Weighing In - Week Twenty-Six

Oops, my bad! So, you may have noticed that last week I didn't blog. It wasn't that I forgot, just that I wasn't actually in town. I spent the weekend camping at Jenkinson Lake in Sly Park with my family. What an amazing place! It was absolutely beautiful and relaxing. Well, relaxing until I slipped a disk in my spine on Sunday morning, while loading the car to head home. Not good.

After a very painful two hour drive home, I was barely able to get out of the car. What I needed to do was stop right then and there and stretch out on the sofa for the afternoon. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to. Instead, super-mom that I try to be, I unloaded the car, got myself and all three kids bathed and dressed in fresh clothes, and then headed to a family BBQ in honor of an out-of-town guest. Ouch!

Needless to say, come Monday, I was broken. What had started out as a painful pressure in my lower back, was now a full on spasm running down my right leg, leaving the toes on my right foot tingly and numb. Loss of feeling in your gas/brake pedal foot is rather alarming. So, after a trip to the local ER and three different prescriptions, I was officially out of the game and on the disabled list. This wouldn't have been so bad for my weight-loss journey if I hadn't spent the previous weekend eating and drinking beer, then eating and drinking some more. I had gained 5 lbs by the time I had returned home. Instead of being able to work off those pounds, I was told to do pretty much nothing for two or three days in order for my back to heal. Well, sorry doc, no dice.

You see, having three kids pretty much requires some form of movement at all times. Whether it be bathing the 4 year old, picking up after the 8 year old or cooking food for the 11 year old (which is almost constant) you find yourself moving. Anyway you look at it, to be a single mom of three, you have to be mobile. So, instead of rest and relaxation, I found myself popping muscle relaxers and pain killers so that I could do little things like unpack from our camping trip and try to clean the house.

Anyhow, at this point I'm already up 5 pounds and feeling pretty miserable so, to top it all off, Tuesday was my birthday. I haven't had an actual birthday party in at least a decade, if not longer, so my neighbors, friends and I had been planning this luau themed BBQ party for months and here I was, feeling like the tin-man from the Wizard of Oz before Dorothy helps him with that little can of oil. Let me just say, pain killers and muscle relaxers DO NOT mix well with alcohol. Although my back was giving me no trouble after beer number three, by about midnight I was dead to the world. Happy Birthday to me.

In addition to the birthday BBQ, there was the birthday lunch at the Cheesecake Factory followed by the birthday dinner at Flora in Oakland with my parents. Do you see a theme here? Food, food and more food. None of which was "diet friendly" to say the least. Now, I've sworn off beer for a while now. Empty calories and all that (plus, I'm still having to take the occasional prescription pill to get through my day to day chores around the house). And I've been drinking water and V-8 by the gallon, so instead of being 5 to 10 pounds up from my weigh-in two weeks ago, I'm only up one. Not bad, but definitely not good either. Grrrr!

I've been advised by doctors, families and friends to just rest and not push my back but I'm hoping to begin some mini-workouts on Monday. I really am going nuts being so sedentary. My apartment looked like a tornado had blown through since I hadn't been able to successfully keep up on the little stuff. Blessed as I am, I have amazing friends and a super boyfriend who are keeping me in check and helping me clean up, little by little. They have even managed to enlist the help of my not-so-helpful children! Amazing!

Now it's Sunday morning, and I've confessed to most of my dieting sins from the past two weeks. Ahhh, what a cathartic experience. And I'm off to go make some waffles for my kids Sunday brunch and then try to do some of that relaxing everyone has been talking about. I must thank all my supporters who even though I've looked yucky and puffy for the past week, they continue to cheer me on and give me words of encouragement. You guys are the best! I wish everyone a wonderful week and I'll see you next Sunday, hopefully with some weight loss instead of gain.

Total Weekly Weight-Loss: 1 pound gained
Overall Total Weight-Loss: 37.2 pounds

Weighing In - Week Twenty-Four

Doing just fine. So... I haven't been working out as much as I should. I know this. But aside from that, I've been pretty good about my diet.

