Staying Motivated Archives - A Weight Loss Adventure

This Is The Tough Part

June 25, 2017 No Comments

Going through the 4th week is usually my tough time. The time, where I simply want to give up. Drop out of the gym and not count every single calorie.

And true enough. It has been a tough week. I have counted my calories, I have gone to the gym but boy, have I not wanted to. At this point I am just trying to distract myself from giving up. I am constantly trying to tell myself, I will get past these next couple of weeks.

It is a constant battle where I keep trying to rationalize my bad choices but I know they are simply excuses. Excuses, excuses, excuses. I have lots of them but none of them are really okay.

If I eat this ice cream I can just skip dinner. If I eat this chocolate, I could just eat a little less for dinner. I am so tired and my muscles are so soar, I am sure it will be just fine if I skip the gym today. I have been cleaning all day, that should count for something. I can already see my weightloss in the mirror so I can take a break, no?

You get the point. I have a LOT of excuses. They are never ending. Being aware of my rationalizing is simply excuses, I have been good at ignoring the urges to eat what I should not eat or not go to the gym and I have been cognizant of choosing what I need to choose and not what I want to choose.

Need vs want. That is a good call out for weightloss. I NEED to loose weight and I WANT to loose weight (most of the time) but the want is more wavering than the need. Which is how, I know what to choose when I am debating with myself. I, always, have to choose the need and not what I want. If I chose what I want rather than the need, I would sit with a tub of ice cream this very moment.

It is, also, that time of the month where you just want to eat everything in site and you simply feel like crap no matter what. Yes, if you are a woman, you know what I am talking about. My period has come along and cravings become 10 fold around this time.

This is the time, I am asking for your help. Your help to motivate me and check up on my and make sure I have gone to the gym and that I have been calculating my calories. I promise to be honest and open about my experience if you keep at it with me.

At the moment I am cooking my lunch for the week. A great way to stay out of the fridge and not eating food. It helps me stay organized for the week and it makes it easier to count my calories to have my food prepped for the week. It, also, saves time so I have time and energy to go to the gym during the week.

The menu for the week is Mexican inspired wraps with low fat ground meet, low fat refried black beans and coarse tomato salsa. I, also, bought a watermelon as my lunch dessert. I should be all set with a roughly 550 calorie lunch. Once I am done cooking, I am off to the gym. Anyone want to join me?

XoXo

My Journey

Results – Step 4 To Losing Weight

June 4, 2017 No Comments

This last step might be obvious but it is the most important. Results! The point of all of this is results so they should be highlighted and celebrated.

I know that in the long run, I might not see results every week but the goal is to lose a 100 pounds. This is not simply for the reason of looking good, fitting into clothes better etc. It is about my health and how I would like to live my life.

My husband and I have a goal of retiring as soon as possible and then travel the world. We want to make sure we spend as much time together as we possibly can and that means that I need to take my health seriously.

As I have written in previous posts, I have high cholesterol. That in itself is not killing me at this very moment but it can in the long run. Especially, with my family history, it is important that I take that seriously as it could shorten my life significantly or decrease my life quality in such a way that I would not be able to enjoy the things that I look forward to the most.

Although, this is a great motivation in itself, it is at times not enough, so I have set up a few small rewards each time I hit my goals. As my first main goal is 30 pounds with 5 pound intervals I have come up with 6 rewards to begin with.

So below I have listed the desired pounds with the reward next to it.

248 lb – New summer workout capri pants. The ones I have, all have wholes in them and some of them are not really that comfortable and convenient.

243 lb – It might seem odd but I love being organized, so cleaning out of my clothes is actually a treat. Yes, I want to sort my clothing and find out which I need to get rid off and which I still love and use and which I think I would want when I have lost my weight. This should be fun and I will make sure to post about the fun times.

238 lb – My feet seriously needs some love, so I will get some products that can help me out when taking care of my feet.

233 lb – Gloves for working out. I am making use of bar and dumb bells more and more and it does at times hurt my hands. So thought gloves might be a good idea.

