Week...well....Hm.

Let's call it the end of a very, very long week 23, shall we?

It's been a crazy, great summer, though. And even with not staying on plan - or anywhere near it, really! - I've maintained the weight loss I had at the end of March.

Some highlights -

April, of course, we got married.  He left one job and then went back but on our terms.  No more opening shifts and 2 set days off per week, cross-training and raises, and supervisor training.  Which lasted not so long, of course.  While they never scheduled him opening again, his hours were all over the place between 7am and 5pm, and anywhere from 15-40 hours.  He was one of the few that were supposed to get no less than 30 hours per week period.  And those 2 set days off?  Happened maybe 4 weeks total.

May - we got the Nutri Ninja and I love it for my shakes.  I add a handful of spinach, a touch of vanilla extract, and then if it's the strawberry shake I add some sugar-free strawberry syrup because otherwise I can't really drink it - it's not my favorite.  If I have the vanilla shake then I'll add caramel syrup (sugar-free) and powdered peanut butter.  I haven't used it nearly as much as I should be, though.

June was rough for me - I had to realize that I just couldn't do my coaching sessions over the phone on my lunch breaks anymore.  There have been changes at work and they're not being quite as flexible about schedule changes - holding the non-phone people to the phone scheduling system (which can literally change your break time during your shift!).  But I do have the local branch now and I started going there and I really like my new coach.

July - 2 birthdays (including a 40th!) and still with the hot weather.  I can't walk outside in the heat hardly at all so I spent my breaks sitting.  I can tell, too.  I'm stiff and achy again.  I did go see a personal trainer twice and realized I am definitely stronger than I think!  I'm right around average to above average (except in sit-ups, ha!).  He had me use a TRX system the first time and I loved it.  The second session was a punching bag and medicine ball - and I loved that too!  (I think I like aggressive outlets....haha)

August - yeah, more heat.  Oh, and the Farmer's Market?  On the one day we can go, they have almost no actual produce but a few vendors with things like jams, kettlecorn, and a few other things I don't remember.  It was super disappointing for us.  I'm sure they probably had more things on the other days/hours they were open - but we couldn't get there so it didn't help us much.  We've been hitting Safeway, though, and their produce is pretty good in general.

September flew by.  I'd go on and off plan - and finally just took the month.  I cancelled my coaching sessions and did some digging around and thinking and I feel like I've sorted some things out.  The biggest thing is that I'm not beating myself up over "falling off the wagon."  It happened, but I still had learned some things and am listening to my body a lot more.  I  bit the bullet and ordered "DDPYoga" - because this video is so inspiring:

I also made the decision to start walking 1 mile twice a day - when I wake up and before I go to bed.  So I got the okay from Dad to move the coffee table into the back room.  I'll use my WATP dvds for the walking - I'll alternate days with DDPYoga with resistance band strength training.

I also disabled my Facebook account - and a month later I'm not missing it one bit.  AND my husband finally left that other job for good.  He got an offer at a wooden toy manufacturer, tried to talk to his manager to give her two weeks' notice and she kept blowing him off, so after 2 days (the amount of time he told the new employer he would get back to him with a start date) - he finished out that week's schedule and quit.  And it felt so good....for all of us!  He's now working M-F 8-430, what a blessing!

So October - we're 8 days in and where am I?  Well, October first we did this:

From the Crazy Horse Memorial website: The bi-annual Crazy Horse Volksmarch (an organized hike) is a 10K or 6.2-mile woodlands ramble to the world’s largest mountain carving in progress in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota.

It was definitely a challenge and towards the end of the uphill climb I think I was stopping every 50 feet or so.  The level part coming back wasn't much better - my feet HURT.  But I DID IT.  And I used the exercise tracking option on my FitBit and it said I did it in 4 hours.  I had a feeling it would take that long - and I'm not at all disappointed.  It's a HIKE.

So - I will try to get back to weekly posts - there's some Skoolie updates, too - slow progress but progress!  He's framing now and once that is all figured out the rest should go fairly quickly.  And I have to go find the clearance lights!

Until next time!

Week 23 Profile by Sanford

Hello!

