Weekly Weigh In: March 11, 2010

As I suspected, I had a slight gain this week. I gained 3/4 of a pound. Since I had such an off week my goal was to see if could maintain my weight this week, but I did not. I think it boils down to the fact that I did not get in ANY exercise all week long. I know that I could have eaten those portions had I exercised.
Well, this week I am cracking down and I will get all my exercise in and not eat over 1400 calories each day. I will get that 3/4 pounds back and then some.
I also hope to get back to the blog more this week and share some things other than my weekly weigh in. I have been a bit preoccupied with personal problems but I am staying focused. I think it was a good test for me to have some trouble come. So, while I gained 3/4 of a pounds and did not get in my exercise, what I did not do was let my stress lead me to turn to my old friend of comfort...chocolate cake (and other fattening "comfort" foods). So even with the slight gain I still feel I had a successful week because while I did eat more calories, I still made wise food choices.

Weigh In: March 2, 2010

Well, I lost another 1 1/2 pounds leaving me with only 5 pounds left to go to my goal! I can not believe I am so close. Of course I weigh in again tomorrow. This post is so late because I have had a horrible week. I have been down physically so my exercise has been almost non-existent. I have eaten a bit more than I had been as well. I am hoping to come through with a turtle tomorrow (staying the same weight) but fear there might be a small gain. (Especially since I have a special luncheon that will not allow me to really regulate my caloric intake that afternoon.) Regardless of how it turns out, I hope to be up and around and back to my usual self by the end of the week and working out enough to make up for lost time.
I also hope to be able to put up a few more blogs soon about some other foods, tips and programs I want to share. I hope all you fellow bloggers have a great week!

Weekly Weigh In: Feb 25, 2010

I had a really great weigh in this week but it sure did not come by accident. After my silly 1/4 pound gain last week, I made sure I hit the exercise extra hard this week. I exercised 5 days for an average of 30 minutes each time and most of them were pretty high intensity. I bought another Biggest Loser workout tape (Cardio Max) which helped keep me motivated because I was trying something new. Anyway, all the hard work paid off and I lost 3 1/2 pounds. That means I only have 6 1/2 pounds to reach my goal! I am so excited!
I am still eating 1400 calories a week, which is another reason I really vamped up the exercise. I just can't seem to eat less than that. I have tried cutting back even another 100 calories a day but I still don't seem to be able to do it. If I cut it at one meal, I make up for it at the next. Oh well, I am still losing, so it does not matter. I hope to have another heavy workout week and another great weigh in next week, but we shall see. I just can't wait to finally be there!

The Biggest Loser: The Workout Video

When I first started to make exercise an integral part of my lifestyle, I had trouble finding something that didn't drive me absolutely crazy. You have to agree, walking on a treadmill several times a week gets really old, really fast. While Richard Simmons is an exercise icon and helped me out many moons ago, I just can't hear or watch another Sweating to the Oldies video. Trying to find modern exercise tapes was also discouraging. I am sorry, but I am a conservative, 42 year old woman and I don't do Latin dance moves or worse yet, Hip Hop very well. Sure, they look so cute on the screen but that doesn't come naturally to me. I just wanted something like the old Richard Simmons tapes. Not disco dancing and funky music, but REAL people, doing REAL exercises.

About that time I got into a conversation on exercise and weight loss with some ladies at church. One of them was doing and exercise video form the Biggest Loser. She was currently watching the show for the first time and they were sharing a bit about it with me. Having never seen an episode, I was certainly willing to give it a try. I went home and added the Biggest Loser: The Workout to my Netflix Que and waited for it to arrive.

From the first time I put it in I was really glad I did. There on the screen were real people doing sensible exercises and each one of them had a weight loss to show for it. These are exercises anyone can do! After the first day my husband even started doing them with me. That was a big clue there that this was not some dorky exercise video. If he can tolerate it, anyone can! It wasn't long before I purchased my own copy of the video. I am now also a fan of the show The Biggest Loser as it inspires me to see how much work these people put in to shed those pounds.

This particular video - Biggest Loser: The Workout has 4 different routines as well as a warm up and cool down segment that I do each time I workout. I started with the Low Intensity and did that for quite some time before attempting any others. The next one I tried was Tone and Sculpt, then on to High Intensity and then finally, I braved the Boot Camp workout. Now I change it up depending on my mood, the time and how much or what type of exercise I want to do. This is a great workout video that I highly recommend. I will be trying some of their other videos soon.

