Cam's New Lease on Life Journal (comments welcome!)

[keenercam]

Wow! So much to log.
Went to the movies last night -- ate my own light popcorn and a diet soda. The movie was absolutely wonderful. So glad DD wants to go see it since I'd love to see it again.
Then to dinner at Red Lobster -- ate only 2 coconut shrimp (hard to resist); garden salad with lemon; a bite of a cheddar biscuit; and rock lobster with scallops and seasoned broccoli. Not bad.

Did the 5K this morning -- official time 51:42. Pace 16:41/mile. The 16 minute pace is looking very do-able -- then I will aspire to 15 minutes or better, to give myself a cushion for character pix, etc.

Brunch this morning at Panera bread -- low fat black bean soup, 9 grain bagel w/low fat honey walnut cream cheese. YUMMY! Definitely feel I had the points to spend on a nice brunch, after doing the walk.

Doing a shrimp stir fry for dinner with loads and loads of veggies.

Tomorrow will be the bigger challenge, assuming we go to my parents' house. We will definitely bring dinner with us. I'm such a "control freak"

 

[Blueeyes101817]

my mom just took my little cousins to that movie
have a great day!

 

[keenercam]

Hi, everyone -- Did 30 minutes of upper body nautilus -- 12x3 @30lbs -- upped the weight and the number
Did 1 mile on TM at incline of 2.0 for the first time and did it in 17:10
Did 6 miles on the bike in 28:45

Still having a problem with the scale, which is so bizarre. I can feel the muscles in the fronts of my thighs and in the tops of my arms, and yet the scale is not dropping. Am going to stop eating my exercise points this week and see how that goes with a final weigh in before we leave Saturday.

 

[sarahsmom73]

Great job on the Treddie! Keep it up! You are doing great!

 

[keenercam]

Well, I am totally distressed. I am not losing weight. How the heck is that possible? Actually, Howard thinks he knows exactly what is going on. Strange as it sounds, he says I am exercising too hard?!?!? Apparently, there is a rate at which you burn calories and then beyond that level of activity, you burn sugar, but not fat? So, all the two months I have been exercising, I have been building muscle and not burning fat. My clothes do fit differently and I feel stronger and more fit, but the scale is NOT dropping at all whatsoever. Since that has always been such an important measure to me, I have been really discouraged and kept hoping it would just catch up.

What to do about this? I have to stop thinking about the past two months as "wasted". DD16 reminds me, "Mom, those 2 months were not wasted. You got stronger. After so long of not being able to exercise, look at all you can do now. You walked those 5Ks and you are able to exercise every night. And muscle is important, too." I think I am going to take it down a notch, work on firming by doing upper body nautilus, get trained on lower body nautilus, walk at a much more sedate pace on the TM, and bike at a much more sedate pace on the recumbent bike. I am also going to work on doing situps and ab crunches. I won't be able to "workout" much starting this Friday, for a week, though I should be pretty active in WDW. Will avoid the scale, as well, for the next week and a half, and see how it looks on 3/31 when we get back.

Wish me luck. I really don't want to be discouraged. I want to remain committed and optimistic. Thanks, everyone, for your support.

 

[plutosmyfav]

Hi Cam,

Oh I feel your pain! I am hardly losing at all and also wonder if I'm exercising too much. But it definitely is not wasted time. All that new muscle burns calories 24/7. The change in clothes is real and the scale will budge someday. Enjoy WDW and don't let it get you down.

Sunny

 

[CarolA]

One of life's sad truths.... muscles weigh more then fat... HOWEVER... muscles do not jiggle which is a great improvement.

Are you doing measurements? You might find that you are shrinking! LOL! Muscles aslo take up less space then fat for the weight.

I really think that is what is happening... you are burning fat, but you are also building muscle. The trade off is not always on the scale. As you DD said LOOK at what you have accomplished. I bet your clothes fit better too.

 

[keenercam]

Thank you so much, Sunny and CarolA. I really appreciate the encouraging words. Even though I haven't been taking measurements, I know they are shrinking. I have definitely dropped at least one size, and maybe two, since I can now wear some stuff that didn't fit before, and I can breathe in clothes that I was pretending fit before.

I AM pretty bummed that with all this exercise the pounds aren't dropping off -- there are certain weight goals that are SO important to me. But I will be patient, because I can actually feel the muscles in the front of my thighs and the front of my upper arms. And I figure sooner or later the pounds will have to come off, right? We pulled out summer clothes on Saturday and many of my old shorts fit. I have one pair that is huge on me and I was going to throw them on the Goodwill pile and Howard said, "you should definitely save those to be the ones that you hold up and say 'these used to fit me, now two of me would fit in them'". Wasn't that sweet of him? So, I did. I kept them. They are sitting on my dresser now and I will look at them every so often, and remind myself that they fit last summer and that they will never fit again.

Thanks again, guys. While I have been in a panic about not having "workout" time next week, I am really beginning to persuade myself that it might just be the "test" I need to see if I would do better with more consistent, moderate exercise rather than more deliberate, intense exercise 5-7x/week.

 

[sharoncity]

Cam - I COMPLETELY understand about the certain weights meaning so much. But bottom line is how we look and FEEL. If you are shrinking, getting in smaller sizes, then you are doing great!! And you KNOW that you are getting healthier! The weight will eventually come off, but as long as you are losing inches, you are successful!!

