MAY/JUNE

Hi Everyone

So the last time I posted was in April weighing 349 pounds. I continued with NS off and on for all of May once again gaining weight and ended the month at 352. In June a guy I had chatted with back in 2012 (had arranged a meeting with him, but he canceled the night of the meeting) contacted me again. He told me he had weighed over 500 back in 2012 and since then had the sleeve surgery and had lost 150 pounds. He wanted to lose even more but this time was willing to meet. When we meet we spoke of the surgery and the weight I have been able to lose on my own-145. After he left I wanted more  information so I went back to bariatricpal where I had been posting in 2008 when I tried to get the lapband but was turned down by insurance.  I did some extensive research about the sleeve and when I saw my PCP in June I told him I wanted to check into  the WLS.   I asked to be referred to the same Dr as my friend and that Dr was on my plan. After filing out pages of information I finally met with Dr Vaughan on  June 17th. 

He was impressed with the 145 pounds I had lost on my own and asked why I didn't want to continue with that plan. When I responded it took me over 8 years to lose that weight he began to understand.  HE told me my insurance requires a 5 month supervised diet, a psych eval and various other testing. I told the Dr I thought I had a hernia and he wanted a catscan.  He told me to continue with the NS plan, get the catscan and see him again in July. 

I am getting tired and it is time for bed, so tomorrow I will write a posting about July and Aug. So until tomorrow gave a healthy and happy night. 

April 2015 Still slowly moving along

HI Everyone
Not sure what is going on with the NS boards and for how long I will still be able to blog here. A lot of the groups I am involved in have moved over to MFP and I was a member over there since 2012 so I joined the new NS groups over there. I also have a blog over there and will be moving my stuff from here over to that site. I have the same name over there so if  you are following my journey it should be easy to find me.
Wel over the past two months I have had some disappoints and a lot of stress in my life. As you know I follow the weekend off plan as I can't afford anything else. So on some of those days off I really didn't eat like I should have. Kind of gave myself a license to over eat and ate the wrong kinds of food.  However I have managed as of today to lose 5 pounds. Not much but at my age almost 60 I will take every pound that does come off. Not wanting to really write much more as I have no idea what will happen to this NS website. So if this is my last blog here I
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT
Hope to see you over at MFP
Stay Happy and Healthy

Posted Monday, Apr 27, 2015 on the NS site

First 2 months of 2015

Today is the last day of Feb. I just re-read my last posting which was in Dec and thought now would be a good time to post on what I did these past 2 months and if I kept my promise:

I am  making a promise to myself and in writing here today Dec 29th 2014 that
1. I will follow the NS plan so I can get below 250 by Jan 24 2016. I am secretly hoping it will be below 200. However I am afraid to set it at that number because I have failed so many times before.  I don't want to face humiliation again if I don't make it below 200, so I am shooting for 250. I always have the option to change that goal later in 2015 if I see I am losing beyond the 250. 
Am following the weekend off plan. However I don't do the weekend off  I do a meal or two off of the NS food but try to follow the NS plan. There were a few times I had eaten completely off the plan and did gain a pound on Feb 8th and again on Feb 22nd. However for these past 2 months I lost a total of 15 pounds.

2. I will change my weight loss ticker to show the recent weight increase. 
I did change my weight loss ticker to show the Nov/Dec weight gain and gains in Feb as well.

3. I will change my exercise ticker from Nov to Jan. 
I did change my exercise ticker for Jan and Feb.However only exercised the last week of Feb. See promise 5 as to why.

4. I will look for and join a weight loss only challenge group as I can't do all the exercise challenges other groups do.
I joined a weight loss challenge group as you can see the badges on my postings. Starting tomorrow (March) they have included a exercise badge. It came at the right month as I just this week started riding my tricycle again. 

5. I will get back to biking on my Tricycle 4 times a week as soon as this cold I have is gone.   I can hardly breath so getting on the Tricycle isn't possible today but as soon as this cold is gone I promise to get back into biking again.
I had hurt my right hand really badly and couldn't hold the handlebars let alone anything else for about 3 weeks. I started triking again the last week in Feb and did go 6.9 miles in 4 days. My room mate usually rides with me but he couldn't seem to get his back wheel on his bike unlocked so I told him to use my electric mobility device as I wanted to trike and he did go with me. We still need to find out why that back wheel will not move. My exercise ticker is ready for March and my plans are to ride my tricycle 5 days per week and ride at least 20 miles this Month.
One thing I would like to add which was not a goal was that I made NS Meal Cards to help me keep track of what foods I ate daily. I made a card for each NS Meal and 5 cards for my PF and SC and vegetables. They are in an opened holder box on the refrigerator. Each time I go to the refrigerator or pantry I take one of the appropriate cards and move it to the back of the box. So when the cards are back to NS breakfast and it is 9 pm I know I have nothing left to eat but vegetables.  I am finding this so much easier to use than Myfitnesspal.  That logging drove me crazy and almost caused me to stop the program all together. I never did like the NS charting either. So I had to come up with something that would work for me. If by some chance you are interested in knowing more about these meal cards please feel free to email me. 
*******************************************************************************
So as you can see I did pretty much keep my promises and I am feeling great about the fact that I did. I have been on the plan this time since June 2014 and I had set a goal back then to stay with the plan for 6 months, then re-evaluate the situation to see whether I wanted to continue.  I was very unsure what I was going to do especially when I had gained some weight during the Holidays. However the New Year came and after much soul searching I decided to stay with the program. I promised myself I would:
1. get to my long term goal of losing 247 pounds (long term goal weight 250) by my Birthday in Jan 2016. I am still 105 pounds from that goal. I sure hope I can make that goal.
2.  overall long term goal is to eventually lose 307 pounds to get down to 190. I have no date set for that goal yet. When I get to the long term goal I will start thinking about setting a date for the overall goal.
3. short term goal lose 5 pounds or more by the end of March so I can meet my short term goal of losing 40 pounds since June 2014. I originally had this goal set for March 5th but because I goofed off during the Holidays I doubt that I will lose the 5 pounds in 5 days to meet that goal. 
4. short term goal  to continue to ride my trike so I can meet my goal of 20 miles in March, get and keep that exercise badge each week in this challenge I am involved in.

