Kristy's Weight Loss Journey: I Jumped Ship

I jumped off the weight loss ship.  I took off my FitBit.  I stopped going to the gym.  I haven't been on Instagram.  I haven't opened the blog page.  I haven't logged or weighed my food.  It's been about 2 weeks.  But guess what?  My weight hasn't changed.  I haven't went up or down.  Let me take you back to my last blog and let's go from there.

In my last blog I was talking about my experience with Intermittent Fasting and the Keto lifestyle.  With Intermittent Fasting, I found myself being stuffed and feeling sick in the evenings.  The first two weeks weren't bad but after that I just felt like it wasn't working for me.  I can see how it would work for some people.  And perhaps for me, the lack of carbs and the fasting were a bad combination.  As far as Keto, I am not strict about it and I do not test my ketones.  I just stick with super low carb, avoiding bread, potatoes, pasta and rice.

I had about a week vacation planned so I knew I wouldn't be tracking my food.  I decided to leave my FitBit at home so I wouldn't have to worry about charging it while away.  The only thing I miss about it is looking at the time.  I have been at this for 20 months now.  I still want to lose more weight but I don't have a time limit.  I also don't want to have to miss out on some fun because I am afraid of what to eat or drink.  So on vacation, I ate, drank and was generally merry.

I left from work on Tuesday afternoon and headed to Olympia to pick up my sister.  Her and I then drove up to the Bainbridge Island area to the Clearwater Casino and Resort to meet our friend Brenda for a few days.  Brenda was at a work conference but she was free at night.  Tuesday night we went to a fee comedy show at the Sports Bar at the Resort.  They had an incredible deal of a burger, a beer and a shot for $10!  We all got Fireball and burgers and laughed our butts off.

The next morning we had Crab Benedict on the terrace before Brenda had to go off to class.  Kari and I ventured into town for a little shopping.  I got a killer deal on some clearance clothes at Target and some nice stuff at a consignment shop called Curvy QT.  When Brenda was done for the day we went to the pool and hot tub and laid out there for a while.  We came back, took showers and headed to dinner at the buffet.

Thursday morning we had breakfast at the cafe again and said our goodbyes.  Kari and I headed to our Mom's to pick her up and then we went to Kari's and Mom and I headed to my house.  We stopped in Longview and picked up my husband to go to the Oregon Dunes near Winchester Bay.  I was in the car from 8 am until around 5 pm.  By the time we got there, I was completely done.  I had some drinks and don't remember much after that until I woke up the next day.

We basically sat around the campfire for the next 2 days and just relaxed.  Thank goodness we did because our drive home on Saturday was a crazy one.  We got stopped once for a brush fire and a second time by 5 police cars blocking I-205 for a hostage situation.  Our 6 hour drive turned into 9 hours.  When we finally got home, around 5 pm, we both went to bed.  I woke up 13 hours later, feeling amazing.

Back to work on Monday and back on my routine.  I skipped the gym Monday because work was a bit crazy but Tuesday I did a heavy arm day.  Then Wednesday I had a doctor's appointment on Vancouver so I had to miss and Thursday I did squats which nearly killed me.  I had zero energy and every movement felt extremely heavy.  Friday I was the sorest I have ever been.  My abs, legs, arms and shoulders hurt so badly.

All in all, I am still going to be losing weight, just not being so stringent.  I will probably go back to tracking my food and my exercise but I may not use my FitBit much more.  In order to make this more sustainable, I have to be able to do it without any of these tools.  To know my body's needs and capabilities.  Losing weight is the easy part of all of this.  The mental struggle is by far the hardest.

Weight Loss Journey: What I Eat In A Day

After my last few blogs were pretty negative in tone, I thought I would brighten things up.  I started on a low dose thyroid medication on Saturday April 2nd.  That next week I dropped 5 lbs and then I put the scale away.  I didn't want to be checking it every single day.  I won't weigh in again until May 1st.  I am doing really well at keeping under 2,000 calories so I thought I would share with you all what I eat in a day.

BREAKFAST 8:00 am
Breakfast is the same every work day.  I make an egg scramble.  I meal prep the meat on Sunday and portion it out into 4 ozs or whatever the serving is.  I weigh everything out in order to track things accurately.  This keeps me full until around noon.  I also have a 24 oz coffee with almond milk (32 cals) and about 40 ozs of water.

142 grams Isernio's Chicken Breakfast Sausage (160 cals)

7 ozs sliced Zucchini (34 cals)

5 ozs sliced Button Mushrooms (30 cals)

8 ozs Liquid Eggs (123 cals)

Total:  347 Cals, 15 carbs, 6 fat and 37 protein

PRE-WORKOUT 12:00 pm
I try to keep pre-workout light but with some protein and carbs.  I have been really liking cottage cheese and berries.

8 oz Cottage Cheese (180 Cals)

3 ozs Black Berries (32 cals)

3 ozs Raspberries (17 cals)

Total:  229 Cals, 28 carbs, 6 fat and 25 protein

POST WORKOUT 2:45 pm
I use my lunch break to go to the gym.  I either do Cardio or weight lifting for 35 minutes, then come back to work and eat.  Post Workout is always a salad.

4 cups Spring Salad Mix (40 cals)
4 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (166 cals)
2 tbsp Litehouse Opa Greek Yogurt Feta Dill Dressing (50 cals)
Total:  256 cals, 10 carbs, 15 fat and 23 protein

DINNER 6:00ish pm
Dinner can vary but we stick to about 10 or 15 dishes pretty consistently.   Here are a few.

6 oz Beef Chuck Steak (240 cals)

150 grams Yukon Gold Potato (120 cals)

2 cups Spring Salad Mix (20 cals)

2 tbsp Litehouse Opa Greek Yogurt Feta Dill Dressing (50 cals)

Totals:  430 cals, 32 carbs, 14 fat and 41 protein

Enchilada Filling:  20 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, 1 can of Low Sodium Black Beans, 1 large can of La Victoria Mild Red Enchilada Sauce.  Makes 10 Servings, 168 calories each.

