Finding the Not.So.Big.Jo

Still truckin' along.

2014-04-18T12:55:00.002-04:00

I know I've been MIA, but I haven't given up. I've been posting a lot on a Facebook group rather than on here. I guess it is the instant gratification thing. Usually I have dozens of replies on there the moment I post something. So, it really has helped me to be accountable. I haven't lost weight as fast as I would like... but I am making better choices. Not always, but most of the time. I'm down 21 lbs since January 1. You can see the change in the photo above. The photo of me in the red shirt was taken at Christmas. The grey shirt was take last Sunday at Moms.

Weigh-In!

2014-02-05T12:22:00.003-05:00

Sorry that I've been MIA. My husbands Granny passed away and honestly I haven't been on track. But when I got on the scales today, I'm still holding steady at 12 lbs lost since Christmas.

Weigh-In!

2014-01-22T13:32:00.001-05:00

I'm down 12 lbs since Christmas!!

Weigh-In!

2014-01-16T00:29:00.001-05:00

I am down 2.6 lbs this week. That makes 5.8 lbs since Jan 1st and 10.8 lbs from around Christmas.

Hanging In There

2014-01-14T20:18:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is weigh in day. In a way I dread it, but in a way I am excited to see if there has been any change. I've still been eating better and exercising some. I had surgery on my breast to remove 3 lumps yesterday, so exercise is limited right now. I hope all of y'all are doing good. Keep on keeping on!

Weigh-In!

2014-01-08T22:09:00.001-05:00

I lost 3.2 lbs this week. Maybe a little more, but it will show next week cause AF is here and raging like a beast! I'm down 7.2 lbs total.

Still truckin' along....

2014-01-08T01:32:00.003-05:00

I've been exercising, eating better, getting my water in. Weigh in tomorrow! Wish me luck.

January 3rd

2014-01-04T16:54:00.000-05:00

Things actually went pretty smoothly. We made it out to the grocery store, loaded up on lots of fruits, veggies, lean meats, etc. My intake was good, I drank all my water, walked a mile on the treadmill. No complaints. I hope I can keep this up. I think I can.. I think I can...

Jan 1st and 2nd, 2014

2014-01-03T00:20:00.002-05:00

Yesterday wasn’t the best day food wise. I really needed to get out to the grocery store and pick up some healthier foods, but you can’t go shopping without money. Payday is on Thursday. Fast forward to today, I had plans to get to the store but woke up to freezing rain and car wrecks everywhere. Thankfully, Michael was able to bring home a few things after he got off from work. We had steak, baked potatoes, and salad. Maybe not the BEST choice, but it was better than pizza and fries, right? It is snowing like crazy right now, but if the temps rise, I may actually get the store myself tomorrow.

I’m trying not to obsess, but I did get on the scales this morning. No drop, but I wasn’t expecting one with the food I ate yesterday and minimal exercise. Today I did better. I walked a mile on the treadmill plus all I do here in the house and out feeding the animals. A mile may not be even close to what I use to walk, but like I posted before, I’m not looking to hurt my hip or foot again. Tomorrow I will try to do some sort of cardio. Maybe a workout video? Or maybe I’ll go out and build a snowman or have a snowball fight with the boys. Wish me luck!

Sleep Apnea?

2014-01-02T13:37:00.001-05:00

Anyone have sleep apnea? I have no clue if I do or not, but last night I woke up with a sudden start. It was so odd and scared me. I've never done that before. Well, at least not like this. Could it be sleep apnea? I'm going to research it. The sooner I get this weight off, the better!!!

My 2014 Goals

2014-01-01T13:35:00.002-05:00

OK, really, I haven't set any. I only know that I want to be healthy. I'd like to make exercise and healthy eating a priority all the time. But let's see if I can come up with a few...

1. Get on the treadmill or some sort of structured exercise at LEAST 3x a week. (I am not going to push myself to walk thousands of miles like I have in the past. That only ended in my hip killing me before year end.)
2. Eat less junk. (No chips!)
3. Drink more water. (Strive for NO Caffeine!)
4. Weigh under 300 lbs! (Current weight 1/1/14 -- 331!)

I'll add some more as I go, but those are the main ones.

Happy 2014!!!

2014-01-01T12:43:00.004-05:00

Source

SERIOUSLY!

Source

AND REMEMBER

Source

Down 5 lbs?

2013-12-30T20:39:00.002-05:00

I hopped on the scale this morning and was down over 5 lbs since the last time I weighed. Awesome. Not sure how that happened, but it made me happy.

It's a process

2013-12-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

Source'

Strength

2013-12-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Source

2013, a year in photos

2013-12-30T00:54:00.002-05:00

March 2013 -- HORRIBLE HAIRCUT!

May 2013

September 2013

October 2013

December 2013

Since my last post....

