Day 31 of Year long Journey

I still weigh two hundred and twenty one pounds. I have lost four pounds in thirty one days, an average of one pound per week. When I was younger this would have been double the weight loss. My body is fighting against losing weight. I wish I could tell it, there is no famine, just me trying to lose weight.

I will not give up. My body fat is down four percent to forty six percent. This is obese. I am happy to say I have ate healthy the last week. I think I might have to give up alcohol too. It has too many calories in it. Right now, I just drink on the weekends like I have a job or something.

I am working on getting my money right so I can retire securely. I do not have to have a big screen tv, just access to a library, fairly safe neighborhood, and a place to work out nearby.

June 23, 2010 Day 26 of Year long Journey

I weight two hundred and twenty one pounds. I have lost four pounds in twenty six days, an average of one pound per week. I am following Dr. Oz’s book, “You on a diet” except I kept the honey he told me throw out. I eat so much healthier, exercise five days a week. Yesterday I walked a mile to the park and ran for one minute and walked back home. If my feet were not wet from running, I would have walked for three minutes and run another minute and repeat this. It was very humid yesterday.

Since I am not working, my priority is to get healthy weight wise and take the teacher’s certification tests for physics and math next month. I plan to attend the Society of Women engineer’s conference in November. I hope I get a job there.

June 16, 2010 Day 19 of Year long Journey

I am down to forty seven percent body fat from fifty percent body fat. I have increased my exercise to two hours a day. One hour a day was not allowing me to lose weight. Two women at the gym mentioned that I had lost weight. Why can’t I just accept the compliment and say thank you? I have to say, “I only lost five pounds….” Body fat is more important.

I am using my perseverance that helped me earn two electrical engineering degrees, raise two college graduate children as a single mother to get myself healthy. I want to get off of high blood pressure and statins. I believe they are both related to my obesity. Fortunately, my fasting blood sugar level is eighty. Years ago it was seventy.

I am using dietpower software to track my nutrition and calories. A spinach salad with tomatoes, feta cheese, (1 ounce, I measure), red onions, 2 olives and sometimes one tablespoon of poppy seed dressing, (75 calories), add 2 wild salmon patties from frozen and I get an A in dietpower. Unfortunately, when I drink 350 ml of white wine, it goes down to a C. Dietpower tells me I will make my end of June goal of two hundred and twenty pounds. My goal for July will be another ten pounds.

This will be the summer of my content!

June 12, 2010 Day 15 of Year long Journey

I lost a pound, down to two hundred and twenty four pounds and forty-eight percent body fat. I was on the leg press machine doing my usual one hundred and thirty five pounds when I realized it was too light. I came back to the leg press and increased the weight to one hundred and fifty. I was easily able to do one hundred and fifty pounds for two reps of twenty five. This is proof of muscle building. A young woman at the gym told me I inspired her. I relayed to her that he 80something women pumping iron inspire me.

When I did body pump for two years, I lost forty pounds. When I stopped for a year, I gained it all back. I know it is not the exercise or one thing that gets me off track off keeping myself healthy. I hope to continue body pump into my nineties, and yoga forever. I do enjoy body stretching and muscle building activities.

One pound loss in two weeks is discouraging. I worked out for two hours yesterday. I am increasing my exercise to at least ninety minutes a day. I learned I can enjoy salads without the salad dressing added. I switched coffeemate creamer to soy milk creamer with half the calories and no saturated fats. I am in it for life.

June 10, 2010 Day 13 of Year long Journey

Obviously, I have not written in about a week because I have not lost any weight. The scale says two twenty five pounds with forty eight percent body fat. I went up a pound but down one body fat percent. I have not lost a pound in all thirteen days. I will not quit. I will double my efforts. I will increase my workout for one hour and a half each day. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I will lift heavy weights for thirty minutes including warm up and stretches and one hour body pump class. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I will do ninety minutes of light aerobics. Sunday I will walk a 5K. Yesterday I gave up hazelnut coffee cream for Silk soy milk in my coffee. That is one hundred and twenty calories I can eliminate from my daily diet.

I plan to post more positive news about my weight loss tomorrow.

June 4, 2010 Day 7 of Year long Journey

My food obsession has been alleviated over the last week. I have a process of waking up, turning the second computer on that hosts dietpower, make coffee and one or two of my usual breakfasts, whole grain toast with almond butter or steel oats with slivered almonds and brown sugar, turn the main computer on, go back to the first computer to log in what I plan to eat for the day in dietpower. I usually follow what I have logged. Sometimes I eat more or less. I write down the changes on sticky pad notes that I will log onto my dietpower later.

I have been sticking to less than 1300 calories, not including the 500 calories I burn exercising each day. If I exercise I will have 1800 calories. I eat better when I use dietpower. I usually get a B or C for the day. I take calcium, fish oil and vitamins to help this body.

I have lost about five pounds. This morning the scale read 224 pounds and 49% body fat. I will lift weights three times a week for over an hour to keep my muscle and hopefully only lose fat. My body pump workouts remind me of the biggest loser workouts. I am fighting for the added years on my life. I see myself at 150 pounds.

I will not miss donuts, cakes, pies and other foods that are bad for my health. At fifty three, I have had more than my share. I want to be the last golden girl alive like Betty White.

June 2, 2010 Day 5 of Year long Journey

Memorial Day was a reason to eat three thousand calories. I worked out at the gym for one hour yesterday and kept my calories to thirteen hundred calories. It was difficult getting back to the gym. My first mistake was announcing I am on a diet. That is my way to get people to say, ‘it is a holiday, eat, eat and drink’. I obliged them. Did them a favor.

I am honestly serious about this weight loss. I believe when I am sixty five pounds lighter I will look more attractive to employers. It is bad enough I am fifty something.

I went to a food support group meeting yesterday. Today I will stay around thirteen hundred calories and workout for ninety minutes today.

I am living my life like it is golden.