3 La Tortilla Factory Low Carb Tortillas (80 cals each)

1.5 oz Mexican Cheese Blend

Totals:  745 cals, 87 carbs, 26 fat and 78 protein

7 ozs Boneless Skinless Chicken Thigh (245 cals)

8 ozs Yukon Gold Potato (138 cals)

6 ozs Birdseye Steamfresh Broccoli (60 cals)

Totals:  443 cals, 38 carbs, 11 fat and 46 protein

Beef Enchilada Bake

16 oz Grassfed Extra Lean Ground Beef

2 cups Instant White Rice

1 can Sweet Corn

1 can Low Sodium Black Beans

1 large can Enchilada Sauce

8 ozs Mexican Cheese Blend

Makes 4 large servings.  Can serve on a tortilla or eat in a bowl.

662 cals, 74 carbs, 18 fat and 51 protein

We also go out to eat maybe once or twice a month.  The above meal is from Ichi Teriyaki here in Longview.  I get no sauce on my chicken to keep the calories in check.  I look at MyFitnessPal for close matches when I eat out.  This meal came out to be 603 calories, 38 carbs, 16 fat and 68 protein.

In the evening I can have anywhere from 100 to 500 calories left.  I like to indulge in ice cream, popcorn or other simple snacks.  I found a really good diet ice cream called Halo Top.  It is hard to find and a bit expensive but well worth the effort.  The pint below is only 280 calories for the entire thing.  There is 60 carbs, 8 fat and 24 protein.  Compare that to regular ice cream and you will be blown away!

Weight Loss Journey: Nephew Adventures, Gym Etiquette and Meal Prep

A few weekends ago we had my nephew Logan over.  He is almost 5 and really energetic.  We decided to surprise him and take him to the beach on Saturday.  He had so much fun playing in the sand and at the playground we found.  He and I even walked through the Battery at Fort Columbia.  My only problem was he kept running off from me and it was freaking me out.  I am not up to 5 year old speed yet.

At the park, I decided to see if my skills were still up to par.  Nope!  I realized I could not hang for any more than a few seconds.  So I set a goal for myself to be able to do Monkey Bars again at some point.  I did climb the large toy in the center of the playground.  And while I was too afraid to do much else, it felt great to be up there.  I also clocked in 8 flights of stairs on my FitBit by going up and down.  If you think, because you are a Mom, you don't have time for a workout, you are wrong.  Just get out there and play with the kids.  Plus, swinging is so much fun!

I have been at Planet Fitness for 4 months now and have made a few observations I would like to share.  These are not be being judgmental, just things I see:
#1 - Get off your phone while you are working out.  Leave your phone in your locker and enjoy your workout.  I see people sitting on machines, texting or even talking.  It's rude to other people in the gym and there is no way you are focusing on your workout.
#2 - Light gray yoga pants are not a smart choice.  Just an observation but when you sweat, that color yoga pants changes color.  I felt bad for one woman.  It looked like she had wet herself.
#3 -  Make friends.  If, like me, you go to the gym at a certain time every day, it is likely that you see some of the same people.  Say hi, smile, be friendly.  You are both there for the same reason.

Through this journey I have spent many Sundays meal prepping.  Honestly, the biggest plus is that I can sleep in a bit.  My most recent set of prep included roasted vegetables (carrots, zucchini and broccoli), boiled chicken and quinoa.  I prefer to eat this kind of food for breakfast, having a morning snack at 11 and then lunch at 2:30 after my workout.  This particular week, my 11 am snack was the Kale Power Salad that I have talked about before and my 2:30 salad of greens, ground turkey and feta.  After the first day, I decided to modify the base meal and have a hot breakfast.

Here is exactly what was in each day's meal:
1.25 cups Roasted Vegetables, 1 cup boiled chicken thighs, 1 cup cooked quinoa (480 calories)
Day 1:  No Modification
Day 2:  Add 2 over easy eggs (add 147 calories)
Day 3:  Add 1 cup chicken stock (add 80 calories)
Day 4:  Add 1/2 cup egg substitute (add 62 calories)
Day 5:  Add 1/4 cup egg substitute and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese (add 101 calories)
It was so good, healthy and filling.

From July 15th to August 15th, I only lost 6 lbs.  It was a rough month.  My weight loss has definitely slowed down.  In fact, I had not gained but I hadn't lost in over 2 weeks.  I did some research online, asked my fellow Blog to Lose ladies and contacted my nutritionist.  It turns out I haven't been eating enough.  I had been sticking to about 1800 calories and burning about 3800 in a day.  Well, that had slowed my metabolism and put my body into starvation mode.  So after talking to a few people, I upped my calories to 2300 to 2500 as my target.  After 2 days, I lost 3 lbs in 3 days.    I had just reset my body and my total loss is 87 lbs.  I am just 13 lbs from my 100 lb goal and 16 lbs from being under 400 lbs.

Weight Loss Journey: Back to the Doctor and FitBit Fun

For the last few weeks, since I started doing treadmill workouts, my hip has been really bothering me.   It doesn't bother me while I'm on the treadmill, just after I get back to work and sit for a little bit.   It gets even worse after I get home and try to relax and watch tv.  Another problem I am having is that my foot begins to cramp/hurt after walking for around 5 minutes.  I have been pushing through it but It was a bit concerning.  I also, secretly, wanted to weigh in  and get my A1C checked again.

82 lbs down

Back in December when I first had my A1C checked, it was 6.9 and in February is was 6.2.  Now it is down to 5.7 which is the lowest number they consider to be pre-diabetic.  I am really happy to have dropped it so much but that doesn't mean I can let up.  I now have to maintain a good A1C so I can stay healthy and off medication.  I am currently down 82 lbs which is a little over 16% of my beginning body weight.  Being a numbers geek and Accounting major, makes me work everything down to percentages and number crunching.  I want to lose 50% of my beginning weight.  I am 33% there, 1/3rd of the way, in 7 1/2 months.  I know it will get tougher as I lose more.  But I am well on my way to a happier healthier me.

Back to my doctor visit.  Apparently my hip problem is called Bursitis and I just have to deal with it.  My foot is a ligament that is being stretched and doesn't like it.  I also just have to deal with that.  So here I am dealing with stuff.  I found some stretches for both problems but they don't seem to be working yet.  I took three days off from the gym this week to see if I could maybe rest up a bit.  When I went back on Monday, I wasn't in hip pain but the foot pain persisted.  After coming back to work, the hip did bother me but not as much as before.  It wasn't until I got home and had been relaxing for a bit that the pain returned with a vengeance.  However, I did do squats yesterday so that may have been part of it.