I have gone back to eating meat but only in limited amounts and not as often as once used to. Of course, as fate would have it, the new "man in my life" grills a mean steak, so I'm really having to watch myself now. He loves to cook and since I'm pretty much burnt out on it, this could lead to a dieting-disaster for me. Somehow, he even got me eating asparagus this week! Of course it was wrapped in prosciutto and pan fried with garlic but asparagus nonetheless! For those who know me, that was right up there on my list of "icky veggies" with Brussels sprouts and cooked spinach! Anyhow, when I'm not being tempted into eating deliciously decadent no-no foods, I'm still eating my "rabbit food" salads as often as possible and of course, I'm loving this fresh fruit and veggie time of year.

I'm still not dropping weight very quickly but I find I'm quite happy with my progress so far. This week I really tried to make sure I was drinking more water since I had slacked off for a bit there. I've been having about 60 to 70 ounces per day which is really good but of course, this means I've become acquainted with most of the public restrooms in a 10 mile radius!

A little hiccup I've had this past week has been stress. I have been stressing out over all sorts of things and it's messing up my sleep cycles and energy levels. I've been told that stress can be a contributing factor for weight gain, so it's really important for me NOT to STRESS. Ha! Easier said than done! It's definitely been an interesting summer with lots of little highs and lows but I recognize that for both my mental and physical health, I need to make a better effort at riding the waves instead of fighting them.

So goals for this week: Continue drinking copious amounts of water. Exercise, exercise, exercise. Oh, and try not to stress over the little stuff.

Thanks to all the fabulously supportive people in my life. You guys are wonderful! I got a little thrill this week having an old friend tell me I looked "damn good." To which I replied, "Thanks, I know!" Ha ha! I guess my sassy old self is coming back. Man, I've really missed me. Well, I'm off to a mini-amusement park with the kids today. The weather is a bit breezy but otherwise beautifully clear. I hope everyone has a wonderful week. See you next time!

Total Weekly Weight-Loss: 1.4 pounds
Total Overall Weight-Loss: 38.2 pounds

Weighing In - Week Twenty-Three

Hmm... I'm not complaining, but note-to-self: more exercise, less beer. Since it's summer, I've been having a lot of beer and barbecue. Too much, probably. And although I didn't gain any weight this past week, neither did I make it to 155 lbs as I had hoped. Of course, it would have helped if I had actually exercised just once.

Early last week I developed a toothache which was uncomfortable but bearable most of the time. Then on Wednesday I did the unthinkable and ate this delightfully decadent cake with Parisian creme filling. It was to die for... and then the toothache took on a life of it's own and I was wishing I really had died! I got no sleep on Wednesday night so by Thursday afternoon, I was miserable. I ended up coming home at lunch and taking everything I could find to kill the pain and then a 3 and a half hour nap. It worked. Since then I've been, for the most part, pain free. Needless to say, I'm trying my damnedest to avoid the sweets, and a repeat of last week. I know, I know, what was I thinking eating cake when I'm supposed to be losing weight! Well, it was a graduation party and I was doing my part of the clean up... cleaning up the cake, that is! Oh well, lesson learned and I'm figuring this is Mother Nature's way of saying, stay on track with the diet, little girl!

Well, it's about 6:20 AM and the sun is up, so it's time for this happy little clam to get ready for the day. I've promised another day of "fun in the sun at the pool" for the kids. I really think that should count as exercise or at least a cardio-workout. I swear I burn a bazillion calories trying to keep an eye on all three of them at once. It seems like my heart pounds a mile a minute as I watch my four year old jump into the pool too close to the wall, the eight year old snorkeling around clueless of the people jumping directly above him and then myself having to dodge water balloons and other projectiles the eleven year old is aiming at me. It really is a three ring circus and I'm just along for the ride.

