Fitting in Time for Me...And My Husband.

I think I've piled a little bit too much on my plate again (sigh).  I go through cycles.  I put too many irons in the fire, work really hard until I basically have a break down, then step back and try to figure out which things can be taken off the plate.

It's a sickness, I know.

For the last several months, I've been up from 5:00 am till midnight every day of the week.  I have 1 day between now and the end of March, and 2 days in April, that I don't have at least one thing scheduled - above and beyond the recurring appointments already etched into my brain.

And yet, I'm trying to do more. Be more.

Well, actually, I'm trying to be LESS. As in lose weight.

I've spent a couple of months working out 2-3 times per week with my trainer, and I'm beginning to see differences in increased strength and how my clothes fit better.  But the scale isn't moving the way I'd like.

I'm not willing to give up the strength training, because I need the extra strength to handle my son with special needs.  So, with only 5 hours of sleep per night, and having the current commitment of 90 minutes with Ryan (the trainer) three times per week, I struggled with how to add more cardio without taking away from my family.

Decades ago, in high school, I used to play volleyball.  I haven't played since before my youngest was born, nearly 7 years ago.  But my husband is 6'6" and he LOVES volleyball.  Go figure.

I found out about a co-ed volleyball night through our church twice per month, and I asked him about it.  I suggested we could use it as our date night on those weeks.  The nice thing about volleyball is A) it's free.  B) It's not centered around food, which is how our date nights usually go.

Tonight was our first night.

I showed up in knee-length spandex Capris, a pair of tennis shoes, and a t-shirt over a tank top and two bras - one is like a suit of friggin' armor to keep the 'girls' from giving me a black-eye, and the other was to smooth out the bumps because my cups runneth over, if you know what I mean.  The suit of armor was $80 when I bought it. By golly I'm gonna use it till it shreds into nothingness, or the straps break.

I was a hot mess by the end of the first rotation, gasping for breath after the second, and sweating like a pig by the end of the 11-point game. Still, I persisted.

I only needed help getting up off the floor once - I certainly felt like a beached whale - but everyone was a good sport, and we were all there for fun.

My husband and I lasted 2 1/2 hours before we came home.  He swears his hip went out during a play. We both limped up the stairs, then guzzled inordinate amounts of Ibuprofen. Okay, I only had two but that's beside the point. I WISH I could've had like seven.  I am soooo going to feel this one in the morning!

But you know what? We had fun. And we'll be back at it again in two week.  I wonder if I can find more family activities this spring that will get out out of our comfort zone and off the couch. Hmm. I'll add that to my to-do list.

Until next time...

10 Things I'm doing to ensure PERMANENT Weight Loss

1.  Working out EVERY DAY at least 20 minutes.
2.  Replacing soda with water & non-carbonated drinks like crystal light.  No juices.
3.  Eating more veggies
4.  Eating out less
5.  Learning to be more Mindful
6.  Learning how my thoughts affect my behaviors
7.  Making small, realistic goals
8.  Emphasizing the little changes.
9.  Taking care of myself NOW, not when I reach goal weight.
10. Drink more water!! Okay, this sounds a lot like #2, except, it's not. I don't usually drink much, and when I do, it's carbonated.  Now, I'm choosing to drink nearly a gallon of liquid. And that liquid will be water.

Update: 02/07/17 Working With a Trainer

Did you miss me?  I wish I could say the same.  I've been running around with my hair on fire...again.

Since my last post in November, my daughter got married, we had Christmas and New Years, I was working 50-hour work weeks, and then, I got sick.  For 3 weeks.  Sigh.

I'm so done with 2017. And it's only February!!

Luckily, out of sight didn't necessarily mean off the wagon.  I started working with a trainer on January 10th. And he's uh-maz-ing. 

Remember how, in older posts, I talked about the beginning phase of getting into shape would be absolute torture? Apparently I was wrong. No, seriously.  I was wrong.

I have met with Ryan of Phoenix Strength Systems 11 or 12 times now. Not consistently though.  I had a 3 week gap when I was sick, and then another week when I had the period from HELL.  And not a single one of our visits involved me being in any sort of pain.  Or relatively tired/winded.  The next couple of days? Well, that's another story.  But it was all good pain.  Muscles were changing, growing, and building.

