Oh, Yes I Did!!!

Just a quick update to let you all know that I most certainly DID make it to the Y today and did 20 minutes on the treadmill at 2.5 mph and 20 minutes on the rowing machine, burning an average of 375 calories/hour. It really made me feel like I did something good! :) Maybe there is hope for me after all. LOL :)

Two More Pounds! Down 40 Pounds! :)

So, here it is… another week AND ANOTHER TWO POUNDS! Yay! I have now lost 40 pounds! Woohooo! Just 8 more pounds to go and I'll be below 200! I don't even remember when I weighed less than 200, which probably sounds pathetic to those of you who have never weighed over 200 pounds, but it's pretty darn exciting to me! :D

I had a much better week at my support group meeting this week. Instead of the recumbent exercise bike (which killed my knees last week), I exercised on the treadmill and rowing machine and was perfectly fine the next day. So, I think I'll stick to those and stay away from that recumbent bike! And, during those ridiculous relaxation sessions, I DID NOT close my eyes this time and that went well also. Yeah, I have these little weird idiosyncrasies, and, as I mentioned last week… one of them is closing my eyes while sitting around a table in a roomful of strangers. It's not relaxing. So, I'm not doing it!

Now, if I could just get myself to exercise more than once a week, I'd REALLY be doing something! I still go to the Y and do water walking twice a week, but that's hardly a good workout. THAT is more relaxing than sitting in support group relaxation sessions! LOL Have I been to the Y to work out, though? No. :( I just have to plan my time better and MAKE time to work out. A couple of weeks ago I bought a floor mat and some exercise bands that came with an instructional DVD. Have I even opened the box yet? No. :( And I found some great exercise videos on Xfinity On Demand. They have everything there! Have I tried any of them yet? Well, does just watching exercise programs count? ;) So, I've got some work to do on my exercise program. Maybe I just have to think about it awhile, before I actually do it. (Oh, I can justify just about anything.) LOL One of my support group goals last week was to get to the Y to work out at least ONCE this week and I haven't been there yet, which leaves me just one more day before support group to get there. I will get there Monday. (Yes, I will!)

Kerry and I went to Salem Willows Friday night with my brother and sister-in-law. For those of you who are not familiar with Salem Willows, it's a quaint little area in Salem, Mass. with a beach, fishing dock, park, kiddie rides, amusements and take-out restaurants. We go there for the Chinese pepper steak and chop suey sandwiches usually. We've been going there for those sandwiches since …. well, since before Kerry and I knew each other! His family used to go there when he was a young boy and my family used to go there when I was just a little girl. I loved the little boat rides and they still make me smile when I go there and see little kids riding on them now. :) But, anyway, I was a little scared to try a pepper steak sandwich… beef hasn't been agreeing with me lately and I really don't need the bread. So, I thought I'd try a small, half-pint container of chicken chop suey. And I ate it all! And, I didn't get sick! Yay! I can go to Salem Willows and get something to eat there! I can be normal! LOL So, that was a very good thing! I ate it very slowly, but I ate it and it was good! :) Then, we went over to the arcade and played some skeeball and slot machines. You only win tickets in the slot machines. But I won a LOT of tickets… over 1400! And I thought… wow! I'll be able to get that really nice plastic spider ring I'd been looking at! LOL But, nooooooooooooooo! I got a pink, sequined cowboy hat with flashing lights!! Yeeeeehaw!! :D You KNOW I wore it all the way home… yes, with the lights flashing! At one point we had a police cruiser two cars ahead of us. The cruiser was going very slowly. Kerry was somewhat concerned that we might get stopped for displaying illegal flashing lights! LOL :D We made it home without incident. :)

Well, that's it for this week! I'll try to post another update before vacation, but if I don't get to it before Friday, this will be the last update until August. Enjoy the weather! Enjoy your grandchildren (or children, if you haven't yet been blessed with grandchildren) and have fun!

Nothing to report this week :(

Well, no weight loss this week, but that's to be expected, so they say, so I'll be patient. I still feel great and, for the most part, I'm eating much healthier! And, instead of another old, boring photo of me, I'll treat you to a photo of my exceedingly handsome grandson (he looks just like his Granny, don'tcha think?) ;)

I had my appointment with Heart & Wellness this week, for the Risk Reduction Program. I like the exercise part. I like the nutrition discussion part. I absolutely hate the relaxation techniques part. I've got an issue with keeping my eyes closed surrounded by a group of strangers. Weird, I know, but it's not a comfortable… and HARDLY a relaxing feeling for me. But I will endure. Maybe next week we can do something that doesn't involve closing one's eyes.

