Day 3 at the Gym

So far so good, huh? I can't believe that I didn't talk myself out of going to the gym for 3 days in a row. In fact, I had a little breakthrough tonight. I was walking on the treadmill and sort of experimenting with speed, stride length, etc. I figured out that I could walk faster longer with shorter strides. Suddenly I realized the gym was empty and without even thinking about it I started to jog!! I only did it for a minute, but I did it. I walked for a few minutes after that then I did it again for another 45 seconds. I was so proud of myself. All over one little minute. But now I know I can do it and I WILL be able to do it more and more as time goes by. I almost cried. Then I thanked God for giving me the strength to do it. It really was a GOd thing because the whole time I was walking I kept thinking to myself it would be a while before I was in any shape to try jogging. Then all of a sudden I was doing it. I can't describe the feeling. I think I finally feel like this is the time that weight loss is going to last.

I Did It!!

Well, I kept my word and I went to the gym today. I did not go when I left work yesterday morning as I had planned. I was feeling very fussy after fighting with my chemistry analyzers for 2 hours. All I wanted to do was go crawl in bed, which I did. I woke up earlier than usual and Stephen asked me to meet him for lunch. I decided that if I was going to lunch, I would HAVE to go to the gym afterward...and I did! I know it's just one day and that continuing to exercise is whats always been my downfall, but I am feeling pretty determined. And as an added bonus my sweet husband came up to the hospital tonight just to bring me a beautiful yellow rose...for his best friend. He really is my best friend, and the best husband ever.

Feeling Positive

I started logging my points again today and am even thinking about going to the gym when I get off at 7 a.m. It sure won't kill me to walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes before I head home. This whole change of attitude came from a simple conversation with Stephen about cooking! We will be heading to the Frio River in July and are planning the meal we will be cooking for his family. Each couple takes a night to feed the entire family. Just thinking about being at the Frio sort of jolted me back to reality. I have some goals that I am not going to reach if I don't start exercising! One of those goals is to be simply be more comfortable with myself when we go to the river. It's a real bummer to HATE getting in the river because of how ashamed you are of your body. It's a shame to feel like you have to wear 3/4 inch sleeves and blue jeans in July because you can't wear a sleevless shirt and shorts. SO, I am feeling the determination seeping back into my veins. Looking forward to June and a pretty sundress!

Time Flies

It's been over a week so I figure I better get back on the blogging horse. It's been an eventful week but not a fun one. It started with a torrential downpour that flooded 2 of my cars. It took 2 days to dry and clean one of them. The second one was about to get some attention on the 3rd day after the rain but I got an aweful chest cold that I still haven't gotten over. It's a good thing I didn't get to clean my other little car up though because we got another flooding rain last friday and it got water in it again. I was at work and had to wade out into our ER parking lot to move the mustang before IT flooded a second time. Either way now I am certain that anytime there is a chance for rain it's gonna flood and I am going to end up wet, trying to rescue cars. It's not been fun. Being sick helped me lose a few lbs but I have not been following my WW eating plan properly. I've just been lazy but I am ready to start again. I hit the -25 lbs mark and its slowing down, as it did before. That's my fault. I just can't seem to get motivated to exercise. I've used the whole "i'm sick" excuse for a week now. Poor me! Poor me! I just don't know what to do.

Weight Watchers and the Graveyard Shift

After reading a post by Jason, a terrific weight-loss/weight-management blogger, I thought I would talk about what makes Weight Watchers work for me. It's very simple, I plan ahead. I am usually successful when I make it a point to plan my meals and give myself lots of options. This means going to the grocery store with purpose and a list. I get lots of great ideas from the Weight Watchers message boards and from other weight loss bloggers. For me getting bored = falling off the program. I stared Weight Watchers in September of 07 after attending a dear friend's wedding at the Frio River, then seeing the pictures afterward. I was tired of missing out on fun, active things because of aches and pains and fear of failing. I did very well for about 6 months. Then I started a new wonderful job working the graveyard shift. I found that when things got a little slow in the lab at night, or when I got sleepy, grumpy, homesick for my husband, etc. etc. it made things easier to eat ALL NIGHT LONG. Bye bye Weight Watchers, hello cake balls (WARNING, if you have never had a cake ball please stay away from them). I gained back 15 of the 32 lbs. I had lost. I went nuts! It was crazy for my body to be awake at night, crazy to sleep during the day...but that's all over now. And to get back to where I started, I have found it immensely necessary to find and use quick, easy recipes to keep my food interesting. Oh, and to bring plenty of healthy snacks to work at night. Tonight I tried Sara's Crock Pot taco Chicken in a burrito with fat free re fried beans and cucumber with lots of hot salsa It was great! Well, I'm off to get ready for our morning run of specimens.

