Week 16 on Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from April 19 through April 25, 2017. I do tend to get discombobulated a bit so while the weight/measurements run those weeks, what I write about may not. :-)

What a rough month and, consequently, week.  Let's just get these numbers over with, shall we?

Uff da.  But, in looking back, I've been off plan far more than on plan, I'm afraid.  And it shows - no loss this month.  In fact, 2/10 of a pound in gain.  BUT for all the off-plan, I'm impressed that that's all the gain I had.  I would almost say it's more of a maintenance than a gain.  We ended up eating out a couple of times and that doesn't help, of course.  No excuses, but things to remember for the future.

Getting steps in has been interesting with this crazy South Dakota weather!  We woke up to snow TWICE this week and it was cold/rainy all week long.

Walking in the winter coat that didn't zip up at Christmas!

Punny.....

Windy day!!!

But I did it - even on the weekends!! 

And I think it was Tuesday - but it might have been Wednesday or Thursday after these stats - it was raining out on my first break and I really didn't want to walk outside - and I really didn't want to walk around the break room as that's when a lot of people are just getting in to work and getting their coffee, etc.  Then I remembered! Leslie Sansone, of WATP (Walk Away The Pounds), has some workouts on her YouTube channel - including a couple of 5-minute ones!  So I went upstairs (and walked up the stairs, no elevator!!) to a quiet area rarely frequented, hit play, and went for it!  Then back down the stairs, across the building to the breakroom to get my blender bottle (I fill those with water when I first get to work and put them in the fridge) and back to my desk.  My goal for the next month is to hit that step goal every weekend too, then increase it by a factor of 10%.  Even though I'm hitting it during the week, weekends seems to be a bear for me.  No structure, no schedule is hard for me.  

And while there was no weight loss this month, there's still things to be proud of.  Those steps, for example.  Feeling more energetic as a general rule (not counting the being so tired from getting up at 3am for his job).  Going to my new favorite store, Torrid, and buying denim capris a size smaller.  Flappy jeans when I'm walking (which amuses me to no end!).  (Flappy jeans - the material flaps as I walk because it's so loose.)  And ALL my jeans can now be taken off without unbuttoning or unzipping.  That's even the pair that was still snug a couple of weeks ago.  So while measurements haven't been changing much, weight loss has been stalled, things are really looking up.

For example, blood pressure.  Ideally, it should be between 90/60 and 120/80.  January 3rd it was 143/84.  I take this with the proverbial grain of salt because I was definitely feeling dehydrated that morning (we'd spent the night in a very warm hotel room the night before and I was doing fasting blood work that morning as well) and the nurse had tried 3 times with an arm cuff before switching to a wrist cuff.  Still, kind of scary.  I've been regularly checking it Wednesday evenings and this last week it was at 123/62.  It ranges up to the 130s over 80s, and sometimes higher if I forget to sit still during the reading or forget to wait a few minutes after coming upstairs.  But I like these numbers.  The beginning of July I plan on getting the blood work done again to see how that has changed also.

Other news - there are only 11 more days of waking up before the crack of dawn!!  My husband got a job at one of the winery/breweries in Hill City.  It will mean a fair bit more driving and a lot more meal planning - but it will get us on a more normal biorhythm, too.  My goal is on nice days to go walking/biking outside and on yucky days to stop at Planet Fitness before going to pick him up.  I was able to switch my schedule from 6:30am-3:00pm to 9:30am-6:00pm.  The earliest his shift ends will be 6:00pm so this will work out nicely.  I'm mentally planning larger breakfasts and lunches which will also help with sleeping at night.

Skoolie news - insulation is in!

That pile is what is left plus one more roll - and let me tell you what: even with the cold weather we had, the temperature difference inside the Skoolie is noticeable.  In just a t-shirt and jeans I was almost comfortable.  Hard to believe, isn't it?  Definitely a good investment and a great score!  (Regular price would have been $350 and he got it for $35!!)

We thought we had an on-demand water heater but on closer viewing it's a hot water dispenser - meaning it has a tiny tank inside for providing hot water for a cup of coffee or tea.  Not what we need at all!  So we're going to test it anyway and if it works sell it.  We had one in mind anyway so now it's a matter of looking at budget for that and what else we need right now to start framing around.  I think the water heater/plumbing are the only two issues.  

So, until next week!!

H

Week 15 with Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from April 12 through April 18, 2017. I do tend to get discombobulated a bit so while the weight/measurements run those weeks, what I write about may not. :-)

As mentioned last week, I will no longer be tracking body measurements weekly.  The next measurements will be taken on May 3rd.  Instead, I'll be adding my Fitbit stats up here.  This past week a friend invited me to a Workweek Hustle challenge and I was within a few hundred steps of one of her friends most of the week - but he pulled ahead by a couple of thousand on Thursday.  Next week, good man, next week!  😅

Weekends are still the bane of my walking existence but I'm getting there!  My daily goal right now 4,000 steps per day.  I've re-started walking on my morning and afternoon breaks and added walking on my lunch break.  That definitely makes hitting that goal easy, as evidenced by Monday and Tuesday!!  

Weight/BMI stats for this week:

Not a lot of change but Saturday we had our Easter dinner - and with good ham comes lots of sodium.  This isn't something I'm going to fret over - but definitely need to refocus.  Which I've said how many weeks now?  😖  A big challenge this week was.....vegetables.  I was so over vegetables this week.  My favorite, riced cauliflower with peas, carrots, and green onions and I couldn't eat them.  After talking to my coach Thursday, I went out to the food truck (I'm fortunate in that my employer allows local vendors to set up shop for lunches) and got their cheese salad.  We're talking the basics, here.  Iceberg lettuce, shredded cheddar, and their house ranch (they do cajun foods as a specialty) and talk about hitting the spot.  So Friday I brought a similar salad to work as well.  There's also been some Panera goings-on for breakfast Friday and Saturday, so I definitely have some work to do.  