I was on an exercise bike for 45 minutes! My poor knees could barely move that night. I did well while I was actually on the bike, but that's just not a good thing for my knees. I could hardly walk the next day. Maybe I'll try the treadmill next time. :) And… the darn group class doesn't end until 5:30PM… which is when my Zumba class begins, so I can't go to Zumba anymore. Boooo! Anne, the leader, said that would be too much exercise for me in one day, anyway. I didn't tell her that I'd already been to the Y for water walking before the class. LOL :) But, I'm thinking… hey! They said we need to fit in 3 hours of exercise each week, at a minimum… I'm just trying to get it all done in one day. LOL I will stop by Zumba on my way home each week, just to cheer on my girls! :)

So, no exercise on Wednesday, because my knees were killing me. But, I did walk to the fire station on Thursday. That was a good thing. That's 1 mile… actually just over a mile… and I did it in 30 minutes -- 2 miles an hour. But, nothing on Friday and, unless we can count going from store to store to store, looking for an Intex pool filter cartridge, size A, as exercise, than I haven't exercised again, since Thursday. That's definitely NOT a good thing. I did buy some exercise stuff at Ocean State Job Lots on Saturday, while I was looking for the filter cartridge. I got a yoga mat and a box of those gigantic elastic body bands. They've got a lot of cool exercise stuff there, so I might go back and get an exercise ball or some weights, too. But I want to sign up for a class at the Y, so I'll get more exercise and I want to look into a trainer, too. Wonder if they have them at the Y. It's not that I don't WANT to exercise… I just need someone to push me. I need a coach. Yeah, that's what I need.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America came by this week to pick up clothing donations. They got a bunch of clothes from me! Already, I've got lots of things that I'll never wear again! I just LOVE that! What I love even more is that someday I'll need to buy new clothes! Wooohooo! :D Can't wait! But I've still got a lot of things that I can still wear without looking too frumpy. And I've got a few things that I have kept, because I love them, even though they're too small for me. So, I can wear those again, someday, too!

My grandson came upstairs to have me take a look at his "hair sut". He can't pronounce hard "C"… but I knew what he meant. His hair sut is just adorable and Granny made such a big deal over how he looks like such a big boy now! Then, off he went outside to run around. The boy loves to run! He loves to run and he loves to dig worms. Trouble is, my son (his dad) was having a fly problem downstairs and he couldn't figure out if these were new flies or those huge leftover winter flies that come to life as it warms up. Well, after a little housecleaning, he found a paper cup full of dead worms under a chair down there. I'm surprised he couldn't smell them! Yuck! No wonder there was a fly problem! So, now, Caiden's worms will stay outside. We almost had a huge butterfly in the house yesterday. He caught one and put it in a cup with a cover and came in to show it to me. As he took the cover off and I saw what was in there, I instantly pushed the cover right back on and shooed him outside with his catch, without trying to sound panicky. That thing was huge!! It was about the size of a luna moth, but beautifully colored. :)

Well, that's about it for this week. The kids have all gone home now. Granny's Adventure Park is closed until next weekend, so Kerry and I are going to head out to a friend's house for a barbecue. Have a good week everyone! Hopefully, I'll get more exercise in this week and have something to report next week! :)

Down 36 Pounds! Woooohooooo! :)

Sorry for being so late getting this out this week! My photographer went back home and I don't have a photo yet, but I'll post one as soon as I can. In the meantime, I'm excited to report that I'm down to 212 this week -- 36 pounds all together. I haven't started exercising yet, but was given the go ahead -- no, strongly encouraged to start walking as soon as possible. So, I try to get out daily to, at least, walk around the yard.  LOL  Hey, it's better than sittin' on my duff at the computer, or in front of the TV, right?  :)  I shall start walking, in earnest, on Wednesday (yes, I will!) and that should help me lose weight, too. I did get a bit of walking done yesterday, around Boxford center for the parade. Two of my granddaughters were with Grandpa, in his fire car, in the parade. They were soooooo excited!  :)  Did Granny remember to bring her camera to the parade? Of course not.  Booo!  L

So, Wednesday night my son, Steve, drops in with four lobsters his friend got in his trap. One had to weigh 8 pounds! It was huge! So I cooked 'em up and Kerry and Steve had some and I had a couple of bites. We saved the rest of it. Thursday, I went out and bought a 1/2 pound of sea scallops and made a lobster and scallop pie for dinner. I really wanted scallops, but, I ate about 1/4 cup of the pie -- all lobster -- and was really full. No scallops for me.  :(   Kerry ate what was left of mine. I think that's going to be the norm for us. I'll have a couple of bites and he'll eat the rest. Trouble is... I'll be getting smaller and he'll be getting larger!

