Another Update

This week was my 'graduation' from the 17 week program I was following through MMPC. I'm now entering what they call Live It! It's up to me to make the right food choices and of course continue the exercising. I got my before and after picture sent to me and what a big difference. I'm completely thrilled... I'm down to 334 lbs. I'm SOO close to my next personal goal of 330. Plus, I'm VERY close to being within the proper weight range to use the Wii Fit board. I can't wait. That's been one of my goals too.

When I saw the pictures of myself of the before and after... I wanted to cry. Oh and I lost 7 inches from the hips and 4 from the waist. My BMI has gone down 10. I'm not one for displaying my pics, but really... I think you should see the before and after for just 17 weeks. It's AWESOME!!!!! You can really see it my face and neck. I look healthier. I have a long way to go yet, but I'm well on my way!! I'm very proud of myself.

No Catchy Title - Updating

Once again, it's been a while. I'm not sure if I should even be a part of the 4th of July Challenge because I haven't been getting in here to update on a regular basis as promised. Life's been busy. But I'm still feeling good. I can't complain. My last update was 4/19. Since then, I've lost another 6.4 lbs. I'm now down to 340 even. I do go in today for another weigh-in. I will attempt to update sooner. I really do want to share what I learn and what I've found to be true.

I'm very close to the end of the program...2 more weeks. That just means, I'll be back on a regular diet (no supplemental food or anything). I'm not sure how many calories will be suggested, but I'll find that out in the next week or so I'm guessing. My blood work has been normal - Yay! My blood pressure readings have also been very good. If they keep up like that for a few more readings, then the doctor said I might be able to cut back on the med. I would love to be off the meds.

One of the changes I've noticed is in my monthly period. The cramps seem more intense and the period is lasting 7 days usually. It's very similar to how it was before I had my kids. Could my body age be going down :)

I have been exercising. I was using a My Fitness Coach for the Wii. I'm disappointed because the lightening strike the other day seems to have wrecked our Wii. Things happen and it's minimal.

I've heard and read about all the storms going through the southern states. My heart goes out to those. I also think about those who have gotten sick by the H1N1 Flu. I pray for recovery. There are schools around us that have closed and I admit to getting a little nervous about it all. But I keep instilling the common sense washing hands habit into my kids. We also take our vitamins.

Til next time - be well.

♥Dottie

Week 9 Update

Oh my, the last couple weeks have been VERY busy with work. We've been rolling out new software and it's occupied a lot of time...even outside of the office walls. I spent nearly 8 hours working from home on a Sunday...good thing it was cold outside.

So, I didn't get out here to post a week 8 update and now it's already the end of week 9. Tomorrow is the official first day of week 10 of my program. So here's a quick update of the numbers..

Week 8 - down 2.4 lbs.
Week 9 - down 2.4 lbs.

How odd is that to be down the same exact number for two weeks in a row. So that's 4.8 or I like to round it and say 5 lbs. :) My total since starting the program is 39 lbs., but my total overall is 45 lbs. I've passed the 10% loss mark!

I've been able to add very lean meats and vegetables to my daily diet. I have been eating salads quite a bit. The first one I made was so pretty (colorful) - I should've taken a picture of it. It had regular garden salad mix along with baby spinach, sliced tomatoes,sliced black olives, very lean deli turkey, mild banana ring peppers and I topped it with some light italian dressing. It was SO good and I didn't even miss the cheese or croutons or bacon bits from my "pre-program" salads. These new salads I'm doing taste so much fresher and light but satisfying. I can't believe the amount of blue cheese dressing I used to use!

My activity lately has included pretty much anything I can think of to keep moving. I do knee lifts and stomach crunching while sitting at my desk at work. I make a point to get up out of that chair and stretch and move regularly. I park alot further from the door. I bought at weighted pilates ball and a mat and have been doing a few toning exercises. I just do whatever to keep moving. I really don't have a set regimen right now...because I seem to be the type that gets bored easily. So I do something a little different every day usually.

I noticed that I have a couple more followers...that makes me feel really great. I will do my best to give you something to follow at least once per week.

Please keep up your efforts. We can do this!

