**FIRE OFF THE CONFETTI CANNONS!!!****

I DID IT!!!!! Well, actually it happened yesterday.....but I was way too busy to blog about it yesterday. But, here I am 100.6 pounds down!!!! WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Such a HUGE and exciting accomplishment and I can still hardly believe it! I still want to lose about 50 more pounds.....but having the hundred down already is absolutely AMAZING!!!! The only piece missing, is being able to share it with my Mom. But, I know that she is so happy and beaming down on me!!! :)

Here's my 100 pound pic collage.....and then a pic of me I took today to show of my new 'do! :)

It's been a MONTH???????

Holy crow!!! Can't believe it's been a month since I last blogged. It's been partly due to the craziness of the season and partly because I've been hoping to come here with a big announcement. But, alas, the scale is playing games with me again. It never fails, when I am this close >< to a milestone that it happens. Actually, the last month has gone so s-l-o-w-l-y for me with weight loss. Except for Thanksgiving, I've been entirely on plan.
Yes, I had a planned "cheat" day and enjoyed Thanksgiving. :) I figure that I'd been entirely on plan for 7 1/2 months with ZERO cheating and deserved it. :) It actually ended up being a very good thing. As I said, the entire month went very slowly. BEFORE Thanksgiving. I think that taking myself out of ketosis shook things up a bit and between the day before T'giving and this past Saturday, I lost 5 pounds! :) I've maintained the same weight for the past two days. Going off plan made me very nervous. But, I've done so well and I think that's because it was actually planned out. I knew I was going to do it. I knew that I was going to be in control, that I would have a little bit of the things I wanted and not over indulge and be right back on plan 100% the next day and that's exactly what I did. :) It's very empowering to know that I really AM in control and can make and stick to decisions. :)
So......I'm at 98 lbs. I'm hoping (and my HAIR! is hoping) that I hit the big 1-0-0 this week. :) I'm rewarding myself with getting my hair highlighted, cut....the works when I hit 100. It's needing it desperately, so it better happen SOON!! LOL

Erik is doing fantastic. Several weeks ago he started transition and moved into the maintenance phase of the diet. When he started transition, he actually dropped 6 more pounds than planned on. But, that's okay, because in transition you tend to gain a few pounds back and he did. 4 to be exact. But, he has maintained that weight for several weeks now and it's right where he wants to be. So, he dropped 116 and with the gain is now sitting at a steady 112 pound loss from what he started at. :)

The best part of losing the weight is truly changing our lives. We are doing things that we haven't done in YEARS....literally since we were teenagers....and never would have dreamed of doing 8 months ago. This past weekend, we went ROLLER SKATING with our Cub Scout District. :) Yes, we actually put skates on and skated with our boys! It was SO MUCH FUN!!!!!! We're now planning a skating party for one of our boys' birthday party next month and I'm looking forward to doing it again! :) Gonna post some pics from Saturday. They are cell phone pics, so the quality isn't the best. ;)

Hope to be on later this week with some BIG NEWS!!!! :)

Catching up and..........

NINETY POUNDS FOR ME!!!!!

Life has been busy in the past couple of weeks so I've not been on here to update. But, hitting 90 pounds (FINALLY!!!) this morning is a great excuse to make time! :)

The last ten pounds have been a real challenge. I have no idea why. Been doing the same thing I've been doing all along. Two weeks ago, I would go down a pound....then back up a pound and it went on like that ALL week long. Then last week, I maintained the "low" weight of the week before and lost NOTHING. It was very discouraging to say the least. Monday morning when I weighed in after being out of town and not weighing in for an entire week, I saw that same number staring back and me and I actually screamed, "ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME??????" To my scale. Luckily, I was home alone and no one else heard me screaming at the scale. They'd have thought I'd lost my mind. LOL However, I've dropped 4 1/2 pounds this week since Monday!!! So, all I can figure is that my body was doing it's thing. That's the great thing about this program, if you stick to it and just do what you're supposed to do....it WILL come off. I would really, REALLY LOVE to hit the big ONE ZERO ZERO by Thanksgiving. That would be so completely amazing, wouldn't it??? I have so much to be thankful for already this year, but that would be super sweet. :)
In other news......Erik is still doing fantastic. When is he not? :) He started this journey at 288.4 pounds and weighed in this morning at 173.2!!! 115 pounds!!! Really??? REALLY!!! He has started transition, meaning he is transitioning from weight loss phase, to maintenance phase (as in maintaining his weight) and he still continues to DROP. Week 1 he started eating more veggies and ALL kinds of veggies (we've been limited to low carb/starch veggies). Week 2, he started being able to eat a "medium" size serving of fruit. He's had apples, bananas, peaches, strawberries, grapes, etc. Week 3 (this week) he started eating 4 oz of lowfat yogurt every day too. This next week he gets to eat grains. Adding in these foods, he reduces the amount of the packaged meals he's eating every day. But, he's still dropping pounds. *sigh*
This is a little bit of a psychological struggle for me. We've been in this together, every single step of the way, doing the exact same things. So, watching him eat the extra stuff is a little hard since I've got a way to go still. Oh well, I will get there too! :)

Overall, things are AWESOME for both of us. Going to go shopping for a winter coat for me today. It's gotten cold here. High today is supposed to be only 43 degrees and my denim jacket, which is the only "outer" clothing I have now, is just not cutting it when it's this chilly!

Here are my 90 pound pics!! :)

One One Zero.......yup, 110!!

Erik hit 110 pounds lost on Friday!!!! He was hoping to get there by Saturday, which marked 6 months since we started our journey and he did it!!! :) The crazy,busy weekend got in the way of taking pics and I remembered to take them yesterday when he was still dressed up nice from Church! :) We had to get him new Church clothes this weekend, since he was looking a little clown-like in his older (as in a few months old) clothes and he swapped out size 38 pants for 32s and a XL dress shirt for a MEDIUM!!! I've known him 17 years, been married to him 13 and I don't think I've ever known him at this size.....and he was 18 when we met! LOL :) I'm so proud of him!!! :) Here he is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Went to the gym.......

See, writing it down made me do it!!!! ;) But, WOW, am I feeling it now!!! I am so sore right now. I was happy to see that my stamina did not decrease, and in fact, is actually better than before. But, my muscles are definitely telling me they've not done this in a while. Will have to make sure that doesn't happen again. lol I would REALLY like to get in the pool. But, with it not being bathing suit season I might be outta luck with getting a new suit. I was having a hard enough time trying to find one in August....which I obviously didn't. Trying to find one that I like and that fits in October might be near impossible. Glad I went this morning, sore muscle results and all. :)

Holding myself accountable.......

Okay......so, I've been baaaaaaaaaaaadddddd about going to the gym lately. It did not start out by my choice. A few weeks ago, our two year old niece started staying with us because we were helping her Mom and Erik's parents out watching her for a couple of weeks. One morning, I got both of us ready, drove over to the gym, and they wouldn't let me drop her off in the day care there because I'm not her Mom or Grandma. Ridiculous!!! I did pitch a fit to their customer service and got our fees waived for October, since I couldn't use my membership for so long because of their stupid rules. ;) So, I couldn't go for a couple of weeks because I had a two year old in my sole care all day long and by the time Erik got home and could watch her, our kids were home from school and I was helping with homework, making dinner, etc. etc. So, I got out of the habit and haven't been back since. **Hanging my head in shame** I'd been doing so good too. So, here it is.....I WILL GO TO THE GYM TOMORROW MORNING!!!!