I had an appointment with Heart & Wellness on Thursday. They're the folks who will get me started on exercising, on their equipment. I'll also have to endure lectures each week on stress reduction, anger management, relaxation techniques and diet & nutrition. Anyone who knows me knows I'm generally a good natured person. I rarely get stressed and don't get angry without good reason... and I'm an expert in relaxation techniques.  :D  I know I can be moody, but I am also mellowing with age… I just avoid people and situations that make me irritable. I'm finding that there are some people in my life that I just need to avoid whenever possible.  Not many, but there are a few manipulators, liars and just plain old mean people who are not fun to be around.  So, I avoid them. For the most part, they're older than me and I do try to respect my elders, as I was taught to do. When I think I can't, I remove myself from their company.

But, I digress… the handbook that Heart & Wellness gave me has about 40 pages on anger management, for God's sake! Okay, so maybe THAT makes me just a teensy bit angry. Okay, maybe I do have anger issues.  LOL  :)  I am not looking forward to the lectures -- maybe the diet and nutrition information will be helpful, but the other stuff is basically crap, in my humble opinion. And now, I shall rant... just a bit. Psychology is hardly a science, but many of those who buy into it will try to make you believe it is an exact science and of all the psychologists I've met, almost all of them are nuts and trying to diagnose themselves, which makes it very difficult for anyone who actually needs therapy to find a therapist who's halfway normal. Okay, I'm done. So, basically, I'm not really thrilled to have to go through the Heart & Wellness 12-week mind-warping program, but I will endure. If nothing else, the exercise will help me get started and I can follow-up at the Y. I'll only be at Heart & Wellness for about 3 hours, once a week, for just 12 weeks, so I'll need to continue exercising throughout the week… as well as for the rest of my life… and I'm a member of the Y, so Y not?  :) 

Everything else was good at my appointment. I met with a cardiology nurse, Ann, who gave me my exercise target heart rate... darned if I can remember what it is, but I have a card somewhere in my purse. I must dig it out before this afternoon, my next appointment! And I met with the dietician, Melinda. She was very helpful and interesting to listen to regarding my protein and water intake. Got some good tips from her on ensuring I get enough of both and I'm doing much better with both -- still not getting the minimum, but I'm working on it and getting better at getting it in.

Friday, I met with my PCP and my thyroid numbers are still too high. :(  So, I'm doubling my 50mg levothyroxine to 100mg day and she wrote a new prescription for the 100mg tablets that I'll pick up when my 50mg tablets are gone. In the meantime, I just take two/day, rather than one.  Otherwise, everything was good there, too. Oh, she was a bit concerned about my blood pressure, but I think it was a fluke. It was 168/80, I think. I've been taking it every day since my appointment and it's been 121/66, 108/62, 105/68 and 107/64. Nothin' wrong with those numbers! 

Here's something new! I'm finding that I sneeze a lot after eating. Not always right away, but shortly after I've finished eating, I'll start sneezing… sometimes just once, but, most times, several times in a row. Not sure what that means, but it's something new and strange that I'll try to remember to discuss with the dietician later today. And, I had my first experience with "dumping" yesterday, because I ate too fast, I think. I'd heard of dumping (I hate the term, but it's a fairly accurate description of what happens) in my support group meetings. Dumping can happen if you eat too fast, too much, or swallow without chewing/pulverizing the food. I had some grilled steak and chicken… just about 1/4 cup's worth and probably less, but I ate it without thinking and I really do need to concentrate on eating when I'm eating, so I chew chew chew, until it's completely mush, or I get that "stuck" feeling. The food feels like it's stuck in my esophagus and won't move. It usually goes away in about 10 minutes, but it didn't yesterday and, eventually, it came back up. I'm sure it's because I ate too fast and swallowed pieces that were too large. And it was really difficult to figure out how and where I was going to do this, because I was outside at a large family barbecue, but I think I pulled it off without making a spectacle of myself -- at least no one said anything to me.

Well, that's it for this week! Happy Birthday, America! Talk atcha next week.  J