I may have neglected my account here, but I assure you there is a good reason for that. I've been super busy setting goals and accomplishing them one by one.
I finally got on track. I'm on a steady exercise routine and have been for a month now. Can you believe that? A whole month. I'm at that point where if I miss a day I'm upset. It's getting addicting again. I LOVE that feeling!
My husband bought me a new pair of running sneakers. Yesterday I felt the urge to jog. So I jogged from where I was all the way home which was about a quarter of a mile. Today I jogged for an entire mile without stopping. I felt AMAZING when I finished. My walking buddy continued walking and I just lightly jogged by his side. I'll worry about speed later. I just wanted to know how far I could go with my heart racing as much as it was. I set out for a mile and when I actually made it I had to stop for a moment and guzzle down some water. I actually broke out in a sweat. What a wonderful experience that was!
I'm also pretty sure that I kicked my soda drinking habit. I sneak in a few sips here and there, but I'd much rather drink my iced tea and water these days. I've also cut back on snacking. It's not that I'm denying myself. I just don't want it. I eat when I'm hungry and try to fuel my body with the stuff that it needs rather than the stuff my tongue wants to taste. Heh. Now that I've come this far I just don't care for cupcakes and cookies and chips. Funny how they all begin with c's. So does crap. And that's how I view those things now. My body so doesn't need crap.
Don't get me wrong. I totally plan to get a vegan cupcake this weekend when I'm in STL. But I'll only buy one and I'll eat very slowly and enjoy every piece of it. Because I won't be eating them often. Not anymore.
I'm proud of myself. I've accomplished quite a bit. I'm far from where I'd like to be, but if I keep going the way I am I'll make it there in NO time. Just watch!
Todays weigh-in: 165.0 lbs - That's what I weighed two years ago just after I quit my job. I gained 19 lbs after that. So my official weight loss is 19 lbs as of today. I'm feeling pretty darn good about that.
As I mentioned in my last post, I am suffering from dysphagia and have been for a while now. Usually when it flares up I am VERY limited to what I can eat. It's only during flare-ups though. Usually I can eat certain breads and sometimes even lettuce. But I have to chew and chew and chew and hope I don't choke. The flare-ups are what really get to me. Oddly enough the things that are the most difficult to get down are things I shouldn't be eating anyway. Such as coffee, soda, chocolate, ice cream, thick breads, etc. At times I sort of think of my flare-ups as a blessing in disguise. Well, once I stop whining and complaining and convincing myself that I CAN'T eat when I really CAN. I just can't eat crap. That's really not so bad though, is it?
I do wish I didn't have so many problems with leafy greens though. That is rather depressing. One of my favorite soups is kale soup, but the kale almost always gives me a hard time.
Anyway, I'm confident that I'm -thisclose- to finding out what's wrong with me. Once I'm better (100% better) I plan to keep that other stuff out of my diet. I have been wanting to do away with it all anyway. Why bring it back? There's no need for any of it. Except for the leafy greens of course.
I've mainly been eating easy to swallow things such as Cream Of Wheat, cereal, homemade soups, crackers, pasta (not spaghetti though), pears, various patties (corn, bean, chickpea, etc.) and LOTS of water. The only 'bad' things I am able to eat are fries which I do enjoy from time to time. I also noticed that my delicious pomegranate green tea doesn't give me any problems at all. Perhaps I'll go back to drinking tea? Only caffeine free and unsweetened though.
I have also been keeping active. I haven't been walking, but I plan to get out there as soon as the rain lets up. The weather finally breaks and the rain starts. Go figure. I am enjoying yoga though. I feel so refreshed after a nice yoga session. It really clears my mind and helps me to focus more. Along with yoga I have been doing situps and crunches. At times I'll go for my weights.
My throat issue isn't going to run my life. Though at times I feel that it does. This time I spent less time whining about it (oh I did my fare share of whining, but quit rather quickly) and turned it around into something positive. I'm using it to my advantage.
I've decided to go back to Monday weigh-ins. I know it's probably silly to do that after the weekend, but I do prefer Mondays. It feels more 'right'. With that said, I weighed myself this morning and weighed in at 172.0 lbs. I'm only 2 lbs away from being in the 6's again! Once I get to that point I'm only 9 lbs away from my half way mark. I am SO doing this!
For the past 9 months I've been suffering. I was originally diagnosed with dysphagia. Which is basically difficulty swallowing. I sometimes choke on my food. Some foods just won't go down. Such as leafy greens. Which is why I have resorted to green smoothies. I figured if I can't eat it, I may as well drink it. After my trip to the ER yesterday I was told I am suffering from a severe type of acid reflux and was told to stay away from acidic foods. That wouldn't be so bad if everything I ate wasn't considered to be acidic. Apparently beans, nuts, seeds, flours, quinoa, pasta, oats, etc. are all considered to be acidic foods. I didn't know what to do.
