Beginnings II

I bought my first scale today. I found one on sale and so I took Jenn's advice and bought one that tells you your body fat and all that extra stuff. Did I really want to know what percent of my body is fat? Scary stuff, and I'm not sure I will share that info. I love the new scale because it confirms my suspicions that my Mom's scale is out of whack and weighing heavy by about 5 lbs, which means I have been under 250 this whole time, I'm not sure why that makes me feel a little better but it does. My current weight on my new scale is 246, this will be my new starting weight. Good Luck this week!!!

Time to buy my first scale

The lowdown on my weight. Since beginning about two weeks ago I have either lost one or two pounds, the scale can't make up it's mind. I have been weighing myself at my moms because I haven't owned a scale, ever. Owning a scale would just verify how much weight I have allowed myself to gain, and up until now I have been comfortable in my ignorance, I can't hide from it any longer. I guess it is time to buy one, hopefully one that can make up it's mind. Any suggestions on a good scale would be helpful, but I will probably just buy the least expensive one at Shopko or Walmart. I too have a brownie problem like Denise. I've tried buying the snack size mini chocolate treats to satisfy my sweet tooth, but unlike my sister(who has remained oh so skinny), I can't eat just one or two, in one day half the bag will be gone. I bought some skinny cow frozen treats and at 100 or so calories they are pretty good and I fill as if I got a treat, and I can stick to just one.
I thought I would share a funny story from walking yesterday. Denise and I have both talked about how we would love to be able to run someday, even if the actual running part doesn't seem to fun, we know it will be very beneficial to our bodies. While we were on our walk yesterday we had to usher our children to the side of the path as two moms with their jogging strollers ran past us. As they did so they said "Sorry" and to that Denise replied something like " Are you apologizing for RUNNING past us?" We had a little laugh, someday we will be those women I just know it. Good luck for the upcoming week.

Missed it again!

So this morning was my oldest daughter's Fitness Day at her junior high school. The kids and their parents are invited to run a 5k during school. Lots of kids do it, and a number of parents participate. This is the fourth year Becca's participated (2 at the middle school and 2 at the junior high), and every year I think, "Maybe next year I'll run with her."

This was her last year to run, and I stood at the finish line with the camera AGAIN. It made me wonder how many things I intentionally don't participate in because of my weight, but I always have my fancy camera to hide behind -- I act like I'd rather get pictures than participate. Mind you, I LOVE taking awesome pictures, but sometimes I really do use it as an excuse to not have to participate.

I have decided that Wednesday will be my weekly weigh-in day. Since starting to walk with Gwen and cutting out after-dinner snacks, I'm down 2 pounds. Not the greatest for two weeks, but I'll take it. At least it's in the right direction. And those 2 weeks included a campout with lots of snacking and s'mores ... and a night or two of brownies ...

So, speaking of brownies (or really any sweets for that matter), anyone have a trick on how to eat just one? I could probably trim 10 pounds by doing that alone ...

I have a friend who divides things up and freezes extras so she can pull out one here or there instead of eating them all on the same day. She also puts a tablespoon of chocolate chips into a snack bag so that when she needs something sweet she gets it and doesn't break the calorie bank. (I think she also uses semi-sweet for some reason?)

I had a nutritionist friend who told me she could help me lose weight step by step, and she told me to start with this: Fill your dinner plate half with veggies, 1/4 with protein (meats), and 1/4 with carbs (bread). She said when I was doing this to contact her for the next step. This was years ago, and I still haven't found out the next step ...

Which leads me to my next question -- anyone have great ideas to get more veggies? I'm just not a big veggie fan and that's my big downfall. (That and aforementioned brownies ...)

A Former "Skinny Minnie"

Okay Gwen, I will not admit to being over 200-as I am currently 187-wow, yep I said that out loud. As a short person (5'2 and shrinking) I was the skinny minnie for many years until I got married. I guess getting married at 26 instead of 19 helped me keep the weight off a little longer. Birth control and then fertility problems did a number on my weight. I gained 40 lbs. the first year I was married. I was able to maintain my pre-baby weight after daughter #1, but having daughter #2 only 18 months later apparently didn't bode well and the weight stuck...and grew. When #2 was a year old, I went, with my husband, to a nutritionist and got a trainer. He lost 60 lbs and I lost 30 (not fair I know). I kept that off for a year and a half-I was down to 155. Not my goal of 130, but a comfortable weight for me, plus I was exercising my butt off! I had to go back to work at nights in August 07 and slowly the weight crept back on thanks to free dinners at work (after I'd already eaten at home) and an awful schedule of getting off work at midnight and being barely functional the next day. Well, I'm done! I cannot live this way, it has caused me heart problems, and quite possibly hormone problems. As I plan on trying to get pregnant again in a few months. I would just like to get back down around 160 again. I am realistic, I will not be that tiny thing from high school again. Nor, will I even fit in my wedding dress again. But, I will not post anything about fad diets here-I am not a dieter. I just cannot starve or deprive myself. Instead, I will change my eating habits to a lot more veges and lean meats, a piece of fruit a day and whole grains. I try to also go organic where possible.

Gwen tells me I'm lucky because my husband is on the wagon with me. I guess you could say we're each others support in this. We even just bought a treadmill for ourselves and I own enough free weights to not require me to pay for a gym membership. Having him on board does make things easier, I just don't buy junk food or make a different dinner for each of us and no one is eating differently than me. My kids get fed the same thing as us, why allow them to start down this road-right? So here goes, call me minus 187 I guess.

Beginnings

A little while back my friend Denise made me a proposition, we could help each other lose weight by being accountable to each other. I decided to take it one more step and start blogging about it. I hope that if you were invited to join along with me that you were not offended, I invited people that at sometime have expressed a desire to lose the weight. I have personally struggled with my weight almost my entire adult life. As Denise puts it we were never the skinny minnie girls. I would like to be the healthy, active girl, who isn't letting life fly by her as she sits on the couch. We started walking each morning, so that's at least an hour or so that I'm not on the couch. My Starting weight is 251 lbs. I admit that because people often tell me I don't look that heavy. Maybe they are being polite, but they are lying through their teeth. Lets get real people, I have a weight problem, a serious one. So I admit it proudly on this day that I weigh 251 lbs, because I will never say that again. For now my goal is to get below the 200 lb. mark. I realize that is still considered heavy be any measure, but I need to take baby steps. I know many of us may have some health related problems because of our weight. Mine is that it has prevented me from being able to get pregnant. You would think that wanting another baby would be motivation enought to lose the weight, but it hasn't been. The fertility specialist I went to said that having a support group is the best way he knows to get that encouragement you need. Lets be each others support group. We all have loved ones who say they will help us, but unless they are in that place that we have all gotten to, they can't really be the support we need. We can do it I'm sure about that. We have all seen people who have. Now is our turn, together let's get it done.