No More Games

I’m done playing games with myself.  I decided that I was going to ease up on my Medifast Plan over the summer.  Rationale:  It doesn’t make sense to give up fruits over the summer.  Oh, and while I’m adding in fruits, maybe some breads, and maybe I should just have grilled sandwiches at dinner instead of just the meat and veggies.  

So now, here I am, almost 20 lbs heavier than in March.  Still down 29 from last November, but I could be under 200 by now, if I hadn’t been all about taking a break and knowing it all.  Even as I was telling my doctor I needed to add variety, I KNEW what was going to happen!  And I KNEW it wasn’t just fruits I wanted to add…and a better selection of vegetables.  I KNEW!!!  

So, here I am:  Back on Plan at 254.3 lbs.  I’d like to be at 200 by Thanksgiving — wouldn’t that be something to be thankful for!  And to ring in the new year, and my 55th bithday (WTF?  How did that happen?), well below 200.

Let’s change that :  I WILL be at or below 200 by Thanksgiving, and I WILL be well below 200 by December 31.

Sheesh.  I need to work on defining goals.  I WILL BE below 190 by December 31.

A shorter-term goal:  240 by Labor Day.

 

239

Weighed in the last two days at 239 — which means 44 lbs. lost.  That’s 14 more lbs. lost in @ 6 weeks.  Good, but it’s not going to get me to my goal.  Looks like I’m on track to be at 220 by Memorial Day — which would be amazing, but I SOOO want that 200 lb. milestone.  The other milestone coming up — in just 4 lbs, would be to get below 235, which would mean I have less than 100 lbs to lose.  That will be BIG.  It’s slower going than I had hoped.  Certainly 2+ lbs per week is great, and within the Medifast expectations, but it seems like I shoul be losing more with such a restrictive diet.  

MUST schedule in some exercise….  Perhaps if the weather warms a bit?

 

 

 

 

 

Secret Goal

I want to get below 200 lbs. by Memorial Day.

This is so aggressive that I’m afraid to say it aloud, yet it seems possible on my plan.  I’ve lost 30 lbs. in 9 weeks; at the same clip, I should be able to do 50 in 16.  Right?

Four Months later . . . .

I started the Medifast Plan on November 27, Tuesday after Thanksgiving at 283.2 lbs.  This morning’s weight was 252.7., so I’ve lost 30.5 lbs. in just over two months.  I was bemoaning the plateau I seem to find myself on.  But, dang!  That’s 25 lbs. from 4 mos. ago.  Could I get to 225 by the end of May?  Almost feeling re-energized!   It’s funny how the same fact can be encouraging or discouraging, just depending on context.

 

277.2

What that says to me:

(1)  I weigh a LOT.  More than a lot of professional football players.  I am no athlete.  I am a middle-aged 5’4″ woman.  That is pure craziness.

(2)  I get to KEEP the 9.5 lbs I’ve lost in the last couple of weeks.  I was afraid it was just  dehydration from being sick, or some other fluke, but I’m a wee bit less than yesterday, and pretty much the same as a week ago.  I think this is where I am now.

(3)  I am two pounds lighter than I was in July.  I was disgusted then…now I’m feeling pretty positive about it.  It all depends on which direction you approach the number from.  

(4)  TRACKING AND JOURNALING Works.

I have set a goal of being at or below 250 by year end.  When I first plugged it into fit day, that was an aggressive goal.  Now, it’s totally reachable, if I JUST STAY WITH IT.

I’m doing it.

The question is, am I doing it right?  Am I doing it for REAL?  

I have lost a whopping 9.5 lbs. in the past week.  I am under no illusion it is due to my exemplary efforts.  The biggest part is that I was on a runaway freight train and was stopped abruptly by a nasty cold/allergy/flu, several days after surgery.  Although I had DEFINITELY been gaining, I think my weight was artificially high, as I was pumped full of saline (or something) from the surgery.    I’ve finally cut my intake back to a reasonable level.  Now the trick will be to increase my activity.  That’s where I always run into problems, and I need to figure out how to be realistic about what my life allows without making excuses.  Tough stuff to figure out for a veteran excuse-maker!

