Zumba, Zumba, Zumba!

Totally slow on getting back on the bandwagon this time, but I'm not a failure unless I give up and I haven't done that yet, so I haven't failed. I have however put on about 15lbs and that actually disgusts me that I could and would throw away all that hard work, but I won't focus on it or I won't move forward. So, Bad Rachel, and now we move on.

I've signed up for a 6 week challenge at Curves and have added the Zumba/Curves workout as one of my 3 Curves workouts during the week. It's a lot of fun...even if I do have to wake up early on a Saturday to do it. I've also purchased the Zumba workout DVDs so I can Zumba on my off days from Curves. This will work better when my projector lamp comes in so I can workout in the big room, so until that time, instead of Zumba at home, I made a CD of songs that I just dance to.

Right now I'm in the process of reevaluating my eating. I've got the workout portion back on track, but until I get the eating back on track, the best I'll do is quit gaining. So that is my project tonight. That, and maybe updating the look of this blog...I think I saw a few cobwebs in the corner! :o)

Man, wouldn't it be nice!

Wouldn't it be nice to be that kind of person who once they've made their mind up nothing stops them. Those kind of people that can quit cold turkey and never look back. Alas, I am not one of those people. And as I sit here feeling queasy from eating too much I thought I'd stop by my own blog and see what's up.

I've said it before (it's starting to feel like a million times before), but I haven't given up. I never will give up completely. I'm not very good at this losing weight thing. It's the resisting food temptation that has me locked in. Food is my idol. Sad, but true. Need to work at it and I'll keep working at it until I get it. It's still a bummer. I look back and I could have totally been at my goal a few times had I just stayed on track. And it's depressing to realize that. I guess I should quit looking back. I might run into something that would hurt!

Tomorrow is a new day and a new 6 week round. I do solemnly promise that I will one day make it. I will one day reach my goal! You all are now witnesses to this promise!

New this time around is an accountability partner in the form of hubby. As an added bonus, he's going to do Zumba with me twice a week. Ain't he a keeper!

I have the tools, I know how to use them, now it's just getting out there and doing it! Pray for me. Pray hard and if you have any encouraging or motivational words/stories, advice, etc., I'd love to hear it!!!!

New level of dedication

Last week I was on this antibiotic that made me feel queasy unless I ate something. Problem was I was taking it in the evening after dinner and would eat something to settle my tummy. I bought a drumstick (the yummy Nestle kind) at a Relay for Life meeting and decided I could have that to take my meds with. Well, I'm in the van on the way home and look at the calorie content (ok, I was parked at the time and not driving...I don't recommend looking at labels and driving). It's staggering! So, I come home, put it in the freezer and instead grab a celery stick to eat with my meds. A CELERY STICK over a Nestle drumstick!

This story would be even more awesome had I not polished off that drumstick this morning. I've had a bad day of eating. I'm going to nip it in the bud right now, though before the whole day is shot. I will get back to it for afternoon snack and dinner. But, hey, the drumstick lasted in my freezer for 3 whole days! New record! And I know I can make good choices and follow through with them. Still needs work, but I'm improving and that is what matters!

Ugh! Medicine not so fun!

Ok, bad imitation of a caveman (cavewoman?) there, but I feel so ugh, I don't care. I've been following everything just fine as far as the eating plan so the only difference between this week and last week is this antibiotic that I'm on. I'm up 2lbs, but I'm not worried about it. As long as I stick to it, I'm getting healthier. But, this medicine makes me queasy, and have I mentioned ugh feeling, so I just want to whine and since it's my blog I'll whine if I want to.

