Do Overs

[Miranda]

Wow, it has been well over a year since I last posted/visited ODF! And I have to say, it shows . My weight is up but I've been working on it.

I've missed you guys! It's great to see some of the same faces hanging out here. Some of you are doing so well! Congratulations!

Me? Well, I have been a living yo-yo. I've been trying to combat my weight issues. I've been tempted to come back but honestly, I've been too embarrassed. I was on a roll, doing great and then I lost my momentum. I did well with keeping the weight off for the first three months after my knee injury and then, I re-injured the knee, lost a close friend to cancer, and gave in to depression and binge eating/drinking.

I know, excuses, excuses. Frankly, it's time to take control again. Screw being embarrassed! So, here I am. Ready to hit it and hold myself accountable for my actions through a daily blog.

I haven't weighed myself in a few days so tomorrow morning will be my official weigh in. I also haven't been formally keeping track of calories. That too will change tomorrow.

Two years ago was the most success I have ever had losing weight and I know it was because of the daily support and encouragement I received from all of you. Thank you all for your support then and if you don't mind me slinking back with my head down, I could really use some support over the next, oh, shall we say, the rest of my life?!? I know, I know, too much of a commitment! How about we start with tomorrow and go one day at a time!

I'm off to put in three more miles on the exercise bike. I've been going 8 miles a day for the past few months, but this morning I only had time for 5 miles before work.

It's wonderful to be back and I'll see you all bright and early in the am!

[d_tox]

well, you are certainly not alone.
i fell off the wagon a year and a half ago and am starting again.
i've seen a few otheres herein that this happened to as well.

maybe you'll stick around this time around.
i am making a point to post a picture of my scales once a week to help keep me accountable (and on track) for all my ups and downs.

[Miranda]

Good Morning! I realize I'm late in posting but it's been one crazy morning so far! This morning I weighed in at 243.2 and my bp was 116/80. I have to go work for a few hours but I'll be back in late in the afternoon to log calories and exercise!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

[cookie6815]

Welcome back Miranda. Glad to see your back on track doing well. We all fall off the weight loss train but what makes us successors is jumping back on and giving it your all. Continue to keep up the good work. Keep us posted hon.. Have a great day!!!

[Rue]

We missed you Miranda! Keep logging in...it's helping me stay on course!

*hugz*

[Miranda]

Gosh it feels good to sit down! Crazy day today and it's only 3:37 pm here! I wonder what the rest of the day will throw at me?

Okay, ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!

Exercise: 9 miles on the exercise bike / 2 miles with Leslie Sansone / gardening

Food: I'm currently at 740 calories (Protein 75, Fat 15, Carbs 29) which leaves me plenty left for the rest of the day!

Breakfast was a protein bar, water, and a cup of decaf. Lunch was a super yummy salad: baby greens, 1 chopped egg, 8 ozs of chopped chicken breast, 1/4 cup of crunchy chow mein noodles (yep, bad me) and 100 cals of honey mustard dressing. Snack was a decaf 60 cal mocha.

Dinner will be a big bowl of homemade spicy vegetable stew and a piece of homemade wheat bread. Snack will be popcorn, some raw almonds, or a banana. And if I feel the need for a little something sweet later in the evening, another 60 cal mocha.

I haven't been a calorie nazi for 2 years now, so it's going to be an adjustment getting back into the loop! What's cool is that when I went to track at SparkPeople today, I found that I'm down 7 lbs since Jan.1, 2012. I can accept this, especially considering how badly I abused my body for two of those weeks when I was working out of town . . . I really did eat myself sick. The older I get, the more intolerant my body seems to be of processed foods, especially high sodium foods like lunch meat. And MSG? Forget it. If I eat a large quantity of that poison (like in Chinese food), I can expect a few days of elevated blood pressure, heart palpatations, and hot flashes. I cannot tolerate that stuff anymore.

Hope you are all having a strong day!

[Miranda]

Eliminate Excuses

I rode three very slow, leisurely miles while trapped making phone calls.

[Rue]

Good going! I live by the policy that any movement (outside of appropriate rest periods of course) is better than no movement!

So biking while talking is great!

I wish I was better at multi-tasking...

[Miranda]

am Accountability:

Weight: 242.8
BP: 119/75

I need to get my miles in early today, I have a very busy day! I'll log back in later with calorie totals. Yesterday I was somewhere in the 1200-1400 range, which is right on target. I didn't total it exactly because it's hard with homemade foods, but I'll attempt to get better at this.

[Miranda]

Just popped in to visit while I ate a very late lunch! I rode 10 miles on the exercise bike and did 1 mile with Leslie. I did two miles with her yesterday and my knee was swollen last night, so I need to mostly keep to the exercise bike. Maybe as I lighten up, I'll be able to tolerate the higher impact exercise.

I ran out of time for breakfast, so just lunch today, but it was yummy! 3 cups of chopped mixed lettuce, 7 oz of chopped boneless, skinless chicken breast, 3 tablespoons of naturally yours fat free sourcream, and a generous plop of homecanned salsa. Mixed it up and enjoyed it immensely, all for around 300 calories. Add to that a 100 cal pack of cocoa dusted almonds and my 60 cal decaf mocha, and I'm VERY full right now! I know the mocha is just wasted calories/nutritional black hole, but I find it really satisfying. It curbs my sweet tooth.

