And our first scale picture is....

Kind of hard to read, actually. I had all sorts of issues getting this thing to behave how I wanted, but I finally got it. This is my first week in move it lose it and I think I was pretty good. I did at least some sort of exersise each day and really worked on keeping reasonable portions. That's always been more of my issue. In addition, I worked out every day and actually hit the gym on Friday to torment myself further! I actually kind of liked it. Is that sick of me? I think I might be a sick person.
Aaaanyway, without further delay, here's the picture and the numbers:



If you can't read it, that is 358.0, which is a decrease of 4.6 pounds this week. I promise not to get cocky and to realize that I'm not really likely to lose that EVERY week, but I'm really happy to see a good number on week one. Let's all of us keep plugging away and get healthier!

Skipping along ...

So this week has been a bit of a roller coaster.  The week started out well enough, and then kinda leveled off.  Yesterday, however, after being just another day for most of the day, I spent the time after school getting some stuff done.  Got some laundry done, went shopping and picked up a couple great shirts on clearance at Kohls, I even treated myself to a pedicure.
This morning, I woke up a half hour ahead of my alarm, and I got some laundry switched around, and if I get the stuff out of the dryer, I may be able to wear one of my new shirts today.  I know, I know, this sounds kinda lame, but I take the little joys when I can get them.
So on the weight loss front, I haven't really been trying that hard, to be honest.  My big downfall was and still is eating out.  So, I am thinking that I can shift gears on that.  I have in the past, been taking soup to work for lunch.  A can of soup like Progresso or a similar soup is under 300 calories for the can.  I may make it a normal part of my diet.  I need to ratchet up my water intake, and hopefully get my weight under control.
My doctor always tells me that HEALTHY weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week.  If you have a random big loss, don't get freaked out by a rebound and radically change anything, just be steady and you will eventually lose weight.  So this week, I am up, but after a seven pound loss over the previous week, I am not so worried. My weigh in this morning was 275.4, which is up 4, but still down 3 from two weeks ago.  My short term goal is to break through the 270 barrier I have been hitting, and by gum, I am gonna do it this time!

Soup is good food.

And in an effort to cook healthier, I'm going to try to post a healthy and low prep time recipe every week too. Starting out this week....soup!


Beef Barley Soup:
1 pound ground beef (lean as you can get)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 celery rib, diced
1 14 ounce can of diced tomatos
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 cup medium pearled barley
8 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Brown ground beef in 6 quart soup pan and add 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 90 minutes. Add onion, carrots, clelery, tomatoes, beef broth, garlic, salt, pepper and barley and return to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until barley is tender (about 45 minutes). Serves about 4 very hungry people.

Mamavation Monday - scary pictures!

Ok, these are some scary pictures. I feel like I worked my butt off on the 2 week challenge, but this a set of kind of underwhelming results. It just means I'm setting myself up for some great results in MILI! I'm having trouble getting my digital scale to behave. These are off a mechanical scale, but I'm going to get a working digital one tomorrow and append a weight photo. I'm excited to get started with MILI. I know we're going to kick butt on it and I can't wait to get started!


BEFORE
Weight:365.6

Chest: 59

Waist: 58.5

Hips: 51.5

Thighs: 27" (left) and 27" (right)

After 2 weeks challenge and start of MILI
Weight: 362.6

Chest: 59

Waist: 56.5

Hips: 51

Arms: 15" (left) and 17.5" (right)

Thighs: 25" (left) and 25" (right)

So a grand total of 3 pounds and 6 inches. And tomorrow we start another exciting journey on the road to great health. Everyone kick butt!

Edited the weights. Clearly I was right not to trust the mechanical scale. Bah. This is my starting point and from here, it's up to me.

Mamavation Monday - Changes

Happy Sunday? I know..I know...I never post on Sunday. Nobody panic though. I have a very good reason. I almost typed raisin there. I don't know why. Anyway, tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I have to go into town early to drop off some paperwork at the kiddo's school, go to the post office, leave tons of comment love (hanging out at the library until it's time to pick up the kids), do the usual kid routine and then rush home to prepare for the big announcement tomorrow night.

