A Little Birdie Told Me

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:52 pm

Okay checking in. Tomorrow will be 2 full weeks no s-ing and walking a TON and attempting to Shovelglove. The scale says 8.8 pounds down and I frankly am not sure if the scale could possibly be right. I mean seriously? That is crazy. I am not getting too excited yet, some of it is probably water weight, but it is a downward trend which is fun.

Anyways, yesterday was good. Had some raisin toast and a banana for breakfast. (And my coffee with my chai creamer thank you very much.)

Then I got all inspired by the oatmeal thread and had a big heaping bowl of oatmeal with trail mix in it. It had cranberries and sunflower seeds and cashews and.....oh a lot of yummy stuff. I topped it off with honey and it was super yum.

I admit the afternoon was hard, I think I should have had a bit more oatmeal for lunch cuz I was SO hungry at dinner.

Hubby is Belgian so we made a dish that his sister likes to make over there. It is thick cut bacon chopped up and fried crispy, with lettuce mixed into mashed potatoes, it still seems a bit weird to me but we Americans have to adjust sometimes hehe. (I think the lettuce is lacking in flavor/nutrition so I substitute mustard and collard greens instead, gotta Southern it up ya'll!) It also has a bit of white vinegar mixed in to make it tangy. Super yum.

I ate a huge plate of it and frankly it was too much because my poor belly was complaining and feeling gurgly the rest of the evening. Live and learn.

I walked the doggie for an hour yesterday. (He was happy about it for about the first 45 minutes and then he started looking at me like I was crazy.) I also did the shovelglove with my 8 pounder for 7 minutes, which is my goal for this week since I have little to no upper body strength. That is going pretty well. Next week I am upping it to 9 minutes!!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 1:45 pm

Yesterday SUCCESS

I had pb&j oatmeal for breakfast and my coffee with creamer and I was SO full, I didn't even want to eat lunch when it came around. But I decided at about 2 that I better have a little something.

So I had a chicken/turkey sandwich with some "Health nut" bread, which I hate and was trying to get rid of......since no one else in this crazy house will touch the bread with nuts in it lol. I also had a handful of tater chips. (Healthy I know.) A banana and a few slices of dried Kiwi. (Another healthy thing that no one else will eat.) It barely filled the plate.

Still wasn't super hungry at dinner, but I went over to my Grandfather's and made the family some spaghetti with meatballs. I had half a plate of salad (lettuce and tomato with some ranch dressing) and the rest spaghetti (piled somewhat high) once again pretty darn full. Should have stopped before the last few bites but didn't.

I definitely got my exercise in. I urban rangered my way to the school to register the kids, and to the library to get new books. Two separate trips that turned out to be a little more than an hour of walking if you add them together. I also went swimming for a while in the afternoon. So probably 15-20 minutes of moving around in the pool.

Shovelglove was also an success!! YAY me!! I keep thinking I could go a little longer but I am going to continue to do 7 minutes this week and give my body a chance to adjust. I want to be slightly sore not "OMG I can't move" sore.

Eileen7316 · Post by **Eileen7316** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 11:04 am

Your weight loss is inspiring! Keep up the good work.

tobiasmom · Post by **tobiasmom** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 12:57 pm

You are doing awesome!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 1:16 pm

Hey wow! Thanks for the encouragement you guys!!

Sooo.....yesterday was another SUCCESS.

Started the day with coffee, with my creamer. Sometimes I think I should go a little easier on the creamer but it is SO hard. Then I had a big bowl of cheerios.

In the morning I took my daughter and my doggie on an hour long walk. I am very lucky to live so close to the park and all the lovely walking trails.

Got home and had a fairly unhealthy lunch. I had two hot dogs, a couple slices of cheese, a banana and a handful of nasty ole flavored rice cakes which needed to be eaten up.

I realize as I write this that somehow I feel obligated to eat stuff that I buy even if I don't like it. I tend to be an adventurous food shopper and I end up with weird stuff sometimes. I should really stop that and buy healthy stuff that I KNOW that I like instead of subjecting myself to weird food choices.