228 lb – I think it is time for a new dress or two. If you know me, you know that I have way more dresses than a woman needs but they are just too pretty, practical and fun.

223 lb – As this is the 30 pound mark, I want to celebrate in style, quit literally. Therefore, my 30 pound reward is to get my hair done. My favorite hairdresser is really expensive so it is a once a year treat (if not more seldom) but I would love to go back to my short hair.

I knew, I had gained weight and above number is way higher than what I stated last time but I just learned that it matters where you set your scale. Where I have been setting it roughly takes off 20 pounds so I did not gain that much but it just gives me a more true look at what I weight. I, therefore, now have to weigh myself in the kitchen where there are tiles and not wood or carpet. Bummer, for my confidence but looking at the true numbers is more important.

As I get closer to my 100 pound goal, I am sure the results will have to adjust slightly but for now, I know I can loose 30 pounds without too many concerns and I will go through the results as I get closer to my 100 pound goal.

I am really excited to reach my goals and I hope you will be with me along the way, cheering me on, go for a run or simply share your most delicious healthy recipes.

XOXO

My Journey

Guidelines – Step 2 To Losing Weight

May 29, 2017 2 Comments

Losing weight is a numbers game. You need to take in less calories, than you can burn. You need to burn 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound. This means, to lose 5 pounds, I need to burn 17,500 calories more than I take in to be able to lose 5 pounds.

Therefore, my guidelines are very much based on numbers to make sure I will get to my first 5 pound weight loss.

For every 7 days, I will have 1 Off day from exercise and tracking my food. The only caveat is that on my off day, I burn 2,500 calories on that day.

I will have 4 days with burning 2,500 calories and 3 days with burning 3,000 (give or take a few calories of course). This will leave me with a total burn of 19,000 calories.

My intake of calories will have to be less than the 19,000 calories in order for me to lose weight so with a day off where I don’t track calories, I have to create a plan that will allow me for this.

I, therefore, estimate that I if I take in 1,500 calories on 3 of the days and 1,600 calories on the other three that will leave me with a total of 9,300 calories. This leaves me with the ability to eat no less than 2,700 calories on my day off and still manage to loose 2 pounds each week.

With this much cushioning on my day off that leaves me thinking very comfortable and that it is doable. It, also, leaves me with a sense of not having to feel bad after my day off.

It is all easier said than done but as I am breaking out my days I hope this will mold my thoughts around the concept of ‘taking one day at a time’.

I will keep you all posted on my weekly progress on how many calories I have taken in, burnt and how much I have lost for the week but keep an eye out for the different things I might take advantage off to make sure I stay on track and keep my goal. Which leaves me to my next step and my next post: Consistent Motivation.

Do you think it would be helpful if I post what I ate during the week?

Keeping constant track of everything will be my challenge, but i hope, I will be able to get into a routine that works. Hopefully, I have an understanding husband that helps me and understands the hours it requires to keep up with all of this.

I love the support, I have around me and my friends who are able to keep giving suggestions. Go to events and make sure I get back on track. More to come on this!

I will start posting more about what I do during the week to stay motivated, to get to my calorie count and what might be on the calendar for me in the future in case you want to join me. I have dancing in Bryant Park, Yoga in Inwood Hill Park and testing out the different Planet Fitness locations around Manhattan (and I can invite a guest every time).

If anyone want to join me, let me know. The more the merrier and it is so much more fun to do it together!

The more I write, the more I get my motivation back and I am getting very excited. You, my audience, will therefore be more of a priority than you have been in the past. You are part of keeping my motivation.

Stay tuned on the next post.

XOXO

My Journey

Week 46: It Has Been A While

April 12, 2017 No Comments

Finally back from vacation. And yes, I mean finally!!! I need a vacation from my vacation. Or maybe I just need a new job that can motivate me and get me out the door in the morning without thinking “so what is my new career going to be”. Well, there are so many things to talk about since it has been such a long time but let’s start with the numbers first, as they are most important.