So I slept on it. I woke up and decided that since most of the foods I CAN eat are considered to be raw foods, I may as well go raw for a bit. This won't be permanent. I just want to do it long enough to reverse the affect the acid has had on my body. Maybe a week or two? If I have to go longer I will. Maybe going raw for a whole month will be for the best? I'm not going to get too far ahead of myself though. Right now I'm aiming for a week. If I notice that I'm feeling better, I will keep at it. Then with the doctors orders I will gradually reintroduce the things I once loved back into my diet, but in a different way.
No more frying my food, no more oil, no more carbonated beverages, no more store bought juices, no more canned beans (I can soak dry beans over night to achieve the same results, and without preservatives), no more sugar (I've already been doing good with this one), no more coffee... you get the idea. I'm feeling awful because I did this to myself. This food isn't worth suffering every day. I can still enjoy great food without causing harm to my body. It's time I pay more attention to what I choose to fuel my body with. If I choose to fuel it with garbage, I will feel like garbage. And right now that's exactly how I feel.
As for the exercising, I haven't been to the track in a while. It's been raining and snowing all week. The rest of the week is supposed to be clear. Here's to hoping I can get back out there tomorrow.
I'm sorry I haven't been around to update. Things sort of came up. About two weeks ago my BIL was hospitalized and immediately operated on. My husband and I spent a lot of time at the hospital. Thankfully my BIL is home now and doing much better. Now it's time for me to get back on track.
I have since started drinking soda again. But since I've been home I haven't touched the stuff. While at the hospital my ONLY food options were from the vending machine. Some chips were vegan, but I'm not a chip fan. So I opted for the soda instead. By the time I got home I was too tired to even think about cooking and mostly passed out on the bed. Needless to say I haven't been jogging/walking either. I was going to start up again yesterday, but just as my husband and I were heading out the door, we got the call to go pick my BIL up. I'm hoping to get back on track today.
The old Lisa would use this all as an excuse to fall off track and be lazy. But the new Lisa isn't trying to hear that. Now that my BIL is home, it's back to work. That means sticking to my food plan and exercising every day. You know... I was even slightly depressed those two weeks. Exercising really is good for me. In more ways than one.
I'm also down a few pounds which is awesome. I'm hoping that once I get back out there and get some miles in that the rest will start to fall off and soon.
I'm still doing extremely well food wise. Actually, I'd like to be eating more greens. I really should make that green smoothie a daily thing rather than switching it up and having a fruit smoothie at times. I can't help it though. I'm IN LOVE with this new fruit smoothie. It's a combination of pineapple, strawberry, soy milk, cream of coconut and ice. YUM! No really. You have NO idea how great it is. I only wish I was that excited about my green smoothie. Maybe I just need the right combination?
Anyway, I'm thinking of maybe sticking to a routine. For example:
Breakfast - Steel cut oats with fruit, nuts and soy milk
Snack - Dry cereal and/or fresh fruit
Lunch - Green smoothie
Snack - Dry cereal and/or fresh fruit
Dinner - Whatever vegan goodness I want
Snack - Fruit smoothie
And of course there would be LOTS of water along side those meals and snacks. I'm also positive that I can keep my caloric intake at or under 1200. And if I'm burning around 300-500 calories, well, I will definitely see a loss every week. So long as I keep doing my thing.
I'm not tempted to eat crap. I'm not afraid to say no when I'm offered crap. And you know, it feels great walking into the kitchen and leaving with a fruit smoothie instead of cupcakes or chips. It makes me feel strong. In control. Because now I AM in control.
Last week was a lazy week. Sort of. We moved into our own place (finally out of my MIL's yay) and I did most of the moving since my husband has been working crazy hours. Lots of 12-15 hour days just about all week. I wanted to make things easier on him so that he wouldn't have to worry about it when he got home. So I pretty much knocked it all out in one night. Lots of up and down the stairs. I seriously had to have climbed the stairs about 100 times that night. No joke. So I at least got some exercise in.
The following day I was so sore so I didn't bother to go for my walk. I figured I got enough in the night before. The rest of the week was spent fixing the place up, walking around various stores looking for things to fill my place up and make it more homey. So I wasn't totally lazy. I'll admit, I could have gone out for a little walk a few days at least. But I didn't.
A few of those days I did workout with my set of 3 lb weights. I really need to tone my arms a bit. I'm not looking to be super muscular, but some nice firm toned arms are better than soft flabby arms. So I will definitely be working on that as well as walking from now on.
I did manage to accomplish a few things this past week though. I no longer crave soda. A few days ago I thought I wanted one. So I took a can out of the fridge, took a sip and then handed it over to my husband. It tasted horrible. I have also cut out snacking. Well, snacking on bad things anyway. Now whenever I want something to snack on I'll get a cup of dry cereal. Not the sugary cereal though. Something like Kix or Chex usually does the trick. I've also been getting in at least one smoothie a day. Unsweetened! I also drink my coffee unsweetened. So that's cutting out a crap load of sugar. My biggest downfalls were the soda, coffee and snacks. Now while the cereals do contain some sugar, they don't contain nearly as much as say a cupcake or chips or something. Go me!