This about wraps up my promises for this year and month. I thank you for reading my posting and making any comments. I hope you will come back and visit often to see my progress through the Spring. Until than Stay Healthy and Happy!!

Posted Saturday, Feb 28, 2015 on the NS site

END OF THE YEAR 2014

It is Monday Dec 29 2014. For the last 6 weeks  I have done nothing! How sad is that to have to admit I fell off the wagon and didn't even care until yesterday. I haven't even changed my tickers and know that I should.  I became discouraged as I had not been losing like I thought I should have been. I hosted a Football Birthday party on Nov 7th and since that day I have not really been on the program like I should have been. Yes  I was still eating NS foods every now and then but I also ate all kinds of  junk foods.
Yesterday I got on the scale as it was long overdue.  I knew I had to do it even though I would not like the results.  The scale  read 370 which is up 12 pounds from what I had lost. So since June 1st till now I only lost 20 pounds. Those 20 pounds lost were very difficult for me to lose and it was a slow process and it came off in small increments. I really do not even feel a difference  with those additional 20 pounds gone. I am very Thankful I am not still 497 pounds which is what I was in 2006 but I am not where I want to be for 2015. A total of  127 pounds gone in 9 years and I am still obese, tired all the time and can't walk or do much of anything let alone fit into store bought clothing. In 2016 I am going to be 60 years old. I can't see myself functioning at this weight when I am 60.

I am  making a promise to myself and in writing here today Dec 29th 2014 that
1. I will follow the NS plan so I can get below 250 by Jan 24 2016. I am secretly hoping it will be below 200. However I am afraid to set it at that number because I have failed so many times before.  I don't want to face humiliation again if I don't make it below 200, so I am shooting for 250. I always have the option to change that goal later in 2015 if I see I am losing beyond the 250.
2. I will change my weight loss ticker to show the recent weight increase.
3. I will change my exercise ticker from Nov to Jan.
4. I will look for and join a weight loss only challenge group as I can't do all the exercise challenges other groups do. 
5. I will get back to biking on my Tricycle 4 times a week as soon as this cold I have is gone.   I can hardly breath so getting on the Tricycle isn't possible today but as soon as this cold is gone I promise to get back into biking again.
This weight loss journey has got to come to an end. I have to lose this remaining weight  for the kind of life I wish to lead as an older citizen. Being alone I do not have any family support and my fat friends will not offer any support either. So I am asking for your support if you are reading this. I know I have to get back into my June 2014 group and other groups I had joined but was not very actively involved in. I just hope and pray they will understand my absence and welcome me back.   I hope some of  you will check back on my profile to see that I followed through on changing the tickers and started to biking and offer support as you see fit.

Thanks for reading this and I hope you have a Wonderful, Healthy 2015! 

Posted Monday, Dec 29, 2014 10:06 AM on the NS site

FIVE MONTHS -34 pounds

As the title says I have 5 months behind me but I am only down 34 pounds.  I find that  to not be as well as in 2006. The last time I was on NS I had lost 59 pounds in 5 months. Granted I was 8 years younger and my disability was not as bad as it is now. However I am not as pleased with this 34 pounds. At this rate I will not be at 190 by my 60th birthday.  I just wish I knew what to do to get my body to release more weight.  When I spoke with the counselor she upping my calories to 1800 and it didn't help. I fact it made it worse.  Now I am at 1500 and the weight loss is still not happening like I feel it should.  One week I lose 2 pounds and the next 2 weeks I lose nothing.  This is a very expensive program for me to be on and my beading business isn't bring in the money like I hoped it would.
I just wanted to post something here as it has been 3 months since I last posted.  Hopefully the remainder of the year will be better.  I would like to lose 12 pounds by Christmas so I can say I have lost 153 and am half way to my goal. Than the other 153 hopefully will come off in another 13 months. Wishful thinking I suppose as my body is really messed up big time.

Posted Sunday, Nov 2, 2014 on the NS site

Second Month- Disappointing

What a disappointing month this has been.  I don't understand what happened.  The first week in July gained 1,
second week gained 3,
third week lost 7,
this week stayed the same.  Total loss for the month 3 pounds HOW HORRIBLE IS THAT??????

I really do not understand what is happening. I didn't even use all my flex days

(Am on weekends off) and when I did flex I still followed the program.  I have charted everything I ate on paper and don't see any issues that would cause gains and no weight loss.  The only thing I can figure is my metabolism is messed up from having been on diets since the age of 12 and I having to take a lot of meds.  So those two things must be affecting my weight loss. I know I am eating healthier and have my 3rd BBB due on Tuesday so I will just have to wait and see what happens in Aug.

