The Scale Moved! :)

So, it has been a little over a week since I last posted. It has been a GREAT week! I have been working pretty hard. I was a little discouraged when I weighed myself last Friday. The scale was exactly the same. I think with the help of my workout DVD's, I have been losing inches though. I never took any measurements, but I have felt a difference in my pants and shorts that make me think this. I also think my stomach has gone down a little. It seems like I carry most of my extra weight in my tummy and in my face, so those are usually noticeable first. Call me cautiously optimistic! Today I weighed myself and the scale finally moved! I am officially 6 pounds lighter! I am working in 10 pound increments. So, we are only 4 pounds away from my first goal! This definitely ups the motivation factor!

In at least 2 1/2 weeks, I have been soda free....I never thought I could live without the Sweet Nectar of the Gods...especially with an unlimited supply at work! Lol! Luckily, we have an ice and water machine and I have my insulated cup I fill up about twice a day. It has only been water, un-sweet tea with stevia and fat free (Lactose Free) milk for me.

I have also been watching my snacking and portions. I used to constantly graze at work around mid morning and especially mid afternoon. I have been alternating between a whole grain English muffin with a small amount of butter on it with yogurt and a piece of fruit OR a bowl of Fiber One cereal. Either of those seems to keep me satiated for a few hours. For a snack, I will usually have a granola square or a yogurt. Lunch consists of a sandwich, and sugar free jello pudding OR a yogurt, OR Fiber One bar. I have always heard that sometimes you are not hungry, just dehydrated. I am starting to believe that. Sipping on my ice water throughout the day seems to be helping.
There have been quite a few parties at work, people graduating, getting married, moving, etc. There have been a bunch of sweets in the office. Doughnuts, Cup Cakes, Cake (from Costco with about 6" of icing), and ice cream. I have a MAJOR sweet tooth that is just now getting under control.  Thankfully, I get off work at 3, so I am usually gone by the time the parties commence. There was a Pizza Party to celebrate a sales goal being met in another department. I stayed at my desk and stuck to my lunch I brought. I think I could say no now that I am seeing results. Yesterday a customer brought some pasta with calamari and other sea food in it. I came pretty close to having a bowl but I turned around and said to myself, 'we are not grazing at work anymore'. Lol! It looks like my willpower is coming back. Monday we are having another lunch for my department meeting a sales goal, it will be sandwiches, since that is a little safer, I will participate. This is why new hires are always told to beware of the 'REW 10'. It seems like there is always food around.

So, this has been a great week. I am pumped about my 6 pounds and the little bit of extra room around the waistband of my pants. It is a small step, but I know I am headed in the right direction!)

Hello Leslie Sansone!

I won an Amazon Gift Card for a contest at work recently. I thought purchasing an exercise DVD would be a good use of my winnings. I did a TON of research. I know P90X is pretty popular and I have several friends that love it. I just don't think it is for me. Leslie Sansone's DVD's came up in my Amazon searches and has very high ratings. She has a ton of DVD's! Best known for 'Walk Away the Pounds', she has recently revamped her original routine and it is now called 'Walk at Home'. Both programs were highly rated. Many of the reviews were from people that were pretty out of shape and looking for a way to get started. They all remarked at how this was the perfect DVD for a beginner. So I selected two, one from Walk Away the Pounds ($7.00) and one Walk at Home ($9.00). I wanted to get a feel for both.
I work on Sundays from home from 6a to 9a. So, after I got off work, I was watching the news and the BF had a headache so, he fell back to sleep on the couch. I have really felt a BIG boost in energy since I switched medication. So, I decided to grab my DVD's and head to the bedroom. Another good thing about this, you don't need very much room. I closed the door and fired up Walk Away the Pounds, the easier of the two.
The DVD is split into miles, you can do anything from 1 to 4 miles.
The first thing I noticed was how average everyone looked. Everyone in regular workout clothes, all shapes, sizes and ages. Not a bunch of ripped models. Leslie was dressed in a regular top and workout pants. The people looked relatable. I have seen other DVD's with super ripped people dressed in as little as possible. You also felt among friends, Leslie talks to the other people asks about their kids, etc. She is really positive and keeps you going. It was pretty nice. This was also mentioned in reviews as something people really liked.
The workout was pretty low impact, the steps were easy to follow. I am pretty uncoordinated, so that is saying something. Haha! I was able to keep up, my heart rate was going and I still felt a good burn. At the end of the workout, you do some good Yoga stretches. Leslie incorporates weights, so I was unprepared for that. So later that afternoon the BF and I went to Sports Authority and I got 2lb neoprene dumbbells. It was a great workout! Later on Sunday night, the BF and I took our bicycles out and did 2 miles around the neighborhood. That is 2 workouts in one day! :)

 Monday, it was storming really bad, so I had to comfort Sammy in the afternoon. So, after the rain passed the BF and I did about 2 miles around the neighborhood. Tuesday, I was looking forward to working out with the Walk Away the Pounds DVD again. This time I incorporated the weights. It was great. More of a burn, and I was getting pretty good at the 1 mile routine.
This afternoon, I decided to try the Walk at Home DVD. I am taking tomorrow off, so I decided to kick it up a notch. Walk at Home is NO joke! It is definitely more cardio and intensity. Same steps as the other DVD, so that was nice. The 1 mile is only 15 minutes. The miles keep going but you can stop it whenever you like. There is a shortcut to stretching on the main menu. I liked the pace, it was a good challenge. I was going good and the first mile was over before I knew it. Leslie said the second mile was 12 min, so I figured I could hang in. It was really intense! I stayed with it however, I will not be going beyond 2 miles for a while. Mile 3 is 10 minutes and I know I am not ready for that just yet.
Overall, these are great DVD's and I would recommend them to anyone starting out. With the afternoon showers in Florida, it is nice to have an alternative.
So that has been my introduction to Leslie Sansone. I am pretty impressed and look forward to getting through these DVD's and picking up some more!

