A health, fitness, and weight-loss story.

2.25.2009

Confessions

I have some confessions to make. I think they are related to my
weight, although I might not know the exact connection at the moment. These are things I plan on working on as dilligently as I work on counting points.


1) I have an anxiety disorder.
There's a long story to how it came about which I will share later. I
think it was always there, but recently brought to the surface. I've been diagnosed since May of last year.

2) I'm getting to the point I don't like to leave the house.
I do my grocery shopping at night. I go out at night. Maybe I'm a
vampire. Nope, I have to go out during sunlight hours many times each week
driving mom's taxi. I prefer to go out at night, though. My hubby
and I have discussed I may be becoming slightly agoraphobic. I
personally think that there are fewer people out at night, and that means less
social interaction for me--the fat one--with others.

3) I have insomnia.
I was supposed to go for a sleep apnea test, but I kind of forgot to go. I
probably have it, as I am exhausted during the day. I need at least 8-9
hours of sleep at night. About two hours after I get up in the morning, I
am utterly exhausted.


4) I nap every day.
I get so tired that I just cannot not nap. Which perpetuates number 3. Every day during my son's reading time, I nap.


5) I don't shower and get dressed first thing in the morning.
I have three dogs, and for some reason I think that after I go potty, they
must. I figure if I have to go NOW so do they. And once they go out,
they're in high play mode, need fed, need to go out again. Then I have to
get my son up (or he gets up) and we eat breakfast and start school. We
start school at 9am every day (or close!). Sometimes with all the busy-ness of
morning, I don't get showered and dressed until 11 or 12 or 1. I
hate that.
In fact, aside from my health, this is the #1 thing I hate in my life.


6) I am recovering from the most traumatic year of my life.
The anniversary of everything starting was March 6 of last year. It
involved a major surgery, a heart attack, nursing home, more surgery,
hospitalization and finally death of a loved one. It involved me being
away from my home for over three months last year. I was hospitalized due
to a massive panic attack during this. Shortly after I got home, my
husband was hospitalized. My son was diagnosed with a lifelong condition
that technically is a disability, although his condition is mild, thankfully. There's lots more, it was as if a black cloud followed me the whole year.

I am still a wounded bird from all this. I think that's one of the reasons
I don't like to leave the house now, and why I've been having mild panic
attacks.

7) I am a perfectionist. I hate to admit I have problems. I want to pretend I'm perfect. I am not. That's one reason I decided to write this post.

I do feel most of these issues are health- and weight-related. Seeing the photo of myself (on the sidebar) taken a couple weeks ago was what I needed to wake up. I think I will feel so much better emotionally and physically when I get some of this weight off. I think many of these issues will resolve, plus my self-esteem will rise.

The last time I lost weight--I think it was 2001, I'll have to check--I was perfectly on plan. Never cheated once until the day I quit. One Snicker's bar and a whole lot of stress did that. The part I did not work on was why I got so fat to begin with.

Why is crucial now. I think it's as important as counting points.

I have always said the easy part is losing the weight. We all know it's not easy to do that! The hard part comes in keeping it off. I still believe that, although I know it's not easy to lose it. Stress, pressure and not having my ducks in a row led me to gain back what I lost before.

So this post is a reminder of what I need to work on in my life besides counting points, starting an exercise program, and incorporating healthier foods into my life.

2.24.2009

Tuesday Morning

Yesterday was a day filled with pain. Ouch...that's getting very frustrating. I wish my doctor would listen.

I took a nap at about 4pm and awoke at 6. I didn't feel like cooking supper, so we headed off to Subway. Wow, was that good. I had a foot long, as I had the points for it. We then spent $140 at the grocery store--double ouch. I didn't buy any meat. I'm still trying to figure out how that got so high.

This morning I'm only having "slight" pain, which is a good thing. Nothing I can't do today. It's supposed to be 40, which is a like having a heat wave in February here, so it's going to be a great day.

I am thinking about what TJ said in the comments...she's right, and I knew to do that, I just haven't. (Plan my points through the day.) I'm at 35 points per day now. So,...

wake-up to 1:00 10 points
1:00-6:00 10 points
6:00-bedtime 15

I like to have points for a nice dinner, and I like to save points for popcorn in the evening. The 6-bedtime might be too high, I'll try it for a few days and see if it's better that this past week and tweak as necessary.

Busy, busy week starting today. Thursday is the day I worry about. We're taking a puppy class for my new precious puppy, and it starts at 6:30. The class is an hour away. So I'll leave my house at 5:15 (so I have time to potty the puppy before class starts!) So when do I eat? I normally eat dinner around 6. Class will be out at 7:30. I'll be famished. I'm hitting Taco Bell, and I plan on a bean burrito and two tacos--15 points. I will need a snack before class, definitely. I don't want to eat dinner at 5, as that's just too early. Maybe I'll use some flex points.

