Weekly Weigh-In 8-20-2018 8-25-2018

Hey, ya’ll!!! Well, this week I’m REALLY behind, lol. I just kept forgetting to do the post when I had access to the computer. Oh well, here’s the pic:

Weight 8-20-2018

Yeah, I jumped back up to where I was two weeks before. I did weigh myself on Thursday and the scale showed 149.8. It’ll probably not be there this Monday morning however. I’m still not walking a lot and I really splurged today. (Can you say my favorite Mexican restaurant??? I had chips and bean dip and a HUGE serving of beef nachos. Oh well, it was DELICIOUS.) Here’s the latest stats:

Monday 8-20-2018           152.6     +0.6 pounds       Total loss    35.6 pounds

Monday 8-13-2018           152.0     -0.6 pounds        Total loss    36.2 pounds

Monday 8-6-2018             152.6     +0.4 pounds       Total loss    35.6 pounds

Monday 7-31-2018           152.2     -3.4 pounds        Total loss    36 pounds

Monday 7-23-2018           155.6     -0.2 pounds        Total loss    32.6 pounds

Monday 7-16-2018           155.8     -1.0 pounds        Total loss    32.4 pounds

Monday 7-9-2018             156.8     -0.6 pounds        Total loss     31.4 pounds

Monday 7-2-2018             157.4     -1.8 pounds        Total loss     30.8 pounds

Monday 6-25-2018           159.2     -1.6 pounds        Total loss     29 pounds

Monday 6-18-2018           160.8     -1.4 pounds        Total loss     27.4 pounds

Monday 6-11-2018           162.2     -0.6 pounds        Total loss      26 pounds

Monday 6-4-2018             162.8     -2.2 pounds        Total loss      25.4 pounds

I did do a little walking at work today and there was very little pain in my toes and foot. Not sure if that’s due to the ibuprofen I’ve been taking or the foot getting better. I’ll be giving it a test tomorrow too. My daughter and I are going to the Southern Women’s Show in Charlotte and that’s a lot of walking around. We’ll see how it goes. I really do want to get back to my walking every day. I’m finding out I really miss it, especially when the weather is good enough to get outside and walk. I can’t wait until it gets cooler and less humid around here. COME ON FALL!!!

I want to get to the new gym’s orientation classes next week, at least one of them. The only problem??? I have things scheduled for both days that they’re on. GRRRRR I will get there and get back on a schedule for working out and walking. It just may be another week away.

Can you believe we’ve almost finished another month??? Yep, just one more week left in August. I’ve been thinking about Christmas some lately. (I think about Christmas all year long, lol.) With my budget it’s always a challenge to come up with meaningful gifts for the people I love. I’ve had some years where I made things, but nothing is coming to mind this year. It may be time to go to my Pinterest board for gift ideas to see what I can come up with. I hate waiting to the last moment to get this done (even though I’m usually wrapping (or more likely bagging) on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, lol). Any ideas ya’ll have would be welcomed.

That about wraps it up for now. IT’S FOOTBALL TIME!!! Oh I am so happy football season is here. When I was married we didn’t have a football widow, we had a football widower. He got left behind and ignored during football season, lol. Just one more thing I don’t have to worry about now. I know, that is mean, but it’s just how I feel. Anyhoo, hope everyone has a fantastic rest of the weekend and I’ll talk to you sooner next week. Take care, blessed be, hugs!!!

 

Weekly Weigh-In 8-13-2018 8-15-2018

Hey, ya’ll!!! How’s it going, folks??? Another humpday is gone and this month is halfway over. I know everyone says it, but where does the time actually go??? I was in Walmart today and they have their Halloween stuff out and I thought to myself, it’s still 2 and a half months to go. I fully expect to see Christmas things out the next time I go, lol. Enough rambling, on to the subject at hand. I got back on track a little bit this week. Here’s the proof:

Weight 8-13-2018

One of my clearer pics, btw. Anyhoo, there was a bit of loss this week. Back on track. I’m dropping the amount of stats I’m showing starting this week. I’ll just be showing the past couple of months each week (two or three months at a time). The list was getting a bit long. So here it is:

Monday 8-13-2018           152.0     -0.6 pounds        Total loss    36.2 pounds