Ok, I'm done. I can't stand whining even if I'm the one doing it. Only 3 more doses and I'll be finished. Probably should have guessed there could be issues with it...I mean any medicine that says DO NOT drink alcohol while taking this can't be good, right? :o)

I'm overwhelmed at the moment with life in general and overbooking myself, but I'm not going to let that derail me (although I've been mightily tempted to give in to that emotional eating monster). After this weekend things will slow a bit...mostly because I'm going to make them slow a bit. :o)

Off to start my day. I'm a Garfield, I'm a Garfield, I'm a Garfield (reference to the Garfield cats you see in car windows who stick in there and hang on). :o)

Emotional Eating

I'm pretty sure I've blogged about this before, but I'm going to do it again anyway. This Saturday was a bad day. No, I didn't fall off the wagon again, and as a matter of fact, I've stuck faithfully to my eating plan for a full week and have lost 9.8lbs! My problem was this overwhelming desire to curl up in the fetal position in a dark room where there was absolute silence. Since this is impractical when you have 4 children, let alone when you're sitting on the side of a road watching a parade, I was unable to get the silence I was craving. Things did not improve when we returned home. Did I mention I have 4 kids? Yeah, silence is not something that was going to happen anytime soon not to mention things like grocery shopping needed to be done. Without having the down time I wanted, I started getting really irritable. Like, I will literally chew your head off and feel so much better kind of irritable. I struggled to say anything nice, heck I struggled not to yell at everyone for every little thing, and I think I failed. Worst of all was the feeling of confusion...why was I so angry? The plan was working, I'd followed it without fail, I'd had a good family day...why was I so on edge? It wasn't until I laid down in bed that night that the thought hit me...I was dealing with my emotions without food. I've never mastered the art of dealing with my emotions without food. Food is how I deal with all my emotions. Happy times, we go out to celebrate. I'm upset, scared, hurt, I reach for the comfort food. I honestly don't know any other way to deal with any emotion. But after this weekend, it's a new goal of mine. I can't be that grumpy anytime I experience an emotion without being able to eat to drown it out. Lay on the suggestions...what are some of the things you do to deal with your emotions in a positive, healthy way?

It's amazing what following a plan can do!

Alright, so I admit that I only half heartedly followed last 6 weeks plan. I did manage to not miss a single workout so that was an improvement. However, by the end of last 6 weeks, I was actually heavier than I was at the beginning of the 6 weeks. BUMMER! I'm proud of myself because I didn't let that knowledge get me down. Rather I used it to get serious about this round of 6 weeks. I'm on Day 5 of this 6 weeks and have been faithful to the plan every day so far. Not only did I lose 4.2 lbs the 1st day, I'm now down to less than I even hit in the last 6 weeks...in just 4 days. If that ain't motivation to stick with the plan, I don't know what is. So. hopefully by the end of this round by sticking to it, I can get back on track on my mini goals. Will workout today and tomorrow as I have a parade to attend on Saturday. Life is good.

Back on the wagon again...

I've been back at it for a few weeks now. Finally able to get my full workouts in 3x a week after the whole kidney debacle. It was a huge struggle to get back on track with the eating, too. During the time I was sick, I put on 20lbs. Backwards just a bit...ok a lot, but it took 3 months to take the 20 off the last time and 4 months to put it back on, so I guess that it could be worse and since I have taken it off once before, I know I can do it again. Lessons learned from all of this. 1) Even the best laid plans can get waylaid. Best to have a backup plan just in case because without a plan, you'll falter. 2)I now have a backup plan which is should I ever get sick again to the point of not being able to workout, I can at least maintain the eating plan. I will not let an illness throw me so far off track again! 3)Minor setbacks should be just that, minor. I have my health back and while I took a few steps backwards, I'm not going to continue going in that direction. 4)Sometimes goals need to change. I was all excited about being able to hit the 1/1/11 goal of being to my goal weight because of the numbers, but it most likely isn't going to happen. My goals have changed to reflect new 6 week intervals with a goal of 6lbs lost per interval. Puts me into December 2011. Now, I'll probably lose faster than that, but it's a doable goal and I just have to let go of my old goal, realize I am not a failure, pick myself back up and start again. Which is what I've done.

I don't know how often I'll blog, but I did start a group on Facebook to follow my progress, encourage me along the way and encourage others to reach their goals, too. If you'd like to join, it's called Rachel's Weight Loss Buddies and the URL is http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=107037375994416

I'll keep checking in here, too. This medium allows me a lot more room for my wordiness and sometimes I want to scream in frustration or in achievement and I seem to use a lot of words for both. :o)