Toes and Shoulder

Two years ago I tripped on a crack in the sidewalk while running in (gasp!) rubber Old Navy flip flops. I broke and dislocated my big toe bad enough that it required surgery. Everything is healed there, although when the weather is cold I get some aches and pains (dr. said arthritis is definately in my future on that toe).

Fast forward to this past Friday (how weird, my last toe injury also happened on a Friday!!). While rushing around before the kids got off to school I stubbed my middle toe on the right foot on the claw foot of our big, ugly, oak dining room table and this is how the toe looked yesterday:

Today the bruising is less dark but has moved into to the 2nd toe as well, but it actually feels pretty good except for feeling a little numb which is weird but at least I'm bending them some. All day Friday, and all day Saturday it hurt so bad I thought for sure I had broken it. I was waiting until today when I was seeing the orthopaedist for my shoulder pain to squeeze in the topic of my toe and have it checked out at the same time.

So .... I go in for my shoulder thinking they will tell me I have a tear somewhere. Luckily I don't have one. The doctor diagnosed it as Shoulder Impingement Syndrome. Some calcium deposits showed up on the xray too which could also be causing me some of the pain because my shoulder crunches when I move it around in certain ways.

Below is a pic of the calcium deposit just to the left of the bone. It's not a very clear pic because I used my cell phone to take a pic of the xray up on screen.



I got some anti-inflammatories to take and I am starting in with some physical therapy tomorrow and will see the doctor again in 3 weeks. The lady at the front desk of the therapy area was a total bitch. Earlier in the exam room the doctor asked if I wanted my trainer to work with me, or to use the physical therapy there and I said I'd come there for a time or two to see what they do, and then there was no reason my awesome trainer Ryan couldn't step up and work with me at the gym. Why pay twice, plus the doctor told me what to avoid and what to do. When I told the lady at the desk this, she gave me a look like I was a total idiot and said "uh .... your TRAINER is going to do it"? and I said of course, I was going to come for a couple appointments to see what they do and would have him do it. She's damn lucky she didn't catch me on my PMS Witch day. I would have told her to shove some physical therapy up her ass ROFL !!!!!

My food is still out of control. I get very depressed. Now my toe, then my shoulder, I think I will go back to the pool for some lap swim.

Out of control

My eating is out of control. Ever since Halloween my weight has been going up .... that's NOT the direction that I want to be going !!!!!

Yesterday I weighed myself and nearly had a heart attack at the number I saw. Today I weighed and it was TWO pounds MORE !!! Of course, being that it's that time of the month AND eating half a bag of Chex Mix at 10:00pm last night doesn't help, so I'm thinking most of that 2 pounds is water retention from the sodium. But still ... the other weight I've gained is ridiculous. I am the heaviest I've been since June. That makes me so mad. I know my trainer must be disappointed in me. I guess all I can do is keep plugging along and hope that my weight doesn't get more out of control. EVERY YEAR I gain weight from October thru New Years.

I get depressed about gaining, so what do I do??? I eat!! Unfortunatley, I'm one of those people that eat when they are sad and depressed. Why I can't be the type that starves and whittles away ??

None of my clothes fit. The only thing that fits are my FAT shorts (I nearly threw them out, good thing I kept them!) and my gym clothes.

My arm is still killing me and my orthopaedist appointment is on Thursday morning.

Arm Pain Update

UPDATE: When I couldn't even grate cheese this afternoon I finally scheduled an appointment with the orthopaedist. I'm going in December 2.

Recent Workouts

I haven't posted workouts in a while, so I decided to post the past week. I didn't workout that much, but at least I did SOME !!! Some of the weights I go really low weight on becuase of my deltoid injury. Arm is getting worse each week I think, it's really time I make an appointment with the orthopedist.

Monday, 11/10/08 - Upper Body w/trainer
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Hammer Lat Pull 70#/20 reps x 2 sets
Hammer Bench Press 20#/20 reps x 2 sets
Cable Reverse Flies 5#/20 reps x 2 sets (ridiculously low weight!!)
Arm Extensions 30#/20 reps x 2 sets
Cable Curls 15#/20 reps x 2 sets

Curl-up Crunches 2 sets of 20
Reverse Leg Lifts 2 sets of 20

Cardio: 30 minutes on elliptical, level 10-14 Crossramp, level 6-8 Resistance

Wednesday, 11/12/08 - Legs w/trainer
----------------------------------------------
Side step-up on bench 2 sets of 20
Standing Lunges off bench 2 sets of 20
Leg Extension 45#/20 reps; 50#/20 reps
Lying Leg Curls 30#/20 reps; 35#/20 reps
Calf Raises 20#/20 reps x 2 sets

Oblique Crunches 2 sets of 15
Cross Planks 2 sets of 20

Cardio: 35 minutes Bike

Thursday, 11/13/08 - Cardio
------------------------------------
45 minutes on elliptical
level 10-14 Crossramp, level 8 resistance


No workout again until today, Wednesday 11/19. We had the fires here in Chino Hills over the weekend and I think I had enough stress to keep my heart pumping LOL. Lugging boxes of pictures, albums, etc. into the car in case we had to evacuate (we ended up leaving voluntarily at 4:00am on Sunday morning) was good exercise.

