Losing Weight for my Master's & Beating Diabetes-Comments welcome and appreciated

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Amy: I would tell you who I was, but I would have to kill you. I cannot do diet soda. My mom works in the lab of a hospital, so I get all the info about the correlation between multiple sclerosis and lupus (I know, correlation doesn't equal causation). I know that studies are finding that your body does not process artificial sweeteners the same way and it causes you to overeat and your metabolism to do funky things. Plus, I just cannot stand the aftertaste. I figure one a day is pretty good, all things in moderation. It's not as bad as I thought it would be, I bet eventually soda will be a once in a blue moon thing.

I'm starting to like iced tea (I love hot tea, especially flavored varieties). I had some today for lunch at Long John, problem was it tasted a litle fishy.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Today hasn't been bad except...

We have had nothing but heavy rainfall today, and now half the roads are closed in our "city" because of flooding. I have been going to school here for five years, and have never once seen it flood, it's normally the rural routes outside of town that nobody goes on.

I went to my friend's apartment tonight to work on a class project, then we went and got dinner because she hadn't eaten yet. As we were driving, I said that there were a couple of places that we wouldn't go back through, but I really wasn't worried. We were gone less than an hour, and coming back it was horrible. We were debating the best way to go, and had decided to go down a specific street only to find a police car parked in the intersection. I put on my flashers and ran to the car to ask him the best way to get to my friend's house. He had us go down that street (he was apparently doing traffic control) and there were a couple of places where it was iffy, but he told us it was okay. I dropped her off, then took O home because it is much higher than the rest of the city, I thought I would be okay.

There are two places where I guess the road dips imperceptably, and with it being so dark and raining so hard, I couldn't tell there was water on the road until I was in it! I was about to cry because I truly did not know if I would make it home. I made it- barely. I have a feeling even another ten minutes and I wouldn't have made it home! The kicker is- the Weather Channel, the radio, nothing is talking about flooding in our area. We had no idea this was even possible, I didn't think we could flood. It's not a low lying area and we aren't near any rivers or lakes. We've had heavy rainstorms before and been fine, so it caught us completely off guard. I'm still pretty shaken, it was an intense drive.

I would have stayed with my friend or gotten a hotel instead of going home, except I have several assignments due tomorrow and I have two dogs. Now that I know what it's like when this happens, I'm going to avoid going out like this ever again. I may also leave a key with my one sane neighbor so that if I ever run into a situation where I can't get home, she can check on the dogs.

I have a question: How badly does water damage the underneath of a car? Coming out of the restaurant parking lot, my car made a grinding noise when I braked. It didn't do it everytime, but I'm worried that going through some of that water may have caused damage to my car.

I'm trying to tell myself that a Snicker's bar will not make me feel any better about what happened. I am an emotional eater, and the chocolate craving is horrible right now!

 

[traceycooper]

Hi Jessi
i think water under the car is only a problem if it gets in your exhaust & into the engine, but if your car kept running that wouldnt have happened...i think..i'm no way an expert...only in lots of rain coming from the damp side of the pond!!!
i'm glad you got home ok, it must have been very scary, we had bad floods over here last summer & i tried to drive to another town for a dr's appointmernt, ended up coming home as all roads into the town were flooded - it was very scary, especially when it was just pouring off hills onto the road!!
fishy tea!!! hmmmm think i'll give that a miss!!
can recommend decaf earl grey though

 

[toystoryduo]

Jessi,

I'm glad that you made it home safely yesterday! That must have been such a scary experience!

I'm not sure about water damage under the car. I would think that it would be okay as long as the water didn't get to any electrical components. I know that sometimes after a heavy rain, our brakes will make some noise for a few days.

I hope today is a much better day for you! Take care!

 

[Joanna71985]

Wow, that must have been scary Jessi! Glad you made it home safely.

 

[SueM in MN]

Wow, that must have been scary Jessi! Glad you made it home safely.

PS - I think your car should be OK if it was running after going thru the water.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Ok, sorry I haven't been on in a few days, it hasn't been the best week.

My car is fine, BUT, I had to get my interior done. I rolled down my window to tell a lady that O was impassable, and apparently I hit the button for my back window. I didn't know it and my window was left down for four hours in the monsoon. My entire backseat was soaked, ruining several class supplies and my planner. I had to get my interior done so it wouldn't grow mold or mildew.

I did manage not to eat a Snicker's on Thursday, but the popcorn was history! Then on Friday I was in a workshop and did not have control over lunch, so last week ended up being a loss. I did manage to go down .2 lbs! Given the way I ended the week, I should have probably gained, so I'll take it!

I'm back on track today, and managed to get in an hour long walk with my monkeys. We even went and explored some different neighborhoods we haven't been in before. It was really nice.

 

[traceycooper]

Hi Jessi
well done for jumping back on the wagon
Sorry the car got wet!!!
well done on the loss all that walking you've done must be working

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Jessi,

Congrats on being down .2 pounds! Like Tracey said, I bet those walks are helping! Keep up the good work!!!!

Hope you have a great evening!

 

[disney-inspired]

You've been so nice to post on my WISH journal and I had yet to see yours!
Everything looks to be running good, of course we all have our ups and downs (mine came today in the form of a quesadilla). That's so cool that you work(ed?) for Disney.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Well, the last two days I have not tracked, but I also don't think I have eaten as much as I normally would. My graduate classes ended today, and I have one more paper and a final to write and then I am done! Well, until the 15th anyway. I have been walking the dogs, my roommate came with us last night. We didn't go as far as normal tonight because frankly I was tired, I was up late finishing a paper, presentation, and two article summaries, and a professional portfolio. Just a little more to go.