So, I was still pretty off-plan this last week although I did make some better choices, such as taking advantage of Panera's Rapid Pick Up service - I'd order a customized salad on the app and schedule it to be ready when I dropped my husband off and there was my lunch!  It's been hard finding and keeping decent salads/mixes at home lately....

Up a bit this week - understandable as there's not been a lot of walking and not getting all my water in most days either.

So back to the walking I must get!  I found some great beginner resistance tube workouts on Pinterest and when my husband gets home this afternoon we're going to talk about food and exercise.  He's been wanting to get back on his bicycle and I would like to get back on mine as well.  It's been really hard for him - he's used to bicycling everywhere and hasn't been able to do much at all since we got here a bit over a year ago.  There are some local people on the Profile Facebook group and we're hoping to schedule a weekly meetup at Planet Fitness - I think that will be fun!

My coach and I finally reconnected this week; it feels like it's been forever since we've talked!  And she was kind of sly in putting in the, "You don't think you can make yourself a priority?" in the conversation.  And she's right.  My biggest issue, I thought, was that I don't like a lot of vegetables.  So we agreed that veggies would be my focus this week.  So I took out my Profile guide out and wrote down a list of veggies I like, veggies that I'm "meh" about, and veggies I'd like to try.  It's a bit of a long list!  But Friday, as we were at the grocery store getting things together for a Father's Day picnic, I realized what is probably more of the problem.  I wanted to make rollups instead of sandwiches for myself and for that I needed romaine lettuce.  Granted, we only went to that big box store we all know and dislike, and so that might have been part of it.  But of the 7 or 8 packages of romaine, all had brown tips, bug holes, and slimy spots (and 1 ladybug!).  So I'm wondering if it's more of a "I like veggies but can't find decent produce!" thing?  So I'm busily pinning recipes (and if you have any suggestions, please post them below!) and what I might do is make a "master list" to take to the Farmer's Market Tuesday night.  Then for at least a few days I can have good veggies and may have to figure out leftovers and frozen or tricks (like spinach in the strawberry shake!) for the rest of the week.

So goals this week are to get strength training in 3 days a week, bike with my husband 2-3 days a week, meet up at PF 1 day a week, and walk on all my breaks!

On the Skoolie front, they got the flooring in!  We went with a hardwood laminate and then opted to lay it sideways instead of length-wise and we're all pretty tickled with it!

My husband has sketched in wall framing and we got 1 more package of hardwood flooring (but a different style that was less expensive) - we were short about 10 square feet to also do under the bed so we'll use up the flooring above and put the new flooring where it won't be visible along the walls.  Easy finish option as it will all be level and no hard thought required!!  Those first 2 open spaces on the right (well, the corner of the first one!) are where the benches will go for the dinette.  Then the floored section after is where the sink/Panda washing machine/water heater will go.  Then bathroom area.  That black stock tank is our shower tub!!  And it's back by where the bed will go.  Coming back down, the wheel well you can see on the left will be where the closet will be built, then fridge, cooktop, and new countertop oven we decided would be better than our toaster oven, countertop, and then a quasi-entertainment center - it will be countertop that sits lower than the kitchen countertop (level with the bottom of the windows, whereas the kitchen countertop will be taller and a more workable working height) and will be where a TV or computer monitor will go, and will hold games and home office supplies and probably some of our art stuff, too.  Getting there!!  With more of a set schedule, hopefully they can get a lot more progress done and soon so we can give it a good test!!

My little Ukulele loom came in from Windhaven Fiber Tools last Friday!!  I'm still waiting on the Accordian loom, but this little guy is such fun!!  Dad made the jig for me once I determined the best length heddle to make and hopefully the piece of scrap wood we selected is long enough for the Accordian heddles too - but if not, we can always find more scrap wood!!  Then I'll get corks to put over the tops of the nails to prevent hurting anyone accidentally!

And in the short amount of time I've had it, I've gone from this:

To this:

And last night I was working on this:

So I've definitely been having fun with that!  There's some fun tablet weaving patterns I want to try but I'm afraid that unless I made 1-inch tablets/cards, it's not at all feasible with this little guy!  (Doesn't mean I won't try later on!)  But there are some lovely patterns out there and I've got plenty to play with!

