Lisa's Final Countdown, The Good Days, the Bad, & the Ugly

Hey Lisa! I'm glad you got your bike put together. I'm getting mine tomorrow!!! Hopefully they will have it in the store. It sounds like yours is the same kind as the one I'm getting. I just want to tell you that you are doing great with wanting to make these changes for yourself. Even if you just do 15 min. on the bike a day, that's at least something. You CAN do this!! When you are going up that hill at school just think about a healthier life being on the other side and you are working toward that. Keep it up!! :D
 
Thanks Kristi :) Oh and have fun assembling your bike :X The bolts don't exactly match the diagram so figuring out which ones to use where is the hardest. Once you get that down it's simple but it took me a while to get the whole thing together.
 
So here's the plan. After reading online the last few hours about diet related to pcos and insulin resistance, and seeing what others here in the forum are doing I'm still going to watch what kinds of carbs I'm eating. Sugar and processed flours are out, thats a no brainer.

What I'm going to do differently is count calories as well. I figured out my BMR with two different calculators and one said 2150, the other said 2240 (I'm rounding off). I was planning on trying 1500-1800 but in my nutrition class and from what I've read I know you're not supposed to eat under your current BMR so this is what I'll be shooting for.

It'd be nice if I can manage my time enough to log this all here everday as well so thats what I'm hoping for. In addition to that I'm going start with 20 minutes a day of exercise, 5-6 days a week. I'll be trying to work up to 30 ;/ I remember when I could do 30 with ease even when I hadn't exercised in a while. I've been able to do 10-15 minutes on my treadmill ok so I think I will split my 20-30 minutes between the treadmill and bike, especially since the bike is so awkward.

I have alot going on tomorrow but either tomorrow or Saturday I'm going major grocery shopping. I'm looking forward to being able to having veggies in the fridge that stay fresh longer with those Debbie Meyer bags :D

I'll be starting Sunday and I counted the weeks between now and the end of the year...there's 18 left. I will probably have to find ways to increase my calories burned to do this but I'd like to lose an average of 3lbs a week so I can take off 50lbs by the end of 18 weeks. Thats less than 1% a week and not unhealthy and with as much as I way it should be very attainable. I may have to adjust my activity and diet to do it though as if I'm not making these goals.

Oh and I'll definitely be cutting back on diet soda and increasing my water intake. I've tried to cut out the soda completely but it never sticks, even when I've stopped for 6 months, so one thing at a time.

So this is my plan to feel better
 
Lisa, it's going to be okay. You're working hard and you've got the numbers you need to crunch. Just keep a level head and don't let it get to you. I know that's easy to say, but it's the truth. Stressing will mess you up fater than everything.

Are you going to stick with the bike? Is there a way you can incline the back so that it's easier for you to pedal?

When I was reading your entry about the bike and the awkwardness, the first thing came to mind was "elliptical machine." They're expensive, but they burn calories like crazy and they don't hurt.

The bottom line - you already know what it is. Eat stuff that's good for you, move around every day. You'll do this. I have no doubt.
 
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Hi Lisa! I'm glad you have a plan down, it always makes things a lot easier that way. Don't do improvising like I do, it's not working to well for me, I have to come up with a plan soon. lol

It sucks when you first start exercising again but within a few short weeks it becomes like a habit. I know you can do it though because you're a hoss! Talk to you soon!

V
 
I've done the low carb diet thing too...

About 8 years ago I went on the LC diet, actually a very specific one called The Type II Diabetes Diet. It's an extreme program, but I went from a size 14 to a size 4. Yes, 4. I'm only 5'2 and still had some body fat in a size 4, so it's not THAT small in my case. I did lose 50 pounds.

I kept the weight off for about 3 years, then over the next 3 years I worked with dieticians trying to find a way to go off it without gaining the weight back. I gained 25 pounds doing what the nutritionists told me to do. Nice.

Over the past couple years, I've gone way up again. What I found out is that I am allergic to wheat, dairy and possibly soy and glutens. I'm not celiac, so that's good. But due to hormones (pre-menopausal) and food allergies, I'm up 35 pounds of what I lost.

I did want to mention the program I used - it's a book on Amazon by Kowalski & Ezrin. My doctor approved of it but got concerned when I stayed on the strict version to keep my weight down. But if you wanted to see BIG changes fast, this program would give you a great start. I'd definitely talk to your doctor about it though, and I would suggest using it to get started, then within about 6 weeks, go on the stabilization program. If you continue your exercise, you should still continue losing weight.

