Weight Loss Update: May 21 to 27

Weight Watchers Weigh-In:

Original Weight: 314.8
Previous Weight (May 10): 263.4
Today's Weight (May 24): 262.8
Change: -0.6
Total Loss: -52.0

Total Loss since May 2012: -59.4
Total Loss since Nov 2005: -73.6


SP Weigh In
Previous Weight (May 24): 261.0
Today's Weight (May 28): 260.0


I am so close to getting out of the 260s - especially on my at home scale.  I just need to keep at it and not go overboard on the weekends.

That 260 on my scale at home is the lowest I have seen since sometime in 2009. 

This past week I have received a few compliments about how good I am looking from co-workers and a few FB friends.  I need to remember to measure myself this weekend so I can also see how many inches I have lost. 

Another thing that made me feel good last week is that I had this pair of capri pants/long shorts that were a size 18.  I put them on on Saturday, and they fit !!  A little tight, but I wore them while running errands, and it was fine.  I still need a black pair of capri pants for the summer - so when I go out this Saturday I will try on a size 18 just to see if they work.  It depends on the style. 

I finally got the red highlights in my hair I have been wanting for months - a bit of a reward for reaching 50 pounds lost.  I think they look good.

Keep, Donate/Sell, or Toss

So we are moving right along with getting our parent's house ready to sell.  My youngest brother cleared out the extra room in the basement (that used to be his older brother's), and moved all his stuff in there.  Then he repaired his walls, primed and painted them, and removed & painted the baseboards.  New carpet (just for his room) is being installed tomorrow.

I cleaned out my closet (ended up with three bags of clothing that was too big for me) and my armoire and my secretary desk.  Now we can move the bedside tables and the bed and make the room presentable for showing perspective buyers.

There is a pile of stuff in the basement that needs to be boxed up and shipped to the storage room.  Mostly items for the garage sale. 

We did end up taking my bedroom furniture and a whole bunch of boxes to the storage room on Sunday.  Who knew that my armoire would fit in the back of my vehicle? 

Now the storage room in my parent's basement is organized and my mom can clean up before putting the house up for sale. 

I figure we have one more big trip out to the storage facility next weekend.

My divorce papers should be filed by the paralegal to the judge in Calgary this week.  In a weird coincidence my STBX messaged me through Google Chat last Wednesday.  All he got was a few one word answers from me.  I had no reason to talk with him.  It did not seem like he messaged me for any other reason than to check up and see how I was doing.  He seemed to eventually get the message that I was not going to tell him anything about my life.  He is no longer a part of it.

Our realtor showed us some more places last Thursday.  I really liked a couple of them, especially the one that had a nice sized kitchen, 2 full bathrooms upstairs, and an unfinished basement - that was in the Glastonbury area.  I wanted to show my parents but I have not heard back from our realtor.  I guess if it is sold than it was not meant to be.  I do have some other places that I would be interested in seeing.  There is also a great interest rate offer from our mortgage broker until June 7.  I just want to get this all settled.  My dad is dragging his heals a bit because he doesn't want to co-sign (well his accountant actually), but we need him to, and my mom understands that.  Sigh.

Work life has slowed down a little.  Just have month-end accounting on my plate right now.

image courtesy of http://www.moversvirginiabeachva.net

         

When Plateaus Strike

The Weight Watchers Weekly from April 27 to May was all about plateaus.  I found this a bit funny as I missed that meeting, and I was on a bit of a plateau at the time.

According to WW, a plateau is when the scale won't budge for several weeks in a row while following the Plan.  They can happen as your body adjusts to a lower weight, but they usually come from relaxing good habits - skipping measuring or tracking or moving less. 