Saturday I went in to town with my husband so I could pick up a bit more overtime.  I had a seasonal greens salad at Panera for lunch and tweaked it a bit.  I'm not sure I'll ever be able to eat raw kale....haha  He had a "working interview" Saturday afternoon and we ate in Hill City again.  He'd had the initial application and chat Friday night and we splurged by eating at the Alpine Inn.  The menu consists of 6-ounce or 9-ounce filet mignon, iceberg wedge, house dressing, baked potato and Texas toast.  Nice and simple, yes?  Well.....until you get the dessert menu!  If you're ever in Hill City, SD, you must check them out.  But get there early - the lines form quickly!!

Saturday night we chose a different restaurant and opted for a buffalo/elk burger.  Yum!!  But it was also 8 ounce, plus the bun, plus sweet potato fries, and dessert.  I really, really should have eaten only half and boxed the rest - I was physically uncomfortable the rest of the night.  But his "working interview" seemed to go really well and perhaps there will be news on that front next week.

In other news, I have a cousin getting married this fall and so I've started to crochet one of my favorite afghans.  It's the Very Victorian by Maggie Weldon.  So his socks and my shrug are on a back burner again!  But not for long - I crochet fairly quickly.  I am using my new Trindle drop spindle and get a little bit more spun now and again.  I'm hoping there will be time soon to get my weaving/spinning bench built so I can get my spinning wheel out.  I'm working on a couple of alpaca/merino/silk blends that I'm hoping to spin into a fine yarn with which to weave a wrap on my Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom.  It's nice having a front patio to sit on, but I have to be able to sit!  My wheel sits a bit too tall for any standard chairs so we bought the supplies to build this bench and hopefully we can work on it this spring, along with a lazy kate for plying the singles I spin.

And, some Skoolie progress.  My husband was meandering Menards last weekend looking for insulation.  We had thought the foam boards we planned on using were a lot less expensive than they actually are - but he managed to find rolls of a wool blend for $2.50 a roll - the regular price is around $25!  He grabbed it all up - there was 14 rolls, and there's just a wee bit left.  The best part is it takes the R factor from 7 to 15 and he said when he and Dad were installing it you could already feel a difference.  Nice Skoolie Skore!!  We're very fortunate and grateful that Dad has, as a wedding gift, said we can stay in his driveway another year to test it all out rather than trying to find a place to park it in town.  I'm hoping we'll be "living" in it by June but there's still a lot of work to do.

Until next week!

Heather

Profile by Sanford Week 14

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from April 5 through April 11, 2017. I am starting to get discombobulated a bit so while the weight/measurements run those weeks, what I write about may not. :-)

So, let's start with measurements. They've been driving me nuts the past few weeks - this past week my neck went UP in measurement, even with a large weight loss (keeping in mind I was "making up" for the weight gain last week). I talked this over with my coach and we decided to change up my "markers" - I'm going to do measurements once a month and start focusing on my steps. After today, I'm going to put measurements up with the 1st weigh in of the month, or, in the case of June, the May 31st weigh in - to try to keep them about 4 weeks apart. I'll be taking my weekly logs from FitBit and putting them up here for your viewing pleasure. (I have the One in burgundy and I absolutely love it! I typically wear it clipped to my bra but if need be I'll clip it in the "coin pocket" of my jeans or my waist band. I'm just more nervous about losing it from those last 2 spots but it has yet to work itself loose.) I just discovered that on the Fitbit website I can tailor the week so I'll be able to get the logs to measure the same "weeks" as my Profile week, Wednesday to Tuesday. My little inner geek is pretty tickled with that!

So - last week's weigh in looked like this:



That's that gain I talked about but didn't fret over.

This week's looks like this:



I can't believe I hadn't been putting my bicep measurements in this whole time - that's been added!

And here is the first FitBit clip! I was also able to go back and get steps from January, so that's my starting point.



Of course, the weekend of April 1 I didn't wear my Fitbit due to that surprise wedding, hehe - I put a "1" in there to keep from getting the div/0 error. :-) Weekends are definitely harder for me - I blog/do laundry/kick back and knit a lot on one day and the other day is catch-as-catch-can. Friday, I wore what I'm affectionately referring to as my "Marilyn Monroe" shoes - I like to think she'd have worn them! And if I can walk on my break in these shoes, I can definitely figure out how to get some short walks in on the weekends!!



So, you can see my goals for this week are pretty well laid out - back on track with eating (Easter weekend meant a lot of food - but I still practiced portion control and while I definitely indulged, I definitely did not indulge as much as I might have last year!), getting more steps in, and I want to add strength training, too. And doing that means giving up time doing something else...

Until next week!

Heather

Week 13 on Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from March 29 through April 4, 2017. I am starting to get discombobulated a bit so while the weight/measurements run those weeks, what I write about may not. :-)

So - I fell off the proverbial wagon and hard. But with good reason:



We got married April 1!