Until next time!

H

Weeks 19-22 Profile by Sanford

Wow - time has flown!  We've had birthdays, holidays, sickness, accidents, and family visits.  Job changes, job changes again, and hot hot weather!  I think we literally went from still running the wood stove to where's the air conditioner in less than 24 hours at one point!

I have been as off-plan as off-plan can get, too.  I've maintained the weight loss, though, which says a lot as previously I've always gained it back after being off-plan for so long. That tells me that the mental side of it is kicking in and I'm making better choices.

In there I had my birthday and Memorial Day and Mother's Day...all bad for the waistline if you let them!  Last week I had a cold bad enough to keep me home from work for 2 days and still coughing a week later.  But finally feeling mostly back to normal.  That means, of course, not a lot of walking has been happening because it was really  hard to breathe.  My Fitbit stats reflect that a little bit - for brevity I'm only posting the most recent week:

But I'm already ansty to get back to walking and you can see by Monday and Tuesday I was ready to go!  I've purchased some resistance bands from Profile by Sanford and will be adding strength training to me repertoire somehow.  That's part of today's tasks, to figure that out!

On the weight loss front, I'm not quite to Twodorland but I'm super close!!

For reference:

That's a whole lotta fast food!!

My sister-in-law's parents are in town and we had a lovely visit with them, going to Bear Country, USA and then lunch at Famous Dave's - and I think the 3 ladies were the only ones who weren't regretting eating there!  I had the catfish fingers (breaded and fried but not greasy which is nice!) and garlic mashed potatoes and 1 corn bread muffin.  I was satisfied without having gone overboard.

Earlier this week we were in a 4-car accident - thankfully no serious injuries!  Everyone walked away!  One lady did get checked over by the EMTs but she went home with her daughter and her other daughter drove that car home - although I'm sure it's a total loss.  We were at an intersection, fully stopped, waiting for the SUV in front of us to turn left and she was waiting for oncoming traffic to open up so she could do so safely.  A pickup that had been jacked up and "tricked out" rear-ended car #1, pushing that into car #2, pushing car #2 into our rear end, lifting it and moving us forward 2 feet.  We have an '02 Durango, not a light vehicle at all, and again, fully stopped, brakes fully engaged.  Car #1 was crumpled, multiple fluids leaking, but driver was safe.  Car #2 rear end was crumpled, and passenger side fender was crumpled.  Both will most likely be considered a total loss by insurance.  We sustained minor damage - the hitch we just put on a few weeks ago needs to be replaced as does the bumper and bumper assembly.  But it's drive-able, the parts will be in in a few days, and it will be back to the way it was.  The advantages of a good solid vehicle!  We did go to Urgent Care and get checked out - my brother had literally just gotten off the plane coming home from a conference and he came to follow us over to make sure we were good and the Durango was good.  Yay brother to the rescue! ☺

I did purchase a Nutri Ninja with Auto-iQ so I can start making my shakes into smoothies, including adding spinach to the strawberry one.  I had a gift card yet from Christmas to use which helped - but since I'd killed the store-brand version when we were in Ohio, I figured a Ninja should serve me well!

Things should be getting back on track - more so now that we've ironed some things out with my husband's employer.  He took a leave of absence (they didn't want him to quit when he found a different job - that job didn't work out as well as we'd hoped) and agreed to come back on our terms - no more opening and specific hours availability, and basically set days off unless absolutely necessary.  He also wanted some recognition for the fact that the majority of the customer comments/compliments mention him by name, that he's the only one who has yet to call off since they opened, he has the experience others don't but is still stuck at the cash register.  So he received training to become a trainer and is in line for supervisor training, finally.  That means I can schedule things accordingly - like meeting local Profile people once a week.  And it means being able to schedule workout times for strength training.

Until next time!