I used my shovelglove for my 7 minutes with no problem. Arms are definitely less sore than they were on monday. I will be interested to see how much the difficulty level goes up once I increase the shugging by 2 minutes.

Turkey chili was for dinner. I am still trying to figure out the whole soup deal. How much of a bowl equals a plate? So I thought that my bowl fit on my plate okay and left me room for some crackers. I called that good.

I decided to take another small walk after dinner so took the dog out again for 20 minutes. And when I got back I was peckish, I tried to ignore it for a while but before bed I decided that a coffee cup full of V8 would not be such a terrible thing. That helped immensely and I felt great the rest of the night!!

I am still floating around 212, often a little less but not enough to call it. I am actually glad. I don't want to loose weight too fast, I want to slowly reset my body back to the weight I used to be. I don't think that dumping weight super fast will do that.

Who Me? · Post by **Who Me?** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:54 pm

Don't be a human garbage can. If nobody likes a particular food, why is it your job to eat it?

(This is why having a compost pile is great -- there's no guilt in disposing of yucky food.)

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 11:43 am

You are right Who Me? that is definitely something I will be working on. This check in helps me to be reflective about my eating choices. I am thinking about things I never considered before!

So yesterday was a SUCCESS.

Had coffee and cheerios for breakfast. (Oh and a couple pieces of raw cauliflower.....I know weird right?) After breakfast I grabbed the shovelglove for 7 minutes, then I took the dog out for a 20 minute walk.

Then I had a turkey sandwich for lunch with a cup of leftover chili, 2 apricots and a few more pieces of cauliflower. I then took a 20 minute walk on the treadmill. It was so hot I wanted to get in my 30 minutes of exercise for the day.

Dinner was tacos. I think I am getting better at gauging the "right" amount of food so that I feel better between meals, so that is progress. I felt good all night, not too full this time, which is my usual problem at dinner.

I thought I was good for the night and had settled in to read a book when my daughter asked if we could go for a walk. Well, sure, why not? So I got another 20 minute walk in yesterday evening. That makes it one hour total of walking so I am pretty pleased with how yesterday went.

r.jean · Post by **r.jean** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:18 pm

Great job so far! You are probably right that the initial weight loss is partially getting rid of bloat, but if you keep eating right, that weight will stay off. It is always nice to have that success right away!

Strawberry Roan · Post by **Strawberry Roan** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:59 pm

You can't do right and go wrong. Keep it up.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 1:21 pm

A S-day went okay. I don't think I was an idiot anyways. I did have an extra chicken breast, I also went and got the small reese's cup blizzard I have been mooning over for a week at Dairy Queen.

Best. Treat. Ever!!! It tasted so good having waited to have it.

I actually found that I didn't like having that snack piece of chicken since it made me not hungry for dinner. I find that I quite like to be hungry for my meals. Who would have thought?

I also got in 35 minutes of walking so that was a success!!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 6:37 pm

Okay, another S day and I was exempt from all exercise. I felt pretty lazy but I think it did me good to rest up.

I went a little heavy on the sweets. I had a piece of pie AND a rice crispy treat but other than that I was pretty minimal on the idiot scale in my opinion. So that was good.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:47 pm

Okay back to No-Sing (is that a verb?) Yesterday was a success.

Breakfast was oatmeal with blueberries and a splash of milk.

I took the kids on a long walk, 1 hour and 20 minutes. I went slower than normal but that was because I was pushing my daughter up and down hills in her wheelchair. 14 year olds are heavy!! So at any rate, I got my exercise in.

After the walk I shugged for 9 minutes and that went pretty well.

Lunch was chicken tuscany soup and a peanut butter sandwich.

Dinner was more soup. (I guess I didn't think about this being a soup day.) I made potato soup for dinner. Hubby brought home a loaf of french bread from Panera and so I had a smallish bit of that also, to go with my soup.

It was a pretty good day and I even held strong when my husband was eating gummy bears......in front of me!!!

Who Me? · Post by **Who Me?** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:11 pm

Pushing a wheelchair is very hard work!

