04/25/2013 @ 9:54am (PDT)

Alright…Still no exercise.

 

I have put off going to the doctor (much to the dismay of one of my coworkers), but the cough is getting better. If it wasn't, I’d be more worried and would go to the doctor, but it's improving.

 

Jeff and I ran to the grocery store yesterday to pick up our fishing licenses - We're going shell fishing this weekend with a group from meetup.com. It's a website I've used in the past (when I moved to Grand Rapids) to meet new people. Being that Jeff and I don't know ANYONE here, I figured it was time to use it again.

 

So yeah…We get to go look for crab, clam, and oysters! Afterwards, we all get together and one of the organizers makes a big dinner with all of our findings. It won't be healthy BUT it'll be healthier than fast food or some other things I've eaten so I MAY indulge a little. Not having a cheat "day" but maybe a cheat "meal" if I'm good the rest of the week. (That is, of course, what Weight Watchers bonus points are for). :)

 

The diet is going really well. After I got out of work, we grabbed fishing licenses and Jeff also wanted to take a look at some grills. We have a gas grill currently but we both really like charcoal and he recently attended a grilling and smoking class and wanted to pick up a grill. We found one that's pretty basic but will allow him to do grilling and smoking so we spent about $75 (after the grill, lighters, and an injector) but I told him to consider it an anniversary present.

 

I figure I get to eat the food he makes on it so really it is a present to both of us. Because it will also last a few years until we can afford a gas/charcoal (fancy) combination grill, we won't have to spend a ton of money that will go towards our goal of being debt free in two years. (Or…You know…It would allow me to spend that extra money saved on the juicer that I really want…That happens to be $300). :)

 

After that, we got Subway.

 

Now…Subway is pretty healthy if you just eat a six-inch sub. I don't know about you, but that just doesn't fill me up. So we got our usual - Foot long Sweet onion chicken teriyaki on wheat. We decided to splurge and got a meal with chips and unsweetened ice teas.

 

I DID go over my points for the day by ONE point because I ate the whole thing AND had a cup of Greek Yogurt for a "before bed" snack. I know it's not great to eat right before bed and I'm trying to break that, but better yogurt than something else I suppose.

 

Other than that, there's not a WHOLE lot to report here. The original reason I started this post today is because I got TWO new inspirations for my weight loss journey today:

 

INSPIRATION #1

My very dear friend, Amber, sent me an email and let me know that she and her family (husband and two kids) were thinking about making a trip out here in late June/early July.

 

Amber and I have been friends since 7th grade and she's one of three people I've known that long but definitely the one that I've hung out with the most.

 

I've gone on vacation with their family, spent a TON of time with their family, and consider them MY family.

 

So…The idea of them coming out to visit makes me EXTREMELY happy.

That said, I want to be able to show them the sites - Show them Pike Place Market, take them around the city, show them a REALLY good time.

 

Sadly, in Seattle (like most major cities), that means a LOT of walking. Right now, I couldn't do it…Not as much as I'd like anyway.

 

So that gives me TWO MONTHS to stick with the program, lose some weight, and get active so I can thoroughly enjoy the time that they are here.

 

Besides, they saw me right before I left for Washington - I'd LOVE them to get here and congratulate me on how much weight I've lost. Yep…I'm vain. I'm good with it. :)

 

INSPIRATION #2

Loreena McKennitt…My most FAVORITE Celtic singer.

 

So…She doesn’t tour often. The only time I’ve seen her in concert was 04/30/2007 when she announced her first touch since I had been introduced to her music back in high school. I surprised my dad with tickets – He had introduced me to her music.

 

Anyway…So she doesn’t tour often, especially in America.

 

About a month ago, she announced another world tour. I got excited hoping that she’d be close to here – If she was playing around here on a weekend, I’d be willing to drive more than a couple of hours to go see her.

 

So, I get her tour schedule, and it’s ALL in Canada and Europe. I’m devastated of course.

 

Then she starts adding a couple of locations. I’m STILL devastated because the closest one to me is about three hours north in Vancouver Canada. This wouldn’t be a problem IF the concert wasn’t during the week (having me miss two days of work) and if I had a passport that wasn’t expired.

 

So…Again…Devastated. (Hate to admit it, but it was to the point where I cried a little bit).

 

So then, she adds TWO more cities to her tour and says that this is it. She’s not adding anything else.

 

I don’t get too excited because of all the cities in the world, I doubt it’ll be in the US, much less close to me.