♥ Dottie

Week 6 Update

I weighed in yesterday afternoon and I am extremely excited to report I've lost 7.4 lbs. this week!! I'm so excited. I've lost 3 inches in the hips and my blood pressure is going down. I am just so proud of myself. I've been walking more and just plain moving more. I've been loading a lot of fun songs on my Zune (mp3 player) and just dancing around the house. I've also been doing a little on the Core Stability Ball that I got. I was so nervous that the thing would burst or something the minute I sat on it. But to my delight - it did not!

Today I began the 7th week of this new lifestyle plan and I feel so much better. It really is amazing the difference 26 lbs. can make. Technically, if I go by my highest weight before I began the plan, I've lost 34 lbs. so far. It all counts! I've been learning so much. When I first started the plan, I seriously thought I'd have a problem with not having my glass of milk at night before bed. I love milk. Amazingly enough, I don't miss it at all. I haven't had milk in 7 weeks. I can't even believe it. I haven't had bread in weeks...well not white bread. I did deviate one day and had a tuna sandwich on whole wheat. I'm kind of having a hard time believing that I'm doing so well and have been able to stick with it. Granted, the first weeks were so tough at times. I did seriously crave some things. But now...I'm just getting tired of the minimal selection of product. I've noticed too that I'm feeling hungry before it's time for my next meal. I eat 6 times a day - 3 hours between each. At 2 hours, my stomach is growling...really growling. I got so excited because it must mean the exercise is paying off and my metabolism is coming out of the dormant stage its been in for so long. I mentioned it to the doctor and she recommend I see the Dietician so that is where I'm going at 8 a.m. tomorrow. I'm curious to see what they'll have to say. I'd love to incorporate some fruit or veg or cottage cheese or something. At this point, I'm limited to between 800 and 900 calories a day. Doesn't seem possible does it? I didn't think so in the beginning. But I never got hungry...until this past week. Here's what a typical day consists of in case anyone is curious.

Meal	Item	Cal	Fat	Protein	Carb
Breakfast	Vanilla Protein Drink	110	4	15	3
Snack	Cinnamon Pecan Dream Protein Bar	160	.5	15	16
Lunch	Vegetable Spaghetti	150	3	12	21
Snack	Chocolate Covered Soy Snacks	150	6	15	11
Dinner	Chicken Pasta Parmesan	200	3.5	17	26
Snack	Cappuccino	90	1	15	4
	DAILY TOTAL	860	22	89	81

The serving sizes are much smaller than what I used to consume prior to starting this plan. I seriously doubted that I would be satisfied, but all the protein helps the body feel full. It's true.

I've rambled enough for now. I hope you all are doing well.

Let's keep rockin'!!

♥ Dottie

Week 2 Update

I just finished week two of this program. This week, I lost 4 lbs. At first, I was a little bummed because the loss wasn't as much as the previous week (9 lbs), but then I reminded myself that 4 lbs. in a week is really good; and 13 lbs. in two weeks is awesome. So, I'm feeling good about it.

I was also happy to learn that my non-fasting glucose level is at a perfect healthy normal. Yay!

My goal is to amp up the exercise this week. If I do that, then I'd hope that my loss will be even more. :)

Hope you are all well.

Still Kickin' Chicken

Hi there and hello. I'm not sure if anyone has been looking for me, but I am still around. Work has been incredibly busy. We've been working on deploying Office 2007 company wide and it has been a trip to say the least. Additionally, next year is my 20 year high school reunion (GASP!) so I've been reacquainting with some highschool friends on Facebook.

I have joined Weight Watchers. It's an at work program. It's only been a few weeks. I had lost a little .8 and then gained it right back. I'm not going to say that the program is hard or anything..I just have to admit that I'm a little lazy when it comes to tracking my points. I chose the flex plan so that I can still enjoy some of the foods I really like. The core plan just didn't seem like a good fit.

I think that my main problem right now is that I may not be eating enough during the day. I am so busy at work, that I haven't been eating anything. By the time I get home, I'm so hungry that I tend to eat more than I should at times.

I hope everyone here in blogland is doing well. It's starting to get cold here in MI, so I may not be outside as much :) Tonight was a good night for curling up in front of the fire.

Take care,
♥ Dottie