I don't know how people on this forum feel about that diet, if anyone's even tried it, but it DID work for me - just not in the long run. Although I'm only up to a size 8. That's VERY heavy for me, as I have a tiny frame, but at this weight before, I was at least a 10. So I lost a lot of the 'puffy fat' that made me feel so bad about myself, so there was definitely a good benefit from it.

If you're at all interested in it, just let me know and I can give you the scoop. Otherwise, I appreciate your struggle - I'm there again too. And I totally get the food at the office thing - I used to just HATE that!!!

Anyway, just keep plugging along. I'll be getting back into exercise mode when my calf tendon heals up :)

You're doing great!
Jana
 
Thanks for the support Ferocity :) I really appreciate it. And yea I can't afford an elliptical although I'd love to have one but after I've worked up to it I plan on using the fitness center at my college and I was told they have them there so I plan on adding that in too. I just want to work up to doing more than ten minutes at a time before I make a special trip to use the equipment.

V thanks to you too for always coming by to check on me :grouphug: So what did you do improvising wise that isn't working? Just curious. Thanks for the advice and support!


And Amira, I'm very interested in talking to you and the diet you mentioned. I'm going to look and see if I can find you in the diary thread but if you do come back by here please post :) And I'm going to see if I can find the book you're talking about on Amazon. Thanks for the info and I'll take all the help I can get.
 
douknowjello said:
V thanks to you too for always coming by to check on me :grouphug: So what did you do improvising wise that isn't working? Just curious. Thanks for the advice and support!
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Hi Lisa, no problem! Oh! I'm counting calories in my mind rather than on paper. I guess what i'm trying to say is that i'm estimating them. It's worked out ok but I know if I did keep a better tab on them that I would be doing much better than I am.

I'm glad to hear you'll be using the fitness center at college, I need to get my butt to mine and use it. lol Talk to you soon!

V
 
Sometimes I really overthink things. I've been agonizing the last two days trying to decide a diet game plan so I can do a menu and grocery shop. Tonight I thought I'd just do ediets because I did it about 2 years ago and liked it and I could just grab a menu and grocery list and go. Unfortunately last time I was using it I didn't know I was borderline diabetic. So when I ordered the ediets and looked their low sugar or diabetic diets I kept seeing things like tofu, hummus and soy butter. When I went into the "change meal" options the things that would actually work for me were limited. If I have to go through and change every meal I might as well make the dang menu myself, lol. So I called and cancelled.

So I just need to start already and I guess I'll go with what I know for now and worry about this later. I'm going to go back on Atkins, do induction but then instead of trying to STAY on induction to lose weight I'm going to start slowly adding things in while watching calories too and doing exercise. Basically what I'll end up doing is eating sensibly without the extra sugar and processed flour which is what I need to do.

I'm going to figure out my grocery list tonight and go shopping after my staff meeting for work tomorrow morning on the way home. I thought about going tonight because I have a feeling I may be upset after our meeting tomorrow and not go but I'll just have to suck it up and go to the store anyway. I'm too tired tonight to be driving clear to walmart, the only store thats gonna be open by the time I finish my list, lol.

And work...thats another story. There are two other schedules opened up where I work right now and I'm on midnights. I'm trying to get on the other schedule where I'd work less midnights...right now I'm working a ten hour shift Sunday night into Monday morning and going straight to my college classes until 3 in the afternoon. So of course after letting another person move to an open schedule seems they are trying to say no to me. My job causes me more stress than I think is healthy and if things don't work out tomorrow I think its time to start looking for another...I've already got some numbers to call and see if they're hiring. Only thing thats stopped me before now is I hate starting new jobs. But if they piss me off tomorrow bet me that I don't have a new job by next week.

On a better note a friend of my hubby's is trying to get him on where he works and looks like it's going to work out, crossing my fingers. He'd be making quite a bit more than he is now and that'd make things easier.

Things have just been out of sorts since we moved but now that my classes have started I hope I get back into a normal routine. It's going to take some direct effort on my part for sure so hope they quit being dumb tomorrow and give me the schedule that would work so perfectly. I'll post how it goes tomorrow.
 
Woot, its not tomorrow yet but after I posted this I got a phone call. My boss got it worked out with only a slight modification so as soon as the new hire person gets all her classes and work training done I get to switch shifts. May take as long as a month but at least its in the works. Funny how stuff usually works out but why does it always have to be some snafu along the way to hold things up and make more stress? I guess thats life.

