Starting over

Now that vacation is over I'm back on plan!!

OK....I've been home 2 weeks, so this is the new start of a sugar free, low carb, high protein diet. This isn't a "diet" in the sense of loosing weight, but a "diet" as in a way of eating. (see 1 a and 1b below)

Main Entry: ¹di·et
Pronunciation: 'dI-&t
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English diete, from Anglo-French, from Latin diaeta, from Greek diaita, literally, manner of living, from diaitasthai to lead one's life
1 a : food and drink regularly provided or consumed b : habitual nourishment c : the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason d : a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight diet>
2 : something provided or experienced repeatedly diet of Broadway shows and nightclubs -- Frederick Wyatt>

So, to start back on track, I want to report I've lost more since vacation!! Since returning from vacation on August 26, I've lost an additional 2.8 pounds! And! I'm at a new low! I have not seen this weight in over 23 years!




This is going to be a short post. I'm taking today to rest and get back on track. I've been under a lot of stress lately, which hasn't lessened yet....and I'm tired. So today is a day to rest and get caught up on blogs and message boards!!

I've sold my house, but everything isn't finalized yet! The buyer had inspections done yesterday, and all passed except for a problem with termites! I'm not sure how extensive the damage is, but I'm sure I'll loose even more off the price of the house! Oh well....as long as the buyer doesn't back out, I'll take it. I really need to get out of here!

I'll be posting 2 additional posts today. One will be a special comment by Keith Olbermann and the other will be my review of Kimkins that I posted on the Better Business Bureau.

Update and I've been tagged.

Just a quick update.....no I haven't sold my house yet, and yes I'm still packing and cleaning!! Man what a lot of work!!



I've been tagged by Sparky's Girl to list 8 random facts about myself.

First, the Rules:
1) Post these rules before you give your facts
2) List 8 random facts about yourself
3) At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names, linking to them
4) Leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they’ve been tagged


Here are my 8 facts:
1. I have 2 adult children, ages 22 and 25, that I raised as a single mom. (and I'm incredibly proud of them!)
2. At the age of 43 I packed up my kids and myself, sold my house, quit my job, and moved from MA to NC.
3. I'm a RN, and probably became one because of my dad's sister, also a nurse, who I adored.
4. My hair is pretty much completely gray and has been for several years....I first noticed it changing before my 13th birthday.
5. I'm the baby of the family, the youngest of 4. There is 13 yrs between me and my sister, the oldest.
6. I'm a RN, but right now I work as a QA Analyst testing a web-based application for nurses, social workers, etc. I'm self taught in at least 75-80% of what I know about computers and applications.
7. I have 2 dogs, Daisy and Duke, who are rescues. They are a mix (we think) of Doberman, Shepherd and some kind of hound. After I move I might get a kitten.
8. I love birds. I like to feed them, watch them, photograph them....but I can't stand to see them in a cage!!


Now...who will be my victims??
1. Jimmy Moore (Livin La Vida Low Carb)
2. Connie Bennett (Sugar Shock)
3. Mark (Mark’s Daily Apple)
4. Mr & Mrs Fat (Blogging While Fat)
5. Lady Rose (The Diet Pulpit)
6. Crabby (Cranky Fitness)
7. BamaGal (Back Across the Line)
8. Carol (Kudos for Low Carb)

I hope none have already been tagged....I'm way behind in my blog reading!!


OK....Now the REAL reason I'm posting today. I have hit my latest mini-goal!!!



I am soooo psyched!! My goal was 180 by 8/12, and I weighed in Saturday at that, then Sunday at 179.4!! That means I have less than 20 pounds to go!!

Last time I weighed under 180 was when I was pregnant with my son.....yep, the 22 yr old. When I got pregnant with my son I weighed 175....so that's my next goal. I think by December 1. Since I'm so close to goal I know the loss will be slow, and I don't want to set too high a goal and end up getting frustrated.


This weekend I'm going on vacation with a long time friend. We're going to Hilton Head, where she has been able to get a vacation share. We have no idea what the place looks like, but we're going!! I don't even care if it rains all week!! Just being able to get away from work, and the house, and all the rest....and talk to a dear old friends.....who needs sun!!

OK....that's it for now!! I'm hoping once I get back from vacation things will be a bit quieter. But not for too long!! I want to sell my house and move and get back to normal!!

Thanks to all who read my blog and post comments. Be sure to check out the people I've tagged! They all have great blogs!





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Weigh In week 16

Whoo Hoo!!! Down 2 more pounds!!!

I've changed my ticker to reflect my total loss and goal.

I've drastically increased my fat and protein and dropped my carbs over the past few weeks and have found my weight going down again!!

I've been recording in Fitday and taking all my supplements. I've been concentrating on getting the protein up and the carbs down.
As you can see, my protein and fat intake is high. Much higher than the "experts" recommend, and that's just fine with me. I've been going for 95g protein daily and got at least that except for yesterday (Saturday). I've not been looking for added fat, but have been adding cream to any shakes I have and I've not been avoiding it!!





And, as you can also see, I've been meeting and exceeding the recommended levels of vitamins and nutrients. In fact, the only thing I'm "deficient" in is carbs and fiber! And sodium, which is getting to be almost as "bad" as saturated fat. I don't add salt to many foods, but this isn't because I think it's bad for me, but because I often forget to!


