Slowly But Surely......

Haven't updated as much as I would like, but sometimes life just supersedes the blog. I have though....tried to maintain (at least a little bit) of staying on the healthy side of life. The upside is that yesterday at WW I found out I have lost 3.8 lbs. It was of course over a two week period....but it was much better than I thought I had done. The down sides (and there are a couple) are that I have found a hamburger at RD's County Line (a little bar/restaurant in town) that I seem to be craving. I don't usually even care for hamburgers that much....but this one is awesome. It has pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, mayo, pickles and tomato. It is fantastic and I am sure that I could play around with all of it and make one myself with less points...but why mess with perfection? I don't know for sure the points value of this decadent bovine on bun.....but I am sure that when I eat it....nothing but 0 point foods should be consumed for the rest of the day.

The other down side I spoke about has been my working out. It has been almost non-existent. I have felt like someone hit me in the head with a baseball bat, just about every morning these last couple of weeks. I have managed to crawl out of bed a couple of mornings and meet with my trainer, but nothing like I should have. I have gone from working out 4-5 times per week ....to working out 1 time per week. Trouble is....I can really tell it in how I feel both emotionally and physically. My energy level is way low.

Today was suppose to be a training day and I had to call and cancel because David was having seizure issues. I was actually up...dressed and ready to walk out the door when he started having problems. So another session missed. I do however have one session left that I hope to use Monday. Unfortunately I will have to hold off on the training until at least the 23rd due to finances. Grrr....why can't I be rich? There is however, absolutely no reason that I can't go work out on my own and perhaps next week it will be easier as school is starting. I hope to be all about the routine (laugh....snort.....laugh....double snort....I actually think I am crying)! If I can get all my ducks in a row....perhaps I will get in at least 3 workouts next week. That is officially my goal. I know however by Friday of next week....both my working out and my healthy diet will be forgotten amidst Jerry Bells BBQ, my cheesecakes, and adult beverages which I would imagine I will partake of . After all....you can't celebrate Old Setters and friends without great food and drink. I will try hard though to reign it in. It maybe easier than I think if it still scorching us with 100+ temps. No one feels particularly hungry in that kind of heat.

I would like to say that I have all kinds of wonderful goals set for myself and all kinds of ambition to meet them....but the truth is....I have neither. These last two weeks have been both hectic and I haven't felt 100% and I know this next week with school starting and Old Settlers....it is going to be crazy too. Maybe after that....things will fall into place. At WW....they did ask us to set a weight loss goal for Labor Day....which is approximately 3 weeks away. I said 10 lbs. Maybe that is a bit of a lofty goal, especially in sight of the fact that I only lost 3.8 pounds in two weeks. I am sure if I lived better (i.e. strict diet and exercise) that I could make that goal but.....I don't really see me living that much better....at least not for the next week.

On a different note...but still kind of the same....my trainer is also a massage therapist and she is going to school to do something in the world of Eastern Medicine. This includes herbs, reflexology, and believe it or not.....acupuncture.  Well....that may not be hard to believe.....but what might be is the fact that last week...I went into the clinic she works at and had an acupuncture treatment. It really was basically painless and the whole point of it was to help relieve some of my stress. I would say it worked to some degree because the week before I had gone in to see my "breast" dr. my blood pressure in the office was 156/95. Now I know that I haven't been living great....but come on. The dr. thought it was likely stress. Yesterday I had to go to a different dr. (still feeling slightly stressed) but my bp was down to 110/86. My dr. was happy. Still I would like to get that bottom number down but it was still waaaaaaaaay better than 156/95! I am going back to the clinic tomorrow for another treatment and also some herbs. I am at the point in my life that if I can find something that helps me stress less, not feel anxious about everything and helps me stay on somewhat of a healthy course.....I am ALL for it....and will give even things my mother would have cringed at...a try.

Well....there you have it. I have yet to give up and since May 10th when I first hit the gym....I have lost a total of 15.5 pounds. It is merely a dent in the "big" picture of this weight loss scenario....but if I keep at....it will come off.....slowly.....but surely!

Lifestyle Change....Not Quite 100%

So Saturday..... had a little get together. In case you don't already know....I bake cheesecakes. Mostly for family and friends....nothing big, but at times...it keeps me hopping pretty good. Friday night my kitchen was alive with the smell of chocolate, key lime, cherries and more. All for Saturday's big (small) event. You see...I have been asked by this person or that one to have a Mary Kay party, or a Tupperware party, etc. So instead of dragging them out for a year.....I decided to have them all at once. So in my not-so big living room/kitchen I had four ladies hawking their wares along with myself enticing those in attendance with.......CHEESECAKE!!!!

There were other goodies too....as I can't have people over without putting out a spread, but the cheesecake was the culinary focal point. And we all know that cheesecake is never on ANY diet. Well....it sort of is on WW....IF that is the points choice you make. An average slice of cheesecake is said to be worth about 7 points. Now I am sure if you add in chocolate or sour cream or oreo cookies....we tack on about 3-5 more points. But luckily....I rarely actually sit down and eat a slice. I do however taste as I go to make sure batters taste right....and then of course....you HAVE to lick the spatula when you are through! LOL

The event was fun, but I was not a very good girl. This weekend I partook of chips and salsa, (yes....even cheesecake), and Sunday morning my son fixed a huge breakfast. I think I said something in my earlier post about my extra 35 points going out the window this weekend. Well they did.

There was also no working out this weekend. I worked like a mad women in the house on Saturday, but Sunday....other than going to church, I was a total couch potato. So no calories were burnt....they just sat there and snuggled down into the fat which has become my rear end. (snicker) The rest however was very nice and the time spent with my kids was awesome.

This morning I jumped when my alarm went off at 5:30. It seemed as if I had just closed my eyes....and then there was the alarm. I didn't fight it though. I was a little trouper. I pulled my swollen body from the bed and got ready to drive to my workout. I say swollen body, because I obviously didn't drink enough water to flush the effects of the sugar consumed over the weekend. Sugar makes me swell worse than salt and I felt like a great big ol' swollen toad. It did not stop me however....and I arrived on time for my workout.

She worked me out fairly hard today.....but not nearly as hard as Friday. Today we did something new. (She is always changing things up in the workouts so that neither she nor I get bored.) Today we went to the "spin room" and got on the spin bike. I have never been on a spin bike and I am not sure whether the depth of my hind quarters was a good thing or not. I cannot imagine sitting on one of those horrid little seats if you had a boney butt, because even sitting on them with my more than ample one was painful and I had to put a towel down to help cushion a bit. I refused to quit though and did my 15 minutes with only some mild inward complaining.

I love working out with my trainer Shelly though, because after each workout....she reserves the last 15 min. for a stretching/massage. Usually she does my arms/shoulders/upper back because my shoulders tend to hurt after the weights. But over time they have gotten much better. Today we did the legs/hamstrings as I truly felt the burn last week after we did dead lifts. In fact....my legs/hamstrings have yet to quit burning. After the stretching though....I did feel a little better.

I am back to eating my points (properly) today and drinking enough water that I would rival a 9 month pregnant woman in trips to the bathroom. I must admit....eating the way I did this weekend...I can feel it. My body feels a bit sluggish and I could definitely take a nap right now, but I refuse to give up. I feel like this time I have too much at stake to give up...so for now...I continue on.

Obviously my lifestyle changes have not yet hit 100%....and truthfully....they probably never will. But hopefully....over time....I would like to see maybe....a 99.9%!