Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, November 4, 2010
25lbs Down!
Yesterday was a good day at my weigh in - I'm officially down 25.4 lbs. It hasn't even been 2 months yet! I'm absolutely amazed at how well my body responds to the weight watchers plan. It's just been so easy. I really, really feel like I can do this for the rest of my life. I'm not having any issues avoiding things I shouldn't eat - it's been surprisingly simple.
With past diets, I've always struggled and fallen off course (or lost weight in an unhealthy way). Now I'm following the plan to a T and feel great!
Mom is doing pretty well...there's been a few new developments in her diagnosis that should be cleared up within the next week. Hopefully next week I'll be under 230 and mom will be starting treatment :)
I hope everyone has a great week!
With past diets, I've always struggled and fallen off course (or lost weight in an unhealthy way). Now I'm following the plan to a T and feel great!
Mom is doing pretty well...there's been a few new developments in her diagnosis that should be cleared up within the next week. Hopefully next week I'll be under 230 and mom will be starting treatment :)
I hope everyone has a great week!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Cancer
On Monday, October 18th at 4:50pm I received a text from my brother asking if I could come to my mom's house for dinner after work - it wasn't a casual invite...it was more of a mom needs to talk to us so you need to come out here invite. I was scared and confused so I called my mom and when she didn't answer, I called again. This time she answered. After my asking 5 times she finally told me she just found out she has cancer. Mom wouldn't give me details over the phone since I had a long drive ahead of me (she didn't want to tell me she had cancer either but I insisted on knowing).
I couldn't speak. I frantically ran back into my office and told my boss I needed to leave. He completely understood and I went to my desk to pack up my computer. I was shaking, crying, and my mind was racing a million miles an hour. Some girls I work with were trying to calm me down and help me concentrate on breathing but I just couldn't. The thought of my mom having cancer was too much to handle. Longest drive of my life.
It's crazy to think how fast things can change. One minute everything is fine and the next you're fighting a terminal disease you've had for over 6 months but been unaware of. A week ago my mom was getting her shoulder checked out thinking she pulled a muscle and after various tests they diagnosed her with cancer? Her appointment with her family physician was Monday, CT scan was Thursday, MRI Saturday, and Monday she has an oncologist and was told she has cancer? Everything had been happening so fast - could this really be true?
It's true. She has cancer. She went through several tests last week and as of this afternoon she's been officially diagnosed with IGA Myeloma. Although it doesn't seem like them confirming a type of cancer is a good thing, it really is the best of both potential types. There is no tumor which is great news and although it's still terminal, her doctor thinks she has 5-10 years left which is way more than she'd have if there would have been a tumor.
My mom is the strongest person I know. She's so optimistic about everything and is ready for treatment to start next week. She's made everyone around her feel so good about everything - it's weird that we're being supported from her in this situation rather than our convincing her everything will be ok. The roles are reversed - she's so strong. I admire her. If something good can come out of something so terrible, my mom will find it. And she did. She's inspired everyone around her.
I'm terrified for the coming months. I'm worried the chemo will make her sick and seeing her like that will crush all of us. We need to be strong but it's going to be hard. The amount of people praying for her and supporting her has been absolutely overwhelming. I can't explain how lucky we feel to know such an amazing group of people. We have great friends and family and even their friends, and their friends friends have been praying for her. The prayers have worked so far - there's treatment that will give her a chance to live a few years longer.
I know this is a loaded entry and not the typical weight loss entry, but it feels good to put my thoughts into writing. As far as the weight loss is concerned, I lost 1.8 lbs last week but haven't been to Zumba as I've been spending a lot of time with my mom but will be starting classes up again Thursday. Mom wants me to keep on it because she's seen how happy I've been on the program so she's encouraging me to keep to my routine. I've still been sticking to my points but when I weigh in tomorrow I'm not sure I will have lost anything since I haven't worked out. We'll see...
Mom - I love you. You inspire me. And you're strong - you can fight this!
I couldn't speak. I frantically ran back into my office and told my boss I needed to leave. He completely understood and I went to my desk to pack up my computer. I was shaking, crying, and my mind was racing a million miles an hour. Some girls I work with were trying to calm me down and help me concentrate on breathing but I just couldn't. The thought of my mom having cancer was too much to handle. Longest drive of my life.