Between end of month at work (mandatory overtime until the work is done) and planning and preparing for our surprise wedding, the last two weeks have been rough as far as staying on plan. And it showed on the scale this week with a 3.75 pound gain. Ouch. But I'm not getting too upset about it - in the grand scheme of things that's not something to fret over. It's just a reminder of what bad habits cause. I'm back on track starting tomorrow and moving forward. I'm going to be adding strength training to my day and with the nicer weather walking more, too. And reminding my husband (which is so terribly fun to say!) to pay a bit more attention to portions and ingredients as he cooks. He's so blessedly tired, though, it's near impossible for me to get upset. His job is going to cause us problems soon, I'm afraid. Getting up at 3:10 in the morning is getting to be too much - we have to keep a "normal" schedule for meals for Dad - so supper is between 6 and 7 pm and there's no way I can go to bed so soon after eating so it's usually between 9 and 10 pm - so 6 hours and usually only 5 hours of sleep makes for some tired driving on a very curvy road in the mornings.

But the wedding was fantastic - we were even able to have it outside! I was able to wear my shoes with a short heel all day, too. I haven't been able to do that in quite awhile! We had a package deal, a "Couples Night Out" that included a king suite with jacuzzi tub, shuttle to/from Deadwood, dinner at the steak house and coupons for the Silverado, as well as a bottle of champagne, chocolates, and rose petals on the bed. Super romantic!! And, we've confirmed what everyone else has already known - we're already an old married couple. We stayed in after all! haha

This past Friday, Profile by Sanford had a sneak peek for their new location that is local to me! I'm pretty tickled - and while I will still do my virtual coaching, it will be so nice to be able to just stop in and get what I need! They had samples out for the trying, and we got to tour the store. I'm looking forward to taking some classes there, too.

So, this week's goals are to get back on track, add in exercise, and increase my step count on my Fitbit. Let's git 'er done!!

H

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

Week 4 Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from January 25-31, 2017.

Wow. One month gone already! 2017 is zooming by! I got the go ahead and start exercising and now that the overtime is done for a few weeks I'll be very happy to get back to the gym. My gym of choice is Planet Fitness. It's affordable, has what I need, and is quite handy right now. That may change down the road when we move, but we'll see. My intent is to do 20 minutes each weekday morning on the treadmill and then 3 evenings a week do a light circuit training DVD I have from a DK book, simply titled "15 Minute Total Body Workout (+DVD)." I was looking for something effective but didn't use a lot of tools/space since we'll be moving to the motorhome this year some time. This looks like it will fit the bill - especially with the layout we've got in mind right now.

This month was massively busy in our department and we knew we would not leave before they turned the systems off at 9. Well, still having to get up at 3:10 the next morning, that meant driving home and back again would only get us about 4-1/2 hours of sleep, not to mention either of us driving at that point would have been awake for 18 hours. Not a safe situation. So we opted to stay in town and, even with the Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo in town, managed to get a room. We stayed at the Foothills Inn and will likely stay there again. Much nicer room than at the Sleep Inn - it even had 2 easy chairs!! However, that meant putting off my weigh in until Thursday instead of Wednesday. That plus the stress of end of month, I wasn't anticipating much loss on the scale this week. We still did my measurements Wednesday night since we were at home, though.



For fun:



I am quite tickled with the results I'm seeing! (Oops - the top one is to show I've lost as much as a sperm whale's brain! I'll have to work on that!)

My aunt and uncle were in town this week and she was intrigued by the program. I suspect she'll look into it a bit when they get home from their journeying with my father. Dad had asked when results would be seen a couple weeks ago and I said I'd lost 14 pounds at that point but because he sees my daily, he probably won't see a difference until he returns from Arizona. I did have a coworker say it looks like I'm melting away, which was nice.

Vegetables are a challenge - but with Dad gone for a few weeks we'll be able to experiment more and then when we know we have some good recipes, he can try them. I did try the broccoli tots last night - instead of turning on the oven for my few tots, we put a bit of olive oil in a pan, when it was heated, added the tots and some seasoning, then finished them off in the microwave (because everyone was waiting on me and Casey hadn't had a chance to grab more veggies yesterday) - not too bad!!

NSVs this week - the blue pair of jeans are comfy and the black pair fit!! They get a bit tight in the waist band by the end of the day but it's the first time in a long time I've had 2 pairs of pants to alternate during the work week! I think on this upcoming Wednesday, a TShirt day at work, I'll even be able to wear a Minion tshirt that was too snug when I bought it in December. So, on the cliffhanger of will she or won't she....

Until next week!

Week 3 Profile by Sanford and another Skoolie update!

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from January 18-24, 2017.

The week had fewer challenges as far as eating out, but man did I feel hungry a lot this week. I wasn't hungry, but I just wanted to eat. Which is part of why I wanted to do a very rigid program like Profile by Sanford. Because the meals are already laid out for the day, I don't have to think about it. I know I can have a ShapeWise chew or an additional fiber drink (water soluble fiber for a feeling of fullness) and not go off-track. Saturday we did go to Q'doba and I had a chicken salad - I may have gone over on protein and fat just a bit for the day but still far better than I could have done!! So, without further ado....




Up in a couple spots inches-wise, but that's okay. We measured in the morning versus the afternoon and so that might have made a difference, too. Progress is still progress! My coach is pretty fantastic - he put a hand-written note of encouragement in with my order this week! And an NSV (non-scale victory) this week! Last fall I had purchased 2 pairs of jeans from Avenue online. Now, this store was the first store in years where I could walk in to the store and get jeans off the rack that fit and fit like I'd been wearing them forever. That nice, cozy, comfy feeling. So imagine my disappointment when these didn't fit!! I couldn't zip the blue pair up and the black pair didn't want to go on hardly at all past the hips! Well, last week the blue pair zipped! And were mostly comfortable but by the end of the day I needed to change out of them. This week? Well, last night I forgot to change out of them! Next week, pending measurements, I'll be trying that black pair on!!

