New Profile Photo

The photo to the right is my newest photo. It was taken over the weekend by my hubby. I'm wearing my Sparkpeople t-shirt and my new blue jeans. I have to say I feel so "normal" wearing those darn jeans. Probably doesn't make sense to most, but that's the only way I can think to describe it.

Nothing much new on the weight loss front. Was losing at a good pace and then gained three pounds. It's the time of the month for that to happen and I know it will drop right back off but it's hard not to be discouraged nonetheless. Though I had surgery to help me in the weight loss arena, it is still hard work getting everything to work together.

Start the new job tomorrow. I'm kind of nervous about it even though I feel the Lord has led me in this direction. I KNOW I'll do a good job but there are so many things that are out of my personal control. I also still worry about the hubby and the effect this change is going to have on him. I did this change for me, though, and I know that it will be right.

Nothing else new to report. I just didn't want to disappoint my regular visitors with no updates. I try to get here and give you a little nugget at least once a week, anyway. LOL

I got the job!

I got the new job. I start on Monday so my last overnight shift will be tomorrow night (Thursday). I'm excited but scared too. It's a LOT of responsibility and will involve some challenges but I KNOW it is where the Lord wants me to be. One day at a time just like all the other changes I've made in my life.

For those who don't know, I will be a program manager in a group home. I will have eight new teen moms (most babies are newborns, oldest is four months old) and one pregnant teen in the home. I will supervise all shifts of staff and be involved in making policies and procedures and then enforcing them. I know it's going to be a lot of work but it's going to be so worth it. I want to make a difference in the lives of these young ladies and their babies.

I'm slowly approaching that milestone of being out of the 300s forever. As of today I'm now down to 305.6 which means in one year exactly from today I have lost 120 lbs. In total I've lost 225 lbs which is absolutely amazing to me!

I managed to buy my first pair of blue jeans in over 20 years today. Sure, they're stretch jean material. Sure they're still a size 26/28. Sure they have an elastic waistband, but doggone it, they're blue jeans! I'm looking forward to the day I can buy a pair of jeans with pockets, snaps or buttons, zipper, and belt loops. It's gonna come and I'm gonna enjoy that as much as my bargain today. Got them at my local Walmart on sale for $11. Woo hoo!

Hope everyone is having a great day. It's cloudy here in IL and supposed to snow or be icky later on. I have my nutrition support group tonight. I'm excited about going to that. Exercise classes are going well. A new six week session starts again next week. Between work and those classes I'm gonna be a busy lady but will still make time to get here and keep in touch with my friends.

I am free to run ...

I absolutely love a Christian song called "I am Free". It ran through my head this past week when I hit what for me was a major accomplishment. To the average person, this will not even be worth mentioning but for me it was HUGE!

The hubby and I had gone to the fitness center here at our apartment complex so I could walk on the treadmill and work out with weights. I didn't really feel like going but the hubby encouraged me as only he can. He knows that I'll be mad at myself if I don't go so ... At any rate, I went and got on and started my routine. I take a couple minutes at a pretty slow pace to warm up and then usually do the majority of the walk at about 2.8 mph. I've been working on building up to 3 mph and have gotten there but only maintain it for about five minutes right now before I start back down until I am barely walking for a cool down.

So I'm about ten minutes into my walk and I'm at 3.0 mph. I maintained that pace for five minutes and started to wonder how fast I would have to be going to run. I don't know what possessed me to think about running. I've never liked running; it's way too much like exercise! *chuckling* Anyway, before I know what I'm doing my finger is hovering over the increase speed button and then I push it. Up goes the speed ... 3.1, 3.2 Okay this is pretty fast, but it's more like I'm powerwalking now. (Remember when that was a big thing in the 80s?) The finger continues to hover and then I'm going 3.3, 3.4, and woo hoo! At 3.5 mph I was off and running. Oh my, I thought I was going to fall or die. My heart was pounding. The sweat was pouring off of me. My feet were pounding on the treadmill. My hands were sweating and I was holding on for dear life feeling like I was going to collapse. My knees and ankles were screaming. Fifteen seconds into it, I wanted to pull the emergency stop cord. But I could hear the trainers on Biggest Loser pushing the contestants to just do it. I remember Bob yelling at a girl named Joelle a few weeks back because she couldn't do a simple 30 seconds. So that became my goal. I ran like I don't think I've ever ran and I did it for 30 seconds. Instead of pulling the emergency stop cord, I then backed off to 3 mph. Wow, that didn't seem quite so quick anymore. I then backed off every few minutes a few more tenths of a mile and did my usual cool down routine.

I was amazed. But as I ran, that song just kept running through my head. "I am free to run! I am free to dance! I am free to live for You! I am free! Yes, I am free!" What a liberating experience it was! I'm so proud of myself. It may be a while before I try that again, but I know that I can and I will.

