Beach Day.

I know it's only March here in NH but I have been LONGING for the ocean breeze in my face all Winter long. This week was my birthday so my husband said he would take me for a nice drive to Hampton Beach today and then get some dinner there.  The beach is my happy place!!  Hoping we get to walk the beach for some exercise if it's not too chilly!!
Our work is sponsoring a wellness program for all the employees. They have challenged us to team up with a buddy and walk 26.2 miles, each, between now and April 15th which is the Boston Marathon.  I started about three days ago and so far have about four and a half miles down. We are only counting formal walks, not putting a pedometer on in the morning and counting all the miles all day.  That would be way too easy!!  My buddy, a fellow
co-worker, is doing a great job also. I showed her how to use the Map My Walks app and she's loving it!! 
Can't wait to get to the beach today!!!

Progress report

     After my last post I guess I forgot all about this blog.  Haven't been back here since.  Well, I really went down hill and hit an all time high with my weight.  A place I always said I would not go...200lbs.
     Was having problems with GERD and my back. Was told by a couple of Drs. that if I lost weight it would greatly help.  They suggested a visit to a dietitian.  That's when I decided to go back to Weight Watchers, (WW)
     I've been going since the beginning of Oct. 2018 and have happily lost 24 lbs!!  I'm not where I want to be yet but I'm on the right track for sure. It's been slow going and the holidays really slowed me down for a bit but it is really working for me this time and I feel encouraged to keep going.
     There is a lot of improvement in the GERD situation unless I eat something that I know really triggers it.  My back has shown some improvement also but still working on that.  For now I'm motivated and determined to see how far I can go if I don't give up!!

Day 2 going strong

Got up this morning and made myself a great breakfast. Then went out for a nice walk. The weather was gorgeous here today after very severe storms yesterday bringing in a nice cool front from Canada. After my walk I worked out in my gardens for a little bit then came in and made a very yummy lunch for myself. I made a stuffed pepper but instead of rice I used cauliflower rice. Would never have known the difference if I didn't know better. I love that stuff. Makes a great fried rice also!!
So I got on the scale this morning before anything else and I was down to 192.4 which makes a loss of 2.6 lbs. I know it is just all water weight cuz I drank lots of water yesterday and ran to the bathroom a lot also. So I guess it's working!!!
Going out to lunch tomorrow with a friend and since it's only my third day into trying to eat better that will be a challenge to stay within my calorie budget for lunch. Might have a small soup and small salad. My shoulder is feeling really good today but I have to remember not to overdo it. It's still only 3 weeks post-surgery and things are still very delicate in there while it is healing. Seeing improvements every day!!
Day 2 is d

Here we go again!

 Rededicating myself again today. Got out my treadmill started using MyFitnessPal again Just got to get it together again! 
Lots going on the last two years. Last year I lost my job of 18 years. My company sold our division to someone else who moved it all to California from New Hampshire where we were based. Got a compression fracture on my T12 vertebrae. Which took nearly a year to heal. The first several months were extremely painful. I could not exercise . That happened last May. I went back to work in September. Worked there for 8 months as a temp. Had to quit for rotator cuff surgery on my right arm. That was 3 weeks ago. It's feeling better now but still have three more weeks to wear this stupid sling then intensive physical therapy several months to follow. Doctor said I would be out of work for three or more months. Since I was a temporary worker there I will not get any compensation. Luckily though my husband has excellent health insurance so that was not an issue. So things have been a little bit in turmoil for me and I have drowned my sorrows in food.  Losing a job, having to find a new job, starting a new job, painful back injury and now surgery. But I guess I need to drag myself out of this slump I'm in and get back to taking care of myself as far as my weight loss is concerned. So here I go again. Starting out at 195 lbs and really need to see a lot lower numbers on my scale in the near future. Got to make this happen.

Weigh in day

Well, I had my weigh in today at work for my weight loss challenge. I lost 1.2 pounds. I really thought I was going to have a better week but I should look at the big picture, in five weeks I have lost 9.8 pounds. I'm still in second place so that's a good thing. I went for a 45-minute walk every day this week and I've been eating according to my plan all week. Drinking tons of water!!! I'm doing low carb, high protein and vegetables.  I guess I really have to look at how much I really am eating even though I am low carb maybe I'm eating too much of something? Maybe I'm just not eating enough?  I guess I'll have to play with it a little bit and see what happens, any suggestions?
Going out to dinner tonight with my husband. The way I'm feeling right now I just want to eat everything!!! Sure would love a nice mac and cheese or a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs LOL but I will try to pick wisely keeping my weight loss challenge in mind. Most of the participants are men. There are only two girls so all the other girls in the plant are rooting for me.  I'm feeling a little pressure to say the least. Everyone asks me every Friday morning how I did with my weigh in. So far I haven't had to say I gained any weight at least I have lost weight each week!!!! It's an average of about 2 pounds a week which is a good average but I need to lose a little bit faster because of this challenge.  I only have one month left!!
Have a great weekend everyone!!!
Who is watching the Superbowl and what kind of snacks will you be eating during the game?

Trying something new!

Yesterday I went and checked out an all women's a Cappella group that I'm interested in joining.  I sang in my highschool chorus many many years ago and for several years now I have been thinking how fun it would be to get into that again.  I was very nervous but brave as I walked in not knowing a single person.  All the ladies were so nice and welcoming that it didn't take me long to relax.  They are a very professional group and I have to go through several stages before I even become a member and that's if they even pick me.  I have to sing in front of a board of 12 members with a quartet for the audition. They give me eight weeks to learn a song with the group before I can actually audition.  It will be a challenge for sure but I know I can do it.  The ladies said they will help me to prepare for it.  I'm just gonna take it one step at a time, but give it my all!!  Ohhh how I love to sing with a group.  This will also give me something else to focus on besides eating...lol.  Wish me luck!!!

I'm Back!!!

The last time I posted here was Feb. 2012.  Wow!  I almost forgot I even had this blog.  I have really been geared up this year to lose some weight and then I remembered I still had this blog.  Went back in and started reading some of my old posts and that got me motivated to get back in here and start posting again.  I remember getting lots of support from fellow bloggers in here and right now I can use all the help I can get.  So here I go again!!!  It's good to be back!!!
I am in a weight loss challenge at work.  We started Jan. 3rd.  There are 7 of us in it and it costs $100.00 dollars each.  Our final weigh in will be February 3rd. The winner will be decided by total percentage lost.  I started at 204.4 lbs and have lost 8.2 lbs so far.  Last week I was in second place!!
I figure it will be a good motivator for me even if I don't win.  I'll still be a winner either way...or should I say loser...LOL
Wish me luck!!!