I want to thank everyone who left me comment love or messaged me to show me your support in what's turning into a very difficult time*. Deciding to back out of the campaign was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make in a very long time and it broke my heart. I spent a workout and a morning crying and then I decided to stop being a victim. Sometimes life happens but that doesn't mean I have to let it define me or what I can do. I confess that I half-assed my way through a couple of workouts and I have the results I do  because of that. It's ok. That was then. This is now and now, I'm up and going again.

So, since Justin and I won't be doing Campaign 10, Leah has been nice enough to allow us to continue in the MILI challenge. As part of that, we're required to post before pictures...what you didn't see at this point was me going nonononono! You see, I forgot to get a scale picture earlier and of course, I've eaten by now...so this scale picture? Well, it's fairly close to my weigh in. That'll teach me to think I'm on top of things!

Now, as I was saying...Before pictures. Since I'm a "single" mom right now, I had to get Roger (my 10 year old) to help out by taking these pictures. He cracked me up acting like a professional photographer. He was jumping around saying now, lift your chin just a little..there..there..Ok, got it. Now turn and pose for me. We actually had fun doing something I was nervous about doing. I haven't seen a full body picture of me in years and this is a bit of a reality check for me. Ready? Here they are...me....

Ok, wow. I am totally and utterly embarrassed to post those. Sometimes it's hard to see this kind of thing. It's hard to believe that I'm down 15 pounds from where I started this journey. What must I have looked like before? Ok, deep breath time. I am not going to feel bad. I am going to take these pictures and use them as motivation. Yep, I can and I will.

Ready for the next picture? This is my scale picture. Sadly, it doesn't show the number that it showed this morning but that's ok. It shows a very good approximation of where I am on this journey.

I apologize that it's blurry. No one told me just how hard it would be to get a scale picture! I had my camera, on and ready to go on the counter next to the scale. By the time I'd grab it, point it at the scale and press the button, the numbers had vanished! I think I took about 5 pictures before I managed to be fast enough. Nobody told me there was agility training involved in MILI!

I have one last set of figures to give you...the measurements . Since the 2 week challenge is also ending tomorrow, I'm going to post these in 2 sets. The first set will be where I was before I started the 2 week challenge. The 2nd set is where I'm ending it and beginning MILI. 

Before:

Weight: 278.4

Chest: 48" (damn big boobs!)

Waist: 45.5"

Hips: 54.5" (mama's got her some birthing hips?)

Arms: 19" (left) and 17.5" (right)

Thighs: 28" (left) and 29" (right)

After 2 week challenge/at start of MILI:

Weight: 276.8 (really 276.4 but I'm going with the scale picture for this) -1.6 pounds

Chest: 48"

Waist: 40.75" -4.75"

Hips: 54.5" 

Arms: 18" (left) and 17" (right) -1" and -.5"

Thighs: 27" (left) and 27.5" (right) -1" and -1.5"

Grand Total Change: -1.6 pounds and -8.75"

While it's not as wow as I've seen some do, I'm totally happy with it. I've had a really rough couple of weeks and I've done some emo eating and I've slacked off on some workouts. It seems my hips and chest aren't quite ready to let go but that's ok because the rest of my body is on board and I know they'll give in one of these days. 

Now, for the weekly wrap up:

Average Daily Water Intake: 50oz (still struggling with this!)
Workouts: Gruntstyle 2 week challenge
Weight Change: 276.4 (-.8 pounds)
Overall Weight Change: -15.2 pounds

I just want to say good luck to all of the remaining applicants. Just remember, I might not be in this campaign, but I am still here to support you and to cheer you on. My shoulders and ears are always available, online or off. 

* I got the call from my uncle(s) yesterday. Starting October 20th, I will be spending Thursday night - Monday morning at my grandmother's house, helping to take care of her. 

