Finally... Officially

Back on Phentermine. Had my Dr's appointment this week and the blood results came out perfect. Yeah! A little concern about my fasting blood sugar which came out to 105 (not to bad) considered slight border line. But nothing to worry about since I am going to be loosing this weight and keeping it of for good. Dr requested I do another lab in 3 months just to make sure. Not a problem!

Really excited for this endeavor on Phentermine. I have lots of exciting things coming up this FAll semester that will hopefully help me with keeping this weight off. 1st I'm taking a Zumba class for a PE credit and a Nutrition class for my nursing degree AND also my Dr has referred me to a PT for my shoulder and weight gain/obesity. So I'm hoping with a combination of ALL these things I will have learned some great tools to finally keep it off!

I'm also hoping I can use these tools to get my DH motivated. We both complain that we are not happy with our own weight!

New Tools!

I bought a Blackberry Curve from one of my friends from school AND boy is this toy fun to play with. Finding fun and new apps has been exciting. I found a FREE app called Calorie Counter by FatSecret. It logs calories taken in and burned off, weigh ins, has lists of food by store brand, by restaurant (so far I have found everything I have eatin or done in the past few days), and I'm able to add food/exercises if needed. I was logging my food intake in a Composition book BUT this high tech way has been kinda fun.

Getting Back on Track!

So... I have been so motivated to get back on track! I have made another appointment with my Dr to get back on the Phentermine. I want the boost to get me below 200. I'm ready to get it off and keep it off!

What makes this time any different then the other time?? Well I no longer have little ones at home (ALL are NOW in school full time). Why does that matter? Well..... when I'm at home I tend to snack more, get lazy, and loose all motivation.

So this week I had some left over (6 pills) Phentermine from my last 3 month program and I started to take that as of Monday (7-12). I wanted to get a jump start and loose a little of what I gained before the appointment on Friday. I weighed myself Monday (7-12) morning in at 235.2 which is a 21.4 gain from my 37.6 loss as of January. So in essence I have only lost 16.2 lbs.

Really not gonna fret about those numbers because life happens and I need to learn how to handle stress better w/out eating everything in sight but the kitchen sink. So onward and upward as they say.

The Freshman 15 !!!!

I always knew what that expression meant but never really had a problem with it until this semester. I officially gained the Freshman 15 during this last semester. : (

I went through the whole fall semester loosing weight on Phentermine. My 3 months of Phen were up when I signed up for the Spring semester, so therefor with stress and poor management in my eating I gained 15 of the 37lbs I lost back in the Fall.

So now that this semester is over .... I am starting over, to loose the 15 I just gained back. I'm willing to put forth the effort w/out Phentermine this time BUT I do know if needed I am eligible to go back on it!

So this week starts off with Journaling my food AGAIN ! This tool seems to work for me the best, because I can actually see where I am at on my calories throughout the day! Then it's back to weighing and measuring my food. Portion control is sooooo important. NOW just try explaining that to my husband. WE may have to go back to making leftover size portions after everyone get their plates so there is no temptation for seconds and thirds.

Now that summer is approaching and the kids will be home more it will be easier to get out and do things with the kids. Every year we buy a Family Summer Pass for ALL the public pools at the JR Highs in our city so we can enjoy some cool, fresh and relaxing family time. Helps with fitting a little swimming exercise in while the kids play. EEK !!! guess that means I need to get my butt in gear so I can look somewhat decent in a swimming suit!

So wish me luck !!! Time to get my butt back in shape!
Definitely plan on blogging my progress now that I have freed up most of my time (Spring Semester is over).

Lots Of Catching Up To Do....

OK!! so it has been far to long since I have posted on my blog. BUT life has been crazy busy (Mommy busy) and I had to put something on the back burner. OH BOY!!! Does it show I put stuff on the back burner.

First I have been off the phen for quite a while now and was maintaining my weight loss until this last month or so. : ( With the stress of school, Mommyhood, and work I have pretty much gained 10lbs back.

So today is the day of reckoning and I have recommitted to myself to loose those nasty 10lbs of stress fat, start doing for myself again, watch my Calories and start feeling good about myself again.

I did realize I was back to "drinking" my Calories so that's the first thing I have to nip in the butt. Then watching my food Calories throughout the day. Plan on preparing/measuring more healthy snack choices for when life gets crazy.

The plus side is I have successfully decaffeinated myself and I still shop for the healthy choices at the grocery store. So I have those on the plus side.

Now yesterday I took the kids hiking on a mountain behind their school and they both LOVED it. Today I walked around the park two times, just under two miles, after dropping my little one off at Pre-K. Right now I feel great!!!

