Back in the saddle again...

Okay, so I have had a seriously stressful last few months.  I think that much of this stress has landed in my middle section.  I was frustrated with the last approach as it because unsuccessful.  I was bored, not diligent, inconsistent weight-loss, etc.  Basically, the long and the short of it, or the fat of it as the case may be, is that I have reclaimed some the lost pounds.  I have accepted that this is part of life and that I am now ready to start again.

However this time I am doing Medifast.

I have a great coach, Megan, who rocks!  She checks in with me to see how I am doing and what I have planned for my "lean and green" meals.  For those of you unfamiliar with the program, you eat 5 Medifast "meals" (shake, bar, soup, cheese puffs, etc.) and one "lean and green" meal a day.  I am two days in and I was ready to turn cannibal last night, but today has been much better.  Some of the food items are RAD; they have about 100 calories and 10 grams of protein.  I have no idea if I have lost weight yet, but I feel a little better.  Due to school this summer (For those of you out of the loop, I started a doctoral program this summer, one of the better choices of my life.) I haven't been staying at my house and did NOT pack a scale.  So when I move home on Friday, I can update my stats below.

Today's Weight: ???
Today's Weight Loss: ???
Total Weight Loss: ???

Demi-Plie

The translation of this French phrase literally means, "falling down half-way."  Although traditionally associated with ballet, I feel like this phrase can also represent my placement on my weight-loss journey.  Having lost 55 pounds thus far, I am encouraged to think that I am close to half-way there.  I continue to lose weight daily and have started taking a weekly adult ballet class and doing Pilates thrice weekly.

That's right folks, I am enrolled in an adult ballet class.  Don't think that I threw that in for funsies, although the class itself is quite fun.  Every Monday night, I put on my pink tights and black leotard; I put my short hair up into a very tiny bun, and take my ballet shoes to On Pointe School of Ballet where I attend an hour long class with Miss Carol and seven wonderful women and prepare for our recital piece in the studio musical, Hansel and Gretel, this coming June.  (Yes, you are all invited.) 

I love the physical challenges that ballet requires of my body and I REALLY LOVE the barre stretching....amazing.  Pilates is a nice fit with my "ballet studies" and is certainly fun too-early in the morning on the living room floor of my dear friend, Penny.  If laughing counts as as a workout, then I definitely do more than Mari Winsor intends. 

The food continues to be delicious, although not very varied.  I may eat at Chipotle twice today.  I enjoy drinking all-natural sugar-free sodas, but do not enduring the extortion that Fred Meyer bestows upon me so I can drink them.  I really want to eat frozen yogurt with strawberries and mochi, but I really want to wear a single-digit size more. 

So the journey continues and the waistline shrinks and my demi-plies become more technically correct.

Today's Weight: 242.8
Today's Weight Loss: 1.8
Total Weight Loss:  55.8

New Vigor

Well the holidays were fun and delicious.  Unfortunately, that meant that my weight went the wrong way.  I did gain some weight (Johnny's Bean and Cheese Fried will do that to anybody).  But I have lost that weight and feel dedicated to fight the fight again. 

The pink eye that started in September has never really gone away so I have an appointment with my doctor this afternoon.  This will be the first time that Dr. Kotamarti will see me since I started the weight loss journey.  I am excited to see what he has to say. 

I had a house warming party this past weekend and had a great time showing off my house to some dear friends.  I wish you all could have been there. 

Here's to renewed dedication!

Today's Weight: 250ish (I didn't get on a scale today.)
Today's Weight Loss: ???
Total Weight Loss:  48

The Big 5-0!

Today I hit a major milestone in the weight-loss journey.  I have officially lost 50 lbs. since the start of school.  I have figured out how to make the program work for me.  Here are my before and after shots.





BEFORE - 9/20/10

AFTER - 12/13/10

Today's Weight: 248

Today's Weight Loss:

Total Weight Loss:  50!!!

Long and slightly frustrating

I know that it has been a couple of weeks since I last shared my progress.  Partly because I have been busy, but I am not ashamed to say it was partly because I was frustrated.

For nine days my weight was the same.  Bah!  I got a "Buck Shot" (a vitamin shot) to help improve metabolism and either that or something else kicked in and I started losing weight again.  I am now officially down almost 20 whole pounds.  That is two bowling balls for those of you keeping track at home.

I have noticed that there are a lot of things I can do now that I couldn't two bowling balls ago.  Here is the current list:

• touch my toes
• wear two pairs of jeans that did not even button one month ago
• be up and around all through the evening, no watching TV because of excessive exhaustion
• refute a new shirt because I didn't like it and not because it didn't fit
• cross my legs without having to anchor the crossed foot on the pew in front of me
• kneel and sit on my feet
• put on a size 16 dress AND have it fit
• go up and down stairs with ease
• buy clothes in the Misses section
• wear my CTR ring
• wear a size 11 shoe (even my feet were chubby and I bought 12s before school started)
• take a picture with a double chin rather than the triple chin

...and MANY more, I am sure.