Monday 8-6-2018             152.6     +0.4 pounds       Total loss    35.6 pounds

Monday 7-31-2018           152.2     -3.4 pounds        Total loss    36 pounds

Monday 7-23-2018           155.6     -0.2 pounds        Total loss    32.6 pounds

Monday 7-16-2018           155.8     -1.0 pounds        Total loss    32.4 pounds

Monday 7-9-2018             156.8     -0.6 pounds        Total loss     31.4 pounds

Monday 7-2-2018             157.4     -1.8 pounds        Total loss     30.8 pounds

Monday 6-25-2018           159.2     -1.6 pounds        Total loss     29 pounds

Monday 6-18-2018           160.8     -1.4 pounds        Total loss     27.4 pounds

Monday 6-11-2018           162.2     -0.6 pounds        Total loss      26 pounds

Monday 6-4-2018             162.8     -2.2 pounds        Total loss      25.4 pounds

I still haven’t been able to walk very much. Not only are my toes bothering me, but that blister I got last week has been very sore too. But it’s getting better. I did a bit of walking today at Walmart and I’ll probably try to get back to the gym tomorrow. At least I can get on the bike if I can’t walk very much. Speaking of the gym, I joined another facility near here on Monday and had an assessment today. It was mostly a talk by one of the instructors there about some of the things their gym offers and his specialty—nutrition. I’ll be taking an orientation class there in the next few days and will hopefully learn some new machines and exercises I can use. They offer a bit more than the recreation center, which is located nearer to me, and I think I’ll like it fine there. Everyone I’ve met there is very enthusiastic and encouraging, so that may be the kick I need to get moving again.

I did see my doctor yesterday. She does think I have a nail fungus and took a nail clipping to send for a culture to see just what it is. The only problem??? It’ll take about 30 to 45 days to get the results on that. So I may be hurting for a while longer. Oh well, I’ll just have to suck it up, won’t I??? She gave me some great news though. She was looking back through my chart and told me I’ve lost 57 pounds in the past 16 months. That surprised me. In February 2017, my weight was up to 211. At the doctor’s office yesterday, I weighed in at 154. That was with athletic shoes and fully dressed. So that makes me super stoked to know I’m that much less today. And my A1c??? (That’s my average blood glucose reading for the past 3 months). It was 4.7. That’s getting on the low side. My doctor asked about my glucose readings lately and decided I could probably drop my insulin again. So I’m down to 12 units twice a day now. At the first of the year, I was taking 35 units twice a day. That’s about a 2/3 drop in insulin in 7 and a half months. She asked if I was trying to beat diabetes and that would suit me just fine. She also dropped one of my blood pressure medications by half.

It feels so good to know I’m doing such good things for my body and my health. It gives me the incentive to keep on doing what I’ve been doing and to do more. I’ve been trying to add more fruits and veggies to my diet each day. Some days I do great, other days, not so good. But I’ll keep trying. I stopped by Aldi yesterday and restocked my crisper drawer in the fridge. Now to just remember that I have all those goodies in there and get them out every day.

Have I been discouraged at any point along the way??? Of course I have. More than once or twice. It’s been really discouraging the past few weeks with my feet problems but I’m hoping they will heal up soon and I’ll be back on top of my game. And I know that I’ll be better in the long run and will hopefully get to live a longer life. I like being around my family and they mean so much to me. So I do this for myself—to be able to be around and love them for, hopefully, a long time to come.

I hope that everyone out there has a great rest of the week and a terrific weekend. I’ll talk to you next week. Take care, blessed be, hugs!!!

 

Weekly Weigh-In 8-6-2018 8-8-2018

Hey, ya’ll!!! I hope everyone is having a great week. We’re over humpday so ya’ll can head to the weekend. I (hopefully) will be at work. I was sick this past weekend and that’s gonna hurt Friday on the ole paycheck. But I’m ok now. Anyhoo, back to the subject at hand—the weigh-in. I kinda took last week off after reaching the end of my goal time. And my foot has really been hurting me. I’ll find out next Tuesday if it’s nail fungus and if that’s whats causing my toes and foot to ache, but it is really hurting me at times. So not a lot of walking last week. I did do some walking yesterday and ended up with a blister on my right heel. I was wearing some new shoes but it was my socks slipping down that resulted in the blister. Oh well, I was trying to do good for myself. It just didn’t turn out that way in the end.