Another LONG night

Only 3 more nights to go and then I will be happily taking my full 7 days off. The weekends are tough because I don't get to see my sweet husband except for when I crawl into the bed in the morning. But after Sunday it's all downhill. I decided I would make hime Easter dinner today even if it was just for him and his buddy. Popped a ham in the oven before I fell asleep and then woke up 4 hours later to take it out. Tried desperatly to get back to sleep but it just wasn't happening. So on top of being worn out from the last few days I am tired as well. And I didn't eat on program. Well, I stayed within my points but I didn't eat breakfast and that always makes me just ravenous when I actually do eat. I am looking forward to really tracking my points well this week in hopes of a nice 2 or 3 lb. loss by friday. I have been steadily losing a lb. a week but would really like to see a little more this week. The problem is I am not exercising. I just don't understand why this is so hard for me. My heel spurs are always going to hurt, i'm just going to have to live with that. I'm just LAZY. My honey says he is going to take me to the driving range friday, to see if perhaps I could get excited about playing golf. It would be great for both of us! And he even seems excited about teaching me which I find bizzare because I am not a patient learner. I hope I get into it. I want to do something active, but something fun, something I will really look forward to doing.

He is Risen!

Good morning! Happy Easter...He is risen! Praise God for His great miracle today. May your spirit be renewed with the knowledge that your Savior lives. I hope it's a great day of worship, family and friends. I will be worshipping God by renewing myself with sleep as I have worked another 12 hour night and will do it again for 4 more nights.

Easter

Well, it's Easter Eve and I am working. I am trying to focus on the true meaning of this holiday. It really should be the most important celebration to Christians. I would like to be able to spend it with family but since I am in the middle of my 7 on its just not possible. So I am tying to reflect on the very intimate nature of my relationship with Christ. It's so hard to understand the love God has for us. I think about it often. Why does He love me so much that he would let Jesus suffer so terribly? What kind of love does that? It makes me ashamed, too. I do not live every moment thankful of this incredible sacrifice. I wish I did, but I don't. I am usually too wrapped up in me myself and I to consider how good life is and more importantly how wonderful God is. I am just glad He understands me, because I don't think it's possible to understand Him. But He doesn't ask us to understand, does He? He just asks us to believe and to have faith. So rather than feel sorry for myself for not getting to go to church and visit with family in the morning, I am going to think about Jesus and what He did, what we commemorate and celebrate on Easter...that He is risen, He is risen indeed.

Climbing out of a funk

Tonight is my first night back on my regular schedule at work. It's nice to be here with my friends. It's just the three of us here in the lab. We keep the radio on loud and chit chat while we work. I'm a lucky duck for sure. I couldn't ask for two better chicas to spend my working hours with. I have been in such a funk the last few days. There is really no reason for it except that I was very lazy the past few days and I had every intention of working out. I only managed to do it one day. I am disappointed in myself. I just don't understand why I can't get motivated. I'm slowly healing from the whole "Jose Cruz Pic" incident so I can't exactly use that as and excuse anymore. My honey and I talked about him teaching me to play golf sometime. I really want to find something I will love, something I will look forward to and not dread doing. He loves golf and is really very good. I'm sure he could teach me. It would be something fun for us to do together. I truly need a hobby other than cooking. I'm doing good tracking my points again and trying to be creative and quick when planning my meals. And though I know I could be doing better by getting more activity in my schedule, I am proud that I have lost another lb. Never give up!

Feeling really low

So, it would seem that keeping up with my little project is going to be more of a challenge on my 7 days off. I didn't actually take my regular 7 days off though so this may just be temporary. Truth be told, I have been very bummed out and I haven't wanted to think about my new fabulous healthy lifestyle at all. I haven't even tracked my points for the last 2 days. Haven't wanted to. Haven't cared. It all started with a picture I took last Saturday with Astros legend Jose Cruz.
I wanted to get something signed for Stephen and wanted a picture with Jose Cruz, former Houston Astro, to give my Dad for Fathers Day. I went and stood in line for an hour, very excited to meet him and get Stephen's World Series ball signed. Cruz didn't play in the World Series, of course. But he was coaching so that was cool enough for me! I thought I looked cute, but the picture told a very different story. I chose a very unflattering shirt. I looked terrible. And to make it worse Jose Cruz was looking down at the ball he had just signed instead of looking at the camera. I guess he was a little impressed that I had a World Series ball instead of just a regular ball. Either way, I looked terrible. Even the sweetest reassurances of my loving husband could not cure this for me. I have lost 17 lbs since starting back on Weight Watchers in late January so I was hoping for a semi-decent picture. Now, I am not one of those women who always hates pictures of herself. Despite my waistline, I know I can take a good picture every now and then...this just wasn't one of those times.

