Week 15

Week 15.  What a week of temptations!  I went to Las Vegas for 3 days and got comped the "Buffet of Buffets".  That's were you can eat at any of the selected buffets as much as you want for a 24 hour period.  (if you pay for this, it's $49.99 - which is a great deal).  Anyway, we went to the buffets and I didn't cheat and only ate low-carb items.  I even found Sugar Free Cheesecake, mousse and custard.  We hit a seafood buffet and I bypassed my all time favorite, fried shrimp, and got the boiled shrimp instead.  The lobster was heavenly! Dipped in melted butter.. YUM..

And then I came home and did Thanksgiving with my daughter and her boyfriend.  They had Ham, stuffing, Candied sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, rolls, Au Gratin potatoes. I had Ham, mozzarella balls and Low-Carb Pecan pie.   Again, I was good. I probably ate more than I usually do, but on Atkins, that's okay.

As a result of my week's adventures, I lost .6 lbs.  Not much, but still a loss!!  I'm just under 50 lbs lost.  Next  week I WILL break that.  Promise!

Until Next Week....

Week 14

Week 14.  I'm a day early (I usually post on Sundays, but I'm heading to Las Vegas tomorrow, so I'm doing everything today).  It was a great week.  I lost 3.5 lbs !!  Last week I gained a little.  I hoped it was just water retention.  I guess it was!  So for the last 2 weeks, I averaged 1.75 pounds a week. Not too bad.  In 14 weeks, I've lost 48.7 lbs!  Averaging 3.5 a week!   My goal for next weigh in is to break the 50 pounds lost psychological barrier.

I'm going to Las Vegas tomorrow.  I promise to keep to my diet.  Hopefully with all the walking, gambling, jumping up and down from all my wins, I'll lose a lot of weight and have a happy report next week.

Hope ya'll are keeping warm.   Until next week...

Week 13

Week 13.  13 bad luck? I gained .7 pounds this week.  It is what it is.. I'm not too disappointed.  I didn't cheat.  I'm thinking it's water gain.  We'll see what happens next week.   The little white streaks in this week's photos  are snow!  The first snow of the season in Albuquerque, NM.

I'm heading to Las Vegas next week, so I don't think there will be an update next week.  We'll see.

Week 12

Well, it was another good week.  I lost 2.7 lbs for a total of 45.9 lbs in 12 weeks.. That's an average 3.8 lbs a week.. I'll take it!  This week I did 3 days of Richard Simmons' "Party Off the Pounds" video.  I tried an hour session of Yoga (OUCH!) and I didn't cheat on my Atkins Diet.
Just for kicks, I tried on some of my 'skinny' clothes.  You know, those clothes that you still have in your closet from when you were skinnier and you haven't thrown out because you just know you're going to get back into someday?  You know those clothes?  You know YOU have them!  Well, when I started this diet, I was wearing a 3XL shirt.  The black shirt in this week's picture is a single XL.   The pants in my original picture were a 50w.  The jeans in this week's picture is a very loose 44w.  I tried on a 42w and even though I could put them on and button them, the were tight and very unflattering.  I think 10 more pounds lost and they'll fit just fine.. I'll keep you updated.
On a personal note, I feel great.  I have energy, my mind is clear and sharp (I've heard that a 'foggy' head was a side effect of cutting the carbs), my joints and back aren't hurting hardly anymore.  Life it good. :-)
Until next week, stay healthy and no cheating. If you cheat, you're only cheating yourself of the life and body you want.

Week 11

It's week 11 and another 1.5 pounds gone.  I'm just a little disappointed, but I remind myself that I lost 6 pounds last week (yay!) and I had a little procedure done last week and couldn't really get around and move like I wanted to. (sorry, Richard Simmons, you'll have to wait until this week before I Party Off the Pounds again.).

Halloween went well.  I gave out candy to all the little monsters and I didn't sneak any for myself!  I wasn't even tempted. How cool is that?!?

Hopefully, this week, I'll get back to my routine, doing Party Off the Pounds, maybe some hiking.  I'm optimistic this week will be full of fun and adventure.

Some people asked to see a close-up picture of my face.. Here you go. Pictures taken 11/1/14

Until next week.....

