Maintaining the Weight and the Lifestyle: I'm Doing It

I made my goal and I feel great. This has been a great experience. I am so fortunate to have been part of this WebMD trial. It has changed me for the better. I am eating healthier than I ever did. My body is in better shape than what it was when I was in my 20's. I have so much more energy than I did before.

Now the hard part is keeping the weight off and not falling back into bad habits. For the last month I have not been working out as nearly as much as I did while on the program in fact hardly at all. I just needed a break.

I have decided to continue with the personal trainer once a week. I am getting back into working out several times a week. The last month on the program were a killer between pushing to get my weight down and moving into an unfinished house and working a very intense job. I could not keep up that pace.

Now I am getting into a routine. I am biking to work and that has turned out to be a pleasure 10 to 20 minutes door to desk the most enjoyable commute I have ever had. I worked out at the Y this morning and plan to swim tonight. Nearly finished with all the painting in the new house and the only thing left is the kitchen, which is partially done anyway. It is great living in the city. I think at some point we will get rid of one of the cars. I am only driving on the weekends although my partner drives everyday we still only use one on the week end. I find biking to do errands is just fine. Besides it is a great workout without trying.

This has been a terrific experience.

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Technorati Tags: fitness rx challenge, weight loss, fitness, exercise

I'm Going to Meet My Goal!

It has been a very busy 3 weeks. I have lost my weight, I think! I weigh in tomorrow.

I am thinner than I have been in years. I cannot believe I have shrunk so much. I was worried for a while that I would have all this excess skin hanging. I am happy to report I do not.

I sold my house and close on Friday, and the renovation on the new one is not progressing as fast as I would like, but that is how things go. We move in on Friday, although we have been living there for the past couple of weeks so we can work on the new place. Nothing like having plaster dust on everything.

My trainer Taylor is great! She is really pushing me and concentrating on cardio. I tell you I feel great. Never did I think I would be this toned - it is really a good feeling.

My eating habits have changed dramatically. I don't think I will ever go back to the old ways. I just want whole foods. When I eat something that is not, I can taste all the fake food product; too much sugar, or just has an odd taste.

My energy level is so much more improved. Believe me, I have needed it with trying to get packed and work on the new place at the same time. I have been climbing stairs and painting for days. This has been quite an experience. I realize now how in the past when I have lost weight and did not exercise it just defeated the purpose. It is a whole life style change. In order for me to maintain this weight I will have to continue to be very active. This is my new goal - to stay fit and healthy. I will let you know how it goes.

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Technorati Tags: weight loss, diet, fitness, exercise, health and wellness

In the Home Stretch

May 3, 2007

I cannot believe I am in the home stretch. Another 5 pounds to go and I will be where I want to be. My partner has gone beyond her goal so the pressure is on.

My new trainer Taylor is the toughest one to date. When I am finished with her, I know I have done a work out.

I went away last week to visit family in rural Georgia. The visit was good but my car broke down in the middle of nowhere. My water pump went and, while I was very happy that it was still under warranty, the bad news was the dealer was 60 miles away in Jacksonville, FL. So we had an extended stay in the south. I did however run everyday in the morning before it got hot.

Coming from DC and having everything you need very close is great, but it is quite an adjustment when nothing you need is close by. It was a great exercise in chilling for me. This is something I have trouble doing. I did loose a few pounds while I was away which was a relief. All that fine Southern cooking my cousin's wife and my aunt's maid prepared was not what diets call for. So I ate very moderately but enjoyed the food.

I made sure I ran every morning. It was nice having different scenery to look at. I was able to run through the town of Woodbine, Georgia and ran along the river. A very pleasant and peaceful town.

I did my first spinning class last night. If this does not burn the last few pounds nothing will. There was a pool of sweat under the bike and I was soaked. I plan to do this as a cardio every few days until I have reached my goal.

Well 'til next week.

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Technorati Tags: fitness, exercise, diet, weight loss, spinning, health-and-wellness

Vegetables Good, Rich Food Bad

It is amazing how a sunny day after several grey stormy days can make feel so much better. My work is finally all going to the printer and new projects do not start for a couple of weeks. Now, just sell the house and all will be good.

