Kickin' up a Notch (comments welcome)

[Cruise04]

Hello everyone - to the people I've known for the last several months and the new people visiting my journal.

I began this journey back on July 1, 2005. Since then I have lost 50 pounds. I had my first noticable weight gain during a month this current month of 2.5 pounds. I have struggled over the last couple of months and took a little break for vacation - a much needed vacation. I am now ready to "kick it up a notch" as Emeril would say. May 1 meant a new time to begin for me.

For those of you that don't know me here's a little background - I am 37 years old, am 4'10" and have battled with obesity/high weight since I was younger (around junior high). I lost a tremendous amount of weight in high school by basically not eating - never want to do that again. My goal is to lose 134 pounds and I have already lost 50. Back on June 30 my daughter had a doctor appointment and the doc told her she had to get her weight off - she was too heavy and she was. I couldn't make her go through all of this if I wasn't doing it too. She has since lost about 30 pounds (gained about 4 on vacation) and is playing soccer this spring and is actually able to do much more than she would have a year ago as well. I'm very proud of her. The one thing I have loved to notice is what I can do now - when we went on vacation I found out I could ride a bike. And not just for a little while around the subdivision - we took a 4 mile bike ride with a 10 minute stop to go to the bathroom and we had to pedal almost the whole time. Last summer I could barely ride from our camper, around the bend, to the bathroom and back without feeling horribly winded. I also have been able to play soccer with my daughter and that includes running after the ball. These may not seem like major accomplishes with just 50 pounds off but they are.

I have been going to Jazzercise about 2-3 times a week, more on most weeks but it all depends on my schedule. When I can't go to Jazzercise and I am around my house I try to do one of the Walk Away the Pounds DVD's that I have. But now with the weather getting nicer my hope is to get my bike out and do more of that.

For those of you that know about my health issue that I've been dealing with since December I am going for a needle biopsy tomorrow morning. There are more than one node that is showing up on all the tests and he wants to get a sample from all of them. My blood levels show that my thyroid is not overworking or underworking which he says is good. We'll see - don't know how long it will take to get the results.

Please feel free to comment. I know how helpful this place can be!!!!! Thank you in advance.
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Food for today:

Breakfast:
2 pieces Wonder Light White bread
2 TBSP peanut butter
12 ounces of coffee with about 2 TBSP fat free creamer
1 cup of Natural applesauce

Break:
1/2 of a Thick and Creamy Light (fat free) Key Lime yogurt (I didn't like this so I had to throw half of it out)
2 small pieces of chocolate
1 bite sized 3 Musketeers Bar

Lunch:
Sandwich which included - 2 pieces Wonder Light White Bread, 4 pieces of Hillshire Farms deli ham, 3 pickle slices, 2 pieces of romain lettuce, 1 slice of cheese, 2 TBSP Hellmanns Light Mayo
1 cup of Teriyaki Rice
1 small orange
1 Hunts Pudding Cup - Fat Free Tapioca
1 small piece of chocolate

Break:
1 bite sized almond joy

Dinner:
1 cup of rice
1 cup of beef and pepper leftover from Sat night chinese dinner
1 TBSP light soy sauce
1 small apple

I have drank 84 ounces of water so far today.

I know it seems like I have had a lot of chocolate and I probably have but my goal is to get back to writing everything down. I do have at least a bite sized candy bar every day and that has not slowed down my weight loss - at times it does tend to help. But it's when I have more than one. MY TOM is starting on Thursday and that plays a lot into the chocolate issues today.

Next weeks goal will be to post on SparkPeople again and track more of my intake.

Chris

 

[goldcupmom]

Welcome back, Chris!

You have come so far ....DD too! I'll be praying that all goes well tomorrow. I know this is not an easy time!


Food looks GREAT! Chocolate can be VERY therapeutic!!

 

[kimwim8]

Hey Chris! Welcome back! I've missed ya.

You're doing great, and your DD too. I don't think I ever knew your back story. Thanks for sharing!!

Keep up the great work!! And keep on posting!

 

[eeyore25]

Hi Chris,

Welcome back....we've missed you. Both you and DD are doing a great job!!!

