Needles and Pens

... I started my diet, having hit an all-time high of 174 pounds on my 5'5" frame. My measurements were: Chest - 42.5 inches Waist - 40.5 inches Hips - 44.5 inches Arm - 14 inches Thigh - 25.75 inches One year later, I'm weighing in at 134 pounds - a loss of 40 pounds. Yeah!! Measurements today: Chest - 37.5 inches (-5 inches) Waist - 33.5 inches (-7 inches) Hips - 37 inches (-7.5 inches) Arm - 11.5 inches (-2.5 inches) Thigh - 21 inches (-4.75 inches) I've been a little bit down on myself this week, but this puts things back into perspective. What an accomplishment! Of course, I still can't help thinking where I would be today if I hadn't fallen off track over the holidays. The point is, I got back on track, and re-lost the weight I'd gained. That's something to be proud of. And it's high time I stopped kicking myself, don't you think? Imagine where I'd be today if I'd never tried to lose the weight at all. I know that number would hav...

Two pounds down, ten pounds to go! I can't believe how slowly these last pounds come off, but sure enough, they are coming, so I really can't complain. It's especially comforting to know that I'm still losing, even though I've had a lot of diet indiscretions these past few weeks. Broke down and went to the doctor on Friday, only to find out that I'm going through the same virus as so many others right now, and there is nothing to do but wait it out. My doctor did recommend I take Sudafed and Robitussin DM and those have helped immensely with the congestion and coughing. Last night I had my first good night's sleep in a week, so I'm feeling much better. So much better, in fact, that I had my kitchen wiped down and floor scrubbed before 6:30 this morning. LoL Besides me, three of the four kids have been sick with various symptoms. Emily is home from school today after throwing up all day yesterday. I have that feeling I want to soak my whole house down in ...

For some reason, holidays always seem to make me sick. Not after the holiday is over, but just before it starts. On Saturday, I came down with the crud, a sore throat, earache, and stuffed up sinuses, with a nasty cough thrown in for good measure. But we did manage to have a nice Easter anyway. Busy, but nice. I felt awful, but pacified myself by eating anything and everything that looked vaguely enticing. Therefore, I had a one pound gain to face this week for my Monday weigh-in. Today, I'm fighting the temptation to crawl in to bed and stay there indefinitely. I hope things are looking up by this time next week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Guess I had a little "luck o' the Irish" today for my weigh-in, because I managed to drop two more pounds, despite being less-than-perfect about my diet again. Attitude-wise, I'm doing much better than a week ago. Of course, actually losing some weight didn't hurt. lol

Due to a few diet and exercise indiscretions this week, I have gained one pound. Bleh. Measurements remain the same. :oP

Halfway there... I lost two pounds this week, for a total of twelve, marking the halfway point to my goal since January first. Oddly, that didn't excite me too much this morning, until I looked back at my weight loss records for the past year. A year ago, I was at my all-time heaviest - including pregnancies - at 174 pounds. Mind you, I'm a small person, short and small-boned, so 174 pounds put me well into the obese category on the BMI chart. I began my diet and exercise program in April and stuck with it pretty faithfully until September. I fell off the wagon after that, and gained some weight back over the holidays, so I decided to start fresh with the new year, and a new, more modest goal. BUT, if I look at my total weight loss over the past year, I've lost 37 pounds, and that's something to get excited about! Only twelve more pounds to go...

Woohoo! Good news! I was a very good girl this past week, and I lost the four pound birthday gain, plus one! Five pounds! Must have been a lot of water weight involved, but I can't tell you how great it feels to be back on track. Hopefully I can now kiss the 140's goodbye, once and for all. The next milestone will be getting to 134 (five more pounds), which is where I was last August before my diet was derailed. At that point, my goal weight will feel within reach once again. Yes! This weekend I discovered that the Wii game system gives you a pretty good workout. I "bowled" with my kids nearly all day on Saturday, and could barely life my arm all day Sunday. LoL Had I sat down between turns, I would have had the added benefit of working my thighs (sit down, stand up, sit down, stand up...), but the way my shoulder and arm felt, I'm glad I chose to stand between turns for the most part. Love the way these video games are getting so physical, though. Between bowlin...

"AHHHHHHH..." Did you hear that scream this morning? At about 8:30 central time? That was me, doing my weekly weigh-in. It seems my birthday week has taken a major toll on my weight loss progress. In one week, I gained back what it took me four weeks to lose. I'm up, four pounds. Yuck. But I'm determined to shift into high gear this week and see if I can knock that number back down again. Wish me luck!

My first reaction to this morning's weigh-in was utter frustration. I lost exactly zero pounds this week. Bleh. But then, when I look back on my week, I realize I should be grateful that I didn't gain any weight. I missed one day's workout last week, due to wearing myself out with painting and moving stuff. It's my birthday this week, so yesterday we had a get-together with my extended family -- at a buffet, of all things -- and I broke down and had a piece of lemon-filled cake with coconut frosting. Mmmm... And (hope this isn't TMI), I'm definitely retaining water right now. lol So, I'm stuck at 140, and don't expect to see much change this week, with more birthday celebrations and Valentine's day. Considering all that, I'll be lucky to maintain for another week...

Good news! I've broken through my pound-a-week trend, losing three pounds this week. Yeah!! (Not pigging out over the weekend may have helped. Gee.. ya think?) But what I can't figure out is that the three pounds don't show in my measurements at all. I lost only 1/4" from my waist, and no change anywhere else. So tell me, where did the three pounds come from? My feet? My head? Whatever. I'm just thrilled to be down to 140, knowing next week, I'll be back in the 130's, where I left off in August. Slow and steady may win the race, but a nice little sprint every now and then sure boosts the motivation!