H

Week 18 on Profile by Sanford

Again, my Profile weeks run from Wednesday to Tuesday, since I started on a Wednesday. So this is from May 3through May 9, 2017. I do tend to get discombobulated a bit so while the weight/measurements run those weeks, what I write about may not. :-)

This week as all up in the air - I took Thursday and Friday off, partly for my birthday and partly to get some work done on the Skoolie.  Friday was also a 5th grade entrepreneur fair - my nephew had designed desk water bottle holders last year and so this year he used those as his product.  If I'm remembering correctly, each student had to have a product, determine cost to make it, apply for a loan from the school, obtain a "business license" from the school, and pay a fee for space, make the products, and sell them.  Any profit they made was theirs to keep.  The fair was open to the public and there were some really cool ideas!!  

So Thursday and Friday mornings my husband and I tinted most of the windows on the Skoolie.  Friday afternoon was the school fair, and then we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for supper and had birthday cake.  Saturday was a lay-about day.  Just not a lot of oomph.  :-)  Today we got all but the back door and 2 corner windows tinted - we need one more roll of tint.  

Last Saturday we went to Custer State Park - we took Needles Highway down there and he got to see the Needles Eye - as a rock hound, he was tickled with that whole bit.  Then we took the wildlife loop through the park - and those buffalo calves are sure cute as they're learning to use their legs!  The burros were happy to eat the chips we brought, as always, and even the prairie dogs and antelope made an appearance!  We took Iron Mountain Road back to Hill City via Keystone and had a drink at the winery where he works.  All in all, a very lovely day (and a very not-so-lovely sunburn on my left arm....oops!!)

So, here are the numbers - again, not worried, not going to fret - learning to just go with it.  I know that trying to stick to plan 100% of the time isn't going to work for me and I know that my numbers will show that.  I strive for 95% and am happy at 80% - and that's about what you do at maintenance levels, depending on who you talk to.  Part of the program is learning to overcome the mental obstacles and the striving for perfection is the hardest one for me.

Those weekends and my steps...we need to learn to dance better!!  :-)

Until next week!!

Heather

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

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 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

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

The trouble with fat

Shush...I know it's been 10 days since my last post. No excuses. I was sick for part of that, and the rest of that is becoming a short story for your entertainment.

Actually, it's to get it out of my system and hopefully get myself motivated again. :-)

Here it was, Thursday afternoon, and she's sitting in the doctor's office. If there's anything she dislikes more, she's hard-pressed to think of it right now. The annual poking, prodding and questions. Especially the questions, since it's a new doctor. At least she's nice, and not judgemental, like the last one was.

"Well, your sinuses are definitely swollen, so we'll put you on some antibiotics to help with that a little bit. Otherwise, it's just a cold, it will have to run its course. Not what you wanted to hear, right?" Dr. Lorves chuckles.

And with that, she went home to sleep. Again. It seemed like that was all she had been doing. She called in to work Tuesday for the first time, and would have to again for Friday night, since she can't get the antibiotics until Friday and needs to be on them for 24 hours before she can work.

Over the weekend, as the antibiotics took effect, she started to feel better. She worked Saturday and Sunday night, and then by Monday afternoon when she woke up, she felt a lot better. So she took the dog for a walk, after bundling up for the weather.

Tuesday morning she walked to the bus stop and back, and then added 2 blocks to make it an even mile. And then slept again for another couple of hours. Unusual, but perhaps still playing catch up from working nights.

Wednesday morning. Another walk. And then back to sleep for 4 hours this time. What on earth is going on?!

Thursday morning, another walk, another sleep for 4 hours. 12 hours of sleep?? What is going on??

She posts at her forum, and gets plenty of feedback: overdoing it after being ill, overdoing it period for just starting an exercise program again, need more vitamins, need less vitamins, drink more water, sleep at night etc etc. Some of which makes sense. Overdoing it after being ill and just plain overdoing it for a beginner, especially.

But, in her heart of hearts, she knows what it is. It's her body fat. She's been hearing it for the last few days. Complaints of not enough food, and too much exercise. Her fat is rebelling. And it's doing it the best way possible: fatiguing her. Making her sleep the day away so she doesn't exercise. So she wakes up craving high calorie food.