2013-12-30T00:30:00.001-05:00

I went for my check-up. For your information, this is going to be a too much information post! The check-up was my yearly. I needed to have a pap test and a breast exam. See, last year at this time I had a pap test come back abnormal. I had to have a co-po, but the procedure didn't need any biopsies and they said to repeat the pap in 6 months. I did, it came back normal. They suggested I repeat again in 6 more months. That was this exam. The results came back normal, THANK GOD! Well, even though my pap came back normal, they found some lumps in my breasts.

I had to be scheduled for a Mammo and to see a surgeon. The Mammo came back normal, but the surgeon wanted me to have an ultrasound too. I had the ultrasound, it came back normal, but he still wants me to have surgery in mid January to take out one of the lumps and have it tested. Just to be safe. I've been down this road before. It wasn't cancer, but an auto-immune disorder. Still, I ended up making MANY trips to the cancer center to be checked just in case. After many visits they said I didn't have to come back until I was 40 unless another lump came up. So, it looks like in mid January, I'll be having another biopsy.

As if all this wasn't enough going on at once. I came down with a stomach virus around Thanksgiving and about a week later I started having trouble with my heart skipping really bad. I saw the cardiologist because it scared me so badly. He had me wear a heart monitor for 24 hours, and said that I was having some skipping, but it was nothing to worry about. Only when I was wearing the monitor, it wasn't skipping as badly as it had been. A friend sent me a message on FB and said that she had been having the same issue, and her potassium and magnesium was too low. I ask the cardiologist about that and he sort of laughed at me and told me if I was worried about it to eat some raisins and a couple bananas. He did write me a script for a beta blocker to take as needed if my heart started that again. Thankfully, it hasn't done that after I started eating foods that had more potassium and magnesium in it and I haven't had to take the meds. So, I'm convinced that was the issue. Even if the Cardiologist thought it was a laughing matter.

To make the situation worse, he brought up that fact that I am over weight. He said that wasn't what was causing my heart to skip, but that I could have issues with diabetes in the future and that could cause problems with my heart, if I didn't lose the weight. He wanted to refer me to someone to have lap band surgery. I told him no. I know I can lose the weight. I just have to get motivated. So I'm going to try. I just hope I can stick with it this time. I'm a stress eater, and I'm under a lot of stress, but I am going to give it a go.

Oh... and if you've followed my blog over the years, you know I LOVE my Diet Coke. Well, since the heart skipping incident, I've cut out all caffeine. It has been easier than I thought it would, but I was scared to death to drink it... afraid it would cause the skipping to come back.

The other day at my follow up after the ultrasounds, they took my BP. It was 130/90. I was worried, because 90 is sorta high. I've been reading and monitoring my BP at home. Everything I ever read about taking your blood pressure says that you should take it with your arm level with your heart, example: stretched out on a table. Well, at the doctors office, usually when they take it, your arm is hanging to your side. So, when I've been checking mine at home I've tried it all 3 ways... arm at your heart (wrist type monitor), on a table, and hanging. At my heart it is never over 120/80, usually it is like 116/74 or something like that, laying on the computer desk it about the same. Maybe slightly higher 120/80 ish, but if I hang it at my side it has been as high as 150/90. Why do they check it with your arm hanging at the doctor if it is suppose to be laying flat? How do you check yours? Do you find that the position of your arm changes it?

I'm hoping I can have a healthier and happier 2014. I hope that for all that read as well. We can do this!

Oh, that's scary! Scales!

2013-11-25T23:55:00.001-05:00

Got on the scales tonight. Ugh! Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. I have a check-up tomorrow and I figured I may as wells get on and see what the damage is. I don't want a shock at the docs tomorrow. Now I'm too furious at myself to sleep. I've cut out almost all chips/snacks. I don't see why the scale is still that high. I thought surely I'd have lost a lb or 2. Nope. Nada. Just goes to show ya, if you want to lose weight, you have to move your rump! You can not lose weight, eat, and not exercise. It just doesn't work. Frustrated!!!!!

Treadmill...

2013-11-14T21:10:00.003-05:00

Walked a mile on the treadmill tonight. Better than the nothing I have been doing. I'm lapping everyone on the couch though, right?

I haven't gave up.

2013-05-23T18:22:00.001-04:00

I've been meaning to post, but my internet has been out since early Sunday morning. I'm still watching what I eat and attempting to move more. I still haven't been on the treadmill, but I've been working a lot around here at the house. Michael and I spent two days putting up fences to the top of the mountain for our goats. I thought my heart would fly out of my chest a few times, but I made it. I'd really like to hop on the treadmill right now, but I sprained my right ankle yesterday when I went out to feed the chickens. Busted my left knee up pretty bad too. So frustrating. But I've been doing some of the seated workouts I saw on Wendy's blog the other day. I'm happy to say I'm down 6.4 lbs since Saturday. I know a big loss on the 1st week is normal and not something to expect every week, but I am thrilled with any progress at all. Hope everyone is doing great!

