Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Days 12 and 13

It has been a few days since my last post, as I have had quite a bit going on, with my trip to Denver and all. Thursday and Friday of last week went by like normal: Adipex in the a.m., light snack in the afternoon if I was hungry, and proper portions at dinner. No Pepsi (I miss Pepsi), no sugar, no bread, no white pasta--yay!

Saturday morning and it's off to the airport. Had my Adipex, some water, and some coffee on the way. We stopped at Winn-Dixie so I could get some Airborne and weigh myself. Discovered I was down 10 pounds!!!

When I got off the plane in Denver I was a little light-headed, so I went to Quizno's and had one of their new flatbread "sammies." It was the perfect size and only 200 calories. I also downed some water, since dehydration was probably what was wrong with me.

I spent Saturday with Niamh. We had a great time at Nallen's, then dinner at Elway's. We shared an 8-oz steak with au gratin potatoes and cauliflower. I only ate a spoonful of the potatoes and 1 serving of cauliflower. Not only was it a fairly healthy meal, it was one of the best steaks I've ever had! I did have too many beers for the "diet," but I knew that was going to happen a few days during my trip. I'm trying to fit in some walking to counteract my beer calories.

Sunday was a nice, relaxing day. I went downtown to walk around 16th street mall. I stopped and had lunch at Ship's Tavern in the Brown Palace (I love that place!). I had shrimp cocktail (3 1/2 pieces of large shrimp) and water. In the evening I went to my friend Anna's house. She grilled us a wonderful tenderloin, made a great salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and we started with edamame. YUM! Drank some red wine--I'll have to work that off, too. :-)

Stay tuned for more dining adventures in Denver!

188 today,

Melissa

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Day Nine

Nothing special to report today. Still holding steady at a 7-pound loss. No change in appetite (gone) or energy (good).

Today's menu:

  • Adipex
  • 1/2 order Mexican shrimp cocktail (5 small shrimp, not much sauce)
  • 2 slices mozzarella cheese w/a serving of honey ham deli slices
  • 1/2 chicken breast with 1/4 cup stuffing, prepared with low-fat COM soup
(not all at once, of course).

Now that I'm on this mission, every time I do something I think about how losing weight will affect me. Here are some of my additional thoughts on why I want to lose weight:

  • I want my weight to match what's on my driver's license.
  • I want to stop air-drying all of my pants for fear they will shrink and I won't be able to fit into them anymore.
  • I want to be able to buy bras at Victoria's Secret (ok, not really since they discriminate against larger chests--but if I WANTED to, I would be able to find a bra in my size).
  • I don't want my son to tell me I'm pretty, but fat.
  • I want to be able to wear all the great clothes that are hiding in Zachary's closet.
  • I want to be able to shave my bikini line without being a contortionist.


Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Day Eight

Week 1 is over. 7 days, 7 pounds. Not too shabby! ;-P


8:15 Adipex and water (a little late today).

12:00 the rest of my Campbell's soup.

7:00 a ceviche tostada with some guacamole. Yum!

Worked out on the Total Gym for 30 minutes. Once I have a better idea of what I'm doing on the damn thing and can move from exercise to exercise faster, I'll get a much better full-body workout. Right now, it's great for my upper body.

An update on jumping rope: my calves are about as tight as banjo strings right now! I definitely can "feel the burn"!

191 today,

Melissa

Monday, May 12, 2008

Day Seven

One week in and I think I'm doing ok. I still need to exercise more--that's one area I'm not excelling in right now.

7:45 Adipex and 32 oz of water.

12:00 lunch with Jonah. I had 1.25 servings (half the can) of Campbell's vegetable beef soup. Before starting this program, I would have eaten the entire can, with a turkey or ham sandwich. I felt just right after finishing. Not full, not hungry. :-) I'll enjoy the other half of the can tomorrow for lunch.

4:45 had a light snack. 2 slices of mozzarella cheese and a serving of thin-sliced turkey breast. Yum.


7:00 dinner was 5 oz of ham, 1 serving of scalloped potatoes, and 1 serving of brussel sprouts.

Did get my exercise today, too. 30 minutes of jumping rope. You might think that's not much, but it burns 480 calories, and I was sweating my butt off! (Hopefully!)

191 today,

Melissa

Day Six


Day six fell on Mother's Day. I did cheat a little (I ate two small meals, had a mimosa at lunch, and half a baked potato with butter only at dinner), but I still kept my two meals very small and pretty healthy. Watching my portion control and what I put in my mouth has almost become an obsession!

8:15 Adipex and some water.

9:45 1/4 serving Quaker Weight Control oatmeal. (I needed a few bites of something to tide me over, and this is a pretty healthy choice.)