Here’s the pic for the week:

Weight 8-6-2018

Yeah, it’s up jusssst a little bit. I’ll take it considering how my week went. Less than half a pound and when I weighed this morning I was back down to where I was a week ago. So I’m good with that. The stats??? Here they are:

Monday 8-6-2018             152.6     +0.4 pounds       Total loss    35.6 pounds

Monday 7-31-2018           152.2     -3.4 pounds        Total loss    36 pounds

Monday 7-23-2018           155.6     -0.2 pounds        Total loss    32.6 pounds

Monday 7-16-2018           155.8     -1.0 pounds        Total loss    32.4 pounds

Monday 7-9-2018             156.8     -0.6 pounds        Total loss     31.4 pounds

Monday 7-2-2018             157.4     -1.8 pounds        Total loss     30.8 pounds

Monday 6-25-2018           159.2     -1.6 pounds        Total loss     29 pounds

Monday 6-18-2018           160.8     -1.4 pounds        Total loss     27.4 pounds

Monday 6-11-2018           162.2     -0.6 pounds        Total loss      26 pounds

Monday 6-4-2018             162.8     -2.2 pounds        Total loss      25.4 pounds

Monday 5-28-2018           165.0     -2.0 pounds        Total loss      23.2 pounds

Monday 5-21-2018           167.0     -1.4 pounds        Total loss      21.2 pounds

Monday 5-14-2018           168.4     -0.6 pounds        Total loss      19.8 pounds

Monday 5-7-2018             169.0     -1.8 pounds        Total loss       19.2 pounds

Monday 4-30-2018           170.8     -1.2 pounds        Total loss       17.4 pounds

Monday 4-23-2018           172.0     +0.4 pounds       Total loss       16.2 pounds

Monday 4-16-2018           171.6     -1.6 pounds        Total loss       16.6 pounds

Monday 4-9-2018             173.2     -2.6 pounds        Total loss       15 pounds

Monday 4-2-2018             175.8     -1.2 pounds        Total loss       12.4 pounds

Monday 3-26-2018           177.0     +0.4 pounds       Total loss        11.2 pounds

Monday 3-19-2018           176.6     -2.4 pounds        Total loss        11.6 pounds

Monday 3-12-2018           179.0     -2.6 pounds        Total loss        9.2 pounds

Monday 3-5-2018             181.6     -0.6 pounds        Total loss        6.6 pounds

Monday 2-26-2018           182.2     +1.0 pounds       Total loss         6.0 pounds

Monday 2-19-2018           181.2     -2.2 pounds        Total loss        7.0 pounds

Monday 2-12-2018           183.4     No change          Total loss        4.8 pounds

Monday 2-5-2018             183.4     No change          Total loss        4.8 pounds

Monday 1-29-2018          183.4     -1.0 pounds        Total loss        4.8 pounds

Monday 1-22-2018          184.4     +0.8 pounds       Total loss        3.8 pounds

Monday 1-15-2018           183.6     -2.4 pounds        Total loss        4.6 pounds

Monday 1-8-2018            186.0     -2.2 pounds        Total loss        2.2 pounds

Monday 1-1-2018             188.2

If you’ve been with me for a while you know I keep a food log. In it, I keep track of the foods I eat along with calories, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, carbs, fiber, sugar, and protein. It just helps keep me straight. It’s so amazing to see how many calories some foods have. Do you remember Jared from Subway??? How he lost big weight by walking and eating Subway every day??? Well, there’s some difference in subs depending on what you put on them and the main ingredients. I know they can be healthy and I eat a half sub occasionally. I used to eat a whole sub at a time but I make myself only eat a half sub now. I could still eat a whole sub—that would be easy for me. But I know what that will result in—weight gain. So I stop with a half sub now. I try to load them up with lots of veggies and no mayonnaise anymore. (I will continue to have the meats—grew up eating lots of meats and just love how they taste). Those little changes make a difference. And I find it’s getting easier to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet. I know they’re good for me as long as I don’t overdo the fruits—have to watch those sugar amounts when you’re a diabetic. Right now in my kitchen, I have kiwi, cherries, watermelon, bananas, and apples in the fruit category, and cucumbers, carrots, and squash in the veggie category. I wish produce didn’t cost as much as it does, but I’m trying to buy in season and I’ll keep trying to add more into my diet on a daily basis.