Keep up the good work!!!

Have a great day

 

[toystoryduo]

Welcome Back Chris!

You and your DD have made a great deal of progress in the past year. I am so proud of both of you!

You are in my thoughts and prayers. Please let us know what the doctor says......

Take care, Chris!

 

[lovinaz]

Welcome back Chris! I'm glad to hear you reaped some benefits of losing all that weight! I bet you were ecstatic to be able to ride your bike like that!

Great job writing everything down, that is when you really had the most success last time.

Hope everything goes well with the Dr. You are doing great, keep it up!

 

[Cruise04]

Thanks everyone!!!!

Well yesterday eating was not great so here goes...

Breakfast
2 pieces Wonder Light White toast
2 TBSP peanut butter

Snack
100 cal Wheat Thins pack

Lunch (We went to Golden Corral)
nice big salad - about 2 cups of romaine, 1/4 cup of shredded carrots, 1/8 cup of diced eggs, 1/2 cup of ranch dressing, 8 croutons
1/2 piece of fried chicken leg
1 slice of smoked sausage (too spicey so I didn't eat the rest)
about 1/2 ounce of pork steak
about 2 ounces of pot roast (this was DELICIOUS)
about 4 ounces of meat loaf
about 1 cup of sliced boiled potatoes with about 1/16 cup of gravy
1 french fry
1/16th piece of pecan pie
1 bite of chocolate frosted brownie

Snack
2 Ferrarro Rocher chocolates
100 cal Fudge Stripes pack

Dinner
2 squares of pizza (these were small squares too - probably equivalent to 1 triangle of piece) - one cheese and one sausage/cheese
1/4 of a brownie

Snack
about 1/2 cup of peanuts

Actually now that I write it down I did pretty okay. I didn't need that piece of Pecan Pie but it was so good and I just wanted it so I ate it. I ate slow so I would get fuller faster and that worked well. I was so bloated (TOM starts tomorrow) that I wasn't too hungry at dinner which was a good thing. However I got up this morning and I was pretty swollen - I did eat a lot of food with sodium in it yesterday.

I drank 43.8 ounces of water yesterday and a large iced tea from Wendy's with dinner. So I didn't do great on that aspect but I also couldn't be in the bathroom all day while at the doctor office.

The procedure went okay - he extracted 5 specimens. On the first one he said it was a brownish looking like a cystic substance - which would be a good thing. Two of them he had a hard time getting anything extracted and the other two were okay. It was a very small needle but I wasn't very numb and so I could feel it. The syringe had a sort of suction on it to get the extraction out and that I could feel - all the way up into my right ear. I am still sore today - it does hurt to swallow a bit and my ear is bothering me. I'm popping ibuprofen as needed and as I can. I won't hear anything until next week. The bad side of this all was my blood pressure was 150/100 yesterday in both arms. My blood pressure has been consistently high since this all started back in December. I have an appointment tomorrow with my doctor to talk about this and see what I need to do. When I had this extra 50 pounds on, my bp was always 120/80 unless I had an infection then it would go up to like 140/84. After meds and the infection cleared then it would go back down to 120/80. Now that was pre-exercise and being heavier. And now I'm doing what I should be doing and it's going haywire. Talk about depressing!!!!!!! UGH

I'll try to check in later tonight with today's happenings. Thanks again
Chris

 

[eeyore25]

Hi Chris,

I don't think you did that bad at all food wise.

I hope everything works out well at the doctor.

Keep up the good work and have a great day!

 

[lovinaz]

You have been so stressed out, it is no surprise that your blood pressure is high! I remember reading a study that showed some people's blood pressure went up quite a bit just by being in the Dr office. So hopefully it is just temporary and will go back down when all your results are in and you get the all-clear.

Great job writing down all your food (both good and bad) and keeping those portions in check!

 

[goldcupmom]

Glad the procedure is over and praying all turns out well. I wouldn't worry too much about the BP - stress of going to Dr. and all you've been going thru can do it. You might consider investing in a machine for home. My BP is perfect here, but all I have to do is walk into a Dr. office and it shoots up. Putting me on BP meds would just make me pass out from too low.