Okay, it was fun having lunch with all of you and getting caught up on a few of your blogs, but I really need to get back to work!

Have a strong day!

[ruthan]

That's the spirit. Keep working on it.

[Miranda]

am accountability:

Weight: 242.8
BP: 132/84

We went out to a pizza restaurant last night for a fundraiser for my daughter's High School band. So, I had a 90 cal bread stick and the salad bar. Not much available in the salad bar that wasn't high cal/high bad fat, so I ended up with a bowl of lettuce, some kidney beans, and a few sunflower seeds. Dressing was vinegar. I make much better salads at home! I also had a diet soda which I seldom drink. Anyway, I made the best of the situation but I can tell I had more salt than I normally have. My fingers feel kind of swollen. I'm not sure if that was the bread stick, beans, or possibly even the soda.

But it doesn't matter, it all evens out in the end! I won't have time to exercise until this afternoon/evening, so I'll be back later tonight to check in with all of you.

My goal is to make good choices today!

[cookie6815]

Keep up the good work hon. I too suffer from HBP and swelling. Was taking a water pill everday plus coffee so much that I got dehydrated. Suxx I hope you get your BP under control I am right behind you with it. It's hard not to have some processed foods as time doesn't permit everything but the sodium is horrible. I hope it all works out.. Keep at the exercise... Have a wonderful rest of the day.

[Miranda]

Thank you , Cookie! Your support means a lot to me!

Yeah, HBP sucks but I can easily control it if 1) I avoid alcohol 2) limit salt, msg, & processed foods 3) exercise a minimum of 30 mins a day.

It's when I don't do these things that it creeps up on me. I hadn't been monitoring my bp regulaly (or my weight ) for quite awhile. About three weeks ago, I was working out of town and I ate an entire submarine sandwich. I didn't eat it all at once, I had it for lunch, snack & dinner, but it was full of the cheapest, crappiest lunchmeat sold, and it had a LOT of it. I also drank several beers. The next day, I was feeling feeling absolutely awful, having hotflashes, palpitations, the works. So, I took my bp and just about freaked out. It was 196/107. No wonder I felt lousy. Not to mention that I was under a lot of stress. So, I took it as easy as my work schedule allowed and detoxed. It took me about 3 days to get diastolic number under 100. That's when I started exercising a bit more regularly. Finally, after behaving myself, it's down to a normal range. Thank Goodness, because I have to go in for a physical in 6 more weeks! My doc is probably going to have a cow when he sees how much weight I've gained but at least I won't get yelled at for allowing my blood pressure to skyrocket.

The things we do to ourselves. sigh . . .

Well, I've finished with lunch and my afternoon appt was cancelled, so I'm going to go put some miles on my exercise bike!

Stay strong!

[Obesity Discussion]

Miranda, we're here for you thick or thin, no matter what. You know we'll love you just the same regardless of what happens in life. :hug: That's why this is the most supportive place around.

That said, you're really taking charge of things, and I like the direction you're heading, making all the right decisions, even in tough situations.

Good for you! Out of curiosity, are you monitoring your sodium intake since you're paying such close attention to your BP?

[Miranda]

Yesterday wrap-up: Exercise, biked 13 miles (the last three with practically no tension), 1 mile of LS, eating was okay. 1600 cals but pretty high on the sodium because of a lot of prepackaged stuff. It was also higher on the fat content because I used a real pat of butter on a slice of freshly baked bread. Damn it was good, but I probably should have spread a bit of almond butter instead.

Today I thought would be spent running around but I have enough free time to get in some exercise and cook some guilt free food!

AM Accountability:

weight: 245 (salt/water retention)
bp: 140/82

OD - thanks for the warm welcome back. Yep, I'm definitely monitoring my sodium, but there are days when life gets in the way. Yesterday I was at about normal sodium intake if you follow the rda. I don't. I try to cut that number at least in half. I function much better.

Anyway, after running around all morning like a chicken with it's head cut off, I have the gift of a few free hours. I'm going to exercise and debone/deskin some chicken breasts I found on sale.

Be back later! Stay strong!

[Rue]

I'm glad you're getting a handle on it!

What do you think your biggest hurdle is?

[Miranda]

What do you think your biggest hurdle is?

ME!
No more excuses. Life is always going to get in my way, crap happens, I need to stop actively looking for excuses. I need to stop medicating with food. I need to stop celebrating with food. I need to stop entertaining myself with food. Food is killing me.

[Rue]

At least you know what the hurdle is!

Yes...and it's a tough one, isn't it? I mean, you are who you are and to some extent you can never change yourself entirely, so it's a matter of managing what you can manage...

...lol...I'll stop now, before I end up with a novel that says exactly nothing...

[Gottadream]

Hey Miranda - sounds like you're doing great! Consistency is the what makes us successful and lord knows, I have struggled with going beyond two days of diet + exercise. I am now on DAY 4 - yay ME! hahahaha still want a big bag of Doritios and I am procrastinating dealing with my cluttered space.

FOOD - I think pretty much 100% of women have food issues - compulsive overeating, bingeing, starving, purging, disgust, obessions with diet-food, goes on and on! Would you like some book recommendations on emotional overeating? I went to a couple of OA meetings 20+ yrs ago. Never got the premise "powerless over food" until a few years ago.

I know you WILL DO this, at THIS time! How do I know? cos you're HERE and I feel the determination. Keep it up, girl! woo hoo