I  have 2 Costco cards left to pay for Sept, so I will be doing that month as well. After than I will have to reevaluate and see where I am and if it is worthwhile for me to continue on this plan at this price and get such slow results.  My beaded 3 dimensional and personalized  frame business is not bring in any money so I may not be able to continue beyond Sept.

 I was hoping to get three pounds below my 10% mark by the end of Sept so I could pick up biking again. That is another 20 pounds and I am not sure I will lose that much in 2 months if I only lost really 3 this month.  As it is now I am still too big to get back on the tricycle. Even though  it is a Miami Sun it does have a weight limit plus I know when I am below 350 I can bike better and don't have as much pain biking. 

Well I will continue on for 2 more months and will post again next month.  So sorry folks I didn't have a more inspirational month to talk about and don't  blame you if you don't read beyond this posting.  Good luck to all of you and I hope you are having better success at losing weight than I am.

This was first Posted on Sunday, Jul 27, 2014 1:18 PM on the NutriSysytem website blog. However NS closed down their blog site so I tranferred the NS posting over here

Weird Activity With My Blog

Hi Everyone in Jan 2015 I came here to try an blog about what had been going on for the past 6 months and I couldn't get into the blog. So I started another one and have been posting over there. Today Aug 28  I was able to get into this blog and not the new one I had started. So I think I will delete the second one and add the posting from there over to here and then just continue with this original one.  Just wanted to explain what was happening as my posting will probably  have two dates.  They will have today's date  but I will leave the original date I wrote them at the bottom. 

JUNE 2014 DOWN 19 POUNDS

Hi everyone. 

It took a week for me to get the NS food so I wasn't able to start the program until June 8th. The food is so much better than it was in 2006 when I was last on the program.  They have frozen foods now! I only got the frozen dessert sampler with my Big Brown Box which they refer to as BBB.  I did get the weekends my way plan. However I am usually taking a Tuesday and Friday as the flex day not the whole weekend.  I am afraid if I did the whole weekend off or flex days as they call it I would not be able to get back on and I might also gain as my weigh in day is Sunday. There will be some weeks when I may take another day as the Flex day depending on what is going on each month. Like this month we had a community lunch on a Wednesday so I took that as my Flex day and really watched what I ate.  

This month as the title says I lost a total of 19 pounds with 15 of that being on the program.  I had lost 4 additional pounds while waiting for the food to arrive.  It is so refreshing not to have to be bored with my food selections and not to have any guilt if I want macaroni and cheese as NS has that too.  The frozen desserts and the shelf desserts are fantastic as well as many of the other meals.  

 I saw several posts of people talking about a lunch crock and have it really helps the food stay warm and tastes better especially if additional PF and SC are added.  I did get one this past Monday and OMGosh what a difference it makes in the taste,  and temperature of the food. I am eating foods now that before I had such guilt over eating.  No more boredom over eating the same kinds of foods and so much less stress involved when shopping.

One thing though, I need to get use to cooking again  as my roommate had been cooking for the last 2 years.  The other work day I tried to poached an egg and gave myself a real nice burn.  I picked up the egg pan and wheeled over to the sink as I did that the water in the bottom of the pan splashed out and all over my left leg. I now have a second degree burn with blistering.  There is no pain so that is good, but I am sure there will be a real nice scar to remind me of how absent minded I can be.  

 I already have my second box of frozen and my BBB box. This time it arrived in like 4 days instead of a week.  I haven't gone through it yet as I still have food on the shelf and want to use it up before putting more out. I got the dessert frozen sampler again but changed up the BBB. So this month there will be some foods I didn't have lost month. I know this next month will not be as great a weight loss but I do hope to lose at least 10 pounds.  

I hope you will come back and visit next month to see my progress.  Till thna have a Happy and Healthy month.

 

June 2014-Nutrisystem again

Here it is one year later and I didn't do anything for a year. I did continue to ride my bike until August 2013. I stopped as the Florida heat was getting to me and I was getting discouraged. I did manage to get down to 344 by the end of July. However by the end of Aug I hadn't last any weight, not one pound despite all the bike riding I was doing. 

The Beading Season was coming (am my busiest from Sept to Dec) and I had 1 huge order and several smaller ones.  So I stated to concentrate on all the beading I needed to do. Also was planning an awesome Christmas party. This was the fifth year and I really didn't want to do any more after 5 as it takes a lot out of me, but I wanted this to be one that everyone would remember.  Believe me they will!! It was AWESOME!!