Here is a report from my FitBit on my work out from July 27th.  My average heartbeat is 128 bpm with half my time in a cardio zone and the other half in the fat burn zone.  My resting heart rate is around 70 bpm.  I burned an average of 15 calories a minute with a total of 504 calories burned.  I love all the information I get form this little device.  Below you can see other parts of my Dashboard.  You can see my sleep, my short term weight loss goal, my total calories burned, my active minutes, my distance, my floors and a badge I earned.  I don't understand how the floors are calculated.  I don't do many stairs and sometimes it says I have done six floors.  I just disregard that one.

Weight Loss Journey: Coffee Epiphany, New Family Member and Meal Prep

When I started this journey, I immediately cut out every beverage but water and the occasional alcoholic drink.  This means I gave up my beloved coffee.  I gave up coffee because I can't drink it without cream and sugar and those can add a lot of calories.  Well, it dawned on me this week that I could add Vanilla Almond Milk.  I always have it on hand and it's only 20 calories for 1/4 of a cup.  So, I headed to Starbucks, my guiltiest of pleasures, and ordered a Venti Cold Brew Iced Coffee, black.  I had to sip a bit out, which was pretty bitter but gave me a jolt and then added in my Almond Milk.  I'm pretty sure I heard angels singing, but Miranda Lambert was also on the radio so I can't be sure.  It was glorious, delicious and my new favorite thing.  And it's only 45 calories.  Score!

My first day at the gym I decided the treadmill would be my safest bet.  I got on, situated myself and started the machine.  I started slow, at a 1 and then got it up to a 1.5.  I lasted 5 minutes.  And I was huffing after that five minutes.  Since then, I hadn't touched one.  That was almost 3 months ago, so last Tuesday I decided to give it another go.  I set my pace at 2 and was doing well, so I upped it to 2.5.  I ended up doing a total of 20 minutes, or 3/4 of a mile.  It was a real triumph for me.  After my treadmill, I got on the stationary bike and did 10 minutes, 4 of them at 90 rpms.  That 30 minute workout helped me burn 439 calories.  I did skip the gym Thursday and Friday though.  I had a really rough period this month.  I read a few places that exercising helps ease cramps and bleeding.  LIES I tell you....ALL LIES.

While perusing the inter webs, I came across an advertisement for the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce Color Dash.  It's a 5K event around the Three Rivers Mall that includes 4 color stations.  In no way am I ready for this kind of event but it got me thinking.  If I was going to do something like that, why not be a fun one like a color run?  Now, a 5K is just over 3 miles.  At my current pace, it would take me about 90 minutes.  My goal would be under 45 minutes.  That still is a pretty slow pace but I have about a year to work up to it.  Have any of you done a 5K or more?  How did you prepare?

We have a new addition to our Pink Elephant family.  My sister Kari had her third son on July 7th.  Leo Christopher weighed in at 10 lbs. 6 ozs. and was 22" long.  He is gorgeous, as were her other two.  I am especially excited about his birth date though.   My birthday is 5/5, Kari's is 9/9 so he fits right in the middle with 7/7.  Our friend Hollie and I threw her a Sip n' See on Saturday so family and friends could come over to the house and meet Leo without overwhelming them in the hospital.  As per usual, I made way too much food, but it was a nice relaxing afternoon with my favorite people.

After having intense period cravings, eating more than I should have and being in so much pain that I was barely able to function, I did manage to lose another 3 lbs.  I am down a total of 78, with 22 to go until my next major goal.  I have had a few people ask me how I am doing it and again I will say it is all in the mind and preparation.  I spend about an hour on Sundays prepping for the week.  This prep includes making a menu, making my shopping list and cooking anything that is needed.  This week, I didn't go shopping so I am eating out of my freezer.  I cooked up some turkey breakfast sausage for burritos and some chicken breast for salads.  Trust me, the time you spend prepping will save you three-fold during the week.  There is no, "I don't know what to make, what do you want?"  It's all laid out.  You know your schedule, if you are going to be home later one night, put something in the crock pot.  There are no excuses.  Dinner can take less than 15 minutes on most nights.

Weight Loss Journey: Six Months In

Here I am.  June 10th, 2015.  Exactly 6 months since that first phone call about my Diabetes diagnosis.  I can't begin to tell you how much I have changed in these 26 weeks.  Besides the 71 lbs that are gone, I have gained so much.  I have gained a renewed confidence in myself.  I am much happier.  I met a woman for the first time this week and she commented on how vibrant and full of life I seemed to be.  She said I had a glow about me.  She's right!

If you've been following my blog at all, you know I have been working pretty hard and it hasn't been easy.  But in reality, it's all a mental game.  I am constantly having conversations with myself about exercise, food and what to spend my time on.  It's about making smart choices.
"Oh, I haven't made it to the grocery store so let's just order pizza."
"No, we have plenty of food in the freezer, you can just cook something."
"But I have been really good and worked out extra hard today, Pizza won't hurt."
"It won't hurt, but it won't help either.  Just cook dinner."
Then I go cook dinner because arguing with myself is silly.  It's a battle within myself.  Luckily, my husband understands it and is patient with me.

I have been going to the gym now for 9 weeks and I figure I must be doing something right since they know my name.  I have my workouts down to a routine and now it's time to start keeping better track.  I am taking a small notebook with me to write down what machines I use, the reps I do and the weight I am doing them at.  I have also been trying to incorporate a few short walks a week into my routine.  I got my FitBit Charge HR today from Amazon.  I am so excited to integrate it into my activities.  It will take some getting used to as I have never worn a watch or bracelets.  So far I love it.  It's Purple!!!

Weight Loss Journey: Goodbye April

I have been a little lax on my blogging this week.  Nothing too exciting is happening.  I am just working more and going to the gym every week day.  I have been working on the Annual All High School Car Show that is May 9th.  Me, Roger and about 5 other people put it on.  It's a lot of work and I complain about it the entire time but the day of the show when that one kid thanks you for what you've done, it makes it all worth while.