So, I’m back to the calorie watching and trying to do my walking and exercise. Like I said, I kinda let things go last week as sorta a congrats to myself. Now it’s back to my goals and getting these pounds off and getting healthier. I know it’ll be so much better for me in the long run. So I keep doing it for myself and to keep myself around for my family. I hope you all are working toward your goals FOR YOURSELF. That’s who counts. Don’t do it for anyone else. Set your goals and them make yourself proud by working toward them. I saw a motivational message today that said, “Anything and everything is possible. Never give up!” I’m tired of watching life pass me by. I’m ready to live before I die.

So there’s my weight journey and a few thoughts for this week. Have a great rest of the week and weekend ya’ll. Take care, blessed be, hugs!!!

 

Weigh-In Final Phase One 7-31-2018

Hey, ya’ll!!! Well, like my post title says, it’s the end of phase one in my weight loss this year. I decided in December that I was going to change my ways and my weight in 2018. So starting January 1st, I began a new journey in my life. I had already been keeping a food journal but wasn’t very diligent about keeping my calories at a set level and was the biggest couch potato that there ever was, lol. I still don’t have the best diet in the world, but I have been more attentive to what I’m eating, especially in the calorie department. I started moving and in February I joined our local recreation center and started taking some senior exercise classes and senior yoga classes. I’ve kinda let those classes slip to the sidelines but I am walking—A LOT—and trying to stay active.

I hoped to achieve a weight of 150 by the end of July. My weight on January 1st was 188.2 pounds. And this morning I weighed in at—drum roll, please—

7-31-2018 Weight

My weekly stats:

Monday 7-31-2018           152.2     -3.4 pounds        Total loss    36 pounds

Monday 7-23-2018           155.6     -0.2 pounds        Total loss    32.6 pounds

Monday 7-16-2018           155.8     -1.0 pounds        Total loss    32.4 pounds

Monday 7-9-2018             156.8     -0.6 pounds        Total loss     31.4 pounds

Monday 7-2-2018             157.4     -1.8 pounds        Total loss     30.8 pounds

Monday 6-25-2018           159.2     -1.6 pounds        Total loss     29 pounds

Monday 6-18-2018           160.8     -1.4 pounds        Total loss     27.4 pounds

Monday 6-11-2018           162.2     -0.6 pounds        Total loss      26 pounds

Monday 6-4-2018             162.8     -2.2 pounds        Total loss      25.4 pounds

Monday 5-28-2018           165.0     -2.0 pounds        Total loss      23.2 pounds

Monday 5-21-2018           167.0     -1.4 pounds        Total loss      21.2 pounds

Monday 5-14-2018           168.4     -0.6 pounds        Total loss      19.8 pounds

Monday 5-7-2018             169.0     -1.8 pounds        Total loss       19.2 pounds

Monday 4-30-2018           170.8     -1.2 pounds        Total loss       17.4 pounds

Monday 4-23-2018           172.0     +0.4 pounds       Total loss       16.2 pounds

Monday 4-16-2018           171.6     -1.6 pounds        Total loss       16.6 pounds

Monday 4-9-2018             173.2     -2.6 pounds        Total loss       15 pounds

Monday 4-2-2018             175.8     -1.2 pounds        Total loss       12.4 pounds

Monday 3-26-2018           177.0     +0.4 pounds       Total loss        11.2 pounds

Monday 3-19-2018           176.6     -2.4 pounds        Total loss        11.6 pounds

Monday 3-12-2018           179.0     -2.6 pounds        Total loss        9.2 pounds

Monday 3-5-2018             181.6     -0.6 pounds        Total loss        6.6 pounds

Monday 2-26-2018           182.2     +1.0 pounds       Total loss         6.0 pounds

Monday 2-19-2018           181.2     -2.2 pounds        Total loss        7.0 pounds

Monday 2-12-2018           183.4     No change          Total loss        4.8 pounds

Monday 2-5-2018             183.4     No change          Total loss        4.8 pounds

Monday 1-29-2018          183.4     -1.0 pounds        Total loss        4.8 pounds

Monday 1-22-2018          184.4     +0.8 pounds       Total loss        3.8 pounds

Monday 1-15-2018           183.6     -2.4 pounds        Total loss        4.6 pounds

Monday 1-8-2018            186.0     -2.2 pounds        Total loss        2.2 pounds

Monday 1-1-2018             188.2

Yep, that’s a 36-pound weight loss in 7 months. I am a little shy of my goal, but I’m thrilled with what I have done this year. And I must have been trying really hard this past week, lol. That’s the most I’ve lost in a week—3.4 pounds. Well, officially it was 8 days instead of a week.