It's crazy to think how fast things can change. One minute everything is fine and the next you're fighting a terminal disease you've had for over 6 months but been unaware of. A week ago my mom was getting her shoulder checked out thinking she pulled a muscle and after various tests they diagnosed her with cancer? Her appointment with her family physician was Monday, CT scan was Thursday, MRI Saturday, and Monday she has an oncologist and was told she has cancer? Everything had been happening so fast - could this really be true?
It's true. She has cancer. She went through several tests last week and as of this afternoon she's been officially diagnosed with IGA Myeloma. Although it doesn't seem like them confirming a type of cancer is a good thing, it really is the best of both potential types. There is no tumor which is great news and although it's still terminal, her doctor thinks she has 5-10 years left which is way more than she'd have if there would have been a tumor.
My mom is the strongest person I know. She's so optimistic about everything and is ready for treatment to start next week. She's made everyone around her feel so good about everything - it's weird that we're being supported from her in this situation rather than our convincing her everything will be ok. The roles are reversed - she's so strong. I admire her. If something good can come out of something so terrible, my mom will find it. And she did. She's inspired everyone around her.
I'm terrified for the coming months. I'm worried the chemo will make her sick and seeing her like that will crush all of us. We need to be strong but it's going to be hard. The amount of people praying for her and supporting her has been absolutely overwhelming. I can't explain how lucky we feel to know such an amazing group of people. We have great friends and family and even their friends, and their friends friends have been praying for her. The prayers have worked so far - there's treatment that will give her a chance to live a few years longer.
I know this is a loaded entry and not the typical weight loss entry, but it feels good to put my thoughts into writing. As far as the weight loss is concerned, I lost 1.8 lbs last week but haven't been to Zumba as I've been spending a lot of time with my mom but will be starting classes up again Thursday. Mom wants me to keep on it because she's seen how happy I've been on the program so she's encouraging me to keep to my routine. I've still been sticking to my points but when I weigh in tomorrow I'm not sure I will have lost anything since I haven't worked out. We'll see...
Mom - I love you. You inspire me. And you're strong - you can fight this!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
OU Game
This past week I've been on vacation. I took a week off work to decompress and relax. I hung out with my mom, dad, and a couple of friends - its been great. I've been able to eat healthy all week as its much easier to eat well when I'm on a routine schedule and don't have any stress in my life. When I weighed in Wednesday I had lost 4 lbs which brought me to the 18.2 lb loss mark.
Here's where I could have fallen off the program...
My boyfriend and I drove up to Norman, OK yesterday to go to the OU game. His family has season tickets and although I'm a Texas Tech fan I wanted to go with him and see the stadium and figured we'd have a good time. I was quite worried about what I would eat though since I couldn't plan for it and we didn't know what the crowds would be like at local restaurants. He's been really supportive of my being on the WW program though so he named a few places we could eat at while we were driving there so I was able to find something to eat at each restaurant that wouldn't exceed my points for the day.
When we arrived in Norman we were both hungry and luckily had to walk a mile to get to campus (helped me earn a couple extra activity points for the week). A lot of the local restaurants were busy so we walked into Jimmy John's for lunch. This was my choice as I looked it up in the car and realized I could eat a sub and 3/4 of a bag of chips for only 16 points. Lunch was delicious and I felt great afterward. The sub I used to get at Jimmy John's is SO many points compared to the smarter choice I made yesterday...and the turkey sub I got was just as delicious. That's what I love about this program...I may be making different, smarter choices, but I'm not sacrificing anything.
After lunch we decided to walk around campus. The OU campus is actually quite charming and I really enjoyed walking through all of the little shops. I kept wanting to buy things but am on a really tight budget so I had to resist. Next time I go I may have to splurge a bit! We walked into one of the bars to watch the Rangers and Tech games since we still had a couple of hours before kickoff and I resisted the temptation of having a beer. Drinking is always my biggest fear when heading out to sporting events or parties...it's so easy to lose count after you've had a couple.
Around 5pm we walked over to the stadium and it was really quite amazing inside. So much different than the stadium at the college I went to! It was the 72nd consecutive sell-out. Absolutely insane to think that over 84,000 people have attended the last 72 OU home games. They really have a lot of school spirit and alumni pride. Pretty cool to experience that. OU dominated Iowa State 52-0 (which was cool but kind of a bummer since the game was a bit boring in the second half) but still a great experience and Adam loved it.
