I thought I'd post a few foods that I have been enjoying over the past couple of weeks.
Wasabi Flavored Almonds
Raisins
Cottage Cheese and Whole wheat crackers
Chocolate Flavored Cream of Wheat
Applesauce
Baby carrots and Hummus
Apple slices and peanut butter
Baked sweet potato
Honey Nut Cheerios w/ blueberries
String Cheese
Turkey wrapped asparagus
Chick Fil A sauce (I use this as a salad dressing)
Turkey/walnut/raisin/lettuce wrap
Mmmmm.....
Mom... In Training
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012
Updates
So it's been a while since I last posted and some things have changed since then. I fell off the wagon a couple of months ago. And gained back nearly every pound I had lost. I also got a new job. I got re-hired with the company that laid me off last year and started at the beginning of May. Since then, my health insurance has been reinstated so now I have medical coverage. First thing on the list?.... Go for a full workup with a OB/Gyn. I found a group in Houston when I was researching infertility. It's called Women's Health Care Center of Houston and they have several locations around the Houston area. I made an appointment with one of the nurse practitioners there, Mary Helen and first saw her about 3 weeks ago. I was going there with the impression that I had developed PCOS and thereby making us infertile. At my last Well-Woman exam, the midwife there suggested that I look into getting a workup done to get that checked out. Since then, I've done some research on what it is, how it's managed, and how I can overcome infertility. I was almost positive that this is what I had since I had all the signs and symptoms of it. My intent in going to the clinic earlier this month was to get that diagnosed and treated. During my consult, Mary Helen discussed with me the importance of losing weight in order to get all these problems under control; a lecture, I've heard many a times and knew inside and out. I told her about my lack of success of losing weight and the yo-yo dieting I've gone through throughout the years; again, being fully aware that this is something she's heard time and time again. Still got the lecture and details of what my diet and excercise should consist of... blah, blah, blah. I know this all too well... after all, I have had success losing weight, it's just that keeping it off and lack of motivation are what the problems are. Either way, she sent me off with a long list of blood work to be done and an appointment with the ultrasound tech to have my ovaries and uterus looked at. I had my blood drawn a few days later and a week after that (yesterday), I had my ultrasound which was a bit uncomfortable. I guess it's what to expect when you have a long probe sticking into your girly bits and moving around down there, all the while having to push down on your ovaries, can give anyone discomfort.
Anyhow, today was my follow-up with Mary Helen and JC was there to join me this time. Turns out that I DO NOT have PCOS, but I still have issues with my hormone levels. She had diagnosed me with 1)Hypothyroidism 2)Borderline Diabetic 3) Hyperprolactinemia 4)Excessive testosterone production and 5)Mild fatty liver. What does this all mean? Basically, since my hormones are all out of whack, I am unable to ovulate, therefore I don't have regular menstrual cycles. This mostly is due to my thyroid not producing enough hormones to stimulate my pituitary gland into regulating everything else. Therefore my body produces more prolactin and testosterone (also hormones). And all these contribute to the signs and symptoms I had originally thought were caused by PCOS (obesity, facial hair, acne, irritability, amenorrhea/oligomemorrhea, food cravings, dark skin patches, low energy, and infertility). I asked her if these were all caused from me being obese and she said it could be possibly both obesity and genetics. Either way, losing weight is still gonna have to be my main goal, since weigh loss can decrease all these problems. Understood. So she is putting me on 3 medications to control these hormones and according to her in about 2-4 weeks my hormones should level out to produce regular menstrual cycles. Then in about 3 months (hopefully!), AND THIS IS THE BEST NEWS... I may be able to get pregnant!!! JC and I are soooooooo excited! That's the best thing I've heard in a long, long, time. It gives me renewed hope! I can't wait! She said once AF comes, I should have my labs re-drawn to see what my levels look like, so she gave me the lab slip for when that time comes around. Also, she gave us a referral to a fertility clinic to have hubby's sperm analyzed so that we can have all our bases covered. I'm not really worried about that, since I'm pretty sure that it's all me... but you never know. Hubby is game for anything and being really supportive during this time.