I have to admit that it feels pretty awesome and I am looking forward to losing more weight.  Yesterday was the "Shop for a Cause" day at Macy's; that means that everything is an additional 20% off.  Penny and I look forward to it each year and go to multiple Macy's stores to maximize our finds.  I found three dresses that were adorable, but I bought one size smaller than I would currently wear.  And not because they didn't have my size, although they did, but because they will fit in a few short weeks.  Keep your eyes peeled for the new red dress!

Today I am wearing the same dress from my "before" picture.  It is quite looser.  But you tell me what you think.


NOW



BEFORE



BEFORE



Today's Weight: 273.0

Today's Weight Loss: 1.0

Total Weight Loss:  19.8

My shirt was big

I put on my shirt today and it was big.  Yippee!  It is the first thing I have really noticed as far as clothes go.  I was thinking that my jeans were getting a little looser, but I also hadn't washed them so they could have just been stretching.  So that's good.  My friend at work should start getting excited about me shrinking out of my clothes because that means she gets them!  And may I just say that they are FANTASTIC!!

As far as the diet goes, I am finding more and more that I eat because it is time to eat and not because I am hungry.  Last night I did not eat my fruit last night with my dinner and I was completely satiated.  I am sure that the nutritionist will say that is bad, but I am hoping she will say that I can eat less meat at meals.

For weight loss, I entered a new decade of weight, the 270s.  Awesome!

Today's Weight: 279.4
Today's Weight Loss: 2
Total Weight Loss:  12.4

Pink Eye

And I don't mean this kind:

I had an ugly bout of pink eye the last several days.  I am highly medicated, via eye drops, and am now allowed to come back to school.  Shucks!  So this is why there has been an absence of posting.

My weight-loss has gone into the double digits!  Woo-hoo!  Also, I am no longer hungry.  I feel like I eat because the clock says it is time to eat and not because I'm hungry.  This is both good and bad.  Good, because I am not hungry and still losing weight.  Bad, because I don't really look forward to eating.  Although, I suppose that could be good in the long run.  Hmmm.  I go back for the second appointment on Saturday, I wonder what they will tell me.

Today's Weight: 281.4
Today's Weight Loss:
Total Weight Loss:  10.4

Wow! What support!

I am so amazed at how many people are supporting me!!  It was quite the risk to sent out this website to every man, woman, and child on my email list.  I am sure that my therapist will be quite impressed later today...and then, once again, wonder if the new attitude of full self-disclosure is sustaining.

I had a great birthday and lots of wonderful warm wishes.  Thanks to all of you!  I am totally amped for year 33.  Not only is the year palindromic, but it is the year I become a home owner and, hopefully, the year I get skinny. 

For those of you not in the home owner loop, let me explain.  I have been trying to buy a home for the last several months.  The market is incredible and interest rates ridiculously low.  If there ever was a time to jump into the real estate game, this is it.  I moved in with my aunt and uncle in Beaverton this July.  I was supposed to close on a lovely 3 bed/2.1 bath townhouse in mid-September.  However, due to an under appraisal and sellers who thought much too highly of their stuff the sale fell through two weeks ago. 

I started looking again and found a cooler, awesomer house-house (check out pics!) and made an offer on Wednesday. 

After some haggling, I signed the contract yesterday afternoon for only $189K, a wonderful birthday present to myself!  The inspection is Monday and I hope all will go well.

I think this may have been the only birthday that I actually lost weight, 1.6 lbs to be precise.

Today's Weight: 283.8
Today's Weight Loss: 1.6
Total Weight Loss:  8.0

Biting the Big One...or the small one as the case may be

After years of trying fad diets, Weight Watchers, pills, starvation, and running 6 miles a day, I have decided to embark on a promising journey of weight-loss.  I have had several friends find success with this system and so far, so good.

The Magical Weight-loss System is called Medipro Slim and basically consists of the following:

• HCG Injection - a pregnant lady hormone which causes increased metabolism & decreased hunger
• VLCD - a very low calorie diet of four protein shakes and two "sensible" meals
• Doctor Supervised - I see a physician twice a month who checks body fat %, hydration level, and many other health related stats.
• Nutritionist - I meet her twice a month and we decide how much I should eat during my "sensible" meals and which foods will keep my body in ketosis, the fat-burning stage.
• Lifestyle Coaching - Again, twice a month to foster healthy habits including diet choices and exercise.

I will post the joys of my day and how much I have lost/gained. 

Here are my BEFORE pictures at my cousin's graduation:

Today is my birthday and I get to eat strawberries with stevia for dessert!  I wish it was strawberries on cheesecake, but there will be time enough for that.  It is only day three and I don't want to mess up the progress!  I am not that hungry and I LOVE eating 7 oz. of steak for dinner!  I wish I could eat more veggies, but that's okay.....'CUZ I"VE LOST SIX AND A HALF POUNDS IN THREE DAYS!!!!!

Please see the stats below.

Today's Weight: 285.4
Today's Weight Loss: 1.6
Total Weight Loss:  6.4

Snuggies for the Homeless

The Thornbrue and The Hite Familes are working on a Christmas service
project this year. We are collecting money for the "Snuggies for the
Homeless" fund. We will use the funds to purchase Snuggies at a
discounted rate and distribute them among the homeless in Portland.
Help us keep people warm by giving a blanket with sleeves! Please
contact me if you would like to donate.