Take a look...

Wow It has been a long time...

So we have a lot to catch up on. As you can tell by my last distant post I got pretty discouraged. I lost 20 pounds in just over a year on weight watchers. Not that WW is bad, but for some people who have the cards stacked against them, it is pretty tough. For most of the 12 months I was on a couple of medications that make weight loss difficult at best and for most of that 12 months I followed the points exactly, many weeks I didn't lose anything, others I remember losing a whooping 0.2 pounds and the WW counselors getting all excited at my "loss". Seriously, at those moments I could have strangled them, I was miserable, giving up things I really wanted and for what 0.2 pounds. It just wasn't worth it. At one point I was working out 2-3 hours a day 5 days a week, I had no life and I couldn't even eat what I wanted cause if I did I would gain.
To go back in time about 18 years, my doctor was using a product called Medifast and suggested I might like the results, but it was hard and required a doctor to watch over you. I did it and I lost about 70 pounds in a very short amount of time, roughly 3 months, it was as good as having bypass surgery, but 10 times harder! 5 little shakes a day nothing else. Nobody could sustain this for long but it worked and it worked great!
Fast forward 18 years, I was finally desperate, I visited a surgeon, said I wanted gastric bypass, we did all the work talked to the insurance company (I work for them, you would think it would be easier), they refused! I found out they (we) are one of two insurance providers that will not do it and I am a member of both companies. So I was desperate, I decided to find a Medifast doctor again and just tough it out. Boy, was I surprised! Medifast has changed! And boy is it better. Now there are shakes, and soups and chili and "candy" bars (that's how I think of them) and oatmeal and I know, it sounds crazy but once a day you get to eat a lean and green meal (protein and veggies). Wow, this was not the old Medifast, this was a totally do-able thing, so I placed my first order and it came in the mail and I started on June 28th!
My life has changed drastically, the weight loss is not as fast as the first time around, but it is so much easier. I have lost 38 pounds in 10 weeks...boy that is a far cry from 20 pounds in 1 year! I will never go back to weight watcher's or any other diet. This is a plan I can live with and use forever. When I do reach my goal, I will continue to keep MF on hand so that I have it when I need to take a few pounds off if my weight starts to creep up. I suddenly have a ton of energy and best of all, that horrible diagnosis of diabetes, well I am beating it! I am no longer on any of the 5 medications that I had been on, no more shots, no more pills that make me gain weight but keep my blood sugar down, no more having to plan my life around a refrigerator to keep my medication in or coolers so that they don't go bad when I travel. I am off of all medications and my blood tests are normal, the doctor (a different one than the one who originally showed me medifast) is thrilled, can't believe I am doing so well. This is the best thing ever. (For more information check out Take Shape For Life featuring Medifast!)
Think skinny thoughts and have a great day!
Cathy

Discouragement

OK. Well, the weight loss is going OK I guess, although sometimes it just seems so hard for so little reward. I wish that I could see the big numbers that the contestants on Biggest Loser see. I know, I know, those lucky people have a trainer everyday all day to keep them going and motivated and I also know that if I am going to put up the big numbers I have got to start going back to the gym every day, not just 2-3 times a week and then doing a workout at home here and there. Motivation...it is my downfall.

GOALS:
1. Drink at least 64 ounces of water daily.
2. Go to the gym and workout 5 days of the week.
3. Think before I eat!
4. Just don't eat! (I'm kidding)

Water Boot Camp

Well, I am impressed. I have been going to water boot camp for a week and it gets harder every time. Monday we had to do 2 minutes at every station and then went around again and did 1 minute at each station. I was exhausted when I was done, the squats made my thighs and calves burn and the pull ups were killer. On tuesday I woke up expecting to be sore, but wasn't! Ok, don't speak so soon, by noon my arms were sore, by 8 pm my arms didn't want to bend. I ended up having to take some tylenol to get to sleep. Woke up today and am still sore, a little worried about what that means for tonights boot camp. But I will be there even though I may not have any functional use of my arms afterwards. I am so surprised that this is so tough. I mean, I have been working out; lifting weights and using the treadmill, elyptical and bikes since September, religiously, plus taking a deep water aerobics class and swimming. So I thought I was getting into pretty good shape, but apparently I was wrong.

On the up side, I weighed in this morning and was 7 pounds down from my weigh in on the first day of boot camp, but the scale they used was really off, actually based on my doctor scales I am down 3.4 pounds, which is still awesome. My healthy eating plan is going better. For the past 2 days I have stayed on perfectly. I am still struggling with drinking enough water. But I have only had 1 diet coke in the past 2 weeks. So for the most part I am finally getting back on track. Now all I have to do is motivate myself to get to the gym at least 5 days of the week plus add 2 at home workouts.

I have been using the Biggest Loser Workout DVD and it is a pretty good workout. I am totally sweating by the end and feel like I have really worked out. I did have one little issue from doing the DVD, the insides of my legs were sore afterwards. I guess, I was really using my inner thigh muscles or something.

This blog thing is kind of cool and a great way to store and record my thoughts!

Food is hard...

I start everyday with the idea that I am going to eat healthy and watch my portion size. It is a brilliant plan until about 6 pm when I have just arrived home from work and am hungry and nobody has planned or prepared a meal for me. Oh yeah, I am the mom, I am the one who is supposed to do this. So I start cooking and it is usually something healthy, like last night a taco salad, lots of veggies, some chicken, salsa and then a little bit of 1000 island dressing... OK so a little wasn't enough, the next thing I know my "healthy" salad is not so healthy anymore cause salad just isn't that good without the creamy gooey stuff on top. I realize that this is not a huge mistake, but it is still undermining my efforts. So I guess I am just going to have to get more organized and get some meals put together that can be quickly thrown in the microwave and yet still be healthy. I also think I should eat more fish, so I guess I will head to Sam's Club and pick up some salmon for tonight and maybe some tilapia for later in the week.

I am exercising 6 days a week now and that feels great. No seriously, I know it is hard to believe cause I am the person looking for the closest parking spot so I don't have to walk very far to get in the store... but really, I have discovered that I like going to the gym. I like how I feel when I leave, that sense of accomplishment. And I love anything to do with the water and my gym has a pool so that is my reward for doing all the other things at the gym. But I am slowly discovering that I like to do a lot of things at the gym. I always thought I hated working out, but as it turns out I actually enjoy it.