This week marks the first week that I have GAINED weight since I started all this. 4 pounds. Ugh. I was expecting it though, in all honesty. Last week was atrocious. I was HUNGRY all the time, had no energy to hula hoop and just no self control. It was bad. It's hormonal though, I am convinced of it now. I was PMSing in the worst possible way. (I know it is so because I have the CRAMPS to prove it!)
This is not good, but it is not the end of the world. Also- I am still in the negative. If I hadn't weighed in last week I would have just thought it was a slow couple of weeks of only 1 pound of loss instead of a 5 pound loss and a 4 pound gain... Ignorance could have been bliss, but I think this was bound to happen sometime, it was inevitable in a way.
So, what now? Well, back on track obviously! Time to buckle down, find some other forms of exercise now that the weather is turning cooler and take control back yet again!
I'm going to start food journaling again tomorrow, and in a shocking twist I MAY start posting my food journal over on Celeste Eats Healthy. Perhaps some incentive to keep me honest with myself and get back to where I need to be? What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? Who cares idea?
Either way, I am done with doldrums! Hope the sun is shining in the morning so I can grab my hoop for a bit! I am also going to go looking for begginer upper body weight training routines. I was at the store testing weights and I'm going to get some 5 pounders. I feel like such a weakling. I tried to curl 15 pounds and after 2 reps I couldn't lift the darned thing again. Pathetic!
Wish me luck, pray for me, something. I've been sliding by on small changes until now. Here's where things get tough.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Celeste Cooks Healthy
Be sure to check in on my other blog, Celeste Cooks Healthy, for recipes, meal ideas, product reviews, tips and tricks and all things food and nutrition related.
There's a link over there on my side bar ------>
There's a new post today, you should check it out!
There's a link over there on my side bar ------>
There's a new post today, you should check it out!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Short bloglet- What would you like to see?
I am making efforts to be more consistent with my posting- my goal is to post at least once a week- but I am having idea issues. So lemons from lemonade- if you are reading this what would you like to see? Are there any aspects of health and weight loss that you think I should look into? Would you like to see recipes or menus, exercise routines, links, reviews?
The sky is the limit, and hey if this post accomplishes nothing else I've given myself a few ideas :D
Take care until next time!
The sky is the limit, and hey if this post accomplishes nothing else I've given myself a few ideas :D
Take care until next time!
Whys, wherefores and having a bad week...
Ok, last week I talked about the "how do you do it?" question that I get all the time, this week I'd like to talk a little about why. I'm sure it's in some of my original posts, but this is to focus on that question. It's kind of a selfish thing because I need a serious kick in the butt to jump start me again as I am having a momentary difficulty maintaining. (fancy way of saying i am ravenously hungry all of a sudden and don't know why)
So, WHY am I loosing weight. The short answer is to feel better, be healthier and perhaps look a bit better as a side effect. This is not a vanity thing, I was (am?) morbidly obese and headed for a LOT of trouble. Diabetes, heart disease, vascular disease, sleep apnea, and more were staring me in the face. I know we all die sometime, but I want a chance to be a grandma first someday (a LONG time from now. My son's only 7, lol!) It was also affecting how I felt- both physically and emotionally. I was always tired, slow, sluggish, lacking libido, depressed, anxious, frustrated. Sick and tired of it all. I couldn't run around with my son, I couldn't keep up at work- my back and feet were ALWAYS in such pain. They'd start to feel better the night before I went back to work and started all over again. I just had no energy to do anything other than work, eat and sleep.
The biggest reason though is one that it's taken me a long time to admit to myself- my son. I am starting to see him following in my footsteps and it makes me want to cry. I want such good things for his life and I worry that he's developing bad habits now that will haunt him for the rest of his life. I had tried talking about it with him- about health and nutritious foods and exercise etc... but I wasn't practicing what I preached. I was his big fat loving mamma telling him to be careful or he'd end up having similar issues to me. I told him that he was and always will be beautiful to me no matter what, but I want him to be healthy enough to do anything he sets his mind to. SO a big part of this is putting my money where my mouth is. I'm working towards better health to show him that it's not hopeless and I want to take him with me. Here's hoping it works!!
After all that here's the update on how I'm doing:
Ugh, rough week. After a fantastic week with 5 pounds lost I've fallen into a ravenous state. Everything looks good, nothing satisfies. So I am afraid that I may have gained some back. Boo. I'm still better off than when I started, but I have GOT to get a handle on the hungries! Thinking I may have to journal for a while and get strict again until I get it under control. Even worse, I've been so busy and/or tired that I've neglected my hoop. All is not lost, it's just a blip in the grand scheme of things but it's discouraging, and I have no idea where it's coming from
Could be hormones (about once a month don'cha know :P)
Could be stress (family issues, don't ask, lol!)