Wednesday, 11/19/08 - Upperbody & some legs w/trainer
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Bench Press 45#/20 reps x 3 sets (last set only 15 because of deltoid pain)
Lat Rows 15#/20 reps x 2 sets; 20#/20 reps x 1 set
Lateral Raises 45#/20 reps x 3 sets

Leg Extension 45#/20 reps x 3 sets
Leg Curls 60#/20 reps x 3 sets
Calf Raises 20#/20 reps x 3 sets

Cardio: 45 minutes combo of bike & treadmill


I need to get my food under control. Each day is a new day for me.

Arm Killing Me

Almost 2 months since my last post. I really need to post more often. It helps keep me accountable and from others have said, it helps them too. Really, I will do my best to start posting my workouts again.

Things at the gym are the same and going well. I work out with my trainer Ryan on Monday and Wednesday mornings and he's awesome. I adore him. I work out with my other trainer Elizabeth on Fridays. Monday is still upper body, Wednesday is legs, and Friday is Core/Abs.

My right deltoid is still KILLING me (and getting worse) and I need to see an orthopedist. It even hurts right now, while i'm just sitting here. It hurts like hell during the night and when I am laying flat I can NOT lift my arm up unless I help it with my other arm. Some nights I don't sleep well because I can't find a position that doesn't irritate it. It really sucks!!! I am dragging my feet to see a doctor because I don't want to pay the bill (and I'm afraid they'll say surgery is needed to repair the tear). An MRI is inevitable for diagnosis and I found out from insurance that they will cover 85% of allowable charges with an in-network facility, but I have a $500 deductible for a specialist. So, the minimum I will pay is $500. Ugh. There is an orthopedic office right across the street from my gym, as well as an athletic rehab center, so I think I will go that route. My trainer Ryan said he was going to get me the number for the sports orthopedist that works with the Angels baseball team. How cool would that be! LOL I just don't want to have to drive far for appointments and it would be a 45 min drive one way (without traffic) each time I go there. The orthopedic office across from my gym is a 5 min. drive from home.

My weight ... well let's just say I am pretty much working hard at the gym for nothing. I got down to a good weight at the time of our cruise in August, but crept back up a few (5) pounds. Got those pounds off but yoyo'd back up again. I've been up and down since and i'm currently about 3 pounds over my cruise weight. It's very frustrating but it's my own fault. My eating is out of control. This is a very hard time of year for me. With Halloween candy I went crazy, then I had my birthday 2 days later, and since then I've just been really hungry and eating anything that isn't nailed down. I had a pretty good food day
today (every day is a new day and a re-start), and I worked out tonight doing 45 mins on the elliptical on level 14, so that was good.

Long time no post!

Wow, I didn't realize that August 5 was the last time I did an update. I had just come home from Stampin' Up! Convention and managed to lose weight. We went on a cruise at the end of August and I gained 4.5 pounds. I managed to lose a few, but then gained them right back after a week of horrible eating, and now i'm back on track and back to my pre-cruise weight.

Workouts are going great. I am still doing upper body on Mondays w/Ryan, legs on Wednesdays w/Ryan, and core on Fridays w/Elizabeth.

Yesterday I had a really good leg workout. Today my legs aren't really sore, which surprised me since Ryan kicked my ass yesterday! No scheduled workout this morning, but I'm be going tonight while Katy is at karate. She now helps to teach a lower belt class for 45 minutes, then has her own black belt class following that. That gives me a good amount of time to go to the gym and do an hour of cardio.

The hardest time of the year is coming up .... HALLOWEEN !!! All those mini candybars will be screaming my name so I need to come up with alternatives to reach for instead of that. After Halloween comes my b'day ... then Thanksgiving ... then Christmas. Oh my. Every year for as long as I can remember, January always came with me having gained weight during the past 2-1/2 months. My goal is to lose 10 pounds by Thanksgiving. I hope I can do it.

Home from Convention ... and I LOST WEIGHT!!

