155.4 Saturday

By Belinda

155.4:

On the scale I made last week, any weight between 155.5 and 154 is a 2 on a scale of 1-10--10 being my ideal weight.

It has been an up and down week but it ended well. I went back up to just over 158 mid week and it was my birthday week so there was cake!!

But towards to the end of the week I started making lunches of salad and cottage cheese and having cottage cheese and fruit for breakfast. I do like cottage cheese (not the low fat variety) and find it filling.

It's Saturday--I'm off the the hair salon and into a new week. :)

156.2 Still a (1)

By Belinda

Update:
It was a good weekend. I walked each day with Molson our family dog--3.5 km each day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

On Sunday after church I went for lunch at The Cedar Kitchen, but had a Greek salad--not the breakfast they are famous for.

156.8 On a Scale of 1-10

By Belinda

I made a scale of 1-10 which motivates me to work towards being a 10. I'm a 1 right now at 156.8. But I'm working on the 10!

1.  157-155.5
2.  154
3.  152.5
4.  151
5.  149.5
6.  148
7.  146.5
8   145
9.  143.5
10.142

158 Yikes!

By Belinda

I am returning to my confessional post.

I got on the scales this morning at a new high of 158 lb and I knew I needed help. I know that it helps to confide here.

What got me here? Sad to say it is pathetic but true--I used stuffing myself as a coping mechanism during four stressful months at work. Ridiculous to deal with a difficult time by creating another problem, but somehow I thought that rewarding and comforting myself with food was "helpful." Go figure.

Add to this the fact that I have been baking pies on an ongoing basis as a fundraiser and you get the picture. Pie is never far away--and pastry--flaky, tender pastry--is a weakness.

Anyway, friends, I feel like I've zipped myself into a fat suit. I am wearing flowing tops to cover my expanding middle and hips and my face is looking paunchy. I don't like it.

I will be 61 in a very few days, but I don't like helping along the ageing process.

So I plan to check in regularly and share the journey back to sanity and fitness.

The Importance of Sleep

By Belinda

(151 lb)

It's been a long time since I've posted but I have still been "stopping the slide." :)

I'm in England on vacation with Mum and will be here for a few more days so I have a little more time to write.

Since I last posted I turned 60 (in June) and decided to take care of a couple of health issues that I had put off for too long. One of them was asking my GP for a referral to a sleep clinic. Paul had been on my case for several years, telling me that I stopped breathing for long periods while asleep, then suddenly gasp for air and start breathing again. He would try to hold his breath as long as I wasn't breathing, and couldn't.

I knew I had a problem only because he told me. He also woke me up several times a night to get me to turn over because I was snoring. I was accustomed to being drowsy and thought it was due to my bad sleeping habits. I tend to be night hawk and on average would get 5 to 6 hours sleep--sometimes less. I never considered that the quality of the sleep I was getting was poor as well. On top of that I couldn't imagine wearing a mask to bed, even if I did have a diagnosed problem.

Now I have been a base line sleep study and follow up appointment during which the doctor confirmed mild sleep apnea. I have been fitted with a mask, (called a C-PAP machine, which stands for Continuous Positive Airflow Pressure, I think) a less intrusive type, especially designed for women (for which I paid a little more but it was worth it.) and gone back for post test, which I have not had the results of. This is to see how much difference the mask has made. I expect I will go back for a final doctor's visit to get the results and see if adjustments to the air pressure in the machine are needed.

The effects of using my C-PAP machine were dramatic and immediate. I straight away felt as though I came alive! I had increased mental focus; energy and confidence and my appearance went from blood shot eyes and a strained, tired look by the end of the day, to bright eyes all day long. My only question was, "Why did I wait so long to take care of this?"

But I really didn't start this post intending to write all about the issue of sleep apnea; I wanted to share some information that I found interesting, which my brother pointed out in The Sun newspaper over here, in a column written by "Coach Ed." He was writing about the importance of a good night's sleep in weight loss and fitness in general.

Growth hormone is the major secretion produced by the body for building muscle and aiding recovery.

GH is anabolic, which means that it helps increase muscle mass. GH also has an effect on fat mobilization and fat deposition. What this basically means is that the more lean muscle mass a person has, the more effective their metabolism is at using calories, leaving the excess fat nowhere to hide. So from this alone you can see that GH is important.

GH is released while we sleep...This is why the night-time sleep is so important.

When we start to sacrifice our sleep we are sacrificing the results we should be getting from all the hard training hours we have put in. Many people ask how many hours they should get--it is hard to say how much each individual needs, but the general school of thought is about eight hours, preferably from 10pm to 6am. It is believed that this time is linked to a greater GH release than having eight hours from midnight to 8am.