After the game we were pretty hungry. We found a little mexican restaurant down the street and popped in for a quick meal. I had a margarita on the rocks, half a chicken quesadilla, and about 20 torilla chips with salsa. I calculated the points and it came out to about 25. Luckily I had most of my bonus points left so that was a relief.
We drove back after the game and the hardest part of the week (WW wise) was over. I'm so glad I made the choices I did because I feel great today and have no regrets about what I ate/drank yesterday. It was a great week, great weekend, and I'm ready to head back to the office tomorrow.
I hope everyone had a great week this week!! Any successes/struggles?
Here's where I could have fallen off the program...
My boyfriend and I drove up to Norman, OK yesterday to go to the OU game. His family has season tickets and although I'm a Texas Tech fan I wanted to go with him and see the stadium and figured we'd have a good time. I was quite worried about what I would eat though since I couldn't plan for it and we didn't know what the crowds would be like at local restaurants. He's been really supportive of my being on the WW program though so he named a few places we could eat at while we were driving there so I was able to find something to eat at each restaurant that wouldn't exceed my points for the day.
When we arrived in Norman we were both hungry and luckily had to walk a mile to get to campus (helped me earn a couple extra activity points for the week). A lot of the local restaurants were busy so we walked into Jimmy John's for lunch. This was my choice as I looked it up in the car and realized I could eat a sub and 3/4 of a bag of chips for only 16 points. Lunch was delicious and I felt great afterward. The sub I used to get at Jimmy John's is SO many points compared to the smarter choice I made yesterday...and the turkey sub I got was just as delicious. That's what I love about this program...I may be making different, smarter choices, but I'm not sacrificing anything.
After lunch we decided to walk around campus. The OU campus is actually quite charming and I really enjoyed walking through all of the little shops. I kept wanting to buy things but am on a really tight budget so I had to resist. Next time I go I may have to splurge a bit! We walked into one of the bars to watch the Rangers and Tech games since we still had a couple of hours before kickoff and I resisted the temptation of having a beer. Drinking is always my biggest fear when heading out to sporting events or parties...it's so easy to lose count after you've had a couple.
Around 5pm we walked over to the stadium and it was really quite amazing inside. So much different than the stadium at the college I went to! It was the 72nd consecutive sell-out. Absolutely insane to think that over 84,000 people have attended the last 72 OU home games. They really have a lot of school spirit and alumni pride. Pretty cool to experience that. OU dominated Iowa State 52-0 (which was cool but kind of a bummer since the game was a bit boring in the second half) but still a great experience and Adam loved it.
After the game we were pretty hungry. We found a little mexican restaurant down the street and popped in for a quick meal. I had a margarita on the rocks, half a chicken quesadilla, and about 20 torilla chips with salsa. I calculated the points and it came out to about 25. Luckily I had most of my bonus points left so that was a relief.
We drove back after the game and the hardest part of the week (WW wise) was over. I'm so glad I made the choices I did because I feel great today and have no regrets about what I ate/drank yesterday. It was a great week, great weekend, and I'm ready to head back to the office tomorrow.
I hope everyone had a great week this week!! Any successes/struggles?
Thursday, October 14, 2010
One Month
Exactly one month ago today I walked into Weight Watchers for the first time. My cousin, Trisha, had started on the program a few weeks before and when I was visiting her in California she told me about it and how she lost 8.4 lbs the first week. I'd heard of Weight Watchers before, having fought the weight loss battle my entire life, but hearing about Trisha's success made me want to give it a shot.
To give you a little background, my family and I have always been overweight. I've lost a significant amount of weight twice in the past; once in high school and once in college. My latest successful weight loss endeavor in college resulted in an 80 lb weight loss in just 3 1/2 months. A ridiculous amount of weight...and I felt great. Better than I ever had in my life. I know that's a lot of weight to lose in such a short amount of time, but I really wanted to lose the weight by my 21st birthday. I succeeded, but as we all know, those weight loss successes are short-lived. Old habits come back and once I started incorporating normal foods into my diet again, the pounds began to creep back on.