Well my work schedule changed AGAIN so I am now working 8 am to 5 pm.   I am so used to getting off at 3:30 that it has been a tough adjustment.  At home it's not too bad.  We are eating dinner a little bit later which actually eliminates my evening snack.  I also now force myself to take a lunch hour.  I use the opportunity to go to the gym.  I've made it through 2 full weeks.  According to My Fitness Pal, I burned 3,169 calories last week.  I am really loving it.  It gives me a break from work, I am meeting some really cool people and I am feeling good.  One thing I don't like very much is that after my workout, my hands shake for about 30 minutes.  I have to come back to work and have a snack to calm it down.  Surprisingly WebMD said it was nothing to worry about.

I ran across this the other day:  "Diet" is not a verb, it is a noun.  The verb is "eat".  I don't diet, I eat.  Diet is what I eat.  I can't cheat on a diet.  If I eat something that was not on my plan, I didn't cheat.  I just didn't follow my plan.  If my plan isn't achieving what I intended or I can't follow my plan, I need a new plan.  It really helped me this last weekend when we were out of town.  We took an impromptu trip down the coast to Astoria, OR and Long Beach, WA.  Our first stop was Costco where we dropped way too much money, then to the fish market for oysters and clams and finally to the beach.

At Costco, we did like we normally do and had Sausage Dogs.  I decided to only have one and I am so glad I did because those things are packed with 570 calories each.  At the fish market we each got a crab cocktail which is about 2 or 3 ozs of crab meat.  It was so good, freshly caught and cooked that day.  Then at the beach, Roger really wanted Ice Cream so I had a small one scoop of Mocha Almond Fudge.  It was the perfect size and I didn't feel sick or guilty afterward.  Of course, I didn't bother to look up calories for anything the rest of the day either.  On our way home, we stopped by PJ's Pizza in Cathlamet.  There used to be one in Centralia that we went to all the time and when they closed we found out there was one in Cathlamet so we were on a mission to find out if they were the same.  Oh yes indeed they were.  The best chicken wings and pizza.  Yum Yum!

I have really been focusing on drinking a lot of water too.  In fact, I have been drinking only water except for 2 cups of coffee and one soda in the last 2 weeks.  I decided to look up how much water you should drink in a day.  There was a website that gave a calculation.  You take your current weight and times it by .66 and that is how many ounces you are supposed to drink.  So for me, 450 x .66 is 297 ounces plus 12 ounces for the 30 minutes of exercise I do a day is a total of 309 ounces.  that is nearly 2.5 gallons a day.  There is no way that I could EVER drink that much water and still get anything done.  I would be in the bathroom every 10 minutes.  I settled on shooting for 128 ounces a day, which is a gallon.  So far, it hasn't been a problem.  I stole a sports bottle from my brother-in-law the last time I was over and it holds 27 ounces.  I have 2 of them before the gym, 1 at the gym and 1 after.  Then when I get home, I drink at least 2 glasses of water.  I haven't noticed a huge difference but, I was only drinking tea and water anyway.

When I weighed in this morning, I had dropped below the 450 mark.  It was something I had been shooting for.  My total weight loss is now at 54 lbs.  I haven't been losing as rapidly as I would like but I know the first few weeks at the gym would be an adjustment.  I am entering into my third week now.  I met a very nice lady in her 60s yesterday who encouraged me to try the elliptical.  She said it was her best option because of her knees.  Thanks Rosie, and Happy Birthday!

Weight Loss Journey: Goals Reached, Proud Auntie and Gym Days

Friday morning, April 10th, I weighed myself before work.  I had done it, I reached my 50 lb goal in just 4 months.  I literally screamed with joy.  I wish someone had been home with me but I just had the cats to celebrate with.  I did post about it on Facebook and got so much positive feedback.  I can't say enough how much I appreciate all my friends and family for their support and love.  The guys at work want to celebrate but everything they can think of involves food.  My treat to myself is my Planet Fitness Membership and a new pair of athletic shoes.

Friday was the 100th day of the year and also my first day at the gym. I got a 40 minute work out in during my lunch.  I did 5 minutes on the treadmill, 5 minutes (or 1 mile) on the stationary bike and 30 minutes of circuit training.  I know to some it make not seem like much but for me, it really was.  I have to start somewhere.  It got me sweating and my heart rate up.  I really like this gym.  It is not intimidating and all the staff are really nice.

Saturday we had breakfast with Roger's parents and my Mom and her boyfriend, Bruce.  Then I headed north for my nephew Logan's first T-Ball game.  It was probably the cutest thing I have ever witnessed.  He waved at the crowd on his way up to bat and took a bow when he crossed home plate.  It was hilarious and made me really proud.  After the game we went to dinner.  It was 5:30 and I hadn't ate since 10.  Needless to say, I was hungry.  We went to Brewery City Pizza.  Now, I have admitted many times that Pizza is one of my down falls.  But, I ordered hot wings and a Spinach salad while everyone else had pizza and I wasn't even tempted.  The salad was really good and I ended up only eating a few of the wings.  I took the rest home.  I sat next to my nephew Landon at dinner and he kept eating off my plate.  Kari and Josh both said that he normally doesn't eat greens so I had another Proud Auntie Moment that I was setting a good example for him.

Sunday I had some leftovers for breakfast and then we headed to a movie.  I splurged and we shared a large popcorn and I had a large diet soda.  Now I know it wasn't the best choice but we don't go to the movies often and I felt like it was a treat.  After the movie, we made a quick trip to Wal-Mart for a sports bra, a new broom and some other essentials.  Small rant about all the sports bras I've seen is that they do not provide coverage.  The band is large enough but the cups are not holding anything in.  I have to just wear it over my regular bra to help the jiggle.  I regress.  For dinner I made Cajun Seafood Stew.  As always, it was delicious and filled with seafood and flavor.  I did have a hard time falling asleep Sunday night.  I think it was probably the caffeine in that large soda.  I rarely have any caffeine so I am sure it stuck with me.