Below is an excerpt to show you what it's like. This is not an endorsement for the place that is advertising it as I know nothing about them. I got mine for just under $9 from Walmart.com but the NBC Store currently has it on sale for $8.11.

Weigh In: February 18, 2010

I had a lousy weigh in yesterday. Ok, so it wasn't lousy, but I did gain...a whole 1/4 of a pound. Still, it was discouraging since I still only ate 1400 calories a day. The problem, I believe, was the lack of exercise. I had some spring cleaning to do, both at my mom's and here at my house. That sort of kept me from exercising and unfortunately all the cleaning and moving furniture obviously did not do much for burning fat. That's alright though, I am hitting the exercise hard again this week and we will make it all up. It's not really about how fast I get there anyway, it's about getting there and then STAYING there. I am just so close that I am getting a bit anxious to finally see it through. Instead I need to continue to be patient. I have exactly 10 pounds to go to reach my goal!
Sorry I didn't get any posts up this week. With the spring cleaning and other catch up things I had to do coming off my cold from the week before, I just have not had the time. I hope to post some more entries this week.

Weigh In: February 11, 2010

Well, even with the week I had I managed to lose another pound and a half! This makes it official, I now have less than 10 pounds to go to reach my goal. I can't believe I will soon be able to say that I am not overweight anymore! At least I am not classified as "obese" anymore. I think that the title "obese" is applied way before it's necessary, but that is just me.
I was also proud of my mother yesterday. She hit an important weight loss milestone as well. She hit a number that she has not seen in 27 years! Way to go mom! I am doing all that I can to encourage her to keep up the good work!.
So here is to another week. I finally managed to get some exercise in, which is probably what helped me on the scale. My muscles sure are feeling it. I really want to start to work on toning the trouble areas now. I want my belly flat again, if that is even possible! Well, I hope you fellow bloggers have a great and successful week!

Journal: Slow getting back on track

I am feeling better but it's still hard for me to get in a good workout. I seem to be so out of shape by just taking a few days off here and there. I can't seem to build the stamina back up as quickly but I am working on it.
It doesn't help that this is my cycle week again, so I could be looking at another bad weigh in. Tie that together with the lack of exercise and I don't know what to expect when I face the scale this week.
What I do know is that I am really working on trying to prioritize some things and it is harder to get my exercise in while doing that. However, when I haven't been "exercising" I have been moving furniture and doing some deep cleaning. My hope is to find that one day where I can really clean the house well, and still manage to get my exercise on other days. It's definitely a work in progress.
I'm looking at getting a hot air popcorn popper to replace my microwave popcorn. I have done that once in the past and the thing died after one month of use. I eat popcorn EVERY night for my TV munchies snack and whatever one I get, it needs to be able to work hard and work often.
Other than that I have just been busy with church work, schooling my daughter and the other usual wife and mother stuff. I still haven't had much time to read blogs, let alone write them. I am missing my encouragement from reading about others. I hope to get to that later this week. Until then, have a great week!

Weigh In: February 4, 2010

I am very excited to report that I had another good weigh in yesterday! I lost 2 1/4 pounds. This was really amazing since I had a couple of days where I know I did not stay within my calorie range (especially on Mom's Night Out) and was not able to exercise much due to my cold. I am sort of afraid that I might have it show up the following week. My plan is to make sure that does not happen by really sticking to my calorie limits and getting in some vigorous workouts this week.
I am now only 11 1/2 pounds from my goal. I am so close I can almost taste it!! (Ok, taste is probably not an appropriate word to use in this context! How about FEEL it? That would be an accurate statement because I sure am feeling better than I have in years!) As you can see, I am very excited. There was talk at the TOPS meeting about me becoming a KOP because I will be the only one in our little group that is. I hope I can do a good job at motivating others to join me there. I would love to see us all reach our goals. I hope you all have a successful week as well. Just remember to face it little by little, day by day and choice by choice! We can do this!

Baked Tilapia

Tonight for dinner we had one my favorite dishes, Baked Tilapia. This is a really easy fish to make. I simply spray my pan with a 0 calorie cooking spray to coat is. I then spray my fish with my 0 calorie butter spray. This helps the Old Bay seasoning to coat nicely on my fish. Then I throw it in the oven and bake at 425 for 20 minutes. One 4 ounce fish patty is only 100 calories! What a way to get a good helping of protein for such a low calorie count. I then made some broccoli seasoned with my butter spray, salt and pepper along with some corn on the cob. I was able to eat 2 pieces of fish, corn, broccoli and a 1/2 cup of light peaches for dessert all for under 350 calories! (I do not count the broccoli since I allow that as a "free" food) That is just one delicious way to eat something satisfying for a mere 100 calories!