Last week I was at a rubber stamp convention in Salt Lake City for 6 days. I had tried so hard in the weeks prior to keep losing weight. My goal was just to MAINTAIN my weight while I was gone. Well, I was pretty selective about what I ate, although I did allow myself a few treats (a big cupcake on Thursday, mexican food twice with a LOT of chips and salsa on Saturday night, Fettucini alfredo Thursday) and i STILL came home weighing 1/2 pound less than I did when I left. We did a LOT of walking so that definately helped. I am so excited. I didn't drink that much water, so knew I might even be retaining some. I drank a lot more yesterday, plus worked out, and this morning I'm a pound less. So ... I'm 1.4 less than I was last Tuesday. YAAAYYYY. I haven't seen this number since early October last year!!!

Oh, and on Saturdy I wore my pair of size 8 shorts whoo hoooooooo!!!!!!! Who cares that they run a little big. They are still an 8 ... and I have the tag to prove it! hahaha.

We leave next Sunday for our cruise and I'd like to be 4.6 less than today ... that would put me exactly where I was last summer when we cruised to Hawaii.

New Trainer

In last week's entry I mentioned I was starting in with a new trainer while my regular one is gone for a month.

I worked out with Ryan on Monday & Wednesday and workouts were good. I really like him and he is a very smart guy. He is a kinesiology major in college and will be going in nursing after that. He knows his stuff!!

Monday was legs, and Wednesday was upper body. I did chest press on the bench with 55 pounds (45 pound bar + 10 pounds of extra weight). My right deltoid was hurting pretty bad Wednesday night and most of Thursday, but seems to have improved and today I am just about back to not feeling anything out of the norm. My deltoid pain isn't soreness from lifting, it's soreness as in injury (suspected tear at the attachment site). This week I will be careful not to overdo, since I am leaving for a 6-day convention a week from Tuesday and I really don't want to be having pain while I am there.

Weight Update

I weighed in yesterday (Saturday, July 19) and I lost 2 pounds since last Saturday. I am on a roll, and I"m really happy !!!! I am now only 4 pounds away from what I was last September, and only 9 pounds from my all-time low. I am very excited.

We leave for our cruise in (I think) 27 days and I"d REALLY like to be down at least 5 more pounds before then. More would be better of course, to give me a little cushion to not be completely paranoid about eating on the ship!

What is really helping is NOT SNACKING at night. I can be good all day, and dinner has gotten easier, and if I eat anything at night, it's usually 1/2 cup light ice cream, or a couple fresh pineapple spears.

My exercise has been good, too. Friday night we did approx. 2.5 mile walk and yesterday we did closer to 3 and a lot of it was uphill in the hot sun.

Hoping to have another great week, and i'm shooting for 1-2 pounds again.

Saturday weigh in

Today is Sunday, but yesterday I weighed 1.5 lbs less than I did last Saturday. I'm happy. Wish it was more (don't we all?) but I am happy with any loss. I had some food challenges in that we celebrated our daughter's birthday and I had cake .... 3 large pieces over 3 days and I still lost 1.5 lbs. Next week I want to shoot for 2 pounds minimum. I'm going to work hard to achieve that.

Tomorrow I start in with a new trainer until August 11 while my regular trainer is out of town for a class. She said I might want to stay with the new trainer after she comes back so we'll so how it goes. She encourages the change and says it would be good for me. Wish me luck !!!

Friday workout and weigh-in

Well, this morning I weighed in back at the same point I was on Wednesday morning. Whoo hoo. I"m glad. Now I hope to keep dropping again. I'd really like to lsoe 5 pounds by the time I leave for my convention (2-1/2 weeks from now) and I'd like to be 10 less by the time we go on our cruise next month (August 17).

Today was back workout. After weights, I did some cardio. A little on elliptical (13 minutes) and then I did 1.25 miles on the treadmill probably running over 3/4 of that.

That's it .... nothing else exciting.

I hate the scale

OK, so yesterday I was below my designated 1500 calories, yet I still gained a pound??? What gives??? This is why i hate the scale. It's enough to drive me mad. I need to listen to those that tell me NOT TO WEIGH EVERYDAY!!! But, when I don't weigh everyday, I lose track of what I"m doing and I get into more trouble. I really didn't drink much (32 oz. at the gym, and a glass of iced tea at dinner) so it's possible I am just retaining water since I was dehydrated.

Anyhow, today I've not eaten much. In fact, I am below even 1000 calories. I didn't even eat my cheerios until the afternoon because I woke up to find my kitchen island covered in ants and some other disgusting things I found that I won't even discuss here (eeww). So, this morning I spent quite a bit of time cleaning my kitchen (and searching for ant stragglers). We have a monthly service, but the last couple weeks I've been finding small groups of ants in the kitchen . They are really the first ants we've had in probably the 6 or so years since we began service.

