Size 16 Baby!!!

Tonight, I went shopping for some new clothes with the money I earned from the LSS yard sale & I was completely shocked when I tried on some Lee jeans. I took 2 sizes into the fitting room.....18s & 16s because Lees tend to run small on me. I decided to start with the 16s first.....I figured I might as well get it out of the way, thinking that they probably wouldn't fit. But surprise.....they did! And needless to say, 2 pairs of size 16s came home with me :)

I'm still stuck at the same weight since the last time I updated, only fluctuating a pound here & there, back & forth, back & forth. But then again, I still haven't gotten completely back into the groove of working out again :( THAT is going to change! I know I need to work out in order to keep losing weight. And I really do enjoy going to the gym......it's just been hard finding the time for some reason. Or it's been too dang cold out that I don't even want to go out to the car to go to the gym! But I have to stop making excuses! NO MORE EXCUSES! Hear me??? NONE! This is my commitment to myself! And I refuse to give up!

Keep movin'

B

It Was Bound To Happen

Yep, it was bound to happen.....I had a gain :( Since I haven't been able to exercise for the past 2 months, I was really trying to be more careful watching what I ate. And I thought I was doing good, but the weight just seemed to creep back on :( In the past few weeks, I gained 2.8 pounds back :( I know that's really not too bad, but it's still disappointing!

But, the good news is, I just got permission from my Physical Therapist yesterday to start exercising again :) She told me to just start out slow & not to do any upper body weights yet. WOOHOO! Gym, here I come!!! :) Tonight I have to work, but as soon as I get off, I'll be hitting the bike & treadmill! I probably won't be able to do the elliptical with the arms for a while & won't be running on the treadmill (swinging my left arm still hurts quite a bit), but anything right now will be a huge plus & make me feel so much better....not just physically, but mentally as well! I've been a little depressed since I haven't been able to exercise :( And I've been sitting around the house way too much! Time to get off my butt & get back on track!

Keep on movin'

Benita

New Year, New Me!

I am proud to say that I am starting out 2009 weighing 60 pounds lighter than I was this time last year! And this year, I plan on continuing my journey to lose another 51 or more pounds, hopefully by summer. It's not going to be easy, though with the health problems I'm currently enduring, but I refuse to give up! Quitting is no longer a word in my vocabulary!

Although I haven't been able to exercise in about a month, I'm still watching what I eat & still managing to lose some weight, although it's coming off a lot slower without exercising right now. I go to a neurosurgeon on January 6th, so I'm hoping to get some answers then. I can't wait to get back into the gym & back on the elliptical & treadmill! Believe it or not, I truly miss working out! So once I get the all clear from my doctor, you can bet I'll be back to busting my butt once again :)

I did the layout above a few months ago about the 12 week biggest loser weight loss competition that I did. I tell ya, it feels so good to be 60 pounds lighter! It took me about 8 months to lose that 60 pounds, but it was so worth it!

Till next time, keep on movin' & Happy New Year :)

Benita

Half Way There!

As of today, I am more than halfway to my weight loss goal :) I'm officially down 56.2 pounds & 55.4 pounds away from my long term goal. Yay me!!!

Unfortunately, I'm not working out nearly as much as I was because of my shoulder, not to mention I've just been so busy with the holidays fast approaching.....can you believe that Christmas is only 15 days away?!?!

My doctor told me that he doesn't want me doing anything with my upper body for quite a while :( I go to see an Orthopedic Surgeon tomorrow (my appointment got moved up.....yay!) & I'll find out then if he's going to give me a cortizone shot in my shoulder or what. I'm scared to death of getting the shot (I HATE NEEDLES!), but if it's going to help, then I know I have to get it done because I'm just tired of the pain!

That's all for now. Hope you have a wonderful week & keep on movin'!