Remember this equation: Little sleep + little GH release + inadequate recovery = FAT STORAGE
Losing sleep messes with nutrition and diet. According to Dr. Plamen Penev, from the University of Chicago, when the body starts to lose out on sleep this can prevent fat loss and make the body use less fat for fuel. The lack of sleep slows down the loss of fat and speeds up the undesirable reduction of lean mass. This doesn't help the body's metabolism. Dr. Penev also stated that "sleep loss is accompanied by an increase in hunger that makes it less likely you will stick to good nutritional habits and /or a diet."

Thanks Coach Ed. This is great information to build into our lives! I guess that the old adage about each hour before midnight being worth two after, is really true.

151.8

By Belinda

151.8 was what I weighed on Sunday but I'm down a pound since then, to 150.8 today. I really deserve to have put on weight but am grateful not to have, and attribute the fact that I haven't to the walking I'm doing thanks to my faithful furry coach. Still, I want to regroup and refocus!

More soon. Just wanted to check in and be accountable.

152 lb

By Belinda

Yes, I am going in the wrong direction and it is embarrassing to admit. I can't deny it, I earned every ounce. I found myself eating mindlessly at work this week. I was working hard, trying to get as much as possible done and I found myself reaching for food for some reason, as if eating while working would help in the overall effort!

I didn't pay as much attention as usual to the approximate total of WW points eaten. And on top of that, my trusty walking companion, Molson, went away to the cottage for the weekend and the thought of walking around the village on my own just didn't motivate me.

As soon as Molson came home, we went out together for a walk, and I'm in this for the long haul so I'm not giving up. Stay tuned!

149.6

By Belinda

Yes! I broke through to the 140's today.

It was April 11th when I renewed my determination to get in shape. I weighed 158.2 that day, although the week before on one day I weighed in at 159.4. It has taken 11 loooong weeks to lose just under 9 pounds. I have 7 to go.

I've been on a vacation to England during that time, and away for two conferences and still maintained a steady, although slow weight loss.

What's working for me?

• Walking Molson my daughter's dog and my personal trainer, almost daily. He is an encouraging  companion and Brenda says she can always tell when he's been out for a walk when she comes home because he smiles! Yes, he has a happy expression on his Golden Retriever face. :) Walking daily helps keep my metabolism running efficiently and my hips and thighs more toned (only "more" because they sure don't qualify as "toned" alone.) If I can't manage a long walk I still head out for a quick walk. It is a rare day that I can't manage a minimum 20 minute walk. The main point is to keep moving.
• Majoring on vegetables. At the conference, where there was ample opportunity to overindulge, I stacked my plate with vegetables and salad, filling up with those and with meat. I focused on protein, fruit and vegetables and the desserts I thought were really worth it.
• Packing loads of food to take with me on work days. I make sure I am never hungry and I feel like I eat a lot some days but it is all good stuff. I know that if I added up the calories of the handfuls of almonds I eat when I get hungry, I would think I shouldn't lose weight, but they fill me up when I need something substantial to get me through to the next meal and I am still slowly losing.
• I've started using a teaspoon of olive oil dribbled over a piece of toast instead of margarine.
• I chopped some almonds up with my little hand chopper and have a small container of them in the cupboard ready to sprinkle on yogurt or salad.  A current favourite lunch is a tossed salad with a tablespoon of Vidalia sweet onion dressing, 1/2 a cup of cottage cheese, sprinkled with chopped almonds. It is filling and delicious.

I have more to write but will save it for another day this week. Stay encouraged. Don't give up! Stop the slide and bust the fat!

150.4

By Belinda

I celebrate 150.4 because I have just returned from a three day conference where the food is abundant and opportunities abound for enjoying it all a little too much.

I took along an emergency survival kit of almonds, granola bars and oranges, so that I knew if I got hungry, I had a healthy choice, but there was lots of healthy food--lots of fruit and vegetables to choose from. I also enjoyed a delicious dessert or two, savouring them to the fullest!

Next week I hope to report some weight loss as it's getting very boring to be stuck here. On the other hand, I don't really mind it too much, because I know that eventually I will go down another pound! And then I'll start on the next one.

P.S. I just noticed that "on the blog" this is a loss this week. I forgot that although I have been this weight during the week, I haven't been this low on a Sunday weigh in yet. Yeay!

151.2

By Belinda

A quick check in for the sake of accountability.

I finished the book I was reading, Press Pause Before You Eat. I am now rereading the chapters that were most helpful, just to absorb the principles that have helped so much. I recommend the book as a great reference tool and help.

I'm still exercising faithfully with my equally faithful friend Molson.

Susan is working out at the gym.

Irene is down 46 pounds. Yay Irene!

Susan asked for a repeat of Irene's recipe for tilapia (a fish.) Here it is:
She coats it in a small amount of breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan cheese and quick fries it. I have also dipped it in milk and then a little seasoned flour and quick fried it. It is delicious!

Hey, I know that my progress is slow, but I'm feeling slimmer and I know that slowly but surely I am getting there. I have 9 pounds to go.