Weekly Weigh-In (#25)

Ah, Internet accountability. 

Time to post my Friday weigh-in results. 

I must admit, there were some bump ups this week. 

153.9 on Wednesday. 154.5 yesterday.

 I blame New Year's numminess ...

Sweet Chex Mix

Basically butter/sugar/corn syrup over cereal.

Addicting and easy to keep on eating.

Then there is the Pastry Wreath. My mother-in-law makes this every year. It's takes SO much work on her part, but it's tradition. I have NO idea how many calories are in this thing, and I haven't really even attempted to figure it out (we only eat it once a year).

I think that has definitely been a problem this week (and last week). Although I've logged every single day ... I must admit the accuracy of said logging is clearly in question. According to my food log, while I haven't been good ... I haven't been that bad. Oops, until I remember that chocolate malt hubby made ... I forgot to log that. What else did I forget?  I need to log things IMMEDIATELY (or before eating would be even better). And I'm never very good at weighing and measuring to correctly count one portion or two (or three, or four). 

So I'm not sure if the numbers mean much ... when I added up my overages with my good day (deficit) yesterday (I got a little inspired/mortified after those two higher weigh-ins) I ended up with a deficit of -157 for the week as a whole.  Average intake 2186. Average expenditure 2489.

My weight today of 151.6 ... well, it's lower than I started December at.  It's lower than my weigh-ins before I got sick. It's higher than 150. I don't want to be above 150.

My poor MFP ticker ... it just keeps slip sliding all over. This is back to where I was a few weigh-ins ago. I hope to get it back into the 30s, like it slipped to when I was sick. But I'm happy to earn it through exercise and eating.


Today is the last day of "vacation" for the kids. Back to school on Monday. We have a family thing tomorrow that will take up some time and cause some stress, but I'm really glad to be getting it done and over with. TOM has come to visit ... I don't know if that could be any cause of the bump up the last couple of days (honestly, I've tried to watch to see if that time of the month affects my weight and I can't say I really see any correlation) but I'm also glad it will be finishing up as the new week starts.

I know the New Year officially began on Wednesday, but for me ... it's this coming Monday. The return to the routine. No more excuses (I'm sick, it's the holidays, the kids are out of school, TOM). Hopefully EVERYONE is ready to get back on track and we can all motivate each other!

Linking up with JillConyers at Fitness, Health and Happiness (just the one, as my other Friday link-ups seem to be out of commission). Check out how others are doing, and link-up yourself. 

Disappointing December

Well ... December was disappointing. It's a difficult month for many. With all the holiday prep and celebrations taking up time, and the temptations all around ... it seems the calorie intake goes up while the average activity (and burn) goes down. Not a good combination.

But THAT wasn't what happened to me this December (well, it was toward the end of the month). I got SICK and it completely interfered with my exercise/eating plans for the month. I wonder "what if" I hadn't have gotten hit with the flu? Would I have been able to keep up my activity? We'll never know now. 

But my poor GOAL STREAKS calendar ... it looks SO lonely without all the usual little "x" marks. It's really quite pitiful. I was sick from December 10-December 17, and even when I was "better" I was not up to my usual activity required to reach my goal. I almost got there on Monday, December 30 ... I should have pushed just a little more to get one more "x" for the month. Oh well ...

My individual cardio streaks aren't much different from the "goal" streaks". Started strong, then sadly (sickly) empty. I did manage ONE more "x" on each. (My treadmill mile was a walk though, NOT up to jogging yet). 

As I got "better" (no longer bedridden anyway) I did resume activity, but not quite enough to make it onto any of my main streaks calendars. My "other activities" streaks is usually reserved for mini/miscellaneous exercises (wiifit, hula hoop, yoga, ping pong, extra walking). This month, the "x" marks generally represent 30-60 minutes elliptical (not enough for my Elliptical100 streaks, but I wanted credit for my exercise, it took effort!) 

I did still take a couple days off completely.

After my sickness, 

I actually felt the pull to lift some weights. 

Slow and steady and strong.

I did NOT feel up to Jillian!

