Saturday, August 31, 2013

Week 7 Weigh In

302!  I'll take it, gladly even.  But I am still going to cross my fingers to get into the 200's next week.

On the diet coke front, so far so good.  Haven't drank any and also haven't gotten a headache.  I'm quite pleased.

Week 7 : 23 lbs down, 157 lbs to go
Current Weight : 302 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Friday, August 30, 2013

Diet Coke, The Final Frontier!

Tomorrow is weigh in day, Yay!  I really am very excited, I know there's going to be a loss, I just know it.

The Meloxicam I was taking for my shoulder ended up giving me a migraine and turned me into an insomniac. I've quit taking it and am going to get a cortisone shot on the 3rd.  I need to sleep and for the first time this week I am legitimately tired.  I've been getting 3-5 hours of dozing for the last few days.  I pray tonight will be at least 8 of uninterrupted sleep.

My brother is coming down from Canada and will be staying for only 2 days but I'm planning on showing him around, maybe take him geocaching or hiking in the mountains.

Today was the county fair, we had a blast it was hot and I was basically on my feet for 4 hours.  When I wasn't walking I would carry the baby and sway side to side, or lift her. I can't wait to tell her that when she was a baby mommy used her as a piece of exercise equipment.

I don't feel too bad about the food.  I ate half a small hamburger and a few fries as well as a ball of cotton candy and the whipped cream and strawberries off of a piece of strawberry short cake.  I drank a ton of water.  I love those trailer coolers of water that you see at events these days it's so much nicer than having to buy a bottle.  I refilled my 24 oz water bottle about 4 times, but I was also sharing.

My oldest always ends up throwing up or getting a headache and being ill when we go to events or do "fun" things.  So today I stayed on her and made her drink 4 oz of water every hour and didn't let her have any soda or fried sweets.  Sorry funnel cake man, it was great while it lasted! Low and behold she made it through the day with her lunch in her stomach and a smile on her face, even considering all the rides she went on.

I stuck to my goals this week, except for one.... I continued to drink at least 10 cans of diet coke a day.  So this evening I drank my official last Diet Coke ever.  The fridge has no Diet Coke in it, I will not be going and buying any either.  I have caffeine pills for alertness that I bought on a road trip a few years ago and I will take one if I find myself getting a caffeine headache, which is likely.  I will officially be viceless, wish me luck!!

Week 6 : 21 lbs down, 159 lbs to go
Current Weight : 304 lbs
Start Weight : 325 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Procrastinating and Ice Cream

It's 11:30 at night and aside from many hours spent back to school shopping at Walmart, I have not exercised yet... and I'm sitting here blogging instead of doing it now...

I had a nap this afternoon so I'm probably going to be up for a few hours yet.  Here's the plan 10 minutes of ab's and then 50 minutes of cardio...  starting as soon as I'm done here.

On the way home from shopping I stopped at McDonalds -- yes I know very, very evil.  I got a dipped cone not knowing for sure how many calories there was going to be.  When she handed it to me I knew I was in trouble. The thing was huge!! It was at least 6 inches tall and 3-4 inches wide but the chocolate was oh so yummy.  So I got about halfway through the chocolate/ice cream and decided to throw the rest away because I'm doing everything in my power to have a totally awesome weigh in this week.  When I looked it up just now I found that the entire concoction is supposedly 270 calories.... ummmm... right and I'm a monkey's uncle.  

In comparing my ice cream cone to the stock image on the website I'm going to say I was served 2-3 times as much as was intended by the calorie information.  Not that I'm complaining, there was a time when that would have made my day.  If at some point in the future I decide to get another one I will definitely make it clear that I want a small portion because wasting really bothers me, throwing it out was hard.

Okay no more procrastinating.  T - 3 days to weigh in, can't wait!

Edit : 51 Minutes, 854 calories burned! Max HR 184, averaged 154.

