Week 6

This week I wanted to make up for the small gain last week and also get a little ahead so that the end of this week at Scrapcamp hopefully wont have such a huge impact on my overall loss or target of 15kgs by Christmas.  So, I really went back to basics and managed a loss of 2.1kgs.  Total now 9.2kgs.

Changes this week:

• Distraction - the first thing I do when I start to feel a little hungry in between meals is have a glass of water and find a distraction - might be hanging out a load of washing or checking my emails, or something else that will distract me for a few minutes.  Most of the time, I have found that by doing this, the hunger spell passes and before I know it, another hour or two have has passed and it's then time for my next meal anyway.  This has hugely reduced snacking in between meals.
• Compensation - I've talked previously about the fact that if you eat more calories than your body can use in a day you gain weight, so put simply, if you use more than you eat, you've got to lose weight (not always completely true every week, but that's the general idea).  So, when I have felt like a small square of chocolate or a small serving of ice-cream, I've had it and then compensated with a short walk, or an additional work out.  Just 10 minutes can burn enough to have a scoop of low fat ice-cream.
• Not beating myself up - Weight fluctuates for many reasons during the month, including the little slip ups, which sometime don't show till the following week, so I have decided no more beating myself up.  My weight loss will be what it will be.  good some weeks, slow others and probably quite a few small gains along the way and that is all fine.  You've still got to live and you can't let it rule your life, so I'm learning to relax about it.  Having said that, I'll need to be super relaxed about next weeks weigh in right after ScrapCamp, with bacon, eggs and hash-browns for breakfast!  But hey, it's only every 12 weeks I get to do that, so I'll take the little side road, enjoy it, then get back on the main road and continue on my journey.

Dad's heart

Following his recent heart attack, Dad finally got an angiogram and had a stent inserted into one of his arteries.  Tests that followed showed another blockage and so he was due to have another stent inserted today, but it has now been put off until tomorrow.  Hopefully, once that has been done, he will be home in a few days and can start the recovery process.  I'm so grateful he didn't end up needing bypass surgery, as that is so invasive and has such a long recovery period.

Dad said one of the things that surprised him is that he didn't actually have any pain, just a tightness of the chest and so when you see these people on TV clutching at their chest - it doesn't always happen like that.  In fact the other 3 men in his hospital room also had no real pain.

Makes me kind of glad I have started to lost this weight and reduce my cholesterol  now.  I had previously done a heart health age test on line and found that mine was 10 years older than I actually was, which was kind of scary.  With the weight I have lost and the reduction in my cholesterol, I am happy to say, it is now 3 years younger than I am.  I plan to keep it that way.

Week 5

A little glitch in the weight loss.  Gained 300gms.  The week (Mon-Fri) went ok (I think) and I was pretty good, even when we went down to Pirongia markets on the Saturday.  When I got home Saturday night Mike broke the news that Dad had suffered a heart attack and was in hospital.  I was leaving for kids camp the next day.  I started to choose my meal options a little poorly.  We headed off to camp the next day and I felt it was just much easier to eat what the kids were eating, than try to plan different meals for myself.  Nothing too bad mind you, but certainly not what I had been doing up till that point.  Now, I normally weigh on a Monday, but as I was at kids camp, it had to wait till I got home, at which point, I weighed 300gms more than the previous weigh in the Monday prior.  Ok, so it's not a biggie and I am now back on track and expect a better result this Monday.  The following Monday however might be a different story again, as I head off to Scrapbook Retreat next week, with bacon, eggs and hash-browns for breakfast!!!  I'm being realistic though and allowing myself to just live a little and eat the same as others when away, maybe just smaller portions and healthy snacks in between.  It's all about balance right?

As for dad, we are still playing the waiting game.  He needs an angiogram to see how bad the damage is and assess whether he will need to have a stent or two inserted, or require bypass surgery. The angio has been postponed several times already.  So, we wait!

Week 4

This week was a bit of a struggle at the start.  Fro whatever reason, I had a very 'hungry' week and ate more carbs than I had eaten the past 3 weeks.  So it wasn't really surprising when I decided to check 1/2 way through the week that I had actually put on weight.  I was disappointed that decided I needed to be super good and on track for the balance of the week.  So, Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sun were all back on track and then I was pleasantly surprised this morning to weigh in another 1.2kgs lighter.  So the weekly amount is slowly coming down each week, but that's OK.  I have reached my first goal of 7kgs (actually lost 7.4 so far) by Scrapbook Retreat (which isn't for another 17 days yet) and will now be working on my next goal, which was to try and reach 15kgs lost before Christmas.

Changes this week - I have to admit to none.  I had a hard week, but hopefully back on track now and so will try and introduce a couple more changes this week.

Week 3

Another week down and this week was surprised to still see the loss over the 1kg mark, but happy just the same.  1.7kgs this week, making the total so far 6.2kgs over the 3 weeks.  I wouldn't say it has been super easy, but also haven't found it as hard as I usually do, so I'm hoping that continues.

