Struggles on the road to health

You know I've heard people say that to me before. "If you lose anymore weight you'll be too skinny."

Of course I ask if they are "blind". :p

Woot on getting clothes that fit! That really does make a difference.
 
The clothes have made a big difference in what people notice, for sure. But more so in how I feel about myself. Between my one week sickness break and the new clothes, I've gotten new motivation.

My knee has even stopped hurting for the most part. It's still bad some days. And on those days nothing helps...I've tried braces and wraps and tape and everything. No help at all. So now I just take advil half an hour before I go, and work through it. I need to go to the doctor with it eventually...

No big weekend plans for me. But that's good because we've been going and going every weekend for a month now. A good weekend at home might be nice. I may even get some cleaning done!
 
What machines do you exercise with? The elliptical is supposed to be good since it isn't as straining on the knees as a treadmill is.
 
The treadmill killed the front part of my legs, so I stopped with it a long time ago. I use it sometimes, but hardly ever. I've gotten into a routine of doing the recumbent bike on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (20 minute session followed by weights, then a 15 minute program on the bike), and the elliptical and bike on Tuesday/Thursday (elliptical 15 minutes, bike 10-15, elliptical 10).

I've got total exercise ADD....More than 15 minutes on anything just nearly KILLS me with total boredom. Is it bad to split it up that way?

But this morning I went and did 20 minutes on the bike on a program that stays at a high resistance level for a long time, then did some different weights that they'd started me on for my legs. I got where I couldn't do the leg extensions on the Nautilus machine anymore, so now I'm working more on the insides of my legs, and the backs of 'em, etc.

Also, I think I lost weight last week, but I'm not calling it official 'til Wednesday. If on Wednesday I'm still stuck at 173, I'm officially calling it a "plateau." So keep your fingers crossed...I'm SO close to where I want to be!!!!
 
Ok, so the plateau is a no-go. The 171 I was at on Monday has stuck, so I've changed the ticker. Yay!!! The little fishy is getting closer and closer to the 160 mark!!

I wonder if eating a bit more didn't make the difference. See, my husband and I go through a lot of tea during the day, and I was making it at home using sugar....1 cup of sugar for a gallon of tea. Not sure how much that was translating into per glass, but one cup of granulated sugar comes in at 775 calories, according to Sparkpeople. So say we got eight 16 ounce glasses of tea out of the gallon...that's about 100 calories per glass. So if I was having two classes of tea a night, or more on weekends when I'm home all the time, I was adding at a minimum of 200 calories per day to my diet.

Well, we switched to sweetening our tea with Sweet 'n Low, the no calorie sweetener. So if I was eating 1,450 calories per day, for example, I was getting an addition 200+ from the tea, to put me upwards of 1,650. When I stopped losing weight, I recalled the change and upped the calories by 100 or so per day to make up a bit of difference. Maybe that's what helped...who knows?

But yay for whatever it was!!
 
Awesome! :hurray:

From what I've read it doesn't matter how you break up your exercise - just as long as you do it!
 
Hair Trouble

Ok, so I've lost about 50 pounds so far, and decided I wanted a new haircut to go with my new and still improving body. A lady here at work had hair as long as mine (to the middle of her back), and got hers cut Monday. It was about an inch below her shoulders, and layered. I liked it a lot, and I've had my hair at that length before and liked it. So I decided that's what I'd do.

I make an appointment with the lady who's been cutting my hair for a couple of years. She's my husband's aunt, and she's never steered me wrong before. I go in, sit down and tell her what I want done: Cut off 5-6 inches, with layers. We talked about the layers, and she talked me out of them because "my hair is too wavy for it to make that big a difference." Or something like that.

So she gets started, but doesn't wet my hair. Instead she straightens it before she cuts each piece. I got a little concerned, but by that time it was too late because she'd already hacked off a large chunk of hair. She got done, and it was still slightly below the shoulders, and I liked it a lot. It made my face look thinner, and I looked younger. But not too young.

Went home and washed it. Got up this morning and it's about half an inch ABOVE my shoulders. I've had it this length before and HATED it. No, I take that back...hate is too weak a word. There's no word for the way I feel about my hair at this length. It's so wavy when it's long that it's bushy when it's this short. I look like Lord Farquaad from Shrek. If you haven't seen the movie, google a picture. That's me, but with a part in my hair.

I'm tempted to get a straightening iron, but heat-related styling totally kills my hair....and I sure don't want split ends halfway up the back of my head to add to this mess.

Grrr....:banghead: I'm not going back to her, ever again.
 
Awe Mindi! I totally understand.

My hair has a slight wave to it. Just enough that it doesn't look good unless I put a styling product in it or unless I straighten it. I'm getting to the point I want to cut it off again. And it's the longest it's been in awhile. It's even past my shoulders.

I think layers would be the easiest way to lessen the bulk of your hair and still give you length.

I don't understand why she straightened it first. If she would've cut it wet, it would've been longer and then "bounced" back up when dry. So she shouldn't have cut so much off (wet or dry especially since your hair is super wavy.)

Sometimes it does a person good to find a good young stylist. One that isn't too young of course, but one that others are recommending. I only say this because I did have a middle-aged beautician (well maybe older than middle-aged) and she did ok, but then I started going to a younger beautician (younger than me.) And she does Wonderful! I think it definitely has to do with age - or maybe I just got lucky?

Anyway, I've always heard that the difference between a good hair cut and a bad one is 2 weeks. So, maybe it will "grow" on you in another week or so and it won't be soo bad.