Have a wonderful vacation! Relax and enjoy it! I think you are well prepared to stay OP and not have a set back. Just stick to it!!

TTFN- Sharon

 

[Strings]

Hi Cam,

I have to tell you. I was scale stalled for a long time. I was losing inches, but so discouraged at not losing pounds. Well, about 5 weeks ago, I started dropping pounds. I am averaging 2 pounds a week. I didn't change my exercise, it just started to catch up. The same thing will happen for you. You have not wasted that time. You are stronger and healthier. Your plan sounds great.

If I don't pop in sooner, have a fabulous trip. We'll want details.
take care,
Beth

 

[keenercam]

Thanks everyone, for your encouragement.
Well, I took a good look at the recumbent bike last night and set it on fat burn. Interestingly, it slowed my pace all the way to 58-62 RPMs and added resistance. In no time at all, I had worked up a sweat, and I did that for 45 minutes. I really feel like I accomplished something. (I had been doing about 85RPMs -- very fast, comparatively.) I will do the same the next time I am on the treadmill and the cross-trainer to see where I should be, speed and resistance-wise on them.

I splurged last night and had a caramel apple empanada at Taco Bell for dessert. It was worth every one of the 7 points, but I will NOT be doing that again. I am glad I had the points to do it, so I am still cheat free. Hope I can still say that by the time we return from WDW.

 

[sarahsmom73]

Way to go Cam!!!! It is nice to treat yourself every once and a while!

 

[pettyone]

We're missing you around here!!!

Happy Easter!!

 

[kris1973]

You really are doing a great job. Keep up the good work. Have a supper great Easter.

Kristin

 

[keenercam]

Thanks, everyone. Popping in real quick while packing to write down how wonderful I feel right now, so that I will remember this

I bought a gorgeous painted misses top today at Kohl's, with sequins and beads -- it is a scene from Central Park. In the misses department. It is soo beautiful. I fell in love with it, and said to Jenn, "I am so bummed. They don't have this in women's sizes. I am going to buy the XL. It will fit me some day. I'll hang it up and look at it and have it to look forward to." Well, on a whim, I tried it on. Not only does it fit -- Jenn said "That looks SO GREAT on you!" Then she told her best friend on the phone, "My mom is trying on clothes and everything she puts on looks nice. You should see her. She is so excited." What a fun day!

I am going to wear it Sunday when I see Mickey Even though I bought a gorgeous sweater for Easter, I am going to wear this instead. Somehow, it represents everything I have accomplished so far. Shallow, maybe.

I am actually looking forward to getting dressed these days, instead of dreading trying to find something to wear in my closet.

You guys are all so amazing. You kept me going through the really rough times, so that I could get through to this -- the beginning of payoff time!

Happy Easter, everyone! You are all blessings to me that I thank God for. I probably won't get to check in again before we leave, but I am looking forward to catching up on everyone's journals when I get back.

God Bless.

 

[DisnyMama]

Cam, have a wonderful Easter at WDW!
Enjoy the new and improved you!!! I look forward to hearing about your trip when you get back.

Take care,
Shannon

 

[stemikger]

That is great. I love hearing good news.

However, your old bad habits are my daily diet. I have to get on the right track soon.

You go girl!!!!

 

[sarahsmom73]

Good for you!!! I hope you have an awesome Easter at WDW!

 

[Blueeyes101817]

hope youre having a great time!!

 

[keenercam]

Hi, everyone! I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. We got back from WDW yesterday mid-day, and I am looking forward to making notes here of everything we did and how I did on Weight Watchers while we were away.

We packed those four days with so much great stuff! With our determination to avoid the crowds in the parks, each day, we went somewhere or did something that we had never had the opportunity to go, and it made the trip that much more fun. The "new places" were:

Sunday -- DisneyQuest
Monday -- Mickey's Magical Milestones Tour in MK
Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern
Went to Wide World of Sports Complex (wanted to see where the expo will be for the 1/2 marathon)
Ate at All American Cafe
Tuesday -- Did "Sounds Dangerous" at MGM and
ate at Sci Fi Dine-In Theatre (FUN!)
Wednesday --Miniature Golf at Winter Summerland
Ate at Electric Umbrella
Did Extra Magic Hours at the MK which went midnight - 3am (we left ~2)

I found all kinds of great things to eat whereever we went, and never deprived myself of anything I wanted -- I just shared it with my family, and that made the points reasonable. It helps that my WW week starts on Tuesdays because that put the first 2 days of my trip in last week's flex points count and put Tuesday and Wednesday in this week's flex points count. With Chef Mickey's brunch on Easter Sunday and O'Hana's date night with Howard on Tuesday, that worked out perfectly. I am going to do a mini-trip report of the restaurants we ate at on the WISH board so that others will have some idea of the great choices we found around "the World".

Let's see, what else? Oh, yeah, I didn't gain any weight at all. I actually lost 2 pounds between last Tuesday and this morning. With all the walking we did, and the fact that I worked out in the resort's fitness center twice, I am thrilled!

Well, back to work. Have to catch up. But wanted to check in here and thank everyone for their support and encouraging words before I left -- knowing I'd get to journal how well everything went, really helped me stay on track. Accountability is a great motivator for me!