There, I said it "out loud" I told anyone who reads this that I'm gonna do it. So, now I have to do it. ;)

My 80 Pound Pics

Ooooops!!!! Didn't realize I didn't post these here yet. :) Here they are! :)

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN........prepare for landing........

IN ONEDERLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMGOSHOMGOSHMOMGOSHOMGOSHOMGOSHOMGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I DID IT!!!!!!

The scale jumped from just barely under 80 to 81 pounds lost overnight and I have officially arrived in ONEDERLAND!!!!!! For those who don't know, this means the first nunber on the scale now says "1" on it. And yes, this is where I suck up all of my pride and vanity and admit that I began this journey at 280.2 pounds. :(
I saw that gorgeous number "1" and gasped out loud and immediately teared up and bawled like a baby. I still am. Till the other day cry fest in Old Navy, I never realized how truly emotional this is for me. Yes, I've felt excitement and happiness with every single ounce lost along the way. But, these milestones are really HUGE ones and it's really hit me what all of it really means. I haven't seen that GLORIOUS number "1" in a very long time. Probably the better part of 10 years. I just can't believe I'm really "here" in ONEDERLAND. :)

Pics will come later as I'm home alone with Erik at work at the kids at school. I can't even reach Erik on his office phone right now and cannot find where I wrote down his new pager # he got just a few days ago. So, he hasn't even heard the news yet! LOL

Crazy busy weekend.......

Just have caught my breath from the weekend to catch up here! :)
Things are still going in the weight loss department, though not quite as fast as I'd like....as I said in my last blog. It seems this happens when I'm so close to hitting a milestone. *rolling eyes* However, as I've stated before, I really think that when the scale slows down or doesn't seem to be moving at all.....that's when the "NSVs" or Non Scale Victories occur. I have DEFINITELY noticed shrinkage in my body over the past week. This is when I continue to kick myself for not taking measurements. ACK!!! TAKE YOUR MEASUREMENTS PEOPLE!!!!!! :) The last almost 10 pounds came of very steadily and quite quickly, so I think everything else is just playing catch up with that. :) Last night, as I was laying in bed, I was feeling and looking at my arms and noticing that they are so much smaller than they used to be. Just like so many women, I HATE my upper arms!!! I've been worried about that stubborn area, so it's nice to notice that there IS change in them! :) Things are shrinking nicely in other areas too, my arms are just the area that really stood out to me last night. :)
So......my other NSV for the week/end that those of you who are my friends on Facebook already heard about..... ;)
Friday was Erik's birthday, so we were out shopping for him. But, I had told him that I HAD to buy me some jeans this pay day. Thank Heaven I did too, because it's been COLD the past couple of days! So, anyway, we went into Old Navy to look at jeans for me. Erik went to look at jackets for himself while I went and tried jeans on. I grabbed a couple of sizes because I wasn't really sure how things were going to fit. I came out of the dressing room completely elated because size 14s fit me!!! :) I started out as a size 24, folks. This is a HUGE victory!!!! :) Then, it hit me........ Oh my gosh. I am in a REGULAR sized people store, shopping in REGULAR sizes and I'm not even the largest size in there!!!!! The gates opened and the tears started flowing. I felt like such a dork and I was crying and laughing at myself for crying and not being able to hold it back and trying to keep my back to people so they don't see my little display and Erik is hugging me and laughing at me too. ;) Seriously......who CRIES in Old Navy?????????? hahaha Well, me, I guess!!! ;) But, it was a huge moment for me. So, even though it was Erik's birthday......I bought me TWO pairs of jeans AND a really cute "jet" sweater in size large!!! :) It felt really amazing. It has been a very long time since I have shopped in regular stores and worn regular sizes. A clothing related funny...over the weekend, I got a Lane Bryant catalog in the mail. Erik asked if I needed it anymore and I said, "NOPE!!!" So, he handed it to me and told me he'd give me the honor of tossing it in the trash. I looked in it anyway to see what kind of coupons they had in it and saw my favorite coupon of $15 off of a purchase of $15 or more (so, basically, a free $15!!!) and pulled it out and told Erik that they sell accessories and jewelry too, so I'd go get me a pair of earrings with that or something! LOL Why not, right???? :)

Not to be out done by Erik.....as we shopped, we picked him up some new SIZE THIRTY-TWO waist pants!!!! He was busting out of 44s 5 1/2 months ago!!! We also picked him up a size MEDIUM jacket!!! AMAZING!!!

Though we had hope, we never ever imagined 6 months ago that we would be where we are now. It's incredible!!!

So, even though that darn scale is teasing me mercilessly......I *know* that other amazing things are happening, that is all a part of it. :)

Move scale.....MOVE!!!!

Okay.....it IS moving....but not quite fast enough for my taste. lol I am soooooo close to another milestone in my weight loss journey and it's driving me crazy watching the scale move down so slowly. Why can't it just give me what I want when I want it???? Is it really too much to ask? lol I think I'm just getting antsy because of where Erik is at and though I'm thrilled to pieces for him, sometimes it's hard to keep the green eyed monster from escaping when comparing myself. This is one hard thing when it comes to losing weight as a couple. Men *always* lose faster than women. That's just plain and simple FACT. But, it's soooo not fair. Especially because we are doing the exact same thing. Which brings me to something that's been bugging me for a few days.......
We were at Church on Sunday and I had several people comment/compliment me on my loss and I was feeling really good. :) Then one gentleman, and I *know* this was completely innocent and he meant absolutely nothing by it.....but he starts talking about Erik and how he's absolutely melted away. I tell him, "Yeah, he's ounces away from 100 pounds lost!" He says, "That's incredible, he must be very dedicated!" To which I replied, "Yeah, we both have been." He goes for a quick cover of, "That's great! Congratulations to you both!"
Okay.....maybe slightly petty of me. lol Yes, I realize that Erik has lost 100 pounds and due to the way his weight was proportioned on his body.....yes, it was everywhere, but he had a very large, protruding gut and with that gone especially, his weight loss is incredibly evident. Whereas, my weight was spread everywhere, so there's no "one" thing on me that is so evident in loss.....because it's shrinking from everywhere pretty evenly. But, I have lost SEVENTY FIVE POUNDS!!!! It's nothing to sneeze at!!!! I have been doing this the exact same amount of time, with every bit the dedication that he has.....and it simply boils down to him being a man and me a woman. So, it just irked me in that moment having Erik gushed about with no acknowledgment of my own. lol I really was nice about it though! ;)

Just want the scale to move faster, this milestone coming up is a big one and it's so close I can taste it!!! Maybe I'll actually post what it is when it happens. :)

**********DRUMROLL PLEASE**********

Ladies and Gentlemen.............I have an important and amazing announcement to make!!


ERIK HAS LOST ONE HUNDRED POUNDS!!!!!!!!!

What an AWESOME accomplishment!!!! 5 months and 4 days ago, this was a dream and now it's come true!!! Erik has about 15 pounds till reaching his goal and going into the maintenance phase to transition off the weight loss plan. WOW!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS, Erik....I am SO PROUD of you for sticking to this and having such great success!!!! :)


Here He IS!!!!!

Five Months!!!

Today marks 5 months since Erik and I started our weight loss journey together! :) It's been an awesome ride so far! 6 months ago, I would have never dreamed that we would be where we are today and looking and FEELING as great as we do and most importantly, being HEALTHIER than we've been in years. Five months ago when we started, it was all HOPE that it would work and that we'd still be going and that we'd be in a much better "place." We are LOVING the reality of today. As of this morning, the five month tallies are: Me, 74 and Erik 97 pounds lost!!!!!! WOOHOOOOOOO!!!! We are both close once more to some really cool milestones and I am really looking forward to hitting them!!!! :)

Seventy For ME!!!!!

