My Path to Outer Skinniness

Today I had my first full therapy session complete with workout and stretches. It wasn't too intense because I didn't have my inhaler today but I can see where I'm going to be sore! I have a set of exercises to do at home to start out and then she'll have me doing some work at the gym later on. So far this feels a lot more like having a personal trainer than having therapy. I've been assigned the task of eating 100 grams of protein per day. She gave me some suggestions for foods I can be eating to get closer to this number every day. She's told me how much she likes the app I send my daily reports with. I debated about adjusting the settings to have me lose 1.5 pounds per week instead of 2 which would allow me to have 1500 instead of 1300 calories every day. I decided to keep it at 1300 calories because I tend to go up to about 1500 anyway. If I allow 1500 I'll probably go over that too, so better to stay lower. So far, still good.

Yesterday I had my initial consultation with my physical therapist. I had asked my doctor for a referral so I could get my abs worked back to center. She sent me to CH Physical Therapy. I have to say I feel a sense of hope like I've never had before. Tawnie, my therapist, measured my mobility and asked me what all of my issues were. After just a few minutes I already felt like the problems I have were not only better but were going to be better in the long run. She told me that we'd work on getting me to a place where my feet, calves, and shins don't hurt when I run, that I'd lose weight, and that I'd be able to keep it off. She also told me she has 3 kids, lost 65 pounds 6 years ago and hasn't gained it back. She knows what she's doing! So part of my program is to send her my daily food log in an e-mail. Lucky for me, I have the Lose It! app that makes this really easy to do. Speaking of which, I've managed to lose some weight! Almost 5 poun...

It's only been 5 days using the lose it! app but I wanted to check in on it. So far I see positives and negatives. The positives are that it's really easy to use. It lets me scan barcodes and so far it's found info for everything I scanned. I'm also far more aware of what I'm eating and the reward that exercise brings. The negatives are that I've gone over my calorie limit every day so far and I can't really tell if I've lost anything yet. My weight fluctuates enough that a two pound loss isn't very obvious because it could just be that I'm less bloated or it's a different time of the day. I also feel like I need to get better about having a daily exercise routine. Even if it's just a walk, going for a walk burns off that latte or piece of banana bread. I can see that I need to strike a deal with myself. I have the app set to help me lose 2 pounds per week. I either need to really start to limit my calorie intake or I need to adjust m...

I found something last night that I think might help. It's an app and a website called Lose It!  It's basically like the weight watchers app except instead of points it tracks calories. It's very basic. What I like about it (so far) is that it actually has foods I eat in its database - this was one of my biggest annoyances with WW. I entered in most of my food yesterday and found the culprit for my lack of weight loss. I eat too much. Crazy right?! It also gives me some calories back for playing the piano. It isn't much but I'm happy that I get something for it! If I actually stay under my daily calories in this app it has me set to lose 2 pounds a week which would put me at my target weight of 145 in December. The also lets you keep track with your friends. I kind of see this as being similar to meetings. If anyone wants to try it out with me it would be great to actually be accountable to people I know and care about instead of a bunch of old ladies at a weigh...

I'm tired of being fat. Nothing's working. What the hell?!

I've been contemplating how I want to go about dealing with my eating habits the last few days and I feel like I may have a solution. Here's what I know about what doesn't work with regards to diets: I hate counting calories/points/carbs/whatever I have to count. It's time consuming and I end up just eating stuff that I know is terrible because I am rebelling against the system! I am a foodie. I like to try things, I like to eat a variety of things, I don't like sameness. This is why pre-packaged meals, restrictive diet plans that rule out food groups, and diets that make restaurants difficult never work for me. Meetings, counsellors, and diet buddies tend to cause me to rebel. The only buddy that's worked is Paul. Getting him to do things with me doesn't really work because he doesn't care to participate most of the time. Now, here is what does work: Small meals through the day. Even if I just eat some of my big meal and save the rest for la...

The other night I was listening to the Dave Ramsay program on my way home from teaching. He had a couple about Paul's and my age that called in to make a debt free scream. He spent a pretty substantial amount of time stressing the point that these people have lived in self induced poverty for two years to get themselves out of debt and now not only will they spend the rest of their lives being in control of their finances, they now have the live experience that gives them the confidence to push through difficulties knowing that they have the strength to do this. Usually listening to happy debt free people makes me feel kind of bitter. But the commentary had me re-contemplating the healthy lifestyle journey. Just like getting out of debt, getting healthy can either be something I struggle with off and on for the rest of my life, or it can be something I conquer now so that I can enjoy the rest of my life. If I get the weight off now, I'll be able to do it again the next time...