Okay, these weekend binges have got to stop. I know I shouldn't be unhappy as long as I'm losing and not gaining, but from Monday through Friday, I lost two pounds -- from Monday to Monday, only one. For two weeks I've done this and its just frustrating! I mean, with so little left to lose, I'd really like to just stick with losing two pounds a week and get it over with already! The bright side of all this, though, is that I am seeing how my body works, so when I do finally reach that goal weight, I'll know what to do to maintain it. I see that one day of binging will add a pound, and will require a little extra diligence in the days that follow, or the pounds will just keep adding back on -- again. This weekend the problem was a trip out of town. Food choices are tough when you're eating out. There are healthy choices out there, but there are also lots of temptations, and once I give in a little, I give in a lot. (I didn't just order the 6" sub at Su...

I wish I had all good things to report about my diet today, but this week was a struggle. I had a really hard time resisting "bad" foods, and I'm not completely sure why. Possibly, I'm relying too heavily on artificially sweetened snacks, so I'm not getting past the cravings like I should. According to the Atkins plan, you should limit artificial sweeteners to three servings per day. I know I've been going way over the limit because, well, there are just SO many yummy sugar-free sweets to be had! And I love my hot tea, sweetened with Splenda, especially in this frigid weather we've been having. Nevertheless, this is something I need to work on if I want to be rid of these cravings. (sigh) So I made it through the week on sheer will power, but over the weekend, I lost it. My sister and her family came for a visit and we were deciding what to do for dinner. I said, "Pizza." She said, "What are you talking about? I thought you were low-carbing...

It seems my body has taken up right where it left off back in August. No big induction weight loss this first week, but I did lose two pounds, as I did steadily each week last year. The tape measure was more encouraging, as I've lost a half-inch from my chest, waist and hips, plus a quarter-inch from my arms. I have to admit, my results were a bit disappointing at first. Usually when I begin induction, I will lose 5-6 pounds the first week, followed by another 4-5 on week two, before slowing to the healthy two-pounds-per-week pace. But I'll have to embrace the slower start as a good thing, assuming that my system is burning at a steady pace, and considering that, when I had those big numbers, I was much more overweight. So, it's all good. I just have to maintain what I'm doing and the pounds will inevitably come off. I only have twenty pounds left to lose, so could very likely reach my goal in ten weeks or so -- even before shorts and swimsuit season. Sweet! ;o)

Well, after three months or so of no-holds-barred pigging out, I've survived the first day back on my diet. No sugar, no bread or pasta, definitely no Pepsi (my biggest temptation). Just lots of protein and veggies, water, vitamins, exercise. And I survived! Actually DAY ONE, this time around, was a lot easier than in the past. I actually switched to caffeine-free Pepsi a few weeks back, putting the caffeine headaches behind me. That has always been the worst part of starting for me. I spent the past week working up to this, and actually deciding if I wanted to do the full-blown diet again, as in the past, I've had a problem with my all-or-nothing attitude. But my extremely tight jeans finally made the decision for me. I need to lose ten pounds, ASAP. I refuse to go to a larger size. In fact, I don't think I have a larger size. I got rid of them all the last time around. So for the next two weeks, it's all-or-nothing. Correction: it's ALL. At least until I can bre...

This New Year’s Eve, I went through my photo albums and reminisced about all the holidays, birthdays, weddings, and other events of 2007: - My husband and I reached 41 - Our children turned 20, 9, 18 and 13 – lots of milestones! - Three new babies joined our extended family. - Two new pets came into our home. - We celebrated the weddings of family and friends - We saw our two oldest children dressed to the nines for prom... If not for photos, I wouldn’t remember a thing! Fortunately, I do keep records of certain things, too. Heaven knows my memory needs a backup: - My weight fluctuated from 175 pounds, down to 134, then back up to 149 by years’ end. - I quit smoking – for one month. It was my longest smoke-free period in 26 years, and provided lots of insight for my eventual, final, once-and-for-all quit. (Which WILL happen!) - I completed 13 quilts, five were rescued from my UFO (unfinished objects) pile, another two, for charity – and I finally have a homemade quilt on my own bed! - ...

"This week’s triple-dare is to show some self-love. All too often, we beat ourselves up, put ourselves down, etc. So this week, I triple-dare you to find the good in yourself. List 10 great things about YOU." This is the toughest dare yet, but it’s also timely, as I’ve been pretty hard on myself lately. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m an all-or-nothing type, and that being so is rather self-destructive. Take my diet, for example. When I diet, I do it hardcore. I don’t stray from the guidelines an inch. This results in losing weight, feeling great, a happy, accomplished attitude… until the inevitable day when I fall off course. Let’s face it, no one can maintain a “perfect” diet forever. Once I’ve broken the diet, I give up. Completely. And then I beat myself up over it. I do this in other areas, too. It’s a form of perfectionism (though no one would look around my home and accuse me of being a perfectionist). Worst of all, it’s self-defeating. There is no such thing as ...

When I’m actively working to lose weight, I’m addicted to my bathroom scale. Though I know I’m only supposed to weigh in once a day (if that), I’m on the scale morning, noon and night. But that’s not the real problem. The problem is, when I stop the diet and try to maintain my weight, weighing-in goes out the window. I’m at that point now, and I have to fight myself to check out that number at least once a week. This is how I have managed to lose and re-gain the same 30-40 pounds at least three times in the past five years. Knowing that yo-yo dieting is worse than being overweight, I’m determined to put a stop to this unhealthy pattern. Between April and August of this year, I managed to shed 40 pounds (again). I actually have another 10-15 to lose to reach my goal weight, but somewhere in early September, I lost all enthusiasm for my routines – just when I need them the most! So today I’m on a mission to regain that enthusiasm, and not only maintain the weight I’ve lost, but rid mysel...