Friday, July 29, 2011

Whatever works

I love getting on the scale this week. I'm a fanatic. I weigh myself at least once a day, because I can't believe what I see! I lost 7 pounds. 7 pounds in 7 days!

I am hardly ever hungry and when I am, I eat about 1/4 of what I used to. I'm staying away from sweets, no matter how often hubs offers me a chocolate turtle or M&Ms. (Still not sure who's side he's on.) I'm drinking a lot of water and I exercised 4 times this week. I must admit, my little helper is making a big difference.

93 pounds to go.

Whatever works.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

My family's heart disease helped! Who knew?!

About a month ago, I attended a Women's Forum, hosted by the Porter County Community Foundation. The Forum was health-centric and our local hospital provided free screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, bone density, etc. Since I never go to the doctor for anything other than pregnancy, I thought "why not do the screenings? As long as I'm here." Now, I have been overweight my entire adult life, the gene pool on both sides of my family includes chronic heart disease and I'm a former smoker. I had a pretty strong feeling that my ticker and things associated with it were not in the best of shape. It turns out that I was wrong! My initial screenings were so good that the next day I had a whole blood screening done. And that one was good too! So, my heart is in good shape...for now. What can I do to keep it that way? Lose the weight!!! I am healthy and want to stay that way. I need help. I need a DOCTOR.

Prior to my appointment, I did a little research on weight loss medications. I'm not really a fan of taking medication for myself. I would rather employ proven natural or herbal treatments for anything. I barely take aspirin for a headache. But, in this case, I know what I have done and I know it hasn't worked. The articles I read stated that weight-loss medication is prescribed for individuals who are clinically obese AND have a serious health problem like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. That's not me. I'm just overweight.

Prepared for the usual "let's do some blood work, but all you really need to do is burn more calories that you consume", I sat down and started talking to the doctor. She really surprised me. She listened, which is practically a first. She also took my family's heart history very seriously, that's also a first. And because of the family's heart issues, she recommended and prescribed a weight-loss medication for me. YAY!!! I finally have help! I am so excited!!!!

My long-term goal is to lose and keep off 100 pounds. My short-term goal is to lose enough weight that I can comfortably sit in an airplane seat for a trip I hope to take in February.

Got a lo-cal Diet? check. Got Exercise? check. Got Mama's little helper? CHECK!

Let's lose it!

Monday, July 11, 2011

THE DOCTOR

So, the last time I wrote a post for this blog was January 3rd. I'm proud to say that with the help of the calorie tracker on livestrong.com, I lost 10 pounds in January. And that's it. 10 pounds. 10 pounds that I promptly gained back. I haven't lost another ounce all year.

Not to say that I haven't tried. I have a part-time job that keeps me outside walking in all kinds of weather two-three times a week. I walk at least a couple of miles a day doing that. And, I exercise at the health club two to three times a week on top of it. I barely drink coffee and pop. I rarely eat fast food and my sweet consumption is moderate at best. I can't remember the last time I ate something that was fried. My eating and exercise habits are better than ever. I should be losing weight left and right. And yet, the dial on the scale doesn't move.

So what's the problem? Don't know, maybe nothing more than I need to do something differently. What I do know is that it's time to seek professional answers. I need to lose at least 80 pounds and "diet & exercise" alone isn't cutting it. I'm going to THE DOCTOR next week. This is a big deal, because I don't go to THE DOCTOR. I've lived here almost six years and I don't have a DOCTOR. In fact, I haven't had a DOCTOR since I was a kid. My kids, yes. My husband, certainly. Me, nope. Never sick. Wait, I did go to urgent care five years ago because I had sinus infection that lasted a month. But, other than that...

I hope that THE DOCTOR will prescribe a new miracle drug that will instantly melt away the pounds returning me to my pre-wedded hotness. It could happen...right?