Hit the BIG 7-0 yesterday!!! Woohooo!!!! Here's my before & current. I was to lazy to tinker around with the scale of the pics, since they were taken at different distances/zoom levels....but you get the idea! :)



Thursday, the 16th, will mark 5 months since we started the program. Erik is at 95 pounds.....will he break 100 in the next few days???? We shall see!!! :)

I'm on STRIKE!!!

From stepping on my scale, that is!!! I've had a couple of frustrating days and I refuse to step on my scale till I feel better about it or I may just open my bathroom window and chuck my scale into the backyard and it's a loooooonnnnnggg way down!!! lol I had a 3 pound loss last week and somehow I gain back 2???? WTHECK????? I am 99.9999999% sure it's "water weight" and think my hormones are doing something whacky. But, when I stay completely on plan and do everything right, this is extremely aggravating!!! So, I'm just going to keep on doing what I'm supposed to be doing and NOT step on my scale.....because I *know* this plan works.....but sometimes that stupid scale is really demoralizing. Well, I'm outtie......gotta finish getting ready for Church and after Church.....it's BOOMSDAY fun in Knoxville!!! Never been to it before, but, it's the largest Labor Day fireworks display in the country and one of the biggest in the country all year. It's apparently a bigger deal here than the local Independence Day celebrations! Sounds like fun to me!!!! :)

Fun "milestone".......

If you wanna call it a "milestone!" Erik had a dream two nights ago, in which he was wearing his high school Letterman's Jacket. He was telling me about it on the phone yesterday while he was at work. So, for fun, I challenged him to dig it out of storage when he got home from work and see how it fits. He remembered as we were heading out to take the boys to their Scout meetings and got it out and put it on. IT FITS!!!!! He graduated high school 17 years ago and this absolutely wouldn't have been possible 4 1/2 months ago.....or for many years before that. :) Here's a pic I took with my phone! :)

90 LBS and "ONE"DERLAND........

For Erik, that is! :) It's been a busy couple of weeks getting the kids back in school and we were out of town for a few days last week/weekend, so this blog has been a bit neglected. Erik and I both had some slow going loss numbers....and I'm sure that's to be expected at this point in the game for Erik. The scale teased him mercilessly last week and stalled at 200.0 for several days. It would just NOT drop into the bliss that is known as "One"DERLAND. As in the number on the scale begins with a 1, instead of a 2. ;) It's been a l-o-n-g time since that lovely numero uno has stared him back in the face. So, we were out of town, as I mentioned above, and so he didn't weigh in for a few days till this morning. 198!!! So, this morning he hit 90 pounds and landed into ONEDERLAND!!!!! :) He's being a bum and won't pose for pics right now, so I guess I'll post one of the both of us from this weekend. :)



Not a body shot, but you can see how thin his face is! ;)

As for me......the scale has me at 68 lbs lost this morning!!! :)

Catching up mentally......

I had intended to include these thoughts in my last blog, but my 5 year old kept wanting me to watch all of his cool "ninja" moves, lol, so I was a bit distracted. ;)

Erik and I were having this conversation the other night about not being caught up mentally with our physical changing. I guess when you've been used to seeing yourself a certain way or looking at your clothes of a certain size for so long, it just becomes sort of burned into your brain that that is who/what you are.

So, I've been noticing that about myself. I see the changes in myself, obviously, every day when I look in the mirror. But, I don't think I'm really seeing myself all the time, mentally. I was really studying myself in the mirror the other day and Erik happened to walk by and just stopped and smiled and started laughing at me. It's a great thing we've been married so long that we can see each other doing really dorky stuff and just laugh at each other and ourselves. :) So, I see what I am and logically know the changes, but when I go to buy myself something new.....or just think about it......I automatically walk to the "big girl" section and start looking at things in the size I was when I started. Then it occurs to me, that those things aren't going to fit. Every time I go to put one of my new pairs of capris on, I see them and think, "Oh, these aren't gonna fit!" and yet they slide on and are even getting loose! So, I was browsing the dreaded swim suits the other day, because I *really* need a new one. I went swimming at the gym the other day and decided my old suit was just not working any more. But, I'm looking at the suits and I'm a bit intimidated and I'm finding that I'm feeling that way about clothes in general.....because I have a lot more choices now than being so limited in the plus sizes. I haven't been able to bring myself to try one on yet though! lol But, I'm gonna have to do it. We're going back to Erik's parents' house and I won't be able to swim in their pool if I don't!
Erik has said that he is having the same kind of "issue." Just not quite used to being what he is now. Makes sense to happen when you lose so much, so fast.

Even funnier though, at least for me, is that I'm not used to seeing Erik either. I find myself just staring at him sometimes. I have actually twice now, lost him in stores! We separate for just a minute and when I go to find him again, I look everywhere and then I see him and realized I walked right past him, not realizing it was him. LOL
I guess it will just take a while for our brains to catch up with our bodies! ;)

4 Months!!!!

Today marks 4 months since Erik and I started on our journey!!! Four months ago I could have never imagined that we'd be where we are and looking and feeling like we are today. It's amazing and been a huge blessing in our lives. :)

Stats..... today, finds me at 62 lbs lost. :) I've hit a slight plateau. Not completely stopped, but I've fought the scale very hard for the last two pounds. UGH!!! I did read something a couple of days ago on a Facebook group for our weight loss plan that made me feel a bit better for when this happens, she said, "So my trainer told me something that made me be ok with going thru a plateau. She said that plateaus r extremely important and good in your weight loss. They allow your body to reset and maintain the current weight u r at. Your body automatically wants to rebound to your previous weight, when u hit a plateau your body ...will then look at your current weight as a rebound rather than the previous weight!!" A lot of people have also said that during plateaus they notice more loss in inches, and come to think of it, my new capris are feeling looser on me already. :) Again, kicking myself in the rear for not taking measurements when we started and keeping up on it!

For Erik, he also hit a plateau for a couple of weeks. He actually had a week where he didn't lose even a full whole pound! But, of course, he's broken that and the pounds are dropping like nothing once again. Today's weigh in finds him at 85 lbs lost!!! Woohoooooo!!!! 85 pounds in 4 months!!! WHO DOES THAT??????? ERIK DOES!!!!! :)
I blogged a while back (at least I think I did!!! lol) about a security guard at work not thinking that he was him because he was sooooooo much heavier in the pic on his security badge. Funny thing is, he wasn't even at his heaviest in that pic! So, he put in the request for a new badge and he just hasn't gone and done it. Since that time, he's also gotten a new hair do......as in NO hair! Needed a haircut and was running out of options with his balding going on, so he decided to try and rock the Vin Diesel look. lol So, this morning, he had the same thing happen with a security guard and the security guard ordered him to fix it TODAY. lol Don't worry, he's already taken care of it this morning! ;) He really needs to fix his driver's license too. He was pretty much at his heaviest or very close to it, when he had his driver's license pic taken last year and he looks NOTHING like his pic anymore.
See what I mean?!?!?!



I'll see if I can convince him to take care of that after work today as well! lol

As for a small update on my last couple of blogs, I'm doing better. Was a difficult week+ for me and I've stayed completely on plan. :) I send my baby off to kindergarten tomorrow, but if I got through the past week, I'm sure I'll be okay!