Speaking of which, we've both been eating better and managing our food intake. I'm still using Spark People and have even started using their menu plans (although there's been some hits and misses). Also, I joined Curves gym on a free 30-day trial run. My thoughts so far is that this is not gonna be for me. Though I enjoy the small gym and circuit rotations, the setting is a bit to intimate for me. There's only a few women who are there at a time and with the exercise coach there in full view, she gives you a lot of focus and attention; something that makes me a bit uncomfortable. I also went to me very first Zumba class last nigh, and I LOVED it! I may have a bit of social anxiety, but I like the idea of disappearing in the crowd. With everyone around you dancing and sweating and no one there you know, I don't feel like I'm being judged and I can just blend into to background of people. I worked up quite a sweat and it felt good! Best of all, it's free! I think this will be my weapon of choice... Zumba here I come! Also, I'm thinking of bringing my nieces along for the experience. I think it's something they would enjoy too... and also trying to still get my sis to tag along.
So that's all for now. Last week's weigh in I was down 6 pounds! So keep it up Mely!!!
Anyhow, today was my follow-up with Mary Helen and JC was there to join me this time. Turns out that I DO NOT have PCOS, but I still have issues with my hormone levels. She had diagnosed me with 1)Hypothyroidism 2)Borderline Diabetic 3) Hyperprolactinemia 4)Excessive testosterone production and 5)Mild fatty liver. What does this all mean? Basically, since my hormones are all out of whack, I am unable to ovulate, therefore I don't have regular menstrual cycles. This mostly is due to my thyroid not producing enough hormones to stimulate my pituitary gland into regulating everything else. Therefore my body produces more prolactin and testosterone (also hormones). And all these contribute to the signs and symptoms I had originally thought were caused by PCOS (obesity, facial hair, acne, irritability, amenorrhea/oligomemorrhea, food cravings, dark skin patches, low energy, and infertility). I asked her if these were all caused from me being obese and she said it could be possibly both obesity and genetics. Either way, losing weight is still gonna have to be my main goal, since weigh loss can decrease all these problems. Understood. So she is putting me on 3 medications to control these hormones and according to her in about 2-4 weeks my hormones should level out to produce regular menstrual cycles. Then in about 3 months (hopefully!), AND THIS IS THE BEST NEWS... I may be able to get pregnant!!! JC and I are soooooooo excited! That's the best thing I've heard in a long, long, time. It gives me renewed hope! I can't wait! She said once AF comes, I should have my labs re-drawn to see what my levels look like, so she gave me the lab slip for when that time comes around. Also, she gave us a referral to a fertility clinic to have hubby's sperm analyzed so that we can have all our bases covered. I'm not really worried about that, since I'm pretty sure that it's all me... but you never know. Hubby is game for anything and being really supportive during this time.
Speaking of which, we've both been eating better and managing our food intake. I'm still using Spark People and have even started using their menu plans (although there's been some hits and misses). Also, I joined Curves gym on a free 30-day trial run. My thoughts so far is that this is not gonna be for me. Though I enjoy the small gym and circuit rotations, the setting is a bit to intimate for me. There's only a few women who are there at a time and with the exercise coach there in full view, she gives you a lot of focus and attention; something that makes me a bit uncomfortable. I also went to me very first Zumba class last nigh, and I LOVED it! I may have a bit of social anxiety, but I like the idea of disappearing in the crowd. With everyone around you dancing and sweating and no one there you know, I don't feel like I'm being judged and I can just blend into to background of people. I worked up quite a sweat and it felt good! Best of all, it's free! I think this will be my weapon of choice... Zumba here I come! Also, I'm thinking of bringing my nieces along for the experience. I think it's something they would enjoy too... and also trying to still get my sis to tag along.
So that's all for now. Last week's weigh in I was down 6 pounds! So keep it up Mely!!!
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Big O?