 

Then it gets announced that it’s in the US – Again, I’m not REALLY excited because I figure Chicago and NY are the top places.

 

THE FIRST US CITY THAT SHE’S VISITING IS FREAKING SEATTLE WA!!!!!

 

Now, I don’t live in the city of Seattle, but it’s less than 30 minutes north of me.  So now I’m waiting to find out ticket prices everything before I get TOO excited because I figure that it’ll be much too expensive to get good seats.

 

TUNS OUT – She’s doing a promotion at the Seattle Zoo for their concert series and all the proceeds are going to animals and such like that. I got the ticket prices today: $32.50 for an outdoor concert!!

 

I was so freaking giddy!!!

 

Of course, the downside is that outside concerts can be horrible in way of distance from the stage and everything.  I figure even if I’m far away, it’s better than not seeing her at all. It’s on a Thursday, which sucks, but the doors don’t open until 5pm. I plan on leaving work about 1pm, going home, getting changed, and then heading out. There WILL be a line but that’s okay. I imagine some of the hardcore fans will get there at 8am so they can run right to the front of the stage. Unfortunately, I don’t have time.

 

So I bought tickets today.  Again, SUPER excited, but realizing that it will be a FULL DAY…Outside…Rain or shine.  Not only that, but I imagine it’ll be a bit of a hike from the parking lot to the area she’s playing in.

 

So needless to say, time to get healthy and active so I can ENJOY the day outside and not be dying of asthma (which gets worse with allergies when I’m outside).

 

So this is now the end of what was supposed to be a short update.  :)

04/23/2013 @ 12:11pm (PDT)

So NO Power90 with Tony Horton for me JUST yet today.

I REALLY had planned on starting yesterday but by the time I got home, the cold hadn't gotten any better, it still felt like someone was sitting on my chest, and I am just EXHAUSTED.  It's to the point where if it isn't gone by tomorrow, Jeff and I are going to run to a Medi-Center type of place and make sure I don't have pneumonia.

We figured until it's COMPLETELY gone, it's probably not worth the risk.  I ended up in the hospital for four days, with a severe asthma onset, and steroids for six months the last time I had a cold I couldn't shake.  I definitely don't want to go through that again.

That said, I woke up a little better today - My voice is coming back nicely (though I'm not quite ready for karaoke) and the person sitting on my chest has gotten a little lighter.  Once the cold is gone for good (probably Thursday), I hope to start Power90...Or at least walk on the treadmill for a couple of days and maybe start Power90 next Monday.

So even though there's no Power90 today or tomorrow, I AM sticking with the diet.  I am very committed to NOT cheating unless I've been good for two weeks.  Once I get with the program, I'll only be allowed a cheat day every two weeks if I've exercised AND maintained my diet, but since my lack of exercise was out of my control, I'll allow myself a cheat day in two weeks as long as I stick with my diet and don't go overboard - No chinese buffets or eating out for every meal.

I also started back on my multivitamin and wheat grass supplement today - I am horrible about taking pills but I definitely feel the difference when I take thse so I want to make sure I do that.  Because I'm sick, I also doubled up on my Vitamin C to help kick this cold.  I don't know how much it will help but it definitely couldn't hurt.

Jeff is going to do my weight and measurements for me tonight so I can update everything.  I'm nervous but I know about what to expect so it'll be okay.

That's about it for me for now.  I'm going to start blogging more often to talk about what's going well, and what isn't going well. 

Once I am sure I'm TRULY back with this, and once I get down below 300, I MIGHT actually start giving out this blog address so friends and family can keep me honest.  For now, I don't want to.  Not only because I want to make sure I'm sticking with it before I do but because I'm embarassed.  I'm embarassed by how much I started out weighing and I'm embarassed by how much I gained back.  I know that they are friends and family and that they will support me, but I'm not QUITE ready yet.

I'll get there...I'll get there.

04/22/2013 @ 12:43pm (PDT)

So someone had suggested I write down my motivation.  Something happened yesterday that made me think of this and so I wanted to write it down.

I was having a conversation with a friend over twitter – She recently started her own weight loss journey and was doing Insanity.  I gave her MAJOR props because I can barely do Power90 let alone P90X or Insantity.

My general tweets were as follows:

“Time to get back with the life change. :) 35-40 pounds to go to first major goal #1.”

Followed by:

“Not as good as the 20 pounds to go a few months back, but it beats the 75 pounds I had when I VERY first started. :)”

Her tweet back to me?