Week 10

Wow! What a big week!  I went to Las Vegas this week and lost more than my money.  At this week's weigh in, I lost 6.1 pounds!  I stayed away from the buffets in Las Vegas.  I found a Chipolte on the strip (by Harrah's) that actually didn't inflate their prices.  The prices were the same as my local Chipolte in Albuquerque.  Anyway, I had their Chicken Salad with cheese, sour cream, medium and mild salsa, NO beans, NO rice or NO dressing.  This configuration has only 8 net carbs!
I also did my Richard Simmons "Party Off the Pounds" DVD for the first time when I got home. It was actually fun and it didn't feel like exercise. I sure was sweatin' after I was done.  So everything combined worked to help me lose 6.1 pounds this week.  It's great re-enforcement to see such great results..
Oh, one more milestone this week, I now have less that 100 pounds to lose.

This is a view from on top of the "High Roller" (The new Ferris Wheel on the Strip by The Flamingo)

Me, after "Richard Simmons' Party Off the Pounds". I sure was sweatin' :-)

Week 9

Another 1.7 lbs gone!  Woohoo!  Yeah, it's just under 2 lbs, but it's gone and it isn't a gain!   Tomorrow, I heading to Las Vegas!  I'll be doing a lot of walking (and gambling.. hehe).   I will stay away from the buffets, I promise.  Hopefully with all this  moving this week, next week's numbers will be good.  When I get back from my trip, I plan on starting (don't laugh) Richard Simmons' Party off the Pounds.  It really looks like a fun way to get some cardio and to get me moving. There will NOT be any videos posted of me, partying off the pounds!  Sorry.

Week 8

Yay!  I lost another 3.6 pounds..  I'm down to 287.6 lbs for a total loss of 33.9 lbs in 8 weeks.. Not too shabby, huh?   I'm feeling better, feeling more energy.  Don't laugh, but I just ordered a Richard Simmons Sweatin' to the something or other.  I feel like it's low impact and will get me moving.  It's not suppose to come in until Friday, so this week I'll concentrate on moving and walking and maybe a little hiking..  Moving forward.  No looking back.

Week 7

Well, first the good news.  I lost 3.4 lbs since last week!   The bad news, I only lost 1.7 lbs during the past 2 weeks. (Remember I gained last week!).   So averaging less than a pound a week for the past 2 weeks isn't very encouraging.   I still trudge on though.  I have not given up.  I have not cheated. I have kept to my plan and my resolve.   Let's hope that this was just a minor hiccup in my journey. Pedal to the Metal, let's go!

Week 6

I am disappointed.. I have gained 1.7 lbs this week.. I don't understand. I haven't cheated.  I exercised. I stayed below my 20 carbs, ate around 1000-1200 calories a day.  I just don't get it.  If I can gain weight while dieting, the thought of not dieting is horrifying.  Hopefully, it's just my body taking a rest.  Maybe it's just retaining water.   I'm clueless. I will continue my plan and see what next week brings.

Week 5

Well it has been 5 weeks on my journey.  I have lost another 3.3 pounds this week.  I'll take it!!  Of course I wanted it to be more, but I have to keep telling myself I didn't gain all this weight in 1 week, so I can't lose it all in 1 week.   So after 5 weeks, I've lost 28.6 lbs. That's an average of 5.7 a week. I'll take it!

I'm feeling better, I feel like I have more energy and my knees and back aren't hurting as much as they use to.  I think they're thanking me for getting that weight off them.  I've been walking more and getting some more fresh air.  All of this works together to help me along my journey.

Thanks everyone for your words of support and encouragement. It helps.

Constant Cravings

Cravings. We've all had them.  What do we do about them?  I found this great article today about the mistakes we make with cravings. See if you agree.  Here's the LINK... 

Week 4

Well it's been a month and I'm pleased with my results so far.  I'm glad I switched from a Low Fat to Low Carb diet. Did you catch the major study that came out this past week praising a Low Carb Diet? You can read about it HERE.  It reinforced my decision that I made the right choice.   This week (well actually last 5 days, I was on vacation last Sunday and didn't weigh-in until Tuesday) I lost another 2.5 lbs for a total weight lost of 25.3 lbs IN 4 WEEKS.. That's almost a pound a day!! I know this high amount of weight loss won't last, but I'm enjoying the ride while it lasts!

Week 3

Sorry for the delay in the post, but I went on a little adventure in the Southwest. I went to Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad, NM; OK Corral in Tombstone, AZ; Queen Mine in Bisbee, AZ; Lavender Pit Mine in Lowell, AZ; El Paso TX.  I did a lot of walking. Took a ghost tour. Saw several cowboys doing a reenactment of the gunfight at the OK Corral and saw the beautiful Southwest US. It was gorgeous!!  Anyway, I'm back, here we go....