Started out the New Year 2014 by tearing the meniscus in my right knee in 2 places.  I had gone out on a date during a terrible rain storm.  Had taken the walker out from the house to the car and from the car into the restaurant and back out again. But when I got home it was raining so badly and I was exhausted so I tried to walk in while holding onto the rail of the deck.  When I got to the elevator I twisted my body and my legs  didn't move. I heard it and felt it and knew I was in trouble.  Somehow I managed to get onto the elevator and into the house to my recliner.  Once there I couldn't move. OMG!! The pain was the worse I ever had. I felt like I was 500 pounds again as I couldn't even lift my body of f of the chair.  I was like that for about 5 weeks before I was able to see a Dr.  Such wonderful insurance I have.  Had to wait for approval to see the Dr and than had to wait until the Dr had an opening.  She had me go for tests and it was determined I torn the meniscus in 2 places. I was referred to an orthopedic Dr.  Had to wait another 2 weeks for approval to see him and another 2 weeks for the appointment. Finally in April I was given cortizone patches, not injections. I had 3 of them.  When I kept asking why the patches and not the shot I was told by the Dr. Well we are conservative and usually do not give shots to elderly, obese, diabetic patients. MY blood boiled.  I told him ever single time I saw him which was 3 times. I am NOT diabetic, and since when is 58 considered elderly.  Yes I am obese but I still didn't understand why no shots.  After the third patch I stopped seeing him and as of this writing June 2014 I am doing so much better.  I started taking an over the counter  joint med and purchased a portable tens unit. No more pain in my knees.  Thank the Lord.  I can get up much better and decided it was time to get back on track to keep losing this weight.

However I did gain during the 10 months I was not biking due to my beading and recovering from the knee injury. So I started June 1st at 390. I ordered NS again. I had to wait a week before the food came in so I started that on June 9th. The first week of  June just watching what I ate and staying away from some foods I lost 4 pounds. Tomorrow Sunday the 15th will be my first weigh in on NS.  I hope the results will be just as good as when I was on this program in 2006.  Things have changed but it is pretty much the same.  So we shall see what happens. 

I will try to get back to posting on a more regular basis and hope to see nice monthly weight loss.  I hope those who are reading (if there are any) have a

Happy and Healthy Month

JUNE'S WORKOUT

Hi Everyone
What a bust- here come the excuses. Horrible rains this whole month, terrible back and hip pains due to the rain, horrible mouth pain due to several surgery procedures on my broken tooth and trying to save it, losing my exercise helper as he finally got a part time job.  I know excuses, excuses. So based on the above my workout hours so far (as this is Jun 27th and I still have today Sat and Sun exercise to add) 451 hours which equaled a total of  7 1/2 hours. Wow what a drop down from last month.  I only went 4 days to the Gym. The rest of the exercise was bike riding.  I did manage to stay on the elliptical for a total of 6 minutes which was fantastic. I started on that machine on March 4th and could barely do a minute. I am only on the machine every 4th time I do go to the gym. So in 3 months I have been on it 8 more times and managed to go 6 minutes the last time I was on it which was June 3rd. I had a plateau at 5 minutes for 3 times but finally broke through it and next time I am on, I hope to increase to 6 1/2 minutes. One thing I wanted to add is that I told my personal coach about losing my exercise helper. My coach just yesterday planned out a whole new routine for me which I can do on my own and it involves 10 pieces of equipment and took me 50 minutes to do.  I was sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat in.  One of the pieces of equipment which is close to my face had so much sweat on it that it had to be wiped down.
I know some of you are laughing your heads off saying 6 minutes. My God that is like a quarter or more of what you do. But for those who have been reading my blog  from the start you know what I face on a day to day basis and are probably cheering me on. For that I am very grateful to have such wonderful friends from the various forums I am posting on.
As far as weight I am still at the 360 mark and didn't lose the weight I put on during my vacation at the end of May. However despite the low workout hours this month I didn't gain any more either, so I am happy about that. I didn't bother to re-evaluate my food plan until just this past weekend.  Decide to do either eat  a breakfast or a  lunch of Wonderslim products as I couldn't afford to buy the whole 2 week program so I bought just a few boxes which would equal one meal and 2 snacks.  These are high protein foods and I am hoping that will result in a weight loss for July. 
Well the rain this Thursday morning has finally stopped so I am about to take a shower and head off to the gym to do my new route all by myself. On Thursday not only did I do an hour of my strength training route by myself I also rode 3 laps around my subdivision which is 4 1/4 miles on my tricycle.  My next goal will be 5 miles. Also my Wonderslim items arrived yesterday so I am right on schedule to begin on July 1st. I decided to eat the shake, puddig or bar for  lunch along with whatever else the program calls for.  I need to go and check it out to see. 
For those reading my blog. Stay Happy and Healthy!

MAY'S WORKOUT

Hi Everyone
Well as it turns out I didn't lose a single pound but I did lose a few more inches.  I was extremely disappointed as I thought for sure I lost weight. I just don't understand what is going on that I am not losing.
For the month of May I logged 795 minutes which equals 13 1/4 hours of exercise. This exercise included weight strength training, the ellipitcal and bike riding.  Considering that I started out the month at 353 pounds, plus I must use an electric mobility device to work and shop and 2 canes or a walker, I would say that amount of exercise is pretty darn good for me.  Unfortunately none of this exercise resulted in a weight loss- in fact I gained this month.
I went  on a vacation at the end of the month and that had a lot  to do with not losing any weight.  I went away for 4 days 3 of which I would have exercised if I was home. But I can only exercise at my gym and my tricycle was at home so no bike riding either.  Of course being on a vacation I didn't really watch what I ate either and I came back 7 pounds heavier so now at the end of May I am 360.  I have got to get back on track with exercising more and eating less.
If any one is reading this blog, Have a Happy and Healthy month. 