It's been an amazing 4 months and I can't wait to see what we look and feel like in 4 more! :)

Surviving,,,,,,

I'm in the thick of all the emotional stuff I blogged about below. Two years ago today, my life was turned upside down. It was the beginning of the end of my beautiful, awesome Mom's life. It's been a very, very rough few days for me emotionally. Lots of tears shed. But, I am being good and am staying on plan. Just praying I stay strong through the rest of the week.

This is my Angel. My beautiful Mom. I know she is looking down on me and Erik and is so happy for and proud of us. :)

Dealing with emotion......and NOT eating to do it!!!

***WARNING, HEAVY EMOTIONAL STUFF WITHIN THIS BLOG***


This week will be a real test in strength for me. In a few days, it will be the 2 year anniversary of my Mom's death. At times, my emotions of losing my awesome Mom can still reduce me to an absolute mess. The days leading up to the anniversary are so hard, because in some ways I relive those last days.....the last time I spoke to her, the day that I received the awful phone call that she was not breathing and being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and the horrible days following with all the emotional ups and downs before we had to finally say goodbye. Ironically, during those days I *couldn't* eat. I had to remind myself to do so and actually force myself to do it. Funny too, because people feel so helpless to do anything so they FEED you, because it's doing something. We had way more food hanging around than we could deal with at the time.

I more than made up for it afterward though. *rolling eyes* I didn't realize it for quite some time, but I'm an emotional eater. It was definitely not a conscious choice I was making. Like, "I'm feeling sad and crappy today, so I'm gonna stuff my face." But, I think that I would eat mindlessly trying to fill that HUGE void in my life that losing my Mom left behind. I could eat chocolate especially like nothing else......because chocolate makes everything better, right? ;)
It will be an emotional week+ for me coming up because of all of that, but also because school is starting a week from today. But, this year, my "baby" is going to school too and after 11 1/2 years of *always* having at least one child with me, I will be alone. All day long, 5 days a week. One one hand I am so excited and can't wait for that liberating feeling of being able to do pretty much whatever I want. Really exciting things like going to the grocery store in silence, with no children whining or complaining or begging me to buy them something. LMBO On the other hand, it's a sad and empty kind of feeling. *sigh*

So, I'm glad for the insight I have gained about myself and my past habits and hopefully will stay on the "wagon" this week and not self medicate to deal with my emotions. I will keep myself busy and tell myself.....I WILL STAY ON PLAN! I WILL STAY ON PLAN! I WILL STAY ON PLAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Erik @ 80 Pounds Lost!!!

After a s-l-o-w couple of weeks, Erik FINALLY hit 80 lbs lost!!! WOOHOOO!!! GO ERIK!!!!! It's so frustrating when you're >< this close to another milestone and your body teases you.....and that's what's been happening to him the past couple of weeks. So, he made a progressive collage pic to show where he has come from April 16, 2010 till today. That's 16 weeks and 2 days. :) Isn't it CrAzY?????? :)

Sixty!!!

Finally hit 60 lbs this morning!!! Wooohooo!!!!! Here's updated pics! :)

Website

Along with becoming health coaches, we have now been hooked up with our own website. This website has a couple of videos go into a little more detail about what this program is all about. Check it out at www.TeamSimper.com

Short term investments.....

So, I decided that since I'm at nearly 60 lbs lost, 59 to be exact, that I needed to make a couple of short term investments to my wardrobe. I can still wear stuff...but things are so loose that they are not comfortable loose....they are uncomfortable. I also decided the act of pulling my bra straps back up in public was not exactly attractive. lol So, got a new bra that FITS and then picked up a cheap pair of denim capris to help get me through the rest of the warm months and a new shirt as well. Think I'm gonna pick up another pair of capris too. It felt so good to be in clothes that actually FIT. I think I spent so long trying to stuff myself into clothes that didn't particularly fit me and then going the opposite direction and have been trying to hold off buying new stuff that won't fit for long either, that I've forgotten how good it feels to be in well fitting clothes! Must have made a difference in my appearance having the girls back in their proper place and well fitting clothes because I got so many compliments last night. :) I walked out of the Church feeling so good about myself! :) It was awesome!!!

Something else that's awesome is that I looked at a BMI chart this morning and have now gone from being "extremely" obese to just plain obese. Gosh, I hate the word "obese." It's just a gross sounding word. But, I'll take just being obese over extremely obese and will be thrilled when I'm just called overweight. lol
Still got a ways to go, but these are exciting milestones!!! :)

Happy Anniversary to us!!!!!

Today is our 13th anniversary!!! :) Erik is now close to the size he was when we got married.....though a little less hair! lol I still have all my hair, but have a ways to go to be the same size. ;) I still have my wedding dress though and though I obviously won't be wearing it anywhere, I WILL be able to say I fit in to it again someday and maybe even say it's too big for me! :) I was very happy at that size, though I honestly don't remember what I weighed back then. When I fit back in that dress, I will be a very happy girl! :)

Here's a pic of us on our wedding day. Gosh, we were so young and cute and thin!!! :)



There's a pic on the side bar of what we look like now. :)

Just for fun, I'm posting this video I took of Erik last weekend. Our 5 year old is OBSESSED with doing cartwheels (one handed, no less!) and wanted me to take video of him doing them. So, Erik decided that he would do cartwheels too! :)



Not bad for an almost 35 year old, eh? lol He definitely wouldn't have been doing that nearly 80 pounds ago! lol

We haven't looked or felt this good in a long time and I'm so excited to think that this time next year, we'll both have reached our goals and looking and feeling completely FABULOUS. Oh, and I WILL be posting wedding dress pics when that day comes! :)

Today.......

Thought I should post a little update. My weight has been up and down over the past week. It drives me absolutely bonkers. I'll drop two pounds and be up a pound the next day. Then I'll drop half a pound and stay there for several days or continue to bounce back and forth. This is why, my friends, it's a VERY bad idea to weigh in every day. Seeing the scale doing this can really make you crazy! lol But, do I learn a lesson and weigh in just once a week or every two weeks? OF COURSE NOT!!! ;) I must be a little OCD or delusional enough to think I have some sort of magical control over my scale that it will say exactly what I want it to every day. Of course, if that were possible, I'd weigh about 115-120 already and wouldn't be trying to lose weight! lol Maybe I just like to torture myself?
Things that make you go hmmmmm........

Erik's been in a holding pattern for several days now too. But, that part is okay, with me at least (lol), because it gives me a chance to lessen the gap between our loss numbers. ;) Of course, when he breaks his plateau, he'll drop another 20 lbs like it's nothing.....like he always does!!!

Actually, when this happens, I think it's the body's way of catching up to the loss and where pounds aren't lost, inches are! I really, really, really wish that we had taken measurements so that we could rightfully claim the number of inches lost and not just pounds. So, my advice to my "coachees" or anyone else losing weight....take your measurements!!!!

As it stands, Erik is at 76.6 and I'm at exactly 55 pounds lost. :) Wish mine was coming off as fast as Erik's....but it is what it is and it's definitely something to be happy with! :) At this point, I'm just hoping that I can make it through the rest of the really warm time this season without *having* to buy new pants. Everything is way loose, but there is no point in buying more summery type clothes....because they will not fit to be worn next year! When I shop, I just want to buy some slacks and jeans to get me through part of the cooler season before really having to downsize again! :)

I am sooooooo SORE!!!

Beginning this week, I have gotten back on the workout wagon. My foot was really bothering me when we were on vacation in Nashville and right after we got home, Erik's sister and niece came to stay with us and his sister was sleeping in the guest bed in the basement rec room, where my treadmill is located. I workout early in the day and she woke up much later than my workout time. So, needless to say, I hadn't been doing much for a couple of weeks.

