June 20 back to 174.8

Discouraged. Weight is back up a few pounds and I don't really know why. Getting ready to leave on vacation for a month, so will not weigh in during that time. Hope to maintain exercise plan while gone though.

Measurement update from June 7; goal for Aug 7

Feeling discouraged about gaining a few pounds last week, I took my measurements to see if I had made progress in inches. It encouraged me to see that since starting this new lifestyle, my measurements went from 46-40-43.5 to 45-38-41.5 !! Still not great, but real progress. Lost an inch in the chest and 2 inches in the waist and 2 inches in the hips! My plan now is to take measurements every 2 months.

August 7 will be a time to reassess how my plan is working. That is when I go back to the doctor and have my blood work redone. By then I plan for my the following:

• glucose to be at or below 100
• LDL at or below 120
• triglycerides at or below 110
• vitamin B12 at or above 400
• HDL at or above 50
• weight under 160
• measurements 44-36-40

The most important of those goals is to get the glucose down. The goals above are in priority order. My health is the key reason I started this new lifestyle and needs to stay as my focus. Looking better would be great, but that is not enough to keep me at this!

June 13 - 171.4 pounds

Not quite at the 170 mark I was shooting for, but getting closer. This week I went to master's swim twice plus Tom & I went to swim laps for 20 minutes on Wednesday. I felt much stronger this week and am doing much better with the swimming. We also went bike riding with Mike & Laura on Friday morning for about 45 minutes. We rode a lot further than I thought I could go! I think we walked about 2 or 3 mornings this week. So, the exercise level is good. Tom says I am gaining muscle and toning up a lot.

Not sure if I need to adjust my diet more or not. I could cut out some more fat ... been eating eggs and buttered toast for breakfast several times a week. Perhaps I could try going to cereal more often. I may try that this week. I want to lose the weight, but I want to make small changes in my diet that i can sustain. Otherwise, I will just gain the weight back. Going to have a bowl of cereal now!

June 6 - 174.8, exercised more, gained weight

This week I added masters swim class to my exercise routine. I signed up for a Monday and Thursday evening class and it was tough. It was a really good workout and I know it is helping me build strength and endurance. I was so disappointed when I got on the scale and it showed I had gained 2 pounds!! Hopefully that was just water weight and I will lose it soon. Possibly I have let my diet fall back into bad habits and am not watching my fat intake as carefully. Also, on Friday night I drank a whole bottle of red wine and I know that did not help any.

My plan for this next week is to do more veggies and chicken breasts and cut way down on the fat levels ... again. Fat seems to be my biggest struggle. Will maintain walking at least 5 times per week and the two nights of swimming. Hoping for better results next Saturday. That 170 goal is being very elusive.

Barbara returned to town and said I look much thinner, so that was encouraging! It is important for me to not get discouraged because then I just throw out all my good behavior and eat what I want and go right back where i started.