Monday was back to the grind.  This week my schedule is 7 am to 5 pm with an hour lunch.  During my lunch I am going to the gym.  It is a 5 minute drive, 5 minutes to change my clothes, then a 40 minute work out.  I think I am going to do 10-15 minutes on the bike with the remainder on the weight machines on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  On Tuesday and Thursday I will do the Express 30 Minute Circuit Training.  Then, the next week, I will swap them.

This Tuesday was my first day on the Express workout and it is a killer.  Ten machines and 10 step stations at 1 minute each.  I started out strong, doing stair steps but toward the end it was all I could do to walk in place.  I haven't worked that hard in a long time.  It felt kinda great.  My arms are extremely sore as well as my thighs.  But, this was just the first day.  It will only get better and easier as I keep going.  When I got home from work, I was extremely hungry.  I hadn't ate since noon and had burned all those calories at the gym.  I made Chicken Burritos and scarfed those down quickly.  The problem was, I still wanted more.  I finally got up and ate some grapes but even then, I was still wanting to eat.  I had to close myself off in my office and sew a tote bag in order to distract myself from wanting to eat.

March Goals Week 3

After posting my last blog, my cousin commented that the weight I lost is equivalent to her almost 4 year old son.  Putting it in those terms are crazy to me.  I lost a 4 year old.  Today I am wearing jeans that actually zip and button.  I can't tell you the last time I wore jeans that zipped.  I have been wearing stretchy pull on jeans for a while now.  I always try to look put together when I leave my house.  I am not one of those people who will wear their pajamas out in public.  My logic behind it is that I am already fat, why give someone more ammo to look down on me.

I have really been giving a peek into how my brain works.  I hope that it helps someone else reading this know that they aren't the only ones feeling or thinking this way.  Lately I have caught myself saying can't pretty frequently, like, "Oh, I can't eat that".  I feel like this is a really bad thing to say.  No one is telling me I can't have something.  I'm not even telling myself that.  I am choosing to change how I eat.  I have been consciously trying to replace can't in my vocabulary.  Nobody cares what you can't do, they want to know what you can or are going to do.

I went to the doctor on Tuesday and it turns out, the pain I was having is from Acid Reflux.  More specifically, Dyspepsia.  So, another new prescription and a list of foods to try to avoid.  The funny thing is, peppermint was on that list.  All week long I had been drinking peppermint herbal tea to calm my stomach.  I did get a high five from the doctor on my weight loss so that felt good.  She is pretty positive about my progress.  All my vitals and stuff were good, my blood pressure was excellent as well as my pulse and oxygen levels.

I did a seated YouTube exercise video Tuesday while editing photos and downloading content off my phone.  I made it through the entire 25 minutes with no problem.  I feel like I have been kicking ass at life lately.  My house is clean, I am organized, I am on my way to a healthier life, both mentally and physically.  I have crossed quite a few projects off my "Wanna-Do" list.  I even got photos hung back up in my house.

However, Thursday I didn't eat so well.  It wasn't a terrible day.  I only went over my calorie target by 100 but I ate the wrong stuff.  I had a Light Beef Bologna sandwich when I got home and then we had dinner with my Mom, Bruce, my sister Kari, Josh and my nephews Logan and Landon.  We went to a Mexican restaurant right next to my Mom's work .  I had saved about 1000 calories for the meal.  I had 750 but when I went home, a few hours later, I had a second bologna sandwich.  I can feel the difference in the type of food I ate.  When we got home last night, I had no energy to do anything and that led to sitting on the couch, watching tv and making that second sandwich.

I got up early on Friday morning and did a short 15 minute aerobic video before work.  I'm not really a morning person.  Sometimes it is hard enough to get to work by 7 am so I don't know if morning exercise will be my friend.  But, there isn't enough room anywhere but the living room to move around so unless I wanna interrupt my husband's night, morning it will have to be.  Saturday I did 20 minutes of a new resistant band routine.  It was fine but it didn't really challenge me so I won't do it again.

I can feel changes happening in my body.  I can tell right away when I have had too many carbs.  I get very lethargic.  My work is really paying off.  I weighed in on Sunday morning and am down a total on 43 lbs since December 9th.  My goal for 2015 was 50 lbs so I am sure I will get there.  My energy level has been down this week, especially Saturday.  I think PMS is creeping up on me.  My positive attitude has really improved my life as a whole though.  I didn't realize how unhappy and grumpy I was.  Finally making myself the focus is really helping.

I want to especially thank all of my Facebook friends and family for being so supportive.  With so many people in my corner, this change has been easy for me.  Even though the guys at work torture me with their junk food habits, I had been strong.  I know I have said it before, but this isn't a diet.  It is a lifestyle change.  I have made changes that are easily incorporated into everyday life.  I am still cooking regular dinners and eating out when it is necessary.  I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are struggling, know you are not alone and that you don't have to change your entire life just to lose some weight.

So, for my final week of March Goals, I am going to stay positive and get out of the house.  I am going to say 5 positive things that happened during the day before I go to bed and let the negative float away without wasting any of my time.  I am also going to do something after work 2 days this week.  Usually I race home and once I am home from work, I don't leave again.  This week I am going to either go for a walk, go shopping or hang out with friends after work.

March Goals - Week 2: Exercise

This week my focus will be on exercise.  Specifically my goal is to do 3 different work outs at least 3 days this week.  Last week I bought some resistance bands and a Biggest Loser Yoga DVD from Amazon so those will be two of the three.  The third I am thinking of simply taking a walk.  We have a gorgeous lake in the middle of town that has fantastic walking trails.  I have always been anxious about walking around the lake because it's out there in the open for all to see.

As confident as I am, I don't want someone to see me and laugh.  After I had my Gastric Bypass and lost 150 lbs, I felt so great about myself.  The problem was that out in public, people who didn't know me or my story, would make fun of me.  Cracking jokes, making comments, calling me names about my weight.  They didn't know I had just lost 1/3rd of myself.  It made me feel like wearing a t-shirt or carrying a sign around that said "I just lost 150 lbs, shut the fuck up".

That was 12 years ago.  I am much more secure in the person I am now but the pain and anxiety is still there.  It's the reason I stay home a lot more than I go out.  I only go places I am comfortable.  I missed out on going out with one of my best friends for his birthday because I couldn't stomach the thought of being in a packed club.  It is very rare for me to go to a new place without meticulously checking it out first.  If a new restaurant comes to town, I want to know what kind of tables and chairs they have.  These aren't things that thin people need to worry about.  These are reasons I am changing my life.