I gained weight but honestly, I did not think I had as my clothes fit me better now than when I left. I, also, just gained 1.6 pounds so not overwhelmingly lot. I am now 220lb even. Because my clothes is fitting better, yet I gained weight, I want to start keeping track of my measurements. I will report these on a monthly basis. I will measure hips, waist and bust. This time around I measured 42inches around my bust (107cm), 36inches around my waist (91cm) and 51inches around my hip (130cm).

I keep sticking around the 220lb and I really want to push for the next 10lb before my first year is over. This means I need some support as I only have 6 weeks left before my first year is up. 10lb is 6 weeks does not seem to be a lot but as I have only lost 22lb since I started and that is over the course of almost a year, I think it is a challenge.

As I alluded too in the beginning of my post, so much has happened since my last post. Mainly due to my travels but also because the trip gave me a chance to realize that I am not happy with the job I currently have. Don’t get me wrong. It is a great company and I honestly think it would be hard to find a company that would treat me better and a job that is willing to pay me as well and I like my colleagues. However, it is the job itself that is not really giving me any joy. I am all about giving back, doing something for good and I am very much a minimalist by heart and being in marketing is pretty much the opposite. It is all about getting more money and selling more for huge companies and there is not any giving back or thinking about humanity or the planet for the future. I, therefore, have decided that I need to start thinking about what I would like to do next. I need to figure out what I really want to do and then just go for it. I have the best support system around me and so many people believing in me that I do not have any excuse. So stay tuned while I will probably talk about my options and what I want to do for the future… A LOT! And please feel free to send support, thoughts, ideas etc.

I, therefore, have decided that I need to start thinking about what I would like to do next.

Now to the fun part. My vacation! One of the reasons why I do work for a kick ass company is I was away from the office for 5 Weeks and they did not complain once. This meant that my husband and I were able to go to London, Porto, Lisbon, Paris and Denmark during that time.

London: I love Mike’s family. They are so welcoming and we attended the most beautiful wedding of Adrian and Jenny. Thank you for inviting us! We went to see 2 plays because you have to see plays in London (and musicals in New York) and both were awesome. The first one “Chinglish” was with Mike’s cousin and her husband and my in-laws. The second one was with Imelda Staunton (Professor Umbridge in Harry Potter) in “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Wolff?”. She is an amazing actress. Love her! As much as I loved the wedding and the plays, my favorite part was “touristing” in London for once and getting a bit lost and finding some amazing gems we would not have otherwise. I, love getting lost.

As much as I loved the wedding and the plays, my favorite part was “touristing” in London for once and getting a bit lost and finding some amazing gems we would not have otherwise. I, love getting lost.

Porto: The most amazing Couchsurfing hosts.. ever (except for my husband of course ;)! The city is beautiful and there is so much history. I know everyone raves about Paris being the romantic city of Europe but obviously they have not been to Porto. It has couples everywhere… EVERYWHERE…. As beautiful as it is, I doubt I would go back. I feel like we saw everything we wanted and experienced what we needed to.

It has couples everywhere… EVERYWHERE….

Lisbon: I fell in love.. This city is beautiful, people are incredibly nice and Ana is there with her amazing wife… If the pace was not so slow, I would move there tomorrow. But it might be a town we would consider for retirement. Lisbon has history, culture, amazing nature and the food… the food… is amazing and amazingly cheap. Go now before Europe discovers their own hidden gem!

Go now before Europe discovers their own hidden gem!

Paris: As much as I love art, museums, history and cheese, I just did not love it. Perhaps, it was just me being already filled with impressions from Portugal that I had a hard time digesting the ones in Paris or if it is the number of snobbish people being on average so much higher than anywhere else in the world, or maybe a combination of the two that I had a hard time really enjoying Paris. We did meet a lot of family, we had not had the chance to meet until now which was amazing.

Denmark: I always wish that I had more time. There is never enough time, yet I do not want to live there either. It is a dilemma. I have been considering whether or not I need to live part time in Denmark and part time in New York but not sure if that could even work. Maybe one day or if I become ridiculously rich (which will never happen). Well, until then, I will just have to live with a few days each year. At least I came back to New York with family already in town. I loved having my sister in New York and my nephews. Did I mention how much I love my nephews and nieces? And how proud I am of them? My sisters are doing a kick-ass job with their kids and they will be just as beautiful on the inside when they grow up as they are now.