As usual, thanks to all my super-duper fans and friends. You guys are an amazing support system and I am blessed to have you. I hope everyone has a wonderful week. See you next Sunday and hopefully with some real results.

Total Weekly Weight Loss: 0.4 lbs
Overall Total Weight Loss: 36.8 lbs

Weighing In - Week Twenty-Two

On the road again... The road towards my goal of 125 pounds! I had been aiming for 160 pounds this week, so I'm obviously pretty stoked about pulling a 156.6! I think, in hindsight, it was good for me to plateau around 161 pounds for a while. It seems to have given my body time to catch up and the energy to move on.
Not much has changed in my overall routine, except that I did make a point to exercise three times last week. Now that I'm no longer battling infections, I find that I have more energy than before. And of course, it didn't hurt that I took a well deserved weekend off, to unwind by the lake. If I could just make weekends like that happen every few months rather than once a year, I think my overall health would be greatly improved. It's hard not to run yourself into the ground trying to be everything for everyone, everywhere. I highly recommend regular mini-vacations to other people with weight loss struggles.
And finally, it seems that after years of being completely off the dating radar, I'm back in the game. I've been ridiculously happy this past week. There is something refreshing and motivating about a new possible relationship. You find yourself smiling a lot more and actually wanting to exercise rather than making yourself. Whether or not, this new situation will pan out to be the real deal, I can't possibly say at this point, but it seems to be great for my diet!
Well, it's an incredibly beautiful Sunday morning. There isn't a single cloud in the sky. I've got to go make the kids breakfast and then we're going to spend some time at the pool. I'll be swimming laps; they'll just be making a ruckus. Let's shoot for 155 pounds next Sunday. Oh, and by the way, for those who've been following my mini-goals. I had hoped to be a size 10 pant by my birthday in mid-August. Well, that goal was actually reached back in week twenty! So now, my goal is to fit into a size 8 by the big event. Let's see how close I can actually get! There are still almost three weeks until then, so with a bit of luck and a heck of a lot of exercise... I should be able to pull it off.
Thank you to all my awesome friends, family and fans. You guys are really great on a gal's self-esteem. Keep the compliments coming... my favorite from last week had to be, 'You look like your ten years younger!' That would put me at about 22 years old... which was just a year after my first child was born. Not bad. I'm shooting for looking like I did BEFORE my first child was born. Now, that would truly be makeover!
Until next time, have a wonderful week!

Total Weekly Weight Loss: 4.8 pounds
Overall Total Weight Loss: 36.4 pounds

Weighing In - Week Twenty One

And you thought I forgot... Well, I didn't. This is going to a short a and sweet blog.

I just spent the weekend up in the foothills, relaxing by Twain Harte Lake and wasn't home to do my usual Sunday morning blog. As I sip my coffee, I thought I'd quickly post the latest (and not exactly greatest) weigh in. Obviously, not much has changed since I last posted. I'm still hovering about 160 lbs.

With the weather being so warm, I foresee much water drinking in my future but not much actual vigorous exercise. It's going to take extreme dedication on my part, to get me off this plateau. Here's hoping that this week I'm able to find my inner cheerleader. Goal: Drop below 160 lbs by next Sunday. Stay tuned to see if I'm able to pull it off. I hope everyone has a fantastic week. See you next time.

Total Weekly Weight Loss: 1 pound
Overall Total Weight Loss: 31.6 pounds

Weighing In - Week Twenty

Losing ground... OK, not really but it kind of feels like it. This was probably a week I should have taken off dieting since I was absolutely horrible about food choices. In other words, I managed to eat ALL my no-no foods and didn't do ANY exercising.

It started out like every other week. Sunday I spent time at the pool with the kiddos (recuperating from a hectic week before). Monday was much the same except that in honor of my son's birthday we had an enormous steak and potatoes feast. Yum, steak... no-no, potatoes... no-no. And of course, since it was a birthday, there was cake and ice cream involved too. Yum, cake... no-no. Tuesday, much the same. Wednesday it was back to school and unfortunately, I didn't have too many human clients to keep me busy. I spent most of the day working on my mannequin head doing updo's and trying to keep busy. When I'm not busy, I'm a snacker, and snack I did, all day.

