Update #2

So I know I'm a bit crap about keeping up with this blog... but I'm fairly consumed with the process of eating clean and well and getting stronger and healthier.  I know you 3 readers will understand... right? ;)
Yesterday I went to my nutritionist for my 2 month check in.  It was AWESOME!!  I went from 123kg (she was being nice when she told my original weight but I told her not to spare my feelings... I need tough love when it comes to getting healthy) to 115.9 as of yesterday!  She also does bilateral weight measurement to double check my numbers but also to see where I am carrying the weight.  I used to be very unbalanced and leaning heavily on one side... no more... I'm almost perfectly, evenly balanced!!!

I feel stronger, happier and healthier than I have in a long time but it isn't easy.  It's not easy to come up with new and interesting varieties of things to eat when you really want that cheese burger on a bun (I'm on a no dairy, limited grains eating plan... and did have that cheese burger on a bun once and got so sick!!).  I'm learning to be creative in the kitchen and that's probably good.

I'm also healing well with my back and am now able to add more vigorous workouts and weight lifting back into my exercise routine.  I'm really excited.  Clothes are fitting well, people are noticing and I feel  like I am coming more and more into the woman I am meant to be.

So 7 kgs are gone for good off this body and I'm excited for what's next!!!

Update #1

So I've just passed the 2 week mark on my journey and as my nutritionist and I have agreed, I'd weigh in every 2 weeks and once a month do a deeper consultation with feedback etc.

Friday was my first weigh in.... I haven't been perfect in following all the rules.  I'd had my iced coffees with cream and condensed milk (it's a local Singapore thing) a time or two, I'd eaten a couple of sandwiches here and there, I hadn't managed to always take in as much protein as I was meant to, I'd had chocolate here and there, a beer here and a drink there... but I had kept trying and I had taken all my vitamins etc.  However, with a less than perfect eating record and an inability to do strenuous exercise due to the condition of my back,  I didn't have high hopes for my first weigh in...

I stepped on the scale and tried to tell myself that the next one would be better, that I felt better when I was eating right so that was worth all the efforts... I got off the scales (I'm not allowed to look... my nutritionist does all the recording).  My initial weight was 268 lbs or 122.5 kgs and my current weight is:

263lbs or 120 kgs!!!!  I'd lost 2.5 kgs or 5lbs!!!!  I couldn't believe it!  WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!  It made me feel motivated to keep trying and to get on the exercise train as quickly as I can!

Here We Go Again

Since I am perpetually falling off the wagon and having to restart my desire to live a healthy and strong existence, I think God designed for my body to pretty much fail so that I'd sit up and take notice of the damage I was doing to myself by yo-yo-ing and giving up. What happened is that my back "gave out" and I was fairly immobile for about a month.  I wasn't able to bend or do much.  A disc in my lower back was bulging, the damage of degeneration to my lower spine was causing major pinching of nerves etc.  It was miserable and also alerted me to the fact that my health insurance wasn't going to cover the total cost of getting better (I would and do need continuous treatments and exercises for at least the coming year), so I paid for better insurance (that didn't cover my pre-existing back condition) and then shelled out more money for the back treatments. So needless to say I was feeling underwater, under mud, under everything.  I felt like I couldn't breath or afford to get better.  But I made some hard decisions. I decided that I had no choice but to trust my finances to God as well as my spiritual, mental and emotional health and then to trust my physical health to the amazing health care givers that He'd led me to.  So I started doing just that.  I downloaded an application for monitoring my spending (so far so good), I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app for tracking my food intake (also giving me loads of motivation to stick to it) and I employed my chiropractor for her nutritionist talents (she also holds this certification).  It's not going to be easy but it has to be done and this time is the final time.

So here is the break down (and please be kind... it's not easy to put this all out there, but I think if I'm honest, you will respect that):

Current weight: 122 kg (thats well over 260lbs)

New food regimin includes giving up all dairy and only 1 serving of grains a day (this is really hard for me... I'm a grain girl and dairy girl, not so much for the meats but I'm supposed to have 4 servings of proteins a day but no tofu or soy based products).

New workouts are limited because of the health of my back... I can't run a lot so it's mostly swimming and walking for the moment.

So that's it for now...

Weekly Check-In

Alright... so here is the nitty gritty truth of the matter... I've done well!  Food is my go to thing for when I am sad, happy, stressed or feel overwhelmed.  I'm an emotional eater to the n-th degree.  And there has been all of the above in the past 3 days.  And one day I almost posted a plea blog for a solution to wanting to drown my sorrows in chocolate and wine... but I sucked it up and didn't do it.

Here is how it broke down:

I didn't add any additional sugar to my teas or anything else I had.

I did let myself have a cookie when I felt like my day was crap and I wanted a treat (best part?  I didn't go for the second one or the other offered treats from friends).

