New Weight and Measurements :)

I can't believe it's been almost a week since my last post!!

Time keeps rushing by! In fact, that was one of the reasons why I decided to learn how to meditate, because I thought it would help to slow time back down.

I have been doing well with my new resolution to meditate and exercise every day, and my weight and measurements have been holding well... in fact, they've improved a bit!!

Let's compare to before Lent and on Easter:
              Mardi Gras    April 24th          Now

Weight    183 lbs          168 lbs              169 lbs

Bust        39.5"             38.5"                 38.5"

Waist      35.75"            32"                    32"

Hips        43"                41.5"                 41"  (WOO HOO!)

Thigh      26.5"             25"                    25"

According to the tables in The Zone by Barry Sears (The Zone: A Dietary Road Map to Lose Weight Permanently : Reset Your Genetic Code : Prevent Disease : Achieve Maximum Physical Performance) since March 8th I have lost...

14.39 lbs of fat!!  so my lean body mass is 120.13 lbs. My body fat percentage went from 34.57 to 28.92 (it was 29.27% on Easter! yay). The cool thing is that I have lost an extra 0.30 lb of fat and *gained* 1.30lb of muscle since Easter! I guess it IS true that muscle burns calories even at rest!


I will make this short for today, Loren has a day job now (before he was gone 4 evenings a week) so I am still getting used to him being at home for dinner. After 3+ years of having his evenings at home be something special, I still feel a little guilty when he's home and I don't spend time with the family. Plus I still have to get stuff ready for tomorrow, eat dinner (salad and a bit of spaghetti), exercise, meditate AND try to get to bed by a decent hour!



I wish you all the best, have a wonderful night!

Day 39, New Measurements and, Apparently, I'm Over Chips

My apologies for having skipped so many days this week. It's tax season.

Last year I managed to get the tax return done before we took our trip to the Winter Olympics (we needed the tax return money!), but this year I was otherwise occupied with L2's health issues, this blog, and resisting the temptation to eat tortilla chips.

Well, it seems it only took 39 days, but I am finally over those temptresses!

Last night we took L2 out for a late second dinner and the first thing we found was Moe's Southwest Grill (kind'a like Q'Doba?). She got a burrito and the guy gave her some tortilla chips for free. I was feeling masochistic so I grabbed the bag and stuck my nose in it to at least enjoy a whiff of their enticing aroma...

and... nothing!

Today I have been home aaaallll day (mostly working on the taxes) and the bag of tortilla chips has been sitting open on the kitchen island, about 10 feet from where I am sitting, and... that's right! NOTHING


SO, I WIN, ha ha ha HA!

Ok, so now on to the new numbers.
Comparing all the weeks doesn't fit nicely in the space here, so I will just compare to the day before I started and to last week, to see all the weeks in between click here. 

March 8th              April 8th       April 16th

Weight    183 lbs    171 lbs        169 lbs

Bust        39.5"       38.5"           38.25"

Waist      35.75"     33.5"           33.25"

Hips        43"          41.63" (5/8)  41.5"

Thigh      26.5"       25.5"            25.25"


So, no big impressive changes, but steady progress :)


The last thing I want to share is that both yesterday evening and all of today I have felt more positive and able to focus than I have in weeks! Hurray for a detoxed liver!


PS. Please consider clicking on one of the ads, the L2's medical bills are starting to arrive and every penny helps!

Day 22, Weights and Measures, third week.

Weight and measurements compared to the last weeks:

March 8th              March 15          March 22         March 30

Weight 183 lbs       179 lbs              175 lbs            173 lbs

Bust 39.5"             38.25"               38"                   38.5" (?? I must have been holding my breath)

Waist 35.75"          34.75"               33.75"             33.75" 

Hips 43"                42.25"               42"                   41.75"

Thigh 26.5"           26.25"               26"                    26"


So, according to the tables in The Zone by Barry Sears (The Zone: A Dietary Road Map to Lose Weight Permanently : Reset Your Genetic Code : Prevent Disease : Achieve Maximum Physical Performance since last week I have lost...

0.64 lbs of fat and 1.36 lb of lean body mass (body fat holding at 31.75)

NOT COOL

OK, ok, sorry I digress, I am still losing weight, I still feel great, I still need less hours of sleep, I am still off my reflux and allergy medication, I still have lots of energy, aaaaaand (checking back over the numbers I have written all over the margins of my copy of The Zone I discovered that) my lean body mass has fluctuated between 111 and 120 since I have been keeping track. So, things are still good, although I would like to discover how to lose only fat from now on.