Sister went home and foot is feeling better, so back on the wagon I went. Been doing the treadmill every day and have upped the pace, but actually decreased the time. Burning same calories in less time and that's what I'm focusing on. If you burn too many calories on this plan, it can be counter productive to weight loss.

Sis in Law came back yesterday....she's doing some freelance work in Knoxville, thus why she's staying here. So, the treadmill isn't available once more. I decided I needed to do something anyway and decided to walk my neighborhood. I just havta say, that being on my flat treadmill, in my dry, 68 degree basement is A LOT different than walking the steep, STEEP hills in my neighborhood in 75 degrees with 90% humidity. It was actually foggy, so that was kinda cool. But, OH MY GOSH.....I thought I was gonna die. I was absolutely drenched in sweat by the time I came home and I am REALLY sore. I definitely worked muscles that I don't on my treadmill! lol I hope I'm able to walk at all tomorrow!!

Everything else is still going great. Official weekly weigh in day is tomorrow....so, we'll see what's dropped in the past week for both of us. Our next order is on its way and I'm super excited to try the new pancakes and soft serve ice cream that came out on the 12th. Haven't had pancakes or ice cream in forever and I've heard great things about them!!! :)

Funny thing happened this morning......

as we were getting ready for Church. So, things that I've been wearing are obviously getting too big for me. Had one black (summery) dress that I've been able to wear sine losing weight and now it's too big up top and falls down in the front exposing my under things....so that's out now too. I have exactly two other actual dresses that I have in my closet saved for when I could fit into them again someday.....
I have worn one once before, so I decided for variety to try the other one and pulled it out thinking that it's more fall/winter but it was 3/4 sleeves so I was thinking that I could maybe get away with it anyway. Now, this dress has never really fit right since I bought it, and I was about to find out why. I caught a glimpse of the tag as I went to put it on and discovered that it was a plus size MATERNITY dress. I was most assuredly NOT pregnant when I bought it.....and never realized my mistake until now!!!! LOL FUNNY!!!! The other funny or maybe embarrassing thing, what I thought were 3/4 sleeves because of how it fit me, were actually full length sleeves down to my wrists this morning!!!!! OY!!!! But, the good news is.....even if I were pregnant and needed a maternity dress, the dress is TOO BIG!!!!!! :) Needless to say, the dress is now sitting in the Goodwill pile! ;)

Health Coaches

Erik and I have become a team of Health Coaches, for the coaching division of the plan that we are on. :) We have been so blessed to find this and amazed at the incredible results we have had, that we want to help others do the same. Looking better is one thing (and a good thing!) but feeling better and being healthier is a great thing and incredibly important. We were both severely obese and Erik had a lot of weight related health problems that one just shouldn't have at 34 years old and I was probably not far behind him with that. Since losing so much weight, Erik has cured his high blood pressure and Type 2 Diabetes and is no longer on any medications!!!! We also suspect that he has greatly improved if not eliminated his sleep apnea as well....but without actual testing for that, we can't be 100% sure.

*THIS* is what it's really all about. We are improving the quality and adding years to our lives. We both lost parents at an early age.....not to weight related health issues, but it really put things into perspective and made us want to be able to control the things that we absolutely CAN have control over. In the past couple of months, we have seen my Grandpa go down a really difficult and scary path with uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes (and his is NOT weight related!). He was extremely ill and has had a part of one of his feet amputated because of it. Luckily, he didn't lose the entire thing! We both have diabetes in our families, and Erik having it too was really scary for us. It's amazing that he has been able to put this behind him. :)

So, we want to help people find this amazing program and have them benefit from it as well. This is truly the best, easiest and most successful diet plan we have ever done.

If anyone sees this and wants to know more, feel free to contact us @ erikandjodi@gmail.com or 865-253-0980. Yes, you can do this plan all on your own.....but having a Health Coach to give you advice and support is no additional cost to you, plus there are discounts and other incentives to signing up through us that you don't get doing it on your own. Also, I have met people through support sites that have done this both with and without a Health Coach and have had greater success having that extra support, than without. :)

Seventy for Erik......

Didn't I just post pics of him???? lol He simply amazes me with how fast his weight is coming off. He hit 70, almost 71 pounds lost this morning! Here's his updated pics I took of him before he left for work this morning. :)

Ta Da!!!!

Fifty pound loss pics!!! WOWZA!!!! :)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!FIFTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I DID IT!!!!! 50 pounds gone forever!!!! I actually was thinking that I was .6 away this morning for my initial weigh in. So, I sat down at the computer and had my MF hot chocolate for breakfast. Then (TMI Warning) before I showered I "released".....a lot. So, I thought, okay that HAD to be something weight wise. So, I jumped back on the scale, and even though I had breakfast, I lost EXACTLY that .6!!! So, I have officially lost FIFTY POUNDS!!!! I am so thrilled! :)

Silly fears!!!

Okay, I so I've been very nervous about stepping on the scale this morning after being on vacation. I normally, even though it's a stupid thing to do, weigh every single day. I know I can't actually control the numbers, but I guess that at least I see what's going on and I'm mentally prepared for what I'll see. Well, I didn't weigh myself at all since the day we left on July 1st. So, I had a pit in my stomach about weighing in this morning. lol I stayed completely on plan while I was gone, but I wasn't drinking as much water as I'm used to and my actual exercise time stopped completely because my foot was hurting. Due to those things, I really didn't know what I'd find. However.......I stepped on the scale this morning and I'm down 6 pounds since last weigh in!!!! Yay me!!!! I am now 2 lbs away from FIFTY POUNDS!!! I really hope to make that by the 16th, which is our 3 monthiversary from our starting day. That would be amazing!!! :)

On vacation!!!

Been out of town on a vacation at Erik's parents' house for a week now and won't be home for a few more days. I have NO idea what my weight is doing! lol But, I have stayed on plan (very easy since his parents are too! ;) ) so I have faith that things are still going as they're supposed to be. I hope so anyway!!! I have had some trouble keeping up with water consumption and my exercise has dipped off because my left foot has been hurting....so hopefully that hasn't hindered anything. Erik is still doing fabulously....of course. He's been home since Monday, so has been able to get on our scale and see what's happening. As of today he is 67.4 pounds down and a couple pounds away from being in the 2-teens. AWESOME!!!!! Tomorrow marks 12 weeks on this diet for us. I'm hoping that I'm nearing 50 lbs. We shall see.......

Erik hit 60 pounds!!!

Actually, 62!!! Took new pics of him to share on Facebook and here. He got several comments on Facebook yesterday about how he looks like a totally different person. Well, this morning, he called and told me that he almost didn't make it in to work this morning because the security guard he went through this morning to get in to the site didn't believe that he was the man in the picture on his security badge!!!! LMBO How CRAZY is that????? We'd actually had this conversation 2-3 weeks ago when he was about 50 pounds lost about his driver's license.....which looks even less like him! His badge is actually an older picture from when he worked at Sandia and they just used the same picture. His driver's license is from about last October and closer to what he looked like at the peak of his weight and a stark difference from what he is now! So, needless to say, he was going to go see his supervisor this morning to put in for a new badge picture. lol I'm also going to call the local driver's license place and find out what we need to do to get him a new license. I'm just holding off getting a Tennessee license till I'm happier with my weight period! lol

As for my loss, it's been slow going. I think I actually may have jumped the gun a few pounds early on my 40 lbs loss. The scale was up the very next day and I battled it all week. I am down beyond that now....but it seems it was premature. OOOPS!! lol I actually did get my very first comment/compliment about my weight loss at Church yesterday....so that was nice! :)

Here's Erik's "62" pound loss pics (with his beginning pics). :)

Woohoo!!!! I hit 40 pounds lost!!!