Sure enough, that's about all she's been eating. Of course, with the lack of funds, it is more difficult to eat healthy, and they're living off what they have in the house. But come payday, what happens?? She has her son pick up pizza burgers with a side of mozzarella sticks. Her fat cells laugh as they sense the imminent return of her bad habits.

The next night she walks to the restuarant with her son. A good start!! Surely she'll be able to order something reasonably healthy. Alas, the fat cells win again: all-meat pizza and she splits a side of mozzarella sticks and a side of cheeseballs with her son.

Working the weekend. Breakfast at Burger King. Breakfast from McDonalds and supper from McDonalds. Lunch from the cafeteria both days. Creamy pasta, rich desserts. Oh sure, she got the fruit cup and chocolate milk, but does that outweight the others? Oh no. And again, the fat begins to celebrate.

Monday, she's slept in again. She didn't walk her son to the bus stop. The fat cells rejoice. Tuesday, it's too cold by far, and she drives him to the bus stop. She wakes up a few hours later to find she missed part of the show she wanted to see, and then she gets mad.

"These fat cells have been sabatoging me!! I KNOW the effects they can have on my hormones and emotions, and dadgummit I WILL NOT LET THEM WIN!!" At that, the fat cells ears' perk up. Surely she doesn't mean it?

She walks to the computer and modifies her exercise goal. She cuts it in half, knowing that's for more attainable for her right now. She pulls up the healthy recipes her family loves, and makes a grocery list for the upcoming weekend. The fat cells begin to cringe. And then, she makes the final blows: she journals about what's been going on and what she plans to do about it. She re-connects with her accountability partner and puts it in writing there, too.

She goes to work feeling better. Yes, it's another night shift, so she has plenty of time to get her game plan squared away. She will sleep most of Wednesday, which is to be expected. But she knows that when she wakes up, her treadmill will be waiting. And she will begin a new relationship with it. She will take it slow and easy, so she doesn't push the new feelings away with feelings of guilt and failure from not meeting that unattainable goal. She will write down how she feels at the end of the workouts.

Most of all, she will NOT give up the war against the fat cells. She WILL prevail!!

The fat cells are laughing, thinking that it won't happen again. The fat cells have been down this road before, and have always won before.

Stay tuned.....

I'm back!!

I do apologize, Constant Reader, for not posting lately. Monday night my nose started to tingle, and by Tuesday morning I had a full-blown sinus infection. Got to the doctor Thursday who put me on antibiotics and allergy meds for the sinus pressure. I'm back again, though!! :-)

I'm going to borrow today's post from SparkPeople, it's about imitation. Word of caution, there are 2 "cuss" words in my musings well after this quote.

Be worthy of imitation.

They say imitation is the greatest compliment, but are your actions worthy of imitation? We are all in some setting of leadership. Whether it be as a parent, boss, or friend we should constantly examine the example we are setting for those around us. Are you being a positive role model? Are you treating others in a dignified way? Be a cheerful and diligent worker, parent and boss to those around you. Children, especially, are like sponges taking in your every action and word -- they naturally want to be just like you. So be mindful of your word and deed, you never know who might be watching and silently learning what you are demonstrating.

Included in that was a second quote: You must be careful how you walk and where you go, for there are those following you who will set their feet where yours are set. ~~Robert E. Lee, Civil War General

I always chuckle when I remember a day I was doing some minor repairs on the front steps. This was at a mobile home we were renting, and my son was 7 at the time. I was pounding nails, and missed. Of course, I hit another nail, but the ones on your fingers aren't the ones you're supposed to hit!! LOL So I said "Oh shit!" My darling son said "No Mom, you mean shit on a shingle." Very serious he was, too. I never realized how often I had used that phrase until that day. It's one I still use now and then, but for the most part I try to watch my language. He's now 14, and still picks up on things. Much the same way I did when I was that age.

The nice thing is he's also picking up on "good" things. He's been watching me drinking/eating my strawberry smoothies, made with ground flax to help with feeling fuller longer. He has been hungry in school way before lunchtime, so at his request I ground flax for him, and he added it to his oatmeal. He was very happy with not being hungry again until lunchtime, and has even requested I show him how to make the smoothies.