I'm going to try to get myself back on track tomorrow. The one bad thing about WW is that we work in weeks and I have this bad habit of once I mess up taking the week as a total loss.

Disney-inspired: although I am stuck in Missouri (about 45 minutes from Walt's hometown!) I am a campus rep for the college program. It's unpaid, but I'm still considered a CM!

 

[manning]

The magic number is 10,000 steps a day. Get a pedometer.

 

[Joanna71985]

Well, the last two days I have not tracked, but I also don't think I have eaten as much as I normally would. My graduate classes ended today, and I have one more paper and a final to write and then I am done! Well, until the 15th anyway. I have been walking the dogs, my roommate came with us last night. We didn't go as far as normal tonight because frankly I was tired, I was up late finishing a paper, presentation, and two article summaries, and a professional portfolio. Just a little more to go.

I'm going to try to get myself back on track tomorrow. The one bad thing about WW is that we work in weeks and I have this bad habit of once I mess up taking the week as a total loss.

Disney-inspired: although I am stuck in Missouri (about 45 minutes from Walt's hometown!) I am a campus rep for the college program. It's unpaid, but I'm still considered a CM!

When are you done overall with Graduate School? And when you finish, do you think you will move down to FL?

The magic number is 10,000 steps a day. Get a pedometer.

Really?? That's good to know.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

The magic number is 10,000 steps a day. Get a pedometer.

Yep, heard that before. I do have a pedometer somewhere, the key is finding it . I keep telling myself I'm going to wear one, but I can't justify buying a new one when I already own a fairly nice one, I just need to locate it.

Joanna: I get my master's next May! I would love to move to Florida, but the charter school system I want to teach for currently has no schools in Florida. If they get a KIPP school I will seriously consider it.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I sort of quit tracking for the week, but I have a feeling I lost ten pounds in water weight yesterday just through sweat! My father and I met my cousin, her husband, and their two kids at Worlds of Fun. It was hot! I now have a current picture for my before which you can find in this post.

Even though I haven't really been tracking, I have noticed that I am listening to my body and not overeating (something that is a problem for me.) I also haven't been snacking, and have only been eating about half of what I get for meals. I feel like I am really making progress. Tuesday starts my WW week over, and I am determined to track all week. I should lose some weight because I have surgery on Wednesday on my knee, so I can't eat after midnight on Tuesday, and I can't eat on Wednesday before the surgery, so that should help. Right?

My "official" before photo, I'm the short one in the Eeyore shirt (of course):

I know I promised more Disney photos, but you'll have to be patient. These are photos from St. Baldrick's taken last year. St. Baldrick's is a charity that raises money for children's cancer research by having people take donations to shave their heads. Both my father and I shaved our heads for the event.

Before:

After:

I'm trying to get my hair back to at least the length it was before I shaved my head. I miss long hair (but don't regret shaving my head).

 

[momrek06]

The magic number is 10,000 steps a day. Get a pedometer.

Absolutely, Jessi, get yourself a pedometer OR try and find the one you have.....10,000 steps a day should be your eventual goal. I wear a pedo for all my walks. I walk 10,000 steps every morn, takes me 75 minutes. I write it down in a journal.

Start by doing 5000 steps and each day you walk go a few more steps until you have reached 10,000!! Then all the other steps you do in a day are BONUS steps. My DH and I walk every weekend 20,000 steps on Sat & 20,000steps on Sun. That = 20 miles total!!!! It is our cheap and best way to stay in shape....AND the plus, we do not feel guilty when we want to splurge on an ice cream sundae!!!

Subscribing, Jessi!!!

 

[kellig]

Came across your journal through your signature on another thread. Congratulations on taking the steps towards weight loss (hopefully I can get there soon!) Good luck getting back on track with WW this week! I'll be following along to check on your progress.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

momrek: I do have a pedometer, somewhere. Eventually I will relocate it and start wearing it again. I just can't justify spending money on a pedometer when I already have one, especially on a grad student budget. I usually get well over 10,000 steps a day (heck, a typical walk for the puppies and I is 1.5-2 hours).

 

[momrek06]

momrek: I do have a pedometer, somewhere. Eventually I will relocate it and start wearing it again. I just can't justify spending money on a pedometer when I already have one, especially on a grad student budget. I usually get well over 10,000 steps a day (heck, a typical walk for the puppies and I is 1.5-2 hours).

Awesome, Jessi!!! Please call me KAR, ok and I think you will find your peddy (somewhere in your apt.) and slap that baby on and believe me you will be excited to actually see how many steps you do and you will want to do more and more and then watch that weight begin to fall off.

Also if you have the time and a tape measure, take your measurements and document it in your STEPS journal. After one month, meaure yourself again and see how all that walking is getting you into shape.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Those are all great points Kar. I actually use the WW three month journal they sell. I love it because it has a place to put measurements and sizes, as well as a place to graph weight loss.

I was bad and didn't weigh in this week because my roommate and I made plans. I also haven't gotten back to counting, but I figure this week is weird anyway. Tomorrow I have knee surgery at 1, and I can't eat anything after midnight, so at the very least I'm missing breakfast and lunch, and I'm not sure how to count a day like that. I'm going to plan my Thursday out and start counting again Thursday. I may go to a WW meeting tomorrow if I can swing it, but not WI. Just going to the meeting will help me get back on track.