Youfit -signed up for more

 

Hi Everyone.
Yesterday when I went to Youfit and I was told it was my last day with Gary. I thought I had until the 20th of April but I figured incorrectly.  I was so glad I brought the machine booklet with me that I developed. Mainly pictures of the machines  I use for the four different routines I do.  At my age, my memory is not what it use to be so the booklet will help me out when I am no longer with Gary. However the booklet will not be used until May as I signed up for more sessions with Gary until the end of April. At that point I will get four private session a month for the next six months.  I will use one session a week, probably  on a Wednesday.
I have been triking on Saturday and Sunday as I don't go to Youfit on those days. However if the weather is good and I am not too tired from the workouts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursday I would love to get out and trike on those days around 6:00. This will help to burn extra calories. I am hoping the extra exercise will help to break this plateu. I only lost 3 pounds last month, very disappointing month. I am hoping Wednesday will show better results, as it will have been 4 weeks since I weighed. I suppose measurements will be taken again too, and I am hoping there will be less of me.
Will let you all know the results after Wednesday.  Please post a comment as I would love to know your reading my blog.
Till than Stay Healthy and Happy  :)

Got a different Tricycle - I Love It

Hi Everyone
I was so disappointed on Sunday when I tried to go biking again on my trike. Earlier in the day I did 1 1/2 laps around the block. This time  I couldn't go beyond the 5 houses from my house . So I turned around than on the way back to my house the seat  went backwards. It didn't break it just slipped backwards and I had to walk the trike back. Greg tried numerous times during the week to tighten the seat and we even tried new seats but nothing worked right. I was telling my good friend Mimi about the trike and problems we were having.  She stated I should have gotten a Miami Sun not a Schwinn. She even told me the Bike store where I could find the Tricycle.

Saturday Greg and I went to Family Bikes and Al was so very nice to us. Al had a red Miami Sun and I could tell just by looking at it that this trike was made for me.  The trike was a 24 instead of 26, the pass thru was much lower, the seat was a huge saddle seat  with a U bracket that would prevent it from tilting backwards.  The saddle seat I am sure wouldn't hurt me like that uncomfortable nose seat on the Schwinn which hurt my private parts.  Al asked if I would like to try it outside and I said I sure do. He mentioned he had to lower the sea tand the U bracket. I was not sure I would even get on it but by standing on my electric scooter I did get on it.  I loved the size of the seat and the extra support. Pedaling the trike was easier than the Schwinn. I didn't hesitate a minute and told Al I wanted it.  I also bought some fierce looking red and yellow lighting rod and skull handle grips.  Al drove the trike in his van back to the house for me. I thought that was very nice.  After Greg put the trike on the patio we went to Walmart to grocery shop, return 2 of the 3 bike seats we bought. Here is the new trike.

After we got back from from Walmart  I triked 1.02 miles  It was late so we ate and spent the rest of the night watching Tv. Sunday we went triking around noon and I went 1.33 miles.  Six hours later I went triking again 1.14 for a total of 2.47 miles. I burned 637 calories. It felt fantastic.Monday I went to youfit. That will be the next writing.  Please comment if your reading my blog,
Till than my friends Stay Healthy and Happy.

Update

Wow it appears I haven't written anything on my blog since February 14 Valentine's Day when I signed up for 2 months at Youfit. Upon returning home there was a nice bouquet of  flowers waiting for me and some chocolate from Steve. It was so nice to receive some flowers and to be thought about.  I just wish he would commit more by moving down here to be with me.  OH well onto what I have been doing - exercise wise..
 Gary and I  set up a 4 day routine.  1 day back, next time chest, next legs and last arms. We had slowly been progressing and getting me use to getting on and off the equipment and building up the weights and repetions. He has me start each routine by doing a walk with him. Then we start the routine for that day. I wrote down some significant days on my blog.
March 4th as we were walking I asked Gary if I could try to get on the  elliptical to see if I could do it. It was a weird feeling but I was able to get my feet high enough to step on it and  was able to do it for a short minute. What a wonderful feeling.  He said he would work that into my routine. 

March 11 was on elliptical for 3 minutes in addition to walking and other leg exercises.

March 20th Elliptical 3 minutes and 30 seconds in addition to other leg exercises involving strength training. We did something today we hadn't done since Valentine's Day. Gary had me  stand up with the ball again. OH MY GOSH!!  I stood up 20 times with the 3kg  ball in my hands and Gary didn't have to help me at all like last time when he had to pull me up by the back of my pants. He than gave me the 2kg ball and I stood up 10 more times.  What a victory to be able to stand up on my own without any help. Each time we do the legs Gary is going to have me do this exercise.  

 April 4th I said in December I wanted two things.  Do you remember what they were. Yep a private coach and a tricycle.  Well today I  got my new  tricycle and went .44 of a mile. Hardest part was getting on it. Had to use the stepper and my two canes but I did it. Here is a picture of my new wheels.

April 7th got on my tricycle and went .88 of a mile I double what I did the first day. If I go South and half way around it is  .32 of a mile. If I go north and halfway around  it is .31 of a mile. So if I go all the way around it is .63 of a mile, In order to get 1.22 mile I need to go all the way around 2 times.  That is the goal I will build up to as now I am able to go around 1 1/2 times.

April 8th OMGosh what knee pain I had today when doing exercise I think I did too much biking on Sunday.  I was really struggling to get the leg exercise done at Youfit. Gary had to even help me with the standing up with the ball which I had been doing on my own. It felt lousy to have to have the help today. In fact Gary said let's not do the elliptical until Wednesday as he could see how much pain I was in and that it was an off day. He thinks I did too much biking on Sunday too, So on the weekends I think I will just do one bike ride of a lap north and south which will give me .63 of a mile.