Anyhow, this afternoon I had honey nut cheerios w/non-fat milk. Tonight I had 2 pieces of Dominos pizza (medium pizza, 1 slice = 160 calories). A little while ago I had another bowl of cheerios cuz I was starving. So all in all I am only at 720 calories. That is WAYYYY under my 1500. If I don't lose anything by tomorrow I"m going to rip my hair out and throw the scale out the window LOL.

No gym today, but I have my regular training session tomorrow morning at 9:00. I think it's back/bicep day.

Chest/Tricep/Abs

First off, here's a picture of me on the elliptical today. My daughter took it with her cell phone so that's why it's blurry. I love the elliptical. I love how it makes me really sweaty. Check out the sweat on my arms.

Beginning on MOnday I will have a new trainer until August 12. My trainer Elizabeth will be away on business so I will be trained by Ryan. Hope he doesn't kill me! haahahha.


Back/Tricep
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ISO Incline Press 3 sets of 15 (no additional weight)
ISO Decline Press 20# x 3 sets of 20
ISO Bench Press (bar is 45 lbs) 3 sets of 15
Dumbbell kickbacks 7.5# in each hand. 3 sets of 20
Cable Rope Tri Overhead 40# x 3 sets of 15
Dumbbell flys on mat 7.5# in each hand x 3 sets of 20
Skull Crushers on mat 5# in each hand x 3 sets of 20

Abs
-----
Bicycles - 2 sets of 40
Reverse Crunches - 2 sets of 15
Straight Leg Lift - 2 sets of 15
Elbow to knee reach - 2 sets of 15 on each side
Situps with DB - 7.5# set of 15
Side Plank lifts 15 on each side
Plank 25 seconds

Precor Elliptical - 30 minutes, 356 calories

Tonight we went to dinner at Olive Garden. I was very conscientious about what I ate. I started with a bowl of Minestrone (only 164 calories and 1 g. of fat) and I only ate maybe 1/2 to 1/3 of it (too many tomatoes). I did have 1-1/2 breadsticks. They are 120 each (and 1.5 g. fat) so 180 cals for that. My main dish was Capellini Pomodoro (skinny spagetti noodles with diced roma tomatoes, basil, garlic, and olive oil) which was totally gross. It had a tomato explosion on top and was kind of tart. I didn't eat even half of it. It was hard to even get down what I did! On the menu it had the little olive branch symbol next to it indicating a low-fat option, but it still had over 600 calories when I looked it up at home. I had looked up food options before we left and had chosen a grilled chicken entree, but it was not on the menu when we got there (I was upset, too, cuz it was only like 260 calories).

My day up until Olive Garden was low in cals, too. Breakfast was a Glucerna bar before my workout (only 70 cals), then had some leftover turkey breast taco meat when I got home, then had a salad for lunch with more ground turkey BREAST with 4 tortilla chips. Yum. Taco salad. Even with Olive Garden, I'm far below my 1500 allowable calories.

Oh, and today I dipped back down into a new 10's group on the scale. I won't say what ten's ... but let's just say it's the lowest I've been since last year. hehehehe. I'm happy :-)

Workout Tues. 7/8

Today was leg day, and my regular joint workout with my gym friend. WE merge our 2 sessions together so we get an hour with our trainer instead of individual 30-minute sessions.

Seated Leg Curl 75#/20 x 3 sets
Cybex Iso Leg Press 90#/20, then 2 sets of 110#/20
Hip Abduction 70#/15 x 3 sets
Hip Adduction 70#/20 x 3 sets
Butt Blaster 50#/15 x 3 sets (on each leg)
Walking Lunges 15# dumbbell 2 lengths of gym
Side Lunges 15# dumbbell 2 lengths of gym
Bench Crunches 3 sets of 30
FULL PUSHUPS !!! 45 (3 sets of 15)
Situps w/7.5# dumbbell - 15
Straight Leg Lift - 15
Elbow to Knee reach 15 on each side
Bicycles 2 sets of 40
Reverse Crunches 2 sets of 15
Stretching

No cardio since I had to get somewhere, but after an hour of legs & abs, I was more than ready to go home anyway. I love being totally sweaty after a workout.

Saturday 7/5 weigh-in

Yipeeeeee!!!! Today I weighed in and I lost 4 pounds this week !!! Weeee!, I'm happy. I am hoping for a 2-pound loss this week. I am feeling good, and in control.

Friday 7/4 Workout

Friday I had a good back/ab workout. I was tired, but felt great afterward. I'm so happy my deltoids continue to be virtually pain free (sometimes I have a little pain in the middle of the night).