I didn't add salt to anything I ate (and I ate boiled eggs... plain... not bad)

I did NOT work out.  My back decided it hate me on Thursday night and I've been slowly stretching it out ever since... maybe a little pool time later today if I think I can handle it.

I did monitor my portions (except for last night when I got to go to a friend's house for a Diwali feast... but I did abstain from booze during the event).

I avoided fried foods altogether, even when a quick meal from a fast food joint seemed like it would be so much easier.

Through the whole time of saying no to most treats (I did have that cookie and dessert last night... deliciousness) and in choosing healthier foods I NEVER ONCE felt deprived or like I was on a diet.  That is SUCCESS right there.  Limiting simple things and just making better choices is easier than forbidding things for forever from my life.

Let's hope the next week sees me continuing to succeed and to even hit the gym and time or 3!!

New Goals

Okay... clearly I've been trying and failing for quite some time now.  So, now it's time to get serious.  I think I've just not been ready. And by that I mean that I kept ignoring the information that my body was telling me.  I was ignoring the pain in my back and hips from carrying all the extra weight (I have been wearing the same size for 3 or 4 years but it's not about the gain, it's about the wear and tear).  I was ignoring the headaches from eating foods that weren't good for me.  I was ignoring how much I hated looking in the mirror or at pictures.  But no longer.  I know I may have said that before but I'm really and truly done with looking and feeling the way that I do.  So it's time for a change and I am the only one who can make that change.

Here are the goals I am making:

1. Run a 10 km race in under 1 1/2 hours (I'm slow but that time would be quick for me)

2. Walk/jog a 1/2 marathon

3. Work out 3-4 times a week

4. Avoid fried, fast or processed foods (this is going to mean less or no drinking)

5. Absolutely no added sugar (going to use honey or agave syrup instead), no added salt


Okay... I think we will start with those 5 goals.  I've already stopped adding sugar to anything and I don't even miss it.  I still use salt sometimes but I think it will be easy to give that up as I don't really need to add it most of the time.  I've walked a 5 km race just recently and was able to do well with that so I think training for and running/walking to other two is doable.  The hard goals for me will be avoiding the fried or fast foods (had fried, fast food for dinner... made it my last meal of that sort), it will also be hard for me to push to do the workouts.  I just get so lazy once I get home... I think I'm going to start packing my workout gear to school and changing there before hopping the train home... that way I can go straight to the gym when I come home... it's the going upstairs to change first that kills the workout mojo.  But if I'm already changed when I get on the train, there is no reason to go upstairs.

Okay... I know that there are literally 3 readers but I'm really going to need your support, help and accountability push to help me complete these goals.  Also, let me know what would be some good timelines for the races... when should I have those completed by?

Finally Getting Back on Track

I don't know if you are like me at all but I'm one of those people who needs the fear of failing in order to get back on track in pretty much ALL areas of my life. And this is most true when it comes to my health and well-being. 
Since moving to Singapore I've begun to set a few goals for myself (working out at least 3 times a week, swim as often as I can and learn some new sports) in regards to fitness and health.  In order to ensure that I would actually work out at least 3 times a week, I signed up for the Great Eastern Women's Run 5K.  It's smaller than what I was doing before my knee injury and surgery but I know it's what I need in order to get back on track.  I hit the elliptical yesterday in the gym and was pleased with my cardio but once I switched to the treadmill I could tell that I had a LOT of work to do once impact was thrown into the game.  I've also started doing yoga in the mornings that I go to work and it's been an awesome way to get my blood going and my morning started.  Finally I've started swimming almost daily in the pool that is downstairs.    So I feel like I'm off to a good start for my fitness goals... I've even been given the opportunity to learn to play Gaelic football, ultimate frisbee, and field hockey. I'm excited to have all these opportunities to learn new sports and find new ways to make my body better. 
So that's where I am in the

Successes and Failures...

I think that choosing a healthier lifestyle is full of ups and downs, successes and failures.  I'm just beginning my journey (again) and I've already experienced both.  I weighed myself when I first got home (260 lbs... failure) and again this morning (3 weeks later: 262.5.... success of a sort since I didn't mind my diet or really workout at all).  I've successfully kept sugar out of my coffee (one of my short term goals that is now becoming a long term goal with an extension to tea). I've failed to eat small portions or even healthful choices.  These are things to take on in my next chapter as I move to Singapore.  Just like I removed sugar from my hot beverages, I'm going to removed packaged sweets from my diet.  Eventually I'd like to remove at least 75% of all packaged foods if I can. And I'd like to add more workout time into my life again.   But we'll see.  Let's keep moving one little success at a time.  There will always be failures but as long as I don't allow that to derail me completely, then that will be okay.