When Robb broke his back, I realized this. We used to do crazy stuff, like going cycling. I'd ride my bike, and he'd hook his cane around my seatpost, and I'd drag him and his chair behind me.

Thank goodness he has his own adaptive trike now.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 7:00 pm

Lol, yeah wheelchairs are hard work. We recently went to Europe and pushed that girl all over Paris. It was rough! We had the worst time finding handicapped accessible places to get on the Parisian subway system. Grr.

The most fun we had pushing her was when she wanted to go "hiking" at a near by state park. I thought we were going to die pushing her down and up that narrow uneven path. Hubby and I were about passing out from the work and she was in the chair giggling the whole way!

We figured that no workout on The Biggest Loser could be harder than pushing a kid in a wheelchair through the woods. I feel faint just talking about it hehe.

Who Me? · Post by **Who Me?** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 8:16 pm

If it isn't too much to ask, may I inquire about your daughter's abilities and age?

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:43 pm

Oh sure, she is 14 and has cerebral palsy. It effects mostly her legs causing spastic diplegia. Her muscles used to be so tight that they would cross each other all the time and she would be on tiptoes. She had a very intensive surgery about 6 years ago though called a spinal dorsal rhizotomy.

They went in and tested the nerves in her spine and clipped the ones causing most of the spasticity. After that her legs were much improved and she was able to move more easily. But she has had to have multiple surgeries to lengthen her leg muscles ect. I think it has been about 15 over the span of her life, I actually start to lose track there has been so many.

She is in her proper grade (with her twin sister) and walks around school in her walker. At home she usually uses her forearm crutches because the walker is so big and bulky, but for long distances she needs to be in the wheelchair. Her walking stamina is about 20-25 minutes. She is a sweetie and she never complains about any of this.

I am sorry to hear about all the trouble Robb has had. Back surgery is no fun.

Anyways, yesterday was another SUCCESS.

Breakfast was 2 boiled eggs and 2 apricots.

Then I went on a 35 minute walk and then shovelgloved for 9 minutes. For some reason though I am so SORE today.

What the heck? I don't think I did anything out of the ordinary but every bit of me is aching; arms, back, legs......even my backside. Eesh. If I am sore again like this tomorrow I think I will keep shugging at 9 minutes for another week before I increase it again since I suspect the shugging for the soreness.

Lunch was chicken salad sandwich, Bing cherries, and a broccoli salad which was overall pretty good.

Dinner was country fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy with green beans. Mashed potatoes is my weakness so it was really hard not to go back for seconds but I overcame!!!

Who Me? · Post by **Who Me?** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 1:03 pm

The reason I was asking was because I was curious if she was a good candidate for adaptive sports. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where there are several groups dedicated to providing exciting recreational opportunities for people with disabilities. I wonder if your daughter could manage adaptive cycling? Being able to be fast and nimble is really great for kids with disabilities.

I'm writing on my phone, but I can send you some links if you're interested.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 1:38 pm

Sure, I would appreciate the links. She does have a tricycle at home but I can never get her to use the darn thing. Her biggest hobby is writing stories.

Yesterday was a success.

Breakfast was 2 boiled eggs and some cherries and my coffee.

Then I walked for 30 minutes and shugged. Not so sore today. I think my body was just being weird the other day.

Lunch was ravioli and some broccoli/apple salad.

Dinner was meatloaf, au gratin potatoes and half a plate of green beans.

So far so good. I am still hanging out at about 212, up or down a pound but I am okay with that. We aren't going up and I figure my body is just adapting to the slightly lower weight.

I may be crazy but I feel like I can see the muscles in my arm a tiny bit better so I do feel like this shovelglove thing is working. It is also easier to braid my hair, I definitely feel like I have more stamina when it comes to holding my arms above my head. So that is a great improvement!

Who Me? · Post by **Who Me?** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 3:29 pm

A suggestion and a question:

I'll bet that no teenager wants to be caught dead on a "tricycle." Maybe she would be more motivated, if you didn't use that word. Robb just says "trike," which sounds a bit more bad-ass. Perhaps you guys could find a local BMW trail and go cycling as a family? Or you could walk, and she could cycle?