Pull-downs 90#/15 x 3 sets
Smith Dead Lift 40#/15 x 3 sets
Wide Row 45#/20 x 3 sets
Cable Row 30#/20 x 3 sets (on each arm)

Bench crunches 3 sets of 20
Sit-ups holding dumbbell 7.5#/15
Bicycles 50
Reverse Crunches 20
Side crunches 30
Side Plank pushups 15 on each side
Planks hold 35 seconds
Pushups (REAL ONES!!) 3 sets of 15 !! Whoa yah baby ... 45 of them!!!

Precor Elliptical ... 17 minutes only. I was tired.

Another pound gone!

Since Monday I've lost 2.2 pounds. Not bad for 3 days :-). I'm down 6.6 pounds in the last 3 weeks. In those 3 weeks I lost a couple, then gained them back, then lost them again. Yep, that's my life ... I am a constant yoyo-er when it comes to my weight. It's very frustrating.

I've really been trying lately, and i guess whatever it is I'm doing is working so I'm going to do my best to keep it going. I had a little roadbump today as it's our daughter's 15th birthday today and we went to the movies to see Get Smart. I brought my own snack (dry roasted soybeans, and soy crisps) but my son got popcorn and I stole some .... WITH BUTTER! Ugh, why do I do that? I didn't have a lot, but I told myself I wouldn't have any and I still did. Tonight we are going to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen so I"ll do my best to order wisely.

(taking break for dinner)

OK, we are home from California Pizza Kitchen. I didn't do that good, but could have been MUCH worse. I ordered the Thai Crunch Salad. Salads are so deceiving. They sound healthy, but there are so many hidden calories and fat grams. I only ate half of the salad and will have the rest tomorrow. If not for the fried wonton strips and spicy peanut dressing, it would have been healthy ROFL.

I'm hoping I have maintained my weight when I step on the scale tomorrow. I will post my workout later. I need to get my log book out of the car. Today was chest/shoulders and I had a good workout.

Leg Day

Today was leg day at the gym. It was an hour session today, since I join up with a gym friend on Tuesdays and we do our sessions back to back and share our times, so we get 60 instead of 30.

Walking lunges - 2 sets of 60 (2 basketball court lengths)
Side lunges - 2 sets of 60 (2 basketball court lengths)
Squat Holds - 7.5lb DB, 3 sets of 10
Stair calf raises - 3 sets of 30 (feet forward, toes in, toes out)
Hip abduction - 65lb / 3 sets of 15
Squat Holds - holding on to bar, 3 sets of 15
hip adduction - 65 lb / 3 sets of 15
Leg Press - 110 lb/15, 120 lb/15, 130 lb/15
Butt Blaster - 50 lb / 3 sets of 10 on each leg
Leg Extension - 45 lb / 20 (3 sets); 30 lb / 10 (3 sets on each leg)

Abs:
Bench crunches - 3 sets of 20
Bicycles - 2 sets of 40
Straight leg lift - 3 sets of 15
Elbow to knee (cross over crunches) 2 sets of 15 on each leg
Reverse Crunches - 2 sets of 15
Side reaches to shoe - set of 30


I'm tired. I didn't do any cardio since I had to get out of the gym and get to an appointment. I workout in the monring. It's shoulder/chest day.

food was good over the weekend, and I took a 4.6 mile walk on Saturday. I'm down 2 pounds since Friday :-) yaaayyy!!! I'm feeling very into my diet mojo. Once I get going and I do well, I can stay with it. One slip, and it's all over. I'm doing my best to stay on track.

Good day ... physically AND food wise

This morning I started out the day with a light breakfast and a 4.6 mile walk. My husband, daughter, and I took a walk down to a local shopping center to run a few errands. This gives us all exercise AND saves us gas ($4.67/gallon here). I had a good food day, too. Here's what I had:

Breakfast: 3/4 c. cheerios & 3/4 c. nonfat milk
Lunch: turkey sandwich (2 slices 45-calorie bread, 2 slices turkey, 1 tbsp. mayo) & 2 wedges of fresh pineapple
Snack: Cinnamon Bun Carb Rite Bar
Dinner: breakfast burrito (flour tortilla, potatoes, scrambled egg & 2 whites, 2% cheese).

The burrito was high in calories so I won't have a snack tonight if I can help it. If I need something, I'll have a 10-calorie sugar free jello cup. Even with the breakfast burrito, I"m still under my 1500 cals.

I've had 84 oz. of fluids today. It's been hot, plus my daughter and I cleared out her room getting it ready for paint this week. This included moving furniture, packing up everything off shelves to moves things out, and vacuuming the carpets and walls ... yes I VACUUMED the walls!! hahaha. After 9 years of living in this house, it's amazing what accumulates on the tops of the walls from running a ceiling fan. I never realized. How gross!!!!!!! My son's room gets done the week after next.