On that note, I am off to EXERCISE :) so I will tell you today's menu and be off:
Smoothie with one scoop of protein drink
Water
Water
Water... remembered I had a small (100 calorie) bad of raw trail mix from Trader Joe's in the glove compartment of the car!
Raw trail mix baggie
Water
Handful of raisins L1 gave me
About 1/3 cup of Savory Brazil Nuts
Big serving of Asian Slaw
Small servings of Pico de Gallo and Guacamole
and an orange juice with white wine.

Have a great night and happy eating!

PS. For those of you following L2's health, she went to school today, no fever but had a stomach ache in the afternoon.

Updated weights and measurements

Ok, I never posted the numbers for Tuesday's weigh in, and, honestly, I feel too lazy to take them again today, so I am going to post them now:

Weight and measurements compared to a week ago:

March 8th              March 15          March 22

Weight 183 lbs       179 lbs              175 lbs

Bust 39.5"             38.25"               38"

Waist 35.75"          34.75"               33.75"

Hips 43"                42.25"               42"

Thigh 26.5"           26.25"               26"

So, according to the tables in The Zone by Barry Sears (The Zone: A Dietary Road Map to Lose Weight Permanently : Reset Your Genetic Code : Prevent Disease : Achieve Maximum Physical Performance since last week I have lost...
(oh, I should mention I revised my body fat % numbers from last week because I rounded down a number instead of up):

3.17 lbs of fat and 0.83 lb of lean body mass :(   I know, I know! but it's a total weight loss of 4 lbs.
I went from having 34.57% body fat to 32.81% to 31.75% yay!!

I am also happy to share that I have not needed my reflux medication at all, my skin looks clearer and brighter (Loren says "radiant"), and my nails seem to be growing faster and stronger (although I wonder you can see a change in nails this fast).

I hope by Easter I will be looking like this (minus the cheeky baby fat):

Ana Antunes (of the Home Styling blog
I recommend) and me at senior night
1989. That was the first time
I had this haircut.

Day 14, Asking for prayers

Diet wise today has been a good day, thank God. I was not as sleepy in the afternoon, only a little bit around 4PM, really not bad. I had my smoothie for breakfast and around 11:30 I had a protein supplement that you mix with water, I had lots of extra water in case the sleepiness has been due to dehydration.
At 1pm I ate a small salad (mostly lettuce) and when I got home around 5PM I just had more water until dinner. I made a simpler version of the Asian Slaw that we love, and had a lettuce wrap with... you guessed it... broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper, Savory Brazil Nuts and Guacamole. After dinner I drank a small glass of Orange Juice.

I also weighed and measured myself, I lost another 4 lbs and the inches got smaller too. I will post more about it tomorrow. I was very excited about it this morning but now it seems horribly trite.

L2 has had a fever off and on since Sunday morning. I thought after making her lie down all day on Sunday and Monday that she would be ready to go to school today. But her temperature tonight was 101.4 and her "tummy" continues to hurt in weird ways.

My sisters have suggested recurrent appendicitis, my nephew had a really weird case of it that had the doctors baffled until they operated on him and realized that his appendix was "backwards" (that's why it would not show up in the ultrasounds). We'll be making a lot of calls tomorrow and probably seeing a doctor soon. But I keep asking for, and expecting, guidance. I don't feel right leaving it all up to the doctors, and I know that we could be led clearly to the answer/solution if we can just be quiet long enough to catch it.

I would really appreciate your prayers.


Throughout all this I am grateful that God has helped me to remain very peaceful. It reminds me of a sermon by my college priest, Father Mark, he was talking about Lent and about how Jesus was able to get through his 40 days in the dessert. He said he triumphed because He was Focused on the Father, Firmly rooted in the Word, and Filled with the Spirit, and that that's how we have approach our Lenten journeys.

I don't know that I can claim to be any of those things, but I do know that if I were eating and drinking sweet coffees (and sometimes sweet cocktails) the way I was before Lent I, would NOT be dealing with anything well, let alone this.

Days 10 & 11, pairs of pants gained: 3!!

 I have been able to wear 3 pairs of pants that I could wear this past summer but quickly outgrew during the fall.

They are still tight (today I asked Loren if there would be children pointing and chanting "big butt, big butt") but I CAN wear them without much physical discomfort (and ZERO actual physical pain!!!).
Here is a photo!