday. Last night we made meatballs in it that turned out great! I'm looking forward to sharing those experiences as well!

So, until next time -

Cheers!

Heather