Ironically, as my exercise streaks suffered, my "food" streaks actually improved!  Under 2000 calories? Ummmm, that was NOT a problem while I was sick (I was barely able to eat 600 per day). Even my "Feeling Fruity" calendar did better, as of the little food I consumed, fruit usually was part of that.  As I recovered ... my streaks suffered!

As I was busy with party prep (and party) on New Years Eve, I tried to remind myself to grab a screen capture of December's Fitbit activity. I forgot (which is why the graph doesn't have Dec1). I really wish I could manipulate this graph on the Fitbit site, but that's the main reason I started this blog. Was to be able to have a place to save and show my graphs each month for my records. 

My averages dropped dramatically this month.

I don't always grab this "time active" graph, 

but I thought it definitely showed my downtime.

My poor Walker Tracker numbers ...

Time to put December, and my sickness behind me.

It's a new month. It's a new year.

Looking Back on 2013

Here's a look back ... not only on 2013, but on several years preceding it. My "weight-loss" journey at a glance. In 2006, I lost the weight. A pretty drastic fall, but I did manage to maintain for a while. A little up in 2007, some fluctuation in both directions in 2008, getting back down at the end of the year, wasn't quite able to hold it in 2009. 2010 was higher than I like, but pretty even. Some ups and downs in 2011 ... then 2012 happened. It got away from me in 2012. There were some stresses at the end of the year (can you believe I actually blame Disneyland a bit for my downfall?). I almost gave up even trying to keep up my activity. I was down and discouraged. 

So that's how 2013 started ... pretty much back where I was before I lost the weight to begin with.  Being the "new year" I did TRY to up my activity again and had a tiny bit of a dip, but by April/May I was seeing big enough numbers that I knew I had to do something more. Activity alone wasn't cutting it. I joined MFP and started to keep a food diary and tried to control the calories coming in.

A closer look at weight during 2013

I saw pretty immediate success (thank heavens). I wanted to get back down to 135. I was about 180 starting, so I divided the 45 pounds to lose into three 15 pound goals. I was able to reach the first 15 pretty quick and easy. The second 15 ... well, that took a while (and while I DID hit 150, I didn't quite end the year there).  Still 15+ to go.

It's been in interesting year. As I started logging my food and adding up calories, it really opened my eyes to just how much I must have been eating. I don't know for sure of course, as I was NOT logging, but now, as I was keeping track and trying to control myself, I'd still easily hit 2000+ calories every day.  I know in my head I was thinking "but I'm quite active, I often burn 3000+ calories a day" ... which, while true on some days, didn't always average out to that, especially as my activity/motivation had dropped in those winter months.

I'm happy to say,

since starting MFP in May,

I haven't missed logging one day!

So I wasn't trying any specific diet or plan, I was just counting calories. Keeping track of what I was eating. Not necessarily even eating better (hanging my head in shame, I'm still a carb/sugar gal) but at least being accountable for recording what I was consuming and trying to keep the calories coming in under what was going out.

As for exercise, I did up my activity level. I know I need to switch things up ... I've been doing my "20minutes elliptical several times a day" for years and I'm sure it's not really challenging my body as much any more. This year I tried adding the stationary bike and some treadmill time (jogging an ENTIRE mile without stopping, also doing intervals).  I've done weights as part of my routine for years now and am keeping that up. I also added in some DVDs (Jillian's 30DS and Ripped in 30 along with others) for both cardio and strength. 

So, reflecting on 2013, and the years before ... where I am right now (the lower 150s) seems to be my "comfortable" weight. It's where I ended up several of those years. I really DO want to drop a few more (I'm still a little too close to "overweight" status, which is just 155 for me). 

I just started dailymile in August2013.

My mile count for 2014 will include the entire year :)

My goals for 2014 ... to achieve 150 and NOT cross above that line again. I'd love to hit 135, but really, I think I'll be fine if I stayed above that but maintained for the year. That being said, I'm NOT moving to maintenance at this point. I am still actively trying to lose a pound or so a week ... that is the continued goal. 