“I am using you as inspiration for my own weight loss journey. #exercise is easy, its the #diet that I fail on.”

Do you KNOW how much of a motivation that is????

Even though I have not been on the right track since Christmas (five months ago), someone is using my weight loss as their inspiration to get moving.

HOLY CRAP is all I have to say.

I love her to death, but at this moment I also very much hate her: Because she’s using me as inspiration, I don’t want to let her down.  I want to show her that it is hard but we can do it. 
Damn her.  :)

So other than that, here are some of my other inspirations/motivations:

Jeff
The man is awesome I tell you.  He has lost over 175 pounds doing P90X and diet and exercise.  His motivation?  Me.  He has finally found someone he loves and wants to be with and he wants to make sure that he’s around long enough to enjoy it.

Yes…Really.  :)

My life, our lives, are finally going in a good direction and I want to be able to enjoy it.  I won’t be able to do that for long at my current weight/fitness level.

Turning 30
Turning 30 was not NEARLY as difficult as I perceived it to be.  The big part of this is because everything I wanted to do is done (or being done) and I met my 10 year plan from when I was 20.
Yes, for those of you who don’t me, my 10 year plan did not include marriage or kids.  :)

I got my Bachelor’s degree from GVSU in August 2011, I’ve started and made it to the middle of my career, I’ve moved across the country for a job I love, and although he wasn’t a part of the plan, I met an awesome guy that I’m going to spend a lifetime with.  :)

Our debt is finally getting paid off and we hope to be debt free within three years.  Then we will be able to send Jeff to school, which he’ll be in for a couple of years.  (Once he’s done with that, THEN we might start planning a wedding).

Life is going in a GREAT direction and I have set myself up to do some amazing things…If I stay healthy and stick around.

Other:
I have really gotten into Pintrest – Both the good things and the bad things. My “Unhealthy Recipes” is FAR more populated than my “Healthy Recipes”.  :)

That said, I have a board called “Fitness Goals” and it’s basically my motivations for losing weight.
These are some of the highlights on this list:

To have the lung capacity to be able to play the bagpipes...
To be able to go horseback riding without feeling bad for the horse...
To be able to sit comfortably in a booth (though I really prefer a table anyway). :)
To be able to walk into most stores and find something that fits, for a decent price...
To be able to compete in my first 5k, no matter what variety...
To go to Cedar Point and fit on EVERYTHING.,..
To be able to do a rope climb...
To be able to go skydiving…
To go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and fit on EVERYTHING...

A couple have already been accomplished, such as these two:

To be off of all my asthma medications
To be able to wear a seatbelt comfortably.

They won’t be “accomplished” for long though if I keep up the way I’m going.  I probably should be back on my asthma medication but I’m stubborn and fear the “S” word (for steroids).  That is probably one of my biggest fears right now – I’ll talk about that in another “motivation”.

Medication
I was taken off all of my asthma medication because I was doing well, my breathing was not QUITE great, but it was a lot better than it was, and my doctor agreed to let me try to be off the medication. 
I’ve been off it now for a while but my biggest fear is that I will have to go back to the doctor because my asthma will be out of control and they’ll have to put me on steroids.

Steroids probably contributed to about 50 pounds of weight gain.  I’d always been fat, but with the steroids, I BLEW up.  This is one of my main motivators to get healthy – To NOT have to be on medication.

I think these are the big ones for now.  I may add to this list on the blog but chances are I’ll just add a “pin” to my Pintrest page.  Feel free to check it out and follow me.

http://pinterest.com/saratague/things-i-want-to-do-fitness-goals/

04/22/2013 @ 12:27pm (PDT)

Welllllllllll…We meet again.  :)

I haven’t even looked at my blog recently so I have NO idea how long it’s been since my last update.
As per usual, things have not gone well here.

I keep this blog up because I have high hopes and expectations of myself and I keep it up because one day, when I meet my weight loss goals, I want people to see that it wasn’t just an overnight transformation.

I didn’t go from being unhealthy to working out every day overnight.  I have been SERIOUSLY trying to get with the program now for almost a year (give or take a couple of months).

Last week, I was ALL set and ready to go.  I had a meal plan, I had my exercise DVD’s, I was GOING TO DO IT! 

Well…I did it…Kind of.

On Monday of last week, I went to put in my Power90 DVD and it’s not working in the Blue Ray Player anymore because it’s too badly damaged.  (THANKFULLY, I have another copy of it somewhere, I just have to ask Jeff to find it).