So, after a pretty crappy week of minimal loss showing on the scale, early on I even gained three pounds overnight and got a little freaked out (which isn't my normal reaction to a gain but three pounds; come on), I managed to push through it all. I am now down to 308.8 this morning. I started last week at 315 something. It was a good week, after all. The crap was just something to help me focus and push on through. I feel GREAT! Another two weeks, I'm hoping, and I will leave the 300s behind, tackling the 200s and heading further downward toward my goal. I'm no longer the "little engine who thinks she can". I'm the steam engine who KNOWS she can!

Have a great week, everyone.

Busy Week

This last week has a busy one and the one coming up promises to be even more challenging. Doctor appointments, heading back to water aerobics (since I promised the trainer I would return once it was above 32 and it's heading into the 40s next week), exercise classes, and a new marriage group we joined at church ... well our week is full!

Here is a tidbit I got from the internet about how many pounds I've lost and how many calories I've burned. I find it interesting and love to see how it changes. The link is

http://www.naturalphysiques.com/howmanypounds/

Enjoy! I tried to post the link as clickable but it did not work. Sorry.

You entered 217 pounds (99 kilograms).

217 pounds is the average weight of 1.23 30-year old men.

How Much Fuel Is That?

To lose that amount of fat would mean to burn 759,500 calories or 3,177,748 KiloJoules! That is the equivalent of 24.54 gallons of gasoline. Humans, however, are far more efficient than cars, getting about 912 "miles to the gallon". If you could dump this many calories into the tank of a Honda Civic, you would be able to drive it about 833 miles before running out of gas!

Let's see how your goal would convert to other forms of fuel. 759,500 calories is equivalent to:

* 24.54 gallons of gasoline, or
* 271.25 pounds of coal, or
* 376.75 pounds of oven-dried wood, or
* 33.24 gallons of propane

This amount of energy would ...

* Brew about 2,118 pots of coffee, or
* Light a 60-watt light bulb for 14,712 hours (613 days = 1.73 years)

Cutting 759,500 calories is the same as saying "no" to:

* 9,494 apples, or
* 7,595 bananas, or
* 44,676 cups of cabbage (whew!), or
* 5,238 baked potatoes, or
* 9,494 large eggs, or
* 6,329 cups of 2% milk, or
* 547 pounds of ground beef, or
* 8,730 glasses of wine, or
* 2,351 Snickers bars, or
* 3,165 Clif Bars (4,219 Luna Bars), or
* 5,464 cans of Coke, or
* 4,468 pints of Guinness beer, or
* 1,544 Big Macs, or
* 1,475 Quarter Pounders w/ Cheese, or
* 1,085 Whoppers, or
* 2,302 Subway 6" Oven Roasted Chicken Breast sandwiches, or
* 4,468 Taco Bell crunchy tacos, or
* 3,232 slices of pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut

What it Takes to Burn 759,500 Calories

To burn 759,500 calories, a 190 pound male would have to:

* Backpack for 1,257 hours (52 days) nonstop, or
* Walk for 2,910 hours (121 days) at 3 mph straight, or
* Walk 8,730 miles (5,456 kilometers), or
* Bike for 2,201 hours (92 days) at 10 mph, or
* Bike 22,014 miles (13,759 kilometers), or
* Play basketball nonstop for 1,211 hours 50 days), or
* Play billiards for 3,516 hours (147 days), or
* Go bowling for 2,932 hours (122 days), or
* Stay on the golf course for 2,201 hours (92 days), or
* Spend 979 hours (41 days) playing competitive football, or
* Jump rope for 925 hours (39 days) straight!

You would have to walk the length of England about 14.54 times to burn 759,500 calories.

Totally amazing!

(Oh, and Cindy, I am 5'6 inches tall.)

Five Months Post-Op and Progress is Being Made

Next week will be five months since my surgery. I decided to change my dates for weight, measurements, photos, and progress updates to the first of the month for simplicity sake. Here is how things are today.

Start Weight in Jan. 2005: 530 lbs.
Pre Surgery Start Weight in Feb. 2008: 425 lbs.
Surgery Day Weight in Sept. 2008: 387 lbs.
Current Weight today: 315 lbs.

As you can see I've come a LONG way! I've lost 72 lbs. since surgery and 215 lbs. since embarking upon this journey. I am proud of my accomplishments and progress.

Inches gone since surgery are as follows:

Bust -6 inches
Waist -6.5 inches
Hips -8.25 inches
Bicep -3.25 inches
Thigh -1.5 inches
Neck -1.5 inches

Total inches gone are 23.75! I think is quite an accomplishment.

The hubby took new pictures of me today. I am literally melting away and there is a considerable difference in the photos. I lost a total of 15 pounds during the month of January. My average weight loss since surgery has been about 3.4 lbs. per week. Now I've had weeks, like this one just past, where I lost nothing. I've had at least one week recently where I lost five pounds. But it's the average that is important to me. Yes, it's slow going but I feel GREAT and am getting healthy and that's what it's all about for me!

I'm not be in Onderland, YET. I'm not even out of what I've fondly called the Tri-Cities. I haven't entered Twoterville, but I'm getting doggone close. Yes, I've come a LONG way. I still have a ways to go but I know that I'm going to get there. One day, one step, one meal at a time ... I am going to do this!