Week 4 Weigh in!

Why a photo of the Grand Canyon?  Because of all the places that Ali and I have visited this was truly the most beautiful place I've ever seen.  Being there and staring out at the beauty gave me peace.  This weeks meeting focused on ways to cope with stress, so I thought of a place where I had no stress and was just there in the moment.  When we were there last September I felt happy like while we were there nothing else mattered.  I think I want to go back and visit again.  I've decided that when I'm stressed or feel myself becoming stressed I will close my eyes and see this place in my minds eye. 

  So I have now completed or will have completed four weeks come Saturday on the Jenny Craig program.  This week we also did measurements, I am happy to report that I have lost 4 inches since starting JC.  This week I also had a 2.6 pound loss, I'm happier with this number.  I also know that exercise is a BIG part of my weight loss program.  I now realize that I will always have to get myself off the couch or chair and get moving to keep from gaining weight.  This is definitely a lifestyle change and it has to be a permanent one!  This has never been as clear to me as it is this week.

I also have been given a little freedom with the program this week in terms of what I eat.  I got to choose what I wanted to eat this week instead of having the week all planed out for me.  Now the first four weeks there were somethings on the plan that I didn't eat because of religion, but we worked around those items.  And to be honest it was only 4 items that we substituted for other items.  I also did away with the "Anytime" bars, these were my least favorite item on the menu.  These are a "vitamin bar" that I had as a snack every morning.  Now I will be taking a vitamin and having some type of calcium food item, like milk or yogurt.  Or in my case Almond milk or soy milk with a piece of fruit.  I'm still eating 1500 calories a day, but this will probably change next week and drop to 1200 calories.  This is the plan, but we will look at my daily exercise and weight loss next week before dropping the daily calorie intake for sure.                                                                           

So total I've lost 13.6 pounds and four inches in four weeks on the program.  This week's number is 193.4.  I still have a little over 6 pounds before I reach my lowest point last summer, but I'm happier this week with the program and myself.  We will see how a little tiny bit of freedom goes and maybe next week we will even do a meal off the menu, like a restaurant!   Not sure if I'm ready for that yet, but we will see.  Until next week, keep moving!

Week Four, Sleep and Salt

At Jenny Craig they try not to focus just on food.  They realise that losing is about more than just what they eat.  During my meetings we talk about a lot of different things.  Yes, most of centers around food, but last week we talked a lot about sleep.  I'm using a new little gadget while doing this program that is very similar to my "Fitbit".  Let me take a side road here for a minute:  For those that know me, you all know I love my Fitbit and have worn the device almost every day since June of last year.  I will always wear it and will continue to use it for long after I finish JC.  But JC has linked up with BodyMedia and so I am also wearing one of these devices on my arm daily now.  It also tracks my steps, calculates my calories spent daily, and does my sleep.  You can also track your food on the program Internet site, but I am still using my "Lose It" because you can scan in your calories with your smart phone.  So much easier, but for my conselor to be able to see how much I'm moving I have an account with BodyMedia as well.  So last week we looked at my sleep and noticed that I am not doing very well in the sleep department.  I'm averaging about 5 hours of sleep a night.  Some days are less, but I don't ever get more than that.  Even on my days off I still only average about 5 hours a night and it's restless sleep.  So now I'm wondering how important is sleep?  I also tried to lay down a little earlier and relax my mind a little more in the evening, especially on days that I work.  So far, I'm not doing a very good job.  According to BodyMedia I'm still getting around 5 hours a night, but I still have a few more days.  I've started noticing the way I feel in the mornings though and I AM always tired.  Does it change the way I eat?  I don't know, I don't think I eat any different.  Am I grouchy?  Yes, I've noticed that I get a lot more grouchy as the day wears on!  So I think I will do a little more research on how sleep affects weight loss and find some more answers for that. 

The second thing we talked about was salt.  I realize that I am eating a lot of "processed" foods and know that in those salt or sodium is a BIG factor.  The first week I ate everything just as it was, the next two weeks I added a little bit of salt at the table.  Then I started thinking about how much sodium I was getting.  So she suggested "Mrs. Dash" or something like this instead of the salt shaker at the table.  I didn't know until I went to the grocery store that there are several types of Mrs. Dash and I'm trying all of them. I can tell you, that it's NOT salt and while it does add a seasoning to the food, it's just not salt.  I will keep trying different types until I find something that helps with flavoring.  And before I get responses telling me that processed foods are bad, this I know.  But when I was thinking about all my options with weight loss I thought about this too.  I could do nothing and stay at that high number or get heavier.  I could have surgery or I could change the way I eat.  So I'm using this as a stepping stone and when I start my transition will also try to transition away from so much processed foods as well.  Anyone have any ideas on the salt issue????

