*UPDATE*:  Liver good, blood cells slightly "off"

HEALTH UPDATE: The hepatitis tests didn't come back yet ,  but since all of my liver enzymes came out normal, it's almost a sure bet I don't have it , B or C .  According to my blood count, etc., I do have enlarged red blood cells and signs of infection and inflammation -- my bronchitis, probably, as my immune system has been working overtime with this since January 17!  Blood iron slightly low.  Doctor says I also have a "folate deficiency" so I have to start talking folic acid to supplement.  Everything else looks good, plus my resting heart rate was only 62 bpm  and blood pressure 110/68!  (Temp 98.1/it was COLD in there!)   Weight 158 on the doctor's scale (with clothes and jewelry on, which means I'm down at least 57 lbs. since last year at the end of February).   I'm supposed to go back to the doctor's should my symptoms recur; however, it looks like everything is under control. 

Hi, everyone, I am recording my weigh-ins rounded up to the next whole pound whenever there's an increment in order to allow for day-to-day fluctuations and to give myself some "wiggle room"  That considered, Monday evening's weigh-in is 158; so I am now officially in the 150's  -- YEAH!

I would also like to report that I have now lost about 26.5% of my starting weight of 215 and have just passed my 75% goal milestone!  18 pounds to go until I reach my 140 goal, and to think when I started I had 75 pounds to lose!  That was back at the end of February, 2008; so you can see how "slow and steady" WILL get you there!

My follow-up doctor's appointment (following all those blood tests!) is at 9AM this morning; so I will post again to report how that went.

Have a great day, all!  (More soon!)

Hello, everyone,

Hope you all had a nice weekend.  Mine was rough, but I'm finally getting over my bronchitis.  Also, I won $125 in our SuperBowl pool; so YAY!!!

I weigh in this evening, before dinner.  I will continue to round up any .2 lb. increments to the next whole pound and will now start to report bodyfat & water percentages as indicated on my scale, as well as waist measurement.  I expect I will have good news to report as I believe I now weigh about 157!

Cheers everyone and have a GREAT day!  (carole, xO)

...Mine came out 7-7!  Oooo!

I AM going to watch...even though NE's not playing, booHOO!

Enjoy the weekend!  (carole, xO)

Hi, Everyone,

YEP, I'm back down in the 150's again, but I don't DARE to enter it until Tuesday morning (after Monday evening's February 2 weigh-in at home). I'm going to be in 3 heavy-duty dance events before then (Zumba, Greek and Balkan, totalling over six hours); so We shall see...! 

I got a liver dysfunction scare earlier this week when they drew NINE tubes out of me (some results still outstanding...) and resolved NOT a DROP of alcohol from now to probably EVER!  I don't think I'm someone who can drink at all.  My system just can't take it.  My doctor tells me I'm not allowed to take any supplements or medicines for a while (not even TYLENOL or Splenda!) so that makes it much harder to get rid of my bronchitis, but I don't care!  I want to get better.  Hope I don't get bad news, but I'm going to fix this as much as I can!

ENOUGH about THAT (for now...).  ANYway, I was reading about the Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year, which says people born in Year of the Ox (as is this year) tend to show the following characteristics: patience, stability, fearlessness and hard work.

When I considered it, I thought that these are traits we ALL could use in these very difficult times, and in our EP efforts as well!  So what if I happen to be born in "Year of the Dog"?  I can still try to develop these qualities to help me in pursuit of my goals for the year.

Hi, Everyone!  Welcome to a brand-new week!  I found a NEW chance for a "DO-OVER"!  It just so happens that today is the first day of the Lunar New Year (as celebrated in China and in the Chinese culture), and it also happens to be a MONDAY!  What better way to do a refresh?  Therefore, I am once again changing my weigh-in day -- to Monday!

What I will do is weigh myself at home (since I don't like weighing in on the WW scales because I have clothes on and have recently eaten).  Home weigh-ins will be on returning home from my workday, in the early evening, before dinner and without clothing.  That way I'll have a clearer idea of body fat and water percentages, etc.  I will round my weight UP to the nearest half-pound, this time, as opposed to a whole pound; then I will report my Monday evening home weigh-ins on Tuesdays.  Therefore, I will celebrate my 1 YEAR weigh-in on Tuesday, March 3rd!

I plan to go to the Valentine challenge board and report this change as well, so please forgive any duplicate posting?

Thank you, all, and have a wonderful week! (Love, carole, xO)

Hi, Everyone!

Yes, I guess it's "my turn", all right.  I have been battling a bout of head cold symptoms and bronchial congestion since Saturday and took an extra two days off sick following the MLK holiday.  Miserable, I've been treating my cold with food, even though I can't taste it -- so go figure!  Anyway, I'm off doing that now and am slowly recovering.

My weight stayed the same this week (161 lbs.), which is fine. I'm still down 54 lbs.  If I average just one pound per week I should achieve my goal weight of 140 by summer, which would be AWESOME! 

Hi, Everyone,

Today the Weight Watchers scale said 161 (rounded up), fully clothed and after breakfast!  That's a total loss of at least 54 lbs. since the end of February, 2008! 

I have just completed week 46 since my start date; so this loss represents an average of just about 1.174 per week! (Actually, 1.1739130434782608695652173913043!)  Sure, some weeks were 3 or even 4 lost and some weeks I even gained (up to 4 lbs. or even more -- but averaged out, it's easy to see what just over a pound per week can do!

I hope this encourages everyone who sees a "long road" to take heart in knowing that sticking it out over time and never giving up can get you far on this journey!

BEFORE:  Weight 215, pants size 18-20; NOW:  Weight 161, pants size 8-10!

Best wishes, everyone!

Hi, I had hoped for better, but I'll take it!

Cheers, (carole)

Hi, Everyone, I totally "wigged out and pigged out" last night ~OOPS!~  BAAD timing, since WW at Work weigh-in for the last week of our current session is TOMORROW!  (What was I thinking?  SIMPLE:  I wasn't!)  I had several beers AND chicken florentine with mashed potatoes  -- MUCHO points!

Oh, well...maybe if I'm very careful today and work out tonight I can fix it so I still show a 2 lb. loss tomorrow...I HOPE so, but TOM still hasn't arrived; so I'm not so sure...

I will report tomorrow, regardless of the outcome.

Have a great day, everyone!