I'm not shaking up my exercise or eating too much ... I hope to get my exercise average back up to 3000+. It does really take quite a bit of activity on my part to do that. I want to keep my calories around 2000 ... I know so many women out there eat less (not sure how people sustain on 1200 though! I know, if it's all healthy food it goes much further) but I do enjoy eating and I figure that is reasonable IF I can keep up the activity level.

I'm excited to start the New Year and see what my graph for 2014 will look like ... *Ü*

How was 2013 for you? Any big changes for 2014?

I'm Back ... Now I Need to be BACK

I'll be doing my official "December" look back post coming up shortly, but it's just interesting for me to reflect on these past three weeks. Monday, December 9th was my last "normal" day. I had weighed in that morning at 153.9 after the weekend.  No sign of sickness, I did my usual 100 minutes on the elliptical, plus some treadmill and bike AND Jillian's Ripped in 30. 

But that was the last "normal" day ... I thought it was a cold and I tried to workout through it for a day or so. My appetite disappeared, so did my energy, and then I was sick and completely down for a few days. I didn't do much more than lay around and read. And moan ... a little bit.

I really had a "drinking problem" ... I just wasn't able to get much down, even though I knew I needed to. I know much of the drastic 10 pound drop was water weight ... although I wasn't eating either.

My weight this morning was 152.6. About one pound down from where I was before my sickness (although I had been lower, at this point for previous weigh-ins).  My last "official" sick day was Tuesday, December 17 (almost one week ago). I've been easing my way back into exercise, back into eating (I managed a LOT of calories these past few days *Ü*) and getting my body back to a properly hydrated level.

It's "Motivational Monday" ... I'm not feeling super motivated. 

With my weight BACK ... I really need to get me BACK.

• Exercise: Activity still seems a bit overwhelming. I look at my activity from just three weeks ago and get tired even thinking about it. I've managed to get in 60 minutes on the elliptical several days since I've been sick, but I'm not really getting it to a heart-pounding level. I'm keeping it easy. I have felt the desire to do weights ... slow and steady strengthening, but can't get up the desire to face Jillian yet.
• Eating: After a week of eating next to nothing (about 600 calories a day was all I was managing) I'm definitely back to eating normally ... AND to indulging in holiday treats. For a few days after my sickness, I was still able to easily keep calories down to a decent level and I wondered if this might be a permanent change. Um ... no. Appetite (and cravings) are definitely back. 
• Sedentary Time: Even when I'm not "exercising" I'm usually quite active all day, constantly on the move, rarely stopping to sit. During my week of inactivity I got a lot of reading in and I've really enjoyed getting back into books.  And naps. Even as I'm feeling better, I'm still feeling the desire to curl up and relax with a book in bed.
• Blogging: I've gotten behind on my blogging. I don't think I'm alone here, as I've noticed many people slowing down over the holiday season. You know I participate in lots of link-ups, and many of them have been non-existent for a few weeks (I'll link up with Grab Your Kicks for their Motivational Monday link up which IS up and has a good motivational post today). I'm really hoping to get back to blogging ... not just here, but on my family blog as well (and I run a basketball blog for the boys too). I've been trying to get caught up so I can go into the new year fresh and chronologically correct!
• House and Home: I made dinner last night ... it was a first since I've been sick. I did make soup and breadsticks for Christmas (but that was to take, not really dinner for MY family). I also made cookies last night (with the cute new snowflake disk and cookie press hubby got me for Christmas, see the picture below). There is still quite a bit of cleanup to do, and we are hosting a small gathering for New Years, and then a larger one on Saturday (baptism/belated birthday for #5). I do think I've caught up on the laundry though ...

Yummy ... Cookie Press Cookies!

Love my new snowflake disk *Ü*

So this week ... the kids are still out of school (the year-round schools start up again Thurs, but we don't go back until next Monday). So that still throws off the routine. Sleeping in, kids around all day ... but no carpools to take up time either! There is a bit of basketball. I ran #2 to practice this morning and he has a game Thursday evening. There is New Years Eve and New Years Day ... no huge celebrations for us, but exercise and eating will be affected.  The Saturday celebrations will stress me until they are over, at least there aren't basketball games that day to complicate things.