I'm expanding my horizons a bit - I got their peppered chicken gumbo and their homestyle beef stew, as well as their vegetarian chili and sloppy joe mix. I believe these are meal replacements, so in lieu of the shake at lunchtime, for example. And for evenings, I did get a box of the chocolate fudge cake. I have PB2 powder to add for chocolate peanut butter, too. Or strawberry syrup or caramel syrup...yum!! I also got a sample of the pancakes and cheesy fiesta pasta. To go with the pancakes, I ordered from Walden Farms syrup and chipotle ranch dressing and packets of dressing for eating out - I can tuck those into my purse. So lots of fun things to try!

On the Skoolie note - we did pick up the hardwood flooring at Menards, and the underlayer. We also splurged a bit there and got a version that also added a bit of insulating factor - every bit will help in the winters!! We've decided on the wall board, but didn't pick it up - we'll need a bigger truck for that as it's 4 foot by 8 foot. The cooktop came in and it's bigger than we pictured, even after drawing up measurements from the schematics, but it's not too big -it's a more functional size, actually. And the heaters arrived, too! Busy week for FedEx at our house! The heaters were also a lot bigger than we thought, too. But they tried the one and it puts out a fair bit of heat so with one on each end of the Skoolie we'll be nice and cozy!

Sometime this week my aunt and uncle are going to be here for a visit - I think the spiralizer will get quite the workout as we tempt her with zoodles!! (She has celiac so probably hasn't had noodles in years!) Looking forward to seeing them again - especially since the last time we saw them I had started that elemental shawl and this time - well, except for blocking it will be done this week!!

Cheers!

Heather

Week 2 Profile by Sanford & Skoolie update

For ease of simplicity, I'm going to refer to my weeks on Profile by Sanford vs days. I'll try to remember to put at the beginning that my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. I weigh in the morning and we do measurements at night. This week we got a better tape measure so the measurements felt a bit off kilter but not too bad and certainly nothing to fret over. Next week they'll be back in sync with the new tape measure. I did decide to continue the app, Weight Track Assistant and in the "forearm" part I'm putting my calf measurement. My blood pressure is in a Blood Pressure - MyDiary app as well.

So. Week 2 results:



Certainly no complaints there! There were a couple of challenges - and there always will be - Friday night my first childhood friend invited us to her home for dinner and was very accommodating of my needs. We had a lovely time with her family and I'm hoping we will get to spend more time with them. Casey and her oldest daughter had a great time talking about knitting and I foresee several knitting-on-the-back-porch sessions! We went out to eat a total of 3 times (2 planned, 1 unplanned) - and I did really well, I think. Friday night we went to Chilis and I got their Ancho Salmon with broccoli - I swapped the lime-chili rice for asparagus and tomatoes and that was a lot of food for not a lot of calories and zero loss in taste. And Casey helped me clean my plate, which also helped! :-) (Although in hindsight, still about 570 calories...and that's off the "ligher fare" menu!)

Saturday we did a town run. It's really hard to look for things for the Skoolie after work and I really wanted to see "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." We planned on lunch at Panera and I got the Spicy Thai Chicken Salad, half size. I swapped the edamame and wonton strips, chose the more greens option for lettuce, and had the dressings on the side. About 260 calories all told. And water to drink. It was a packed house and a couple sat next to us and asked about bussing tables (it was so packed people were sitting at tables before the poor staff could clean off the tables!). I noticed the scarf she was wearing and asked if she knit it - she had! Lovely conversation later, we made hopeful new friends, too! (And look for Brim Collections on Instagram - knitting patterns and yarn coming soon!)

We then went to the Restore Store and got some things for the Skoolie - the kitchen sink, included! We got new seats for the benches - the pieces look like they're from a corner bench table set and they'll be a lot more comfortable than the plain plywood - these have the gentle curve for sitting and they're a good, solid wood. We got a toilet set because it was shell-shaped (and only $1.50!!) so we can start plans to build the composting toilet too. (And I have an excuse to buy octopus stuff! Ha!) We got a very ornate towel holder - the wall-mounts look almost Victorian, and we found some lovely drawer pulls, too. All in all, $50! We did look at hardwood flooring but felt that was an area we didn't want to skimp on and what they had was kind of rough. (Menards quite conveniently put some on sale today along with free underflooring with mail in rebate! Guess where we're going tomorrow!) The stove top is on order as are the EnviHeat heaters. We're still deciding on the size of the shower (we have it marked off at 36 inches square but may be able to go smaller) and then countertop. They had some nice counters at the Restore store, but the holes were for a double-sink and ours is a single sink. So we'll look for that next, I think, plus wall paneling. It's exciting to be getting close to being done - and to being able to find a place to park it to live in for awhile!

We went to the movie and I was not at all tempted by the popcorn - even after walking up three floors to the screen the movie was playing! And he got me a large water, so I was good there. We went to the 4:00 show and it was 6:15 before it was done. We decided to go to IHOP for supper. I don't think we'll be going again. It doesn't look like upkeep is high on the owner's priority list - it's not a very old building but it looks like it. Our server also left a fair bit to be desired. I asked for water and he asked for coffee. Over 5 minutes later she came back with 2 coffee cups, a carafe of coffee, and no water. She apologized, and it took close to another 5 minutes before she finally brought 2 glasses of water. That probably should have been a clue to just leave. A salad at a fast food joint would have been better. I ordered the white-egg veggie omelette, swapping the avocado for mushrooms, sourdough toast as the side (for Casey), and a salad. Casey ordered a steak omelette with hashbrowns for his side. She brings me the omelette (made correctly) with the fruit cup and toast (so 2 sides instead of 1) and Casey's omelette with hashbrowns. I said this isn't right because I can't have fruit. "Well, this is what I wrote down" as she's looking the printout - "Oh! You ordered a salad! I'll be right out with it, I'm so sorry!" She said she'd cover it, which was nice. I ate the omelette, started on the salad pulling out the occasional "slimy" pieces. Not a big deal, it happens. Except I looked closer at a speck to see if it was bad or just a spot I could remove - and it moved. Casey pulled over the other waitress (who we've had in the past and is fantastic) and pointed it out to her, just politely saying that they may need to check their stock and I declined another salad as I was quite full and she immediately went back and told our server to take off 20% of the meal. So they made it right for the most part, but overall it left a bad taste in my mouth - literally as well as figuratively.