On Saturday, that was! It was a really s-l-o-w week for weight loss, but it finally happened. Finally took some updated pics, since my "beginning" pics. I really wasn't happy at first, because my pics weren't so dramatic. A little bit later, it occurred to me that my shirt was so loose and just hanging straight down from my chest.....so the loss in my mid section was not as apparent in those pictures. So, I had Erik help me pin my shirt back and I was much more pleased with those pics. :) Here's the little collage of my before/current pics we took on Saturday. :)

Incredibly Frustrated Today.....

These little plateaus drive me absolutely freakin' bonkers. It's probably due to the fact that I had a really good loss week last week. But, after the weigh in on Friday at 37.6, I was down to an even 38 on Sunday and the scale has moved exactly .2 since then. AAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!! Today is our 2 month "anniversary" of starting on this diet and I was really hoping to hit the big 4-0 by now. This same thing happened when I was nearing 30 and I swear my scale just loves to torture me. I've been promising pictures to family and friends once I hit 40.....and I'm excited/anxious and a little nervous to see the change in pictures myself. But, alas, I'm still not quite there. :( Of course, the scale keeps moving for Erik and I see from the little calendar we keep track on that he's at 54 pounds now. Yay for him, ACK! for me. *sigh*

HE DID IT! HE DID IT! HE DID IT! HOORAY!!!!!

singing the title in my best "Dora The Explorer" voice. ;) Erik DID IT!!! He hit FIFTY POUNDS lost (on the nose!) this morning!!!! This has been a big week for him. He first entered the "230s" and has now officially lost 50 pounds! He told me earlier this week that he hasn't weighed this little since he was aboard the USS Nebraska in the Navy.....which he left in 2001! So, this is really a big deal! :) Fifty pounds in 8 weeks!! I couldn't be more proud of him for sticking to this and not being crabby (99% of the time!) about it. lol

As for me.......8 weeks is marked with 37.6 pounds lost!!!! Wish I could claim fifty, too. ;) But, I'm very happy with what I've got so far and know that will soon be my claim!
What a fabulous way to start the day and weekend!!!! :)

Will he do it this week??????????

As of today, Erik weighed in at 48.4 lbs lost!!! Will he break FIFTY this week???? Friday will mark 8 weeks on program. Things have definitely slowed down for him lately, but almost 50 pounds in almost 8 weeks is absolutely incredible!!! Will be so exciting to see if he does it! I'm thinking that Father's Day will be bringing a few new wardrobe items. He is absolutely drowning in most of his clothes now! :)

For me, today I'm at 35 pounds lost!!! :) Fortunately, for me, I have a bunch of things in my closet I can still wear. So, I should be good for at least another month. ;)

Week 6+ Update.......

Okay.....so we hit six weeks on Friday. It was Memorial Day Weekend and we were in the Nashville area visiting Erik's parents, so just reporting now. :) Last week was really up and down for me. Was literally a few oz. away from a goal and then went up a pound and a half the next day. I was seriously irritated. lol It was just up and down like that all week and then this weekend, I realized what the problem was when AF reared her ugly head. Dang hormones and water retention!!! But, at least there was an explanation! lol As of this morning, I am down 31 pounds!!!! :) I'm still all bloaty, so I hope that means great things for later in the week on the scale too. ;)

Things have slowed a bit in the last week for Erik. It was bound to happen sooner or later, since he dropped 40 lbs like nothing! He had a 2 lb loss over the last week and is currently sitting at 42 lbs total lost. I'm sure things will start moving for him again....he's just getting a little taste of what I've been going through! ;)

Like I mentioned before, we were visiting Erik's parents this weekend. On Sunday, we went to Church with them and no less than 7 people commented to Erik's Mom on how great she looks and that she's "melting" away! It was really cool to see/hear and I was thrilled for her. :) I just wonder if my loss is apparent to other people yet or when it will be. As I've blogged about before, I've had NO ONE say anything to me. It also could be that we've only lived here 7 months, and that I just don't know people well enough for them to feel like they can comment to me about it. *shrug*

Little Victories.....

So, I was complaining to Erik last night.....after all of our amazement at his before/current pics and the compliments of others on his weight loss.....about my own feelings about MY loss. As of today, I have lost 27.6 pounds. But, I'm wondering exactly where it's come off of? Why is my loss not as noticeable as his? Why does seemingly no one else notice any change in me? Now, granted, he's lost like 13 or so more pounds than me, but his loss has been noticeable (at least to me!)for a while now. I know by looking at myself, my face and neck area are a lot thinner. As are my "girls." lol And though things are fitting me differently....I haven't really "dropped" in sizes and I can't figure out WHY, when I've lost 27 lbs. Erik has gotten very comfortably into old pants he's not worn in years. He's had to tighten his belt till he needed to buy a new one. My Mother in Law called yesterday all giddy because she had just bought some size 12 shorts. That's at least TWO sizes that I know she's dropped. I am THRILLED for them....I really am. But, it's depressing for ME. 27+ pounds isn't anything to be depressed about.....but WHERE is it coming off of????? I'm wondering if I just filled my clothes out way more than I realized (how EMBARRASSING!!) and should have been wearing a bigger size? In that sense, I HAVE dropped sizes....but I've been in denial about what that really was. So, because what I thought was different than reality....I'm living in reality now? lol Pardon the rambling, I'm just really trying to figure this out!!!
So, after talking to Erik, I went to my closet and pulled out a pair of shorts I bought last year, thinking they were my size.....and was never able to wear them. I cursed Lane Bryant for shrinking their sizes. ;) I hung onto them, with the hopes of getting into them and yesterday I did! :) I am also wearing a shirt I bought last fall...that did fit, but shrunk in the wash (no, really, it did...in this case! lol). It's now fitting nicely. These are little victories for me to celebrate. :) It helped me to see that I AM actually changing in size....even if it doesn't really seem like I am.
It's also interesting to see how psychological blocks impact weight. I mentioned, probably in the first blog, that I never really saw myself as the "fat girl." I apparently lived in denial for quite a while. With snapping to reality with this diet, I really am quite mortified with where I was. I even have trouble "publicly" admitting what my starting weight was. I know and Erik knows....but I haven't shared that with ANYONE else. I still can't bring myself to actually say it "out loud." *sigh* I do have three milestones that I'm really hoping to hit this week and those will be little victories to celebrate as well!!! :)

Before and Current Pics of Erik

So, just for fun this afternoon and since Erik is less than a pound away from 40 lbs lost, I decided to take some current pics of him. Obviously with seeing him every day I *knew* from looking at him that his weight loss is really evident. But, seeing the before and currents together is still absolutely stunning and amazing to me and I can't stop looking at them. lol I know I've lost weight, but I'm hesitant to take pics of myself just yet. I will definitely when I hit 40 lbs too. ;) So, just had to post the little collage I made! :)

5 weeks.........and a couple of days.

Wow. Didn't realize it had been so long since I've written. OOPS. AGAIN. lol I really do have a good excuse. My sister Amanda and nephew Wyatt came to visit us for a week and I've been busy busy. Not to mention, the school year is winding down, so we've got all the end of the school year craziness going on at the moment. Luckily, school is out in two weeks and life will calm down. I am READY for the break. This school year has been tougher on me than it has been on the kids. lol No doubt with the other depression and stress factors in my life, it led to stress/emotional eating. I'm so happy to be breaking that cycle. But, I can still do without unnecessary stress!!! Yay for SUMMER VACATION!!!!!