There are a few suggestions about how to get unstuck:

1.  Back to Basics
 - look up PointsPlus values for everything and measure portions
 - focus on Good Health Guidelines

2.  Exercise More

3.  Eat more Power Foods
 - use the Simply Filling technique or go on Simple Start

I have already started to work on this by not going crazy overboard on the weekend.  On Saturday mornings I bring a healthy breakfast to my WW meeting.  Then I run errands, go shopping etc.  When I get back home I eat a healthy lunch.  My downfall is still Saturday night dinner.  My parents take out my grandmother every week and I often go with them.  I have a hard time picking healthier food options when I am presented with all the delicious choices on the menu.  I think I honestly need to stay home and make dinner for myself more often.

Friday nights are when I go bowling with Kristine.  Lately there has been a lot of evenings/weekends where I am packing and moving boxes.  I just need to take advantage of the spring/summer and get out there in the evenings for a walk.  Once I move into my own place, I plan on joining the gym.  I had real success with working out every morning.

If I would just take the few minutes each day to track my food and plan my meals I am sure I would see more movement on the scale.  I am good about making healthy breakfasts and lunches.  My family has dinner cooking when I get home from work, and for the most part this is healthy, but I need to watch the portions.  Actually measuring my food would help.

I am going to BUST THIS PLATEAU !!!

image courtesy http://www.tablehealth.com

May Long Weekend

I love that almost every month in late spring to early fall has a long weekend.  In fact I am even going to take off June 30 from work so that Canada Day is a long weekend for me too.  So first we have Victoria Day which was yesterday - May 19.  It seems like it was a bit early this year but I think it is usually the third Monday in May. 

When I was a child we would go camping on the May long weekend.  Often we would bring our old black/white antenna tv/radio so that we could watch/listen to the hockey playoffs.  There would be about 4 to 5 families and usually we went to Crimson Lake near Rocky Mountain House.

The past few years while I was living in Calgary with my ex - we would also go camping.  The last trip out to the property near Red Deer was the weekend in 2012 that our air mattress sprung a huge leak, I was feeling like crap all weekend because of my gallbladder (not that I knew that at the time), and I broke my ankle when I caught my foot in the bottom of my tent and fell.

It was the start of everything going downhill with my health and my marriage.

Two years later and I had a much better long weekend.

Friday evening I went bowling with Kristine.  Only had a couple of strikes over the three games - I really hope that I get better over the next few weeks.

Saturday I did a little shopping.  Pennington's had a secret sale on capri pants and shorts - so I got a pair of jean capris and a white pair of capris, it was too bad that they did not have a black pair in my size.  I was going to pick up a pair at another store, but I ran out of time.  I had a hair appointment (got some red streaks) and then my brother Greg and I packed up my car with boxes and made a run out to our storage unit.  Kristine came over to my house and we cleaned out my closet.  Then there was dinner at Milestones and I watched Tangled.

Sunday was spent packing up the stuff in my armoir and my desk.  Now those two pieces can be moved out of my room.  It will make it show much better once we get the house up for sale.  I ended up with three bags of clothes that were too big for me now that I will donate.  I also went over to Kristine's place to help her move/pack all the stuff in her living and dining room.  She is getting laminate flooring put in so all the stuff needed to go into the spare room.

On Monday I went and saw Godzilla (which I really enjoyed - Yay monsters fighting!) and also looked at a place for sale.  It was out of our price range and a weirdly organized 4-story split that while it had been renovated, it was not really my style.  We will keep looking.

I ate healthy-ish all weekend and this morning my home scale says I was 261.2.  Back on track.  I missed my WW meeting on Saturday.  Too many things to get done and not enough time.  Hopefully I will see the scale move down this Saturday coming up. 

A busy and fun weekend. 

image courtesy of http://www.allinspiredboutique.com

Update: April 9 to May 14

It has been a crazy month (see previous post).  I was really proud of myself to reach my 50 pounds loss goal - but after that I have hit a bit of a plateau.

April 12 I missed my WW meeting, April 19 I stayed the same, April 26 I was down 0.8, and then I missed May 3. I stayed the same at the May 10 weigh in.  Then on my home scale this week I have been up about 2 pounds (mostly water weight as it is that time of the month).