I will have to weigh in two days early this week because I work Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I'm worried that I will not lose this week.  The scale really hasn't moved much this week.  I've been pretty lazy about getting off my chair and moving as well.  Is this sleep related?  My motivation to move this week has been hard to keep.  So we will see what the scale has in store tomorrow.  I am making myself at least walk and will do my best to get in two runs this week because of all the days of work.  Well that's today's post.  Tomorrow I will check in with the numbers.  Til then, keep moving!

 

Sometimes I struggle.......

Sometimes I think I'm too hard on myself and then sometimes I wish I could push myself harder.  This week's weigh in was a 1.2 pound loss.  I'm kinda disappointed with that number.  My counselor is telling me that this is a good number.  That I took it a little easier this week and I still had a loss.  That this is the normal about expected and a healthy amount to lose.  I still want more.  We talked a little about my half way point and that it wasn't as far away as I felt is was.  But still looking back, I wish I had pushed myself a littler harder.  So the scale now shows 196.0 for a number.                                I took two days of rest this week and did cut my mileage down a lot.  So now I know that I need to move everyday or at least push myself a littler harder to get bigger numbers of loss on the scale.  I left this week promising my counselor that I would not push myself too hard this week and that I would start thinking about what I would do to celebrate my half way point.  I'm thinking right now that I will buy myself a new running outfit for my 10K River Run, if I can get really close by that time.  I'm still enjoying the food and I'm still not getting hungry through out the day.  I still struggle on days that I work to get in all my snacks and meals, but I'm doing well over all and have no problem staying around that 1500 calories per day mark.  I'm told that my calories may drop to 1200 daily when I reach the 190 mark, but we would have to see how much activity I was doing at that point.  So I took an easy week for training and I saw what eating and just 11 miles of running would get me.  So now back to the grind and pushing out of my comfort zone again.  Maybe not 22 miles every week, but a little more than 11 miles a week for sure.  So that's this week check in.  How was your week?     

   So this week's weigh in not to bad.  I've lost a total of ten pounds and I'm under that 200 mark again!  197.2  is this week's number, so I'm now about 10 pounds from my lowest this summer.  I have been eating and I've only felt devprived once this past week.  Let me explain.  My husband went to the International Deli here in town and bought some naan and prathra (Indian breads).  I reallly like the breads from India, but I was good and only had a small bite and I do me small.  I have never felt hungry, in fact by the end of the week, I was having trouble trying to eat all the foods on my menu. 
   For those that are wondering how the plan really works, I will explain a little.  Each week I get a menu with planned meals for the day, including snacks.  The menus contain both Jenny Craig program foods and fresh or frozen fruits and veggies from the grocery store.  As well as milk, or Almond milk in my case, low fat cottage cheese and nonfat yogurt.  Every day has a salad at lunch, this can be as large or small as you like, but you can only have one serving of salad dressing.  My salads are usually small because being a floor nurse we get 30 minutes for lunch and that's it.  We are so busy in our hospital we don't even get breaks, so if I find the time to take a potty break, I'll sneak in to the break room and get one of my three alloted snacks on work days.  On Wednesday last week, I went to eat my salad and I just was too full and I didn't want it.  I like salads I do and I add a lot of "free" vegetables to my salads like tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, but I just couldn't eat it.  And this continued on until Saturday when I had my appointment.  So this week I am going to switch up the meal that I eat the salads to dinner and see if that helps.  So I don't feel like I'm watching other people eat while I'm starving. 
   On my exersice front I've been pushing myself hard.  This past week my cousin challenged me to repeat my miles from last week and I have to admit that by Sunday I was tired, tired!  I really had to push myself to get in that last mile, but I got on the treadmill and got in my 23 miles for the week.  This week I think I'm going to give myself a small break and take a whole day off!  So this week my daily steps may drop and my JC counselor maybe asking "What happened with moving this week?"  But quite frankly, I'm tired!  So this the third week of my program maybe the first "real" week and I am not expecting a loss or a very small loss if I get one.  I did however register for the 10K "River Run" now called the Kansas Health Foundation River Run.  This has been my goal for since last summer when I failed my last 10K.  So I am offically in "trainning mode" and this I hope will push me and keep me going in the exericise area.  Currently I can run about 3.5 miles before I start to get tired and 4.5 to 5 miles is where I finally just say "I'm done!"  So I feel I need to get my milage up to at least 5.5 or 6 miles to be able to know that I will have no problems finishing the 10K this time.  And I feel like I've been stuck on the 3.5 mile distance for a little too long now.  So I think it's time to push my comfort zone again. 
   So there is another week done.  I've lost a total of 10 pounds in the last two weeks with JC and I'm 10 pounds from my lowest point this summer.  I am learning what a "normal" portion size is and how what I thought was control really wasn't.  Till next week, keep moving!

