Non Scale Victories came in many forms

Non Scale Victories - you know those little changes you see along the way of weight loss... They come in many forms- even if a few are scary.

My latest started yesterday afternoon.

My boss and I were shopping at the local Sam's Club, by the time we got to the check out I had a headache - since everything was going to the office he was handling the check out- I told him I would met him outside as I thought those awful lights in the store were causing the headache.

However, by the time he got outside I was pale and shaking- me made me pull over so he could take the wheel. He stopped at the 7 11 and got me something to drink, and drove the rest of the way home. By the time we arrived home about 20 minutes later, the headache had eased up but the light headed dizzy feeling was still present. Being home I just chilled in my lounge chair with the cat and shortly it all went away.

Not long after getting to work this morning I had the same thing happen- except this time the weird feeling wasn't going away. My boss instantly made me take my blood sugar feeling this was the problem- my blood sugar at that point was 77 which was a very acceptable number. He then took my blood pressure it was 85 over 100..... PROBLEM...
I emailed my coach and my boss and him both convinced me I needed to call my PCP.
A quick visit to my PCP - netted me my newest Non Scale Victory.
My already reduced once blood pressure medication is not suspended for the next 2 days and then I am to resume with only 1 of the 2 I had been on.

Happy dance.... oh yeah the Doctor's scale says I have lost 80.2 lbs.....

Sometimes the journey takes us in different directions then we expect..

How our decisions impact others

At some point we made a choice to take control of our lives and lose the weight. I didn't think that this choice I was making for me would impact others, after all I live only- well just me and the cat. Frankly the cat doesn't seem to care that there are no longer Pop Tarts or Ding Dongs in the house.

Since September I have been eating the way the coach layed for me.
My birthday is Monday. Since my husband got sick about 10 yrs ago my Sister in law has taken on the chore of making sure I got a birthday cake.

This year I told her NO Cake...

Well Monday, night I answer my phone - its my youngest nephew-
The first words I hear are- " what do you mean no birthday cake"?
I once again explained that I was working hard to lose the weight...

Now nearly in tears he explains that - going to hoffman's ice cream store is once a year to pick my cake out is something he looks forward to- and that my birthday is the only time they get hoffman ice cream cake.

After talking to him for about 15 minutes- I asked to speak to his Mom. I told her I know I had said no cake, but that I wanted her to take him to hoffman's and let him pick out a cake like usual and that I would at least blow the candle out and that the two boys could have the cake to eat...
I just can't stand the thought of disappointing them.

The journey can be fun...

A different kind of sunday

While last Sunday was very productive today was a different kind of Sunday.

I was out late last night with a friend dancing. Had a great time.

Slept in late this morning- woke up with a HUGE pain in my butt. Laterally
a pain in my right butt cheek. I know not to panic as these things happen- my pelvis while better is still unstable. I emailed my coach who has made several stretching and exercise recommendations, I called my boss ( yes there are benefits to working for a chiropractor) he met me at the office and did several treatments to help.

I decided to try and get some work work done from home this afternoon, I logged into the office computers from my laptop and mid sentence my DSL when out.
I have been having issues with the DSL for a while. About a month ago Verizon sent me a new DSL modem, but fearing I didn't know what I was doing I asked our company IT guy to come install it, well he hasn't had time so its been sitting on the shelf in the den in the box it arrived in.

Well today I decided I needed to over come my fear of Computer components and figure this out. So I opened the box and read the directions. I then followed the directions, and installed my own DSL modem. That I thought would be the end of it, but not so, the wireless stuff had to be deleted and re-installed on my laptop ( only computer I own). So I read those directions and followed them, and obviously since I am on line typing this blog- I was victorious.

I'm rather pleased with myself for doing this....
Yes I still have a pain in the butt- using some ice right now and will continue with the Coach's stretches.

Enjoy the journey...