So I'm CD 39 today, and I've been checking my CM and doing OPKs for the past week. This past Thursday and Friday, I had what seemed like highly fertile CM! Even though OPKs still read negative, I still have hopes that perhaps I ovulated. So after BD, we shall see what happens. According to my chart, my temps have consistently stayed low, but yesterday I threw off my sleep schedule by taking a long nap, so I'm not too sure what my actual waking temp is. I took it when I first woke up from my nap around 12 midnight and it was around 97.14 and then I took it again when I woke up from my "sleep-sleep" around 1 pm and it was a whole degree higher at 98.14. So I don't know which one to record. I usually take my temps around 6:30 am, so you can see my dilemma. Anyways, tomorrow I'll be back on schedule so we'll see what my temp reads.
As for my weight loss update, I only lost 1 pound last week. But I can't be too disappointed since I was kind of bad last week. I didn't work out or record my foods. Oh well. Hopefully this week will be a lot better.
As for my weight loss update, I only lost 1 pound last week. But I can't be too disappointed since I was kind of bad last week. I didn't work out or record my foods. Oh well. Hopefully this week will be a lot better.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Baby Itch!
I'm totally feeling the baby itch nowadays, and yesterday it was pretty strong. I was thinking about getting started on the nursery. Thinking about what colors I want to paint it and what style(s) I want to go with. Since obviously I'm not pregnant yet, I don't know what the sex of the baby will be, so it will be something gender neutral. I started to Google nursery ideas and saw some pretty cute ideas for the nursery. I also made a purchase online for our future baby. Over the past year I've made a couple of "baby buys". So far I have a Texans infant girl outfit (only $5 at Target on Clearance... can't go wrong) and an elephant hand puppet. Yesterday I bought a musical bear on Ebay. It's used, but when I came across it, it was something I just had to get. It was super cute. Here's a picture of it:
So cute, right? Anyways, while browsing I came across some youtube videos about cloth diapering and I am seriously considering doing this with the baby. There are several brands of diapers and different ways of doing it. I will probably buy one of several brands to try them all out, but I think so far, based on what I've seen, the prefold diapers will work best for me. There's a great set of videos on youtube where she goes over the basics of cloth diapering. It's called Cloth Diapering 101.
After all that... I was still fienin' for baby stuff, so I jumped the gun and started a baby registry on Amazon. I know, I know... I'm kinda going overboard on everything. But I've got the itch pretty bad. Today is a little better, so I'm trying to occupy my mind with other things.
Anyways that's all for today. I kind of like the carnival/circus theme, since I have a vintage carousel horse that I've had since childhood and I'd like to incorporate it into the nursery theme somehow. Here are a few pics I dowloaded for nursery ideas.
So cute, right? Anyways, while browsing I came across some youtube videos about cloth diapering and I am seriously considering doing this with the baby. There are several brands of diapers and different ways of doing it. I will probably buy one of several brands to try them all out, but I think so far, based on what I've seen, the prefold diapers will work best for me. There's a great set of videos on youtube where she goes over the basics of cloth diapering. It's called Cloth Diapering 101.
After all that... I was still fienin' for baby stuff, so I jumped the gun and started a baby registry on Amazon. I know, I know... I'm kinda going overboard on everything. But I've got the itch pretty bad. Today is a little better, so I'm trying to occupy my mind with other things.
Anyways that's all for today. I kind of like the carnival/circus theme, since I have a vintage carousel horse that I've had since childhood and I'd like to incorporate it into the nursery theme somehow. Here are a few pics I dowloaded for nursery ideas.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Month 2 off to a Bad Start :(
So my birthday week came and went. I weighed myself and took my measurements on Friday, and not the usual Sunday, because I was traveling out of town that weekend. Well I guess with the birthday dinners and birthday cake that I had on Thursday, I gained half a pound so now I'm back up to 259. I was a little dissappointed, but didn't dwell on it much since it was only half a pound.