I did it again

Two exercises in two day.  Okay, granted it’s only 15 min.  But I did it.  And it was really hot.  It would have been easy to pay $1 and take the bus, but I hoofed it from my office to the store — carrying a bunch of stuff, too!

Not sure what I’ll do from here on out, but seeing that it’s POSSIBLE to fit 15 min. a day into my over-full routine is giving me that small spark of hope…..

Finally, some exercise

What a crazy time this is, and I’ve been so beside myself about not being able to get a handle on it, and prioritize myself and my health.  Today felt like the last straw.  Warren’s car was in the shop for the FOURTH day, and he had to go to work and I needed to be in early.  He was meeting with his student from 2-3, and I needed to be at The Creator’s Hands by 4.  We finally came up with:  He got up early (for him), and dropped me off at work.  I actually left work ON TIME and walked to The Creator’s Hands.  It’s only .62 miles so there is no good reason for me not to do it. It was funny, though.  Everyone was acting like I was doing some insanely difficult thing  and offering me rides– of course it was in the 90s today, but I managed to choose a path ( through Washington Square Park, and through the ESL parking garage) that had some shade.It took less than 15 min.And I was carrying a lot of stuff.    Okay not a LOT, but the stuff was heavy.  Not heavy like a bazillion pounds but heavy like people ask you what in the world you are carrying in your purse (one of the things I was carrying) and it’s really embarrassing.  But Anyway, I did it.  And then when I got to The Creator’s Hands, Jack was all concerned that I had walked it, and said I should have called — he’d have picked me up!  Good Grief!  I don’t know if it was the heat — or if people think I am that sadly out of shape!  In any event I started to wonder if it might make sense for me to park *for free* at The Creator’s Hands from hear on out, and walk to and from work.  That would save me $84/mo on parking, plus my gas, not take any more time than driving (by the time I deal with the parking garage and traffic lights, and help me to finally get some exercise.  Seems like a winner!

 

 

Back to Square one.

279.2 lbs this morning.  Don’t even know what to say about that.  I’ve said the same things so many times.  Felt the same way…I think there’s a new level of disgust, though.  Realizing how long I’ve been hovering around the 275 mark.  It’s one of my “set points.”  Can’t believe I let it all creep so far back up though.

To focus on the positive:

(1)  I said I’d REALLY weigh in this morning, and did it.  

(2)  Did NOT drive through anywhere for breakfast goodies.

(3)  Already told Warren that we’re WALKING up to the diner for dinner tonight.

It’s a start.  And a delicate balancing act, I guess.  I have to keep my eye on the goal…but also have to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and just focus on the next couple of steps.  Today, this hour.  I can do it.

It’s a small, small world

Last Sunday (Easter)  was my first day off since Christmas.  I was SO READY for it.  Ready might be the wrong word, because I was not, in any sense, prepared.   But I sure was looking forward to it.  I ended up going in to the store for a bit.  At first, I had been adamant that I was going to do NOTHING but relax, but then I also felt that one way to partake of the renewal and rebirth that Easter offers, would be to enter into this week having accomplished certain things so I wouldn’t be scrambling to keep up, and making excuses for things not done, etc. I was right, too.

Anyway, after the store, I went to Barnes & Noble.  I hadn’t been there since, at least, Christmas.  They had changed a lot of things in the store.  Actually, I noticed some things along the way there, in the car, and then it struck me just how small my world has gotten.    It pretty much consists of :  Work(office)/store/home/physical therapy.  In the evenings I veg out in front of the TV and maybe play a little farmville.  Friday evenings we usually go out to dinner with friends — the same friends every week.   Although I am learning some new things and meeting some new people through the store, my world has just shrunk!  That needs to change.