My weight on my 21st birthday was 185. By the following May I was around 205. Although I should have jumped back into healthy eating, I looked at the weight gain as "not too bad for a year" and I was eating whatever I wanted and having fun. Over the next year I gained another 10-15lbs. That gets me to May of 2009 and I was weighing in around 220 lbs. Again, I should have pushed myself to get back into it but I just couldn't shake my love for food.
When I say love for food, I really mean that. Food drives every decision I make in the day and its all I think about. When I finish one meal, I'm looking forward to the next. It's a sickness. The sad part is, the more I eat, the more miserable I feel. No matter how many diary entries I have that document the hatred of my weight, the way I look, and the overeating that took place that day, I still overindulge. And I mean seriously overindulge. Sneaking cookie dough when I'm claiming to bake cookies for work...half of which I'll eat on the way to the office, and eating before going out to eat and STILL finishing my 1500-2000 calorie meal when I get there.
It really hit me at the beginning of April this year when I was visiting my family in California. My cousins Trisha and Nikki, my Aunt Rene, and my mom decided enough is enough and we joined together and created our own Biggest Loser competition. Now I had come up with this idea in 2008 and got 9 family members involved - I sent out a weekly e-mail and everyone put in $100. My cousin Beth who lives in Oklahoma ended up losing 35lbs! She did great and won the cash. Trisha came in second (she did a crash diet like I did in '07), and I just sent out the e-mails. I didn't even do the final weigh-in because I knew I hadn't lost...in fact, I probably gained a few pounds. I just couldn't find the motivation.
Anyway, we decided to start again but just the 5 of us this time. I weighed in at 232.5 lbs which absolutely disgusted me. I sent out the e-mails for 7 or 8 weeks and then we all fell off the bandwagon. None of us were working out enough and it didn't seem right for anyone to get the $800 prize (we each put in $200 this time), so we extended the deadline to Thanksgiving when we got together at the end of June. Well...since Thanksgiving seemed so far away, none of us really started trying. I know I looked at it like we had plenty of time and I could have another week of eating whatever I wanted...well that led to another week...and another week...until I visited my family in California again in September and it all hit me.
This is when Trisha told me about Weight Watchers. I got home from California on September 12th and attended my first Weight Watchers meeting on September 14th. I was nervous, but excited about the chance to start things over...and lose weight the healthy way. Finally.
I weighed in at 255.6 lbs. In just 5 months I managed to gain 23.1 lbs - I couldn't believe my eyes. How could I let myself go like that? Gaining that much weight so quickly? Not to mention I was supposed to be in a weight loss competition at the time! It was definitely a wake up call. I was headed downhill way too fast and it's time to turn my life around. I didn't get discouraged by the number on the scale. In fact, it motivated me to really give WW a shot. I bought the starter kit and left the meeting feeling ready for what the program would bring me.
I went to the 2nd meeting on September 21st and in just one week I lost 8.4 lbs. EIGHT.FOUR POUNDS! I was shocked. I walked out of the meeting feeling empowered and couldn't wait to come in the following week for my next weigh-in. How crazy is it that Trisha and I lost the same amount the first week?
Anyway, I've now spent 4 weeks on the WW program. I track my points every single day using the iPhone application which I absolutely LOVE. It makes things so easy and although it seems like it would be a pain, I feel like I'm just living life! I don't feel like I have to think about everything I eat because the application thinks through everything for me. I don't analyze the labels on foods anymore...I just type them in my phone to see how many points they are.
After 4 weeks, I've lost 18.2 lbs. This past week I lost 4 lbs! I'm not even working out much...just taking a really fun Zumba class twice a week. I don't feel deprived, and haven't had to change anything about my lifestyle. I just feel better. I still have a long way to go but I couldn't be happier with how this program is going. I really feel like I'm just living my day to day life and just happen to be losing weight.
This blog will be a compilation of varying struggles/successes I encounter on this program...and I hope at the end of it, I can look back at this long journey...and just feel great. About myself and what I've been able to accomplish.
Here's to hoping...
To give you a little background, my family and I have always been overweight. I've lost a significant amount of weight twice in the past; once in high school and once in college. My latest successful weight loss endeavor in college resulted in an 80 lb weight loss in just 3 1/2 months. A ridiculous amount of weight...and I felt great. Better than I ever had in my life. I know that's a lot of weight to lose in such a short amount of time, but I really wanted to lose the weight by my 21st birthday. I succeeded, but as we all know, those weight loss successes are short-lived. Old habits come back and once I started incorporating normal foods into my diet again, the pounds began to creep back on.