Journal: I'm sick

This is going to be an interesting week. I am fighting a cold and it is starting to drain me. I hopped on the treadmill yesterday and walked a much slower pace than normal but was still not able to make more than 20 minutes. Today I am feeling a little bit better but I don't think I have the strength to exercise.
I also have been craving food these last couple of days. I think it's that "starve a fever, feed a cold thing." My body seems to be craving nutrients. Because of that I did go over my 1400 calories yesterday, but at least it was with healthier foods like fruit and a protein bar. With all these things in mind, I am not expecting a loss this week, but I will be glad if I at least don't gain. I am not sure how today will pan out, for I still feel hungrier than normal.
Of course all of this is on top of the fact that I have a special mom's night where dinner is food brought in by each mom and those nights are HARD to stay in range. We also had a date night where we went to a restaraunt I had no information on. I went with the salmon, but the mashed potatoes were probably really fatty, but they were really good. I tried to eat the section that looked like a 1 cup portion, but it's hard to tell. Their portions were huge! They also didn't have any diet salad dressing! For that I took my dressing on the side and just dipped my fork in it with each bite.
I will just have to see what this week holds. What I do know is that I can't wait to feel better so I can get back to my regular exercise routine soon! I will not let this become the start of the end of a really good thing!

Shoveling Snow - A Great Way to Workout

We had one heck of a snowstorm last night. Well, it wasn't as bad as the one on Christmas but it was still pretty heavy. So, when I woke up this morning and saw all that snow, I thought, cool another way to mix up my exercise program! I got dressed in my my warm winter gear and headed out to shovel snow.
Shoveling is actually a really good workout. I remembered that on last season of The Biggest Loser one of their challenges had them shoveling sand. I thought, if it works with sand, it should with snow too. I shoveled two days in a row around Christmas and I certainly felt it the following days! You really use muscles shoveling that you don't normally use in a typical workout. It took me about 25 minutes to shovel out the front and the back. It was a lot easier this time as the snow as lighter and fluffier. Still, I was doing some heavy breathing and felt I got in a decent workout. It was just nice to find a way to change up my exercise routine. I try to do that whenever I can. The tasks I used to leave for my husband to do, such as shoveling and mowing, I find that I do them myself now. He certainly doesn't mind the break so it works out well for both of us!

Weigh In: January 28, 2010

I lost another 1.75 pounds this week! That leaves 13.5 pounds until I reach my goal! I am really excited. I keep thinking this will be the week that I start hitting that plateau but so far I just keep losing.
I have been on a 1400 calorie diet but lately I have been trying to eat 1300 calories a day. I tried scaling back to 1200 but that was a bit tough for me. However, I did find that I could easily skim 50 calories off of lunch and 50 calories off of dinner and still stay full and satisfied for the day. Of course the important thing is to make those calories count. Lots of lower fat protein like chicken and fish along with a good helping of veggies.
Well, today is the start of another week. We shall see how it goes. We have a date night tomorrow which means eating out at yet another restaurant that I can't figure out calories for. And this time it's not one that I am familiar enough with to plan ahead. Hopefully there will be something I can eat and still do alright. I may have to really hit the exercise extra hard too. Well I hope to be posting next week with yet another loss.

Journal: Hectic Week!

It really has been a hectic week. There have been some added stress and events that came up and therefore I struggled to get my exercise in, but did manage to do it. The problem is that other things seem to suffer, like housework. I am keeping the house picked up, but I sure could use some time to do some extra scrubbing! Trying to prioritize my other activities along with exercise is a goal of mine this next month. I won't give up my exercise time, but surely there is a more productive way to manage the time I have left!
I am a bit worried about my weigh in tonight. I did alright this week but I did eat out twice. While I made good, healthy choices, it is tough to figure out how many calories the products actually are. The restaurants around here are more family owned and not chains, so I can't just get the nutritional information to be sure. I guess we will see how it goes.
I also feel like my exercise has been slacking. While I have been doing it, I haven't been feeling the burn. I can't figure out if that's because I am just not giving it my all, or maybe it's just easier for me. The last couple of days I really hit it hard though, and I sure am feeling it!
I will post my weigh in results tomorrow, so we shall see how it goes. I hope you all are having a great week!