Hope your week goes well!

 

[eeyore25]

hi Chris,

Just wanted to pop in and say hi Hope all is well today

Keep up the good work! You're doing great

Happy Thursday!

 

[Cruise04]

Thanks again guys. Well I do think it probably was the stress level, which has not leveled yet. I had the doc appt for this morning and had to cancel because one of my secretaries has gone into premature labor for the second time this week - she went in on Tuesday for some concerns and found out she was contracting but not dialating. They gave her two shots and the contractions stopped - they weren't really close together. Then during the night last night she had some strong ones again - and several. So she was staying home today, calling the doc first thing, and I haven't heard from her. She is 33 weeks along - the same amount I was when I had Britt. So I did some reassurances with her, talked her down from her anxiousness a bit (or I hope I did) and told her even if she birthed today or tomorrow the baby would be okay, maybe not totally out of the clear but would be okay. And I also told her to be prepared that he might put her on bedrest. I just feel bad for her - it's her second child and she has just had an awful pregnancy with sickness. She is so excited for the baby to come so that part can be over. She had such a great pregnancy that she was looking forward to being pregnant and she hasn't gotten to enjoy much of it.

So anyway - we'll see what happens tomorrow. We do have a blood pressure thing at home but no batteries. I need to get them tonight. Last night I got home and was just exhausted so I ended up not going and working out - my TOM started late yesterday, a day early again this month. UGH.

I'm trying not to pay attention to my scale weight until Monday (going week by week but just can't stay off the scale) but it read that I was down 3 pounds from yesterday - when I am under A LOT of stress my metabolism tends to kick in really hard. I was STARVING yesterday - constantly hungry. Wait til you see what I ate... So I was a bit surprised but we'll see what it truly says on Monday.

I also mistyped the other day when I put 1/2 cup of ranch dressing (I have no idea what I was thinking) - it was around 1/8 cup (I did use quite a bit but NOT 1/2 cup).

Breakfast:
2 pieces Wonder Light White toast
1 TBSP peanut butter
1 natural applesauce cup
1 mixed fruit cup

Snack:
100 cal Wheat Thins pack
1 bite sized 3 musketeers
Peach fat free yogurt
Light cheese stick

Lunch:
WW Beef Pot Roast (this was not great and was not very filling - had 4 pieces of meat and lots of mushrooms, didn't eat the gravy (scraped it off everything because I didn't like it)
1 Hunts fat free tapico pudding cup
100 cal Fudge Stripes pack

Snack:
1 small apple
100 cal Fudge Stripes pack
100 cal Chips Ahoy pack

Dinner/Snack - well kind of:
1 cup of peanuts
3 Girl Scout Peanut Butter Patties
Fruit Slices from WalMart (I lost count - about 25)

Okay so I guess it wasn't that bad. I didn't have any dinner because I was gonna go workout then I decided not to and I fell asleep on the couch waiting for dd to get home from school. When I woke up she was home and we had to leave for a meeting. I swear I ate a lot more than I wrote down but now I can't think of anything else that I had here at work to eat. I ate everything that was in my desk drawer - and that should last me a few days. I just felt like I couldn't get full.

I drank 84 ounces of water yesterday. I did get about 15 minutes of cardio because I was going up and down the steps to our Habitat office last night carrying in office supplies that I had purchased.

Chris

 

[Cruise04]

Yesterday was an okay day - I was a little tired. Had a banquet for operating staff at work who had milestone anniversaries - I've been at the university for 10 years now. Got a nice watch that I picked out. The banquet was very nice.

Breakfast:
2 pieces Wonder Light White toast
1 TBSP peanut butter
1 natural applesauce cup
1/4 cup roasted unsalted almonds

Snack:
Peach fat free yogurt
light cheese stick
1 small orange

Lunch:
Bagel roast beef sandwich with mayo, lettuce, tomato
2 caramel cashew chocolate things

Snack:
100 cal Chips Ahoy pack
1 bite sized almond joy
1/4 cup roasted unsalted almonds

Dinner:
2 ounces roast beef
1 cup of baked potato with two pats Promise margarine
wheat roll with 1 pat of Promise margarine
1/2 cup of lettuce w/1 TBSP ranch dressing (if that much)
1 bite of stuffed shell (it was gross so I didn't finish it)
1 cup of fruit salad
1 glass of white zinfandel
about a 1"X1" piece of some type of cheesecake (it was not so good)
about a 1"X1" piece of apple struedel type something (it was good)

Snack:
1 WW Cookies and Cream ice cream bar

I drank about 52 ounces of water and had a 32 ounce glass of iced tea with lunch.