Jim's Week in Review

Hello my freaky darlings!  (I wonder how many of our readers out there recognize that movie reference)
So it has been two weeks, and what a two weeks it has been.  I have been busy, busy with school, and I have hardly been able to do anything around the house.
At school, I have two independent study students, one in Civics, and one in Economics.  I haven't done an IS for Econ prior to this, and it has been a few years since I taught the class, so I am doing a little extra reading and prepwork for this.  I also am setting up a trip to Washington DC through the Close-Up foundation (www.closeup.org) for ten students.  Add to that my regular courseload and being the stage manager, and I am one busy teacher.
In life, I have finally taken the step of ending the relationship I was in, and I am getting treatment for depression (I think I mentioned that two weeks ago, if not ... well, I mentioned it now).
My blood sugar levels have been in my target range, and health-wise, I have been feeling pretty good lately.  My weigh in this morning was a pleasant surprise, weighing in at 271.6, which is a drop of almost 7 pounds since my last post.
Hopefully I have enough momentum to break through that 270 plateau I have been hitting all this time.
Well, I have to dash ... mandatory training in 1 hour and I need to get going!  Happy losing!

Farewell to a Dream

This is me this morning. I feel like a beautiful landscape overshadowed with storm clouds. Last night, we had to make one of the toughest decisions that I've had to make for a long time. We had to decide to withdraw from the running in the Mamavation campaign. I didn't want to. I cried and agonized over this decision. I'm still crying this morning. Getting into a campaign has been a goal of mine for the past 6 months. I thought we had finally found the time to do it and we applied. We applied and were made finalists. I know that everyone who applied was made a finalist, but still, it felt good. It felt so good to see the support and the love that I didn't know was there.

I know people will ask what happened. I know they'll want to know why we pulled out. I can only say family. We had to pull out from a campaign that could have helped us and our boys so much because of my family. My grandmother, who in all reality is my mother, has cancer and my uncles no longer want her staying alone because she's fallen a couple of times and laid there on the floor because she didn't want to be a bother to anyone in the middle of the night. Even though there are 6 grown adult children over there, they can't seem to figure this out on their own and want me to step in.

Do you want to know the truth? I'm angry. I'm angry as hell with them. I'm angry that I'm the grandchild and I have to be the grown up for them because they can't do it themselves. I'm angry that some of them are so self-focused that they don't stop to think that I have a family. I have children. I have things I should be doing. But, I love my grandmother and would do anything for her and if me being there makes the time she has left easier, I'll sacrifice for that.

The worst part? It's not that I feel like I'm letting Leah and everyone down, though that part is hard. It's the fact that my 11 year old son had a well child check up this morning and was in the 93rd percentile for weight. For most kids, that wouldn't be a big deal. For a child with cerebral palsy, who has joint and muscle issues, it is. We've been told we have to get his weight down by January. If it's not, she's going to put him through thyroid and diabetes testing.

I'm angry and I'm scared and I'm in tears as I write this post. I feel like I've been a horrible parent for allowing his weight to get that high. Don't bother telling me how he's at his dad's house 5 days a week and I'm not responsible for that. It doesn't matter. I'm his mom. I'm his mom and because of 6 grown adults who can't get their act together, I just had to give up an opportunity that could have helped my baby boy.

So, to everyone who has supported us or voted to us, I have to say thank you. You have no idea what that means to me. I thought we had no chance of winning and then suddenly there were all these people saying they'd voted for us and cheering us on. Thank you. With everything I have in me, thank you.

Now, I have to go blow my runny nose, wipe my eyes and take a few deep breathes. After all, I may not be the super mom who can do it all, but I still have a 2 week challenge workout to complete, a guest post to write, a phone charger to buy, a weight room/pool punch card to buy, healthy snacks to research, a massively difficult conversation with my ex-husband to have and whatever else life throws at me today.

I am so sorry to those I have let down, including myself. I feel like a failure right now because I couldn't do it all. I hope you can forgive me.