Could be working around tons of tasty non healthy food all the time
Could be not eating enough fruits and veg
Could be any number of things, I just don't know.
Good news- I see the doctor tomorrow (I think? gotta call first thing in the morning, can't remember when my appt is, lol!) and so I'll find out for sure if I've lost or gained and by how much. Also, I'll talk to her about this and get her take.
I've had rough spots before, and it's not the end of it all- just have to do what I've done before- pick myself up, dust myself off and soldier on. I'll be thinking on the best ways to do that over the next couple of days.
Till then take care!
So, WHY am I loosing weight. The short answer is to feel better, be healthier and perhaps look a bit better as a side effect. This is not a vanity thing, I was (am?) morbidly obese and headed for a LOT of trouble. Diabetes, heart disease, vascular disease, sleep apnea, and more were staring me in the face. I know we all die sometime, but I want a chance to be a grandma first someday (a LONG time from now. My son's only 7, lol!) It was also affecting how I felt- both physically and emotionally. I was always tired, slow, sluggish, lacking libido, depressed, anxious, frustrated. Sick and tired of it all. I couldn't run around with my son, I couldn't keep up at work- my back and feet were ALWAYS in such pain. They'd start to feel better the night before I went back to work and started all over again. I just had no energy to do anything other than work, eat and sleep.
The biggest reason though is one that it's taken me a long time to admit to myself- my son. I am starting to see him following in my footsteps and it makes me want to cry. I want such good things for his life and I worry that he's developing bad habits now that will haunt him for the rest of his life. I had tried talking about it with him- about health and nutritious foods and exercise etc... but I wasn't practicing what I preached. I was his big fat loving mamma telling him to be careful or he'd end up having similar issues to me. I told him that he was and always will be beautiful to me no matter what, but I want him to be healthy enough to do anything he sets his mind to. SO a big part of this is putting my money where my mouth is. I'm working towards better health to show him that it's not hopeless and I want to take him with me. Here's hoping it works!!
After all that here's the update on how I'm doing:
Ugh, rough week. After a fantastic week with 5 pounds lost I've fallen into a ravenous state. Everything looks good, nothing satisfies. So I am afraid that I may have gained some back. Boo. I'm still better off than when I started, but I have GOT to get a handle on the hungries! Thinking I may have to journal for a while and get strict again until I get it under control. Even worse, I've been so busy and/or tired that I've neglected my hoop. All is not lost, it's just a blip in the grand scheme of things but it's discouraging, and I have no idea where it's coming from
Could be hormones (about once a month don'cha know :P)
Could be stress (family issues, don't ask, lol!)
Could be working around tons of tasty non healthy food all the time
Could be not eating enough fruits and veg
Could be any number of things, I just don't know.
Good news- I see the doctor tomorrow (I think? gotta call first thing in the morning, can't remember when my appt is, lol!) and so I'll find out for sure if I've lost or gained and by how much. Also, I'll talk to her about this and get her take.
I've had rough spots before, and it's not the end of it all- just have to do what I've done before- pick myself up, dust myself off and soldier on. I'll be thinking on the best ways to do that over the next couple of days.
Till then take care!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Goals, loose skin and "how did you do it?"
So, first off to start on a happy note- I discovered this morning that I am only ONE pound away from my first goal of loosing 50 pounds. That's right, I have lost 49 pounds since May!!! Woot! So, later this week I will surely have made it. It's exciting and it's inspiring. My next goal? Another 50 pounds. And after the past several months I am sure I can do it. So, just wanted to share. Setting a goal is so important- it gives you something concrete to work towards and it's a gauge for progress. Plus it's less intimidating to do anything if there's an attainable end in sight. If you want to do anything set goals!!
Moving on- loose skin. Ew. I mean really ew. I'm doing all this work to get healthy, but kind of hoping for the side effect of looking better too right? Well, look out world cause here comes loose skin. Ugh. My boobs are deflating, my tummy is hanging and I am disgusted with the whole thing. I mean- it's almost tempting to gain weight again just so my skin will fit. Don't worry though, I said almost. I've worked too hard to go back now!
So what to do? Am I going to have to resort to surgery later when i reach my goal? That's the LAST thing I want!!! After much reading on the subject the consensus seems to be that with time my skin should at least snap back a little bit, but it's kind of sort of a maybe. The main thing seems to be patience and getting one's bmi quite low (single digits for men and teens for women). I'm not all that sure I was really wanting to go that far with all this, but I may have to because I don't want to flap whenever I walk for the rest of my life and I HATE the idea of surgery!