Chris

 

[eeyore25]

Hi Chris,

You're not doing bad at all.....I think you are doing a great job!

Hopefully all works out well for your secretary and she has a smooth birth. And hoping that you can get back to the doctor.

Keep up the good work and have a great day

 

[Cruise04]

Well today I went to the doc to discuss my blood pressure - Tuesday it was 150/100 when I went to the endo. Today it was 128/80, then it was 128/70, then it was 118/84, then it was 128/80. First two were by the nurse and second two were by the doc. Doc had to do the first one twice. Apparently I have a very faint noise and it's hard for them to hear what the reading should be. So he wants me to monitor it for 3 weeks and go back and see him. So I'm assuming, and he said this too, that it was anxiety induced on Tuesday. UGH. I did tell him, almost in tears, that I have been doing cardio (with the exception of the this week and last) at least 3-4 times a week most weeks - and hard cardio, I've been working really hard at getting the weight down and my blood pressure goes wacko. I don't want to be on meds and he agreed that he didn't want to see me on meds either. But there is a history of high blood pressure on my dad's side of the family, including my dad who is currently on BP meds and he's concerned about that. He told me to keep the cardio up that I'm doing and try to get an extra day or two in if I can - at least 30 minutes but to be careful - if I start getting any pains to slow down a little.

Today was a hard day for some reason. I'm not sure why.

Breakfast:
2 pieces Wonder Light White toast
1 TBSP peanut butter


Snack:
100 cal Wheat Thins pack
1/4 cup roasted unsalted almonds

Lunch:
2 pieces of Wonder Light White bread
2 ounces of Hillshire Farm ham
2 leaves of romaine lettuce
2 TBSP light mayo
2 pickle slices
1 piece cheese
1 ounces Lay's Light chips
light cheese stick

Snack:
bite sized almond joy
100 cal Oreo pack

Dinner:
1 4oz boneless lean pork chop grilled
1 cup baked potato
2 TBSP Can't Believe It's Not Butter for potato
1 cup corn with butter spray
2 cups lettuce mix
2 TBSP Light Done Right Ranch
8 croutons

Snack:
2 cups cheese popcorn
1 cup Blue Bunny Frozen Vanilla Fat Free Yogurt
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1 tsp choco syrup
1 tsp caramel syrup
3 TBSP Light Cool Whip

Snack tonight was really bad with the popcorn. I didn't do great on water today - I drank around 64 ounces of water.

Tomorrow is a day in the car - taking Britt about 2 hours north to a Girl Scout camp training for this summer - 2 hours up, 2 hours back and then do it again on Sunday morning. Was going to spend the night up there but have to be back to work a booth for our Habitat affiliate at a local Cinco de Mayo celebration - dh and I are hoping to eat dinner there as we've heard it's great food.

Hope everyone has a great Saturday - it turned chilly here this evening and we are under a frost advisory. BBBRRRRRRRR

Chris

 

[Blueeyes101817]

hi chris..
welcome back ! i was wondering when you would start your new journal, i must have just looked right past this!
you seem to be doing great!

 

[toystoryduo]

Chris,

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Keep on keeping on Chris~ I know you CAN do it!

 

[eeyore25]

Hi Chris,

Hope you are having a good day. Keep up the good work!

Happy Monday

 

[kimwim8]

Hi Chris! You're doing great!

I'm sorry you are going through some medical things right now, but it's great that you and your doctor are working together to figure it out.

Keep it up...you're doing awesome!

 

[lovinaz]

I'm glad to hear the BP thing is under control. You are doing great keeping track of everything you are eating. You are doing the best thing you can do - work out, eat right and getting healthy!