What part of the country do you live in?

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:36 pm

We live in Indiana. I may look into it, thanks for your suggestions.

Yesterday was a nominal success.

My daughter had a friend over so the eating schedule was a little weird.

Breakfast was eggs, bacon and sausage.

Lunch was a brat, some chips and half a hamburger. (We grilled out at the lake.)

Dinner was pizza.

I feel like I ate not so healthy foods but I still followed the No-S rules so I will count it.

Walked for 35 minutes, shugged for 9.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 11:28 am

Friday was a success.

Breakfast was oatmeal with blueberries.

Lunch was chicken salad sandwich, a little leftover au gratin potatoes and some cherries.

Dinner was a brat and a hamburger. All the rest of the plate was heirloom tomatoes.

No cooking today, excepting the oatmeal. It was a leftover kinda day.

I walked an hour in total today. 40 minutes to the library and the bank, then a 20 minute walk in the evening.

Shovelglove went great. Next week I am upping it to 11 minutes, if that seems too rough I will scale back to 10, but since I am doing well at 9 minutes (tuesday excluded) I think I will continue to push on.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 10:16 pm

S day today.

Did pretty good, I just had a cup of pudding and a little bit of ice cream for a sweet, everything else wasn't any different from any other N-day.

Breakfast was a banana and a pb&j sandwich.

Went for a 4 mile hike today, it took about 1 1/2 hours. The hills were killer, but I had a great time.

Lunch was a buffalo chicken sandwich from Subway.

Dinner was tofu and broccoli on rice, and a pork egg roll from the local chinese place. Yummy!!!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:08 pm

Okay another S day.

I had a homemade strawberry mousse that my DH made, and omg, it needed more sugar. But that was my sweet for the day......oh and like 5 gummy bears.

I also had 6 pieces of popcorn chicken inbetween my meals but overall I feel like this was a non-idiot S day.

Breakfast was oatmeal.

Lunch was leftover bean curd and broccoli.

Dinner was turkey sloppy joes and chipolote sweet potato fries.

I did get in my 30 minutes of walking so that was good. I find I love walking more and more. I like watching the changes in the wooded park where I walk. I can't wait until fall where I can appreciate the colors of the leaves even more.

And my dog is loving it!!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 12:37 pm

Yesterday was a NoS success. Even though it was one of the weirdest days ever.

Got up and had a pretty strange breakfast. A Sloppy Joe sandwich and two apricots and coffee.

We had decided to go to Indiana Dunes State Park/National Lakeshore and do some more hiking but this time with the kids.

It took quite a while to drive and we didn't get there until 10:30. We thought we would take a two hour trail or so, then let the kids swim in Lake Michigan and be out of there by about 2. I thought that I could probably manage that long between meals but just in case I brought a Nutrigrain bar.

This turned into the hike from h3ll. Not even kidding. We thought a 6 mile hike would be okay, we failed to realize how very sandy it would be and that we had a wheelchair which would barely move on sand at all.

The trails were not kept up very well, at least not as well as our local state park. This meant that we had to contend with 5 fallen trees across the path. No big deal for regular hikers but with a wheel chair we had to have my daughter get out, climb across the tree, and then we had to lift the wheelchair over the tree. The fourth tree added a whole new level of difficulty in that it had a nest of bees in it!!! We managed to get by that without getting stung but yikes.

This trail was clearly marked as a trail close to the shore of Lake Michigan, but when we got there, instead of a trail it had dumped us out on the beach. We only had about 2 miles to go and the way back was killer with some super steep sandy hills that we only just made it up with me and my son pulling and my husband pushing the wheel chair.

Now my daughter can walk with support so we came up with a new plan, she would walk with hubby and I supporting her arms on either side and her siblings would take turns managing either the dog or the wheelchair. Once the wheelchair was empty it was much easier to deal with.

So off we go, it took forever. Our arms were trembling trying to keep her up, and she rapidly wore out since walking on sand is especially tiring. So hubby and I took turns putting her on our back and giving her piggy back rides, then she would walk. We would take breaks and let everybody rest but it was gruelling, and it took hours, we didn't manage to get back to the swimming area and the pavement until 5pm, and then we had to walk back to the car! Another half an hour trek, but it was such a relief to be off the sand.

