The 1 year, 2 months check in (Den)

I'm bad at posting right now. I just haven't been losing the weight, and posting seemed futile. I have been maintaining, though. And recently, I have lost a few new pounds. I'm down to 206. In 2 more pounds, I will be the same weight as about 10 years ago, and after that, I will be down where I haven't been since I was in my very early 20s. I have been trying, but I hit about a 2 month plateau that drove me crazy. It seems to have broken now and we will see if I can't lose a few more pounds before another one comes along. Doesn't matter, ya know? Just maintaining is a miracle for me. So, I am not stressing about it.

My mom is below 200! I think she is 197 now. She is so happy, and she looks great. Her blood sugar numbers are in the normal range with a little help from medication, but he doctor says she can come off if it continues to drop. So, yay for mom! I am still vegan and still exercising. I tested my blood sugar, and it was 78 the other day!!! That's a far cry from back in the day, when the drs said I needed to think about meds. I haven't had my cholesterol checked in forever. I wonder what that is at?

I will post again when I lose more pounds. So, hopefully, I am posting again soon!

Kori's check in 9/30/12

I find it funny how simlar Denice and my journeys have been to this point. We both have struggled with weight all of our lives and we both have had health issues that made us rethink what we are doing to our bodies. I knew when we started this process it was going to be a lifetime committment.

I hit my total loss of 49 pounds in May and I have lost three more overe the summer, which is not where I thought I would be but I have discovered that I am thrilled with it. I have maintained this weight loss longer than any other in my past. I love that both Denice and I had the same down time and we both came out the other side at the same weight we started. I am ready to recommit to remaining healthy and losing more weight.

I met with my diabetes provider and he is thrilled with me. He agreed that if my numbers look good in March, he will take me off of all of my medication. Yay.

I commit to at least two organized classes per week at my office, they have zumba, circuit training and boot camps to choose from.

Bring it on!!!!!

A pretty good week (Den)

I’m eating very well lately. I have really cut down on the refined carbohydrates. I try to view them as treats that I don’t often have. They are like “desserts” to me. I don’t have as much of a sweet-tooth as I do a starch-tooth. On my “generally banned” list, I have placed bread, noodles, granulated sugar (but,  uh, we won’t talk about yesterday at the Chinese restaurant!!). But anyway…if I have a craving for starch, then I try to go to a whole food source first – potatoes or beans – but for me, even those things can get out of control quickly, so I try to be careful when I eat them.

My goals for this week include adding some exercise back into my life. I’ve been pretty active with life in general, but not with routine exercise. I’m gonna try to fit 3 sessions into this upcoming week. I did exercise on Tuesday and Thursday this past week. My legs were killing me! The weather is turning gorgeous around San Antonio. I need to try and take advantage of it for the next couple of months. 

I bought a new pair of pants yesterday. They are still size 18, but I thought that I didn't look so terrible in that full length mirror. That's an unusual thought for me, as I generally see myself as "huge." I go out of my way to avoid seeing myself in full length mirrors, but it wasn't so bad yesterday, and I think having a better self-image might be an integral part of the weight loss process, rather than an end result.

Back on track! (Den)

I decided that today is my official weigh-in, and I’m happy to report that I am 213.6 pounds…the lowest I’ve been for quite some time. It means that I am losing new weight once again. In the last decade, my lowest weight was 205 about 7 years ago (I haven't been below 200 in well over 20 years). So, 205 is a small milestone marker that I am looking forward to reaching before the holidays get here.

With this weigh day on the books, I will not record another weight for about 4 weeks. For me, it is just imperative that I stay off that scale! I can’t handle the fluctuations that come along with daily or even weekly weigh-ins. Monthly seems to work for me, but I hope to keep posting progress reports on other topics.

I have to say that I am thrilled with the fact that I haven’t gained back my 46 pounds. Yes, I have been on a bit of a self-imposed plateau, but I’m coming to terms with the way that I lose weight. I do well in this sporadic weight-loss pattern -- I lose for a while, I get bored and stop trying, I bob along at the same weight, then I start back at it. But I have to admit that although I didn’t plan to stop and start all the time, it seems to be working overall. I would love to just dump all my weight and be done with it, but my body seems to be content with doing things this way, so who am I to complain? After all, I am almost 50 pounds lighter, and that feels pretty darn good.