I always wish that I had more time. There is never enough time, yet I do not want to live there either. It is a dilemma.

Well, I think that was it for now. Stay tuned for the next post and hopefully 2-3 pounds lighter. Fingers crossed.

XoXo

My Journey

Week 35: New Year, Should It Be A New You?

January 16, 2017 4 Comments

Week 35: has me thinking. I work in marketing and every year in January they all have the New Year, New You promotions going on. I came to thinking… it is not really about a new you but simply improving who you already are, no?

I think, I am pretty great. I am a good person, I care about others, I love my husband, my family and friends and I take my job seriously and make the most of it even though it is not my favorite job. So all in all, I am not a bad version of myself. However, there might be room for improvements. So should it, instead be Line 2.0? Sorta like an upgrade?

I do not think it is a bad idea to put the past year into perspective to see if there is something you would want to do differently, change or upgrade. We are not perfect, we are humans after all. I have therefore been thinking about the past year, the good, the bad and the really ugly and I encourage you to do the same and comment below with your thoughts, ideas or even if you think there are things I need to improve on or things that I am succeeding in (flatter will get you everywhere 😉 ).

The Good:
I started taking my health more seriously. I went to the doctor and I followed her instructions which actually got my cholesterol to a good place (still room for improvement). I should continue this interest and involvement with my own health so I have already made a list of doctors I need to reach out to. I need to find myself a good Gynecologist (if you know of anyone in New York, let me know), I need a new psychologist (they have to specialize in Childhood Abuse, so this one might take a while and a few tries), I need a new dentist, I am REALLY uncomfortable with dentists so I need someone who is not mean and who takes into account that I will be deathly scared of him/her and lastly, but not least, an ophthalmologist (yeah, I had to google that name, no way I could spell that without looking it up first). I have NEVER had my eyes checked so I should probably get on that, since both my parents wear glasses and both have challenges in that department. If any of you live in or have lived in New York and have great recommendations please let me know (you can comment or message me).

Mike and I have really focused on being there for each other and it is paying off. I do not think, I have ever been this in love with my husband as I am currently. It is the best and strangest thing ever. The love just seems to continuously grow. I remember growing up everyone would say that you simply just get to the comfortable stage and “falling in love” turns into “love”, I feel like we are still falling, which I am so excited about. LOVE YOU!

The Bad:
Insignificant Online Fights (IOFs from now on) tend to creep up at times when I communicate online. I need to 1) get better and not sounding like a grumpy B**ch. I have had them with family, friends and random people I do not even know. 2) It is not worth the effort to be discussing subjects with someone I do not even know. I need to get better at just ignoring people that are just trying to egg me on. I always want to be right so that is where it all starts. i should find ways to distract me from these IOFs so that I do not have to deal with them and they should definitely not keep me up at night (they have done that with family members, I just love them to god damn much)…

The Ugly:
Honestly, I tend to be a bit of a b**ch. I say this in the nicest way possible but I have at times been selfish and I have not really had the energy to deal with people, especially people that demands too much of me. It has been a year with a deep depression (hence the need for a new psychologist) and therefore the energy simply has not been there. This means that friends have been neglected, family has been neglected (or some of you and I should personally apologize to my father as I have not really been able to be there for him). This is something I hope, with my active changes for the year (eating based on what gives me energy, getting my vitamin D levels up, seeing a psychologist regularly, again, and keeping up with my exercises should help me be less b**chy and have more energy for people who really deserves my attention and love.

So there you have it. My game plan for 2017. Keep up with my health (physically and emotionally), spread the love and stop wasting positive energy on things that does not really matter. I hope you can all keep me to it and would love to hear what 2017 might look for all of you.

XOXO

My Journey

Week 34: A Little Late but Fitting To Write On My Birthday

January 11, 2017 No Comments

For some reason, I have been putting off writing the post. Yes, I gained a little but not overwhelmingly so that was no excuse. I think, I simply needed a break from talking, dealing and associating myself with the scale.