And for my final act- fielding the question/comment "Wow, 50 pounds! How did you do it? What did you give up?" I get this question a lot lately (I guess it's all starting to show in a big way) and while on one hand I don't mind it on the other it's annoying because I seriously doubt anyone wants to hear what I have to say... Because it's not "Oh, I eat nothing but lettuce and run 10 miles a day" It's not "I take this pill, eat what I want and do nothing" it's somewhere in between. I eat less and I move more. Period. I cut back on portions and calories until I was eating a lot less- in fact I can't even contemplate finishing some of the portions I used to eat before! I do some sort of exercise 4 or 5 times a week at least. (Yay hooping!) and that's the main idea.
If I want something I have it. If I am hungry I eat. I don't give myself an excuse to binge because I don't say "Oh I can't eat that!" I just portion it smaller or look for something to substitute. I love chocolate, so I eat it as dark as I can find it- with really dark chocolate a little goes a long way- less calories and complete satisfaction. I eat pizza at least twice a week- but I have a slice or two not 3 or 6. I eat fries once in a blue moon (mostly when I want a ketchup delivery device. I don't crave the fries so much as the ketchup and I can't bring myself to drink it straight! lol), I've even been known to eat the occasional cookie...
I will say that there are some outside influences that probably contributed to my weight loss: I moved into an upstairs apartment, I didn't have a car, I finally got my Bi-Pap machine for my sleep apnea etc... But who knows how much they contribute. I guess if you wanted to learn from them I'd say take the stairs whenever you can, get enough rest (check for sleeping disorders if you're always tired) and walk walk walk!
I think that's all I have to say this week, what about you? What are some downfalls to weight loss? What common sense approaches work for you in working towards a healthy lifestyle? How has setting a goal helped you to accomplish something?
Moving on- loose skin. Ew. I mean really ew. I'm doing all this work to get healthy, but kind of hoping for the side effect of looking better too right? Well, look out world cause here comes loose skin. Ugh. My boobs are deflating, my tummy is hanging and I am disgusted with the whole thing. I mean- it's almost tempting to gain weight again just so my skin will fit. Don't worry though, I said almost. I've worked too hard to go back now!
So what to do? Am I going to have to resort to surgery later when i reach my goal? That's the LAST thing I want!!! After much reading on the subject the consensus seems to be that with time my skin should at least snap back a little bit, but it's kind of sort of a maybe. The main thing seems to be patience and getting one's bmi quite low (single digits for men and teens for women). I'm not all that sure I was really wanting to go that far with all this, but I may have to because I don't want to flap whenever I walk for the rest of my life and I HATE the idea of surgery!
And for my final act- fielding the question/comment "Wow, 50 pounds! How did you do it? What did you give up?" I get this question a lot lately (I guess it's all starting to show in a big way) and while on one hand I don't mind it on the other it's annoying because I seriously doubt anyone wants to hear what I have to say... Because it's not "Oh, I eat nothing but lettuce and run 10 miles a day" It's not "I take this pill, eat what I want and do nothing" it's somewhere in between. I eat less and I move more. Period. I cut back on portions and calories until I was eating a lot less- in fact I can't even contemplate finishing some of the portions I used to eat before! I do some sort of exercise 4 or 5 times a week at least. (Yay hooping!) and that's the main idea.
If I want something I have it. If I am hungry I eat. I don't give myself an excuse to binge because I don't say "Oh I can't eat that!" I just portion it smaller or look for something to substitute. I love chocolate, so I eat it as dark as I can find it- with really dark chocolate a little goes a long way- less calories and complete satisfaction. I eat pizza at least twice a week- but I have a slice or two not 3 or 6. I eat fries once in a blue moon (mostly when I want a ketchup delivery device. I don't crave the fries so much as the ketchup and I can't bring myself to drink it straight! lol), I've even been known to eat the occasional cookie...
I will say that there are some outside influences that probably contributed to my weight loss: I moved into an upstairs apartment, I didn't have a car, I finally got my Bi-Pap machine for my sleep apnea etc... But who knows how much they contribute. I guess if you wanted to learn from them I'd say take the stairs whenever you can, get enough rest (check for sleeping disorders if you're always tired) and walk walk walk!
I think that's all I have to say this week, what about you? What are some downfalls to weight loss? What common sense approaches work for you in working towards a healthy lifestyle? How has setting a goal helped you to accomplish something?
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Must stop slacking!
It's been a little while since my last post, sorry!
Today I am going to talk about why I love summer- fresh produce and farm stands, beautiful weather to exercise in, the ability to wear flip flops and not look like an idiot...
So first off, I LOVE veggies. Seriously. Try to name a veggie I don't like. I bet you can't do it. I'll be honest too, if you manage to name a veggie I dislike I will bow my head in defeat. So when I say that summer produce makes me happy I mean it!