Well the weekend started and I was eating pretty unhealthy over my 3 day bday weekend. I tried to start out with a healthy grilled chicken dinner, but ate a fattening late night meal that night... cheesy nachos. They were soooo good, so I tried to savor it as much as possible. Then it was also super bowl weekend, so along with that came snack food and drinking... that wasn't too good either. Nonetheless, I vowed to be really good when I got back home. Unfortunately I also came down with a cold over the weekend, and had to call in sick on Monday for work. I wanted to rest up from the trip. So my week didn't start off too good either. Anyways, I'm slowly getting back on the wagon. I promised I would work out twice a day for this first week back, and so far it hasn't happened. Last night I got a good 30 minute work out in the evening... but I stayed up late and today didn't wake up as early as I intended for my morning workout. However, I did workout this afternoon and intend to workout this evening as well. I'm kind of nervous for weigh-ins on Sunday, because with my pigging out over the weekend and being sick and not working out, I'm afraid I'll gain back everything I've worked so hard to lose these last few weeks. I'll be so disappointed if I'm back in the 260s :( Well, it's only Wednesday and I've still got the rest of the week to work hard. I'm hoping to lose at least one pound if not maybe no change from my last weigh in. So until then I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Well the weekend started and I was eating pretty unhealthy over my 3 day bday weekend. I tried to start out with a healthy grilled chicken dinner, but ate a fattening late night meal that night... cheesy nachos. They were soooo good, so I tried to savor it as much as possible. Then it was also super bowl weekend, so along with that came snack food and drinking... that wasn't too good either. Nonetheless, I vowed to be really good when I got back home. Unfortunately I also came down with a cold over the weekend, and had to call in sick on Monday for work. I wanted to rest up from the trip. So my week didn't start off too good either. Anyways, I'm slowly getting back on the wagon. I promised I would work out twice a day for this first week back, and so far it hasn't happened. Last night I got a good 30 minute work out in the evening... but I stayed up late and today didn't wake up as early as I intended for my morning workout. However, I did workout this afternoon and intend to workout this evening as well. I'm kind of nervous for weigh-ins on Sunday, because with my pigging out over the weekend and being sick and not working out, I'm afraid I'll gain back everything I've worked so hard to lose these last few weeks. I'll be so disappointed if I'm back in the 260s :( Well, it's only Wednesday and I've still got the rest of the week to work hard. I'm hoping to lose at least one pound if not maybe no change from my last weigh in. So until then I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
It's My Birthday Week!
My first weight loss goal is losing 25 lbs for this quarter. That means by the end of March, I should have lost 18 more lbs. I recently joined a spark team (100 lbs in 1 year) and that is our group goal. I'm also challenging myself to work out 5 times a week.
This week has started off good, but it's my birthday week and we have plans to travel out of town to celebrate. I'm going to visit my BFF and some old college friends who I haven't seen in a while. I'm so excited! But with friends, comes fun and that usually includes going out to eat, and going to bars. Especially with it being my birthday, I know the gals are gonna want to show me a good time. Then there's Super Bowl Sunday and that means beer and junk food. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I do enjoy my cocktails. I'm hoping I can be good this weekend. My friends all know I'm on a diet and they are all in the same boat as me, but we're probably "gonna let our hair down" this weekend. Either way, I can't wait for the celebrations to begin!
I'm not gonna be too hard on myself, because then I'll have a guilt trip and with my history, that's when I usually fall off the wagon. I just have to keep in mind to stop eating when I'm satisfied, it's not necessary to clean my plate, and go easy on the drinking. Other than that I'm looking forward to starting my 32nd year! Happy Birthday to me :)
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Reply & Week 2 results
So someone actually replied to one of my Board posts on SparkPeople. She lives in Houston and is looking for a WL buddy. Here is my reply...
Hi Lisa,
My name is Mely. Nice to meet you and thanks for the reply. I too live in the NW area, near the horse racetrack, if you know where that is. So tell me a little about your goals. I've been on and fallen off the wagon a few times now. I've tried multiple diets including the Master Cleanse, being vegitarian, cutting out sweets, Quick Weigh Loss Centers, counting calories, etc. I've had the most success with QWLC, but it gets very expensive and when I couldn't afford it anymore, I quit and let myself go and unfortunately gained all my weight back. I work in the medical field so I know the problems that come along with obesity, plus I have a family history of diabetes so that's always a concern for me. As of right now, I am not diabetic. I get myself checked out annually for it, cuz it's always on the back of my mind. More recently, my husband and I have been trying to conceive our first baby and so far have no luck. I've always known it would probably be difficult since my menstrual cycles are irregular and my weight is probably the main cause for that. My doctor told me that the best thing to do was lose weight. It's very sad and frustrating knowing that I'm probably the cause of our infertility and I'm intent on losing this weight forever. I also want to set an example for my family (my parents are overweight and so is my husband) and my future children. I've been overweight my entire life so I know the emotional, social, and physical hardships that come along with being a "fat" girl and I don't want my kids to go through that.