Trust your clothes

Trust your clothes- this is the advice my friend Jeff keeps giving me.. Well tonight I actually got a glimpse of the weight I have lost.
This evening was the local Chamber of Commerce Chapter Night. My boss was installed at one of the directors.
Its cold and windy here in Maryland- so I decided against wearing a dress. I don't do that "dressy"thing often. As I have related before I much prefer blue jeans .
I decided to wear a very pretty pants outfit- that is dark purple w/ a purple and pink long jacket over it. I need to put safety pins on each side of the pants to keep them from falling off. Trust your clothes right?
The really AHHWW HAA moment however was when I put on my black leather dress coat.
I bought myself this coat a few years ago as a perk to myself. It was far more expensive then any coat I have ever purchased . Its not a coat I would wear everyday, its a dress coat, for when I am dressed up- like I said not something I do often.
I put this wonderful black leather coat on and - seriously - looked like I could have put another person in the coat with me.
My boss laughed when I should him how large this coat was- his comment was that it could easily be made into a double breasted coat now.

Trust your clothes. Great advice- I should listen to such sage advice more often.

2/20/09- Photos added thanks to my boss
Its the journey not the destination.......

A productive Sunday

I love productive Sundays.

I got up this morning and did my stretches, exercises, Richard Simmons sweatin to the oldies. Then I dusted, vacuumed, mopped the tile floors, cleaned the bathroom, striped made remade my king size bed, took down my bedroom curtains and washed and dried them, and did 4 loads of laundry.

How is this related to weight loss- well 5 months ago this wouldn't have happened. Five months ago- I could vacuum 1/2 a room and needed to sit down for 20 minutes because my back hurt, and I was winded and exhausted. Today I sat down for 20 minutes after I mopped the floors not because I was tired but because I didn't want to walk on the wet floors.

Five months ago I could not make the king size bed without frequent stops - today it was striped and made in less then 15 minutes.

Sure I am getting tired now, but I have been up for 13 hours and have done a lot today.

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's day.

Enjoying the journey, its so much more important then the destination.

My favorite things

My 8 yr old nephew called me a little while ago all excited that he was doing a Sunday school assignment for his class tomorrow.

His assignment was to interview 5 female in his family and ask them what their favorite things are.

I thought I would share mine with you- please feel free to share yours too:

1- When my bedroom fills with the first morning sunlight.

2- The way my kitten curls up on my chest and purrs herself to sleep at night

3-The smell of the air after a spring rain

4- The taste of a crispy fresh apple.

5-Pink things

6-My nephews laughter

7- Big hugs

8-The wonderful handmade gifts from my nephews.- Specifically the blue and yellow chocolate chip playdoe cookie that is now a paper weight on my desk, or the Hand ashtray ( never smoked a day in my life) that hold pocket change on my dresser.

9-The sound of Barry Manolow singing.

10- Flowers blooming

I helps sometimes to presence yourself to these simple things.

Enjoy the Journey...

People that havent seen us in a while

I had an appointment with my hair dresser today. Being a low maintenance gal- I only see her once every 4 months or so.

Last time I was in for a trim it was in mid October.

The moment I walked in the door she was all excited- "Terry you have lost so much weight".... This type of attention really embarrasses me, so I tried to be very quiet about it. I thanked her for the compliments and explained that my hair was falling in my eyes and thus driving me crazy.

She just wouldn't stop- she wanted to know what I was doing to loss it, did I have help, how much had I lost, etc- again I don't like this attention especially with a salon full of other people.

I don't see a difference. I really don't - I am very frustrated by this. Frustrated enough to want to give up. My friend Jeff says that I need to trust my clothes- I swear I have a washer and dry that is just stretching them out. As I type this I am wearing a blue sweatshirt that I have had a hard time keeping on my shoulders all day, but again I think its that stretching from the washer and dryer.

My hairdresser was just amazed with how much I have shrunk- I really wish I could see it.

Its about the journey- not the destination.

Questions to ponder

Its after midnight and I have been trying to fall asleep for over an hour now and its not working. I was laying in bed pondering the questions of life and thought I would share them with you.

When I was in High School I read a book called hitch hikers guide to the galaxy. In it they ponder the questions of life, the universe and everything else, finally to come up with the answer of 42, but by the time they arrive at the answer they have forgotten the questions. Perhaps by the time I arrive at these answers I will have forgotten them.

1- Why is it called Fancy Ketchup? What is so FANCY about smashed tomatoes?

2- When did the mall become the hang out for teenagers?

3- What did teenagers do before there were malls?

4- Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?

5- Why is it called REAL mayonnaise?

6- Who decided that we should drive on the right side of the road here in the USA, when all the other countries drive on the left?

7- Why are they called child proof bottles when Adults are the ones that can not get into them?

8=What is the difference between a street, road, blvd and avenue?