12:30 a wonderful lunch, on the way to the beach, at a restaurant called Two Blondes and a Shrimp. Instead of having the shrimp alfredo, which was calling my name, I had the shrimp cocktail (8 medium sized shrimp) and a nice mixed greens (no iceberg lettuce) salad (of which I only ate half).

A little nutritional side-note on shrimp. While high in cholesterol content, shrimp are

  • low in fat
  • high in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B-12 and Niacin
  • mineral rich with iron, zinc and copper

Shrimp has actually been shown to lower triglyceride levels (mine are high), while NOT increasing cholesterol levels. Great news for me--I love shrimp!

6:45 dinner at a little place in New Smyrna on the way back home. With all the sun, sand, and water, I was actually pretty hungry. I talked my mom into splitting the surf and turf with me so I had 4 oz of steak and 2 grilled shrimp. I did have a baked potato with butter, but I ate only half of it and I made myself eat the skin, where a lot of the vitamins and nutrients are. After a little research, the baked potato (by itself, of course) is not all that bad for you either. Of course, being high in carbs and having to be accompanied by butter means it's not a food choice I will/can make very often. :-)

That was Mother's Day, day six. Maybe I'm deluding myself, but I think all-in-all I made some pretty food good choices. What do you think? Take my poll on the left and let me know! :-)

191 today,

Melissa

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Day Five


Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers I know.

It's a scorcher here in FLA. 9:45 a.m. and it's already 80 degrees. Woo hoo! I was doing a little surfing on SparkPeople before getting ready for my busy day, and I came across a great comment:

"I want to weigh what my driver's license says I weigh."
Amen!

Well, here goes:

8:10 Adipex and some water (not my usual 32-oz, but that's ok, I'll get there).

9:00 Chris tried to tempt me with his yummy eggs and hashbrowns, but I wasn't hungry (even though they smelled delicious), so I didn't eat. Now it's time to get ready for a busy day.

2:30 Zachary's t-ball party. I finished Jonah's hamburger (1/2, meat only, not cheese no condiments), had a 1/2 cup of potato salad, a slice of tomato, and 2 apple slices. Not bad! I have to confess I did have three Miller Lites while chillin' by the pool. Since my caloric intake is still under 1000 (even with this transgression) I don't think it will affect my weight loss. In general, my goal is to plan ahead. If I'm going to be in a situation where I will have a beer, I need to have earned that beer by working out beforehand. This was an exception. ;-)

6:00 back at home. The good news is I didn't snack on a single thing at the pool party, even though I was tempted. There were some cheese cubes calling my name, along with a hotdog and a cupcake. I wasn't really hungry, but psychologically I really wanted to nibble more. But I didn't.

7:30 had a SBD frozen entree. This one only had 210 calories and it wasn't bad. (I liked the meatloaf better.)

Adipex is still working its magic--the Winn-Dixie scale says I've lost another pound!

191 today,

Melissa

Friday, May 9, 2008

Day Four

Slept pretty good last night. :-)


Day four has started like the others.

7:45 Adipex and 32-oz of water. Still feeling energy, not crazed.

12:15 feeling a little grumbly, so I snacked on a mild cheddar cheese stick and a few slices of turkey breast lunchmeat.

7:30 had dinner. (There wasn't really much to report between noon and now.) Dinner was HH stroganoff, a side of cauliflower and a glass of milk. I learned two things tonight during dinner:

  1. HH is actually healthier than you think, as long as you use lowfat milk and lean hamburger (or even ground turkey). Can you believe one serving has only 310 calories and 10% or more of the RDV of 6 vitamins and minerals?! I'm not advocating eating it every meal--it's still a little high in carbs and saturated fat, but as far as quick meals go, it's a lot better than a pepperoni pizza.
  2. A serving of milk is 1 cup, or 8 oz. A normal pint glass is 12 oz. If you fill a pint glass up with milk, you are getting 1 1/2 servings at a time. That means that for years I've been drinking 60 extra calories almost every night with dinner. That adds up. :-p

9:15 boys are in bed, time to workout. Did some strength training with the Total Gym for 30 minutes. Fumbled through it since I'm not used to the equipment, but that's ok. I'll be a pro in no time.

So that was day four. Thanks to everyone who has checked in on my progress, and especially to those who have commented. I even received some encouragement from a really nice person in Michigan who is taking Adipex as well. We're now sharing our stories back and forth! I've also met two other people here in FLA who are committed to making healthier choices. We are communicating back and forth with words of encouragement and moral support. Love to you all!

192 today,

Melissa

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Day Three

Day three has started off just like the first two. Adipex pill, 32-oz of water, and straight to work!


