My Journey: Positive Outlook For 2013

I'm just surprised that TOM has shown up already. According to my chart I wasn't due for another week! When I was really overweight (250lb) I rarely got it so I'm new to trying to track it and predict. It's been right on time so I thought I knew what I was doing. Haha... guess not!

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Weighed in at 201.4lb this morning. I'm glad to see it starting to drop again.

I thought my cold was breaking up, but today I feel horrible. My eyes are burning and keep tearing up. I keep sneezing and my nose is stuffed up. My throat doesn't hurt anymore though so that's a good thing. Even feeling as I do right now I should be able to get my workout in tonight. I'll fight through it.
 
Hi Mandy!
I hope you feel better as well!

Although I know it is very tempting, please don't push yourself too hard if you have a fever.

So awesome about the jeans. It is so odd when that happens, one day something that fit is tight and then the glorious day comes when it is loose! It always feels like, can this be the same thing I used to wear??

Muscle does indeed weigh more than fat, but your inches are a better barometer of your success!
 
MrsW - Thanks, I'm feeling a little bit better today so far, but the day is just starting so we'll see.

Athala - Thanks! :)

Jade - No worries, I have no fever. It's just the head cold thing. Wish it would go away already! *sigh*

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So last night I almost said the heck with it and skipped taebo, but the longer I sat the more I realized that I was well enough to do it AND that I wasn't doing myself any favors by not doing it. So, I got up and did it. It wasn't pretty as I had to pause and rewind several times, but I did make it through the entire workout and worked up quite a sweat in the process. I'll be fighting through it again tonight because tomorrow's rest day.

My yo-yo'ing weight continues. I went from 201.4lb yesterday to 203lb this morning. I honestly have no idea what's up with these fluctuations, but at this point I don't care. I'll be taking new measurements tonight so we'll see what those have to say. :)
 
I had a decent day for food today. I did sneak a few pieces of chocolate, but aside from that not bad. My cold feels like it’s finally on the verge of going away. Still a lot of sneezing, but my eyes aren’t as watery, my nose isn’t as stuffed, and my throat isn’t sore. All good signs!

I did my taebo workout with ease today. It’s hard to believe how much my stamina has improved since I’ve started working out. Not even that, but since starting this DVD alone. When I first started it I really struggled to keep up, but now I’m having to force myself to slow down so I don’t get too far ahead. :)

I took new measurements today and compared them to my 10/2 measurements as that’s the day I started this new taebo DVD while only missing 5 days of working out through this entire time. I don’t know if these numbers are truly accurate or if I somehow goofed, but I have to say they’re pretty promising!!

chest is -1.5”
lower abs -1”
upper abs -.5”
waist is -2”
left thigh no change
right thigh is -.25”
left arm no change
right arm is +.5”
neck is -.5”
under arms is -.25”.

The interesting thing about this is that on 10/2 my weight was 203.8lb and today I weighed in at 203lb even. Just further proving to myself that the measurements are more of an indicator of how things are progressing. :)
 
Forgot about that too... further proof I'm heading in the right direction even if the scale doesn't reflect it. :)

I honestly don't think some of those measurements are 100% accurate. I don't think it's really possible to lose 1.5" in certain areas over the course of 3 weeks. I think maybe I held the tape measure looser/tighter on one of those days, but who knows. Our bodies do miraculous things every day. Either way, I know I've lost some inches and that's important and makes me very happy! :)

I weighed in at 203.6lb this morning. Not a total surprise as I ate a huge bowl of soup pretty late last night. I wanted something hot and.... well... soupy so I enjoyed myself. I'm still flip flopping if I want to do taebo tonight or not. It would normally be my rest night, but it looks like I won't have time tomorrow. I really don't want to miss two consecutive days. On the other hand, I'll be able to do it Saturday and Sunday I'll be going to the zoo with my mom and a couple of friends so I'll be walking all day. Guess we'll see how it plays out... :)
 
Weighed in at 202.2lb this morning. The water weight is finally starting to drop. I ended up resting last night. I just didn't have the steam to workout. That, plus I had the Bruins and Red Sox both to watch. I may work out tonight, but it'll be late if I'm able to. I'll be able to get it in Saturday too and Sunday I'll be walking all day so I'll get plenty of exercise in over the weekend.

Seems I've fallen behind in everyone's diaries again. Tonight I'll try to catch up, if I'm unable to I will tomorrow for sure! :)
 
You will reach the 100's soon Mandy. Just keep going. :)

Congratulations on the new measurements. I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you. :)
 
I weighed in at 201.2 this morning.

Today was a pretty good day. Not perfect by any means for food intake, but exercise more than made up for it. I started by doing a taebo workout right when I got up and out of bed. I knew my dinner tonight would be big so I intended to eat lightly throughout the day. I didn’t eat anything until I made a chicken sandwich at around 1:30pm. From there I ate a couple of small cranberry muffins fresh out of the oven. Then dinner. Haha… always a downfall. Before I started losing weight I discovered a recipe online for fried chicken. Yes, the unhealthy and fattening deep fried chicken. This is now “my famous recipe” and my family requests it from time to time, usually only once every couple of months so it’s not too too bad. Still, I ate too much (4 tenders) and my dad made homemade mac and cheese. I only had one serving of that. We ate early though so hopefully it won’t effect my weigh in tomorrow. We’ll see.