I've been trying to get moving more, but I'm still not being too consistent with exercise. I've now bought a Tai Chi DVD and am going to try it for a while. It's for people with arthritis and stiff joints, so I figure it can't hurt!

I've also been doing some weights, but until I get my bench out of my son's room and into a more accessible area, this will be spotty.

Weigh In week 6

OK...I'm in a definite pattern. Once again, a week after no loss, I'm down 5 pounds!!





Over the weekend, from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening I was over my daughter's for a visit. I didn't eat much, but everything was low carb, except 1 small piece of garlic bread. My calories were only 1200-1350/day. Yesterday was better, but still a bit low.

Today, however, is a different story. I've had small breakfast, a huge lunch, and a decent size dinner....and I've had 2 pieces of sf chocolate candy. (Normally I restrict the candy to 1 day on weekend only, but missed last weekend, so had it tonight instead.) My total for today was over 1600. Again, still low carb and natural, except of course the candy.

Today I knew I had to have a big lunch. We went out for lunch to a buffet. I had a plate of salad and 4 different meats! The salad had mixed greens, cucumber, tomato, black olives, sunflower seed, bacon (real) bits, and Caesar dressing. I had a few ounces each of beef pot roast, chicken breast, pork tenderloin and some bourbon chicken. I also had a couple of small chunks of cantaloupe.

For dinner I had 3/4 of a home made pizza. A LC whole grain wrap with pizza sauce and cheese. It doesn't look like much, but it's very filling. I usually put mushroom on top, but didn't have any. Also didn't have any veggies in the house as all spoiled during a power failure.

I love low carbing!!!


I've been doing much better with my joints, although as I type this I have my left wrist wrapped and am off resistance training until it heals. This time, I think it's my fault. I've been doing upper body exercises with dumbbells and have noticed that my wrists seem weak and wobbly. After the trouble I had last week, I decided to put a wrist brace on both wrists. I have 2 different ones, but both work pretty much the same. I don't think I got the left one on tight enough, and re injured it. So...complete rest of the wrist for the next few days. I've not been doing as much lower body lately, and have been meaning to get serious....so I guess this is it.

For those that don't already know, I'm a RN and have had several job related back and neck injuries. I've also had 3 auto accidents that caused varying degrees of neck trauma. I've been told I have at least 3 "old" ruptured discs in my back and neck, arthritis in my neck and back with bone spurs in the pelvis and the neck. The bone spurs are causing spinal stenosis, luckily still mild.

I was doing great on exercising regularly a few years ago, until I was put on Lipitor and ended up with muscle problems and "exercise intolerance". Where I had once walked several miles without problem, I started having leg pain after just a few feet. I was also doing very well with resistance training, following the Body For Life program, and had at least doubled my starting weights. All of a sudden, each workout seemed to get harder and harder, and I ended up dropping weights, then stopping all together. It's has taken almost 2 years for me to feel back to "normal" with my muscles. I still don't have much strength and my endurance isn't great, but at least I'm able to reasonably exercise again. Small weights and slower pace.

I've been taking my fish oil and krill oil, and cannot believe the difference! I don't have as much discomfort in my neck and back, and really no "pain". I'm going to continue. I seem to have different levels of comfort, almost in a cyclical manner. I've noticed this over the years. Not including times when I was recuperating from an injury, I've noticed that the level of pain/discomfort came and went according to a cycle. It never seemed to be related to my periods, but a definite cycle of the pain getting worse then easing off. So I'm going to continue for at least another month, but I think I'll continue to see a distinct difference. I cannot remember the last time I was completely pain free in my entire spine! If I have that only a few days a month, I'll take it! Right now I'm taking 6000iu Fish oil and 2000mg krill oil.


I was supposed to have a doctor's appointment this Friday. It was with a new doc, and I was a bit stressed about it. I've been trying to find a new doc, but haven't had much luck. Well, yesterday I get a message that the doc has to cancel my appointment, and I can't get another one until at least mid-August! I did end up getting an earlier appointment with a different doc...and actually one I'm more hopeful of, since I saw him several years ago and liked him.

I'm tired, and going to bed now. Hope to be able to post again before next weigh in, but it's been busy!!! Work has been busy and I've been trying to get my house in order to get it ready for sale. I've also been looking for a new house and will post later on some I've seen.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!!! You've all been a great support!

Plans

OK....as promised, I've made up my mind what I'm going to do about exercise.

At least once a day, I'm going on a walk, at least 20 minutes for now as I'm still recovering from a chest cold. I'm going to work up to at least 30-45 minutes. My dogs are going to love it.

Also, my son doesn't know it yet, but we're going to move my weight bench out of his room into the front room so I can use it!!! I'm going to use the Body For Life program (the resistance part), at least for now, for my routine. I really want to check out the Slow Burn program, but I have no money to buy the book, and my local library doesn't have it right now (but I'm going to request it, once I figure out how).

Here's my new ticker:



This is not my total weight loss, but just for my new goal.

My weigh day is Monday.

My measure day is going to be the first of each month.

I am going to walk daily, do resistance training at least 3 days a week, and stick with my low carb plan!