Because I wasn’t going to be able to do it that day, I decided to hop on the treadmill.

Now, I’m a very slow walker – It would probably take me an hour to walk a mile – That’s how out of shape I am.

I decided to push myself and I ended up doing a half a mile in 15 minutes.  That’s REALLY pushing it for me and I was sweaty and got a good workout.  I should have done more, but it was all my lungs could take at the moment.

Next day I wake up, and like every single other time I get back with exercising, I wake up with a cold. 

Over the next week, I lose my voice and go to bed EVERY night at 7pm in hopes of kicking the cold.

Today – One week after I started the workout – I still have a little bit of the cold but I’m going to restart Power90 today and just take it slow.

So here’s to another round!!!

02/12/2013 @ 10:14am (PDT)

Well…I did it!  I hopped on the scale.

I was talking to Jeff on the way home from work and let him know my thoughts on stepping on the scale.  He had gained about 15 pounds over the last two months, but I tend to eat a lot more crap than he does.  I figured at MINIMUM, I gained 25.  Worst case scenario, I gained all the weight back plus some.

I didn’t REALLY think I had gained THAT much because my pants were be bursting off of me, but I could tell that I gained weight when we went clothes shopping the other day – Thankfully most of the weight I gained seemed to be in the chest region and not in the stomach region – I was at a size 26 and when I started this, I was about a 30.

Either way, super nervous, and I didn’t want to step on it but needed to so I could see what I was working with.

I thought my last weigh-in was 333 – Turns out that I was incorrect.  My last weigh in was 326 or so.

341.6 was the first weight that came up.  Surely that must have been a mistake – While it was still about 8 pounds from where I thought I was (16.6 pounds from where I actually was), I thought I gained more than that.

I stepped back on the scale FIVE more times and it turns out that the 341.6 WAS a mistake…

I was actually down to 336.4!!!

I only gained 10 pounds bringing my current weight loss to 26.2 pounds.

Needless to say, I am QUITE happy that I don’t have to do ALL the work that first 26.2 pounds took me.  It’s a good starting ground and it keeps me only 36.4 pounds from me getting an iPad!  :)

So now we’re back with dieting…We started Power 90 yesterday…We can do this!

We are changing a couple of things this time around – The first of which is doing Power 90 only five days a week and no level-up for the first 90 days.  If I stick with that, I’ll do it “right” the second time around.  Lord knows I won’t be ready for P90X by then.  :)

The other thing we’re changing is cheat days.  At LEAST one every two weeks but only if I stay under my points. 

If my cheat day consists of just an iced coffee and being “bad” on ONE meal, I’ll allow myself one cheat day per week.  If my cheat day consists of three fried meals, doughnuts, and every other junk food known to man, I get NO MORE than one cheat day every two weeks.  If I go too crazy and notice I’m not losing weight, it might be one cheat day per month.

Overall, I think this will help me stick with things longer but will also allow me to be able to go out and enjoy food that I love and still be able to go out to eat with friends and MAYBE eat a piroshky from Piroshky Piroshky at Pike Place Market.  :)

02/06/2013 @ 12:52pm (PST)

I just read an article about NJ Governor Chris Christie and the fact that one of the former doctor’s at the White House wanted to see him run for President, but was worried he was going to die because of his weight.

Now, I know that there’s a lot of “bad things” that can happen from being overweight, but when did being overweight become an automatic death sentence without knowing someone’s history?

I am significantly overweight, but other than a bout of asthma and high blood pressure, I’m perfectly healthy.

I realize that asthma and high blood pressure are major issues, but as far as the asthma goes, I was admitted to the hospital after a bad case of pneumonia – That had nothing to do with my weight. As far as the blood pressure goes, that runs in my family, it could be that it has nothing to do with my weight.

I recently had a FULL exam done, complete with blood panel and everything, and I am healthy. I’m remarkably healthy for someone of my size.

I’m off all asthma meds, my good cholesterol is high, my bad cholesterol is just a touch above where it should be but considering my weight is damn good, my iron is good (I’ve been boarderline anemic in the past), my blood sugar panels came back great, my heart is perfectly healthy, and while my blood pressure is a bit high, it’s down from where it was.

Contrary to popular beliefs about fat people, I don’t just sit around all day and eat junk food. I struggle with exercise, no joke, but that doesn’t mean I’m not healthy. It doesn’t mean I’m a ticking time bomb.