10:30 the irritability is back. I think it's more an effect of Jonah-the-stinker, as opposed to the drugs. :-P

12:00 took Jonah out for a little rollerblading. Got my 30 minutes in, YAY! Plus 10 minutes of brisk walking to cool down. Oh my, I'm a sweaty mess! At least Jonah was chill--he loves watching the birds, squirrels and lizards.

1:30 lunchtime. After rollerblading we came in and had some lunch. While I watched the little piggy eat, I had a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese (protein is good after exercising) and a diet Pepsi.

5:30 does struggling through the grocery store with two kids count as exercise? It should. By the time I got to the checkout with my full cart, I was actually sweating so much the cashier for the lane next to mine gave me some paper towels! That must be my metabolism in overdrive!

During my fun-filled trip to the grocery store, Ivonne called me with my blood results from Monday. On some levels I'm pretty healthy. Unfortunately, my cholesterol is high (shocked!), my triglycerides are high (really??), and I'm a wee anemic (never heard that one before). This is confirmation that it's time for a change!

7:30 dinnertime. I had a SBD frozen entree, weighing in at 210 calories, and a 1/2 glass of milk. The meatloaf was actually pretty tasty (either that or I'm starved and delirious).

10:00 day three is over. Let's see what day four brings me.

Oh, BTW, when I weighed myself at Winn-Dixie, the scale said that I've lost 6 pounds. Just thought I'd mention it. ;-)

192 today,

Melissa

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Day Two

Good morning! One of the side effects I was warned about with Adipex was insomnia. Maybe that kicks in later, because I slept like a baby last night! :-P


Here's the day two timeline:

7:54 Adipex with a 32-oz glass of water, and cup of coffee (not decaf, not yet)

9:00 one hour later and I don't feel near the "rushy," manic way I felt yesterday after the first hour, but I definitely feel a lot more energized!

11:00 haven't eaten yet, haven't felt hungry. Ivonne said "Only eat when you're hungry!" I like her method better than what I was originally told of "don't eat at all for the first 3-6 days." :-)

2:00 still not feeling hungry. I've had 64 ounces of water, and I'm drinking my first diet Pepsi of the day.

3:30 finally a little hungry, so I had some cottage cheese while I fed Jonah. It hit the spot! 

6:00 went to grandma's pool. It was heavenly, since the high was 86 today! I Actually managed my 30 minutes of exercise by doing laps. I thought my heart was going to burst!! Chris brought KFC to eat outside by the pool. I had  not quite 1/2 of a white meat breast with no skin, a small portion of green beans and three bites of mashed potatoes, not gravy. (I counted--three bites.)

8:45 the boys are in bed and I'm tired! I've got some work to do, then I'm hitting the hay!

198 today,

Melissa

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Day One

Day One started at 7:39 a.m. when I took my first Adipex-P pill. Literally one hour later I was feeling the effects. Speed, anyone. ;-)

I can't say it was jitters, or racing heart—just a "rushed" feeling and a little irritability (sorry Chris). I've gone from typing 75 WPM to about 175! ;-P

No hunger, even though I haven't eaten since dinner last night. I have had 2 cups of coffee, reaching for my third here in a few minutes. Like I said in a previous post, I may have to switch to decaf! (Sorry again, Chris!) Here's the timeline for day one:

7:39 took the first "magic" pill

8:45 very energetic, almost manic. :-P, a little irritable (though that was probably caused by a needy toddler)

11:15 not so manic, but definitely very energized. I feel like I could do about a zillion things at once right now and my typing has never been so fast. Don't feel hungry at all, but I have had 3 cups of coffee and about 40+ ounces of water.

12:15 ok, now I'm feeling a rumbly in my tumbly. Grrr... Maybe the appetite suppressant portion of Adipex takes longer to kick in?

3:30 the growling tummy has been intermittent. Not to bad, just a little irksome. I'm now having my first diet Pepsi of the day. I don't feel edgy, jittery, or too wired. Still have some good energy, however.

5:45 more irritability. It's hard to know if it's the Adipex, the kids, or both! Either way, I'm a little grumpy right now. :-( Still haven't eaten, though, and I haven't found that 30 minutes to work out. With a t-ball game to go to, dinner to be had, etc., it's not looking good for today. I have, however, had 3, 32-ounce glasses of water (which means I've peed a lot).

8:00 after Zachary's t-ball game, went to dinner. Did end up eating, after talking to Ivonne. I had 1/2 of a ceviche tostada, minus the tostada. Basically I had some fish, cilantro, lime and tomato, with a 1/2 tsp of guacamole. And I only ate half of it. Pretty darn good! Ok, I did have a margarita. Not so good. But I still managed to go through the day with

  • no snacking
  • no sugar soda
  • over 90 oz of water
  • only healthy food at 1 meal (margaritas are not a food :-p )
9:30 ready for bed. One of the side effects of Adipex is supposed to be insomnia. We'll see...I'm feeling pretty tired. I wonder if they tested this stuff on parents with small children!