Week 6 : 21 lbs down, 159 lbs to go
Current Weight : 304 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Metabolism Killer

I've been doing some reading about smoking and metabolism.  Two weeks ago I quit smoking, since then my weight loss has been negligible and frankly it's way too early in this process for me to be having plateau issues.  So I started looking at other culprits and it turns out that smokers actually burn 100-200 extra calories a day over non-smokers, which is roughly a 15% metabolism boost.  It has to do with the way a cigarette causes your veins to constrict driving up your blood pressure, making your heart work harder and thereby increasing metabolic rate.  This is also why contrary to what I thought heart disease is the number one leading cause of smoking related death, not cancer.

So knowing this the question is : Am I going to go out and buy a pack so I can re-boost my metabolism? No, I'm not.  I'm going to keep plugging away. Although if I'm being completely honest had I known this beforehand I might have waited to quit smoking until I had lost a bit more weight.  On the other hand I'm doing things right now that were difficult for me when I was 220 lbs and exercising daily.  Doing Just Dance 4 this morning my HR was between 160 and 175 the whole time and I still have enough air left to sing along, which I know I would not be capable of, had I not quit smoking.  It kind of surprised me when it popped that I had a unlocked an achievement for singing, I didn't realize the Kinect was listening... spooky!

I have kept my promise to myself and not weighed although I really, really want to because I have a sneaking suspicion there's going to be good news.  But I will wait!

Week 6 : 21 lbs down, 159 lbs to go
Current Weight : 304 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Week 6 Weigh In

So I held steady this week.  I'm 303.6 which is barely a loss over last week. .4 lbs to be exact.  Is this a plateau?  Am I eating too many pickles?  Gaining muscle (this is unlikely)? I must be hoarding fat...

Week 6 Goals

1) Not going to weigh myself - I think weighing every morning and not seeing the losses messed with my head last week.  So for Week 6 I will not be weighing again until Saturday the 31st.

2) Stay under 1200 calories.  Not a teensy bit over.

3) Bump up my cardio from 1 to 1.5 hrs a day.

That's all I've got for now.  I can't think of anything I could have changed this week, perhaps it's a plateau. I wish that if I had to plateau I could have done it at 299 or 298, I'd really like to see that 2 preceding the rest of the numbers on the scale.  I know it's only 4 lbs, but psychologically, being in the 200's is going to give me a huge boost to both my self esteem and my motivation.

5 or so years ago I hit 286 lbs on the scale and managed to get myself together and drop down into the 220's for awhile.  So I know for a fact I CAN do this as I have done it before.

Week 6 : 21 lbs down, 159 lbs to go
Current Weight : 304 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs





Thursday, August 22, 2013

Week 5 Reboot

I have regained 2.8 lbs over the last 5 days. I'm not sure why exactly, but I have some ideas :

1) Not as much cardio since my shoulder got hurt.  It turns out that it's tendonitis and I'm taking some anti-inflammatories and am scheduled for a cortisone injection on the 26th.  So nothing super serious. I quit doing Just Dance, so I've only been getting about 40 minutes of cardio from my 5k training.  So I'm going to double up on the walking/running and add some cycling even though my bike makes me nervous.

2) I have been eating a bit more than normal. Instead of stopping when I get to feeling "satiated" and putting the rest in the fridge (like I was getting really good at doing) I've been polishing off what's left on the bowl or plate.  So my calories are up by about 10%.

3) I drink a lot of Diet Coke, 6-8 cans a day.  I've heard all different reports of how this can affect weight loss.  I know it has caffeine which causes water retentions as well as artificial sweeteners which some say also cause water retention.  And then there are some that just straight say diet coke causes actual weight gain.  I don't know what's true and what's not true but I do know I can't go cold turkey without getting killer caffeine headaches.  So here's the plan I'm going to cutback to 3 a day.  One in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the early evening. 

So those are my three reasonable explanations. I'm going to reboot this week and hopefully there's enough time left before Saturday to still see a loss this week.  Cross your fingers!!