We went through McDonalds this afternoon, and I suggested we both get a Happy Meal. I got a Hamburger Happy Meal, he got the Double Cheeseburger Big Kid's Meal (he is a growing teenager, after all!). Neither of us were hungry for about 3 hours afterwards, and we were both comfortably full after our Happy Meal. It makes it doubly happy, since we made a somewhat healthier choice by keeping the portions down. On the drive home, we discussed the nutritional information, and decided that next time, we will get the apple dippers and caramel sauce and chocolate milk instead of fries and soda. For me, that's about the same amount of calories, since I drink Diet Coke, but for him it's less. His main point: You get more food for the calories and it's healthier. Apples, fruit. OK, so the caramel sauce could be avoided, but I'm not that good!! :-) And the milk. Can't beat that.

He's watching me strength train and hit the treadmill or walk daily. As a result, he's requested to be able to strength train over the summer and he's waiting for it to warm up to ride bike again! (He already walks about 1/2 mile each morning, to the bus stop.) While he is in good shape, he's wanting to stay that way and improve his capabilities. Can't beat that. :-)

My husband is probably setting the best example of all, and the hardest. After 20 years (give or take) he is giving up smoking. I'm very proud of him, and while I know it will be a struggle, it will be a struggle that is well worth it!!

So, what example will you be setting for today?

Happy Sunday!!

I've been duly informed that I've been slacking on the blogger thing...yes, I have, and I'm sorry. Wednesday was just a day of "blah", Thursday I spent with my DH running errands, and Friday I worked. Yesterday I made it a movie day with my son (forgot he was grounded from TV, which made my DH mad, but oh well. :-) Life goes on.) So here I am today!!

My map is updated through yesterday, if you want to check it out.

I've done OK this week, better than I would have before, though. I typically walked at least once every day, except the day I worked. It's a 12 hour shift and I tend to just burn out and come home to recuperate. :-)

I did try something this week I want to share. I made a strawberry smoothie with 1 c. organic yogurt (Stoneyfield Farms, really good!!), 1/2 c. frozen whole strawberries and 1 tbsp. flax seed. It was really good, and kept me full for almost 4 hours, something virtually unheard of for me. Typically, flax seed needs to be ground, but blending everything in the blender took care of that. I'm going to try to add it to my oatmeal this week, but I have to get some ground, first! LOL

One of my "walks" was a Leslie Sansone Walk Away The Pounds, a basic 1-mile dvd. It came with her book, which I enjoyed reading. The nice thing is it's an easy "routine" to follow, unlike most aerobic workouts I'd tried in the past. I really do recommend the DVDs if you are beginning to exercise or just can't seem to go out in the cold to walk. (I'm currently making legwarmers for myself for that reason, I can keep everything but my lower legs warms, so that will take care of that AND make my dog happy!!)

I joined SparkPeople and have found it to be a wonderful support system, too. Today I'm going to pick a quote on Perception and reflect on it here.


“ Stop living life for what’s around the corner and start enjoying the walk down the street. ”
Grant L Miller, SP employee

How true that is, especially when losing weight or getting healthier or whatever it is you're trying to do. We as Americans are an "all or nothing" society in a lot of areas of life. Nowhere is this more true than weight loss. We tend to forget that this weight didn't just appear overnight, and so we assume we will lose it overnight. While I would be thrilled to bits to have an overnight loss, waking up a size 12 instead of 26, it just ain't gonna happen, folks!!

What I want to focus on is that walk down the street. I had a struggle with the WATP dvd. I did it, I completed it, but it was a struggle. This week, I hope to get through it every day, even on the day I work (Tuesday). I also want to walk with my son in the mornings to his bus stop, and get on track with my strength training. Instead of looking months down the road at what I will be like, I'm going to focus on this week. One week of walking (or a WATP dvd) every day, one week of walking my son to the bus stop (except the day I work, I leave too early for that) and one week of my 8MM each day, not saving them up to do one day. Next Sunday morning, I'm going to prepare for my weekly phone call with a list of positives and yes, a list of "negatives". But they won't be negatives, they will be areas to work on, challenges. Heck, anyone can work on their health for a week, right? :-)

Heather