Offical First Week Weigh In!

Wow, I really don't feel like I lost that much weight!  Okay, so I just returned from my first weigh in and counseling with JC (Jenny Craig).  I lost 7 pounds last week.  Am I excited?  Yes and no.  Yes, because the scale is finally moving in the right direction and it's not going up as much anymore.  I know we shouldn't weigh ourselves everyday, but I have a tendency to weigh myself at least every other day and the scale only went up once this week.  So yes that makes me happy.  No, I can't really feel too excited because I'm still heavier than my lightest weight this summer/fall.  I think I will get more excited when I pass the 187 number again.  So my new number is 200, I started at 207.8 and today I was 200.8  I'm not even down below the 200 number yet.  So yes I have a smile, but I want to do better.  The week went well for the most part.  My husband is still a little "unsure" if I really NEED the program of if the money could be better spent somewhere else.  As for me, I feel that it is totally worth it.  I don't have to think about what I'm going to eat, it's all laid out for me on a sheet and I just follow along.  Right now, that works well for me.  I really like not having to think about the food choices out there, but I know that's going to be coming.  If I continue to lose weight this quickly, it will come sooner than I think I'll be ready.  I did have one bad day, on Wednesday I was at work and the day was so hectic that I did not get a lunch break and I wasn't really sure how to "salvage" the day.  I did the best I could by eating my planed dinner and a salad.  I still ended up the day way short on calories, which does concern my JC counselor.  We talked today and came up with a couple of strategies to try should it happen again.  So far the food isn't that bad, I've liked all of the meals I've eaten.  Yes, there are somethings that I like more than others, but it's that way with anything in life.  I also did get my booty out of bed and exercised two of the mornings I worked this week, so my weekly total so far this week is 15 miles.  And I'm not as tired as I thought I would be at the end of the day.  So my plan for the coming week is to exercise at least two of the days I work with at least a thirty minute walk.  I also want get in at least 3 miles on my days off, I'm still preparing to run a 10K this spring with my cousin and this time around I want to finish and finish strong.    So that was my first week in.....not bad.  I'll keep you up dated.  Until next week, try to keep a smile on your face everyone!

Im Guilty and I'm Shaking Things Up!

   So after thinking about it for two weeks, weighing all the options and  all the crap I would get I made a choice today.  Today I joined a food program,  I joined Jenny Craig.  I've always thought, what do these companies do for you that you can't  do for yourself?  How do they help you?  Well, I'm going to find out in the coming months.  I have lost over 75 pounds on my own in the last year, but the past four months I have been gaining and losing the same 8-9 pounds. I have gotten no where on the scale and I'm sick of it.  I can also tell you that I lost about 85 pounds back in 2003, only to put it all back on when I  fell back into old habits.  And honestly back in 2003 I never reached my goal weight.  The lowest I have been since 2000, is 175 pounds, that's still 35 pounds over the top of my suggested weight scale.
   I have decided that I am worth the money and the effort to get to my goal weight.  I have finally decided that I am tired of being heavy (Fat).  I am tired of wearing clothes that my husband calls "Grandma clothes", because being a plus size isn't what a designer has in mind when designing clothes.  My husband tells me all the time, "You're not fat", but I know that I am.  I love the fact that he sees me as beautiful just the way I am, but I can't.  This time it's for me, it's for what I want to wear, what I want people to see when they look at me.  I know that people judge me by what they see.  I can say this only because I do it also.  I'm just as guilty of looking at someone heavier than me and thinking "Don't they know they should lose some weight?"   Or "Do they know how fat they are?" 
   Our society thinks it's okay to judge and to be judged, it's sad and I also know that I can not change others.  I also know that I can change myself!  So, with that I spent way too much money on something that I am hopeful will get me over this bump in the road and moving in the right direction again.  I can change the way I look and feel about myself.  And I can also work on the I see others and stop myself from judging others harshly.  Start with me and make the difference there! 

   So if you continue to read this blog you are about to take a ride on the Jenny Craig train with me.  I can tell you the cost was a bit hard to justify.  The thought of eating precisely packaged and detailed food was difficult to think about.  But when I get to my half way point I'll get to transition away from that with their help.  Already some thing to look forward to!  My first day starts tomorrow, my weigh in started today.  I don't like their scales....it weighed in at 207.8 pounds!  OMG!