My first goal was to lose 7kgs by Scrapbook Retreat (October 20) and I'm pretty confidant that I'll be able to tick that goal off as achieved!  Yay!  My next goal was to have lost a total of 15kgs by Christmas, which is 9 weeks after Scrapbook Retreat.  I am however unsure how long these higher losses will last, so what I think I might do is just wait and see where I am by October 20 and go from there.

Managed 1 walk last week - up to the mall and back.  Some of those muscles were sore by the time I got home. Have also been back gardening and done more workouts with Mel B on the PS3, so getting in plenty of exercise.

Changes for this week:

• Eating more slowly - enjoying every mouthful and I find in doing this, I really enjoy my food, but also feel fuller quicker, so actually end up eating less.  Which also brings me to the next change: - 
• Actually stopping eating once I start to feel full!  
• Introduced diet cordial to assist with my fluid intake.  Yes I know it's not as good as plain old water, but that's how I'm managing.  Normally I find any diet cordial tastes like a diet cordial, but my Mum introduced me to Bickfords Lime (diet version) and it is super yum.  Have used it as just a plain drink with water and also mixed a dash with diet lemonade, soda and bitters to make a refreshing lemon,lime and bitters drink (had to use part lemonade, part soda as was just too sweet otherwise) and feels like I'm having an RTD without all the added calories.

This current week so far however I have had a few hungry days with the colder weather and have had more carbs than any of the past 3 weeks, so will be interesting to see what the scales say on Monday.  As long as they are moving in the right direction, I don't mind.

Getting Ahead?

It surprised me a while back when someone commented about me basically being a stay at home mum and asked me "don't you want to get ahead?"
"Ahead of what?" I asked, "the Jones'?"
'No" they replied, "but you know, pay your mortgage off sooner, update that old car, get some new clothes, maybe even go on a holiday"  I was a little taken aback, but my reply:  I'd love to be mortgage free sooner and to have a newer car and it would be nice to be able to afford more new things, but those things aren't as important to me as being home to send my kids off to school in the morning, being home when they get home, going to their sports (practice and games), going on school trips and camp with them, being home for them during the holidays or when they are sick, being able to be so very involved in their schools and basically just enjoying a more simple lifestyle.

So, I stay at home and do part time work when I can and loads of charity work and yes income is up and down and sometimes we struggle and we have played 'how low can you go' with the food in our pantry/fridge more than once in the past year, but I can tell you (from working in a high paying corporate role for 18 months once Taryn was 11 months old), that money isn't everything.  I missed so many of her 'firsts' it nearly broke my heart.  I know that sometimes families have no other option and we've come close to having to find additional work ourselves and if it came down to me having to get a full time job, then that's what we would do, but whilst we can continue to manage and reap the benefits for our children we will.

I know that pretty soon, they will be off to University, or even off on their OE's and even sooner than that, they might not want to be spending that much time with us - or want me on their school trips and when that time comes, I will not look back with regret on all the time I didn't or couldn't spend with them simply because I wanted to 'get ahead'.  Instead I will savour those memories and be thankful that I made the financial sacrifices to have the lifestyle we enjoy so much right now.

Time for getting ahead will come for us soon enough and if that is currently your main goal in life, then I'm happy you are achieving your goals, but please don't judge me because my goals are different to yours.

Week 2

Another good week.  Happy to report another 1.9kgs are gone, making it 4.5kgs in my first 2 weeks.  This has made my BMI (Body Mass Index) drop by 1.6, which I am super pleased about. Wouldn't it be fantastic if it could be like that all the time, but I am being realistic and know that it will slow down very soon.

Last week saw the introduction of some daily exercises - namely stomach crunches and other abdominal exercises, for a just a few minutes each morning.  I'm sure somewhere deep in there lies muscles, so I am slowly trying to encourage them to work again and perhaps show themselves at some later stage - lol!

Had planned to get out walking, but the weather wasn't playing ball and having just gotten over 6 weeks of being so sick, wasn't gain to risk getting another dose -even if it was in the name of weight loss. This week however, I have added a bit more exercise.  Have started with a 20 minute workout each day (whilst still maintaining the earlier exercises introduced last week) - thanks to a super Trademe purchase 'Get fit with Mel B' for PS3.  RRP $109 - someone selling their unwanted gift copy -brand new in sealed box with resistance band -$29-yay!!!. Have also started parking as far away from the entrance as I can when I go to the shops.  The weather is also finally clearing, so hope to soon add in those walks 2-3 times a week.

Still struggling a bit with the water, but considering I was drinking hardly any at all and loads of coke zero, I am happy with getting through at least 1ltr per day and am down to usually just one Coke Zero each morning (my pick me up seeing as I don't do tea or coffee).

Changes for this week:

• Planning ahead - some of my worst choices (food wise) are made when I am hungry and short on time, or something I have on, means coming home later than usual.  I'm learning to plan ahead more and be prepared, with a quick meal ready to reheat, or a slimmers shake/meal replacement just 2 mins away.
• Checking labels - I've started checking labels and made some product changes to better suit weight loss. Not all products are created equally - especially the 'lite' or 'diet' ones.  I'm finding it pays to know all you can so you can make the best choice possible.

Have also seen a few more people this week who are also losing weight and this gives me even more inspiration.