Day 15 - Two Weeks In

Yesterday was day 15 of my year long journey to lose 80 pounds. I have been stepping on the scale almost every morning and noticing small changes in my clothes, my food choices and my exercise habits. Officially, though the scales did not tell me the numbers I wanted to hear and I admit it was a little disheartening. According to the official scale and BMI gadget at the gym, I have lost a net 3 lbs and my BMI has gone down by a whole percent. Translated into English for the PT (Personal Trainer) challenged, down 4lbs of fat and up 1 lb of muscle....... that sounds a little better. The scale at home is telling me a different story; as of this morning it says I am down 5 lbs.........I like what the home scale is telling me, but I do live with a bunch of story tellers!

As for the food choices, I am controlling my portions better, choosing the lower calorie and less fat items on the menu when we go out for dinner, but I still want the occasional sweet. It has been challenging since over the past two weeks, I have made cupcakes for Ben's soccer team four times. I really enjoy licking the bowl, but not this time. Did you know that a serving of peanut butter is 2 tbs and a serving of jelly is 1 tbs......... believe it or not that is enough to make a decent sandwich.

I have been to the gym every week, 3 times a week and worked with Gene the Trainer. He seems to be a nice guy and I am beginning to notice that during my Cardio workouts I can do more. The first week 10 minutes on the treadmill was difficult, but now it is getting easier......good thing the machine is smart enough to measure your heart rate and realize that it needs to adjust the incline to make the heart work harder. I have also been a little more conscience of where I park the car, rather thank park as close to the entrance of where ever I am going, I am not as concerned about that anymore. I am adding little steps here and there.

As for the other changes I am seeing, my feet are not as swollen, my body is liking the fact that I am putting more water in and it is reacting with taking more water out.....my skin is less dry, hopefully that will continue. I have been motivated to do other things that I have been putting off, such as refinance the house, clean up my desk, shampoo the carpets and clean up part of the garage. My jeans are fitting better and so are those tighter t-shirts.

Keep it up El! You are doing a great job!............Only 77 more lbs to go! Hey, stop that! You are doing great! You could have said 87 lbs to go, from your 80 lb goal, but you didn't! 77 lbs is less than 80 lbs. Go get 'em!

Day 4.....Second Day with Trainer & A Real Test

Today was my second session with the trainer and I must say it did feel good to go back to the gym. I have already started to notice some changes. The scale at home seems to be working again, the numbers are beginning to go down instead of hovering at the same point. I will see on Monday morning if there really is a change.

The test was baking S'more Cupcakes and Red Velvet Cupcakes for Ben's Soccer Pasta Dinner. I baked and tasted the batter, but it was only a taste rather than a TASTE! And at the dinner, instead of serving myself a large portion of pasta and meatballs, I filled half of the plate with salad and added one meatball, a small portion of ziti and some cavatelle with broccoli. I skipped the dessert table completely.

I am very proud of myself. Way to go girl!

Day Three.....100 miles Travelled But Only Got To Edison

Well day 3 was relatively uneventful. Between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday evening, I travelled 100 miles according to the odometer, but I didn't get any further from my home than 6.7 miles. I travelled to my one son's high school a total of five times, the other son's school 3 times, the supermarket once, the car service center twice, the Boy Scout meeting place twice, and saxophone lessons once. There was also a trip to the bank and dry cleaners in there as well.

With all of that moving I was still able to watch me food intake and get an extra walk in with the dog.

Day 2 ...1st Day with Trainer

Well I broke the news to the family that Mom is now on a mission! They are all very encouraging, Rob said "You got only yourself a trainer? Why not us too!" Ben said, "That's great Mom." Sergio said "Wonderful, just don't go on the weekend.....that way you can still be with us on Saturday and Sunday!"

I might even start to train for a 5K......there is one on November 25th, but that may be a little too soon. Maybe in the spring.

I went to the gym and got on the treadmill for about 15 minutes at the 20 minutes per mile speed, not too fast and not too slow. And I felt good! Then it was time for "The Trainer"! Not too bad to look at, but I think right now he is a little timid with me.

The workout was good, I know that I need to work on my balance, but I was able to handle the weight well.

My measurements were taken, body fat measured.....YUCK..... and my weight was recorded....Double YUCK!

Then back on the treadmill for another 15 minutes..... Afterwards, I had to describe my overall feeling......EMPOWERED!

I can do this! I WILL DO THIS!

The Last Day of October --- First Day of the Rest of My Life

I decided that today I was tired of the "Tricks" and gave myself a "Treat". I woke up this morning at the usual time, did the usual things.....get the boys up, walk the dog, give the boys lunch money, made the coffee and kissed the hubby good day. Then it was me time! I watch the show I had DVR'ed the night before, picked up the shoes I had left in the family room, and went off to the bedroom to pick out my clothes for the day and then headed for the shower.

As I turned on the water and waited for it to heat up, that little voice inside my head started to talk. However, today, it said....."You can do this, you can lose the weight, you will lose the weight! You can do it." It also said, "Six weeks from now you will be 10 pounds lighter. A year from now you will have lost 80 pounds! TODAY is the day you start!"

Everyother day it always said, "You need to lose weight, you need to lose weight."

Well, I was going to the supermarket to buy the necessities of life, milk, bread, juice and windex, but on the way there, the little voice took control of the car! All of a sudden, the voice had gotten enough gumption to turn on the left turn signal of the car and pull into the parking lot of Retro Fitness. Then the voice got legs! It took me right into the gym, spoke outloud to the receptionist and asked about personal trainers.

Well, I had to listen to the voice! I signed up for the gym, arranged for 3 sessions a week with the personal trainer and made the committment to myself and that little voice. I WILL lose the weight! My goal is to lose 10 pounds by December 12th and a total of 80 pounds by Halloween 2012! What a treat that will be!

I will be detailing my progress in my blog. My ups, my downs, my struggles and my achievements.

Did you ever get so upset about how someone said something to you that it made you feel as though all of the good things in another relationship are not worth it?

I was having a conversation this morning with a group of adults and discussing the events of last night in Times Square. Many of the adults had no idea of the events and others were more informed. While discussing it, one of the adults, was incredibly rude to me. I have been friends with this person's spouse for years and consider the spouse a good friend. Now, after this event and other events relating to the children of this couple I am questioning whether or not this relationship is worth continuing.

I am extremely hurt by the whole situation.

The Changes Since 9/11

We have all experienced many changes in our lives since 9/11. Today, I took my younger son, a few of his friends and their moms to Manhattan. The boys are working on their Coin Collecting Merit Badge for Boy Scouts. I decided to take them to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and to the Stock Exchange for a lesson on money. Well......., you now need a reservation to visit the Fed. and the Stock Exchange has suspended all tours indefinitely. A great big thank you to my husband and one of his clients, because without him our trip to NYC would have been for nothing. On Wednesday, my hubby said I should call the ANS and see if they could set up a tour for you. He sent an email and put me in contact with the Administrator of the ANS. The Administrator of the ANS arranged for a docent to show us around the exhibit at the Federal Reserve.

We arrived at the Fed at 10:00 AM and were met by 2 armed guards. "Reservations and IDs Please" was the greeting we received. We had no reservations, just the name of the docent and the name of the administrator of the ANS (and a copy of the email my hubby sent to his client and the request to the Director of the ANS). At that point, we were ushered into the Fed and given the grand tour!

Thank you so much............Now remember you need a reservation to go to many of the places we used to take for granted........before taking that impulsive road trip, do a little planning!