My weight is holding steady since last week. Yesterday I got a little more serious and I'm really going to get this weight off. Cruise date is rapidly approaching. I'm also going to a convention at the end of July and I'd really like to lose a few before then, too, since we'll be going to dinner every night for 5 nights. Of course the week will include a lot of walking but I still would like to have a few extra pounds off before I go.

Never giving up

One thing I can say about myself in the past 3 years, going thru the ups and downs of my weight loss journey, is that I have NEVER given up. Even now, being approx. 15 pounds heavier than I was last year at this time, I still go to the gym, I'm still working with a trainer, and I'm still trying to lose weight. I have good days, and I have bad days. I need to learn that when I have a bad day it's not the end of the world. It's just LIFE !!!! We can't be good all the time.

We are going on a cruise in August, and my goal is to lose just 10 pounds before the trip. I have 8-1/2 weeks before we leave. I think 10 pounds is very doable. If I am really diligent, I can probably lose 20. Two years ago when I lost the first big bulk of my weight, I lost 23 pounds in 9 weeks and I can do it again if I REALLY work hard !!!!!!!

At the gym, i'm still working 3x a week with my trainer, and I'm going in on Tuesday and thursday evenings to do some elliptical while my daughter is at karate. I get in 35 minutes and burn any where from 390 to 420 calories depending on the level I do. Tuesday is a regular trainer day in the morning, so I get double workout that day. Monday has been my rest day but I'm going to try to go in, even if it's only for 30 mins. Anything is better than nothing.

With the heat (104 here today) I am drinking a lot more water. That is something that always helps me drop the weight.

I think I will start posting my food journal daily. Here's what I had yesterday:

Breakfast: Cheerios w/fat free milk
After-gym snack: Carb Rite diet bar
Lunch: 1/2 of a 6" RB from subway (wasn't feeling good -- only ate half)
Snack: at the movies, 1/2 of a child size popcorn, XL Diet Coke
Dinner: 1/2c. rice and chicken/bellpepper/zucchini stirfry
Snack: Fat free frozen yogurt

Today I have been good. We are going to dinner to the new California Pizza Kitchen, so I tried to keep my cals low. Here's my day so far before dinner:

Breakfast: Cheerios w/fat free milk
After gym snack: leftover chicken/veggies from last night (maybe 2 oz.)
Lunch: 1/2 c. rice, 5 oz. chicken breast, 5 chips, 2 Tbsp guacamole (kids had mexican food ... i just stole a few of the chips!)

Workout today was:

Chest/Shoulders
Precor Elliptical - 33 minutes 398 calories

Total Frustration

I am frustrated. I am sad. I hate myself for not being able to lose weight. Every Friday I weight officially (although I weigh myself every day too) and I have now been the same damn weight for FOUR WEEKS!!!!!! My deltoid is always hurting me, I'm still lifting weights at the gym, I increased my cardio this past week, and I still didn't l ose anything. My food hasn't been bad, in fact it's been pretty good. If I "cheat" it's not even that bad.

I thinking of stopping my training for a while. Next month (May 20) it will be 3 years that I have trained. that's 36 months x 250 a month = $9,000. I'd really rather save the money right now to pay for painting, new carpet, and my stamp convention i'm going to in July.

I seriously think i'm doing too much weights. I used to 3 half-hour sessions a week. Now, because I join up with another lady twice a week and we go for an hour (which is really giving us double the time, even though we share, because we don't stand around waiting for the other person to finish) that it's now like i'm doing weights 5x a week instead of 3 ... and I should be doing cardio instead of this much weights. The only day I like is leg day becuase there is nothing to hurt my deltoids. I can't lift a lot. I get depressed when I see that I can't lift anything because it's too heavy. EVERYTHING is too heavy because EVERYTHING makes it hurt.

I'm just really pissed off at myself ... pissed off at the gym ... i hate everyone right now. I'm jealous of people who don't have to work to lose weight. I have to practially go into Ethiopian starvation mode to lose anything (and even then it's very slow going). It's just not fair.

Pushup Queen LOL

Yesterday I had an hour workout with my trainer and then I took the Kickboxing class. During my weight training I did 3 sets of 10 pushups (FULL STYLE, not on the knees!). I am so proud that I can do these because until I was 41 years old I couldn't even do ONE !!! At the end of kickboxing we had ab work on the floor and we had to do MORE pushups. 3 more sets of 10. So that meant that I did SIXTY, yes 60!, pushups yesterday!! Whoa. This morning my arms, chest, and back were really sore (but it felt good!).