I love the support my readers give and the comments that are sent my way but sometimes focusing every second of every day around can or should I eat this food and did I exercise enough today and if so did it warrant a treat? At times you just need a break to just not go insane.

It was great with some time without having to think about EVERY little choice and I am sure it made my holidays a little merrier. I had a great time celebrating with family and treating myself, and as usual it is one of the few times a year I see Mike in a nice suit and he looks so handsome in those things.

New Year’s Eve was as always great but I feel like the entire earth is on edge with what is to come. I must admit that I do not have many Trump supporter friends out there but I know the people exist since he will become the president of the United States in a few days. It is going to be a tumultuous, emotional and frighting time for me and I know a lot of my friends feel the same but we all have different reasons. Trump is all about the unexpected, so we are all holding our breaths to see what will happen next and crossing our fingers that the world won’t crash and burn.

As always, I have been looking forward to my birthday but with the exchange of power happening and to a man that scares so many people, it is one that has a lot of anticipation, hesitation and a need to just focus on what makes me happy in the moment and surrounding myself with good people. This fear that has slowly crept up in me since the election is definitely a huge trigger for me so any support my way if you have the extra energy and capacity would be much appreciated.

On a more happy note. I only gained 3 pounds from last time so that I can take care of easily 😀 And as I posted on Facebook a couple of days ago, Mike, finally, went through his last boxes from California and I can now get started on the next phase of nesting (yes, that is a thing! Mike did not know the term, nesting and thought I was REALLY ODD). Talking about odd… there were some odd things in those boxes. Old box of mix for Creme Brulee, a diamond ring (for a little girl, not that kind of ring… yes, I know what you were thinking), a whole box of VHS tapes. Yes, that is right, now he has to spend the next 10 years going through the tapes god forbid there is something on them that he want to watch or keep. Did I mention we do not have a VHS player and I was thinking, if you had forgotten about the VHS tapes and haven’t looked at them for 10 years, they are probably not that important. Suffice to say – Mike and I do not think a like when it comes to stuff. But going through the boxes was like second Christmas. It was a present to just get rid of the boxes but also to open them. They were like little mystery boxes and you are sorta excited to know what is inside. I have been wondering for 7 years, so think the anticipation time was a bit long.

We, also, took advantage of the holidays and we got to go to 3 museums, a play, several food related events, hang out with friends and simply just having time to be silly. I love the compilation of pictures this time.

Well, until next time…

XOXO

Fitness, My Journey

Week 28: Status Report

December 4, 2016 1 Comment

I can’t believe it has been 28 weeks already. Where did the time go?

Well, I guess, I have to catch you up on what has happened this past month. As you can tell from the picture, I am now down to 220.6lb (99.9kg) and I have officially lost my first 20lb (9kg) (actually 22lb (10kg) but I skipped the 20 so… I still want to celebrate). I can now say that I am under a 100 kilos. It is a number, I always told myself I would NEVER get above. Yet here, I was… Waaaaay over 100 kilos. My next goal is to get to 195lb (88 kilos). That was what I weighed 7 years ago. Shortly after I had meet Mike, I had to go to the doctor and she did a full check up and my number was 195lb. She was kind enough (read a little sarcasm in between the lines) to tell me that I was over weight and should consider loosing some. Well, thank you doctor and I then gained 50+ lb (23kg) after that… yikes!

So the new year will bring me to that goal. 195lb and I will be back in “Onederland” and Mike will get back the body he first knew, or at least somewhat. A 50lb weight gain WILL make changes to your body that you can’t undo unfortunately. And they are not flattering changes. I have these fat pockets by my hipbones, you know the ones that normally protrudes on skinny girls and that gets highlighted as something sexy because it signals that they are skinny and therefore beautiful?? Yeah, mine… not protruding but hiding from the world under an inch of fat. Hopefully, I can dig them out a bit.

