Hey, this place is still here!

And I'm no closer to being the skinny ideal than I ever was. So, once again, I'm making a new start. Let's see if this works.

I finally stepped into this decade and bought myself an iPhone. I got an app called Lose It. It features a food log that works really well and make it very easy to keep track of what I eat. So far I've used it for two straight weeks. I like it a lot. So far, 6 pounds lost.

I'm hovering at 260. I think it's because I've had a bit too much salt. I'm not dieting, I'm just logging what I eat. The app shows me how many calories I've had for each meal and tells me how much more I can eat for the day. Right now I have it set at 2,000, and I try to end each day having eaten less than what is budgeted. For instance, today I ended 411 calories short. I'm finding that this is pretty easy to do. I can have whatever I want. The app just keeps me conscious.

Tonight for dinner- The carmelized peach salad with grilled chicken at California Pizza Kitchen. 453 calories. Sooo delicious.

Ok, don't get lazy

Gotta stay on top of this. So far I've lost 7 pounds. Mustn't get complacent. Stacey and I both think this is going to be a hard week. The first two weeks were so easy. I should get a $100 bill and stick it on the wall in front of the treadmill.

Drew brought Dad's tv wall bracket over to the house. I should install it this weekend so I can watch movies while I'm on the tread. I need to get that room back in order. Right now it's a bit messy. Can't do Pilates if there's no floor space.

Ok, keep it fresh. Keep it in front of my face. Stay conscious.

Has it really been a year?

Wow.

Ok. Well, I gained back all but 11 pounds of that weight I lost last year. That means I paid $1,000 (the cost of the Kaiser program) to lose 11 pounds. Yee-haw! But I'm not surprised or even all that disappointed. It's a typical dieting result.

I'm trying something different (last try before gastric bypass) and I've roped Stacey into doing it with me. Basically it's this; We both need to lose a pound a week. The one that fails to do so has to pay the other $100. It's enough to hurt, but losing a pound a week isn't a hard thing to do. Today was day 1. Let the games begin.

My strategy is keep the portions reasonable, eat more veggies and fruit, and cut down on bad carbs and fat. My treadmill is ailing so I need to get it fixed. Right now I'm getting plenty of exercise shoveling gravel and hauling junk out of my garage and sunroom. Once the weather heats up it'll be harder to do those outdoor activities. I do need that treadmill.

Time for bed.

I bought a scale

My old one was too big and the accuracy was iffy. I don't know if this new one is going to be accurate, but it's new and pretty, so it must be better. I reads a couple pounds lighter than the scale at Kaiser. I've heard people bitching about that scale being a couple pounds off. Maybe my new scale really is right.

So far, weighing once a week at Kaiser has worked just fine but I want more feedback now. I want to see how I'm doing day to day. It also makes me kind of want to play a game with it. How much can Donita nudge that number down every day? It's a digital scale and the readout includes tenths of a pound.

I'm approaching another weight milestone. I'm almost the same weight I was when I was in Michele's wedding. That was, what, 21 years ago? I sure do remember what I looked like back then. I had dieted like crazy before that wedding.

Update- 47 pounds! So, my scale does jive with the Kaiser scale. I'll take it.

Pilates!

Woo-hoo. Pilates kicks butt. Actually, Pilates kicks abs. I'm taking a class at RCC. I might just have to keep taking it because I really like it, at least so far. I think it will really help as I get into the old lady phase of my life. That whole strengthening-the-core thing really makes sense now that I know what the core is. I'm hoping this will fix my lower back problem.

Weight class tonight. Did I lose any this week?

Update: Yup. Another pound. That's 44.

Back on track

Ok, I'm down another pound. I had gained a few a couple weeks ago and now I've gotten rid of those plus one. I went to the store tonight and bought lots of veggies and a variety of diet frozen meals. I'm going to see which ones I like best. They'll be convenient at work, and cheaper than going out for lunch. Tonight for dinner I had The Zone enchilada pie. I'm giving it a thumbs up. I had a lovely tangelo for dessert.

Gonna start keeping a food journal again.

The Biggest Loser

I finally watched it tonight. Actually, I didn't see the whole thing and I had to watch a lot of it with the sound turned down. I really can't deal with the super dramatic music, the dramatic quick-cuts, the dramatic expressions of defeat or exasperation, the dramatic DRAMA. The reality show formula just makes me want to scream, which is why I don't watch them. So, even though it'll be dramatically difficult, I'll probably watch this show again.

I hate the dramatic in-your-face stuff, but it struck a nerve that needed striking. I've gotten complacent lately and the weight loss has stalled. I don't want the real life drama of having to deal with the doctor's scorn when I check in on Wednesdays. If you don't do well they scold you. I had that happen once and I didn't like it. Not because I didn't want to take responsibility for my failure that week (actually, I had lost weight), but because it felt like his crappy, canned speech. He seemed like he was enjoying it, even. I finally just said what I knew he wanted to hear just to get him to shut up. It's a bad policy because I think it encourages people to lie to them. Yes, I drank the water. Yes, I exercised. As long as you drop a pound or two you can get away with it.

So, if I can get a dose of the in-your-face shit that doesn't actually belong to me I think it'll serve to keep me focused. I'll watch the show with the sound turned off when they're doing the dramatic weigh-in. I'll turn it back up again when they're all in the room screaming at each other.

Anyway, that's how I feel about it right now.