So lots of progress this week - we sat down and did a basic menu for the week trying new recipes that hopefully won't bore Dad. hehe Wednesday night his lady-friend will be cooking for us, and will be baking chicken and making a salad. She works in a hospital so Dad is confident she can accommodate my needs. We've never met her before, so it will be an interesting evening!

Until next week!

Profile by Sanford Days 4-12

My weigh ins are on Wednesday mornings, and then because we have no spare time in the morning, I do my measurements that night. So as of Wednesday:

Weight: -8.15 lbs
Neck: -0.50 inches
Chest: -0.50 inches
Waist: -0.00 inches
Abdomen: -0.50 inches
Hips: -0.50 inches
Thigh: -1.00 inches
Calf: -0.50 inches

Total of 7 inches which is pretty impressive. And it's the first time I've ever seen the calf measurement go down! My coach said to expect about 2-3 pounds per week from here on out. I am still trying to find an app that will let me log everything in one place as far as measurements. I'm just not happy so far with most of the free ones. I want to track all of those measurements (and my blood pressure once I get a monitor again!) and it seems most of them limit you to only a few. The one I'm using I may use the "Forearm" for my calf - we'll see.

As far as shake flavors, I've decided to order just the chocolate and vanilla. I purchased 2 bottles of sugar-free Torani syrup and 1 bottle of DaVinci sugar-free syrup, so I have caramel, strawberry, and hazelnut. Those and peanut butter powder will give me a lot of variety. The bars I'm going to continue with the variety pack for now. Of the flavors, the chocolate almond and the fudge graham are probably my least favorite. The cinnamon is a lot better than I thought it would be! The lemony tea has grown on me and so I ordered both flavors again. And I'm not needing the ShapeWise chews hardly at all anymore.

Figuring out the veggies is the hardest bit but we're managing. I've been having a mock caprese salad at work - small tomatoes with a string cheese and a drizzle of balsamic (1/3 cup of tomatoes per day only) and then 1/3 cup of sugar snap peas and 1/3 cup of sliced carrots go on to my salad mix which is spinach and baby greens I think. I'm struggling with the bitterness plus those bags go bad pretty quickly. It has been interesting to see that the stores are "jumping on the bandwagon;" we've purchased a cauliflower/broccoli rice and I've seen several others in the freezer section. We splurged and got a spiralizer and a cookbook this past week and I'm really looking forward to playing with it!



I am now getting receipts emailed manually by my coach (although there was one in the box this week, too) and it sounds like they're really overhauling their systems this year to get them all interconnected and more user-friendly. That has to be good news for them, too!! I also splurged a little bit here and got their January promo which is 2-20 ounce blender bottles, a Profile Member Journey Book, Profile Cookbook and 1 box of drink enhancers. Since I already have the cookbook, I did say he could give that to someone else. But I've been seeing pictures on the Facebook page of the Journey Book and thought I would love to have that - it's a journal of sorts, if I'm understanding it correctly.

Water water water. Still getting my 52 ounces in before lunch and refilling the 16-ounce glass twice after lunch plus sipping my Diet Dr Pepper throughout the day.

I've had 3 challenges this week - we went out to eat twice and went to the movies with my nephews! First out-to-eat was at Perkins and I had their build-your-own omelette with tomatoes, spinach, mushroom, and onions. I then had my normal lunch of veggies and meal replacement (with extra veggies to make up for lunch) for supper. Then the movies - everyone but me had popcorn but after the initial desire to dive right in, I did fine. Which is super impressive for me because I LOVE me some popcorn!! Today Dad and I went in to town and we went to Wendy's for lunch - I had their side salad with the pomegranate dressing and water to which I added my meal replacement. So we shall see what we shall see on Wednesday! I also bought a nice lunch tote and containers more geared toward the 21-day whatever but I'm going to start making 2 of my meal replacements into puddings to take to work and these will do the trick nicely. I also got a plastic utensil set: fork/spoon/knife/chopsticks with interchangeable handles, and a big bowl that I can use to either microwave food or put my salad in.

So that's this week - let's see what the next week brings!!

Profile by Sanford Days 1-3

Well, it's been interesting! From everything I'd read online, including Optifast clients' blogs, the first 3 days are the hardest. I won't say they were easy but they were not, thankfully, as hard as I thought they would be. The biggest challenge time is between my 2nd meal replacement and lunch - and so I've started to save my ShapeWise Chew (basically an appetite curbing piece of candy with milk minerals and conjugated linoleic acid) until then and that helps.

Of the 5 flavors of shakes I got, the chocolate, chocolate hazelnut, sweet strawberry, sweet berry, and vanilla, the one I can drink the easiest is the plain chocolate. And yes, the water HAS to be very cold. So what I'm doing is making 1 shake before we leave as the water from the fridge is really cold plus I add some crushed ice to it and drink that on the drive in to work/gym. When I get to work I put water in the other blender cup and put that in fridge and then I alternate blender cups so there's always one with cold water in the fridge. That's been helping. They're still a little chalky tasting but tolerable.