What can I say? It was summer! I was busy!? (Den)

Ugh. Long time no post. In fact, this weekend fall begins, so this is the only post I've managed to produce all summer. Sorry! But there is good news. I am only 2 pounds up from my low weight, and I’m ready to get going again. I will weigh again some time next week to see if I can rid myself of those couple of pounds, and then I will be off to losing fresh weight once again!

I guess I would say that I am inspired by my mom this past week. She is 199.6 pounds. She hasn’t been below 200 in decades! She’s super excited, and I’m excited for her. She is eating well and walking 2.5 miles several times per week. How can I not be inspired to join in on that? I still remember that feeling of getting below those ten pound marks on the scale, too. It’s a great feeling. But to get below that dreaded hundred pound mark?! Well, that’s just fabulous. And what I really love…that inspiration, giddiness, confidence, and excitement are contagious. It’s a bug that I’m happy to catch!

I’m 216, so in 17 pounds, I can also say that I’m in that ONEderland. It doesn’t seem so far away…not like when I was 260 anyway! 17 pounds sound doable. Even if I’m reasonable about losing, it’s doable by the end of the year; if I’m super committed, maybe I can get it done even sooner than that. So, I’ll check back with the blog in a week or so when I decide to weigh again, and then I will take a weigh-break for a month, but I’ll try to keep posting about other things.

Weigh Day Updates (Den)

OK. So, I was pretty nervous about this weigh-in. I haven’t weighed in a long time, but I haven’t been trying to lose any weight either. If anything, I figured I would really pack on some pounds since I returned to eating “normal” food. To my surprise, I was only up 2 pounds…easily lost if I put half a bit of effort into it. I had to get on the scale several times to verify that I hadn’t gained 20 pounds back!

I won’t say that I have been struggling. No, rather, I just have been lazy about working through my weight loss. I kind of went into maintenance mode for a little while. This seems to be my M.O.: lose for a few weeks, then get bored and maintain for a while as I wait for inspiration to strike again.

I’m actually kind of at peace with the whole thing. I make better choices all the time; my screw-ups are farther in between. We live a mostly vegan lifestyle, especially with at-home meals. I treat myself occasionally (had a milkshake just two days ago!), and I refuse to feel guilty about that because they are not daily treats. While I am not dumping weight at a record pace, I also don’t engage the stress of losing weight…something that has always seemed to haunt me. This is a new feeling for me - one which only came along after I quit getting on the scale every day; I really like not fretting about my weight all the time. 

Check In-Kori

     I haven't posted for quite a while. I have been disinterested in the weight loss process for the past several weeks as other things have crowded it out. I have maintained my weight and even lost a few ounces here and there. I am only 8 ounces from the 50 pound mark. I have allowed these other things to keep me from not sleeping enough and not getting exercise. It's amazing how stress/time demands can creep in and take over. I declare war on them today and I will get a grip on my life and my health again.
     I am proud of myself that I have continued to eat relatively well and not allowed myself to eat my frustration. That is huge for me. I continue to see my health counselor and that helps a lot too.
     I will cook well this week, fit in four days of thirty minutes of exercise and sleep at least 7.5 hours per night. That is my promise to myself.

Week 19 Updates (Den)

What a week! Goodness, I came off my cleansing and went nuts eating! On a positive note, I kept up with my exercise, and I have lived a fulfilling vegan week. I have to buckle down now, though, so that I don’t gain weight eating so much yummy food. Even good food can make ya fat. It’s a good thing that I don’t have weigh-in right now.

I think I would like to officially move my weigh days to 5 days after my “monthly, you-know-what” thing. That seems like it would be the most consistent, accurate time to weigh. So, instead of the 15^th of the month (an arbitrary date), I may take another month or so hiatus from the scale. I just feel a lot better not relying on my scale numbers. I get a little scale withdrawal every now and then, but overall, it’s just better this way for me.

Oh, and, Kudos to my boys! They have lived with vegan dinners for 9 days now. They have been good sports…trying a variety of mysterious foods (at least to them). They have had tempeh, green apple chili, lentil loaf, mashed cauliflower and potatoes, pad Thai and kimchee, aloo gobi, and zucchini balls. Surprisingly, they have actually liked everything!  Next week, I will be introducing them to seitan, bean burgers, quinoa tabbouleh, polenta, and falafel pitas. I know they had pepperoni pizza for lunch one day, but other than that, they have been surprising good about eating vegan supper. The problem is – dinner has been so delicious. Can anybody remind me about that thing…you know…uh…portion control…yeah, that’s it!