Weirdly enough, normally I eat when I'm stressed but I didn't go in the kitchen and stuff my face. Instead I typed and vented on here, lol. No kudos for me yet though cuz I'm not watching what I'm eating yet in any other way, shape or form other than portions. And as far as exercise I started off great the beginning of the week but today did nada. I woke up tired and with my back killing me but this afternoon it felt better and I should have done something. I think I may have to do what Ferocity does and just do my exercise first thing in the morning so its out of the way and I don't have to stress about it.
 
Hello :)

Hi Lisa,

Sorry that your job is giving you troubles. Your Sunday/Monday work and school shift is exactly like my hubby's schedule for the week. I'm glad that they have it worked out for you to switch in a month. My hubby is going bonkers with the lack of sleep....and a bit grumpy too....which I don't blame him....Anyway, I'm glad you have a game plan down. Do you have an idea for what your calorie intake will be when you start watching them? If you want I know of a really good website that has all kind of calculators that will tell you what you need to maintain and what you will need for deficit. I think they're kind of fun! Well, I'm jealous that you have an exercise bike. I STILL don't have mine : ( They never have it in the store by the time I get there. I'm going again tomorrow and am hoping that they have it. I get on my MIL's everytime I go to their house and I think I'm having withdrawls! It's fun to beat your own time. I think of it as a video game and pretend that I have to beat my highest score! haha! I'm such a nerd. Anyway, good luck with your school and work schedule! :)
 
Hey Kristi, yea I hope your hubby find a solution because another month of this schedule is gonna be a tough one. And yea I'd love to get the link to the site you were talking about. I found a BMR calculator and mine was at like 2150 so I guess I'm not supposed to eat under that. Bet me that I don't though, lol. I thinkg 1800-2000 would be ok and if I'm not hungry I'm not going to make myself eat. But guess we'll see how it works out....the lc foods on atkins aren't necessarily low cal so thats why I thought it would help to try and watch carbs and cals too so if I stall I can see where I need to modify. If you have any more tips or info on figuring out the range that'd be great and definitely link me :)
 
Have you tried SparkPeople? I use them to track my diet and my exercise and they're wonderful. I think it's part of the reason why I'm doing so well (with consistency - dunno know about the weight. I'm only weighing myself once a week.)

The entire shebang is free, and when you join you input weight, height and activity level, as well as how many pounds a week you want to lose. They tell you what range of calories you need to aim for, including grams from carbs, fats, and proteins. If you're having trouble coming up with menus, the program will generate menus for you within the parameters you designate (I'm pretty sure there was a diabetic option.) If that's not cool enough, it will also generate shopping lists for you, so you can be sure to get all the groceries you need to make the meals they suggested.

It'll also generate a strength training program for you, telling you what exercises to do on what days (with pictures of videos included.) There are also a ton of articles, including advice and motivation, as well as a forum and personal pages (kinda like MySpace.)

I don't think I could do this without SparkPeople.

Also, I was clocking around on CollageVideo.com last night, and I came across an aerobics DVD called "Shapely Girl." It's geared toward plus size women and all the women doing the routine are plus sized. You can watch a clip from the video there. It's not a lot of jumping around, but it is a lot of moving.

Hopefully the job thing will get resolved faster than you think. Just take care and stay positive.
 
Thanks Trish, and I'm ok about the job stuff now. I don't mind waiting to get my shift even if it does end up being a month but I was gonna be pissy if they passed me over and handed it to some newb hire, lol. But like I said its all worked out.

Oh and my hubby has an interview Tuesday :) Him getting this job could be a huge deal so I'm excited. I just hope if he does get it that he likes it and its all the thought.

And no I haven't tried sparkpeople...saw it mentioned a few times. I signed up for a fitday account and then just never used it....never hooked me I guess. But this whole menu/shopping list sounds great :) Guess you read the part where I was trying to get that from Ediets then cancelled, lol. I'll have to check it out right now. My hubby just went to hang out at a friends and I have some peace and quiet for the evening. Love him dearly but I like alone time sometimes too.

Anyway I need to go find my Ipod somewhere so I can get a workout in on that bike I bought and spent so much time putting together, lol. After I check out sparkpeople though. I finished cleaning out my fridge and freezer and am ready for groceries but still need to get a list together so that sounds like a plan. One things for sure, I'm tired all the time right now so it'll be nice to have some energy again when I get back on lc and some exercise.
 