So........onto the weight loss updates. Not going to go back and update for the weeks I forgot to blog, because it's only leading up to where we are now anyway. As of today, I am officially 25 lbs (exactly!) down! GO ME!!!! :) It's great, but I will be so happy when I'm at a point where others start taking notice of my success. Not that I need the praise of others. But, it's always nice when you've gotten to a recognizable state where others can see it too. ;) I've not had anyone who doesn't know I'm dieting mention anything to me. Maybe they are just being polite and not talking about my weight. lol
Erik is still doing so completely amazing and I'm so proud of him. He is less than a pound away from FORTY pounds lost and has officially gone below 250 lbs!!! YAY ERIK!!!!!! His physical transformation is so completely obvious and he HAS had people comment about his weight loss. He's doing a great job and I'm so pleased he is happily sticking with it. I probably mentioned at the beginning what a crabby dieter he is. lol He does pout from time to time about not being able to eat certain things. Like when we were in Gatlinburg last weekend and we'd already had our lean and green meal for the day.....but the kids and my sister still had to eat, so we stopped in at the Mellow Mushroom and watched the kids eat pizza. Erik LOVES pizza and Italian food in general, so this was depressing for him. He likes to avoid even seeing foods that he loves at all costs. That is a little frustrating for me, because I went and had a very nice lunch with my sister at our favorite restaurant (a Japanese steak house called Wasabi) and split a meal with our 5 year old and ate only the things allowed for a lean and green meal and enjoyed it immensely. Erik doesn't want to go there, because he doesn't want to see the yummy rice and not be able to have it. He needs to get over it. lol
In a nutshell, things are still going really great. :) We get our next order on Tuesday and there's a couple of things in it that we've not tried yet, so looking forward to that. :) Medifast is changing our lives. :)

Week 3 and shaking things up a bit.......

So.....week three was a bit rough for me. Again. Maybe it's not really rough, but it's definitely NOT week one, so it pales in comparison. I guess I really shouldn't compare. My weight is really funny, in that it seems like the scale doesn't budge for my "official" weigh in day, but I'll drop 2-3 pounds over the next couple of days after. I guess there's a reason that we shouldn't weigh *every* day, because it's enough to make you crazy! It's like a total happy dance moment when it moves.....and I'm seriously ticked and even in tears when it doesn't. *sigh* So.....I will give our weight loss statuses as of today. Today, day 24 in this journey, I FINALLY hit 20 lbs lost!!!! WOOHOOOOO!!!!! :) Erik, the big booger, is >< this close to 30 lbs. YAY ERIK!!!! I'm seriously HAPPY for him.....but can help having a little bit of the green eyed monster feelings. ;) It is really tough seeing the scale continually moving for him.....even just ounces, when it stands still for me, sometimes for days. But, how cool is it that we've now lost effectively 50 lbs between us!!! That's more than Connor weighs, and just a few pounds less than Aidan! We've lost a kid! lol It's AMAZING!!! Will be even better when we're half the people we used to be. :)

So...I've noticed, that when I get my lean and green meal in earlier in the day, I tend to lose. Whether that's a fluke or what, I don't know. So, I'm trying to shake things up a bit, by eating my L&G for lunch instead of dinner. It does kind of suck to not sit down and eat what the rest of the family is eating, but oh well. I can still sit with them and eat one of my Medifast meals. I figure I can make whatever for dinner and stick a portion aside for myself to eat the next day at lunch. I really want to see if that makes a difference for me. I know that the number I've lost is actually *very* good.....but when you've got a lot to lose, it's a little depressing to see such small progress.

I just remembered, I need to take pictures of Erik before he loses much more....since he hit his 10% bodyweight loss. The difference in him (by looking at him) is awesome. He's dropped at least one pant size and you can definitely SEE that he's losing weight. Me, I don't know so much. I'm definitely slimming down, but I'm not sure how noticeable it is to others yet. I'm losing it in areas that are probably less noticeable to others. Like, "the girls" have shrunk quite a bit. Why do we always lose there first? lol So, it will be fun to see some comparison pics as we lose. :)

Week 2......

Well, since the week 1 update was a little late.....I guess it reasons that this one would be a little late too. ;) Week 2 was VERY frustrating for me!!! I basically hit a couple of mini plateaus and had very little loss last week. All the while the numbers kept falling for Erik. ARGH!!!! It was very frustrating because this diet is designed so that there really isn't a whole lot of room for error (which is the beauty of this diet!)and there wasn't a whole lot that I can do to change what is. I posted on the MF Facebook page and that's what others said too. Plateaus happen with very little rhyme or reason. The one thing that I could change was to up my exercise level, which I have done and seems to have helped. I don't expect huge numbers every week like we had the first week....as amazing as it would be to lose it all that fast with so little effort! ;) But, there's GOT to be something happening! So....week two ended with me at a 13.4 lb loss (total since beginning). Which, yes, IS a great number for 2 weeks....but considering 11.6 pounds happened in week one, it really sucked for week two. Erik ended week 2 down 21.6 lbs!!!!

HOWEVER.....the scale started moving again the very next day (go figure) and by 15 days I was down exactly 15 pounds!!! :) Today, I am down 17.6 and Erik is down 23.2. :) YAY US!!!!! So, after a week of sheer frustration and yes, some tears.....things are going well again. :)

I bought me a good pair of walking/running shoes this weekend and this morning picked up some capri style yoga type pants to exercise in. My long yoga pants are just too hot to wear with the weather warming up and I like to sleep in my soft goucho type pants, so I don't want to wear them to work out in. The shoes were on sale, but still I never spend that much on shoes. Truthfully, I hate shoes (what kind of girl am I? lol) and would rather walk around barefoot and have just never invested much in them. But, the tennis shoes I had hurt my feet and were NOT good to wear much, much less exercise in. So, it needed to be done and I'm sure will be a good investment. :) Here's hoping for a great rest of week 3!!! :)

Week update......a little late

Got off track with blogging....OOOPS!!! So, one week in (last Friday), I was down 11.6 pounds and Erik was about 2 oz. shy of 14 pounds!!!! Absolutely amazing!!! :) Then....the frustration began. For me, anyway. The scale didn't budge again till this morning! ACK!!!!! No idea what was going on. I totally stayed on program, no form of cheating at all, yet nothing. I was really quite upset yesterday morning, being the third morning at the exact same weight. I guess that's why it's recommended to weigh in weekly and not daily, because it really is demoralizing. :( I posted my frustration on the Facebook Medifast page and got a lot of encouragement and just told to keep on keepin' on and really push the water. So, that's what I did. Oh my gosh, I'm not a water drinker and this is NOT easy for me. But, we bought a case of bottled water and I find that I can down one pretty easily in no time at all. So, I had to have had like 8 bottle fulls yesterday (about 17 oz each) at least(refilled at the tap, not totally environmentally unconcious ;) ). Add to that two glasses of Crystal Light lemonade and any water IN my food. So, the scale moved again this morning and it felt like a triumph! lol Our weight loss now stands at 13.4 lbs for me and 17.8 for Erik. Yes, he sucks!!! ;) lol

Woohooo!!!

