Three H: Holy, Healthy, Happy

Well, despite all my progress so far this year, I'm feeling a bit discouraged. I just left an appointment with my OBGYN. I was proud of how well I have been doing with losing weight, but he never mentioned my weight. He usually mentions if I have made any gains or losses, so I asked what I weighed last time I saw him. He said "274. You've come down half a pound." Arrrrrgh!!!!!!! I told him I've lost quite a bit but I always seem to gain and lose between seeing him again. He said I probably gained when I stopped taking the metformin (which is true) and then came back down again as I started taking it again and dieting (also true). *sigh* In my head, I can hear Hermione lashing out at Ron Weasley at the Yule Ball; "You know the solution, then, don't you {Ron}?! " Only it feels like I'm lecturing myself. So what do I do? Comfort my wounds with a Snickers bar like I used to do, or renew my resolve which had already begun to dissolve anyway? Bef...

Earlier this week I began experiencing signs of ovulation. I have been having these symptoms preceding my period per usual, however this go round I seem to be producing more of the “EWCM” one reads about in Trying-to-Conceive message boards. I’ve also had a heightened sense of smell which has, in the past, caused me a false sense of excitement when I believed I might be pregnant but never actually was. (Earlier this week I even thought I could be pregnant... but this is also after I got to hold a cute baby on Monday!) After reading about other women’s experiences online, I discovered that sometimes the heightened sense of smell is common between ovulation and the period arriving. So I'll take that symptom with a grain of salt from now on.  I have a feeling that, although I haven’t lost a huge amount of weight, perhaps my fertility has been restored. Women with PCOS often go through their cycles as usual but that doesn’t mean an egg is actually released; this is why some wome...

16.8 Pounds Lost in Two Months!

In the beginning I was hesitant to put a face to the name on this blog. I've since decided that "Before" and "During" photos would help motivate me on days when "After" seems either impossible or forever far away. I didn't take any measurements or photos on the day I started and, since I'm usually the person taking photos, I am not in very many of them. I had to go back to September to find one of me for the "Before" image. The "During" image was taken just a few moments ago, after 7 weeks of dieting and about 17 pounds of weight loss. Much of the weight has come off my midsection, but I've also noticed that my face, neck, and chin are feeling and looking a bit smaller than a few weeks ago. "Before" and "During" Project 52: Health Improvement Week by Week

Adding Exercise Next Week I’m gearing up for adding exercise into my plan for improving my health week by week. So far I have only been cutting out carbohydrates (rice, bread, cake, pancakes, sugar, ice cream, candy, potatoes, and corn). In 7 weeks I have lost and kept off 16.8 pounds by diet alone. That’s less ass to haul. :) It will really help my feet, legs, and back for when I get started exercising next week. In addition to giving myself a chance to lose some weight, I decided to wait until the first week of March to add exercise to give the world a chance to tilt itself closer towards spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Warmer weather makes exercise easier. We’re still a bit too far out for this weather forecast to be very accurate, but it looks a heck of a lot better to walk in than the ice and 15 degree temps we had last week! The days circled in red are the days I'll be walking the first week.  Walking Goals for March I’m starting incredibly small by walk...

On days where the number on the scale ticks up a pound or so, it helps to step back and look at the overall trend. I zigzag up and down, but the overall trend is downward. 

Progress How am I doing? Well, my weight has crept back up a tad, but it’s also the week of my period so I’m not overly concerned. This morning I weighed in at 270.6. I’m trying to focus on the overall trend rather than the day to day zigzags… and so far, I’m still trending down. Since I’m Catholic and yesterday was Ash Wednesday, I found myself fasting (one normal meal with two lesser meals just enough to keep me going) and abstaining from meat as we begin the season of Lent to prepare for Easter. (FYI- We Catholics are the reason that the fast food chains boast about their fish sandwiches “coming back” each spring. Think about it! We fast from meat every Friday between Mardi Gras and Easter. That’s a lotta beef they’ve got to make up for!) We recently had an ice storm in our area; weathered northerners would find it laughable, but since we don’t have as much infrastructure here to deal with ice and snow, we basically just hibernate and sit tight until it’s over. By yes...

I have had great success recently and I couldn't be happier. Truly, this time I am going to do it!  I weighed in at 269.0 this morning! Not only have I escaped the 280's, I have outrun the 270's! This achievement, however small it may seem, is monumental to me.  I am also feeling tremendously better overall. My energy levels and stamina have both greatly improved. I think I'm also sleeping much better, and that is just based upon dietary changes alone. Since I mentioned sleeping better, this is also a good time to confess that I have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea gets a bad rap as being something only really fat old guys get, but really, anyone can have it. Carrying around extra fat on your body can make it worse, but you don't have to be fat to have it. In fact, in one episode of Mythbusters, Adam Savage couldn't complete the sleep study needed for testing the myth because he wasn't sleeping well enough. He was having apnea episodes.  What is sleep apnea? In sim...