So our 2 hour hike turned into a 7 hour nightmare. My poor daughter, husband and I were very close to collapse there at the end of the beach, I thought we weren't going to make it, but we muscled through. My daughter got to the point where she just couldn't go anymore. Poor baby. So hubby and I stuck her back in the wheelchair and dragged the whole mess backwards through the sand for the last 200 feet or so. That was the point where I really started to feel faint, it was insane.

At any rate, the beach kicked our collective butts but we still conquered in the end!

During all of this I was so hot, tired and exhausted the last thought on my mind was food, the kids got some of the snack bars that we brought with but I couldn't even look at mine. We drank tons of water but that was about it. When we got out of the park we realized it was dinner time. So we let DD14, who really had the worst time of it, pick the place to eat. She picked McDonald's and it was the best tasting food ever.

I had a regular (super sized is just evil) 2 cheeseburger meal and ordered a diet drink. I took a really big glug of drink before realizing that I was given regular, not diet. So I put that down and went back to water. (I hope that didn't count as a sweet.)

When I got home I had some V8 and later on a small glass of milk but I really wasn't feeling much like having any more food and we all just collapsed into bed at 9pm.

I counted myself exempt from shovelglove yesterday because I truly felt like I got a heavier upper body workout than I get while shugging and that I couldn't do much of anything once I got home from all the physical exertion. I can't honestly say that I failed in resistance training for my arms so I just couldn't click the red button for failure for yesterday.

Eileen7316 · Post by **Eileen7316** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:42 pm

You story-telling abilities are very good! I really could feel my own frustration and imagine being in your situation.

I'm so glad you all got through - at any time did you want to cry? I know I would have cried in frustration. Of course, I probably would have held it together in front of the kids.

You have my utmost admiration for pushing through!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Wed Aug 17, 2011 12:40 pm

Thank you Eileen! I didn't cry, but my kiddo was crying a little bit, which made me feel terrible. I was more focused on the goal, one foot in front of another. I was also more than a little grouchy, like when my 10 year old son ran the wheelchair straight into us because he wasn't watching where he was going....ect. That caused some definite Mommy grumbling.

I kept hoping that a truck from the DNR would come crusing by, but no luck.

Yesterday was a success.

I had two boiled eggs and two apricots for breakfast and my coffee.

I walked for 40 minutes in the morning......still SO sore, owie!

Lunch was frozen pizza.

Dinner was a gyro sandwich and some fried mushrooms.

I don't feel like I had healthy food today and I know I could be making some better food choices. I forgot that the kids school had a back to school night or I would have thrown something in the crockpot. Ah well, we were stuck with food from the local gyro shop.

Shovelglove was killer today. My arms are still so sore I thought I wouldn't make it lol. I just went extra slow and managed to get through the full 11 minutes.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:38 am

Good Morning all you No-S people!

Yesterday was another success, but just barely. It was SO hard for me. The only thing that kept me honest was this forum I swear. I just didn't want to admit that I flubbed up, so I didn't!

Breakfast was coffee, two boiled eggs and two apricots, I am finally done with them, and before they went bad! How about that? I am so bad about buying fruit then never thinking about eating it until it is too late. I was on the ball with the apricots, though.

Got a half an hour walk in with the dog.

Lunch was late, at 1:30, and it was just two chicken soft tacos (fresco style) from Taco Bell. I was in the middle of helping my mom get one of her rental houses ready to rent. (That was a ton of work.) So we stopped barely long enough to scarf down some food and then we started working again.

Dinner was 15 bean soup and crackers. It was so good because, let me tell you, those chicken tacos didn't go very far. It was hard to be in the kitchen, staring at the bananas while I was cooking dinner. So hungry. Anyway, I managed it.

I did shovelglove for 11 minutes but that was hard too. I still am terribly sore from our misbegotten hiking trip. I think I may stay at 11 minutes for two weeks since this week has been so rough.

r.jean · Post by **r.jean** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 12:30 pm

This forum keeps me going too!