So while the NEW YEAR is officially starting on Wednesday ... my mind keeps jumping to next Monday (Jan6) as the true "NEW" start ... just a week away. It's time to wrap up 2013 and look toward 2014!

Weigh-In #24

So the numbers on the scale when up this week ... not unexpected. Between putting the pounds that I lost during my sickness back on, holiday over-indulgence and limited exercise ... well, it's not a surprise. It's a fine line between not being too hard on myself (my dramatic 10 pound drop wasn't "real" weight loss for me to try to keep - I'm not sure I'm back to a properly hydrated level still), yet I don't want to excuse ALL the weight gain, as some of it is due to eating and exercise gone astray.  Looking back at these numbers, Wednesday (December 18) was my lowest weigh-in, the day after my sickest day, after already being down a week. Since then I've slowly been getting back to eating, drinking and adding in a bit of exercise. The weight has been coming back on.

My MFP ticker is at 30. I'm just over 150, which is the line I do NOT want to cross again. When I lost weight the first time, I remember hitting 150 and what a milestone that was then. As I got down to goal weight, I was thrilled. Then as the struggle with maintenance started up, I remember being a bit surprised at NOT being that impacted by a few pounds. At 140, 145 I still felt good ... right up to 150. That's when I could see a distinct change in my face, in clothes, etc. So I definitely want to get a handle on any additional regain and start working toward losing a bit more.

Besides all the holiday hoopla, I just STILL haven't felt 100% again. I'm not sick anymore, just dragging and tired. I do feel like I have a cold. I'm a bit stuffy, I still have the cough hanging around. It's impacted my exercise. I've been getting in some, 60 minutes on the elliptical most days this week, but I did take a couple days off exercise completely. Unfortunately I DO have my appetite back and there have been a lot of Christmas goodies to temp me *Ü*. 

I did some Christmas cleanup yesterday, but there is still a lot left. #2 has been involved in a basketball tournament, so that has taken up some time (two games yesterday with an hour in-between, I paced a hallway while waiting and got in quite a few steps). The kids are out of school this week and next, so that does impact the routine. I'm looking forward to January 6th, which is when I feel like we'll actually be BACK to normal ... and hopefully my body will be back to normal and ready to resume my 3000+ days.

Numbers this week ... a gain of 3.7 pounds. My average weight was up 1.8 pounds, to 148.6. My intake WAS greater than my expenditure, to the tune of 2500. Average intake was 2164. Average expenditure was 2128. It's been interesting to watch my Fitbit numbers these past weeks (as I tumbled from the leader board). I've often wondered if my numbers were inflated, but I can see a distinct difference when I'm active, I do actually earn those big numbers. If I'm not moving, then my TDEE is quite low, perhaps even lower than I would have thought.  Lesson learned? Gotta keep active!

Linking up with Fitness Friday  for Fitness Friday. 

How did you do over the holidays? 

Have you been able to return to a routine yet?

Saturday Spotlight - Christmas Video Edition

Being sick this past week, I got a LOT of reading in. Novels though. I read the third Michael Vey book (my son is reading it in school and I like to be familiar with what they are reading), "Allegiance" (3rd book in the Divergent trilogy), "If I Stay" and "Throne of Glass".  I stuck to  my digital reading (on my phone or ipad mini) as real books/magazines were just too heavy and turning pages was too difficult in my weakened state :)  I also didn't have the energy to sit at the computer to read blogs (I did peruse some on my devices, but it's harder for me to comment or bookmark).

For today's Saturday Spotlight I thought I'd share a few of the favorite videos from this time of year ...

This was a cute version of 12 days of Christmas

Ordinarily NOT one of my favorite songs.

Video Christmas Card - Very Cute

With my basketball boys, I had to include this video

Have you heard of Kid History? They are some family videos, where the kids tell an often repeated story from the family history and the adults reenact it. We were introduced a few years ago, as we were doing our own family nativity and my brother said out of the blue "Dave's always the donkey" ... as there was no "Dave" at our family party, he introduced us to Kid History - The Christmas Episode. Our family was hooked. These are a little longer (about 8-10 minutes) but well worth the watching!