Now that I am coming to the end of this challenge I feel very great. A few more pounds and I will be where I want to be. I started running again this week and I feel good about that. Missed my workout with Michael this week. We lost power from a downed tree and overslept with no alarm. Last night in making my dinner I did not include any vegetables only because I was lazy and did not want to prepare them and had a rather rich dinner of beef ravioli with grated cheese and butter. Not on the diet at all.

Let me tell you I felt awful all night. I always make some sort of salad or cook some fresh vegetables, it truly does make a difference. A little less cheese and butter and some vegetables and I would have been fine. Once you get eating good when you slip you really feel it.

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Technorati Tags: fitness rx challenge, diet, nutrition, fitness, vegetables

Ups and Downs

April 12, 2007

I was so bummed out last week I did not blog. I had a physical on Monday April 2, and I was waiting for my blood work to come back on Thursday. I did my workout on Thursday morning and had gained a pound and a half -- I was not happy about it.

Then when I got to work my blood results were in and I had regressed. I knew my cholesterol was going to be off. My LDL is 128 and HDL is 38. That's off more than I expected.

I had stopped taking my Lipitor and my joints had really begun to hurt. My doctor wanted to see if was related to the medication. The good news is my joints are feeling much better. My Hemoglobin went up to 6.1. Now I had cut my metformin (my doctor did not recommend this) to once a day. I started to eat grape fruit in the mornings so I did not want to take the medication at that time and quite frankly I forgot to take it at lunch time.

So I thought I would see if my weight loss and eating better would help in my sugar levels without the medication. My numbers tell me that this is not the case. I have started taking the medication at lunchtime again. I will see where things are at the next blood test. I was relieved that my weight gain last week was just an aberration because I dropped what I had gained plus another pound and a half. I now am down to the wire and I have 8 more pounds to get to my goal. I cannot believe that I am almost there.

Till next week.

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Technorati Tags: FitnessRxChallenge, diabetes, cholesterol, fitness, weight loss

Overwhelmed

March 28, 2007

It has been an intense couple of weeks. I did not run in the 5 K. It was freezing and very windy so I wimped out.

I have been overwhelmed with all I am doing. I missed my work out last week because I am so busy at work. I have been working a few hours on the weekends and late at night. Michael signed me up for Pilates classes; this should be interesting.

I am being stretched thin. Buying and selling houses and doing a renovation on the new at the same time, plus work and everything else just puts strain on your life. My house has not sold yet and but we have closed on the new one and it needs a great deal of work. We have started and have been working with different contractors every day. Windows are ordered, walls are torn down, holes are everywhere. Now that spring is here I realize I will be mowing two lawns. I did not like mowing one before.

I will be having another open house on Sunday, which means the house has to be spotless. I will also be working this weekend. The only exercise I am getting is my walk from the new house to work (2.5 miles each way). I have been doing it in 40 minutes.

Next week I will start the Pilates. After next week work should be a bit less hectic, with any luck my house will go under contract, and the electrical will get done. The plan is to move in the middle of May. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Till next week.

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Technorati Tags: fitness, exercise, walking, stress, weight loss, health-and-wellness

New Smaller Jeans

A little more than a week and I did loose a half a pound. I took a couple of days off to close on a new house with a great deal of work for us. My work out is going well and I have better form on my new program. Michael is pushing me to cut the food intake more. My goal is to loose another 5 to 10 pounds and then I should have a flat stomach. We shall see. I have shrunk even more. I am about 5.5" smaller in the waist.

I went to the GAP on Saturday and bought new jeans. I am swimming in all of my old ones. This is really a good feeling. I did want to wait, but nothing is fitting very well. I am having trouble with shirts because I have broad shoulders so medium shirts are a bit tight in the chest. I could have worse problems.

I am still having lower back pain but not as bad. Michael took my measurements and all in all, I have shrunk. I have mostly lost fat which is something I did not do in past when I lost weight. I have lost some muscle but I am much stronger than before. I am definitely eating so much better. I have decided I am going to work with Michael when I am done with this project with WebMD. I never want to go back to where I was before.

My run is Sunday, but if the weather does not improve I will wimp out on this run. We will see how the day is going to play out.

Till next week.

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Technorati Tags: weight loss, fitness, health-and-wellbeing