Looking forward to taking the little one to the park after her Brother and Sister head off to school so we can walk (she will probably ride her scooter) and maybe have some fun at the park before coming home.

Tools Of The Trade...

Here is a picture of my "Old School" scale. This
picture makes me laugh!! I have soooo come a long way!
I started off with this scale when I was pregnant with my third child. I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and had to really monitor my calories during the last trimester of my pregnancy. I was spot on with watching my portion sizes and calories. So taking on this life style change was not new to me just lost perspective after all was said and done with the pregnancy.


So when the old scale was not working anymore I had to spend some money and get a good, new scale. This was when "Biggest Loser" season 8 was in full force and I decided to get the scale that was used in the "Biggest Loser" kitchen. If it was good enough for them it was good enough for me. Talk about inspiring. So now it's time to dust it off and start the weighing process all over again. I do find when weighing and getting correct portions of the 3 major food groups at meal times I am never hungry. I snack 2 times a day and don't eat past 7pm. Don't be afraid of the scale... the scale is your friend. LOL!

So here is the whole kit and caboodle. New electronic "Biggest Loser" scale, My Food Journal and the "Biggest Loser" Complete Calorie Counter book. My 3 best friends .
during this adventure. I do have to admit I have not used my Food Journal lately BUT will be adding it back into my daily program. I do find myself over eating when I don't journal my food. I have nothing to keep me accountable. AND I think accountability is very important in this process. I am also going back to making snack bags with the calorie count on the outside of the bag so I can use those for when my life gets busy and we are on the run. I find that pre paring these bags saves me a lot of guessing in the future. Lot's of work ahead of me but soooo worth the end result.

Since ....

School has started (for me) I have been so overwhelemd with ALL the kids activities and getting use to our scheduling chaos. BUT with all the stress and chaos I have been able to maintain my 37lb weight loss. Which to me is an accomplishment all in itself especially since I am done with my Phentermine at this point and time.

I do have to get back to preparing more nutritious snacks during school days and back to montioring my portion sizes as well. Totally achieveable!! Getting extra exercise in has been the most difficult for me but with the first few weeks under my belt (getting use to the new schedule). I can now see where I can fit in some extra workouts. I still need to create that ultimate work out music list so I can motivate myself while working out. All stuff I need to add to my "need to get it done" to do list.

Weigh In Day!!!

Weight: 213.8

BF: 37.0
H2O: 45.9

Lost 1.2lbs since last weeek and lost 37.6 lbs since 9-7
BF down .1
H2O has maintained

Weigh In Day!!

Weight: 215

BF: 37.1
H2O: 45.9

Lost 3.4lbs since last weigh in 12/22 and lost 36.4 lbs since 9-7
BF down .4, Wow
H2O up .3, double Wow

2010 "Creating a New Me" Commitment:

~ Adding alternative types of exercise
* Climb Falcon Hill Mountain
* Exercise videos - Beach Body, P90X, DVR'd "Inhale" (yoga)
* Bike rides
* Begin first stage of becoming a runner, what that is I don't know yet!

~ Carefully grocery shop
* Whole grains ONLY; pasta, bread, tortilla's
* Fresh fruits and veggies, kept in house as snack options
* Proteins
* Omit Saturated Fats
* Omit artificial caffeine

~ Get better sleep nightly
~ Incorporate more vitamins and natural remedies
~ Naturally De-stress (exercise, etc) to avoid stress fat and STRESS
~ Be an example for my entire family

So here is the beginning of my personal commitments to make 2010 a GREAT YEAR! OF course this list is subject to change or additions.

A New Year!! Brings New Hope!!

I have survived the holidays!!! I have been off my Phenterimine for about a week during the holiday's. Trying an experiment to see if my body would go back to normal elimination and it did!!! Praise God!! I was dreading that I had done some horrible damage to that process. I did gain during Christmas and New Years but it was only 5lbs. Not to mention it is TTOM so I am pretty sure most of this could be water weight. IF that's the case and I maintained during the holidays that is a major accomplishment. I am pretty proud of myself.

With the New Year on us I did resolve to maintain my goal of loosing more weight in the New Year. I only have one more month of the Phentermine to go so it is time I get my butt in gear and start incorporating more exercise. For Christmas my DH bought me an exercise ball and 2-5lb weights. We have moved the elliptical back into the living room after taking all the Christmas decorations put away. Nice to have the house back to normal. I have several DVD's and DVR'd exercise programs (including P90X) that I need to start utilizing right away.

So I will officially do a weigh in tomorrow in the morning and begin the New Year off with a dedication and energized. I will continue on a more regular basis blog my progress in hopes to inspire others. I look forward to being one of those who says.... "Feeling fit feels better than any food tastes".