Ready To Go

2013-05-18T22:30:00.000-04:00

I cleaned all the stuff off the treadmill today and Michael moved it around to where I can use it. I will walk a little everyday, but I'm not going to push myself too hard on the mileage. My hip has finally healed up and I don't want to destroy it again. Slowly but surely, I will drop this weight. I'd rather get out and hike here in the mountains, but I will use the treadmill if I have to. I'm also going to drag out my The Biggest Loser DVDs tomorrow. I'll have to build up to those, but I do plan to use them again soon.

Let's try this again.

2013-05-18T12:24:00.002-04:00

School is out, finally. I am very fat, and I need to drop some serious pounds. Maybe now that I have a little extra time every day, I will have time to post. I don't really know what to say though, other than I am sick to my stomach over gaining all this weight back. I gained it all back, I ate like a pig, I enjoyed it. But my body doesn't. So now I have to decide what is more important, food or my life. My life, obviously. So I have to do something about it. End of story.

It has been crazy around here.

2013-02-17T01:18:00.001-05:00

Well, I picked up a cold somewhere. I'm not 100% sure, but I have my suspicions. Anyway, I've been so sick for gosh, well over a week. I didn't get to go to my uncles funeral because I was so sick. My throat felt like I had swallowed lava and a porcupine at the same time. My nose has been running non-stop, coughing and hacking up ungodly amounts of gunk, sneezing, massive sinus pressure and headaches. Thankfully I haven't been having chest pains, but I am still dealing with the burping a lot. Where ever that is coming from. I've not been doing great on my diet, but I've been doing better than I had been. Well except on Thursday. Since it was Valentines Day we had Chinese... Mongolian Chicken, Fried Rice, and Egg Rolls. YUM! Needless to say that had insane amounts of sodium and I've been trying to do better on that front. I hope everyone is doing well!

Behind

2013-02-07T01:56:00.001-05:00

I find it impossible to promise that I will write every single day, but I just want you to know that I am around. I've not been feeling so great today. I'd went days and days without any chest pain and boom last night it started back up. I think it may have something to do with heartburn because I have been belching like mad and it is very acidic. I am sorry if that is TMI. I've been taking tums and gas-x for the bloating. I did break over and take an asprin, just in case. But my BP is fine. Whatever is going on with me is absolutely driving me insane.

I was busy all day yesterday. My nephew, his wife, and their 3 kids were suppose to come up to let me attempt their taxes. I always do ours, but theirs is much more complicated. I cleaned all day, cooked a huge supper, and then did their taxes. By the time I got in bed it was 3 am and that is when the chest pain started. I was still awake when Michael got up for work at 5 am. Slept til about 9:30 and got up with the boys to do their school work. As if I weren't feeling crappy enough, Aunt Flo decided to show up and I'm bloated like a balloon. We schooled all day, then had to go to the grocery store as I may be away this weekend. Michael and the boys cant starve.

My uncle passed away this morning, Mom's brother and I may go out of town for his funeral. He had stage 4 lung cancer.

Seeing how quickly life can be taken away from you makes you thankful for what you have. Even if you are sick.

This house is a total dump, but I really don't care. I'll get to it eventually.

Hope everyone is well.
Continue to pray for me.

Day 3 and Day 4 : 2013

2013-02-01T11:29:00.000-05:00

Wednesday was day #3. Sorry I didn't get a chance to write. I was just busy most of the day. My SIL called early in the day and asked if I would do my brothers taxes that afternoon. After the boys finished their school work we cleaned the house up and I did my brothers taxes. By the time they left, I really wasn't up to writing. I only took my BP once that day as I was busy all day. It was 117/78 on my cuff here at home. The scales had dropped a little more as well. I was pretty excited about that as I watched what I ate and drank water all day with the exception of one Diet Coke with my supper.

Yesterday was Thursday, day #4. I had another drop on the scale yesterday. I'm liking that a lot.

I had an ultrasound of my gallbladder and the lady who did the ultrasound said she didn't see any stones. But that it looked large and that could be because I had to fast for the ultrasound or because my gallbladder just isn't functioning properly. I'd have to have a nuclear scan to find out. Unfortunately, I can't afford that at the moment. Very frustrating to say the least.

I continue to have some pain in the upper right side of my stomach, but thank God, I haven't had any chest pain for two full days. I am so happy about that.

I only took my BP once yesterday as well. 112/77.

Food wasn't the best. We were on the go all day, so I ate more than I should have and it was sodium loaded food to boot. I didn't drink nearly enough water either. Today will be better!

Well, I best get up from the computer and get a few things accomplished. Hope everyone has a great day! Continue to pray for me. Thanks!