Spinach and Feta Turkey Burgers

I was craving a burger again so my husband decided to fix his famous Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers for dinner tonight! Ok, so he got the recipe from Allrecipes.com but he is the one that found the recipe for us. While the recipe linked is pretty good and still pretty healthy, I made a few more modifications and got the patties down to 205 calories for a 4.5 ounce patty. Add that to my 80 calorie Delightful Bun by Sarah Lee and some Fat Free Mayo and you have the most awesome burger for under 300 calories!. I was so stuffed tonight that I felt like I cheated on my diet!

For my modified Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers you need:

1 pound of white ground turkey meat (this is leaner than just ground turkey) 640 calories
1 egg white 20 calories
1/2 cup feta cheese 160 calories
1 clove garlic
1/2 package frozen spinach

Mix the ingredients together, patty, and cook about 7 minutes on each side.
This divides into 4 really good size patties that are about 4.5 ounces a piece at 205 calories each (the calories in the garlic and spinach are so minimal I don't count those).

Weekly Weigh In: Jan 21, 2010

Well my husband certainly got in his "I told you so's" yesterday. It definitely was my cycle that kept me from showing the true loss that I had. I did make up for it at this week's weigh in. I lost 6 1/2 pounds! (That was actually a combination of 4 weeks, I just had a fluke day last week where during my cycle I suddenly gained and then lost it the very next day.)
Anyway, that puts me at 175 1/4 pounds. I have not been this small since my daughter was born 8 years ago! I was so excited that I screamed when I saw the number. I freaked everyone in my TOPS club out, but when I explained it they understood and congratulated me. They are a great bunch of girls!
So now I am 15 1/4 pounds away from my goal. I am so excited! I can actually see it happening this time. The greatest part is that I seemed to bypass any plateaus this time around. I usually hit them about this point. I think that is due to the fact that I am exercising regularly, and I mean vigorously exercising. Anyway, I hope next week I have some more good news and will be just a little bit closer to my goal!

Weekly Weigh In: Jan 14, 2010

My weigh ins are on Thursday nights, so my Friday blogs will probably be about my results. I have had no official weigh in for the past 2 weeks due to the weather. After 3 weeks it turned out that I turtled (stayed the same). That was really discouraging because I felt that I did really well over the holidays. I did not over-eat and I continued to exercise. Of course, this is my cycle week. (Sorry guys, it's a fact us women have to deal with and it does effect our weigh ins!) My scale at home is already showing an improvement today. Why did we have to weigh in yesterday?

I should really stop beating myself up. My husband reminded me that I go through this every month. I have a bad weigh in or just a slight loss but the next week I have a really good one. So I will wait and see. I just thought I was down about 4 more pounds more than I showed, so I guess I do still have over 20 pounds to reach my goal. The good news was that our end of the year report revealed that I am 16 pounds lighter this year then I was last! This will be the year that I reach my final goal. I am not giving up!

To keep track of my progress I am posting my Tracker from The Ticker Factory. You will see that I have a permanent link to this on my side bar and it should always be updated with my current weight. Here is where I currently stand. I'm about halfway there!

Dinner: Smoked Turkey Sausage

Last night for dinner we had sausage and sauerkraut with a side of green beans. Of course you all know that sausage is fatty and high in calories. Well, awhile back I found Butterball Smoked Turkey Sausage at our local grocery and tried it. I found it very delicious and now I use it all the time. Anytime you want Smoked Sausage try using a turkey variety instead (any brand should do, just check the nutrition label to be sure).

The ButterBall Smoked Turkey Sausage was 100 calories for every 2 oz. serving. There were only 6 grams of fat per serving as well. The sausage my husband ate was 190 calories per 2 oz. serving with a whopping 16 grams of fat. This is an excellent way to make your calories count! You get twice as much meat and protein with a lot less fat. Add to that the sauerkraut which is only 5 calories per serving and you have nice, low calorie, low fat dinner. Not only that but it's an easy to prepare meal on those days when you are rushed and don't have a lot time.

Tracking Exercise Progress

Exercise is a vital component to a healthy lifestyle. If you do not implement a regular exercise routine into your daily life, you will struggle to lose weight and will not be able to maintain it if you do lose it. Exercise needs to be a regular part of any healthy lifestyle. One way to help yourself maintain consistency is to keep track of how often you exercise. I have a TOPS Tracker that I use that keeps track of my weight loss and physical activity. Each time I exercise I jot down what day of the week it is and what duration and/or distance I completed. While that works alright for me, I really prefer to see my accomplishments on a larger scale. So what I did was find a calendar program that allows me to put in whatever data I choose. I made this calendar My Workout Journal.