New Workout Schedule

I desperately need to increase my cardio. I used to do cardio 5-6 times a week when I was at my lowest weight. For the past 5 months or so, I've decreased to 3 times a week mainly because I was getting bored and burned out.

Last week I started changing my workout schedule. I still work with my trainer 3 times a week, but I'm adding classes and lap swim now to my cardio. Here's what I hope to do every week:

Monday: Pilates class (or lap swim)
Tuesday: 1 hour w/trainer, then Kickboxing class
Wednesday: 30 mins w/trainer, then lap swim
Thursday: REST DAY
Friday: 1 hour w/trainer, then Club Boxing class
Saturday: Advanced Step ... or something at home.
Sunday: REST DAY

My Saturdays will depend on how my heels are feeling at the moment. I started suffering from plantar fasciitis 9 years ago when I first discovered step aerobics. I overdid it and my feet really paid the price. It took a couple years for them to feel better (I quit step completely) then I went several years without any pain at all. REcently my right heel has been really bothering me. It came back when I was starting to do more running on the treadmill, then running at my son's school for a FAmily Fun Run day. Guess I'm not meant to be a runner LOL. That's o.k., I don't really like it!

Today was my first day back in the pool. I did 40 lengths in just under 30 minutes. It felt good. I was also worried about my arms hurting (deltoid) because last time I tried to swim, each time I did a stroke my arm hurt and I only did maybe 10 lengths before giving up.

Friday was my first day back at Club Boxing. It's a great class. It combines boxing with circuit training and it's an AWESOME workout! We run, punch bags, do walking lunges, side step squats, pushups, crunches and more. I look forward to Friday's class.

Oh, and my weight has stayed the same for the past 3 weeks, which really irritates me, but it's better than gaining. I do yoyo up depending on what I've eaten, but any gain (fluid) always comes off with a good day of water intake.

Remodeled Fitness Journal

I am a rubber stamper and paper crafter. You can pretty much look in every room of our house and find SOMETHING that has been stamped LOL. I am a demonstrator for Stampin' Up! and love their products.

I have a fitness journal that the gym gave me. It was bound by those really cheesy flat plastic coils (vello comb?). My journal was falling apart because those coils just do not last.

Enter one of my crafty tools that I love ... the Zutter Bind-It-All. I took my journal, removed the plastic coil, trimmed off the hole punches, made a new cover for it, then re-coiled it using a much better wire coil.

Check it out ....... is this not just toooooooo cute? I also made some divider pages and included some blank pages where I keep my progress photos and notes.



Paper and punches used by Stampin' Up! Stamps by Hanna Stamps. Binding by Zutter Bind-It-All.

Survived the weekend

Hope everyone had a nice Easter. Ours was quiet and relaxing. Just the four of us. I stayed in my pajamas until 2pm LOL. Our cockatiel Luckybird laid an egg yesterday, too. How appropriate! I wanted to take it out and dye it pink but I don't think she would have been too happy. Here's a picture of her with her little egg. Isn't it cute? She will lay more during the next week (usually one egg every other day until she has about 5 or 6), sit on them for a couple weeks, then realize they won't hatch and she'll abandon them. At that time, I'll take them out and throw them away. How sad. She puts so much effort into keeping her "babies" warm.

















Weekends are usually the time when I will go off track with food. This weekend I did surprisingly well and I'm so excited. Even with Easter yesterday and chocolate in the kids' Easter baskets, I didn't cave into pressure. I haven't had even ONE piece of Easter chocolate this year. Whoo hoo. I think this is the first time in my entire life that I haven't had Easter candy.

For dinner yesterday we BBQ'd some really nice pork spareribs. We also had some homemade potato salad and a huge tray of veggies roasted in the oven (Asparagus, red bell peppers, purple onion, and zucchini, drizzled with a little olive oil and S&P). Yum. Last night we did have a chocolate turtle pie for dessert (Claim Jumper brand - frozen section) and I had a very small piece. Just one. I probably won't have anymore.

Tomorrow we're headed to Disneyland so I know I"ll be getting a lot of walking in. That's always a good thing. It will probably be packed with people, so lines to buy food will be super long and that will be a deterrent to not stop and buy snacks all day. I think i'll pack along a couple protein bars and some beef jerkey since we'll be there from 8am opening until late. They close at midnight, but I seriously doubt we will last for 16 hours!!!

No loss this week

Bummer, I weighed today and I was the same as last week. I soooooo wanted to see a loss, but last week I lost 2.4, for a total of 10.6 so I should be happy. I have 13 more pounds to go to get to my first goal.