Breath Wars! Big Trak!

Weekly Weigh-In #23

Still a "sick" week. Tuesday was the worst day (the stomach flu after the flu) but I've been feeling better the past two days and have been able to eat and drink almost normally. Still keeping calories pretty low. I even felt the urge to attempt a little exercise yesterday and it went fine.

Not sure how much I can trust any numbers at this point (because of all the sickness and the drastic losses lately) but here they are ...

Down 2.1 pounds from last week. My average dropped from 152.5 to 146.9 (that's 6 pounds down). My total deficit was -5440, and that was even with no exercise/activity. TDEE for the week was 1809. But my average intake for the week was only 817. I just couldn't eat ... SO unlike me!

It would be good to get back to the routine, have a normal week or two to stabilize and see where I really stand ... but alas, "normalcy" is not on the horizon. Today is baby boy's birthday (turning eight years old), SIX basketball games tomorrow (two of the boys have double games) and then of course, Christmas next week. Then the boys are out of school until after New Years ...

THEN we'll get a return to the routine!

Speaking of school and routine. Last year, I agonized over a decision to pull my two youngest from their elementary school to different one. The reason? To move from the year-round schedule to a traditional one (with summers off, rather than 3-week breaks all throughout the year). It's been SO wonderful to be on the traditional schedule and the kids have adapted wonderfully to the new school ... but alas, due to overcrowding, a budget bond that didn't pass, boundary changes, now this elementary school is going to switch to the year-round schedule too. I'm heartsick ...

Linking up with Fitness Friday and Talk Less Say More for Fitness Friday. I do plan on getting in a little exercise today. Not pushing my return to health too much, but I'm SO tired of just laying around, I do need to move!

The Flu x2 Diet :(

It's Weigh-In Wednesday. This week we're introducing the Flu x 2 wonder weight loss plan. Lose 10 pounds in a week! No exercise required ... just you TRY to get out of bed! 

Ok ... I guess I did do some ab work. All this coughing must have worked them out somewhat. And then yesterday ... turned out to be the worst day yet. The influenza flu (fever, chills, coughing, congestion) had kept me down Thurs-Sun, but I was feeling a bit better on Monday. Not back yet, but getting there.

Tuesday I got hit with nausea. There had been a touch of it for the past several days here and there, but this was much more intense. I managed to get the middle schoolers off and was about to drive the elementary kids to school when it hit hard and I threw up (what little I had in my tummy). I managed to get the kids to school in that small recovery period after, but was hit again when I got back home and a few hours later.

The stomach flu is worse than the fever flu.

It was so miserable. I'd already been eating/drinking next to nothing for days, and now I couldn't keep anything down anyway. Hubby came home from work and brought me some pebbled ice which did hit the spot. We talked about going to the doctor but again, they can't really do anything for the flu. At this point I'm figuring that they would probably suggest an IV just to get some fluids in me, but I wasn't sure it was worth the effort it would take. We called a neighbor nurse just to check options/recommendations. She gave us some anti-nausea medication. Either it eventually kicked in, or the flu ran its course (while called the "24 flu" I've noticed the actual vomiting is usually limited to 12 hours).  After one more "session" in the evening, I made it through the night.

I had stepped on the scale Tuesday morning for a 146 weigh-in (down just a bit from Monday), and just for grins and giggles I weighed myself again in the evening for a 144.1 weigh-in. Down almost 2 pounds just in those 12+ hours. I didn't think that was possible after the weight I'd already shed with sickness.

So TODAY ... I THINK I'm on the road to recovery. I felt a twinge in my tummy this morning ... could it be hunger? I don't remember exactly what that feels like. I've been able (and even have the desire) to drink today. I even took a shower and put in a load of laundry. 

I feel frail and weak. I am going to take it easy on my return to activity, especially considering Christmas is around the corner and my streaks calendar is shot anyway  *Ü*.  Baby boy complained of tummy trouble so he stayed home from school today.