Last time, I wrote, I had signed up for an 8K in January. Unfortunately, my legs did not want to come with me, or at least my one shin. Every time I would start running it would burn, burn like something in my muscle was tearing apart so I decided I needed to stop running and let my body heal. I have still been going to the gym but staying away from any high impact workouts. I have had running tests done a few times and I know that I tend towards overpronation when running, which means when running I need a shoe that supports my arch. My current shoe is neutral, meaning you do not lean more to one side or the other on your foot when running, which means it has not given me the support that I need. I knew this when I started running but the shoes that really helps me are so darn expensive. Well lesson learned. Don’t be cheap if you run. You need the right shoe. Needless to say. I will not be making my 8K in January but I will train for a run in March instead with my new shoes having just arrived and it will give me enough time to start out slow. Will keep you posted on the progress.

And now for my December plans. Can you believe it is already December? Well, we all know that after Thanksgiving all bets are off when it comes to your diet so my goal for this season is simple. Don’t gain weight.

If I can stand on the scale on January 2nd and it still says 220lb. I will be a happy woman (I almost wrote girl, but who am I kidding… can’t pass for one of those anymore). Any motivation you can send my way to get my butt out the door and to the gym is very welcome as I will need it for these cold, dark December days. I believe my friend offered to text me in the morning. If you are still up for that. I need to get out of bed at 5am in the morning. I will happily text you as well as we need to get out in the mornings.

Next week my sister is coming and that will be a test in itself. That I go even though she will be here and I would just want to sleep as I would probably be tired but please kick me out of that bed as I really need to get up and get out.

Well, that was it for now.

Xoxo

My Journey, Recipes

Week 11: Cholesterol

August 9, 2016 No Comments

Week 11: It has been a while since last. Times at work got crazy so I prioritized my husband and my work outs in my spare time. It seems to have worked out. I am now at 226.4lb (102.5kg) which is a loss of 7 lb (3.2kg) from 3 weeks ago. The week after I got back from my mini vacation was a little tough so I must admit that the 6 of the 7 pounds have come off the past two weeks but hey nothing is perfect.

One of the reasons I started this journey was due to my health. I am not deadly ill but I do have among other things high cholesterol which is one of the main causes of heart diseases. The number 1 cause of death in America. I don’t want to be a statistic and looking at my family’s health I could very easily become one. My parents are not too healthy and I have certainly inherited some of their habits. Habits which I am trying hard to break but that is not what this post is about. I wanted to give some information about cholesterol. I do not think people are aware or want to be faced with what it means to have high cholesterol. And there certainly are many myths about it.

High cholesterol aren’t only seen in overweight/obese people. It can hit anyone especially if they have high amounts of fat intake. Because overweight and obese folks (like myself) would not get to our size without eating a lot of fats in our diet you will see an increasingly high number of overweight and obese people with high cholesterol.

I got myself into this mess by not controlling my binges, which was usually a combination of ice cream, cake, nutella on bread or cookies. So yeah, there you go. ALL sugar at fats. It tasted good though but those days have to be over.

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that comes from two sources: your body and food. Your body needs some cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help you digest foods. Cholesterol travels through your bloodstream in small packages called lipoproteins. These packages are made of fat (lipid) on the inside and proteins on the outside. Two kinds of lipoproteins carry cholesterol throughout your body: low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL). LDL cholesterol sometimes is called “bad” cholesterol. A high LDL level leads to a buildup of cholesterol in your arteries. HDL cholesterol sometimes is called “good” cholesterol. This is because it carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver. Your liver removes the cholesterol from your body.

This is a great sum up of Cholesterol from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute but they don’t mention what the fat is. When you get your cholesterol measured by the doctor. They look at 3 numbers. The LDL (which should be less than 130mg), the HDL (which should be above 46 mg) and lastly the triglycerides. Triglycerides are a type of fat (lipid) found in your blood. When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn’t need to use right away into triglycerides. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells. Later, hormones release triglycerides for energy between meals. If you regularly eat more calories than you burn, particularly “easy” calories like carbohydrates and fats, you may have high triglycerides. Triglycerides needs to be less than 150. I believe in Denmark the doctor usually only gives you one number, HDL Ratio which is a combination of 4 numbers. Your total cholesterol, HDL number, LDL number and your triglycerides. If you have slightly high LDL but still high HDL, you might show up with high cholesterol but since your HDL (the cholesterol that takes away fats) is high you are technically not at high risk of heart diseases so I urge you to ask your doctor for the specific numbers so you have an idea of what number you need to work on and how serious it is.