Week 5 : 21 lbs down, 159 lbs to go
Current Weight : 304 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Geocaching, Screams and Bee's... Oh My!

Well it was quite an exciting turn of events this evening.  Me, my friend, her 7 year old son and my two daughters went geocaching this evening.  We went to a campground nestled on the side of the mountain. There was 4 caches nearby and we found the first one no problem.  The next one was a bit more tricky we had to cross over a small stream and do some bushwhacking, but it was gorgeous and we were having a ton of fun. I had a backpack and the camera and my roommate had my 10 month old in a baby backpack.

We were trekking along when my friend's son says in a quiet voice, "I got stung," and sure enough he had.  I've never seen someone (let alone a kid) react so nonchalantly to getting stung. We were about a 1/4 mile into the bush at this point and not at good point to recross the stream.

I saw them flying around us and figured we'd better get a move on so we walked a bit farther and came to a dead end.  Just as I realized we weren't going to get through any farther my friend yells, "Ouch!" now she was stung.  I used the end of the camera to smack the yellow jacket off her back and we decided we needed to cross the stream and get the heck out of there before the baby gets stung.  So we start to head across the stream when I feel that sharp pain in my left shoulder and I'm not going to lie, I didn't say ouch, but I did do some yelling.  In my excitement I dropped my phone (which I was holding in my hand since it had the geocaching map on it) in the stream, only the end of it landed in the water but it immediately started acting funky and shut off.

We all made it safely across the stream and thank God baby didn't get stung.  My 8 year old was really jumpy however, she figured it was only a matter of time before it was her turn to be on the bad of end of a stinger.  With my phone no longer functioning we decided to head back to the truck.  I was wearing my heart rate monitor at the time and the funny thing is of the whole time we were out there the highest it got was 173 which I noticed happened immediately after I got stung, the rest of the time I was 110-140.

Now safe and sound at home, my phone is taking a rice bath and we're all laughing that the toughest one in the bunch is a 7 year old.  All in all it was good times, but we won't be going back for those caches until bee season is OVER!

Week 5 : 21 lbs down, 159 lbs to go
Current Weight : 304 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

30 Day Shred Results

Well now I've gone and done it.  I started the "30 Day Shred" yesterday and during the squatting rows my right shoulder started clicking and popping.  It wasn't really painful so I just quit doing it with my right arm.  Later on I did some Just Dance which involves a lot of arm movement and I started to notice the clicking and popping again but I ignored it.  Afterwards it was sore and then pain started shooting up into my neck and down my arm as well as behind my shoulder blade. I soaked it in the tub and have taken some ibuprofen but today my arm is pretty well useless, it feels weak and everything I do, even moving the mouse is painful. I have an appointment tomorrow to get it checked out, hopefully it's nothing that can't be fixed quickly.

In the meantime I'm going to stick to the 5k plan and leave out anything that involves jostling that arm.

Week 5 : 21 lbs down, 159 lbs to go
Current Weight : 304 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Sunday, August 18, 2013

I Took a Day Off...

I took a day off... and it didn't kill me.  I still ate within my calorie range, but for the first time in almost a month I didn't do any cardio.  I did a 10 minute arm toning video and that is it.  I had thought I would take a break the day before yesterday because my body was so sore and I was really tired but I couldn't stop the voice in my ear from telling me if I didn't do it today then I wouldn't do it the day after, or the day after that.  So I laced up my shoes and started my 5k program, then I did some Just Dance and about halfway through got a killer headache. I quit and laid down.  I ended up sleeping for almost 10 hours and then woke up and still had a headache so I thought I better just cool my heels.

I took some ibuprofen and took my girls geocaching.  If you've never been you should really check it out, especially if you have young kids.  It's like a urban treasure hunt, my 8 year old had the time of her life. One of them was in a historic cemetery and the cache was in a tree that had a hollow spot in the base of it, I went to grab it and about 100 bees started coming out of the hole in the tree, we turned and ran screaming like a bunch of little girls.