Did my first workout Tuesday night.  I chose to do the Full Body Resistance Band Workout - 20 Moves to Slim You Down & Tone You Up.  It is a 30 minute workout but I was only able to do 15 minutes.  It comes as no surprise that I am really out of shape.  The moves were simple enough though that I think I can slowly work my way up to the whole 30 minutes.  I like the resistance bands because as I move along and the workout gets easier for me, I can change out the band for the next strongest one and start the cycle again.

Wednesday my stomach was upset after lunch and then Thursday I had real trouble eating.  Nothing tasted good.  I brought Overnight Oats, a salad and leftover roasted veggies from last night's dinner but I couldn't get more than a few bites down.  My stomach hurt and I felt nauseous.  I left work about 1 and went straight home to bed.  I slept until around 7:30 and then went back to bed around 10.  I thought it was maybe something bad I had eaten but when it persisted through Friday I got a little more concerned.  Here it is Sunday and I am still in pain when I eat or move around too much.

That being said, I did not complete my goal for this week.  I just felt so crappy after doing just my regular house work that I couldn't work out.  I was not lazy though.  What I did was work on cleaning for as long as I could stomach, then sit until my stomach calmed down.  Then back I was cleaning or doing one of the many projects I have completed in the last week.  I will be sharing some of them with you but the biggest one, that I won't be sharing, is my nephew Landon's Quiet Book.  If you don't know what that is, check out the one I made for Logan here.

So for week 3 of March, I am going to continue with the pursuit of fitness.  I will hopefully be able to get into the doctor on Monday to see what is going on with my stomach.  On a bright note, I lost another 4.5 lbs so I am down a total of 34.5 lbs.

March Goals - Week 1

It's the first of March and I am heading into another chapter on my journey.  I set myself a goal to plan and make nearly all of our meals for the week.  My plan was to spend some time Sunday morning making a menu.  Then, from that, I could make my shopping list and head to the store.  Well, I was woken up Sunday and had less than 30 minutes to shower and get dressed for breakfast so my plan went out the window.  No problem though.  I had a general idea of what I needed to buy so we went shopping anyway.  I discovered a lot of stuff in the WinCo bulk section so we may start shopping there again.  (We had a bad experience with some rotten chicken there and it really turned us off.)

Here is my menu for the week:

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Overnight Oats	Salad with Chicken	Chicken Quesadillas	Clementines
Breakfast Wraps	Salad with Tuna	Chicken Broccoli Casserole	Cheerios
Carrot Bran Muffins	Mozzarella Salad	Lime Cilantro Chicken	Greek Yogurt
Leftovers		Steak and Roasted Broccoli	Popcorn
		Shrimp Stir Fry
		Jambalaya

As you can see, I haven't assigned days for anything.  It helps me to have a general plan but some days I come home and really just don't feel like cooking.  This week, my easy, minimal cooking meals are Chicken Quesadillas and Steak with Roasted Veggies.  I have all the  ingredients on hand for all of these dishes so it makes my week easy.

Monday
Last night I made us each a jar of Blueberry Overnight Oats for breakfast.  They really were delicious.  I will include the recipe for them below.  For lunch I had my normal salad with chicken, carrots and cherry tomatoes.  When I got home, I gave Roger the option of what he wanted for dinner and he chose Chicken Quesdaillas.  He loves them.  To save myself from all the carbs I did open face ones for me.  Cherry tomatoes, chicken and a little cheese on a crispy tortilla was almost like pizza!

Tuesday
Another new breakfast item for us today.  I whipped up some Healthy Breakfast Muffins last night.  They are packed with goodness including banana, carrot, oat bran and oatmeal.  (Recipe below)  I brought 2 for breakfast and then had a salad for lunch.  Today I didn't add any meat so that I could use the leftover chicken I had for dinner.  I mentioned to my sister, that I was going meatless today, and her question was, "How are you getting protein?"  I never even thought about that.  Luckily, I had a Special K Protein Bar in my desk.  Tonight I am making Creamy Chicken Quinoa and Broccoli Casserole.(Recipe below)  It's one of my favorites.

Wednesday
Last week, after my plateau, I reset my parameters on MyFitnessPal.com.  I brought my calories down from 2500 to 2000.  Monday of this week, I had 1536 and yesterday I ended with 1153.  A good thing about making dinner at home is that I control the ingredients, but my favorite thing is the leftovers.  I am not a huge breakfast fan.  I don't like waffles, pancakes, cereal or french toast so leftovers for breakfast are perfect for me.  My salad today is sans meat but I included some bocconcini (fresh mozzarella balls) for protein.  Dinner tonight is another new recipe, Lime Cilantro Chicken Thighs.  I will probably serve it with roasted vegetables.  I am really getting into cooking again this week, which makes me happy.

Thursday
Another day of Overnight Oats and Mozzarella Salad.  The Cilantro Lime Chicken turned out ok last night but I wish there was a bit more flavor.  The lime came through but I wanted more salt or spice.  Going to have to rework that recipe before I share it.  Roger is begging for something that isn't chicken so tonight I planned on Steak and Roasted Broccoli.  However, I forgot to take steaks out of the freezer so I suggested Shrimp Stir-Fry.  Well, Roger said he was tired of vegetables so he said he would make his own dinner.  I had Stir-Fry with Quinoa and it was delicious.

Today was a rough day.  I had my Oatmeal at 7 but I was so hungry that I ended up eating my salad at 10.  That left me with only a protein bar to last me until 5 when I would have dinner.  I ate it around 1 and was fine until I got home for dinner.  I don't know why I felt so hungry.  Yesterday I was pretty hungry when I got home but my daily calorie intake was 1598.  Tonight after dinner I am up to 1386.  I will probably have popcorn later tonight.  I find it to be really filling for very few calories.