In a word, frustrating. I got on my exercise bike and its still awkward...I was able to do about 5 minutes on there. So then I hopped on my treadmill hoping to break it up and was able to do another 5 minutes but I'm so large now that the dang thing isn't wide enough and I felt like I was walking on a balance beam. But I'm not going to let it get to me that I spent all that money because I'm sure I'll be able to use it later on when my weight is down more. Honestly I just hope that when I AM down enough to use my equipment I don't wish I'd bought a regular exercise bike instead of this seated recumbant thing.

Meanwhile I think my best bet since I finally life on a quiet street is to just walk around the block or do a low impact aerobic video. I may be to fat to be coordinated but at least I can do it ugly without falling off a piece of exercise equipment. Oh and good news also...since we have a den and a livingroom now, something we've never had, all thats in our livingroom IS a tv and a fishtank right now. So I'll have the hubby move the vcr (my richard simmons tapes are on tapes) and I shouldn't break anything or hurt myself too badly....might scare the crap out of the fish though but that counts as an acceptable risk, lol.

I felt really good physically after getting some exercise but I feel like a complete lack of accomplishment only doing ten minutes...like it doesn't really count. That was all I was able to do and I guess I need to remember that I do weigh over 300lbs now and this will get easier. The sparkpeople site Trish recommended only had me starting with ten minutes a day so maybe I need to stop kicking myself over it. I need to tell myself its important I do SOMETHING every day even if its not enough yet and work up to 30 minutes.
 
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You have my support!

I wanted to stop by and show my support! You've really got a plan here. I like what I see and think I'll adopt some of your ideas. They are great!:hurray::hurray:

Wishing you luck on this journey we take together.

XOXO

Berta:hurray:
 
Thanks so much Roberta, I can use all the extra support I can get :) And I had some good ideas? wow, lol I probably got them somewhere else here in the forum though and can't take credit. That's why I love this place...the info floats around until I eventually stumble across it. Thanks for coming by and I'll be there for you too :iagree: We can do this!
 
So for anyone reading this, this is NOT another one of my replanning, gonna start on X date that never comes and goes and I'm still off track.

Nope...today, under not the best circumstances, I just jumped in. Some things Steve had said in a thread to me the other day plus in some previous threads that Mal relinked really hit home. So today I got off work starving and stopped at two different stores to shop bargains. I COULD have told myself "the grocery shopping was enough and I'm hungry, I'll start tomorrow". Instead when I got out of the first store I ate a few slices of turkey I had bought, drank some water and kept goin.

Honestly it's such a relief. I've had this guilt hanging over my head every day put this off and its not like I was even enjoying any food I ate. In fact I found myself eating crap I didn't even WANT to eat because "well I won't get to eat this once I'm on my diet". Stupid logic.

Oh and ya'll were right, fitday is great. I plug in my food and the carbs AND calories come up. I was surprised to see that eggs, a "free" food on Atkins, have carbs. Apparently they assume you'll stick to your 20 carbs to perfection and the little bit you go over won't be a big deal. C'mon now....eggs a free food....they don't know how much eggs I can eat! And it adds up fast. I'm really glad I'm going to start tracking calories too because honestly this is probably whats been preventing me from losing as much wait as I could.

Anyway I still need to go to Walmart to finish up the last of my shopping. But I also think I'm going to do something I haven't been doing all week and listen to my body and take a nap. I'm exhausted. Plus if I go to Walmart this tired I'm liable to get cranky and run somebody over with my cart :) Shopping on a Saturday....I've lost my mind.
 
I'm commiting to the following routine, with leeway left so I don't beat myself up on the more hectic weeks. I'm going to take vitamins daily. I am not cutting out caffeine completely this time. With everything else I'm not going to worry about trying to find caffeine free beverages everywhere I go.

Starting Goals
Cardio: 10min, 5-7x days a week
Ab workout: 3-4x a week
Daily calorie goal range: 2000-2200
Carbs: 20-30
Water: 8+ glasses
Vitamins: Daily

I'm also going to set up my computer today :/ There is a spider the size of Texas apparently living in the stuff on my hubby's desk that keeps running out then hiding before I can kill the dang thing.


Food today so far (calculated at fitday):

Breakfast:
3oz turkey deli meat
4 macadamia nuts
1oz shredded chedder cheese
4 large eggs

612 calories, 8 carbs

Ok, time for a nap. Think I'll look for a food scale at Walmart later.
 
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HAH!!! Smacked the CRAP out of that damn spider. Glad hubby wasn't home because he was on one of his video games at the time when I squished him.
 
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