April 10th Today after the walk, I did 4 minutes on the ellipitcal. I think what helped was that Mike was talking to me about my posture improving but that I should get better shoes with more support and orthothic in them. That talking was for about 2 minutes and 40 seconds which helped me take my mind off of the back pain. Around 3:30 the pain kicked in and I lasted another 30 seconds to get to 4:00 HURRAY!! During the  arm pushs and pulls (wish I knew the true name of those exercises) Gary had me stand during the exercise and sit down in between the  6 sets that I did. He had me do the additional arms strength training routine.  I worked up a really good sweat. He was happy to see that as it doesn't happen to often. He did say that the standing probably brought the sweat on as he knows how difficult that task is for me.
 I really am exhausted today but it feels great. I just wish the weight would come off faster.  I am really not sure why it isn't. I was hoping I would have lost more than  30 pounds in almost 4 1/2 months.
Oh well if anyone is reading my blog Thanks for doing so. Please let me know you are by leaving a comment.  You stay Healthy and Happy until next time. 

More private workouts! I Am Worth It!

Hi Everyone
Yesterday ended my 4 private sessions. Boy what a workout Gary gave me. He had me working on my legs which is the weakest part of my body. He had me doing things that were intense to me and was causing a great deal of difficulty. One piece of equipment I couldn't even get my legs into the postion that was needed. I had to remind him I had only half of a right hip bone. So we moved onto another piece of equipment that caused me pain on my shin bones. He moved the bar down twice but it still came up and hurt my shin bones. I told him I didn't like that one but he said I needed it and had to get use to it.
We moved onto several other pieces and I did ok until we got to that darn aerobic stepper.  I have worked with one before and was only able to step on the 4 inch high platform. Gary added the two risers which made it 8 inches high and I told him no way,  I can't do that. He got a bit mad at me and told me if I talk  like that I will not be able to do it. I told him I can't pick up my right foot more than 4 inches, he took away one of the raisers making it 6 inches off the ground. He said do it and when I went to it to try he could see that I physically could not. So he took off that riser so it was only 4 inches off the ground. I was pissed and stomped on that thing with the help of my hands on the wall in front.  I don't know for how long I did it but I don't feel it was any longer than a minute.  When I started to slow down he said 30 more seconds and counted down every 5 seconds.
After that he had me do the impossible. I had to sit on this bench with a ball in my hands and get up off the bench put the ball above my head and bring it back down and sit down again.  I have seen this on Biggest Loser and wished I could do it. How is that possible when you have 2 herniated and one bulging disc and you have to hold onto something to pull yourself up.  I gave Gary a smart ass reply like what do you think I am Wonderwomen. He said sit down here and do it.  I told him I can't get down that low raise up the seat. He did raise it up.  He handed me the ball and my hands collapsed to my lap so he got another ball.  Stand up he says. Yea right I said I was trying he could see this was impossible for me to do so he got behind the bench and helped pull me up all 356 pounds of me. What a strong guy he is. Anyhow  between the aerobic stepper and this impossible task I started to feel wetness on my face, which was a combination of sweat and tears. I couldn't do a single one on my own and he helped with all 5 of them. I was done for the day and the manager wanted to talk with me. I knew what it was about as this was my last private session.
I really need to get my health back, walk again and enjoy life doing the things I use to do so I paid for 24 more private sessions.  I AM WORTH IT!!!

Until next time Stay Happy and Healthy

Met YOUFIT Coach Gary twice now

Hi All
Well I said I wanted a personal fitness coah and I finally did it. I started with Coach Gary on Monday Feb 4th as last week I had an eye infection and we both thought it best not to go tot he gym with an eye infection.  Monday  Gary gave me a new diet to follow. I am not too keen on that diet as it seems to be considerable less than what MFP seems to think I should be eating. For example nothing to eat after dinner. Yet he says I should eat every 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Seems to me that if I finish my dinner at about 8:00 ( which I know is late but I get up late -around 9 am each day) I should have something at about 10:30 or so. Well the first two night I didn't but last night I did. I charted everything I ate and you can see on Monday I didn't have all the foods I needed but my Tuesday I did. The last three days I was below my 1,900 calorie by 605 to 1,097 calories. It seems to me that this is starvation mode and I do not know how long I will last at these lower calories.