Golf Tournament

Yesterday Stephen took me to the Shell Houston Open. Now, I am not really a Golf fan. But Stephen is and I am Stephen's biggest fan. I always enjoy going to a golf course because they are typically very pretty, very serene. This was at Redstone, and it was really beautiful. I can't remember the last time I saw grass sooooo very green! We saw a few popular guys: Ernie Els, Camillo Villegas and Anthony Kim. These guys are really good. They make the game look so effortless. And as predicted we walked alot. I have bone spurs on my heels and it was painful walking but I was glad for the exercise, glad for the fresh air and sunshine, and glad to be with my sweet husband. I got a funky little sunburn, and it even sort of feels good. Today I was terribly lazy and only accomplished a short trip to the grocery store. Made chicken and dumplings for Stephen and Fro for dinner. I ate it too of course which cost me more points than I wanted to eat but after yesterday I felt like I deserved it. That is pretty warped thinking isn't it? I really do have mental issues when it comes to food. Why can't I reward myself with a pedicure? Zero points and God knows I need one. Either way, I tracked my points and am starting over again tomorrow. One day of chicken and dumplings didn't make me fat....years of them did.

Shell Houston Open

Today is the first of my 7 days off. Normally this day almost doesn't exist because I'm exhausted and I sleep most of it away. Today I was very productive though. I cleaned for 4 HOURS! I am counting that as activity. I feel like I really accomplished something. I am not much of a housekeeper so this really is a big deal for me. Tomorrow is Stephen and my date day. He is taking me to the Shell Houston Open! I am really excited. We will get to see a beautiful golf course, some famous golfer's and we will get lots of activity as it entails quite a bit of walking. It will be very fun. We're hoping to hook up with his Dad and Stepmother for dinner. Glad I saved my 35 weekly points....I plan on enjoying them after all that walking. Hey, maybe I will even take some pictures!

LAST NIGHT!!!

It's the last night of my seven on. It's the most exhilarating feeling bordering on the butterflies you got as a child on the last day before Spring Break. I don't have to be back here for 7 whole days! Yippee! Uh, I usually don't have to be back here for 7 days but I did pick up a few extra hours next week. But they are teeny tiny hours compared to my normal 11 or 12 hour shift. I did well with my eating yesterday. Stayed within my daily points even with eating Taco Bell Fresca tacos. They were actually very good and only 3 pts. each. I haven't gone to the grocery store during my 7 on this time and my sweet hubby was tired of chicken which is all I had. We are both really looking forward to being off on Friday. We typically get one whole day each week where neither of us has to work. I asked him if we could do something active on our "date" since the weather is going to be nice and he has been hinting that he ha a very special day planned. He is the sweetest. He deserves a wife who can be active and healthy. And I deserve to be active and healthy! I have some big goals to reach this year so I really have to get dedicated to being active.

Pictures

Ok, to be fair the profile picture is not me...its a butterfly. I am not a butterfly, I assure you. I will work on getting some older pictures from before I started WW as well as a few current ones in the next few days. It's hard to wake up in the after noon and hop on the computer when I just want to be lazy until I have to leave for work. That's part of my problem. I can't seem to get motivated to start moving my body. I have the best of intentions, then things start to hurt and I get scared I am going to hurt myself to the point of needing knee surgery at the ripe ole' age of 33. Silly, sure, but I wouldn't think it if a doctor hadn't said "Hey, be careful!" Anywhooo, going to try and get some work done so I can fool around later as long as ER doesn't go and get busy on us. So far so good.

Morning run

No, that doesn't mean I am going out for a jog! At least not yet. We are about to get busy here at work as the night/morning comes to a close. I am very excited about my blog. That is probably pretty evident as I am posting a second time tonight/this morning on the very same day/night that I created the silly thing. I am looking forward to heading home in a few hours, crawling into bed and closing my peepers just as the sun starts to rise. Tomorrow night is our last night of our 7 on...YIPPEE!! It's the best night of the week. Thanks to you guys for taking a peek at what I am doing here. I am going to try to get some pics up by tomorrow night. Have a super day!

Getting started

Well, after 2 months of mulling it over I have finally decided to start a weight-loss blog. It has been so inspiring (and often entertaining) to read the blogs of people who have battled food addictions, eating disorders and life-long weight issues. This is going to be a challenge for me though. As a teenager I tried many times to write daily in a diary. It rarely lasted more than 2 weeks. I tried again at the beginning of this year. I even bought myself a very pretty, very girly journal...lasted a month. So now I am going to try it online. Why? Because I spend too much time online trying to find something interesting to read. Now it's up to me to be interesting. Plus I hope to be able to post lots of before and after pictures along the way. And pictures of my cats too because they make me smile. My Sweetheart takes lots of pics of the kitties while I am at work and sends them to me so that I don't feel so homesick. I am doing WW, and have lots of faith in it. Perhaps the faith should be in myself? Hmm. That sounds like something to blog about. Well, I have lots of goals for the next year and I am hoping this blog will keep me accountable. I hope to get to know lots of you, stay more in touch with those who I already have the privilege to know and love. But more than anything I hope to learn and learn more about myself along the way. TTFN.