It’s been a long, at times tough, road but I’m so proud of where I am right now. For those of you who haven’t been following my blog for very long, I deal with several mental issues and depression is one of those. And I’ve been very down several times this year, so sticking with this process has been a struggle at times. I’ve had to make myself go to the classes and the gym a lot of days. But as I saw the pounds coming off and seeing the changes in my body, I just kept at it. I knew it wouldn’t happen overnight but I’d made a commitment to myself to do this, for myself. And I just hung in there.

One of the biggest changes has shown up in my insulin usage. Before I began this I was taking a basal insulin with a dosage of 75 units a day and a fast-acting insulin on a sliding scale before meals. I haven’t used any fast-acting insulin since the end of February and my basal insulin dosage is down to 30 units a day. Diabetes isn’t something I’ll ever be done with, but seeing these changes is so encouraging. And the fewer shots I have to take, the better.

I have already talked about my second goal—to get to 130 by the end of the year. Thus, the phase one concept. And now it’s time to head into phase two. I’ll continue to keep up with my food journal and the exercising. As a matter of fact, I’m checking out some local gyms to see who can give me the most help with assembling a more rounded workout program than just the walking and the recumbent biking I’ve been doing. I know that strength training is important and I’d like to tone up a bit more. I’m just not really sure where to start with that just yet. So it’s time to reach out for some assistance and do a bit of research.

I’m glad to have ya’ll along with me for this journey. And I hope you’ll keep up with me for the continuation of striving to reach my goals. A special thanks to my sister, Barbara, for her support and encouragement along the way. I love you so very, berry muches Sissy.

If any of you are working on goals this year, I hope you’re hanging in there and making progress along with me. I found if you set your mind to do something, and want it badly enough, you can do it. A step at a time is all it takes. Those little changes add up to a win. Keep on keeping on.

Take care ya’ll, I’ll be back next week with a new update. Blessed be, hugs!!!

 

 

HealthyWage WIN!!! 7-29-2018

Hey, ya’ll!!! I’ve told you about HealthyWage before but here’s a recap. HealthyWage is a program that encourages healthy weight loss with an incentive to make a little money. Or maybe a lot of money—they offer up to $10,000 possible. You make a wager that you can lose x amount of weight in x amount of time. You pay in a set amount, either at the start of your progress or make monthly deposits. If you lose the amount of weight you wagered in the amount of time you set, you win your money and a bonus. The website has a calculator that you can use to see how much you can win by inputting weights, time, and how much you want to wager. It’s kinda neat and it was a big incentive for me to keep working toward my goal.

I had my first verification weight done on January 31st and had six months to lose 30 pounds. That first weigh-in was 186.8 pounds so I had to get down to 156.8 by July 31st. I decided to go do the verification weigh-in on Friday. I was pretty sure I had lost the weight because by my scale I was showing 153 for a couple of days.

My final weight??? 153.8

Yep, I did it. I paid in $120 ($20.00 per month for six months) and ended up winning $336. I did wait until they were offering a bonus to sign up which was $100.  My plans for this windfall??? I’ll be getting the meds for the pups for the next six months and getting some new clothes (I really need some new clothes—everything I have is falling off me, lol).

So if you’re thinking about starting on a weight loss program, set a goal for yourself and visit HealthyWage and make a wager on yourself. It’s a great motivator.

I have no affiliation with HealthyWage and don’t receive any compensation for this post. It’s just something that I used and it helped keep me motivated when I got discouraged.

I’ll be doing my next weigh-in on Tuesday, the 31st. That was my personal goal date to be at 150. We’ll see how close I get to it. Take care, blessed be, hugs!!!