When I got home I really wanted to work out, but I refrained.  I stayed within my calories, but they weren't "quality" calories if you know what I mean.  By the end of the day my headache was a distant memory and I woke today feeling refreshed.  I've already done 15 minutes of abs and a 15 minute cardio video.  I'm going to go do the 5k week 1 program which is 20 minutes. I'm also going to do an hour and a half of Just Dance tonight.  Tomorrow I'm starting Jillian Michaels - 30 day shred, wish me luck.

- Kate

Week 5 : 22 lbs down, 158 lbs to go
Current Weight : 303 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Week 5 Weigh In

Well one month down, on to week five.  I lost 4 lbs this week. If I can keep up this 4 lb a week weight loss I'll be very happy.  Even 3-4 lbs will make me very happy.

Today I will be resting, no exercise except for walking around shopping and maybe another walk tonight.  Last night after doing "Just Dance" for 30 minutes I got a killer headache even though I had been drinking water constantly.  So today I'm going to give myself a rest, I haven't taken a rest day in a few weeks maybe my body is "having a moment".

I had said I was going to start c25k on September 1st, but I was bored and came across a different 5k running program and decided to start it yesterday.  It consisted of walk 4 minutes, run/jog 1 minute, repeat 4 times for a total of 20 minutes.  I did great, my jog was a slow jog but I managed to keep it up for the whole minute. The second jog period was super intense, I looked at my watch at the 36 second mark and wasn't sure I was going to make it.  I had been speed walking to keep my heart rate up using the "get a decent burn" mentality.  So I changed it up and slowed my walking down 30 seconds before the next running portion and that worked really well.

Goals for Week 5:
- Get into the 200's, might not happen this week but a girl can hope.
- Do 3 more days of the 'week 1 - 5k program'.
- Do 3 days of '30 day shred'.
- Eat more veggies!

-Kate

Week 5 : 21 lbs down, 159 lbs to go
Current Weight : 304 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Friday, August 16, 2013

To Gym or Not to Gym

As of late I've been getting irritated looks from the people who live on my road.  I live on an acreage fairly out of the way and at most theres 2 or 3 cars per hour so I just walk/bike/jog along the side of the road. Well technically if I notice a vehicle I stop jogging, no one needs to see how ridiculous I look when I'm jogging.  I always wave as someone drives by but from time to time I get an irritated look and no wave back which puts a huge damper on my mood.  Last night I just went back home after one of the neighbors gave me a dirty look and called it quits.

So I've been thinking a good way around this problem might be to join a gym.  The only problem being that the closest gym is 15 minutes away.  I'm not sure I'll even enjoy working out with a bunch of people around to witness my gracelessness.  I'm fairly certain they're all going to be super shredded and giving me the "Oh... poor fat girl..." head to the side, sad smile.  On the other hand I'd really like to have access to all the machines and weight equipment.  If I had a pair of Ted's sensory deprivation glasses it would be nearly perfect.  Perhaps I can fashion some out of the cheerio box my daughter emptied this morning.

-Kate

Week 4 : 20 lbs down, 160 lbs to go
Current Weight : 305 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs


Thursday, August 15, 2013

Random Updates

I feel amazing. Completely and totally amazing. I'm almost 4 full weeks in and am not having doubts or having "bad" days (although I'm aware that they will come).  I find myself wondering how long with this will last.  I used to start a diet every other week, but by noon of start day it was out the window.  What was different this time that I'm feeling so optimistic and successful and how do I stop lazy, binge eating, fast food loving Kate from rearing her ugly head back into my life?

I wish I could pinpoint an ah-ha moment, so that in the event that I lose motivation I know what to do to get it back.