Jeff, my boyfriend, is still overweight, but I thought I was healthy, he’s damn near perfect! In fact, his only issue is some gall bladder issues that probably resulted after he lost 180+ pounds! He’s still a touch overweight but he’s also not a ticking time bomb.

I’m all about kids learning proper eating habits, exercise habits, and nipping the obesity in the bud, but I’m just sad that now being fat is an automatic death sentence.

I’m probably never going to be “skinny”. I don’t want to be. I would like to be healthy and I would like to do certain things that just aren’t possible for a person of my size – Like riding a roller coaster, sky diving, zip lining, etc – But until I get there, don’t treat me like I’m going die just because I’m fat.

I’m losing weight and working on a “Lifestyle Change”because *I* want to – Not because my boyfriend wants me to, not because society says I should, and certainly not because I think I’m a ticking time bomb.

End rant.

---------------------------

Added 02/08/2013:

Now this doctor is complaining because Chris Christie called her and yelled at her. She is rethinking his ability to be President one day because he wasn't very nice to her.

REALLY?!?!

You're going to talk about someone's weight that you've never met and the fact that they are going to die and you're upset because he yelled at you?

Hate to tell you, but I once yelled at my OWN doctor that I had gone to see when he told me the first thing I need to do was lose weight. This was a doctor that *I* chose to go see but before he took my family history or ANYTHING, he was telling me I should lose weight. I solicitated his opinion but he formed a judgement about me based on weight and I yelled at him.

I saw GOOD FOR HIM for yelling at you! You had NO RIGHT to talk about someone based on their looks alone.

---------------------------

Added 04/15/2013:

Because I think Chris Christie is AWESOME, I wrote to him and asked him for an autographed picture.  HE SENT IT!

My dad got me into collecting autographs and pictures from Presidents and other government officials - He has Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Governors as far back as Eisenhower.  I have them as far back as Gerald R. Ford.

Chris Christie's is the first one I've gotten from a state I don't live in.

YAY!

02/05/2013 @ 8:25am (PST)

HOLY MOLY!  It’s been almost two months since my last update.

I wish I could say that I’ve been good and that I’m down another 40 pounds, but that is most likely NOT the case.

Here’s what went on:

I flew out to Seattle, did not make the best choices, but didn’t go crazy either.  I had some fried fish on Saturday with the interviewers but other than that, all healthy food.  (We’ll talk more about Seattle later).

I came back home and then we pretty much left for my parents’ house for almost two weeks. 

Needless to say, we were NOT good there.  Like…At all.  We ate a TON of crap – Jeff made Beef Wellington with his homemade 5-cheese grown up Mac-and-Cheese and Red Velvet Cheesecake for Christmas Eve dinner…Then his chicken alfredo for Christmas dinner…And that wasn’t even all of it!  We probably gained all the weight back just in those two weeks.

While we were at my parents, I began negotiations with the Seattle company to start a job!!!  We countered back and forth a few times, but we both agreed!  Jeff then began packing and we left Michigan on January 9th!

Needless to say, during the packing, the journey and since being here, we haven’t worked out or dieted at all.  I have no idea how much weight I’ve gained because Jeff just found the scale.

We were going to start working out last week but I had some…Er…Personal issues and had horrible cramps and felt like crap for a week.  Then we were going to start yesterday, but I’m getting sick.  I LITERALLY had no voice yesterday or today. 

That said, as soon as my voice comes back and I’m feeling better, we ARE going to get back with our “Lifestyle Change” but it’s going to be difficult.

The first three to four weeks are always the hardest for me and I’ve been out of it so long that I don’t want to do it.  The problem is that I HAVE to – My asthma has started acting up again and only part of it is because of the elevation change.  I would imagine that I’ve gained back all my weight and the elevation change is only the icing on the cake.

We did decide to change things up a little in order to actually stick with it – Because this is a new city with new food and new things to do, we are having a “cheat” day once every two weeks where we won’t count calories.  We won’t go crazy and eat five fried meals, but we are going to eat something local, that we want to eat, and not worry.  The kicker is that we only get the cheat day if we don’t cheat during the two weeks.  I think this will really help me stick with, but we’ll see!  :)

As soon as my voice is back, I'll be updating my weight tickets (as found at the top of the screen) and then getting back with this.

My new goal is to lose (and keep off) 50 pounds the end of July.  It'll be tough, but I know I can do it if I put my mind to it - It's only 10 pounds per month...I CAN DO IT.  :)