In spite of the gaps between visits, I still managed to lose some inches.

New measurements:

Weight: 299.6 lbs (+.8 lbs)
Neck:  16" (- 1/4")
Bust:  49" (-1 1/4")
Upper Abs:  46 1/2" (-6 1/2")!!!
Lower Abs:  54" (same)
Hips: 55 1/2" (-1")
Thigh: 28" (same)
Bicep: 15 1/2" (- 1/2")
Calf: 17" (same)

My weight is essentially the same, but my inches are going down. Pretty cool, eh. Muscle takes up less space than fat, so the measurements tell me that I'm building some serious muscle. 

I even had someone tell me I looked skinner, and all my clothes are hanging differently (in a good way).  People don't normally notice changes in my body for at least 20-30 lbs.  And yet, they're noticing. :)

I enjoy working out this time around, which makes the discomfort of sore muscles the next day totally worth it!

Susan's Epic Weight Loss 11/04/16

Weight: 298.4  (1.8 lbs lost since yesterday)
Workout: Bodyflex

Measurements (starting):

Neck: 16 1/4"
Bust: 50 1/4"
Bicep: 16"
Upper Abs: 53"
Lower Abs: 54"
Hips: 56 1/2 "
Thigh: 28"
Calf: 17"


Breakfast:  Nothing

Lunch:  Shari's Triple Decker Club Sandwich; Side salad w/ranch on the side (no croutons): 700 calories

Dinner:  Almond Chicken (281 cal) , Sweet & Sour Chicken (276 calories), Beef & Broccoli (338 calories), Egg drop soup (66 calories):  Total calories: 861 calories   Diet Soda to drink

Total Calories:  1561


Synopsis:  Not as much energy as yesterday, but I've been up since 5 a.m. and I didn't even try to take a nap today.  Plus, I never hit the treadmill.

On another interesting note, I only ate twice today, and aside from lunch time, which was around 11:30 am (because I never had time for breakfast), I wasn't hungry at all. In fact, I didn't finish by breakfast or dinner.

Went to the movies tonight (Hacksaw Ridge is AMAZING, by the way) and didn't buy anything to eat.  I think that's the first time EVER we've never bought food at the movies.  It's always been a ritual until today.  Woohoo! It's all about change, baby!

Daily Update 11/03/16

Weight (Starting again):  300.2 lbs
Measurements:  Not done yet. Will do tomorrow
Exercise:  Body Flex, Treadmill (30 minutes @ 3.0 mph, 2.0 incline; 1 stop @ 15.33 minutes)


Food:

Breakfast (9:40 am):  ZOI Greek Yogurt: Raspberry Cream:  190 Calories, 5 g fat, 7 g protein

Lunch: 12:45 pm:  2 egg rolls (400 calories)

Dinner: 5:45 pm:  1 1/2 biscuits & gravy (est. 600 calories)

Snacks:

1 handful Sunchips (est 150 calories)
5 Ruffles Chips with Dip ( est. 150 calories)
8 glasses water
2 Cups eggnog (300 calories)

Total calories for the day:  2090



Notes: Okay, so the first day back on the wagon is always the hardest. But I have a wedding (my daughter's) coming up in a little over a month, and I need to lose SOMETHING.  Bodyflex has always been the quickest way for me to lose inches.  Walking is has been the quickest way to lose pounds.  So, I'm doing a hybrid.

I'm doing my updated the day after on 11/04/16, because then I can review the overall success of the day.  And the results were interesting.  I literally sat in my seat in a stupor.

First off, my energy was off the hook.  I normally crash around 3:30 or 4:00 pm and take a nap so I can finish the rest of the night.  In my defense, my son usually wakes me up around 5:00 a.m. when he crawls into bed, and I never really go to sleep after that. And I usually go to be around midnight or 1:00 a.m., so I average 4-5 hours sleep per night.  Of COURSE I need a catnap to survive!