Friday
I think I figured out my hunger problem the last few days.  Besides the Chicken on Wednesday, I haven't been getting enough protein.  Tuesday I had less than half of my daily intake, I was about 25% low Wednesday and 40% low yesterday.  To combat this, I got up this morning and made myself a quick breakfast wrap with a low carb tortilla, an egg and some crumbled bacon.  It got me 24 grams of protein and only 11 carbs.  I ate that at 6:15 and then my oatmeal at 8:15.  I had a garbanzo bean, mozzarella and tomato salad for lunch and then for snack tonight.  I made Steak and Roasted Broccoli for dinner before Roger left for his Poker game.  I spent the remainder of the night cleaning out my office/craft room.

Saturday
I was in full Spring Cleaning mode today.  I woke up at 7:30 and cleaned until 4 when Roger got home from the auction.  I literally went through every scrap of paper and piece of clothing.  I got through the office/craft room, the bedroom and 3/4 of the way through the cat/storage room.  I didn't eat all day so I rewarded myself with Pizza, finally.  I limited myself to the wings and 2 slices of pizza for a total of 1228 calories.  While this isn't the best idea, I am ok with the decision. I got a lot done and I got to indulge a little.

I honestly don't know where all the energy came from.  Let's be honest, you don't get to be my size by being active.  I live a very sedentary lifestyle but I just couldn't stop today.  Every time I sat for a few minutes I had to get back up and keep moving.  My body wouldn't let me rest.  I am sure I will pay for it tomorrow.  I hope this is a positive side effect of my new lifestyle.

I think I did pretty well on my week one goal.  I basically stuck to making dinner every night and I had lunch and breakfast everyday.  I hadn't really thought at all about my week two goal until I sat down to write this tonight (7:45 on Saturday night).  I think this week I want to focus on fitness.  My goal is to do 3 different types of exercises at least 3 days this week.

Check out the recipes below for two awesome breakfast ideas and one quick weeknight meal.  Also, you can find me on Facebook and Instagram (@KristyRunyon81) if you want to follow me on a day to day basis.  Check back in next Sunday to hear how my week went.

Blueberry Overnight Oats
1/2 cup Oats
1/2 cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1 container of Blueberry flavored Greek Yogurt
1 tbsp Vanilla Pudding Mix (dry)
Calories: 301   Fat: 4g    Carbs:  50g   Protein: 17g
Put the oats and pudding mix in first, then the yogurt and finally the milk.  Put the lid on and shake until combined.  Leave in the fridge overnight.  You can heat it up in the morning but I prefer it cold.
*You can add fresh fruit if you desire.  The flavors can be changed out depending on the yogurt or pudding mix you choose.

Healthy Breakfast Muffins

1-1/4 cups Oat Bran

1 cup Rolled Oats
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 Banana, mashed
1 Egg
1/3 cup Vanilla Almond Milk
3 tbsp Light Olive Oil
1-1/2 cups Shredded Carrot
Yields 12
Calories: 128   Fat: 5g    Carbs:  22g   Protein: 3g
Mix mashed banana, almond milk, oilive oil and egg in a bowl.  Add in the brown sugar and mix until well combined.  Add in the oat bran, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Fold together until fully incorporated.  Then add the carrots and distribute them throughout the batter.  Spoon the batter into a 12 cavity muffin pan and bake at 400 for 22-25 minutes.
*You could add in nuts or dried fruits if you so desire.
**If you substitute the Olive Oil with Unsweetened Applesauce and also add Walnuts, the nutritional information changes to Calories: 132   Fat: 5g    Carbs:  23g   Protein: 4g

Chicken Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
2 cups Water
1 lb Chicken, cubed (Rotisserie is what I used)
3 cups Broccoli Florets
2 cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Flour
1 cup Dry Quinoa
1/2 cup Shredded Cheese
Makes 4 servings
Calories: 338   Fat: 8g    Carbs:  48g   Protein: 22g
Mix all ingredients, except the cheese, in a large bowl.  Pour into a prepared 9x13 cake pan and bake at 400 for a total of about 45 minutes.  Check on casserole every 10 to 15 minutes and give it a stir so that the quinoa cooks evenly.  In the last 5 minutes, add the cheese to the top and cook until just bubbly.
*These are pretty generous portions so if you are serving with something else, this could yield 6-8 servings.

Diabetic Journal Week 7

Wednesday February 25, 2015
I made this awesome mix last night and had it for breakfast this morning.  I am not sure exactly what to call it.  It's like a cold salad but if you heat it up, it's like a casserole.  Seems like all the best foods don't photograph very nicely.  I know it looks like a pile of stuff but I promise, it is so yummy.

Chicken, Quinoa and Avocado Salad
1 cup dry Quinoa
2 Avocados, cubed
Juice of 1 Lime
2 cups Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 cups low-fat Ricotta Cheese
1-1/2 cups boiled Chicken Breast, diced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cook the Quinoa according to the package instructions and then spread on a plate and put in the refrigerator to cool.  After it is cooled completely, just mix all your ingredients together.  I let is sit over night and then heated up a serving for breakfast.  It was delicious and full of power foods.  It makes 4 heaping servings.  You could add it to some greens for even more nutritional value.
Each serving has 420 calories, 16 grams of fat, 42 carbs and 33 grams of protein.

While this journey is a very personal one and I am doing this strictly for myself and my health, all the support I have received from friends and family near and far has really kept me accountable.  Not only do I not want to disappoint myself, but I would hate to disappoint anyone else.  At times I may overshare but that is part of my charming personality.

Thursday February 26th, 2015:
I am a tad bit discouraged today.  I have hit a small plateau.  My weight hasn't changed at all in almost 2 weeks.  What this tells me is that it's time to put in some work.  The first 30 pounds came off fairly easily by just cutting out processed sugar and lowering my carb intake.  Now is the time to work on portion control and incorporating more exercise.  I had set a goal for myself to lose 50 lbs in 2015.  While that is a great goal, I think I need to set myself some smaller short-term goals that I can easily achieve.

So, for March, I am going to set one goal for myself each week.  Since the 1st is on Sunday, that will start my first week and my first goal.  I got the idea from the YouTube channel Mind Over Munch.  She has some great healthy recipes, workouts and home hacks.  She does an amazing trick with a Quest bar, making it into cereal.  I was sure it wouldn't work but it turned out so crunchy.  I bet you didn't realize that YouTube was more than cat videos.  There is actually a bevy of information on the site.  From recipes to workouts to tips and information on almost anything.

