Im back!

It has been a crazy summer of traveling, working, being sick, and not eating great.  But...I managed only to gain 0.4 lbs this summer.  And it wasnt slow gain but up and down.  Id gain and loose it over and over again.  But schools in session...and I am stable again.  I am hoping to get back into being good.  Eating good, tracking my points on WW, and measuring my foods.  I still want to loose about 15 to 20 lbs more.  I am within my healthy range but toward the top of it and still could loose.    So I need help, accountability to get out of my rut.  Help!

help!!!

So did yalls weight loss slow down after hitting your 10% mark?  Mine has a ton.  And since I have been running, youd think I would loose a lot more...still slow.  Is this normal?

My first race ever!

So I ran a 5K yesterday...it was my first race.  When I got there I realized my watch had quit working that morning.  So when I was running I had no idea how far I had run, how much I had left to go....anything.  But I just kept a pace I thought was okay.  In the end I finished in 29 min and 22 sec which is about a 9 min and 28 sec mile.  Considering I started training two weeks before, ran 15 1/2 miles that first week and didnt run all the week before the race...im okay with that time.  I might run another 5K next weekend...I think I am hooked.  Its fun! 

quick updates...

So for those wondering...I havnt blogged about my trip yet.  I havnt really had time to collect my thoughts on it.  School has been insane since I got back.  Just this week alone I already took one test, have two more and a paper due.  Ugh!  So in that...this will be short.  Trip to come, I promise.

I lost another pound this week which was good considering I ate A LOT on Easter and weighed in on Monday night.  I started exercising again finally last Friday when I had off from class.  Since then I have ran every day except Sunday!!!  I feel more energetic and less blah!  I am still concerned about my knee starting to hurt, my arches starting to hurt or shin splints.  These are all things that have haunted me working out in the past.  But hopefully being less heavy they wont be as bad.  But my motivation...I want to run a 5K on April the 21st.  So I am training for a 5K in two weeks.  Probably insane.  But I went from running three minutes and stopping to walk the first day to running 21 minutes straight today before stopping to walk.  I am averaging a 10 minute mile for 3 miles.  So I am okay with that for now anyway.  But I have never ran a race or event...so I am excited to know I can do it. 

I met my WW goal this week.  It is set at the top end of my BMI range so that I can get lifetime quicker and pay less.  My real goal is toward the lower end though...so I am going to keep loosing weight.  I technically could loose 30 more pounds I think and stay within my BMI range.  I am guessing I will go for 140#s but I am just going to loose and see how I feel and then decide.  But 140#s is still 25#s away.  So keep me going yall! 

Back to studying :(

I hit my -25#s and funny scary story...

So I knew my body was screwy when I weighed in last week due to my illnesses.  But I weighed in tonight and was down 3.4 #s from last week.  I hit my -25#s and am only 0.6#s from the top of my healthy weight range.  Yeah!  I mean I still have quite a bit until my personal goal though.  I might set my actuall WW goal higher than my own goal though so I can make lifetime sooner and get to go for free sooner.  Thoughts on that?  Is that a bad/good idea? 

So my story...

Last night I was on the phone getting stuff together to cook dinner.  I was having a few friends over.  Well I turned on my gas stove and was getting a skillet out to cook the meat.  Next thing I knew my kitty jumped on the stove and then frantically took off scared to death.  Now I went running...I thought my kitty was on fire!  She was so scared she wouldnt let me pick her up for a little bit.  At this point I obviously rushed off the phone.  Got my kitty and she was hurt, but you could see where her fur was singed from the flames.  I didnt know whether to laugh, cry, or what though at the moment.  Now it is funny b/c I know she wasnt hurt.  Hopefully she learned her lesson.  She always gets so mad at me when I shut her out of the kitchen when I am cooking...now we all know why.  Precious lives another day...Thank God!  :)

sorry been MIA...

Hi yall.  Sorry I have been MIA.  I got sick before my trip, ended up in the ER.  Went on my trip and was ok health wise on it and then got sick again on the way back.  I am just now getting healthy for the first time in over a month.  My weight has been up and down due to dehydration, getting a ton of fluids poured into me at the ER and on my trip to get my electrolytes normal again and rehydrated and then my diet has been weird being sick.  So I think I am back on track.  I will weigh in tomorrow morning again.  It is not my normal day to weigh in but the only time I could fit it in this week.  Hope all of you are well. :)

my blog from myspace...on here...prayers...