198 today,

Melissa

The 198-pound Weakling


Well, it's time to stop being that cliché—overweight mother-of-two. Sedentary, overeats, etc., etc., etc.

Today is day one on my journey to lose 68 pounds. Anyone who knows me and reading this is going to say "68 pounds???" Yep, that's right. My 5'5" frame is 68 pounds overweight. I currently weigh 198 pounds, with a BMI of 33. YUCK! That's me to the right. All 198 pounds of me. How embarrassing. That's why it's rare to see me in family photos anymore. I can't stand it. And it's not just seeing myself in photos. Cleaning the house makes me ache for a day afterwards. Granted, there's a lot to do in a 1636 sq. foot house to keep it clean, however, there's no reason to need 3 Aleve the next day.

I can't keep up with my kids—I'm too embarrassed to run. Who wants to see that fat in action?? I know I wouldn't.

Zachary comments that "mommy, you're pretty, but you're fat." OUCH! That one hurts. So, time to get in gear!!!

How did I get here?

That's a really good question. Fortunately, I know the answer, which is the first step to solving the problem. These are the steps to my "fatness":

  • Two kids
  • Change from fairly active lifestyle (some light exercise, waiting tables 3-4 time a week), to a completely sedentary lifestle (no exercise, work at a desk all day)
  • Poor eating habits (no breakfast, high-calorie, high-carb lunches, too much time between meals, portion sizes)
  • Drinking habits (maybe too much beer :-) and not enough water)

I'm sure there's more, but I think the list above spells out the worst of it.

What do I actually do right?

Let's take a break from the negative and talk about something positive:

  • I do like water, for some reason, I don't reach for it enough
  • I don't eat a lot of suger (I don't really like candy, chocolate, doughnuts, etc.)
  • I don't like breakfast cake foods (waffles, pancakes, doughnuts, etc.)
  • I don't really like potato chips, french fries, or most fried foods
  • I love red meat, milk, cheese, vegetables, and fruit
  • I actually enjoy working out (if I had the time)

So, remove the negative and enhance the positive. Easy, right?

Right, I'm laughing too. If only all of the positives were so easy. There's just not enough hours in a day to cut up fruits and vegetables, exercise, work 40+ hours, make awesome SBD meals every night, and take care of two kids—one who is with me all day. We'll discuss the plan to change this in a minute. First, let's see where I came from, which is where I hope to be again. ;-)


Ok, so this is my junior year of high school :-)
The glory days, right?


Can you pick me out from this picture? Not
only am I skinny, but boy am I tan!


Life after high school (ok, I'm 19 here).
This is too skinny for me now, but this
pic does help give me some incentive.


Fast forward 13 years, a little overweight,
but all-in-all, not too bad. I'd be happy
getting down to this weight (which is
about 150 or so, if I remember correctly).

My goal, actually, is a healthy 130. That's where I look the best, and what is healthy for my body.

The Plan

Having a BMI of 33 qualifies me for a prescription medication called Adipex-P. It's an appetite suppressant/metabolic increaser (those are both technical terms!). I think it's basically supposed to "eat me from the inside" :-P which means really no eating, or eating very little. The drug helps make up for the lack of food intake by giving you more energy than a toddler. (Trust me, toddlers have LOTS of energy!) This is a short-term, jump start for my body to start losing some weight. According to Ivonne (my wonder doc/sister-in-law) I should see some pretty good results quickly.

Along with the medication, I'm MAKING the time to exercise. If that means at night, when it's dark, and the mosquitoes are looking for dinner, so be it. 30+ minutes a day is my goal. Also, meals will be much different. For the first 3-6 days, there really are no meals. Water, water, water, water. I can't give up coffee (but I use sugar-free cream and Splenda already, so no problem there). I may have to switch to decaf, however. (We'll talk about that later!) After the first 3-6 days, it's one small meal a day, which will be dinner. Man I'm going to miss Habeñeros this month!

Support. Of course some of the family is aware that I'm on this medication and on this journey. I'm going to let in a few friends too. Being that I'm very embarrassed about my weight and how I've "let myself go" I think it will be awhile before I'm ready to go full-share! ;-P But if I've sent this to you, I need your support!

I'm blogging this for two reasons:

  1. To write about my experience. I'm hoping this helps me stay on-track, and I want to document the journey.
  2. Support. I hope that posting my progress and getting positive feedback also helps keep me on-track. I'm going to have some challenges along the way (my trip to Denver being the biggest), but I know I can do this!!
So, that's the story. This post will be followed with "Day One" which is already underway. One hour after taking Adipex I'm already feeling the effects. Go, fat, go!

198 today,

Melissa