Now I can view my progress in a monthly view and have an overall feel for how much exercise I am getting a week (this calendar has other view options as well).

My goal is 3 hours a week over 4-5 days. I usually end up with 2 hours and 45 minutes as my average. That is working really well for me and I am seeing results so I am pleased with that. I would eventually like to see more, but the realities of being a busy homeschooling housewife and mother makes it hard for me to find a consistent time each week that I can exercise. Therefore a journal is imperative to keep me accountable to myself and make sure I am making the time I need each week.

While this particular calendar program at Calendars.net is public, you have to give the URL for anyone else to be able to access it. There are several other calendar options you can choose from that are not public. My Google email account comes with one but I wanted something I was more willing to share publicly so I could be accountable to all of you as well as myself. There are also several sites online that let you keep track of various other weight loss data too. Choose whatever works best for you. The important thing is that you use something to make sure that you keep track of the amount of exercise you are getting.

If you notice I have offered access to view my calendar on the side bar of my blog. Look for the exercise image and click on it to see just how much exercise I have been getting in!

TOPS - Take Off Pounds Sensibly

TOPS Club Inc. is a nonprofit, noncommercial, weight-loss support organization with chapters all across the country. I am currently the president of our local chapter and have found it provides an inexpensive and helpful tool for keeping me accountable in my weight loss journey. I have been a member of TOPS for 2 years now. Our chapter is small, but sufficient to meet our needs.

There is a yearly registration fee of $26.00 to join TOPS and after that you only have to pay whatever amount of dues your chapter determines. Ours is only .50 per week. If you are looking for an inexpensive way to get some support and accountability, TOPS just may be the place for you.

Each week we have a weigh in followed by a 30 minute meeting that offers various tips and advice on weight loss and general healthy living. They do have an exchange system diet plan that you can use, but they do not teach you how to work it like other clubs do. They give you the tools to use, but you are free to use the plan that works best for you. I count calories and find that works really well for me so I do not use the TOPS exchange system. They do, however, encourage you to use a plan that is healthy and will lead to long term success rather than implementing some diet fad that is not workable for the long term.

They also provide you with opportunities to meet other TOPS members in your area as well as on a state and national level. With conventions and workshops throughout the year, there are plenty of opportunities to motivate yourself and others within the TOPS club. It's not the type of club that will hold your hand in every decision you make, but they will help you learn how to make good choices on your own and provide you with the tools and support you need to meet your weight loss goals.

Those who reach their goal weight become KOPS and are welcome to remain in the club to help them maintain their weight as well as encourage others to do the same. It is my goal to become a KOP this year. I am only about 17 pounds away! To find out more or to find a TOPS Club near you visit their website at www.tops.org.

TOPS Benefits

Inexpensive - Weekly accountability that won't break your bank
Flexibility - Your ability to choose the plan that works best for you
Support - A place to find support and encouragement
Rewards - You are rewarded for goals throughout your weight loss journey, not just at the end

Health Assessment

We had our annual health assessment and blood work draw at the end of December and I got an excellent report from the doctor. She was really excited and said that based on the blood work alone she would estimate that I would live to be 100! Everything (other than my BMI which I am working on) came back perfect! When going over my family history of diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, high cholesterol, etc she jokingly asked me if I was adopted. I had no signs or indicators at this time that I had any of those problems. For those who do not know, I am a 42 year old married woman who has three children ages 24, 22, and 8. Here are some of the results from my test.

Heart
Total Cholesterol Reading 125 Optimal
HDL Cholesterol Reading 52 Protective
LDL Cholesterol Reading 64 Optimal
Triglycerides Reading 47 Normal
Ratio of Cholesterol to HDL 2.4 Normal

Endocrine/Misc
Glucose 91 Normal

My vitals, my liver, and my kidney readings were also all in the normal range. Even though I continued to eat too much over the last couple of years and it took me time to lose the weight, I had started to make healthier choices. I kept fluctuating between 200-188ish by making some changes such as eating grilled chicken when I eat fast food instead of devouring that greasy burger. I do not fry any foods when I cook at home, instead I bake things in the oven that I used to fry. Just those small changes seemed to have really shown up in my blood work. I have read recenlty that you should limit red meat to 2 times a week. I tend to only eat it 2 to 3 times a week anyway just because it is higher in calories. I did not realize the impact it was having on my health. Looking at these results have really got me examining what caused them because I want to make sure that I continue to keep my body healthy. All these choices, and more, will be the topic of future blogs. I am so excited I just can't wait to share it all!