Now I should probably mention that about four or five weeks ago I developed a weird bump under my right arm. At the time, I thought nothing of it. I figured it was from razor burn. An ingrown hair that got infected. Nothing, right? It got nasty, inflamed, did it's thing and then went away. A few weeks later, I got another one. Same arm, different spot. This time I chalked it up to a dull razor and all the time I'd been spending in the pool. Again, it did it's thing and then much slower this time, went away. Well last week, I got a third infection. This time on my left arm, lower down on the bicep where I don't shave. Hmm... I was having a harder time rationalizing this one. I figured it was from all the rubbing my arm was getting from my school shirt and me sweating while working on clients. It's been hot on the salon floor lately. It's been hot outside too. See, just sweat and rubbing. Excuses, excuses.

If you can't tell, I'm not one to rush off to the doctor. I tend to brush thingd of when it comes to MY body. My children however, different story, I would have had them in the ER at the first signs of something like this but myself... well, I am of the 'suck it up, you'll live' mindset. Well, I'm having dinner with my kids' grandmother Thursday night, and she mentions how exhausted I look, and I mention the growing red infection on my arm. One look and she freaks. Not because it was gory or anything but 1. she tends to overreact to everything and 2. she's just had a co-worker develop a staph infection that had them in the hospital on their back for three days. Now she's got me freaking. She's throwing out things like, 'blood poisoning' and 'you could die.' Needless to say, Friday morning, bright and early, I visited the local ER to have my arm looked at. And the doctor tells me, 'Yes, it looks like a staph infection but no, it won't kill you.' Huh. In all my 30 some-odd-years, I've never had a staph infection so I really know nothing about them. She tells me they're pretty common but still I'm stressed thinking about how long I've been living with this and if the kids possibly have this too, just waiting to rear it's ugly head. Stress... Stress.... Stress....

Anyhow, the doctor did her thing, which I won't go into details about but I can tell you it's painful and gross. I was sent on my way with some super antibiotics and I'm currently waiting for the cultures she took to be tested and for the results to determine which kind of staph and whether or not I need even MORE super antibiotics. I'm having to be my own nurse now, changing the dressing twice a day. YUCK and OUCH! This totally sucks. Not only am I in pain but I'm constantly exhausted. I haven't had the energy to clean my house, do my laundry, or even tie my shoes. Thank god for slip ons and flip-flops.

So, although it's not diet related, there is a lesson to be learned here. If you're a parent, and even if you're not, don't let these things wait and fester. Get checked out at the first sign of something not being normal. I wish I had and maybe I could have avoided the pain and exhaustion I've been suffering for the last month. Looking back, I realize this started about the time I phased out to the salon and began working on clients. I was chalking up the exhaustion to all the hours on my feet but I'm thinking now, it was probably the infection raging through my system. As they say, you live, you learn. I did, the hard way.

Now, all this Stress... Stress... Stress... took it's toll on my body this week. In addition to my monthly food binging that most women are familiar with, I've been going gang busters with the naughty foods. We're talking cold cut sandwiches with (gasp) bread, chips, cookies, french fries (double gasp). Ugh! I'm cringing while I type this. A blue-cheese burger, cake, ice cream and candy... I'm telling you, I went BIG this week in terms of blowing off this diet. It's been bad.

But, I should mention that despite major water retention, bloating and horrible eating habits, I did just purchase some size 10 jeans that fit surprisingly well. Who would have guessed? So I can't complain there but really, I know this can't continue, and after today's birthday party, I'm going to have to get really strict about my diet again. Of course, I really can't help the exercising until this infection is totally cleared up. The more I move my arm the angrier it gets. And it get's wicked angry by the end of the day just by me doing normal day to day stuff without the extra exertion of rigorous exercise.

