30-In-30 Challenge: Week 8, 183.5 lbs *NO CHANGE

Well, I survived Christmas without gaining anything. Whew! In fact, the scale actually dipped down a pound during a couple of my morning weigh-ins this week, so I'm still right on track. No, I didn't lose anything this week, but that's perfectly fine by me. I had been worried about losing too fast, anyway. And how many people can say they made it through Christmas without gaining a pound anyway?

The bad news is that as I look back on 2006 with regard to my weight, I've had a LOT of ups and downs. Literally. I actually started off this year weighing around 170 lbs, SO CLOSE to being at my goal weight of 150. And then I let myself go again, ballooning back up to 208. It was the very definition of self-sabotage. It wasn't until I started the 30-in-30 Challenge on Nov 1 before I finally turned things around again.

So to remind myself that I'm still a success story, I thought I'd post my original "Before" picture. That's me on the left in 2003, just before I started Atkins. I'm at my heaviest in that picture, 255 lbs. The picture on the right was taken a couple days ago on Christmas Eve at 183.5 lbs. So while I may be ending 2006 heavier than I started the year, I'm not doing too badly all things considered.

30-In-30 Challenge: Week 7, 183.5 lbs

Meow-y Christmas!! Yup, this is part of the cheesy photo that went out in our Christmas letters this year. Don't we make a great pair?? Well, the weight-loss challenge is still in full swing, and I'm still losing. Down 2 lbs from last week for a total of 24.5 lbs since I started Nov 1.

For the past few weeks, I've had a problem with not eating enough and feeling faint and losing weight too quickly. Well, this week I unintentionally evened things out by not exercising. No real good excuse, either, other than it just being that time of year and I've got a ton of errands to run everyday. But the good news is that I was still able to comfortably jog a mile yesterday without feeling too delirious. So my weight's still going down, my fitness level hasn't suffered too much, and hopefully I'm still on track to beat my personal 5K best on New Year's Eve.

30-In-30 Weight Loss Challenge: Week 6, 185.5 lbs

Another huge "whoosh" happened for me this week. I lost 4.5 lbs this week. It feels great, but I'm guessing a massive plateau is on the horizon. I've lost a total of 8.5 lbs over the past 2 weeks, which strikes me as extreme, given that these aren't my FIRST 2 weeks. Last week, I was sick with a nasty cold and didn't work out all week, although I didn't eat much either. And the week before that, I think my sudden weight loss was just leveling out from a plateau I had been stuck on. Still, I worry I'm not eating enough. In fact, I know I'm not. Sometimes I'm hungry to the point of nausea or stomach pain. Other times I feel dizzy. And yet either I'm so busy at work that I don't have time or I forget to eat, or I'm at home and I fall asleep on the couch, or just don't want to eat late at night. As I write this, I realize these are incredibly poor excuses....... guess I gotta just buck up.

But the thing I'm really excited about - I'm not obese anymore! The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says so. According to my BMI, I am now just an average, overweight American!! Whoo-hoo!!!!! No more feeling piggy! Yeah, I suppose this is just a technicality, but it still feels good. Great, actually. This is the weight where I my size 16 jeans fit very comfortably again, as does almost everything in my closet. And I'm sooooo close to my Christmas goal of 185 lbs even.

By the way, this is a recent pic of me! I'm getting rid of that double chin!

Jimmy Moore's "30-In-30 Weight Loss Challenge": Week 5, 190 lbs

I'm in! After falling off the low-carb wagon (and getting run over by it a few times) for a couple months, I finally re-dedicated myself to eating well and taking care of myself again. And the more I get into it, the more I look to the internet for inspiration and motivation. Turns out I almost missed Jimmy Moore's big "30-in-30 Weight Loss Challenge", his own answer to re-dedicating oneself to continued weight loss. His challenge is to lose 30 pounds in 30 weeks. He's proving it to be completely do-able, and I want in!

The Challenge officially kicked off back in August, but I'm gonna use November 1st as my starting date. That was when I got back on track, after letting my weight creep up to 208. So 30 weeks later and 30 lbs lighter, I plan on weighing 178 by May 29! Weigh-ins are every Tuesday on the Challenge blog, and today's my first, checking in at 190 lbs. Not bad for 5 weeks' work! And to make it even MORE special, Jimmy featured me in today's post! I feel like such a star - thanks, Jimmy!!