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 7:26 pm

Great, I found you

...

Need to go back over some of you posts..read the one about your beach struggle..did you guys get to sit on the beach and rest a bit and enjoy the beach?

Oh ya I wanted to try shovelglove..what size weight did you buy, I say a 10lb and 12lb on amazon...how is it on your back?

Sounds yummy, 15 bean soup, I love soup!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:39 pm

We did enjoy the beach for about 15 minutes lol. Then the work started. Ah well. Exercise is exercise right?

I started with an 8 pound sledge because I fully admit to having noodles for arms. I also started with 7 minutes only and it was okay for my back. I felt it for sure but not in a bad way. My back muscles were slightly sore but they felt more like they were stretched out really nicely. I quite liked the feeling.

Now after a few weeks I am not feeling that quite as much. I don't notice my back as much. (But that might be that my arms are still so stinkin sore from the beach adventure.)

I find that I quite like the shovelglove. It doesn't take very long at all and my arms are feeling stronger. I also like how it seems like I am doing something useful, meaning that I will probably have to shovel the driveway this winter and I might as well get ready for it!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 1:03 pm

Yesterday was a SUCCESS.

Breakfast was leftover cold pizza.

Then I walked for and hour and 5 minutes.

Lunch was more 15 bean soup and crackers.

Dinner was a marinated chicken breast, some long grain and wild rice and some veggies; broccoli, cauliflower, summer squash and zuchinni.

We are going away this weekend/friday right after school, so I want to get all these leftovers eaten up. Thankfully hubby is off today and I am sure he will eat some of them, everything else is getting dropped off at my Grandpa's house on the way out of town. He always appreciates home cooking lol.

Today was my first FAILURE with shovelglove. I made the mistake of waiting too long before I did it. I find that if I do it first thing in the morning everything is good. I waited too long and my brother decided to come over for dinner, then it was dinner time, then my brother wouldn't leave. (And he would totally fall over laughing if he saw me shuggin.) Then it was so darn late it was bed time. Blah.

Lesson learned. Do the exercise early, that way unexpected things can't derail you.

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:04 pm

Naebird wrote: Do the exercise early, that way unexpected things can't derail you.

I totally hear ya on the exercise..I'm a morning person and if I don't get it in then, I won't later. For some reason I can't move that well later in the day

.

So are you still on the 8-lbs? I'll have to check out the hardware store...on-line on Amazon I only see 10 or 12 lbs..

So do you make the bean soup from scratch? Beans are so good and filling..if you have a special recipe might your share

I just had 3 homemade cookies from the market for breakfast...totally looking forward to it..now my lunch and dinner will be healthy of course ;0

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 12:16 pm

I am still on the 8 pound sledge and I think I will stay with it for a while. Now that I am at 11 minutes I am finding it harder. I will stay at 11 another week at least. I am taking this easy. For me, there is no sense in pushing myself to be up there "with the boys" when it is going to make me miserable.

I use Hambeens 15 bean soup. It is just a bag of beans you can find with the other beans at the grocery store (or at least my grocery store

). I use the package directions but I add a package of smoked sausage. It is SO good.

Friday was a success. I seriously can't remember what I ate though now, since it is monday lol. We went to visit my Aunt who lives about 4 hours away so we left as soon as the kids were let out of school.

I did make sure I got my exercise in!! YAY! Saturday we went to a Ren Fest, so I am counting that as doing at least 30 minutes of walking.

At the Ren Fest I had an ice cream and helped my hubby eat an apple dumpling, it was SO yummy. So, that was maybe not as good as I could do but what the heck, I only get to the Ren Fest once a year.

Sunday was fun, we hung out with my aunt, toured a manor house and did about a 45 minute walk with the family. So I snuck more exercise in. I really feel like the No-S diet and my 30 minutes of exercise a day plan just fits into my life so well as long as I make an effort to choose more active activities (haha).

I was also able to gracefully beg off some rainbow sherbet on friday evening and nobody even looked at me twice when I said, "Oh I am too full from dinner." I love the fact that people don't have to adjust for my "diet." It makes a huge difference socially.