So what I've learned this week: 1. Don't put your health on the back burner... sometimes these things don't go away on their own. 2. If you have to, go ahead and 'stress eat' but try to keep it small. And finally,3. if I should ever mention interest in becoming a medical professional, smack me. I am SO not cut out for this kind of stuff.

Thanks to all my supporters... I promise to get back on track soon. I hope everyone has a wonderfully healthy week. Catch ya'll next week. Oh, and P.S. For those following, I found my cell phone (it had been lost in the chaos called the kids toy room and my car has been fixed and she's running like a dream. A few less Stresses on the list of life! Yah!

Total weekly weight loss: 2.4 pounds gained
Total overall weight loss: 30.6 pounds

Weighin In - Week Nineteen

Holding on... Holding on strong! Although there isn't a remarkable difference from last week, the half pound loss is one I'll gladly take. I'm not complaining. I have a feeling that these next thirty pounds are going to be more difficult to lose than the last thirty. But that's normal, isn't it? I've come to the conclusion that if I'm going to keep on schedule with my plan to reach 125 lbs by Halloween, I'm going to have to step up my game. Seriously step it up.

I only worked out twice this week. Obviously not enough to result in awesome weight loss. Of course, I had an incredibly busy week at school which always leaves me brain dead by 7:00pm. And then there was the spontaneous ER run on Wednesday night. Nothing like spending a few hours in the stress-inducing sterile environment of a hospital. Nothing like thinking your four-year-old daughter might need a nose job by age five. Luckily, at this point it appears to be only a minor fracture or a severe bruise. We're waiting for the swelling to go down. It's now Sunday and she still sounds like she's totally plugged up. We're hoping by Wednesday we'll better know the damage.

And then on Friday, I had a non-stop day in the school salon. Unlike most days, I didn't have any manicures or pedicures to allow me to sit for an hour or two during the day. I started the day working a roller set on my mannequin head which was interrupted half way through to assist in a full head of highlights on a client. It was hilarious really. Due to the fact that the client had heavily processed hair to begin with, we were required to get the foils in her hair quickly. There were three of us, working at lightning speed. Needless to say, we were sweating to get at least fifty highlight foils on her head and it was a bit cramped with the three of us crowded around the one salon chair. But in the end, we did it, and it looked great! As soon as I was through with that, I was given a shampoo, haircut and blow-dry which kept me on my feet right up to my lunch at 2:30pm. After quickly wolfing down a salad and some pita chips with hummus, I moved to my last client of the day. A childhood friend and her mother came in for services. Trina is one of those people who is blessed with a full head of fabulously curly hair. After a shampoo, blow-dry, and then two-person flat iron session, her hair literally reached down beyond her waist. At that point, I trimmed her ends and finished off the style with some smoothing product and she and her mom (who'd had a pedicure while she waited) were off. It was after 5:30pm at that point and I was exhausted. Clean up of my station and sanitizing my tools took me right up to 6:20pm and it was time to go home. Although I was pleased with the day's works, I was dead on my feet and it turns out, my abdominal muscles were none to pleased with me. All day Saturday I felt like my innards were going to fall out so I spent much of the afternoon bobbing around in the pool letting the water counteract gravity and giving my ab muscles a break.

And now it's Sunday, July 4th. Happy 4th! I have plans for another trip to the pool today as I'm still feeling the strain left over from Friday. I figure some laps in the pool will be better than no exercise at all. Then my kiddos are off to spend the afternoon and ultimately spend the night at the father's house. If I'm feeling up to it, I'll try to get a workout in when my house is tidy and empty (something that doesn't happen often or last very long). But, if my abs are up to it, I won't push it and I won't feel bad.

Now, I must sign off and get the kids ready for the pool. I thank everyone for the wonderful posts on my Facebook! You guys really keep me going! Take care! Have a happy, healthy and safe 4th of July! See you next week!

Total Weekly Weight-loss: 0.6 pounds
Total Overall Weight-loss: 33 pounds