First and foremost....

My grandma is back in the hospital and I would appreciate your prayers.  In case you havnt read other blogs, she has congestive heart failure (CHF).  With CHF you get fluid buildup on your heart and lungs due to your heart not being able to work as hard as it needs too.  Currently with her CHF she has fluid on her heart and lungs which needs to come off ASAP.  They increased the medicine she is already on to try to do that...its basically a diuretic.  On top of her CHF, she has pneumonia.  So just keep her in your prayers.  Keep me and my sister in your prayers also b/c we are both getting ready to leave on trips the weekend and that my grandma will be okay when we are gone.  Also pray my family learns to tell me when things happen and to not keep them from me.  Today and many times previously they have kept death, health stuff from me making the decision for me that school is more important...not wanting to do poorly on tests b/c of knowing???  Pray for my heart b/c I was very angry today with my parents for not telling me about my grandma until tonight about her being in the hospital when they have known all day.  I feel it is my decision and to me my family is way more important than school.  And being in the medical field I already know more than anyone what is happening to her and that is will someday take her life.  I am not going to do worse on my test today b/c she is in the hospital.  But I will tell you this, if she dies while I am in El Salvador and they wait until I am back to tell me, it will take every once of grace God could put in my heart to forgive them.  So pray this is not an issue. 

Also...mission trip to El Salvador.  I leave Saturday morning at 2:30 am I think it is.  We need prayers that our transportation when we get there will work out.  The bus we were supposed to have is tied up with government red tape due to inspection issues?  So pray that we dont have to spend a ton more money or shuttle everyone in buses for everything...that we can get another bus free or inexpensively.  I know they have scheduled our clinics closer to the city we are staying in this year just in case we do have to shuttle people.  We are taking ~55 people with us and there will be interpreters too and doctors from there...so that would be a lot of shuttling.  Prayer for us while we are there that we do not have an agenda but that we do Gods work and that through our lives and actions God is glorified.  Also there is a non christian going with us that he can see God through us and the trip and even the people there.  Pray for my kitty while I am gone.  She is my baby and I love her with all my heart and it breaks my heart to leave her for a whole week.  I am scared she will not get any attention and I dont know what I would do if something happened to her.  So pray for her, me, and Haley as she watches after her.  Pray for my health...I woke up sick...just congestion.  I dont want to be sick on the trip.  Pray for the health of the other team members that we can be healthy and able to give our all while we are there.  Pray for our safety traveling and for those who get air sick.  Pray for our flexibility b/c you never know what is going to happen on a mission trip.  Pray for our safety there...it is not the safest place in the world.  Pray for our hearts preparing in the midst of crazy tests, life, etc.  Pray for those we will come in contact with. 

School...

I had a test today that I have no idea how I did.  I have another test tomorrow that is 50% of my grade in that class that I am just now getting ready to start studying for.  Then I work Thursday after class.  Then I have one possibly two intramural basketball games Thursday night.  Pray I have energy for two and that my attitude is good.  IM bball has been very frustrating for me here at MCV b/c the reffing is usually not great and the players are rough and rude a lot of times.  Then Friday I have a clinical and I am working at Crossover, a free clinic for the poor.  I am excited about Friday but until it is over I cannot start packing/preparing for El Salvador and I really want to. 

I appreciate you reading this and your prayers more than you know.  Thank you.

headed to El Salvador Sat...

I am headed to the Tropical sun Sat morning!  I am so excited for many reasons.  School has been hell lately!  I had a test today that I had prepared everything required of us and still there was questions on there I had no idea where she got them from or how she expected us to know the answers!  And it was 40% of my final grade.  I am still pissed and frustrated about it.  Plus I have worked every week day forever now and I want a break from school and work.  I still have another test tomorrow that is 50% of my final grade...so pray for that.  I cant even prepare for my trip yet until this last test is over.  There are sooo many things going through my head I need to do and dont have time to or cant yet.  I also woke up somewhat sick...I dont want to be sick on my trip :(  Aghhh!  That is all I got to say.  I have to get thru tomorrow!!!!  Pray for me! 

