Hot Tubbing with Strange Men

This last week we decided we would change things up a bit and try going to the gym Mon /Wed /Fri so we could get 3 days in.  Monday, I worked on weight machines and totally kicked my butt.  It's been a while since I have done any of that stuff and boy did I feel it.

Going on Tuesday and Thursday, my mom in law and I have taken for granted that no body else is there in the mornings and we pretty much have the pool, hot tub and sauna to ourselves.  This wasn't the case on Wednesday.  There was a guy already swimming in the two lane pool and so mom changed and went to work out, and I had to swim since I was wearing my bathing suit under my sweats.

Swimming with a stranger in that little two lane endless lap pool was awkward to say the least, and not nearly as fun as swimming with my MIL.  I mean, I'm not a terrific swimmer, and swimming in endless lap pool is swimming against a current ranging from 500 to 1200 psi (depending on where I set it), and so when I say I am going "drowning" I'm not really joking.  And swimming next to someone who actually looks like they know what they are doing made me all the more self conscious.  Finally the guy got out and I was able to swim in peace.  Then, a very tattooed man came out and got in the hot tub.

My very favorite piece of gym equipment at Pavitt's is the hot tub.  I look forward to my 10 minutes of total relaxation in the hot tub every day I go swimming.  There is nothing better.  Except when I have to share it with strangers... especially, scary, tattoo covered, men.  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against people with tattoos... I have one, my husband has one... but...well,  people that are literally covered in them... well, they kinda scare me.  And the kind of tattoos this guy had... well, they were kinda gang -ish.  Add to that my being EXTREMELY self conscious to begin with and (Hello!  325 lbs in a swim suit - yikes!!), well... it made that huge -probably could seat 8 people comfortably- hot tub, seem REALLY small.  I made an ice breaker comment that he chuckled at and then closed my eyes and tried to pretend I was there by myself.  He was perfectly nice, and every time I opened my eyes to look at the clock he was looking down and away, so I shouldn't have been bothered, but it was still weird.  Sitting in a Jacuzzi is something I have only ever done with friends and family so that was just strange...I know!  I know!  What should I expect in a public place, but we've been spoiled the last few months with having the place to ourselves.

I still would rather NOT hot tub with strangers.

Needless to say we didn't go on Friday.  My kids didn't sleep that night so I had no desire to get up at 5 and neither did my MIL, thank goodness.  So, we still haven't made it to the gym 3 times in one week.  It shouldn't be so hard, and I am determined to make it 3 times a week in April.  I think I can!  I think I can!

Weigh in tonight was okay.  I have lost 4 lbs... so I'm finally back down to where I was before I gained that previous two weigh ins.  This week my goal is to eat more zero point foods (fruits and veggies) and I am going to up my water intake since it's been dwindling.

Everyone gained this week...

So, I just got back from my weekly weigh in.  Disturbing to say the least.  I've been following my plan, bumped up the exercise, and gained 2.7 lbs.  Yeah, I said gained.  It's okay though... I'm not going to let it get me down. I'm not going to use it as an excuse to go face down in a bag of fresh, yummy, green onion cheddar rolls at 5 PointsPlus each, (I'll get you the recipe if you want it) I'm not going to get all depressed and throw my new lifestyle out the window.  I'm going to hold my head up high, and blame it on water retention and extra muscle.  Yeah.  Extra muscle, that's it!

Probably the worst part about tonights weigh in was the guy from the Juneau Empire.  He said, "Oh, no worries! EVERYONE gained this week."  I said everyone??  "Yeah, everyone gained this week... except that one guy that lost 10 pounds."  WHAT???!!!  Thanks.  Thank you very much.
 
After dinner I guess I'll play a couple extra rounds on Just Dance 2.  I'll feel better after that.  Next weigh in though... It's on!

Exceeds Maximum Weight Limit

Exceeds Maximum Weight Limit… words smaller people need never concern themselves with, but words that have pretty much ruled my life the last 5 or 6 years. 

There are so many things small people take for granted like, not worrying if the folding camp chair will collapse beneath you and send you flying into the bon fire, not worrying the entire 45 minutes of standing in line for a totally awesome roller coaster, whether you’ll be able to buckle the safety harness or be the one that has to get off before the ride has even begun.  Not worrying about whether or not the seat belt in your friend’s car will go around you… there’s more, and I’ve experienced them myself.  But I’m looking forward to the time in the not so distance future, where I don’t need to worry about this anymore.

I’ve been thinking for the last week or so about major mile stones to add to my weight loss success story that don’t involve just the weight loss number.  Two big ones have been standing out: wearing my wedding ring again, and not getting a rejection sign from my Wii fit. 