Personally, my numbers are not in my favor. My HDL is low, my LDL is not high but on the edge and I have a very high amount of triglycerides. Which means I have an excess amount of fat in my bloodstream but not enough HDL to take it away which means my LDL is on the rise (which is what can cause plaque in your arteries, and then lead to heart disease). I need to reverse this trend. That means, try and stay away from binging as best as I can and eliminate high fat foods from my kitchen. This of course, also, means that I need to loose weight so my liver understands that it does not need to keep feeding my body cholesterol.

When I learned about how the cholesterol makes vitamin D in your body and how cholesterol comes into your bloodstream, I had an aha moment. I have had a long period of depression, unusually long for me, I knew I had to check my vitamin D levels (Vitamin D is what helps keep us in a good mood, for example when summer comes around and the sun is out it lifts your spirits. You feel lighter and more happy. This is because the sun is feeding you vitamin D). And sure enough, I am almost at the deficiency level of (only 1 point off) vitamin D. So my binges have not been psychological as I always had thought they were but more likely they were physiological. My body was screaming for more vitamin D so I feed it high fats to create more cholesterol so it could create more vitamin D. Needless to say, I have now started on a high dose of vitamin D. Hope this will help on everything. Still have to go to the gym and watch what I eat but perhaps I can get a little more control over my binging. Crossing my fingers that I might be right. I might not have an eating disorder after all. This sorta excites me.

I recommend if you discover that you have high cholesterol. Do not hesitate to ask your doctor ALL the questions you can think off and perhaps they know of a good website to go to for more information. I am happy that my doctor is not the type that pushes for medication but rather more natural remedies (exercise, low fat diet, fish oil and vitamin D was her prescription). If I work hard at my diet and my weight, she will check my numbers again in 3 months and if I can prove that with some Vitamin D, fish oil (helps on cholesterol), exercise and a healthier diet that I can move the needle on my numbers, she is fine with not prescribing any medication. In fact it seems to be her first choice.

If you like me, can’t control your binges. You have worked on your mental health and feel like you have worked through most of your major issues then you might want to check your vitamin D levels. Especially, if you are in a location where there are more seasons. You might not get enough vitamin D from your foods or the sun. I was naive enough to think I did.

Feel free to comment or reach out if you have any questions. I am not an expert but I have gotten a good sense of where to look for helpful information. But always as your doctor if you can.

Want to give some credit from a few websites that I have been frequently visiting:

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/AboutCholesterol/About-Cholesterol_UCM_001220_Article.jsp#.V6nCGq0-gsA

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hbc

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/triglycerides/art-20048186

XOXO

Fitness, My Journey

Week 8: Support Is Essential

July 23, 2016 1 Comment

Week 8: If you think you can do it alone… Think again! I have tried so many times loosing the weight on my own and I would be so excited when people would notice the difference but once I got the compliment I would fall back into my old habits.

This time it is all about making my surroundings aware of my plan so they have a chance to support me and be my cheerleader when I need it the most. I am a person who does not have a lot of friends but the ones that I do have, I cherish and I don’t know where I would be today without them.

I love my family and I love my husband but there is nothing like having a friend – a true friend, who will be there for you even when you are being ridiculous, silly or in need of a good verbal spanking.

One of my best friends here in the States moved from Florida to Missouri. She is the quintessential woman of strength. With other words, Shelley is AMAZING! Another best friend of mine, Claudia, fabulous and ‘I am not sure where I would be in life, if it was not for her’ kinda friend, and I decided to trek out to Missouri for a visit.