Weight wise...

I lost 2.4 #s this week!  Starting this week I didnt have to do the girl stretch to get my jeans on STRAIGHT out of the dryer...all three pairs!!!  Now they are baggy straight out of the dryer.  I dont mind the legs being baggy but I hate the saggy butt part.  I am not going to buy new ones yet though.  Jeans are too expensive and summer is coming.  I want to see if I can make it through til shorts time.  I did try a few summer clothes on though b/c I have to make sure they fit to take on my trip and they are baggy too!  Trust me I am NOT complaining...this excites me!  I still have such a long way to go to meet my goal...so dont leave me or forget about me.  I also am going to have to start going to a different WW meeting b/c of time conflicts that will carry over into the summer with different time conflicts.  I think I am going to go for the Sat morn meeting though b/c I hate weighing in at 6pm!  I am going to miss all those I have come to love at my meeting though and my instructor b/c she is excellent!  Hopefully I will get a good new group and leader.  Agh!!!  One more time...my life is insane until tomorrow night...I am sooooo tired and worn out.  :(

health numbers to watch...

I wrote this on someones elses blog and I thought I would put it on mine just in case someone needs it...

Total Cholesterol

    <200 desirable, 200-239 borderline high, > or = 240 high

LDL

    <100 optimal, 100-129 above/near optimal, 130-159 borderline high, 160-189 high, > or = 190 very high

HDL

    <40 women low, <50 men low, > or = 60 high

Triglycerides

   <150 normal, 200-399 borderline high, 400-999 high, > or = 1000 very high

Systolic Blood Pressure (1st #) ex. 120/80

     <120 optimal, 120-129 normal, 130-139 high normal, 140-159 Stage I Hypertension (HTN), 160-179 Stage II HTN, > or = 180 Stage III HTN

Diastolic Blood Pressure (2nd #)

   <80 optimal, 80-84 normal, 85-89 high normal, 90-99 Stage I HTN, 100-109 Stage II HTN, > or = 110 Stage III HTN

Basically if your systolic BP is > or = 140 and your diastolic BP is > or = 90 then you need to be on drugs to reduce it.  It is a HUGE risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

week 14

So I havnt really had many if any random people tell me I look like I am loosing weight yet...-20 lbs later...that is until today!!!  I had 5 people come up to me today and tell I look good!  Maybe I should wear the same clothes everyday.  They say they see it a lot in my face.  I think part of it is I wear the same clothes...which most were baggy to start with b/c being overweight I hide in my clothes!  So today I wore something new I had bought which actually was fitting somewhat. 

So earlier in the week I weighed at home and the scale showed 170.5...four days later it showed 173.  Ugh...  But I weighed in tonight and lost 0.8lb, which is still good b/c it is a loss...I just dont feel like it is ever indicitive of what I see when I first wake up and weigh.  I hate 6pm weigh ins, but it is all I can do for now.  Thanks to all of you again for your encouragement. 

So the boy I talked about...typical jerk.  I am 100% completely single again.  Oh well.  Plus I managed to get the picture across to the other boy who would call like 5x a day and drive me insane.  The other random boy I went on a date with ended up being 37...which I think is too old for me.  I mean my grandma and grandpa were 15 yrs apart...but I am not so sure I could do it.  (Im 24 so you know).  So I went from being single and no dates for the past year basically to having 4 guys pursue me at once to running 3 off in about two days.  The other one, I LOVE hanging out with but the physical attraction is not there.  So we havnt had a define the relationship talk yet, but I really hope he can just be friends b/c I dont want him out of my life, but I know he is not the one for me.  He is 32 and was living with a woman for 5 yrs who had 2 kids, not his, but he had raised for the past 5 yrs.  He was shipped to Cuba for Coast Guard and when he got back she had left and took everything with her...not even letting him say goodbye to the kids.  Sad story.  He is a great guy though...just I think the attraction has to be there.  I dont know? 

But my trip to El Salvador is in less than 2 wks!!!  So ideas please....on how to eat on vacation.  I mean being more active, but trying not to starve or gain weight. 

Oh and does anyone know other ways to substitute butter in recipes besides applesauce?