Friday February 27th, 2015:
My name is Kristy and I am an addict.  I am absolutely obsessed with food.  It is constantly on my mind.  I am always thinking about what my next meal will be or a new recipe to try or a way I can cut calories somewhere.  My biggest struggles are dinner.  Sometimes I get home and have no idea what I am going to make.  This leads to wanting to order in.  Pizza is one of my absolute favorite foods.  I haven't had it since January 1st.  Three days this week I came home without a plan for dinner.  All three days, I threw something together instead of ordering pizza.

This leads me to my first goal for the first week of March.  My goal for the week is to plan and make at least 5 of each meal.  Meaning 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 5 dinners.  Weekends are the hardest part but we have no plans for that weekend so it should be fairly easy.  Last night I made our first batch of Overnight Oats.  These will be great for breakfasts.  While the chocolate one was really nasty, the blueberry flavor was awesome.  I will share the recipe in my next blog so I can post a picture with it.

Sunday March 1st, 2015
After the small disappointment earlier in the week, the weekend was spent with friends at parties.  Friday night my sister and I went to a Passion party at a friend's house.  I brought a veggie tray because I wasn't sure what food would be there.  Our hostess, Hollie, had chocolate dipped fruit, fruit kabobs, large and small wienies and cheese dip. I ate mostly fruit and vegetables but had some of the wienies too.  I also didn't drink, which was weird for me but not really that difficult.

Saturday night I went to a birthday party for another friend where I also didn't drink.  I packed an apple and a tangerine with me and got a 10 piece McNugget on the drive up, around 3:30 pm. I wasn't hungry the rest of the night so I felt good about the decision.  They all had pizza in the lounge area and I didn't go with them because as I talked about earlier, it is my trigger food.  So much so that I am going to be trying cauliflower pizza crust this week.  I am crossing my fingers.

I look forward to sharing my week with you.

Diabetic Journal - Week 4 & 5

Wednesday February 4th, 2015:
Yesterday I went in for some routine blood tests.  My results were online this morning and I have lowered my A1C from 6.9 to 6.2 and raised my iron level from a 9 to a 22.  While the iron level is still low, it is a great improvement.  Small things like this give me great encouragement to keep at it.  I also did my first real work out yesterday.  It was nothing too strenuous but I felt really good after.

Monday February 9th, 2015:
Last week had some pretty drastic ups and downs.  While the first set of test results were good, the second set was not.  I am extremely vitamin deficient.  My levels of Vitamin D, B-12, Iron and Calcium are so low that I am going to be on prescriptions.  I will even need to take shots for the B-12 and Vitamin D.   I also have extremely high levels of protein in my urine which can mean many things but the main concern is Kidney Disease.  I will have to do a 24 hour collection.

I unfortunately got this news about an hour before Roger and I left to go on a 3 day trip to the beach to celebrate our 10th Anniversary.  I tried to put it out of my mind but I thought about it a lot.  We did have a really good time though.  We got up close and personal with some deer, gambled, played at the arcade, took a walk, and went swimming.  The swimming thing was such a huge deal because Roger hadn't been able to go in water for the last 3 years or so while he dealt with a wound on his leg that just wouldn't heal.

I ate pretty well on vacation but did indulge in a doughnut when we left town.  It was the first sugary thing I had ate in 2 months.  It wasn't as good as I remembered.  We went to the grocery store on the first day so we could make sure I had some healthy snacking options.  I don't know about you, but when I am on vacation, I kinda want to splurge.  I was pretty proud of myself and even lost 2 lbs over the week.

Tuesday February 10th, 2015:
The struggle is real everyone.  I had such an intense sugar craving today.  The worst I have had since I started.  I went to Safeway to buy about 6 things that we needed and they have these clearance carts in the back of the store near the milk and eggs.  I got the milk and was headed towards the eggs when I zeroed in on them.  They were filled with the bags of mini candies like York mini patties which are my favorite.  I passed them, with my eyes glued, but then snapped out of my trance and realized I had forgotten the eggs.  I had to pass the carts 2 more times to get the eggs and head back the way I was.  Then, at the checkout counter, the king size candy bars were buy 2, get 2 free.  It literally took me white knuckling the cart not to grab them and throw them on the conveyor belt.  Once I was out of the store I sat in my car and just breathed really deep and patted myself on the back for not buying them.  How is that for a glimpse inside a food addicts mind?

Thursday February 12th, 2015:
Today is our Anniversary.  Roger and I have been married for 10 years.  It really doesn't seem like that long.  Like any marriage, we have had our struggles.  The first 2 years and the last 2 years have been pretty rough.  When they say marriage takes work, it really does.  For us, being a couple without kids, I think it is even harder.  We only have each other.  There are no kids to take the focus off one another.  It also causes us to get in a rut where we come home, eat dinner, watch TV and go to bed.  I think that's how we both gained so much weight.  We stopped doing things.  We are slowly working our way out of our rut though and I look forward to many more years together.

I got my test results back from my 24 hour urine catch and my protein levels were really high.  The doctor says that means my kidneys are damaged, most likely from the diabetes.  What happens is the elevated sugar levels damage the nerves in the organs.  The same thing can happen with high blood pressure.  The course of action is to take another prescription in hopes of not causing any more damage.  There is no way to reverse what has already happened.  The news really sent me into a depression spin.

Why is this happening?  What did I do wrong?  Why all at once?  They say you're never given more than you can handle so I guess I must be stronger than I think.  I stowed myself away in the bedroom last night and thought about all that is going on.  I kinda ruined our Anniversary plans by being in such a mood but I needed the time to process all of this.  I am not good at pretending to be happy.  Ask anyone who is around me a lot.  I wear my emotions on my sleeve.  My conclusion was that staying on the path I am on is the best way to handle this.  Losing weight will help with my diabetes and then everything can trickle from there.

Friday February 13th, 2015:
I woke up this morning in a much better mood.  I'm down another couple pounds and I just feel good.  The sunrise on the way to work was gorgeous.  I guess today I am just thankful.  I am thankful for my family, my friends, my job, and my life.  There are people much worse off than I am.  No more pity parties for me.  I am moving onward and upward.  Nothing can stop me!  Watch out world!