One thing I tried is to make a pudding out of them. I did this Thursday night at home with the vanilla and let it set in the fridge during supper time and had it a bit before bed. Not too bad! The chocolate hazelnut I did at work and it also was much better than the shake version. Friday night I added a 1/2 tsp of sugar-free cheesecake flavored pudding to the vanilla shake mix and made a pudding with it - YUM!! Today I'll add some of that to the berry shake as a shake and see if that helps. I did also get some fat-free whipped cream (on the free foods list) to try with a berry pudding and I have some sugar-free Torani caramel syrup to add to something as well as powdered peanut butter. So tweaks to help make them better tasting! Definitely definitely cold cold cold water, though!

The fiber drinks come in Tart & Tangy mixed fruit drink and a Lemony Tea. The first time I drank the tea it tasted so BRIGHT. There is no other way to describe it. Just wow - it was a lot of power! The fruit drink the next day was tasty! I was a bit concerned as it smelled like Kool-Aid but it tasted like a fun beverage out on the town! I bet it'd be really good if I had a Soda Stream..... The second time I drank the tea it was much more palatable - and I think that means my palate is already changing a bit.

The meal bars I've had so far (I bought 2 variety boxes): I started with the cinnamon bar and I wasn't sure I'd like it but it was really good! Thursday was the Smores Bar - another winner! And Friday was the Caramel Cocoa - definitely no lack of chocolate for me!! All very good and I'm looking forward to trying the rest, too.

Suppers have been fun, too. Well, for me. Maybe not so much for Casey...but he's a really good sport! Wednesday night we had pork and a zucchini/squash/bell pepper blend (and don't tell anyone, but these bells? I may have not actively disliked!). Thursday was similar but with a fajita flair. (He asked me to get fajita seasoning, chicken and cheese and I forgot the chicken and cheese.....) Friday night we tried a Profile recipe, Roll in a Bowl. It's basically your meat and a coleslaw mix for the vegetables. Casey added he thinks 7 red pepper flakes from a spice jar - the kind one puts on pizza. Holy MOLY did that make it HOT HOT HOT!! But really tasty and I foresee this one being a favorite. Dad, bless him, has been all on board with the healthier suppers. He mentioned something about having gained a bit of weight since he retired... And he brought out some oatmeal cream cookie sandwiches and chocolate cakes for him and Casey last night but said if it bothered me he'd put them away. So that helps a lot - instead of joking/teasing he's trying to help. And I'm fortunate that generally "not within reach" means I won't be grabbing for the sweets. They kept them back by them and I enjoyed the cheesecake pudding.

I really thought the 64 ounces of water would be the hardest part - I don't like water, I much prefer my Diet Dr. Pepper. But I borrowed Casey's Bubba Keg - it holds 52 ounces!! and when I get to work I fill about 1/4 of the way with ice then top it with water to the top. It's been empty either just after lunch or before lunch! I have a 16-ounce glass at work that I then fill with again a small amount of ice and water and even that's been gone before I leave for the day. Now, it does help that it's bitter cold out and furnaces and heating systems and wood stoves are in full force so I'm super dry but it's still pretty impressive.

Thursday was my first coaching session and it was with Troy, the same coach I did the initial consultation with in November. He said he was glad to see I got signed up and was overall really nice. These can be scheduled on my lunch break at work and so that helps a lot. When the local branch opens up it might be trickier but my supervisor has already offered up 1-hour lunches if I need them. (I have a GREAT supervisor!!) We went over the basics and we'll dig deeper next week. I did forget to ask about invoices again but when I order next week I'll definitely remember!

I did get the lab results back and, as I suspected, they were not as good as we wanted. I'm borderline diabetic, my blood pressure was high (I was definitely dehydrated plus the machine was being wonky but still), my iron is low, and my cholesterol levels were high. So for now, an iron supplement + iron-rich foods, fish oil, and diet and exercise plus monitoring of my blood pressure. So when I go back in a few months it will be interesting to see the changes!!

Heather

Okay, so here goes for Day 1. I'm at work drinking the first smoothie, Sweet Berry shake. Now, it could be that the water isn't cold enough from the dispenser seeings as how even with ice in my water glass it isn't very cold, but at the moment the smoothie is leaving a bit to be desired. For my next one in a couple of hours, I'll add ice to it. The shakes can also be prepared as a pudding using less water so I may pre-prepare a couple and put in the fridge overnight.

They did call me Monday and reactivated my account and got the scale synced as well as set up my first appointment and did a quick plan review, so that made me happy. I forgot to ask about an invoice so I'll do that tomorrow. The nice part about this is that I can do the coaching over my lunch break which will hopefully make it easier to schedule.

Lunch is 1 cup of spinach/baby greens with Walden Farms Ranch dressing (calorie/sugar/fat/carb/gluten/cholesterol free-gosh, it almost makes me wonder if there's anything left!), 1/3 cup each tomatoes (golden tiny tomatoes!), sliced carrots, and sugar snap peas - so that's 2 of my 4 cups of vegetables. My fat is 3/4 oz cheese - 1 string cheese - and then we got honey infused balsamic vinegar so I'm making a caprese salad! The carrots and sugar snap peas are in with the salad.

I took it upon myself to get some pre-plan bloodwork done. Complete Metabolic Panel, lipids, A1c (blood sugars), and I think complete blood count. That was done yesterday and I should have those results today or tomorrow. My blood pressure was a little high - we're thinking part of it was the machine (the cuff was too tight on my upper arm and it took 2 tries for my wrist) and part of it was I was definitely feeling dehydrated. My doctor wants me to keep an eye on that given my family health history, so I'll either get a Profile by Sanford BP monitor that syncs or get a plain one and see if my coach can enter it manually. I'm hesitant to purchase PbS products because while I can use them without an active profile, it'd be nice to have something I can sync to my Sparkpeople account, for example. We shall see.