9- Why is it that the harder we try to get to sleep the more awake we stay?

10- Why do we say she slept like a baby when babies sleep 3 hours at a time?

11- What happened to A cell batteries?

12- Why do we have day light savings time at all?

13-If men and women were created equal - we can only women have babies?

14-Who decided that Pink would be a femmine color and blue a masculine one?

Please feel free to help me answer these questions...

still struggling- but did it for the team

I am still struggling with this virus that has caused all my joints to feel like they are full of concrete. My temperature has at least come down from 103 to 99.

My joint hurt enough and are so stiff that I have been using my cane today to walk.

Yeah I probably should have stayed home today, but the company I work for has been planning this marketing event at the local mall- since we are a small company- just the Chiropractor , a marketing /front desk director and myself, event like this one require all hands on deck. So I did for the team today.

I worked the office this morning with the boss and then headed to the mall where we manned our table.

Let me tell - I was amazed at the teenagers - Scared actually. The number of young teenage girls that are expecting amazes me- 12 -14 yr old girls expecting. Seriously, I know I am old- but at 12-14 sex was the last thing on my mind, hell even at 18 sex was the last thing on my mind.
I didn't date till I met my late husband, but I had good male friends. 1 of which I have been friends with since JR high, and am honored to say he and I are still good friends. We hung out alot during our high school yrs and college, but we were friends, we talked, hung out, broke curfew, etc so I really don't understand this rush to have babies.

The other scary thing is how they dress- its unbelievable- all I kept thinking about is WHY ARE THEY ALLOWED OUT OF THE HOUSE DRESSED THIS WAY?
I would have been locked in a closet if I had attempted to leave the house dressed in some of this outfits. I had my boss laughing - when I told him that at age 18 or maybe 19 the above mention friend invited me to a movie. He told my parents that the movie didn't start till midnight, and lasted about 2 to 3 hours. Since my parents adored this friend and considered him family they totally trusted my safety and gave the ok. Well when I arrived home at 3 AM or so my Mom happened to be awake- and I got to spent the next 3 hours explaining The Rocky Horror picture show and the reason why a trip to a midnight showing of a movie would have me return home with my clothing wet and rice in my hair. I wonder what some of these parents say when their kids come home with Orange hair and outfits fit for the block.

The mall offered alot of temptations food wise- but maybe because I still have no appetite I was able to avoid the the Chick filet, Dairy Queen, and Auntie Annies Pretzels .

I did however give in to my other temptations and came home with 2 new pairs of shoes and 5 new pair of earrings.

On a high note I had on my navy blue blazer today- haven't had it on in about a year and boy is it now big.

I am still struggling mentally with the whole am I really worth all this work conversation. Not sure how to work my way out of it.

Thanks

Ready to give up

I woke up yesterday with a mental alien on my face as my coach would say.

Physically-
I am still recovering from the ovary thing last week.
All my joints ache- they are swollen ,stiff and sore- yesterday afternoon I went to Walmart with my friend- when I turned to get out of his van my hips locked up, and just standing up brought tears to my eyes it hurt so much.

Mentally-
What is going on is far harder to define. This morning when the alarm went off at 5:30 AM- I did not greet the morning with a smile- in fact I throw the alarm clock across the room. I had no desire to do my stretches or exercises this morning, the mere thought of putting in the Richard Simmons DVD that I have grown to love, had me nauseated . All I wanted was Chocolate fudge frosted pop tarts. These were my favorite breakfast as a kid. ( it was the 70s - My Mom had this belief that if it bad for you- they wouldn't have it for sale) I even gave into the desire and stopped at 7 AM at the local grocery store to buy some. They were out of them. My friend told me this morning that was the Gods talking to me. Ok if you say so.

Work was just frustrating today. Our computer network isn't working right- our IT guy keeps blaming on the network being fragile. I have 3 other IT guys telling me there is no such thing.

I still want Chocolate fudge frosted pop tarts- and no this isn't my usual craving for chocolate. That can now be handled with a cup of Swiss Miss - sugar free hot chocolate, this is different.

I am ready to give up- if my body is going to hurt this much- why not at least enjoy food.

I swear when I look in the mirror I see no difference. Yes, I see the loose clothing, but in my brain I think that is just the dryer. 74 some odd pounds as been alot of work, for not being able to see any results.