Going Strong

WOW...week 2 came and went and I have shed another 2.3 pounds....dont know where they went and hope I dont ever see them again. My blood sugar has been below 120 everyday and until I lose more weight I dont know if I can do better that. This isnt so difficut and the dicscovery process is fun and interesting.

If I had to pin point my "ahah's"this week it has to be regarding my food journal. It seems that keeping rack of everything I eat makes me stop and think about what I am eating. Also, when trying new foods such as we are, reading through a recipe first makes it easier to make.I read through when I am looking for something to try and again before I start. This way I know what Im doing next.

Im happy to report that exercise has begun. I use my Shake Weight (yes I said Shake Weight). I dont care for the teeny tiny girl on the video with her perfect hair and perfect body, where are her jiggely arms? but just the same I am doing this religously. Tom dusted off my bike and filled the tires with air. Im riding 1/2 hour a day in the morning before I hit my daily grind. I get out of the office twice a day to walk for 10 minutes each time. So, lets add it up...the Shake Weight 15 minutes+ Riding 30 minutes + 20 minutes of walking around the building per day=65 minutes. After a close look at my last exercise program and consulting my planner this is 65 minutes more per day than I was doing. Not bad.

This week Im introducing Tom to turkey burgers with feta cheese and dill, sounds yummy and I cant wait. He is being a good sport about all of this but he knows he benefits as well.

Until I write again, be sure to pay attention to your "ahah moments" they may help you find a bettter way to do things.

???...----- what it meant

Recently I registered my cell phone so that I could blog on the go, as if I dont have time to sit in the evening and put some words together, but hey I tried. I didnt really work, after I hit send, not once but twice, I realized that I didnt send words but mostly punctuation marks. i guess i need to work on the "text blogging"
What it said was this:
Me to Tom "Honey can you tell I hve lost 5.7 pounds?"
Tom: "Yes I can"
Me: Really? Where do you ee it the most?
Tom: Long Pause..."Hmmm"
Me: Big Goofy Smile
Tom: "I cant win this one can I?"
Me: I shake my head no and laugh
My family right now is saying: "Poor Tom"

Power On

The first week of this journey is about to come to a close and I have lost 5.7 pounds. This is exciting for me, I like seeing results. I'm not in a hurry to lose the weight, I'd like to lose it forever, and I don't want to look like I melted. Over next few week I will be in search of an exercise program that will work for me. I may walk or ride my bike or use a combination of the two, I know for sure that weight training will be necessary to tone my arms. For activity yesterday Tom and I went to the beach and walked against the waves, its fun but it burns calories too, we both slept well.
One of my first self imposed rules was to weigh myself every single day. Good or bad, and to record this somewhere. Same with food, to record EVERYTHING I eat GOOD OR BAD (yikes). In his suggestions, my brother mentioned he uses an iPhone app to record a food diary called Nutrition Menu by shroomies.com, so I searched my Droid for something similar and found Calorie Counter. besides having preloaded information in the app it I can scan bar codes, enters nutrition information, calculated an RDI for me and lets me know how close I am to reaching maximum intake, gives me a place to make comments and record exercise. I can also record my weight, and it shows a graph of the loss or gain. In the morning after I weigh I record my weight and my blood sugar. Its very helpful to see this daily to track my own progress I have found it encouraging so far. Another plus is that using this app on my Droid means I can never ever lose my phone again (win win).
I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the cookbook, everything looked so good. I enlisted the help of my sister inlaw, Shelley, who sent me their favorite recipes and page numbers to make it even easier. I read through the entire recipe before I started and it was actually quite simmple. I have fed this family so much chicken this week Im surprised they arent clucking, I will be adding in fish this week. so far they have enjoyed what I have made, and I have enjoyed the left overs the next day for lunch. I cant convince Tom that a turkey burger grilled is as good as a hamburger, for now him eating what I eat is fine and I will work on his attitude about ground beef later. The recipe book suggests that I build a Mediterrean pantry and Im working on it, I kow from experience that having the ingredients on hand is the easiest way to make the recipes I believe will bring me success.
I lost 5.7 pounds this week. But this isn't just about losing weight, it's about learning something new. So what did I learn? I like myself, and I even like my body, I'd stay as I am if it meant that I didnt have to take medication, but currently I do so here is my goal: Numbers down that means on the scale, blood pressure and blood sugar.
To borrow a line from my cousin Trish...Power On

All In

I was up and actually did it..Hopped on the Scale and after I got over the "sticker shock" I knew I had made the right decision to travel through this journey this way. I need a commitment to myself and I need to be accountable. this is a promise I have made to me.
Oh my gosh, one dish from the Mediterranean Diabetes Cookbook and I'm ready to try another. Tonight I made Caprese Style Chicken Breasts and it was delicious. If this is how you lose weight I'm all in. I actually ate breakfast this morning and a nice lunch this afternoon. I made enough dinner tonight to take left overs for lunch tomorrow. Something new everyday is exciting, Tomorrow night a chicken and rice dish that looks delish.
For now a good nights sleep is in order because in the morning...I RIDE!

At the Hopping On Point

Anyone who has known me for any amount of time has heard me say that as body types go I'm shaped like a brick. I don't always enjoy being shaped like this but I always figured it was the card I was dealt and that I needed to play that card as best as I could. I have read many articles on body type learning to hide a multitude of sin, giving me shape and without looking like I am wearing a sack. And while I have mastered the art of dressing my brick-like self, I have recently found out that being built like this at this age (52) I am susceptible to certain health maladies such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Needless to say I really don't want to take medication for the rest of my life for something that is reversible. With some work and lifestyle changes I can undo the damage that I have done (that's right I am owning this one folks).

This said, I have been mapping out a weight loss journey that I believe will be successful. Armed with the desire, the support of a wonderful family, a cookbook, a mentor and a scale (a new addition to our house), I plan to cook, exercise and blog my way to a slender, healthy me.

I have never used a cookbook like this before but I am following the advice of the author and guidance of a fabulous mentor. My wish is to become a student of this journey, I want to learn, grow and change my relationship with food. I enjoy food, I hope I always will. Its part of life, part of socializing, I love lunch out but this is my health. I don't plan on being one of those fanatical anti-food people who say things like "I don't live to eat I eat to live." (Oh, okay). So I'm at the "Hopping On (the scale)Point" I'm excited and I while I wont reveal how much I weigh I will let you know when I have lost and what I have gained.

Finally you may ask: Why the blog? That is easy. In a word accountability to keep myself going. I believe that reporting in and seeing my own progress will be helpful and even if this is only read by a few it will be worth it to me.

I'm ready to begin...