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.

May 30 - 172.8 lbs - need your help!

Still losing but slowly. Guess as long as it is headed in the right direction, it is ok. Did not get to the YMCA this week. Bought a nice piece of fish (a whole perch) to cook for dinner tonight. For lunch we had fresh shelled peas, a tomato from the garden and corn on the cob. For breakfast I made spinach, mushroom and havarti cheese omlette. Not going to reach long term goal by the end of the year at this rate!! Perhaps with an exercise push this week I can still get to 170 by June 6! Everybody, HELP!! Call me and make me exercise please!

Next short term goal 170 lbs by June 6

I have updated my graph of weight loss and to stay on track, need to be at 170 pounds by June 13. However, I want to try to get there by June 6 because i know I will hit plateaus along the way and it will be harder to lose the weight as I get lighter. I think 4 pounds in 2 weeks is reasonable. i will just have to make exercise a priority.

Week 5 - 174.4 pounds, i think

Well, we had a great time in France. We ate and drank a lot, but also got in a lot of walking. When I got home on Wednesday, I weighed in at 173.6. However, my scales appear to be possessed. Yesterday i weighed 171.6 and then 176.6. This morning it was 174.4. So, I am not really sure what is going on. I guess I will go with the 174.4 measurement. Since returning home, we have not been keeping to the diet very well. Yesterday I made corned beef and braised short ribs for today. Tomorrow we have company coming over for steaks on the grill. Going to have to really watch the portion sizes and start hitting the YMCA on Tuesday.

The more I hang around the house, the less activity I get and the more I eat. Gonna have to get out of here more I think. Perhaps if I just schedule to be away every morning at the Y, that would help.