As for the exercise there was none on Monday as he spent the whole 1/2 hour discussing what I should and shouldn't eat and when I should and shouldn't eat it.  Despite the fact that I informed him I have been following a 1,900 calorie program and lost 22 pounds in 4 weeks he still wanted me to follow HIS Gary's plan for 2 weeks. Wednesday we finally got down to doing some exercise.  I do not know the names of the equipment as he had me throughout the entire gym on 6 different pieces of equipment.  All of them Gary said were for my back and involved pulling weights. All were of cause sitting down and one we had to modify as I could't do it the way he wanted.  He seemed happy that I could do as much as I did.  I guess he was thinking I was much more out of shape than I really am.  I told him over the last 10 years I have  had memberships at Inches A Weigh, Butterfly Life,  both of them closed down. Plus up until June of 2012 had been doing Curves.    Well anyhow once I got back home, the rest of the day I was exhausted and my upper back was hurting.   I literally did nothing but sit in my recliner with the heat and vibration on and fell asleep until the guys came to deliver the new stove.  After dinner I watched Tv in my recliner with the heat and vibrator on again until I went to bed at 11:00 pm as I couldn't keep my eyes opened any more.
Today Thursday I am to go back to Gary and he said we would work on my chest area.  All the exercises today were for the chest area.    One of them was very difficult as I had to push over my  head and that is something I always have had difficulty with due to the frozen left shoulder.  He had to help me with the first 20. After that I was able to do the set of 15 and 10 on my own.  One piece of equipment I couldn't get on even with Gary holding my hands.  The bench was just  too low and there was no way to raise it up.  But Gary is like me, if it doesn't work you find a way to do the same thing but modify it.  So he did come up with the alternative and it did the same movements he wanted. I think Gary was impressed with what I did as he kept saying I did a good job.  Mike another guy that works there at the desk has come up to me both days to give me encouragement. He is a rather large guy himself but I am sure he has lost weight as well. I thought it was a nice gesture  and very much appreciated. I go back again on Monday. Gary said that would be a cardio day. Not sure what that means but I will find out soon.  Until next time I write
Stay Warm, Healthy and Happy!!
 

YOU FIT here I come ready or not

Hi All
Today I had a Dr Appt with a new Dr. because I changed insurance companies.  Dr Anderson seemed nice and spent a lot of time with me.  She gave me medical clearance so I  can have my bad tooth pulled and a replacement made.  Not sure yet what my choices will be but know I do not want to be toothless.
On the way home I stopped off at You Fit as the Dr kept   stating I needed more exercise than just  the little bit of walking I am able to do. At You Fit the majority of the equipment is sit down exercises.  Some of them I can't do as the seat do not adjust up and down.  Others I do not have the strength now to do.  I will be able to attend free through the insurance company. Wednesday I will meet with a coach and together we will determine what I can do.  Am looking forward to see how many different pieces I can do.
Not much else is new.  Stay warm, happy and healthy, 

Day 26 14 pounds gone

As the title says today is day 26 and I have lost 14 pounds so far.  I decided that keeping track of the WW points plus the calories was driving me crazy so I switched to just doing the calories. It seemed that the 1,900 calories MFP said I should eat seemed to be around  43 points.  It is much less stressful to me doing just the tracking of what I eat on MFP. 
I started back walking again today and was able to get to the 3rd house to the North of me. I did have to stop and sit down on the rollator on the way back but only for a minute or two. Monday Jan 14th was the last day I had walked for about 12 days as I was not home at 5 -5:30 Pm on the days I usually walk.  I have to go at that time as it is when the sun is going down, not too many people are in the subdivision walking and the bugs haven't come out yet.
I have been trying to make friends with those who are like me but it seems difficult. Why that is I am not sure. However I hope that is going to change soon as I did find a group of people who want to lose 200 pounds or more so I am sure they can understand what I go through and will be there for the support encouragement and motivation.  A few others have been there for me as well from the BL2 challenge which is great.  The more support and encouragement I can get the easier I think this will be for me as I do not have a support system here at home.
Stress level is down a bit as I finally got my van back Monday after having been without it for 5 months due to repairs. The house is still in disarray with the repairs being made but the outside is really starting to look good.
I took some time to post on my MFP profile my before picture of me at 497 and the latest one taken at Christmas time at 378. I plan to take another one when I get below 350 but I doubt there will be much of a change. 
Once the inside of the house repairs slow down I do plan to get back into doing my beading which will keep my hands busy and away from my mouth.   A fellow beader told me about a new site called crafts cafe and it seems cheaper than Etsy. I hope to be able to figure it out and put up a few items to sell.
Well for those friends reading this I hope you are all doing well. If you can, please leave me
Stay warm, happy  and healthy.

NEW ME IN 2014

HI All 
The title on this post is also the title on myfitnesspal profile post.  I had joined MFP in 2012 and had posted there a few times in 2012 but by March stopped the WW program and stopped posting.  In December 2012 I once again decided come The New Year I would try again. So here is what I decided for now. 
After much research of food plans, exercise plans, reward plans and looking into my financial budget I decided on what I will do.  I wish to explain most of it here as the profile seems to be getting bigger and bigger and many may not be interested in reading all that I wrote over there.  If you entered in my blog I know that you are interested in knowing more about me, my plans and my journey.

FOOD PLAN:  Will follow the AT HOME WW points plus program with a modification.  I was on this plan back in 2009 and they gave me 52 points. Back than it was way too high a caloric count as in 16 weeks I only lost 15 pounds.  I lowered my points down to 38 and lost 11 pounds the first week I did it. I did this for 2 more weeks and lost an additional  7 pounds fro 20 pounds lost in 3 weeks.  I was so happy until they told me I had to either bring my points back up or leave. I walked out the door. I keep going for a few more weeks on my own don't even remember how much I lost but gained it back plus more.
So this year here is my plan:    WW points 43 to 50 -eat the foods that I want to  eat (good foods not so much junk) but stay within that range. I made this a range with the extra 49 points per week. So instead of trying to eat 43 points each day and than have 49 points left to use after weigh in,  I decided to spread it out among the 7 days. I will still be banking any points I do not use past the 43 for that day. So some days maybe will be 43  other may be 46 or more.   I think this fits in better with the MFP philosophy of having spike days and not the same caloric intake each day. My points will be posted in the section on the diary called Today's Food Notes. 