My weight on my 21st birthday was 185. By the following May I was around 205. Although I should have jumped back into healthy eating, I looked at the weight gain as "not too bad for a year" and I was eating whatever I wanted and having fun. Over the next year I gained another 10-15lbs. That gets me to May of 2009 and I was weighing in around 220 lbs. Again, I should have pushed myself to get back into it but I just couldn't shake my love for food.
When I say love for food, I really mean that. Food drives every decision I make in the day and its all I think about. When I finish one meal, I'm looking forward to the next. It's a sickness. The sad part is, the more I eat, the more miserable I feel. No matter how many diary entries I have that document the hatred of my weight, the way I look, and the overeating that took place that day, I still overindulge. And I mean seriously overindulge. Sneaking cookie dough when I'm claiming to bake cookies for work...half of which I'll eat on the way to the office, and eating before going out to eat and STILL finishing my 1500-2000 calorie meal when I get there.
It really hit me at the beginning of April this year when I was visiting my family in California. My cousins Trisha and Nikki, my Aunt Rene, and my mom decided enough is enough and we joined together and created our own Biggest Loser competition. Now I had come up with this idea in 2008 and got 9 family members involved - I sent out a weekly e-mail and everyone put in $100. My cousin Beth who lives in Oklahoma ended up losing 35lbs! She did great and won the cash. Trisha came in second (she did a crash diet like I did in '07), and I just sent out the e-mails. I didn't even do the final weigh-in because I knew I hadn't lost...in fact, I probably gained a few pounds. I just couldn't find the motivation.
Anyway, we decided to start again but just the 5 of us this time. I weighed in at 232.5 lbs which absolutely disgusted me. I sent out the e-mails for 7 or 8 weeks and then we all fell off the bandwagon. None of us were working out enough and it didn't seem right for anyone to get the $800 prize (we each put in $200 this time), so we extended the deadline to Thanksgiving when we got together at the end of June. Well...since Thanksgiving seemed so far away, none of us really started trying. I know I looked at it like we had plenty of time and I could have another week of eating whatever I wanted...well that led to another week...and another week...until I visited my family in California again in September and it all hit me.
This is when Trisha told me about Weight Watchers. I got home from California on September 12th and attended my first Weight Watchers meeting on September 14th. I was nervous, but excited about the chance to start things over...and lose weight the healthy way. Finally.
I weighed in at 255.6 lbs. In just 5 months I managed to gain 23.1 lbs - I couldn't believe my eyes. How could I let myself go like that? Gaining that much weight so quickly? Not to mention I was supposed to be in a weight loss competition at the time! It was definitely a wake up call. I was headed downhill way too fast and it's time to turn my life around. I didn't get discouraged by the number on the scale. In fact, it motivated me to really give WW a shot. I bought the starter kit and left the meeting feeling ready for what the program would bring me.
I went to the 2nd meeting on September 21st and in just one week I lost 8.4 lbs. EIGHT.FOUR POUNDS! I was shocked. I walked out of the meeting feeling empowered and couldn't wait to come in the following week for my next weigh-in. How crazy is it that Trisha and I lost the same amount the first week?
Anyway, I've now spent 4 weeks on the WW program. I track my points every single day using the iPhone application which I absolutely LOVE. It makes things so easy and although it seems like it would be a pain, I feel like I'm just living life! I don't feel like I have to think about everything I eat because the application thinks through everything for me. I don't analyze the labels on foods anymore...I just type them in my phone to see how many points they are.
After 4 weeks, I've lost 18.2 lbs. This past week I lost 4 lbs! I'm not even working out much...just taking a really fun Zumba class twice a week. I don't feel deprived, and haven't had to change anything about my lifestyle. I just feel better. I still have a long way to go but I couldn't be happier with how this program is going. I really feel like I'm just living my day to day life and just happen to be losing weight.
This blog will be a compilation of varying struggles/successes I encounter on this program...and I hope at the end of it, I can look back at this long journey...and just feel great. About myself and what I've been able to accomplish.
Here's to hoping...
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