I really want to get back to going to the gym in the mornings - but I am waiting until I am moved into my new place so I can go somewhere close to home.  Ideally this would be Spa Lady on the south side.  I loved going there when I loss the weight on WW the first time.

The weather has warmed up considerably and I no longer have an excuse for not getting out there and enjoying some fresh air in the evenings after dinner.  I think I need to schedule a time (such as 7:00pm) and just get off my arse and go.

Some form of exercise would definitely help me see some movement on the scale.  Plus I would feel better just getting up and moving around.

Bowling on Friday nights is a good start to moving more.  I also have been helping to move things around our house as my parents get ready to list it for sale.

My next job is to clean out my closet and move the boxes to the storage room until I find a place to live.  It is nice to find that I have a bunch of clothes that do not fit anymore.

I know that over the past couple of weekends (Tim's birthday, Mother's Day, etc) I have been enjoying eating a lot of good food and I have not been tracking what I am eating.  I was doing well with planning for the weekend, and I just need to get back to doing that, starting with this weekend.  

image courtesy http://www.delightmedical.com

Monday Musings in May

How the heck is it almost the middle of May already?  How has it been four weeks since I last blogged?  It is crazy how fast time is passing.

My brother and I have gone out looking at places with our realtor on two Saturdays and a Tuesday evening.  Nothing that screams "home" yet.  I think we have figured out what we want/don't want.  Of course we increased our budget.  Random thoughts about the places we have seen so far:

 - we want a townhouse/duplex style condo
 - ideally a three bedroom with at least one and half baths - two full baths would be awesome
 - a basement (finished or unfinished) so my brother and I can have our own spaces
 - we have been focusing on the south side, with quick access to the LRT and downtown
 - garages are a great bonus - but you often have to give up the basement space (especially in new condos)
 - we are willing to do some painting, and maybe replace some floors, new cabinet doors etc - but we don't want to have to gut and completely remodel kitchens and/or bathrooms

My parents are working on getting their home ready to list.  Many areas around the house have been fixed/touched up with paint.  There were a couple of cracks (from the house settling) that needed filling first.  The garage is cleaned, trim was added, and then it was painted white.  Many things have been transferred to the storage unit or the dump (we had a Bagster that was picked up this morning, we took some things to a big bin event this past Saturday, and we will have a shredding company come with their truck once my dad finishes going through boxes of papers).

Kristine and I joined a fun, casual bowling league.  We play three games of 5-pin on Friday nights.  I did ok on the first game, but went downhill from there.  My leg/butt muscles were sore on Saturday.  I am looking forward to playing again this Friday.

My dad's 50-year old cousin had a mild heart attack this weekend.  She has been having trouble controlling her blood pressure and cholesterol (and was on medication).  She was been under a lot of stress lately with her husband possibly losing his job, not being happy at the school she teaches, and then her eldest son was treated for alcohol poisoning and tried to keep it from his parents.  She is in the hospital here in Edmonton (they are from Red Deer), and will be having an angioplasty today or tomorrow.  So far she is doing ok.

I completed a boot camp for one of the sections of my online course.  Read the textbook, studied, and took the test in two weeks.  I need to check and see if I got my results back yet.

Work was so busy over the past two to three weeks.  Issues with clients and the contract publications we produce for them - including a new magazine.  Plus month end accounting and normal data entry etc.  May will be busy too, but hopefully not full of problems.

On top of all that I twisted my ankle two weeks ago, and it was super sore for a few days.  It has healed now.  Thank goodness I still have my ankle brace from when I broke that bone in my foot.

We celebrated Easter, my brother's 31st birthday, my parent's 39th anniversary, and Mother's Day. 

I could really use a mini vacation.  Thank goodness this weekend is Victoria Day - and is three days long.  I am also glad the weather (I think) has finally stopped being so back/forth and up/down (cross my fingers).

image courtesy of http://www.hothdwallpaper.net