The Farmers Market!

I have been buying more and more vegetables for the last few months..not a bad thing. However, I felt like I was spending more and more at the grocery store for fresh veggies. Veggies, that don't even look that fantastic either. The really good looking ones are usually organic and overpriced as well. So, the last few weeks I had been planning on hitting up the Farmers Market on a Saturday. Between being pretty busy with other things and then having a cancel a trip there because I was sick last weekend, I finally got to go! :)
A friend of mine and I went to the Winter Park Farmers Market yesterday morning. It was pretty busy out there, as usual and there were lots of good looking veggies to choose from at a fraction of the grocery store prices! I paid $8.00 total for the items pictured below. I love squash and cook it at least once a week. The squash from the market is perfect! Much better than what I have been buying. I also tried a few new things. I bought some Mango and Plums...also, orange Tomatoes, they are lower in acid according to the guy at the stand where I bought them. Either way, I am pretty excited to eat all of this and I hope that I can start going to the Farmers Market on a regular basis!

Good Inspiration! Thanks Nike!

I saw this ad the other day. Thank you Nike for finally doing an ad that shows someone on the journey! People are not instantly ripped and buff! I hope they follow this kid and keep the people up to date on his progress! I doubt I am the only one that was impressed.

Hyper

Another issue I have had all my life is ADD. I took medicine for it as a kid, eventually I didn't need the medication anymore. I had figured out how to self manage it. I could make myself focus and not get too distracted in class. After HS and College, I worked various jobs that kept me moving and on my feet. So, I never really had to sit down and focus for an entire day. When I was a nurse, the office I worked in was pretty fast paced and the doctor always kept us on the move, so I never had any issues with focusing. When I started my current job, which is sedentary work, I could feel a change. It was hard to sit still, to keep my train of thought going. I would overlook things and sometimes would forget to do some pretty routine stuff. It would just slip my mind. I really do enjoy what I do, I like my job but it was a constant battle to stay on task.

I spoke with my former doc about this and she gave me a starter pack of Strattera back in March of 2011. What a productive month! However, towards the end of the starter pack, I felt a strong shift in my mood. I could feel a depression coming over me. Anyone that knows me will tell you that is NOT in my personality. The BF was starting to get concerned and one day he asked me if I was happy being with him. I love him so much, that was the end of the Strattera for me. I refused to risk my happiness for that. I called my doctor and told her that the meds were depressing me and I would no longer take them. The next time I saw her, she said to focus on the Thyroid and put the ADD on the back burner. Once one was corrected, the other would follow. That made no sense to me, but I trusted her opinion. Well, my thyroid never normalized and the weight kept coming on.

Wednesday, when I was talking to my new doc, he disagreed. I was relieved and the ADD struggle at work has only gotten worse and worse. He asked me what I took as a kid which was Ritalin. He gave me a low dose of Adderall and told me it was very similar to Ritalin, so I should not have any mood issues. Today, is day 2 that I have been taking it and I feel fine. More focused than I have in months. Hopefully this doc will bring me the answers I have been looking for. We shall see! 

Hypo

This week has been a big week in the way of answers to my Thyroid issues. I ended up changing doctors. Last week I had a very bad sinus infection and my former doctors office would not give me the time of day. I used to work in healthcare, and that is not the way you treat patients. So, I called my parents and asked for the number of their doctor in Sanford. They saw me immediately and fixed me right up. I feel so much better! While I was there, the doc and I started talking about my thyroid issues. I told him how I had just switched to (Liothyronine) Natural Thyroid at the end of June and I was starting to get really run down and tired again. I thought I was doing a little better on the Synthetic Thyroid. He told me he was not a big fan of the natural stuff and once I got better, if I wanted to come back to see him, he would be glad to chat with me about my symptoms and different options to help correct it. I made a follow up appointment on my way out and saw him August 1st. We talked about going back to synthetic, he has not had much success with the generic. So, he gave me a script for Synthroid and insists I get the brand. So, I did. It was only $5 more than my generic co-pay, so I can live with that.
Since he is my parents doc, I think he will be more proactive since he knows my family's not so great medical history, diabetes, heart attach, obesity, etc. He called yesterday and told me my thyroid looked good and we would recheck in 2 months. He insists I start exercising. So, for now, my goal is for the next two months to lose some weight. 10 pounds seems like a good, safe starting point. So, time to get to work! Fingers crossed that I am finally on the winning side of this battle!