EXERCISE PLAN: Five out of seven days walk with the rollator. Started on Jan 2 and walked one house to the North. Next day one house to the South. Each week I plan to walk to the next North or  South of the one I had just finished walking to the previous week. There are 16 houses to the North of me. Not sure how many to the South of me.  By 16 weeks I should be able to make it to the end of the block going North which is where the entrance gate is located. Have no idea where I will be heading South in 16 weeks  but it will be fun to find out.  I didn't see a listing for walking with a rollator so I am using the walking with crutches.  Right now the walk to the next door neighbors house takes me 15 minutes due to the disability I have. It is a miracle I am getting one foot in front of the other, yet to be doing this for 15 minutes.  By the time I am done I am so out of breath you would have thought I ran a marathon. As for the pain level it is through the roof.   I so badly want to sit down on the rollator seat but I push myself not to do that until I walked through the front door. I am sure as the weeks go on this will be much easier. What I would really like to do is get myself a personal coach someplace and also get a tricycle. We will see if this is the year I am able to do so.

Not much else until next time.  Stay Warm, Happy and Healthy.

2012 was a bust

As you can see I haven't posted anything since February of 2011 and since this is end of 2012 and aNew Year is almost starting I decided to post again. Well that was the case until tonight   I some how deleted what I had previously posted in 2012. So I will try to do some memory recall here.  Keep in mind my short term memory is not what it use to be. 

In January I  did  start the 1880 calorie plan and  Curves for awhile.   I got my 20 pound reward which was to go to a conference in April that I had wanted to attend. I also meet someone in March and by April he flaked out after 3 dates and never contacted me again. After April I also flaked out on my new food and exercise program and blew the rest of the year.

In June M and I decided to look for a Condo to share and we did find one but when the inspection took place there was over and additional $5,000 in repairs so we broke the contract.  I had already begun to  put things in storage so I just kept on going. I also tried to sell things on Ebay and Craigslist .

 In Aug I took in a roommate who would have been homeless as Donna ( a friend) had passed away and her kids were booting him out of the condo he had shared with her for the past 5 years. I needed the help as it was getting more and more difficult for me to get things done around here and grocery shop as well. Anyhow we tried to have a yard sale but it was a bust and almost everything went to Good Will. The roommate G still has no full time job but he is managing to do some part time work for a MS friend and people in the community where I live.  In Aug I did manage to get him to get food stamps so he is helping to pay for groceries which is great as after Aug my health took a turn for the worse. He has to renew the food stamps soon and hopefully get a full time job as money is very tight.

While at work one Tuesday in late Aug I twisted the wrong way while trying to sit because there was a magnifying floor to ceiling lamp behind my chair and I couldn't get the chair back all the way. I dislocated my knee and in less than 2 hours I couldn't get up off the typing chair.  The ambulance was called and they got me up on my feet while trying to get on the stretcher I think the knee cap when back in. But they took me to the hospital anyhow.  Now I have to pay over $250.00 for that trip to the ER.

In Oct I had a cat scan done as I have a lump around my bellybutton which the Dr and I believe is a hernia. The results of that scan did reveal a hernia plus gallstones and a lump on my right lower lung lope. That scan cost me $95.00. Right after that test my van died again. This time it is the body control modula which controls the Electronic Control Modula which controls the speed, gas, and other instrument cluster panels gadgets. So I have been without a van and still. It has been 32 months.  Greg has been taking me to and from work and grocery shopping and for the Dr appt and test. After the cat scan I had to go to a Pet scan in Nov to see if the lump was cancerous. Thank God it is benign and only 1 Cm big. I do have to go every 3 months for the next 2 years to make sure it doesn't grow anymore or become cancerous. Because of this I switched to a different medical plan which will reduce the cost of my co-pays.  I will see the new Dr in Jan.

So this brings me to 12-31-12  A New Year will soon be here 2013. The number 13 is usually associated with being an unlucky number but for some strange reason I feel it will be a good year for me.  I will be celebrating my 57th Birthday in about 6 weeks and would really like to see my 60th Birthday. So with the New Year 2013 coming  I will once again attempt to get this weight off of me once and for all. Last time I weighed (the day of the Pet scan  in November) I was 366.  This past weekend I  joined 6 groups and 2 challenges on  Myfitnesspal so by this time next year I  plan  to have lost at least 104 or more pounds, be much healthier and maybe even able to walk without the walker and canes.   I will be weighing in on  Jan 2nd for the start day of the 50 day challenge and again on Jan 5th for the start day of the BL challenge. I will be following WW again but on my own at home. No more classes for me. I will be keeping track of my points and tracking on the daily log.  For my Birthday I plan to buy this charm bracelet  
 http://www.walmart.com/ip/Connections-from-Hallmark-Stainless-Steel-Celebrate-Life-Starter-Bracelet-7.25/17772225  and for every 25 pounds I lose I will add a charm that will reflect changes or significant accomplishments  in my life as I take this weight loss journey,  I hope my friends on facebook and myfitnesspal will be following my progress and commenting. Your support and motivation will help me during the rough and tough days that I am sure to face. 


Thanks for reading this posting.
 Stay Happy and Healthy