Speaking of Jimmy Moore, BIG CONGRATS for making on Fox News's list of Top 10 Health Blogs! This honor speaks for itself - Jimmy's blog Livin' La Vida Low-Carb is THE place to go for all things low-carb. Whether it's inspiration, motivation, product reviews, recipes.... you name it - it's simply one-stop shopping. He even has a separate Low-Carb Links page devoted exclusively to low-carb links, blogs, and theme-based posts. And since I've been away from the whole blogging scene for so long, I see Jimmy's now started his own Podcast Show as well! Soooo much catching up to do. Way to go, Jimmy, and keep up the outstanding work!

I Ran A 6K

Hopefully this marks the beginning of a new Turkey Day tradition: instead of stuffing ourselves and laying around on the couch watching football on Thanksgiving, this year we first ran a 6K at the crack of dawn...... and THEN stuffed ourselves and laid around on the couch watching football :)

And I surprised myself, too. I wasn't in the best of shape for this race. My goal was to jog the first mile, and then walk the rest. But I felt pretty good after the first mile, and so I told my husband jogging beside me that I'd try running the first two miles, and then walk. Well, turns out this race only had a mile-marker at the first mile, and then nothing. I kept looking for the second mile-marker, but it was no where to be found. Soon we realized that we were nearing the end of the race, and so I figured I might as well just try to jog the whole thing! And finish, I did - it was the farthest and longest I had ever jogged. Granted, I'm a really slow jogger. Often I looked over at my husband to find him walking fast along side of me..... yes, he can walk fast and still keep up with my jogging when I'm really struggling..... which I was struggling...... But I finished without stopping to walk, and I'm proud of myself. And running that 6K gave me all the justification in the world for eating as much green bean casserole I could handle!

Something In Common

I've finally found someone who embodies exactly who I am when it comes to my struggle with food. I have found it so completely impossible to explain to my closest family and friends what it's like to go from being on top of the world in terms of fitness and eating well to the deepest pit of laziness and over-eating. Kirstie Alley. One Hollywood minute she's a gorgeous full-figured model, strutting her bikini-ready body on Oprah. The next, she's the poster-child of obesity, a perfect example of self-destructive eating patterns and letting oneself go. Finally, I have someone to point to who can explain, on my behalf, just what it's like to be me any given day. It explains why I'm 225 lbs at the family Christmas party one year, and then down to 175lbs the following family reunion on the Fourth of July. There have been some family gatherings where I'm afraid that people think I'm pregnant, simply because I've packed on so much weight in so little time. This is me. I'm a non-famous Kirstie Alley. One day I'm huge. Depressed. Eating everything in sight. Ashamed to be seen in public. A hermit. The next day I'm on top of the world. Eating low-carb, fresh-everything. Running 5Ks triumphantly. Feeling great and loving the new wardrobe. That's exactly where I am right now. Back on the wagon, but always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things:

I was recently inspired to post links to this site for my favorite low-carb treats. These are the things I turn to time and again when I'm trying to stay on track. I used to think I was abnormal because I eat so much of the same things, over and over. But I read in the June 2006 issue of Women's Health (my favorite mag!) that I should keep on with my dietary routine. The article entitled "The Secrets of Success" (author Nancy Gottesman) talks about a National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) study involving women who not only lost at least thirty pounds, but also kept it off for at least a year. These women were asked about their successful habits, and one of them is to "eat more of the same stuff." Dr. Hill said about his NWCR study finding, "These people [who successfully maintain weight loss] are creatures of habit, and they don't deviate.... it works because lack of variety is proven to reduce food intake." So apparently being boring isn't a bad thing!

Okay, as for beverages, I'm a coffee-holic. I've tried coffees the world over, and for some reason, there's nothing better than Dunkin' Donuts coffee. And now they've one-upped the competition - a whole line of sugar-free flavored syrups to add to your favorite brew! Caramel's my fav.

I've also recently discovered Ezekiel Bread. It's not exactly low-carb, but it seems to be just about the healthiest bread you can find. I'll eat a slice every few days just to get some extra fiber. Besides, I really miss toast, and it's not bad when you top it with egg salad and a slice of bacon (my new favorite breakfast).