Still haven't started exercising. I need to find time to fit it in. My ankles are still swollen. I had hoped to lose more water/water weight by now. It will come. Exercise will help. I remember Oprah saying once that exercising is like showering, you have to do it daily. (Not verbatim, but that's the gist of what she said.) The problem is, once I get up my day starts: WHAM. Three dogs that need taken care of immediately. A child to get up. Breakfast to prepare, serve and eat. Homeschool to accomplish. It's 10:45 and I haven't showered yet--but by golly, school's happening, everyone has been taken care of--everyone but me.

One of those things: I need to put myself first. I wish I wasn't worried about the puppy needing to potty "right now" when we get up. Once he potties, he's on, ready to start his day and he's energetic and a little hyper. I wouldn't feel guilty about jumping in the shower for 10 minutes if I could leave him.

~~~~~~~~~~
This weight loss thing is about more than just weight loss. It reminds me of being on an airplane: put the oxygen mask on yourself first, then take care of others. Translation: take care of yourself first, then you'll be able to take care of others. I need to pound that into my brain and live it.

2.23.2009

Monday Weigh-In Day

278.5

down 4 pounds

woo-hoo!

2.22.2009

Easy Ziti

Easy Ziti --
7pts
Serving Size: 6

Amount Measure Ingredient --
Preparation Method-------- ------------ --------------------------------
16 ounces reduced fat spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup fat free ricotta cheese
1 pound Ziti pasta
1/2 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

Preheat the broiler. In a large bowl, mix the spaghetti sauce and ricotta thoroughly until smooth. Meanwhile, cook the Ziti according to package directions. Drain and stir into the sauce, then spread into a 9 x 13" metal baking dish. Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese. Broil until the cheese is golden brown, 3-5 mins

Per the cookbook 353 Cal, 4g fat, 3g fiber
7 pts Per Serving:
365 Calories; 4g Fat; 3g Fiber;

Potato Soup

Creamy Potato Soup

POINTS® Value: 3 Servings: 10 – 1 cup each

Ingredients
• 1 cup fat-free skim milk
• 1 cup water
• 42 oz fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth, 3 14oz cans
• 1 pkg McCormick original country gravy mix
• 1 32oz bag Frozen Southern Style Hash browns (be sure it has 0 fat) -thawed
• 6 Tbsp Hormel Bits, real crumbled bacon 30% less fat

Instructions

Spray your soup pot with some non-stick cooking spray. Heat your pot and put in your hash browns. Brown them slightly; be sure not to burn the potatoes. If some of the potatoes get stuck to the bottom, that's okay. Pour in 1 can of the chicken broth and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Then pour in the other two cans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer. In the meantime, in a separate bowl, whisk together the water & milk with the package of country gravy mix. Once potatoes are soft and starting to break down, pour in gravy mixture. Mix in bacon bits and let cook until thick and creamy. Add salt to taste.

Week 2 Menus

Menu for Week 2:

Dinners:
Monday: Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Yams
Tuesday: Potato Soup
Wednesday: Taco Bell
Thursday: Taco Bell
Friday: Cola Chicken, Rice, Veggie
Saturday: Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Salad
Sunday: Ziti, Garlic Bread, Corn, Salad

Monday: Hormel Ham, microwaved (yuck, my DH prefers this) will use Betty Crocker Scalloped Potatoes--haven't figured points, but I don't love these, so not worried. Canned yams cooked on stove with a little Splenda.

Taco Bell: Ugh, will be out of town two days in a row at dinner time. Soft tacos: 4 points Bean Burrito: 7 points Crunchy Taco: 4 points Nachos: 8 points-forget that! Pintos and Cheese: 3 points. There, I'm armed.

Garlic Bread: I use Aimee's Garlic Bread Recipe and love it.

Day 7

Today marks my seventh day on Weight Watchers. It's going all right. Tomorrow is weigh-in day. No surprises for me, as I'm a daily weigher. Always have been, always will be.

I have a very bad habit of not eating my points throughout the day and then in the evening I'm left with too many. Bad--must correct that next week. I'm afraid of not having enough, I'm guarding my resources like my dog does, I guess. I need to get over that and quick as it's not healthy.

Last night I started looking for WW blogs. Wow, there are a ton of them. Some scare me with their attitudes, some looked lovely and I came away overwhelmed. I subbed to about 10 of them. I don't know that I want a lot of people reading my journey. Yet again, the help and support is wonderful.

I peaked around Bootcamp Buddies last night as well. It has changed since I was on it. I can't describe it, but it's just different. I hit Dotti's site last night as well. While I like message boards, they take so long to load and I'm impatient. I think I'll hit them once in awhile and then just lurk on Serious Weight Watchers again.

I have to plan menus for the week and go grocery shopping today. It's going to be a crazy week, with a couple of day trips out of town. I have to plan ahead for that. I also have a million loads of laundry to do and a dirty house to clean. I have two dogs to love and a puppy to train and clean up after. etc., etc., etc. ....