It’s not funny!  I get a rejection sign from my Wii fit and it is really ticking me off.  Supposedly there is a 330 lb weight limit, so I should be able to use it… but it’s still not working!  Argh!  I hope that it’s just some weird fluke and one day when I get on it, it will decide it doesn’t need to reset its software.  (If any of you have any tips for me about how to reset this… PLEASE let me know)

And the wedding ring thing… I’m close, so very close!  I can put it on, but can’t wear it for long before my finger swells up and I take it off because I’m nervous about not being able to get it off…ever.  So, I’ll just have to keep wearing the fake jobbers I have until then.  Don’t worry, the day I can wear it without my finger turning blue, ya’ll will be the first to know.

So, this last week wasn’t fantastic.  I gained 0.8 lbs.  But considering all the quantities of not-so-good-for-weight-loss food I consumed, I’ll take it.  It could have been a lot worse.  And you know what?  I’m over it.  This week I’m doing better, and I’m cranking up the work outs, eating healthy, having some fun on Friday, and I’m expecting to at least have lost another pound by next Monday’s weigh in.

Points for me

The other day I was playing house or restaurant or something with my little one.  She would bring me piles of play food, and I would in turn pretend to eat it.  This goes on for a while.  Then she brings me this sandwich.  The play food is so realistic!  I took a look at it and thought, “This is going to use up too many points!”  It looked good.  3 slices of white bread, layered with bologna, salami, lettuce and cheese.  There was probably some pretend mayo on it as well.  Can you say points nightmare?!  Using the sandwich-stacking strategies on weightwatchers.com I calculated that beautiful sandwich as having 27 points.  Half my daily point allowance!  Good thing it was pretend, and I only had to pretend to eat it.

I'm still here

So, I haven't blogged in a while.  There was a 3 week span where I wasn't loosing any weight, and I was sad, depressed, discouraged, frustrated... you get the idea.  The last thing I wanted to do was blog.  Bloggity, blog, blog-blog!!  Then, I lost 6 pounds!  It almost made the last 3 weeks worth it... almost.  I went to blog about my excitement and blogger wouldn't work for me.  Lame.

My back is feeling better and that is awesome!  I'm still a gimp because of my hip, but I can deal with that.  My clothes are fitting again and that is also... awesome!  lol  My house is in better shape because I feel better, and it's easier to keep it picked up.  And my kids are happier because if mom is happy, everyone is happy!

So, I am still here... munching my celery sticks, drinking my water, chugging along, drowning myself every Tuesday and Thursday morning at Pavitts endless lap pool, and generally felling better about... well, everything.  I may not be loosing tons of weight, and feel silly every Monday weighing in for the Lose2Win contest, but that's okay.  I'm not going to win a thousand dollars, but that's not why I signed up for the contest anyway.  I've decided if I loose 1 or 2 lbs a week, than that would be cool.  50 to 100 lbs in a year, that's nothing to scoff at.  And losing it slow, and a healthy, non crash diet way will keep it from creeping back up on me.

My tonsils are floating...

My last weigh in wasn’t fantastic.  I gained .4 oz.  Very discouraging!  I think there are a couple factors, but a big one is that I’ve not been drinking enough water. 

Water.  H2O. Agua.   However you say it, it is the weight loss beverage.  It is actually the beverage of choice for me, but the glacial water that flows from my tap is a tad cold for my poor stomach to handle at times. 

How much is enough?  Well, I understand I should drink half my body weight (in oz) of water every day, and more when trying to lose fat.  This keeps the intercellular water higher than the water on the outside of your cells which is ideal.  But when you are my size that is a lot of water: 168.5 oz to be exact. That is 1.32 Gallons.  YIKES!  I’m floating just thinking about it. 

It can be done, I’ve done it.  Some days it is easy and other days, not so much.  And, once you do it a couple days you really don’t spend as much time in the bathroom since your body gets used to it.

We have these huge cups that, when filled to the brim hold 1 quart.  That’s four 8 ounce glasses.  I’m supposed to drink 5 of these a day.  So far today I’ve had 2.  Wish me luck…  Bottoms up!

Oh, and those wondering about the tonsil comment, my dad used to say it when I was a kid and we were skiing or boating and he had to go.  I always thought it was hilarious.  Mostly because he (like myself) didn't have tonsils.

Lose2Win2011

I'm all registered.  Who wants to do it with me?
http://www.juneauempire.com/lose2win/

It's free to enter, there are weekly $50 value prizes for highest % weight lost and the final prize is $1000!
Men compete against the men, and the women compete against the women.
Sounds like a win-win to me!  Come on Juneau Peeps!  Lets do it!