Here's to Day 1!

Heather

Happy 2017!!

Another year has gone by, and what a crazy year it was!

Quick recap: Bought a Skoolie in February, got jerked around by a well-known truck service company in Ohio for a month, but managed to leave Ohio and end up in South Dakota in April. Our intent was to get to Washington state but that's on hold for a bit. Got good jobs, Dad and Casey are kicking butt on the Skoolie renovation (it had already been converted to a motorhome but now it will be a much cleaner, safer, nicer one!), got a new used car, and have had great times with family and friends!

Biggest change for 2017 is weight loss. And a lot of it. I had been talking about Optifast previously, and while I still feel it would have been a good fit for me (as always, consult with your physician for what will work best for you), I was able to take the delay in finances and do some additional research. Optifast ends at either 12 or 18 weeks, whether you're close to goal or not. That had the potential to be a major downside given the amount of weight I need to lose. I had seen a commercial for what I knew was a gimmick product but I'm always curious about the "claims" they make so I did some digging, read some reviews, and one of those reviews mentioned Profile by Sanford. My ears perked up a bit as I know the name Sanford, as in Sanford Health, very well having previously used their health insurance plans offered through employers in the Huron, SD area. And so I did some digging and it is very similar to Optifast but with a few noticeable differences. One, you're not meeting with one of their doctors - which is okay with me as I much prefer meeting with my regular physician anyway. Labs are not included - which is also okay because getting those done through my doctor means they apply to my deductible instead. You still get weekly coaching sessions for up to 18 weeks, but your subscription is for 1 year - and so you have access to the tools for one year plus you can always pay for another year if you want. Also included in that is a wifi scale and network bridge that syncs to your account automatically. And while they are primarily located in Eastern South Dakota, MN, and that area, they have a virtual option so that's what I'll be doing. It does sound like they're planning on opening one near me this year, but it is nice that I don't have to wait. They do offer education as well, which is a big deal for me. I need to relearn a lot when it comes to eating habits, especially emotional habits.

So, after talking to a coach for an initial consultation in November, I placed my order on December 26th. Keeping in mind it is the holidays, I did experience a bit of disappointment which I will be bringing up with them. I did not get a confirmation email for my order, and along with that, no tracking information. All I knew was that they took my money. They did pre-honor their $99 pricing that wasn't to go into effect until the 1st of the year, and I did add the cookbook (pricing as of right now is $10). But I really would have liked an invoice, even via email since there wasn't one in the package, of how that money was utilized. I don't know what the cost of the meal replacements were, for example. I'm sure had I gone in person I would have an itemized receipt and frankly, I expect no less when I'm purchasing online. I also have no access to my profile on their site - it needs to be activated, and I received no information on when I can expect my first coaching session nor when they want me to start the program. That being said, when I did my initial consultation, he had laid out what to eat and about when, and how to read the grocery list, so I am planning on starting meal replacements Wednesday, January 4th. This is because I have a doctor's appointment Tuesday for blood work and I want that to be pre-plan. This will give me solid starting numbers that are not dependent on a scale or a tape measure and will be additional data for me to help keep me focused. The only other issue is that they don't have hours for the virtual program as far as when you can call if you have questions - they have store hours for their physical locations, but even so, calling during those hours I've had twice where they've answered and twice where I've left a voice message with no indication of hours. These are, though, small things that will be worked out over time.

We are hoping to have the Skoolie done by spring and plan on finding a place to park it and live in it - at least over the summer/fall to test it out. The finance company where we got our car sounds like they're pretty picky on customers leaving the area owing them money (understandable as they are loaning to high-risk customers) and so we need to be a lot closer to having it paid off before we can head out of town again. My hope is to find a mobile home park but we shall see what we shall see. We picked up the fridge yesterday and it's in the house waiting to be installed. Our biggest concern right now is a heating system - we'd like a convection-style wall-mount system and we did find one that we think will do the trick - we'd need 2 units and if it doesn't, it's a 15% restocking fee on each one, plus the cost of shipping both ways. Before we can do any interior framing and building, we need to tint the windows which would be a good time to test any heating system due to the frigid cold we're experiencing!! We have a layout in mind, and it's even been taped out on the floor so we have an idea of what to expect. I was rather surprised to see we would have room for a 36" shower - and told Casey we can definitely go as small as 28" if we need to. It's looking like we may still have a small bit of closet space where the old closet was, which will be nice. Any extra space will be nice!

It's looking like we'll have a busy 2017 - may it be a wonderful year to all of you!

Heather

Life...again.

Well, Optifast will be getting put on hold until the next round - we need a car and soon and until Casey is working again, that became a priority. I was a bit frustrated that the clinic never called with the financial department's information so I could talk to them to see if something could be arranged but it's better not to have an extra payment until we know what he'll have for income again. In the meantime, I can still work on the little things - not feeding the vending machines being the biggest one!! But those chocolate iced honey buns....yum!!