I haven't lost anything, but I haven't gained either. Next week I'm definitely planning to see a loss. :)
I managed to accomplish one of my goals this week. Actually I kind of accomplished two of them, but one doesn't technically count. Anyway, I didn't drink soda for an entire week. Today actually makes a full seven days. I didn't really miss it much. There were a few times that I craved it, but was able to walk away even when it was offered to me. It wasn't always easy, but I did it. I'm sure I can do it for another week.
I did manage to walk five days this week, but not in a row. I went walking Monday - Thursday and skipped Friday due to the tornado sirens that scared the hell out of me. I made up for it today though. I may not have accomplished the five days in a row goal, but all is not lost. I did manage to push myself this week and walked more than three miles. One day I walked a little over five miles!
I wish I could say that I ate well, but truthfully I could have done a lot better. I could have done worse too, I suppose. But I know I could have done better. I guess baby steps is the key here, huh?
If I don't drink soda today, it will make three whole days that I've gone without the stuff. Then all I have to do is go four more days and I've gone an entire week without soda.
This time around I'm not even craving it. The guys have sat in front of me drinking one tall glass after another and it didn't affect me at all. I've even been drinking my morning coffee without sugar. I guess the less sugar I consume, the less I crave it.
Anyway, aside from my sugar-less morning cup of coffee, I've only been drinking water and sugar-less smoothies. If I'm in the mood for something sweet I will drink a small container of Naked Juice or a small glass of orange juice. That usually does the trick.
I'll share a recipe for my usual post-workout smoothie.
1 cup lite vanilla soy milk
1 small very ripe frozen banana
2 leveled tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Whiz all of that up in your Vita-Mix or blender and enjoy. It's delicious.
One of my favorite green smoothies is a mix of spinach, frozen banana, peach or pineapple chunks and coconut water. But there aren't any peaches or pineapples to be found right now so I just stick to my banana smoothie.
Something else I like to do is take a packet of Vega Whole Food Smoothie Infusion and add it to the smoothie recipe listed in the back. It's amazing and full of protein and fiber and lots of other good stuff you need to keep you going throughout the day.
I'm a little disappointed in myself this week. I managed to walk for 3 miles every day for only 4 days. I'm so sad that I couldn't get my 5th day in. It snowed really bad two days ago. The snow wasn't really what kept me indoors though. The wind was so strong I was afraid of getting frostbite. I was also afraid of getting sick. Rather than set myself back for an entire week (maybe longer) I figured it was smarter to take the one day hit.
On the bright side, I may be getting my treadmill way sooner than I thought. Which is great news because it doesn't look like the weather is going to calm down much any time soon.
Food wise, I wasn't able to stay away from the soda. I had a moment of weakness and caved in. The following day I drank some more. It just snowballed out of control from then on. So starting today I'm going to give these mini goals a second try. I know I can do better this time around. I just have to be stronger. Work harder. I can do it!
The end result is only a half of a pound loss. I weighed myself in the middle of the week (when I was doing really well) and had a 2 lb loss. Amazing what a little soda can do to you, huh?
Well, I decided to start up another Extra Pounds account. I really liked having some place separate to blog about my health and weight loss topics. I'm going to try my best to blog here at least once a week. So every Saturday I will definitely post an entry. Of course I'll post more than once a week. But I don't want to make any promises.
My main goal here is to get healthy. I want to make better choices when eating and exercise daily. I want to be able to chase my son around at the park without having to cut it short due to chest pain and difficulty breathing. I'm only 29 years old. I shouldn't be this out of shape. It's just not right.
I plan to set up some mini goals as well. I will try and reward myself with a little something when I have achieved one.
1) Walk at least 3 miles for 5 days straight.
2) Don't drink soda for an entire week. *Mission accomplished*
3) Drink at least 48 oz of water every day for an entire week.
4) Absolutely no sweets for an entire week. (cakes, cookies, candy, etc.)
Those are my 4 mini goals for the week. The plan is to get back on track with the walking every day (Monday - Friday) for at least 3 miles. I used to do about 4-6 miles, but I don't want to push myself too hard. Not just yet anyway.
Also, while I do plan to completely cut the soda from my diet, I don't plan to give up sweets for the rest of my life. That's just crazy talk. I just want to prove to myself that I CAN go without that stuff. So when I'm craving something sweet I'm going to go for a pear or some grapes. Maybe after all is said and done, I'll no longer crave sweets. Then maybe I'll be able to enjoy the occasional cookie instead of say... 6.
So right now I'm just planning to keep it simple by exercising (but not too much) and drinking lots of water. And of course eliminating the soda (for good) and sweets (temporarily).
I just bought a new scale today so tomorrow I'll log an accurate weight and measurements. I may even upload some photos.