One other thing that I do before I go get my hair cut (if I'm changing styles) is to find similiar styles to my own hair and find cuts that flatter that style. Then, I go and discuss it with the beautician to see what would work for my hair.

Well hope your week has been going better since the hair cut.
 
Thanks for the reply, SweatPea! I still hate my hair, but if I keep it pulled back it's not really noticeable. Maybe it'll grow fast and reach a length where I can at least stand it a little bit.

Other than that, things improved a lot last week. My weight went down a couple of pounds and, as of yesterday, I'm 10 pounds from my goal!! :party: The size 12s are also getting a little big, so I may go try on a pair of size 10 pants this weekend. We'll have to see how it goes.

I've been doing ok getting more calories eaten since I cut out the sugar from my tea, and I really still think that's made the difference. It's been difficult eating more than I was, because I'd gotten into a habit of planning my meals and days to reach the same calorie number for SO many months. By upping it I feel like I'm eating too much, but then again, the weight's still coming off so it's all good.
 
Grrr.... I'm not going back to her, ever again.
Click to expand...
If you really hate it - go back to the salon and ask for a correction...

I've had more bad haircuts over the years than good ones... So I totally feel your pain... getting my hair cut is about a pleasant experience for me as getting a mammogram :D
 
Haircuts are like surgery to me... I've considered going back and getting some layers put in, though, to break it up some. Either to her, or to someone else entirely. Probably someone else....
 
most reputatable salons will fix your hair without charge - so it really couldn't hurt to ask... you being satisfied should be important to them...

my hair is naturally wavy bordering on curly depending on the humidity in the air - layers just don't work on my hair - it makes my hair wider... just be careful with them :D
 
I've always worn mine long, and it's really, REALLY wavy when it's long. I had it cut this short, by choice, once before, and hated it because it went totally puffy and looked like one of those medieval prince-type cuts...parted in the middle with a block of hair straight down.

Hmmm...maybe the first pound I lost last week was all HAIR!?
 
MindiK said:
Thanks for the reply, SweatPea! I still hate my hair, but if I keep it pulled back it's not really noticeable. Maybe it'll grow fast and reach a length where I can at least stand it a little bit.

Other than that, things improved a lot last week. My weight went down a couple of pounds and, as of yesterday, I'm 10 pounds from my goal!! :party: The size 12s are also getting a little big, so I may go try on a pair of size 10 pants this weekend. We'll have to see how it goes.

I've been doing ok getting more calories eaten since I cut out the sugar from my tea, and I really still think that's made the difference. It's been difficult eating more than I was, because I'd gotten into a habit of planning my meals and days to reach the same calorie number for SO many months. By upping it I feel like I'm eating too much, but then again, the weight's still coming off so it's all good.
Click to expand...

That's awesome! You should be very proud of yourself. And I agree with Mal, if you don't like it go back - she should at least be able to put layers in.
 
I've noticed people are pretty negative about someone else's weight loss.

Every single day, and sometimes more than once, someone will ask me how I lost weight. I tell them....eating better and exercise. They say I look good, but always follow it up with "You'll gain it back," or "It won't STAY off."

Why can't people just be positive? Just because their weight came back doesn't mean MINE will!! And it's not like I'm not already totally aware of the fact that a large percentage of people who do have a significant weight loss will, in fact, gain some of that weight back.

But I hope to keep from becoming one of them.

Once I reach my goal, and maybe even before, I'm going to cut back on the exercise...I'm going 5 days a week now, so I'll cut back to four days a week for a little bit, and then three days a week, so I'll be doing at least half an hour of cardio and weights three times per week, at a minimum.

Maybe that will work, physically. I'm just unsure of what to do regarding the food. Just keep eating like I am now, or slowly increase the calories to a maintenance level, once I reach the weight goal I'm trying to reach?
 
I think the one thing to remember is that people are just plain jealous when you lose weight. Especially if you are doing it the right way. You will definitely keep it off if you make it a lifestyle commitment and not just a "diet".

I think that if you're going to cut back on workouts when you get to goal, you will have to make sure your cals stay where they should for maintenance. How many cals per day are you eating now?
 
Sorry I don't do it more, SweatPea! I'll go and read your updates, but sometimes can't think of things to say!!

Right now I'm eating 1,550 to 1,600 calories per day (reminder: 5'9" tall, 27 years old). I was at about 1,400-1,450 a day, but that wasn't including all the tea I was drinking. So I upped the calories by about 100 to 150 over the course of a week or so, to make up for the calories I'd cut by switching to no-calorie sweetener. Which is also when the weight loss slowed down, so who knows?

Anyway...it's just getting increasingly tedious to go and work out five days a week. It's hard to do this time a year, and like I said...I want to KEEP going at LEAST three times a week. But when it comes down to it I may not be able to stop going five times...it may be an addiction!!!!

Today, though, I'm having "female trouble." I've been on birth control since the fall of 2001. Over the years it's gotten where my period has started, like clockwork (to the HOUR even) on the Wednesday morning during the "inactive" pill week.

Well, a few weeks ago it started a day early. No problem, right. Sometimes it happens. Well, this time I'm just barely beginning my last week of "active" pills and it's starting today.

But I guess the question is...will a 50+ pound weight loss affect the way your birth control is working? Has anyone else run into this issue? (Asking this in the forum, too).
 
I've read often -that birth control for women who are overweight is less effective than those who are of ahealthier weight (chances of conception also go down the more overweight a woman is - so it kind of is a bit of a wash... )

50lb weight loss would probably change how your birth control is working - So I'd definitely give your doctor a call...
 
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