I've tried a lot of things over the years, and have lost nearly 50 pounds three times, so I know I can do it. It's just that for some reason, just before I hit that 50 pound mark, it's like a switch flips and all the work I've done to create new habits flies out the window. Part of the appeal of Optifast was it not only takes the "work" out of it by literally giving you their meal products (which sounds so sci-fi, I know!) and telling you how much to consume a day and about at what times, but they also work on the behavioral and emotional sides, along with the personal trainer once and the nutritionist weekly. It is a very rounded program and the only "reward" system is your health. Another blogger (I've read so many, I wish I would have taken notes!) said she didn't like Weight Watchers at that time because you could earn back more food - if you worked out more, you could eat more - and I agree. I think that food as a reward kind of defeats the purpose of watching what you eat. I do know I have comfort issues with food as well, and so between the two, I have some issues! (Boy, I hope my brother doesn't read that! haha)

So, while I've postponed the Optifast program for now, I do want to review our budget, and do an Overall Health Assessment, which includes:
• Body Composition Analysis
o Results provide an easy and quick overview of your body make up including lean body mass, body fat mass, basal metabolic rate.
• Functional Assessment
o Assess strength, flexibility, range of motion and functional health of your body
• Cardio Assessment
o Assess cardiovascular health and stamina
• Overall Assessment and Fitness Improvement Plan
o Completed by Certified Personal Trainer
I’ve done the Body Composition Analysis already and it was also a chance to meet one of the personal trainers on staff. He was very nice and informative and I felt comfortable with him, which is always a good thing. The price for the assessment is currently $60 and I feel that there will definitely be value there.

The other thing I want to budget for is Nutritional Wellness Counseling. The description from the Regional Weight Loss site is:

Nutrition Wellness Counseling (pricing plans are identical to personal trainer options, listed above)
Take charge of your diet to promote health, wellness and a healthy body weight.
One-on-one nutrition counseling with a registered dietitian
• Supportive and non-judgmental environment
• Advice about weight control and healthy eating
• Set realistic short and long-term wellness goals
• Develop a unique plan to help you achieve your goals
They have very reasonable rates and package options so for both the nutritionists and the personal trainers and so I think that this well be a good start in the right direction. There is room in the budget, I think, for both as long as we focus.

I’m a member of Sparkpeople and while I am definitely a fan of the creator (he self-funded the site to make it a free site for all users) and they have a lot of great information and people and tools – it was also disheartening for me to see people making so much progress and I would be making none. I’ve also realized I was using it to stay on the computer – which isn’t conducive to health improvement! I tried MyFitnessPal.com as well and while it was a little easier to use as far as tracking, the forums are less than pleasant. I did meet a few fantastic people and there were a few family members on there as well, but I just couldn’t get past the unpleasantness if you asked questions on the forums. A lot of people were friendly and tried to help but it felt like a few were there specifically to promote their own agenda and their own views and if you disagreed they were very rude and judgmental. Which defeats the purpose of an online support system, I think.

So, this week I’ll be refocusing on not feeding the vending machine, getting a budget put together again, and baby steps again. The hardest part about that is that we’re staying with my father and I feel a little obligated to be social and that makes it hard to go upstairs and do a Leslie Sansone WATP dvd or a yoga video or meditation or anything like that. He’s like me – it’s hard to really understand something you’re not directly affected by and so for him, it’s all about moving more/eating less but yet evenings are for relaxing and watching TV. It’s how I grew up. What he is unable to grasp, because he’s not living it, is that essentially my inner organs are smushed in a corset with limited room to move so deep breathing doesn’t happen, my heart rate is slow so I can get dizzy easier, and then add to that an additional 100 pounds of body weight he’s not carrying. I think if I could somehow put him in that situation, that sensation, he would definitely grasp it and it would be easier for him to understand. I can do a fair bit of walking yet – last weekend we had a lovely time with my brother, sister-in-law, nephews, and Dad walking to see a couple of waterfalls – and that was a lot of walking for me! I could do it – albeit slowly – but I was definitely wore out. (And I am so grateful that there were no comments about my slowness, only patience – even from my not-so-patient brother!) Baby steps. And perhaps some communication improvement. :-)

The Skoolie is nearly completely gutted inside as I’m typing this. The mattress has been put in plastic and into the garden shed. The bed framing has been removed and sitting on the driveway for now. Dad was amused by the amount of clothes Casey had tucked away. The man has more clothes than most women do! To be fair, a lot of his attire is bicycle-specific and since that is usually his preferred form of transportation, it’s necessary. But I’m also pretty sure he could get by with not wearing the same t-shirt more than once in a 90-day period…

We’re looking at vinyl planks for the floor, in a hardwood pattern. Easy to clean for me! We’re still working out configurations for things, including the bathroom. It’s a 32-foot long bus, but we lose about half of that in the engine compartment. So we have around 24 feet to play with – and of course the king-size bed takes up a fair chunk of that! We’ve met a couple of fellow Skoolies, including Dredman, and they’ve had some neat ideas that we’re hoping to make our own. Our biggest problem is the bathroom – we’ll be using a composting toilet so plumbing and black tank for that won’t be an issue – but bathing is a necessity. There are plumbing holes in the floor already so we’ll just have to see what we can do with what’s existing and kind of design around that. Our intent is to have all the plumbing on the driver’s side of the Skoolie so the sink will be there as well as the Panda washing machine. It will be a challenge, but a fun one!

They did put in new roof vents – we purchased two with fans and two without. Over the bedroom area will be the fan blowing into the Skoolie, then a fanless, then a fan wired to blow out of the Skoolie, then the other fanless vent. That will make for some respectable air circulation. We are planning on getting at least two LED-lit garnish rings and possibly four. And as I was typing this – they are down to the wall framework and lots of cleaning up of fiberglass insulation and general debris. They’re speedy!

As I mentioned in a previous post – there will be some changes. I’ll be monetizing this site so look for some Amazon links and probably Google ads if I can figure out why they aren’t working. We’re looking at other things to do for supplemental income and so down the road we may have some pieces of art for sale as well. I’m going to put up a progress sidebar for my health tracking as well. Stay tuned, folks!

~Heather