A friend of mine made a comment last night that got my wheels turning.  I had told her that I had quit smoking.  She says "Wow, you've quit drinking, quit smoking, are exercising a lot and eating really healthy.  Isn't that a lot to take on all at once?  Aren't you worried you're taking too much on and are going to fail?" I truly feel awesome and capable of all this change.  It isn't even really difficult right now.  I want all of this so bad, I know all the books say take baby steps but I don't want to.  This is who I want to be and I don't want to wait any longer.

I've spent the last two days rearranging my house so that I have more room in the living room for exercise DVD's and dance games.  My 8 year old daughter has been playing the games with me, which is awesome.  I want her to learn healthy habits and never have to struggle with it the way I have.

I also gave myself a french manicure to keep my hands busy and avoid thinking about having a cigarette or a greasy snack.  It's working. I am officially 2 days tobacco free and going strong.


-Kate

Week 4 : 20 lbs down, 160 lbs to go
Current Weight : 305 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Quitting Smoking

I promised myself that after my cigarettes ran out I would be done.  At 7 pm today that moment came to pass.  I couldn't even relish it because all I could think about was how this was the last one.  Twice I started putting on my shoes to head to the store and buy more, I even made it out the door once before turning around and heading back inside.

I've quit before (or I suppose taken "a break" would be more appropriate).  I know I just need to make it about 2 more days and I'll be alright.  Even knowing that it will get better tonight is still killer.  Every 10 or 15 minutes, I realize I'm missing something and when I stop to figure out what it is I realize my subconscious is trying to trick me into having a cigarette.

I'm using patches but after sweating during my workout the stupid thing fell off.  They're about 6 dollars a piece so it's super aggravating.  I will pick up a e-cigarette tomorrow, they have a little bit of nicotine in them so if I can't get these patches to work I know I won't be completely destitute.

This is the last time I quit smoking.  It's too much work and aggravation. I give anyone who is reading this permission to kick my ass if I ever start again.  Better yet break my fingers, it's pretty hard to hold a cigarette with broken fingers (but not my thumbs okay, I'm kind of fond of them).

I think c25k is going to be a lot easier with 2 cigarette free weeks under my belt.  T - 17 days!

On a lighter note, while the scale hasn't budged in three days, I had a really great day.  I stayed on my calorie budget, got a great burn and my neighbor gave me six giant zucchini's which are going to help me get tons of veggies into my diet for the next few weeks.

-Kate

Week 4 : 18 lbs down, 162 lbs to go
Current Weight : 307 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Monday, August 12, 2013

c25k Commitment

So I've been getting a little crazy... working out for 4+ hours a day the last 3 days in a row.  I've been drinking tons of water and taking breaks every hour or so to eat a 100-200 calorie meal.

I'm loving it, I feel amazing and I'm sleeping like a rock at night. My feet are sore, but my muscles themselves feel fine.  I didn't start c25k yet, but it is on the agenda, jogging is a huge obstacle.  I can do it but I find myself stopping for some reason or another.  I feel like I look silly, my earbuds are falling out, my glasses are bouncing around, etc.

So here is my commitment, c25k starts September 1st, no excuses.  T - 18 days.

-Kate

Week 4 : 18 lbs down, 162 lbs to go
Current Weight : 307 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Heart Rate Monitor

I've had a heart rate monitor for about 7 years.  When I moved to Montana the chest band got packed into a box that ended up in my shed with about 50 other boxes that I never unpacked.  I've half heartedly tried looking for it a couple time over the last 2 years.  Yesterday I decided to go online and buy a new one, but I realized the cost of the chest band is almost as much as a whole new watch/band.  So I rolled up my sleeves and went digging through boxes.  As luck would have it I found it in about the fifth box I opened. I did a little dance, I'm so happy I didn't have to buy a new one.

Wearing a heart rate monitor motivates me to exercise.  Not only that but it makes me work harder, I want to see that calorie burn sky rocket.