Benita

7 Months, 1 Day!

ETA: I had to update this post as I did hit the 50 pound mark.....one day late, but who am I to complain??? Yesterday marked my 7 month 'anniversary' of going to the gym. And in those 7 months (and 1 day, lol), I've lost a total of 51.2 pounds! 51.2!!!!! I had to get on the scale 3 times this morning just to make sure I was seeing the numbers right!

For those of you that follow my other blog, On Eagle's Wings, I wrote about a roadblock that I hit this past week when I started getting some pain in my left shoulder, arm & hand. My doctor now has me on Prednisone & also Skelaxin. If that doesn't work, then he wants me to go through physical therapy & also get an MRI done. Because of the pain I'm having, I haven't been to the gym in over a week & I've also missed 3 days of work :( But luckily, my boss has been very understanding & supportive! Since I haven't been able to work-out, I've been really watching what I've been eating, moreso now than before, so I think that has really helped me this past week & a half.

That's all for now.....here's hoping I'll have another loss to report next time!

Happy Thanksgiving,
Benita

Struggling

These past couple of weeks I've been really struggling with my weight. I'm not losing it as fast as I was & that in itself is kinda depressing :( From October 31st until now, I've only lost 2 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks. And I just can't seem to hit that 50 pound lost mark yet! ARGH! I'm so close, though.....only 2.6 pounds to go! At this rate, I'll be happy to hit it by the end of November :)

I knew that the holiday months were going to be harder, but we still have a week & a half until Thanksgiving! And I haven't started any baking.......YET! I'll probably hold off on the baking until the middle of December & I don't plan on making nearly as many Christmas Cookies as I have in the past. Every year, I send my Mom a can of cookies & fudge, so that's the only reason why I'm even going to do any baking this year. Maybe I should just mail them all to her??? Yeah, right.....like that'll happen! NOT! LOL

I went to my doctor last week & he was amazed at how much I've lost. According to their scales, I've lost 48 pounds since I saw him in April right before we joined the gym :) He asked me how I was doing it & when I told him we just joined a gym & cut back on our portion sizes, he was really happy for me! But unfortunately, I still haven't lost enough weight to get off of my blood pressure medication yet :( That is something that I cannot wait to be able to do! Maybe when I go back next April for my annual physical, I can get off of it for good!

In case you didn't notice, Toni removed herself from the blog :( She's going through some really tough times right now & I completely understand why she had to make that decision, but I'm still going to miss her on this blog! I hope & pray that when the time is right, she will be back. Toni, I love you & I'm always here for you.....don't forget that! {{{Toni}}}

Until next time, in which hopefully I'll be able to yell that I hit the 50 pound mark :)

Benita

45.4 POUNDS GONE!

As of today, Halloween, I have lost 5.4 pounds since October 1st for a total of 45.4 pounds in just a little over 6 months! I still have 66.2 pounds to go to reach my ultimate goal, but as I get closer & closer to that half-way mark, I'm getting more & more excited :) I also just did my measurements & from September 25th to now, I've lost a total of 10 inches! 10!!! WOOHOO!!!

But for some reason, this month was hard & I didn't lose as much weight as I was hoping to, but I'm still happy with over 5 pounds. This was my first full month of working at the gym & it was harder to get in there to work-out & trying to fit it in my schedule. But that's no excuse! And I refuse to let it be an excuse!

Jim & I are going to sit down & work out a schedule for going to the gym at least 5 days a week. Tuesdays are out right now because I work from 1:00-5:00 & then bowl at 6:30 till about 10:00-10:30. I may also start working on Mondays from 4:00 till 7:00, so we're going to be working out after I get off work that day. Then on Wednesday, since we usually get done with bowling around 6:00-6:30, we go to the gym afterwards. Thursdays are my dance class days & I won't give that up! Fridays are hard because I work until 8:00, so that may be the other day we take off from the gym. We've been doing pretty good about going on Saturdays & Sundays, so I hope we can stick with that. I just know that I have to keep making exercise a priority in my life because it is! Wish me luck!

Happy Halloween!
Benita