I know I'm going to have some scale shock coming up. No more one pound losses every single day. I'm ok with that. I realize that I'll probably put on much of what came off during this unintentional "crash diet" of mine. I hope I can keep a little bit of it though. Having finally broken through my plateau of the 155-150s that I'd been stuck at for so long, I don't ever want to go over 150 again. 

The Pros of Prepared Products

Sometimes having hubby hit the store is a good thing. He'll pick up something that I wouldn't. He was packing for a scout camp several weeks ago, when he bought the prepared apple slices to take along. There were some left over, and my boys devoured them. I had no idea they would be such a hit. I always have apples available. Does having them prepared and ready make that big of a difference? It is nice being able to send them in the lunch boxes.

There are times when it is worth it to pay a little more for "prepared" foods. In a previous post, I talked about my experience trying to get the seeds out of a pomegranate. That is another one that I think I'm willing to pay a little extra for.  I tried the grapefruit in a cup, but I do prefer those fresh.  Health Magazine did an article on Prepared Foods Worth Paying For, my apples and pomegranates didn't make that list, but they will continue to be on mine.   

I'll prep the apples even more, diving them into single serving portions (you can buy them this way too) to keep in the crisper and grab each morning for lunches. I'll do with with grapes, and even clementines (as the kids often don't get around to peeling them themselves). I've told the munchkins, these aren't just for lunches, that if they want a quick snack at home they can feel free to grab a bag.

During these past few days of sickness, my "streaks" activity calendars have been streakless. The one I have been able to keep getting an X in is my "under 2000" goal. Due to my lack of appetite that has not been a problem  Then there is my "feeling fruity" goal. Getting in at least one piece of fruit a day. I've actually managed to keep that streak going during my sickness as well. The first couple days when my throat was sore, cold applesauce helped soothe it a bit. Then I had some pears I had purchased which were going to go bad (I did lose a couple) so I had one of those. Those apple slices were one of the few items that actually appealed to me somewhat over the weekend (and apparently to others in the family, as we went through the entire package ... I didn't have any left for lunches yesterday. I'm restocked now). 

So anyway, that my Tip and Trick for the week.  Check out the "prepped" options of some foods. If it makes it easier enough that you will eat something healthy you wouldn't otherwise, it might just be worth the investment. 

What prepared foods are you willing to pay a little extra for?

***On the sick front, I was feeling much better yesterday. Still having violent bouts of  coughing here and there but no fever or other big issues. Still not hungry though, although by evening things I had a couple cravings (still didn't get many calories for the day though). I even tried walking on the treadmill for 10 whole minutes.  The night went ok, and I got up this morning thinking I was pretty much over it but have been hit with light-headedness and nausea pretty bad.  I know I haven't been eating enough (thus the light-headed feeling) but feeling like I'm going to throw up isn't a good incentive to eat.  I need to take the kids to school, and I feel less sure of myself today than any of the days last week. 

Still Sick

There's been a distinct downturn in exercise and eating the past few days ...

Still sick ... Saturday I did manage to get out to a couple of the boy's basketball games. I didn't feel great but wanted to watch and video. I tried to stay in my own little corner so as not to infect anyone. I rested in bed most of the day yesterday (that's a graph of my day to the left). 

No fever this morning. It comes and goes. I'll go for a bit without coughing and then I can't stop. Sleep ... the nights have been awful. I have been catching some naps during the day. My appetite is non-existent, which is SO unusual for me. I've been trying to make myself eat, but I've barely been able to get to 600 calories these last few days. My fluid intake hasn't been great either, but I'm trying to be conscious of staying hydrated. 

I'm down 7.6 pounds from last Monday.

Hopefully I'll  be able to shake this soon. Ease back into exercise and eating and back to losing weight the right way (and seeing how much of this loss I can convince to stick around and not rebound.)

I miss the me that works out all day, the Energizer Bunny me that just keeps going and going. I'm not that great a housekeeper, but this week, things have really piled up without me doing the minimal stuff I do to keep things somewhat straight. I'm attempting some laundry today.  Wish me luck!