I spent all afternoon doing different activities trying to see where I got the best burn.  From highest calorie burn per minute to lowest :

1) Just Dance
2) Riding my Bike (not stationary)
3) Laundry / Light Cleaning
4) Walking

I ended up doing 2 and a half hours of Just Dance yesterday night. According to my watch I burned 2100 calories!! I don't know how accurate this watch is I've read the margin of error for women and HRM's is +/- 18%.  However I'm one pound down today over yesterday so it's entirely possible that it is correct.

I didn't do any jogging yesterday so I'm not sure how it will compare calorie wise, I'm considering starting c25k tomorrow.  We will see...

- Kate

Week 4 : 18 lbs down, 162 lbs to go
Current Weight : 307 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Week 4 Weigh-In

I'm really pleased with the progress.  I was 307.8 this morning, which is right on schedule.  Next week I'd like to be 20 lbs down.  As of today I'm 5% down.  I don't feel a huge difference but working out is becoming easier.  Last night I was doing Just Dance and the dances that would have tired me out 2 weeks are almost easy.

I'm going to have to find some more dance games, it is by far my preferred method of exercise.  Most of the movement and energy is expelled through moving my arms. I find myself wondering if this will tone my arms at all compared to jogging and walking.  I know that they say cardio doesn't tone muscle, it just burns fat, but when I'm walking/jogging a lot my calves become more muscular and I don't strength train my calves (that I know of).

My weight loss hasn't really change my appearance or made my clothes feel any different. My stomach feels emptier and I don't feel bloated. It's kind of funny that almost two ten pound bags of potato's makes such a small difference.  But then when I think of it that way, it's hard to believe that there is the equivalent  of 30 10lb bags of potato's left to me.  That's a lot of potato's.

-Kate

Week 4 : 17 lbs down, 163 lbs to go
Current Weight : 308 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Thursday, August 8, 2013

The World is My Treadmill

I'm lucky enough to live in one of the prettiest states in the country (in my opinion) so when faced with the prospect of either buying a treadmill or hitting the real pavement, I chose pavement.  In the past I have always used a treadmill but when I moved it was too big so I left it behind.  I thought I would miss it but it turns out the outdoors aren't so bad.  Rather than focusing on the clock on the treadmill I'm setting distance goals, which I'm finding causes me to spend more time exercising than I would if I was using a treadmill.

Pictured is the trail I've been using, I've been walk/jogging (okay, more walking than jogging) back and forth a .25 mile section for the last couple days.  Today I went back and forth four times in 38 minutes.  That's about 3.2 mph.  I'm happy with that for now, but am hoping to improve.  I'd like to be at 4.0 by the end of August.  

I've also been doing Just Dance on my playstation.  It's a good workout, however ridiculous I may look.

-Kate

Week 3 : 16 lbs down, 164 lbs to go
Current Weight : 309 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Scale Obsession

My scale is the ultimate frenemy.  Every morning I wake up and one of the first thoughts that pop into my head is "Yay I get to weigh myself"!  I leap out of bed, no snooze button, like a kid on Christmas morning.  I hold my breath and watch the red LED display flash, willing it with my mind to stop somewhere, anywhere lower than yesterday.

On days like today where I'm up 1.2 lbs it's all downhill from there. I think twice about my morning walk, I look longingly at my friends guacamole nacho chips and wonder if it's all really worth it and if I'll ever really succeed. Doubt whispering in my ear, like the devil it is, I somehow make it through the day with no offenses and find myself sure that tomorrow will show the loss I expected today.

On days when it's a loss there's an extra bounce in my step, I eat better than the day before, feel prettier and have a ton of energy.  I go to bed knowing that all my hard work today is going to pay of in spades the next day, even though that is not always the case.

I know the solution to this rollercoaster is to quit weighing myself everyday and pick one day a week to weigh myself.  I say, where's the fun in that?  What's a little drama between a girl and her favorite/most hated inanimate object.

- Kate

Week 3 : 14 lbs down, 166 lbs to go
Current Weight : 311 lbs
Start Weight : 327 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

What I'll Gain When I Lose

Periodically I will start making lists of all the wonderful things I could do if I wasn't ridiculously overweight.  Tonight I'll share of the things that I look forward to most.