So my plans right now include changing my eating habits for good. I'm watching my calorie intake and exercising on a regular basis. I'm not at all athletic, so I'm starting out small. Just doing workout videos at home at monitoring my heart rate so that I can keep track of the calories I burn. I'm starting my 3rd week, and I've already lost over 7 lbs! I'm so happy.... my goal is to lose 2-3 lbs a week. I watch The Biggest Loser every week and it helps keep me motivated. I wish I could lose the big numbers that the contestants do, but then I realize I'm doing small steps and there's no Bob Harper around to help me get my ultimate burn. LOL, plus I'm learning to eat healthy so this is all still very new to me. I wasn't exactly very fond of vegetable or cooking :) But I'm slowly learning to enjoy it. And now that hubby wants to plant a fruit and vegetable garden, I am even more excited.
So that's a little about me. Hope it wasn't too long. My goal is to lose 120 lbs and 7 of those are gone! Hope we can keep each other motivated and accountable. So hope to hear from you soon.
-Mely
************************
I've lost 4 POUNDS this week! so excited! I thought this was gonna be a tough week since I missed 2 workout days and I had sushi yesterday. But I still lost and now I'm super motivated! That's a total of over 7 pounds in 2 weeks! Yee Haw!
Hi Lisa,
My name is Mely. Nice to meet you and thanks for the reply. I too live in the NW area, near the horse racetrack, if you know where that is. So tell me a little about your goals. I've been on and fallen off the wagon a few times now. I've tried multiple diets including the Master Cleanse, being vegitarian, cutting out sweets, Quick Weigh Loss Centers, counting calories, etc. I've had the most success with QWLC, but it gets very expensive and when I couldn't afford it anymore, I quit and let myself go and unfortunately gained all my weight back. I work in the medical field so I know the problems that come along with obesity, plus I have a family history of diabetes so that's always a concern for me. As of right now, I am not diabetic. I get myself checked out annually for it, cuz it's always on the back of my mind. More recently, my husband and I have been trying to conceive our first baby and so far have no luck. I've always known it would probably be difficult since my menstrual cycles are irregular and my weight is probably the main cause for that. My doctor told me that the best thing to do was lose weight. It's very sad and frustrating knowing that I'm probably the cause of our infertility and I'm intent on losing this weight forever. I also want to set an example for my family (my parents are overweight and so is my husband) and my future children. I've been overweight my entire life so I know the emotional, social, and physical hardships that come along with being a "fat" girl and I don't want my kids to go through that.
So my plans right now include changing my eating habits for good. I'm watching my calorie intake and exercising on a regular basis. I'm not at all athletic, so I'm starting out small. Just doing workout videos at home at monitoring my heart rate so that I can keep track of the calories I burn. I'm starting my 3rd week, and I've already lost over 7 lbs! I'm so happy.... my goal is to lose 2-3 lbs a week. I watch The Biggest Loser every week and it helps keep me motivated. I wish I could lose the big numbers that the contestants do, but then I realize I'm doing small steps and there's no Bob Harper around to help me get my ultimate burn. LOL, plus I'm learning to eat healthy so this is all still very new to me. I wasn't exactly very fond of vegetable or cooking :) But I'm slowly learning to enjoy it. And now that hubby wants to plant a fruit and vegetable garden, I am even more excited.
So that's a little about me. Hope it wasn't too long. My goal is to lose 120 lbs and 7 of those are gone! Hope we can keep each other motivated and accountable. So hope to hear from you soon.
-Mely
************************
I've lost 4 POUNDS this week! so excited! I thought this was gonna be a tough week since I missed 2 workout days and I had sushi yesterday. But I still lost and now I'm super motivated! That's a total of over 7 pounds in 2 weeks! Yee Haw!
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