Scale moved again this morning. :) I am now >< this close to being at a 10 lb loss. :) If other days' losses show anything, I know it's possible. But, then the scale didn't move at all yesterday....so who knows. Erik is doing freaking awesome....but I will reveal that number tomorrow as well! I must say, that it's really unfair that men lose faster than women! But, considering that my "visitor" did in fact show her ugly face this morning, and the past few days have been leading up to her arrival....my numbers are also freaking awesome! :)

When the scale doesn't budge.....

We're not even a week in and I know that being able to boast the 8 pound loss I've already had is AMAZING....but this morning, the scale didn't budge for me. To add insult to injury....Erik lost over 2 lbs and is now at 11 pounds lost. Yay for him....but sucks for me! ;) It's so weird when you totally follow the plan and that happens. I did feel like maybe I was retaining some water this morning, so maybe that's what was happening. Maybe my "visitor" is trying to stop by. But, I've been living in the bathroom today.....so maybe that will reflect well on the scale tomorrow. ;) I have to say, that I don't think I've ever pee'd as much a day in my life till starting this diet. lol At least nothing went UP on the scale....but it was the exact same number as yesterday. I don't think if you stay on plan, that it's even possible to gain weight on this diet. The calories are way too low for that to happen. So......here's hoping for a better number on the scale tomorrow! :)

Day 5!!!

We are now on day 5 and I am down 8.2 lbs and Erik is down 8.8!!! Go us!!!! It would be awesome if by Friday we could both claim a one week 10 lb. or more loss. At this rate, it doesn't seem out of reach. But we will see. The best part is, I feel amazing!!! I have a lot of energy and my usual (TMI) bowel troubles have pretty much disappeared. So, definitely already feel a difference in those things with the change in nutrition and small weight loss. I am very happy that we decided to do this! :)

How did I get this way???

I have battled with weight nearly my whole life. I wasn't a "fat kid" so it's not really like that. But, I've definitely struggled since my later teens/early twenties. The "funny" thing is....though I consciously *know* I'm overweight, I haven't until recently seen what I've become. I've never really seen myself as "the fat girl" or "the fat friend." Which is good, I suppose. I know how weight can really make people struggle with self esteem. Some, way more than others. I have skinny friends and relatives that seem to be really hyper conscious of their weight to a negative degree and really beat themselves up over it. It's never really been like that for me. So, it's great that I don't have zero self esteem.....but it's bad because I think that also enabled the issue that I have now. So, how did this happen??? I know that I've really packed on the pounds over the past going on two years, since I lost my Mom. She died and then we had a very stressful time for more than a year afterward. While still grieving Mom really hard, Erik's Dad died 7 months later. Being his only child, that left us with A LOT on our plates.....on top of now grieving the loss of two parents. 4 months after he died, Erik got a job in TN and came here while the boys and I stayed in NM to sell our home there. We were apart for 3 months. Lots of stressed out and emotional eating occurring from all of the above, I guess.
Since moving here and settling in and being more than a year out from the losses of our parents, we are both feeling happier and more content and at peace. Not that we don't still have very emotional moments.....but it's not a constant feeling either. So, I think we are both in a good place mentally and emotionally for losing weight.
Now, that I'm out of the "fog" I'm definitely noticing the toll it has taken on me. I'm now really feeling the physical effects of it too. I'm too young to be feeling so darn old!!!
So, yesterday, I got out the scale. I've never been one for weighing myself. I love to live in blissful ignorance. lol But, the number that popped up shocked the crap out of me. :( I really had NO IDEA!!!! But, it's made me more determined than ever to FINALLY do something about my weight problem. I know I didn't become this way overnight and I guess that's how it snuck up on me too. :( I'm still too embarrassed at this point to actually publicly admit to that number. Maybe someday, when I can look back and say with a fit, hot body...."Look how far I've come!!!" I will admit to it. :)

It has begun...........

Erik and I weighed in and started on our journey this morning. :) I'm feeling tired, but I think that has more to do with poor sleep and waking up at the crack of dawn to get kids ready for school, than with the diet. I have a kink in my neck too. Fun. Have had one Medifast bar this morning so far. It was actually pretty good! It was very interesting making it last 15 minutes though, as recommended by Medifast. lol These bars are not large. Pretty much the typical size of a granola or cereal bar like you buy at the store....so you literally have to nibble at it to make it last that long. lol Think for my next meal I'm going to try a soup. We're going to place another order either tonight or tomorrow and I think we're going to need to order more of the bars, pretzels and puffs than we got with this order. Erik has to go to the VA for an appointment today and it's not like he's going to really be able to mix up a soup, eggs, oatmeal, pudding or shake while he's gone. So, for convenience sake, I think we're going to need more of those things on hand.
Speaking of appointments at the VA. This is a follow up on his sleep apnea. I'd known he has it for YEARS and finally got him to do something about it. He started using a cpap machine a couple of months ago and this is some sort of follow up to that. I don't know that his sleep apnea will ever go away. He was like this even when he was thin when we got married. But, I'm really hoping that losing weight will cure his issues with diabetes and high blood pressure.
It wouldn't surprise me if I have these issues too. But, I'm a naughty girl and haven't been to a doctor in YEARS. Haven't needed to otherwise for illness, so I just haven't been for general check ups either.
One funny note.....I was explaining about me and Daddy going on a diet to our 5 year old and what we're going to be doing to get skinnier. He says, "Why do you need to get skinnier?" and I told him, "So, that we can feel better, be healthier and so I can be a HOT MAMA!!!" and he totally rolled his eyes at me! lol Love that he loves his Mommy unconditionally though and thinks I'm perfect no matter what! :)

Getting Started.......

Today is prep day. Sort of like packing for a vacation. I'm getting everything ready and in place today, for the journey we will begin tomorrow. :) I decided that it would be fun for Erik and I to document it all....the ups and downs, the highs and lows of losing weight. But, also wanted to separate this from the rest of our lives and the blog I keep about myself and family. So, I created this blog specifically for this purpose. :) I'm a blogger...so I will definitely be writing and hopefully Erik will pop in once in a while and share his thoughts as well. :)

So.....how this started. Erik's parents started the Medifast Diet several weeks ago. They had urged us to try it too, because they know several people that are having such great success with it. We poo-poo'd it at first. The cost factor seemed daunting. Medifast is *not* a cheap diet. It's really not. I find it aggravating too....because the food isn't really much. It shouldn't be so expensive. I wish that they would make it more attainable for people. It could only help the obesity epidemic in this country by doing so. But, after thinking about it and realizing how much we'd be saving on eating out alone....it didn't seem so bad because that won't be a factor anymore. We decided that since the starting off is the hardest part financially (cuz you still have to live and eat in the mean time) that we'd wait for our tax return and make the investment in ourselves with part of it. His parents are doing really well with it, by the way!! So, I'm excited to get started and start losing too! :)
We finally placed the order last Saturday evening.....and it's on the truck out for delivery TODAY!!! So....while we wait for the delivery, like I said, today is prep day. Got to get out the dreaded scale and dust it off. ;) I'm going to make us a dated log to tape up in our bathroom cabinet to keep a log of our weights daily before getting in the shower each morning. Going to create us each a weight loss ticker to set small goals with. For example, first goal would be losing 10% of our body weight each. Second goal, getting to 50 pound loss each. Etc. Etc. I figure that baby steps and shorter term goals help make the long term goal seem less daunting and are celebratory milestones in themselves. :) Going to take the awful "before" pics. ;) Then, of course, I created this blog to document it all in one place. Oh...and as pathetic and unproductive as it is in losing weight we are going to our favorite restaurant tonight to enjoy what I'm jokingly referring to as our "last supper." :)