Later on tonight I don’t know what got in to me, but I decided at 9 that I should do another round of taebo so I did. I don’t usually do two rounds of taebo in a day, but it felt great. If I had time I’d totally do it more often!

Tomorrow is going to be another great day. I’m heading to the zoo with my mom and a couple of our friends (another mom/daughter duo). I’ve been having really mixed feelings about zoos lately so I’m still kind of torn about going. I’m just not sure I buy into the whole “it’s good for conservation and education” thing anymore. I do feel bad for some of the animals who are locked up. This zoo, while it’s a very nice zoo and takes great care of the animals, is closing after tomorrow for the season. I’ve been debating on whether or not I want this to be my last trip. We’ll see.

With all that said, here’s a picture of two my dogs. The fawn (tan) colored one on the left is Logan my 2 year old and the brindle is Abby my 1.5 year old. These two are inseparable! I thought they looked so cute cuddling like this. :)
 
Hi Mandy, Know how you feel about the animals, it's hard but if you look back to my old days LOL they are sooo much better off than then.
Now in good zoo they are looked after as you said...but I also see the point in that they maybe better off free.
 
I would rather go to a petting zoo. Those are mostly farm animals anyways. I think caging wild animals is detrimental to them. They can't be themselves. And if they try they usually are killed for being vicious and a danger to humans. Well DUH!!!! They are wild animals!! I don't think they should be killed for doing what they were born to do. Sure, they are taken care of... They are fed and kept healthy. But I don't believe they are happy. And don't even get me started on animals in the circus!!! Ugh, those poor animals!!

Okay, I will stop now. Sorry, I'm an animal person. I'm the person that calls animal control over everything!! I once called the cops because of a dead cat on the side of the road. The kids in the neighborhood had beaten it over the head with a pumpkin last October. And I was very upset upon finding it!! Dispatch got an attitude with me and asked what do you want the police to do?? It's a dead cat!! At which point I yelled at her and threatened her job if the cops didn't show up!! They were there in less than a minute! :) and they now circle our neighborhood constantly, keeping an eye on the bratty kids around here! Not to brag... But I get things done. Lol

Anyways- I'm very proud of you for doing two sets of taebo in one day! That had to be exhilarating!! No one ever regrets a workout! You feel so good afterwards!!

Btw- your puppies are absolutely adorable!!!! :)
 
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MrsW: I agree. For the most part zoos are much better now than they were before. This particular zoo is realy good. The animals are all really well cared for and they have really nice exhibits. The only exhibit I'm not to crazy about is the leopards. I think his could be bigger, but he has a lot of climbing rocks and wooden structures so maybe it's not as bad as I think. I don't know.

Br!na: No need to apologize! I'm an animal person too. I've reported pet stores over unsanitary conditions and refused to donate my baby fish to one because their tanks are disgusting. They're just fish, but still deserve better. Sometimes it really gets to me though and I wish I didn't care as much as I do. Seeing a sick, hurt, or abused animal can really ruin my day.

The main reason why I'm so torn on the zoo thing now is because of that new documentary called Blackfish about orcas being held in captivity. I do not believe whales should be kept in captivity nor do I think they should be used as entertainment. Orcas are family animals that stay together throughout their entire lives in the wild. It just sickens me to know that the juveniles were ripped away from their pods to be forced into the entertainment industry. I will never go to Seaworld and I definitely agree with you about circuses.

I don't really feel zoos, for the most part (the one I went to is not anyway), are here to exploit animals the same way as Seaworld does with orcas. I've always felt zoos were important in terms of preserving and hopefully educating and re-establishing endangered populations. I'm starting to question that though too just out of respect for the animals who are locked up. They appear happy at the zoo, but who knows if they really are. Captivity is all they know, but they certainly have their own natural instincts that they're not allowed to live by.

Anyway, I'll attach a few pics from yesterday. The first pic is Leroy Jr a cub born last 10/17. Unfortunately his father just recently passed away at the age of 20+. Second pic is a new pair of cheetahs that the zoo aqcuired. Third pic is a baby de brazza monkey (I think that's what they're called). Fourth pic is Savannah which is the mom to Leroy Jr. The last pic is a large adult male mandrill.

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I weighed in at 202 even this morning. I think it's partly food weight as I ate late yesterday and had dessert (a bigger than I should have had bowl of low fat frozen yogurt). My legs were absolutely shot when I got home yesterday so I didn't exercise, but I was walking all day so I consider that exercise anyway. They feel better today so I'll be doing taebo tonight for sure.