One of our better ideas, if I may say so myself. It has been a bit of a stressful time, with work, moving, starting the blog and I could go on. Not until I sat on the front porch of my friends, from now Missouri, with a glass of wine in my hand did I realize how badly, I needed a small vacation where I could shut off from the hustle and bustle from daily life and just kick back and enjoy.

I was on vacation and I was going to enjoy so I decided to have 1 day of just eating and drinking until I could not stand and another day where I would control my portions a bit more but still enjoy the yummy barbecue they have around these parts. It was close to Kansas City and summer time. Perfect for barbecuing. To not completely destroy my last few weeks hard work I also wanted to get a workout in (ideally two but that would have been pushing it).

It is in those times that you realize how amazing your friends are. They went on a workout with me. How amazing is that. In the hot sun of noon they went to the local college football stadium and worked out with me. It was a tough one. The day before we had been merrily drinking and eating the entire day away and I must admit I was a bit hungover Saturday morning, yet they were dressed and ready to go.

THIS is the type of support and motivation you need at times. People, who are willing to do the hard work with you even when they really do not want to but they love you enough to do it and support you. To Shelley and Claudia, I know you are reading this blog post… I love you and appreciate you! Thank you for the talks, the support and your thoughts.

So my advise to anyone trying to loose weight. Lean on your friends and loved ones when it is tough and good choices are hard to make. And as you can see, just because you are traveling, there are no excuses not to work out!

xoxo

My Journey

Week 6: Moving Chaos

July 4, 2016 3 Comments

Week 6, I have to apologize for my absence. In the beginning of June (right after my last post) we were told that our lease was up and it was time to move out. If you are a friend who are or have lived in New York you know the challenge of finding an apartment here in New York so everything was set in to finding an apartment and thus, my blog suffered.

But I am back! Not much lighter but considering the circumstances I am just happy that I did not gain. I went down to 239.4lb (108.59kg) which was a loss of .6lb (0.3kg). It was a time of eating out and stressing. First with finding a place and then having to move and live among moving boxes for the first week.

After 2 weeks of intense searching we found the perfect apartment and I am living without a roommate (I do not consider my husband my roommate 😉 ) for the first time in almost 8 year. It is a miracle! Never thought that was going to happen. Apartments here in New York are expensive and often small if you do not look in the right neighborhood. We were lucky enough to find a rent stabilized apartment in our favorite neighborhood and we only had to move 3 blocks away. Yay! It is still quite an increase from what we used to pay but we thought why not? We can afford it now and we have lived with roommates for a long time. My husband has lived with roommates even longer than me (coming up on 10 years). It was time for a change.

So here we are after packing and moving and spending a few days looking for extra furniture and unpacking. You do not really realize how much crap you have until you move and we have agreed that nothing gets put away unless we have both gone through it as we need to get rid of stuff. There are boxes that has not been opened the past 10 years so who knows that is in them. I dread the day we get to those boxes. It is going to be all Yankee and ex-girlfriend memorabilia. Just found a pillow case with “Mike, I love you! – Name of ex-girlfriend. Eak! Well suffice to say.. said pillow case is no longer with us.

Here are a few pictures of the chaos that is our home at the moment:

The kitchen is the most sorted room so far. We picked up a kitchen cart yesterday which is not in the picture But it will be located be the window you can see on the left side.

Our new entry way. With a tall closet and our buffet table (currently holding all of my empty bags). Should be nice once everything is set up so in a couple of month you will see the final result. I hope!

Our living room. Some has been set up but as you can see it is mostly holding all of the stuff that we actually have to go through. Mind you we have already gone through roughly 10 boxes worth of stuff and we have thrown out 4 box, 3 boxes to give away and we have kept 3 boxes. I like how we are headed with this sorting.

My challenge now is to find days where I can go to the gym and still have time to cook, unpack and so forth. I do have long work days so time can be challenging. Especially, when I insist on at least 7 hours of sleep. But I hope with summer Fridays (every other Friday I get off at work) that I can eventually make a dent in all this stuff.

I must admit. I have not had the great start to my weightloss that I thought I would have but at least it is a weight off my shoulders finally having my own place and I now have a chance to fulfill my need for nesting. I am female after all…

XOXO