When I need a chocolate fix, I turn to my freezer. I keep a bar of 85% Cocoa Lindt Chocolate in there and have a square now and then. Because of its high cocoa content, it's packed with flavonoids / antioxidants, it's low in sugar, and so I also rationalize that it's good for me (in moderation, of course).

And my latest trick is to keep low-carb frozen dinners on hand for whenever I don't feel like going to a lot of work for dinner. Smart Ones (the ones that say "Truth About Carbs") are low in calories and carbs, and they taste pretty good, too. One of my quickest ways to backslide is having a night where I don't want to cook, so I turn to whatever's handy, which is usually my husband's stash of chips and ice cream. So before I give into temptation, I can pop in a quick frozen dinner, steam some pre-washed veggies for an extra side, and I've got an instant meal to fill me up and prevent a pantry raid.

I Ran For A Pie

But I didn’t get one. And that’s okay. ‘Cause the prize was finishing another 5K without stopping to walk, and not the apple pies they awarded to those who finished under 24 minutes. I trotted across the finish line after 37 minutes - not even close to pie-worthy, and definitely not my best time, either. But again, that’s okay. I ran it to prove to myself that while I may have backslid in a big way this year, I can still do something I never dreamed of at my heaviest weight – JOG. Granted, there were SO many times I wanted to stop. I just kept telling myself, "At least do a mile. You can do a mile." Then once I made it to the first mile-marker, I said to myself again, "at least run half the race, you can do half." I set small goals for myself throughout the race like that, and before I knew it, I had done two miles and couldn't see the point of quitting once I'd made it that far. I was thrilled with having been able to do it, and I'm thinking of signing up for another one next month.

Lookin' On The Bright Side....

I sit here on the couch contemplating how 2006 has gone so far, and I can't help but think that this year is going to go down as "one of those years" in my life where nothing seems to go my way. Just when I think I can deal with one crisis, life seems to throw me another punch, and I'm back to trying to pick myself up off the floor again. And to top it all off, I've completely let myself go again with respect to my weight. Back in January, I was at an all-time low of 173 and feeling absolutely incredible. Twenty-three little pounds away from reaching goal. It was right there in front of me. And then life just seems to throw all these things at me, and I again turn to food. May 8 was my yearly physical, and I found myself staring in disbelief at the scale as the nurse announced "206lbs". Later that day, I began to realize that my weight seems to be a visible barometer for how I'm doing on the inside. Anyone who knows me well enough should be able to look at me and immediately tell how my life is going at that particular moment. I've had a horrible start to my year, and I've got the extra 33lbs since January to prove it.

But I'm desperately trying to look at the bright side through all of this. I'm three weeks into my plan of eating better and making it to the gym for the first time in months. I'm already back down to 193. I've signed up for another 5K next month and am training to beat my old time. And I just realized that at this time last year, I weighed 228lbs, which had been the result of overeating from deep depression over my new husband leaving for a 6-month deployment. So when I look at it that way, forget the fact that I've yo-yo'd, I am still down 35lbs from this time last year. And that feels pretty good.

Introducing.... FERGIE!

Our cat Fergie is a rather new addition to our household. We rescued her from the shelter in January 2006, and she's been a real treat ever since. She's a little over 3 years old, she's tortoiseshell in color, and we're guessing she was abandoned due to her constant hairballs and excessive shedding. Other than that, I don't know how anyone could've given her up. She's incredibly affectionate, loves to chase her toy mice around, and will watch the lizards on our balcony for hours. We named her after the Duchess of York because she's got some red hair mixed into her coat, and she could stand to go on Kitty Weight Watchers. And we're learning more and more that she's a high-maintenance princess - so "Fergie" fits in many ways.

Small Victory

Today was a such great day. My pants have been feeling a tad loose lately, so I decided to try on a smaller size, a size 12, to see how they looked on me. THEY FIT!!! And I mean they fit in the sense that I definitely could wear them out in public and look good (NOT "fit" in the sense that I could only squeeze into them, having major stomach fat rolls spilling out of the top). I haven't worn that size since GRADE SCHOOL!!! Granted, they were "women's" and were made with stretch material. But I don't care. The tag said 12!!