I switched to Atkins 6 days ago because my low fat diet stalled (9 days with no weight loss).  I usually weigh in on Sundays, but I was on my adventure, so I weighed in today.   After 6 days on Atkins, I lost 5.7 lbs!! No too shabby and I'm liking this diet A LOT more than the low fat diet.

The basics of the Atkins diet in Stage 1 is to eat 20 grams of Carbs a day. Of that 20 grams of Carbs, 10-15 grams of those carbs come from non-starchy vegetables.  The other 5-10 grams of carbs come from quality protein  (meats, eggs, etc.).  It's easy and more tasty that the low fat diet.  I truly hope this diet doesn't stall. I need the instant gratification.   I can post pictures on Facebook of my trip if ya'll want to see some pictures.  Let me know!

I QUIT

... low fat dieting!!  After 9 days with very little weight loss (1.9 lbs), I have quit!   Fear not, I have switched to Atkins.  Now, I'm not one that usually does the diet shuffle, but when something isn't working, it's time to change.   

I read this article/study today and according to this study, I should dump my low fat diet and switch to a low carb diet. The one line in this article that really caught my attention was "Too much refined carbohydrates — white bread, white rice, potato products — all the foods that crept into our diets as we've followed the low-fat craze has undermined our metabolism,". My Low Fat Diet has been stalled for 9 days now. (little to no weight loss). Then there's this line. " ... when people stopped eating so many refined carbohydrates, they burned off about 150 more calories per day, compared to those eating a higher carb, lower fat diet."  

Read the article here:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/01/344315405/cutting-back-on-carbs-not-fat-may-lead-to-more-weight-loss

Reading that article was the nudge I needed to jump ship to the Atkins Plan.  So here we go....

It's Been 2 Weeks

Ok. I've been on my journey for 2 weeks now.After week's one weigh-in, I lost 15 pounds. I was stoked!!  So today was weigh-in day and I only lost 1.9 pounds.  Of course I'm disappointed. How can I not be?  I know that typically week 1 of a diet is the week you lose the most and week 2 you hardly lose anything. (It even happens on The Biggest Loser). I was expecting it, but dang, only 1.9 pounds.   It was like a punch in the stomach.

Ok, so I'm over it!! I'm down 17.1 pounds in 2 weeks. WooHOO!!!   On to week 3 and better results. One's journey does not end with a single bump in the road. 

WOW!

Today was my official weigh-in day.  And drum roll please........ I lost 15.2 lbs! woohoo!  I know from experience that week 1 is always the most dramatic weight lose week and I know week 2 is really hard to lose. I've heard it has something to do with your body getting use to the weight drop.  So, while I'm excited, I'm realistic that this drastic weight lose will not continue.  But for today, I'm happy and very motivated!!

I've updated my 'Current' Picture, my Graph, and "The Numbers" on the right side bar..

It's a good start, let's keep it going!!!

Week 1 DONE!

Well, I made 1 week!! No cheating!  The first week of many more to come.   I will weigh in tomorrow morning and post the news, change the graph and add a current picture!  Can you feel the excitement in the air?

Here's what I ate today. Again, I wasn't very hungry today.

8/23/2014	Fat	Fiber	Calories	Protein
Premier Protein Drink	3	2	160	30
Herb Roasted Chicken w/ Veggies	3	3	170	16
Fiber 1 Brownie	5	5	90	1
Low Fat Popcorn	1.5	4	13	3
Premier Protein Drink	3	2	160	30
Chicken, Almonds & Veggies	4.5	2	270	13
Walnuts*	0	2	190	4
Almonds*	0	3	160	6
Total	20	23	1213	103

Hey Netflix!!

So I had this awesome idea of streaming an exercise video from Netflix on my living room TV so I can Dance to the Oldies, or Zumba, or Jazzercise or something.. I was stoked!  So I went to Netflix to select one to stream and guess what? Guess! Just Guess....   THEY DON'T HAVE ANY!!

I searched for exercise, Richard Simmons, Zumba, Dance.. NOTHING!!!  What's up with that?

Day 7

It's day 7. The last day of my first week on my 20/20 diet.  I woke up today again with a burst of energy. I fed the pets, and went for a mile walk. It was a beautiful day in Albuquerque.  The air was so clear and clean from all the rain yesterday. I didn't bring my phone on my walk, so no pictures,  but trust me the views were breathtaking.

So tomorrow is my official weigh day.  I'm really excited to reveal my success so far.  I weigh everyday, but will only post weekly results here.. Tune in tomorrow for my 1st week's results!

Have an enjoyable productive day.