Yesterday, I laid down for my nap. Nothing.  I wasn't tired.  After 20 minutes, I got up and went about my day.  I was pretty beat by about 10:00 pm, so I tried going to bed.  I laid there for about 2 HOURS before I finally fell asleep.  This morning, my daughter had a nightmare and crawled into bed at around 3 a.m.  My son came to bed (as usual) around 4:45 a.m.  Guess who was too wide awake to go back to sleep? Yep.  Me.

I love how Bodyflex gives me tons of extra energy. From day 1.

Here's to hoping day 2 is just as productive!

My Epic (or not-so-epic) attempts to lose weight. Attempt #896ish

Five months since my last post.

Have I lost weight? Actually, yeah.  Just not as much as I wanted.  I'm down to 300.2.  What is that? Like 6 pounds?  Well, if you're Trying to lose 10 lbs, an six pound loss is pretty good.  If you're trying to lose 160ish, then eight pounds is paltry, at best.  Sigh.



In the last five months, I started working as an addictions counselor.  And I wouldn't consider myself a good counselor, unless I took the information I shared with my clients, and applied it to my own life as well.

Many of my clients have been in and out of the judicial system, and dealing with addiction for years or decades.  When you've been living a life like this on repeat, experiencing the same cycle over and over again, it is easy to get the F-it's.  Why try again? Why go through the hassle, if you know you'll end up right back into addiction?

One evening,  I handed this quote out to each person.  The explanation behind it is:  If you give up, you've lost already.  It's the person who keeps trying over and over and OVER again who will succeed.

And that is why I'm back at it again.

I'm Baaaaack!

Have you missed me?  I've missed me.  Well, I've missed my weight loss journey.  Since my last post, I finished my interning.  Then I started college.  To give you an idea of how crazy it got there for a while, an average college student takes 3 classes per semester.  I was taking five and six each QUARTER. Online.

No. Online isn't easier.  It's harder.  They expect more participation from you.  There are several assignments per week, and you're expected to not only post on the message boards, but interact with the other students and site sources justifying your answers.  Luckily, I only had to do two quarters.  I seriously think I would've shot myself if I had to do another quarter.  Remember, I have four kids and a husband to worry about during this process too.  It's not like I didn't have other things to worry about.  Life still went on.

Anyway, everything except the absolute essentials stopped for six months.  And I mean ESSENTIALS.  Laundry? Meh.  Dishes? Eventually.  Vacuuming? Nope. Tubs & toilets? I now know at what point the toilet will talk back if you don't clean it. (shudder).  I won't lie.  It was a dark time in my life.  We ate out A LOT. I gained weight. Go figure.

Now, college is complete, I just passed my test, and should be starting my new job in the next few weeks.  Now, it is time to return to my life, and establish my new normal.  ...Just in time for Summer break . Gah!

But that's okay.  I will make this work.  Somehow.  Some way.

First, I need to establish my new weight:  306.4 lbs  - I was up to 311 lbs about a week ago, and that was the catalyst for me to STOP what I was doing.

Yep.  Don't judge.  Okay, judge all you want.  I don't care.  It is what it is and no amount of shaming is going to change that.  What's important is that I'm taking a stand now.

I'm back on the trails, which I haven't done in more than eight years.  I realized that the treadmill wasn't working for me.  I would only do about 7 1/2 minutes (yes, I'm THAT out of shape), then the pain in my back, compensating for the weight in my stomach and boobs, would be so much that I'd stop, rest for 10 minutes, then get back on again.  By the time I was done, I'd complete 1 mile and would've taken an hour to do it.  Pathetic.

So, I hit the trails knowing that however far I went, I still had to turn around and come back!  It worked. But it was also friggin' HELL.  Luckily there were park benches along the trail (whoever thought of that should get a special place in heaven for being so thoughtful).  I hit my half way mark, sat for about 10 minutes, then started heading back.  By the time I hit the final curve, and could see my car, I was desperately trying not to limp...or crawl.  After all, there was a huge group of retired people, some with walkers, on the trail at the same time as me.  I had to at least do better than them!

By the time I was done, I had walked nearly two miles in about 45 minutes.  Still not fantastic, but a heck of a lot better than the stupid treadmill.  Plus, I got to view lots of pretty scenery!!