So, what to do with all this delicious produce? I've been roasting them in the oven. Oh. My. Goodness. Are veggies ever tasty when you roast them! Squash, mushrooms, broccoli, eggplant, onions, peppers.... *Drool* It's a beautiful thing! Easy as pie too- wash and dice some veggies of your choice (try to stick with fairly soft or small stuff) into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes, toss with some olive oil, garlic and seasoning and spread out on a cookie sheet. Bake in a hot oven till it starts to blister and brown. Remove from oven, refrain from eating straight off of the cookie sheet, and enjoy. Did this tonight with some eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, and onion. Served it with pan sauteed tillapia breaded with crushed Triscuits. AWESOME dinner. :D
Now, weather. Here in south eastern Colorado we have been blessed with a LOT of gorgeous days, and I am finding that unlike Florida (where I've lived most of my life) I really REALLY like being outdoors here. It's just gorgeous, the sky is so blue and big, the air is soft, the sun feels like heaven on my skin, and it's PERFECT to get out and get active in! Only thing I have to be careful of is to make sure to stay hydrated and spend a lot of time in the shade. I've been hooping every day this week so far, and getting to the point that I am starting to push myself a little harder. Trying harder to work up a sweat and really use some large muscle groups. So I've incorporated some squats, sped things up a bit and have been working on moving the hoop to different levels on my body (you have to work a bit harder to bring the hoop up from your knees to your waist for example). Really pushed myself hard today and loved every minute of it! I'm getting concerned though- what am I gonna do when the weather gets icky? I have to start thinking about this now before I get stuck and out of practice... Wonder if I can find a gymnasium near by? Anyone with ideas feel free to share. I do NOT want to relapse over the winter!
So, not a lot of substance in this post, and I apologize for that, I promise to come up with a really good idea for the next one!
Oh, by the way, another 2 pounds since my last doctor visit, for a grand total of 44 since May. ONLY 6 MORE TO GO TILL MY FIRST GOAL!!! WHOOO!!!
I'm just a little bit excited :D As it is I've already lost more weight than I ever have before so I feel accomplished! I got into my "skinny" jeans (hey, size 20 may not be "skinny" but it's definitely smaller than the 26 I was at 4 months ago!) the other day, so things are looking good all around!
Till next time,
Celeste
Today I am going to talk about why I love summer- fresh produce and farm stands, beautiful weather to exercise in, the ability to wear flip flops and not look like an idiot...
So first off, I LOVE veggies. Seriously. Try to name a veggie I don't like. I bet you can't do it. I'll be honest too, if you manage to name a veggie I dislike I will bow my head in defeat. So when I say that summer produce makes me happy I mean it!
So, what to do with all this delicious produce? I've been roasting them in the oven. Oh. My. Goodness. Are veggies ever tasty when you roast them! Squash, mushrooms, broccoli, eggplant, onions, peppers.... *Drool* It's a beautiful thing! Easy as pie too- wash and dice some veggies of your choice (try to stick with fairly soft or small stuff) into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes, toss with some olive oil, garlic and seasoning and spread out on a cookie sheet. Bake in a hot oven till it starts to blister and brown. Remove from oven, refrain from eating straight off of the cookie sheet, and enjoy. Did this tonight with some eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, and onion. Served it with pan sauteed tillapia breaded with crushed Triscuits. AWESOME dinner. :D
Now, weather. Here in south eastern Colorado we have been blessed with a LOT of gorgeous days, and I am finding that unlike Florida (where I've lived most of my life) I really REALLY like being outdoors here. It's just gorgeous, the sky is so blue and big, the air is soft, the sun feels like heaven on my skin, and it's PERFECT to get out and get active in! Only thing I have to be careful of is to make sure to stay hydrated and spend a lot of time in the shade. I've been hooping every day this week so far, and getting to the point that I am starting to push myself a little harder. Trying harder to work up a sweat and really use some large muscle groups. So I've incorporated some squats, sped things up a bit and have been working on moving the hoop to different levels on my body (you have to work a bit harder to bring the hoop up from your knees to your waist for example). Really pushed myself hard today and loved every minute of it! I'm getting concerned though- what am I gonna do when the weather gets icky? I have to start thinking about this now before I get stuck and out of practice... Wonder if I can find a gymnasium near by? Anyone with ideas feel free to share. I do NOT want to relapse over the winter!
So, not a lot of substance in this post, and I apologize for that, I promise to come up with a really good idea for the next one!
Oh, by the way, another 2 pounds since my last doctor visit, for a grand total of 44 since May. ONLY 6 MORE TO GO TILL MY FIRST GOAL!!! WHOOO!!!
I'm just a little bit excited :D As it is I've already lost more weight than I ever have before so I feel accomplished! I got into my "skinny" jeans (hey, size 20 may not be "skinny" but it's definitely smaller than the 26 I was at 4 months ago!) the other day, so things are looking good all around!
Till next time,
Celeste
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