My meal plan for the week is looking pretty good. Oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, a garden salad for lunch, and snacks will include baby carrots, more fruit, or some type of cracker. Dinner matters on the night, but I'm going to try to eat healthy meals there too. I'm determined to get that scale below 200lb! Thankfully I'm losing inches so I'm relying more on that, but would still love to see 19x-something soon! :)
 
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Nice pics! I especially like the mandrill photo. I have mixed feelings about zoos as well, but I have such an interest in animals that the ability to see such a variety is too much for me to resist. They do try to effect positive changes for species that are imperiled, but their success varies wildly. Between habitat destruction and poaching some animals may end up only in the zoos.
There are more tigers captive in the US than exist wild in the entire world. That's sad, but only 6% of those captive tigers are in zoos.

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I'm with you on Seaworld Mandy. If you ever find yourself in Monterey, California you should visit the aquarium there. They have wonderful habitats with integration with the surrounding bay and they are real stewards of conservation (no orcas of course). The town is also the setting for Steinbeck's Cannery Row and a quick trip from the National Steinbeck Center. My nerdery extends to nature and literature which makes Monterey one of my favorite places on the planet.
 
Hi Mandy,

You dogs are adorable!! I bet they are so fun to be around!

Good job with all the added fruits and vegetables, not easy that is for sure.

I haven't been to a zoo or the circus in ages, I too worry about the animals there.

I noticed that you always do taebo, do you have different DVDs or always the same one? I think mixing things up a bit is good. Our bodies really do get used to the same thing and of course working the muscles in different ways is also beneficial. I used to mostly run, but have been adding other cardio in to the mix.

Maybe try something a bit different. You are going to see 19X soon, I just know it!
 
Q - Monterey Bay is on my to go to list. I've heard great things about that aquarium and they also have amazing whale watching there too. This season has especially been good out that way with hundreds of humpbacks feeding on massive shoals of anchovies. I so wish I could get out there especially since our season here was so blah. Someday!

I also agree about the animals being in captivity. Sadly we are headed in that direction. We're doing so much damage to the planet, it's so sad. :(

Jade - I have been doing four (I think) different taebo workouts in rotation, but on 10/2 I decided to stick with one routine for a month and see what happens. I'm nearing the month mark and I'm pretty pleased with the results. As I said I am losing inches so I'm not too concerned with the number on the scale. I would love to see a lower number, but I know It'll catch up eventually. As long as I'm losing inches I know I'm doing something right. Tomorrow I take new measurements so we'll see if I've lost anymore from last week. :)

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This morning's weigh in was a surprise. I weighed in at 200.4lb. Almost back down to my low of 200.2lb. Hopefully tomorrow it'll be lower.. as in.. 199+. We'll see! :)

Today will be a nice day. I work at the same place as my mother and when my grandparents passed away in August the owner of the company said he wanted to take us out to lunch. He's said stuff like that in the past, but then never did it so we didn't put much weight into it. He mentioned it a few times since then and then yesterday he said today would be the day. So we're going out to get a nice lunch at one of our favorite restaurants today. This place is know for their chicken tenders so that's what I'll be getting. Instead of getting french fries though I'll be going with rice pilaf. I'm also going to eat a bowl of salad at work before going so I won't be as hungry for chicken.

The good thing is that we'll be eating at around noon so we'll be able to burn a lot of it off throughout the rest of the day. I'll also be doing more taebo tonight.
 
Lunch went very well yesterday. I made some good choices and a not so good choice. The good choice is that I opted to have a bottled water over soda. Big step for me as I usually splurge and have soda when I'm out as a treat. The not so good choice, well it's not horrible. We ended up ordering appetizers which I wasn't expecting. He told me to get whatever I wanted so I ended up ordering some baked potato skins with cheese and bacon pieces. I had 3 of them. Ugh! As for the meal itself I did order rice pilaf with chicken tenders and it was delicious! My word did it taste awesome! I ate about 3/4 of the rice and only 4 tenders and brought the rest home. I'll have some tonight for dinner.

I did not eat anything else for the rest of the night last night as I felt stuffed right up until bed time. I layed down to go to bed and my stomach started growling, but I wasn't about to get something to eat at 11pm! This morning I had some oatmeal and peaches for breakfast. I'm snacking on baby carrots now and will be eating my salad in a little while. I'm trying to save my calorie room for dinner.

I did get my Taebo workout in yesterday and will be getting in this afternoon too. Thankfully I leave work early on Wednesdays so I can get everything done before the Sox game tonight. Hoping to see them close it out at home tonight. :)

My weigh in this morning was up from yesterday. I weighed in at 201.2lb, but I think it's more food/water retention related. I've been "getting rid" of a lot of water today so I'm thinking it should be lower tomorrow. I'm actually very excited to weigh in tomorrow morning. On 10/1 I weighed in at 204.8lb. I'm anxious to see what my end of the month weight will be. This has been my best month yet in terms of eating and exercise, I'll post more detailed stats later today. I cheated a time or two, but for the most part I've been very focused and am really proud of myself. Looking forward to more of the same next week. :)

Hope you're all having a good day. Will catch up on your diaries again tonight.
 
My weight was up too, but I'm in a pair of jeans that didn't fit last week so no problems. Your fluctuations are trending down still and you'll be in the 190s in no time.
 
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