Had a good workout today of legs and it really got my heart pumping. Stepups on the bench, lots and LOTS of squats (on the Bosu ball as well as the floor), prone leg curl, 105 calf raises (35 regular, 35 with toes out, and 35 with toes in), and also some ab work on the mat (my chance to just lay down! LOL).

tonight I played Bunco with my monthly group and I had NO CANDY, which was a miracle considering there were Reeses peanut butter eggs (the small kind) on the table. I didn't eat any ... not even ONE !! I did have a piece of chocolate cream pie, but something like that is not likely to cause me to crave more. If it's peanut butter, that's when it's trouble!

This week I really want a loss. 2 pounds would thrill me! More than that would cause me to have a coronary LOL. Kids are on Spring Break now, but there will be lots of activity including Disneyland on Tuesday. Lots of walking :-)

10 pounds down

It's been 3 weeks now since I've been back on track. I weighed in on Friday and I am down 10 pounds. I am sooooooooo excited and I feel proud of myself. I am still digging myself out of the hole I dug .... I have about 7 more pounds to go to be back where I was in September. Once I get there I will feel like I'm back to normal. For a very short time in the summer I got down another 6 pounds to my low. I will be happy just getting down the 7 more.

Yesterday was a bad eating day. I can't believe I did this but I ate 4 donuts over the course of the day. I had brought a big box of donuts to a debate tournament that my son was in. There, I had 2 donuts, then I shared one on the way home with the kids (I should have given the box of leftovers to someone), then last night really late I ate another! Ugh. I think it's out of my system now. I have other things I can eat that are just as satisfying for my sweet tooth. I have my sugar-free and fat free puddings, and my Carbrite bars (sugar free and packed with 20g. protein). I WILL have a great week and be successful!

Long time no see

Wow, it's been a long time since i've posted here. November! Can't believe it. Well, since my last posting, i've had a lot of ups and downs with my weight.

I had a mini emotional breakdown over my weight in November when I gained 6 pounds in 2 days (obviously water weight, but when someone is struggling with weight, there is no reasoning with them). After Thanksgiving came the holidays and we all know how hard that is. I gained more weight, which made me depressed, and when I'm depressed I eat for comfort. I was feeling so fat and heavy that I didn't want to workout, and when I was at the gym I was not putting a whole lot into it.

On January 2 I pushed re-start. I lost a couple pounds of holiday weight only to gain them right back plus 1 more. Urgghh. So frustrating. I pushed re-start #2 on January 16 and did very well (lost 6 pounds in 6 days) UNTIL my body burst into hives on January 23. Check out this lovely view of my stomach. These hives were some of the worst, but I had them everywhere (except my head).

Although the hives improved after a week, the fact was that I had hives for TEN DAYS !!! The antihistamines and Prednisone I was taking made me horribly hungry. During the worst days of hives, I would sit and eat, hungry from the meds and feeling sorry for myself. It was a completely miserable experience and I hope they NEVER come back!

Moving along to February I was downright lazy, I ate horribly, and I had no motivation. The more I gained, the more I just wanted to stay home and do nothing. Having another mini emotional breakdown at the gym (I hate crying there!) on February 18, I gathered myself together and on Friday, February 22, I pushed re-start AGAIN. Since then I've had 10 days of being focused and I'm down 7.6 pounds.

At the gym, we've lowered the amount of weight I"m lifting and increasing the reps. I really like that so much more. I felt like I was lifting too much, which was causing me pain in my deltoid (previous injury) and when I wasn't able to complete a set I would get discouraged. Discouraged = depressed = overeating. I feel sooooo much better since we've lowered my weights. I have more energy to do my cardio afterward and that is helping too. My pants are already feeling better.

I have 10 more pounds to lose to get back to where I was at the end of September and I know I will get there. That is my first goal. My 2nd goal is to lose 6 more pounds to be at my all-time low that I hit in June of last year (50 pound loss).

I WILL GET THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've discovered the BEST sugar-free, low carb, high protein bars. Visit: www.carbritediet.com. You can do a search for a store near you that sells them, or you can order online through various website (just google it and check out the best deals). The Toasted Coconut bar tastes like a Mounds Bar. ! YUM. The Cookie Dough bar packs a whopping 20g. of protein. Most protein bars contain a lot less, taste like cardboard, and are high in fat. Then there's the ones you lower the fat on, but they have like 2 g. of protein, and are full of sugar. The cookie dough variety has: 195 cals, 5g. fat, 24g. carb, and 20 protein. Although there are 24 g. carbs, there is only 1g. NET IMPACT CARBS, which are carbs that cause a noted impact on blood sugar.