Re-Do

I'm back. With a plan. No more bullshit. No more baby steps. I'm throwing myself into this head first and full throttle.

More later when I have time.

TTFN

It was all downhill from there.

A few days after my first weigh in - which was pretty freaking good(12 lb loss) - I started my period. I'm ravenous during my period. I had chocolate. I had cookies. I had nachos - extra queso please. I had double portions. Get the picture?

The food party didn't end when my period did though. Nope, I've been eating and eating and eating like there is no tomorrow. I'm damn well pissed off with myself! Even before starting this post, I had 2 chocolate chip cookies. Grrrrrrrrr!!

Why do I do this? I had a great 2 weeks and then I implode. Spidey was even noticing my ass getting smaller. I have no answers. I know I have a big problem with food. I just need to regroup and figure out what to do. I really thought baby steps were working. Work on a few things at a time, get used to those, and add more when ready.

I do know that this binge has lasted way too long - 2+ weeks. It's over. I've got some thinking to do.

I didn't forget.

I actually jumped on the scale this morning. What has two weeks of water intoxication, strict calorie counting, vitamin taking, and little exercise gotten me? It's made me 12.4 lbs lighter, that's what! I think I hurt myself doing a celebratory jig right there on the scale. Heh.

I'm jazzed! Of course now I'm wondering 'what if I had gotten off my butt and actually exercised'. Would I have had a much bigger loss? Probably. Am I going to fret about it? No. I'm happy with what I accomplished in those two weeks. I'm going to keep it up and try harder. That's what she said.

TTFN

I'm such a boob!

I totally forgot to weigh in this morning. Was just now playing around on the computer when I remembered this. There's no way I'm doing it after drinking over 8 cups of water and eating breakfast. Plus, I'm fully dressed and everybody knows that weigh ins at home have to be done in the nude. Naturally.

So, I guess I'll be posting weigh in results tomorrow. If I don't forget to jump on the damn scale!

TTFN

Yoo Hoo! Over here!

Where have I been, right? Guess I'm going to be one of those bloggers without a lot to say. It's a shame really because IRL I have so much to say. Blah, blah, blah is me.


I've been doing really well with most of my four Baby Steps. 
1) Drink more water.
I don't think I could possibly do any better with this than I already am. I'm drinking at least 10-12 cups a day. I'm floating, I tell ya'. I haven't given up diet soda altogether though. I pour myself a glass every morning and sip on it for the rest of the day. I might not ever be able to give it up totally, so this is working for now.


2) Cardio five days a week.
Not happening. I can't even blackmail myself to do this. My energy level is zero. Definitely HAVE to do something about this. Just do it! Right?


3) 1800 calories a day.
Done, done, done, etc. In fact, I've already reduced my daily caloric intake to 1700. My first week trying to eat 1800, I noticed I never ate that much and decided to go ahead and cut 1000 calories since they weren't getting eaten anyway. I'm still coming in well under 1700 a day, but that cushion is nice just in case.


4) Take a daily multi vitamin.
I actually thought this would be the toughest out of the four. Nyet. Super easy. Some how I'm remembering to take it. Who woulda thunk it?!


So, three out of four isn't too bad, but it's bugging me. Ah well. I'll just keep working on it. Maybe when I lose a bit of weight my energy will come back. *crossing fingers*


Tuesday is weigh in day! I can already tell a difference in how my clothes are fitting. I'm feeling less like a stuffed sausage today. That's always a good sign.


TTFN

How I Gained 50 Lbs in One Year

I blame you, perimenopause. Yeah, you. I see you and your pal, menopause, lurking there in the shadows hoping I won't notice you. You both are a couple of meanies.

35 Symptoms of Menopause and Perimenopause
My symptoms are in bold.

Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling Irregular heart beat Irritability Mood swings, sudden tears Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats) Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; phantom periods, shorter cycles, longer cycles Loss of libido  Dry vagina Crashing fatigue Anxiety, feeling ill at ease Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion Disturbing memory lapses Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence Itchy, crawly skin Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons Increased tension in muscles Breast tenderness Headache change: increase or decrease Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea Sudden bouts of bloat Depression Exacerbation of existing conditions Increase in allergies Weight gain Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance Changes in body odor Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head Tingling in the extremities Gum problems, increased bleeding Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor Osteoporosis (after several years) Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier Tinnitus: ringing in ears, bells, 'whooshing,' buzzing etc.

Numbers 9 and 25 are what's kicking my butt. 'Crashing fatigue' is a very true description of how I've been feeling going on 10 months now. I have no energy. None. I'm dead tired all the time - even when I first get up in the morning.

I set a goal this week to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week and haven't had the energy to start. I come home from work and I'm no good for the rest of the day. I do the bare minimum of housework. I'm surprised Spidey(my hubby) who is a neat freak hasn't filed for divorce yet. He must really love me.

And you know about the weight gain. Fifty damn pounds in a year! I'm sure barely moving the past 10 months has had a lot to do with it. Oh, and all those other bolded lines are just the cherry on the sundae. WoOt!

A friend suggested I go see my Gyno and have some tests done to 'make sure it is menopause and not something else.' Good advice. I might just take it - after I lose a few pounds. I definitely don't need to see my Dr's. face when he sees how much weight I've packed on since my last visit. I see plenty of surprised looks as it is from friends and family I haven't seen in a while.

Time to take my multi-vitamin and do a little housework. 'Little' being the operative word.

TTFN

Baby(Diva) Steps

What am I going to do to turn things around? That has been foremost in my thoughts for days now. So much so that it all started to overwhelm me. Okay, maybe 'overwhelm' is a bit dramatic, but there are so many things I need to start or stop doing that it does make my head spin to think of what to do first. Or second. Or third.

I decided that I'd select four things to begin with. That way my head's not spinning and I'm not mixing too much up right off the bat that's going to make me want to give up. I'll give these changes two weeks. Two weeks to see if I'm on the right track. After two weeks, I'll determine what needs tweaking. I might add something to the list. Or take away.

My four things to work on:

1) Drink more water. 

Or rather, replace almost all other liquid intake with water. Water is usually something I hate to drink. It makes my mouth dry. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy, but it does. And even though it's tasteless, I don't like the taste. Makes me gag actually. So I'm going to be using flavored mixes in my water. I know some people say 'absolutely not', but I don't give a crap. If I'm going to drink more water, it's going to be flavored.

2) Thirty minutes of cardio exercise a day five days a week.

I know thirty minutes a day isn't much, but it's more than I've been doing. As far as what kind of cardio I'm going to do, walking and biking will be it for the first two weeks. 

3) 1800 calories a day.

I settled on 1800 because 1200 sounded too restrictive to start off with and anything over 2000 sounded like too much. Pretty sure 1800 is doable without feeling like I'm starving.

4) Take a daily multi vitamin.

Should be easy, right? For me, remembering to take this every day will probably be the hardest. Seriously.

Lastly, while I'll be reassessing these things every two weeks, I'm going to weigh myself then too. Although I'm not comfortable typing out my weight right now, I will keep up with it on paper of course. Some day I will divulge my weight and where I started. I'm not there as of today. However, I will report whether I've had a loss or gain and how much.

TTFN