The Motivation :


1) Take pictures with my children and family without immediately deleting them.  You're not going to see a lot of before pictures seeing as they don't exist.  The last full body of picture of myself is from the 6th grade.  The year after this I hit 200 lbs and that was the end of me letting other people take my picture.

2) Go on the rides at the fair.  I lived in a pretty remote area of Canada, I won't swear on a bible but I'm almost positive that I've only been on one ride in my entire life, The Mindbender roller coaster at West Edmonton Mall, it was a super tight squeeze fitting my butt in the seat.  I have a huge butt, it doesn't bode well for roller coaster rides. So when we go to the fair I wait in line with my 8 year old and then watch her as she has time of her life from the ground.

3) Go swimming.  I took 8 years worth of swimming lessons, I used to be able to swim like a dolphin and I love it.  The last time I went swimming was about 10 years ago.  I live 2 miles from a beach and yet I'm always sitting in the sand watching my daughter have all the fun.  I don't need to be skinny to get in a swim suit, maybe in 60 lbs or so.

4) Try on cute clothes.  I always swore that I would never buy elastic waist pants, 2 months ago I broke down and bought two pairs of the largest size, elastic pants that WalMart carries, before that I was squishing into the most forgiving pair of stretch denim I could find.  After 6 months of being my only pants they finally gave way and a hole formed in the leg from my thighs rubbing together.

There are many others and maybe I'll post them as they come to me.

Today's Exercises :


Tonight I went on a two mile bike ride, I was ready to give up halfway through but that's the funny thing about going on a bike ride, once you get where you're going you still have to get back.  My thighs are burning but it feels amazing, it feels like change.  I've been walking 2-5 miles a day for the last 3 weeks, riding the bike took a lot less time, but a lot more energy.  I couldn't even take it down a notch, short of walking my bike, I was trying to go as easy as possible but any way I sliced it the energy required to propel the bike was my upper limit.

This is my bicycle, I bought it 2 years when I was on a pretty good health kick.  It was kind of an impulse buy.  Has a huge seat but no gears.  Very cute however.

It was getting dark when I took this so it's not a great picture.  I'm sure you get the idea.

- Kate

Week 3 : 15 lbs down, 165 lbs to go
Current Weight : 310 lbs
Start Weight : 325 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs

Hello blog world!

I'm new to all this so please bear with me.

I've embarked on a journey of epic proportions (literally). Three weeks ago I got serious about taking care of my weight problems.  Finding myself once again alone and feeling rather depressed and pathetic I decided it was time to slay the obesity beast once and for all.

I began on July 20th at a staggering 325 pounds.  I've been overweight my entire life but this is by far the highest I've ever been. Ten months ago I gave birth to my second beautiful daughter, I thought that the weight would slowly come down as it did after my first pregnancy.  It has not, so I am grabbing the beast by the horns and getting this done!

In 100 weeks I will be 30 years old, so here is the goal: 180 lbs in 100 weeks, that is 1.8 lbs per week. I will weigh 145 lbs, feel amazing and look fabulous.


The Plan :


Exercising for at least an hour a day, but more if time permits.  I've turned a portion of my shop into a home gym.  So far it consists of a DVD player and a TV for exercise DVD's.  I am going to acquire more equipment as my budget permits.    

Eating whole foods.  I've cut out refined sugars and white flour.  I've been focusing on getting 25 grams of naturally occurring fiber, more than 60 grams of protein, less than 30 grams of fat and as few carbs as possible but definitely not more than 100 grams.  Using an online calorie counter I've been able to figure it out pretty quickly.

This was a very text dense post, expect pictures tomorrow.

- Kate

Week 3 : 15 lbs down, 165 lbs to go
Current Weight : 310 lbs
Start Weight : 325 lbs
Goal Weight : 145 lbs