I had seconds on sunday, I admit it. I also has a blueberry muffin for breakfast (which for me counts as a sweet.) But I feel good about my weekend away. I had a great time and I didn't manage to go TOO crazy, no binges or boredom eating. These good habits are catching up to me lol.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:23 pm

Yesterday was a SUCCESS.

I had coffee and cheerios for breakfast.

I had a 45 minute walk, did my shovelglove right away and then rushed out the door to help my mom. We are getting a rental house ready for some new renters (my aunt owns the house but due to health reasons she can't help.) We are doing our best to get her all set up. Anyways so we worked there ALL day. Whew.

We grabbed some eats at Taco Bell, I went with some more of the fresco chicken tacos. I think they are at least somewhat healthy, for fast food.

Dinner was mac n cheese with some smoked sausage cut up into it. We also had broccoli. I made sure broccoli took up half of my plate to make sure that I didn't overdo the mac n cheese. I love that stuff.

Things are going good. Still hanging out at 211. (Up or down a pound.) I have hopes that I can hit 210 within a week or so........that would put me at my first 10 pounds down! I am excited!

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 9:22 pm

Thanks for the info on the sledgehammer and bean soup!

You sure are a chipper girl!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Wed Aug 24, 2011 2:03 pm

Lol, thanks NoSnacker. I like to be chipper.

Yesterday was a success.

I had Rice Chex and a banana for breakfast.....and my coffee.

Had a 50 minute walk with the doggie. I also did my shovelglove, it seems kinda hard this week, I am not too sure why but I will muscle through......get it? Muscle through? Eh, never mind.

Lunch was a turkey and cheese sandwich, a cup of soup and some yummy cheddar rice cake things. I love them.

I walked up and down two flights of stairs about a million times putting away all the laundry that I have been putting off this week. That wore me out in the afternoon, but it was more exercise so whoo hooo!!!

Dinner was pork chops and rice with green beans and a salad. I tried to fit it on a plate and it was all muddled together and was looking ridiculous. In related news, I ended up with lettuce in my rice which was weird, but it was alright.

Still staring down the barrel at 210. I am keeping my fingers crossed for this friday. I figure that soon the weight loss won't be quite so important to me, but man do I want to hit that first goal!! I am excited.

Then I can move onto my next goal!! I am sure I will be just as excited when I am closing in on 200, that will be a big deal too. The best part is that I can really see that it will be coming. Not necessarily fast, but I am going to DO this thing!!!

It may not be fast progress but the way I was eating before I wasn't making any progress.....in fact I was firmly in reverse, now Reinhard has me back in drive!! YAY!

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 9:37 am

Naebird wrote:Dinner was pork chops and rice with green beans and a salad. I tried to fit it on a plate and it was all muddled together and was looking ridiculous. In related news, I ended up with lettuce in my rice which was weird, but it was alright.

I think if you visual a place on your place for your salad you can put on a separate plate, as long as you leave the space on your original plate..I think Rienhard said that in his book...same as with fruit...this way you won't eat the mush

.

Just a thought..

Keeping my fingers crossed for Friday...you are doing awesome..

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 11:08 am

That is a good thought but I am so afraid that I might "fudge it" you know what I mean? I can just see myself saying, "Oh well, the salad can't possibly take up THAT much room." So I think I am overcompensating lol. Perhaps I should plate it and then move the lettuce to another plate. I am always suprised by how much bulk a handful of salad can take up.

So, I did good yesterday, another success.

Breakfast was oatmeal and I added some dried tropical fruit; bananas, mango, coconut, pineapple, ect. Then I drizzled a little bit of honey on it and it was SO freaking sweet I couldn't eat all of it. I don't know what the heck happened but I am blaming the pineapple! I didn't count it as a sweet because I knew I only added about a teaspoon of honey but eesh, that was too much with all the sweet fruits.

Lunch was a turkey sandwich, salad (which I am trying to eat up, cause I made a ton) and a cup of beef and barley soup.

Dinner was Little Caesar's pizza and salad.

I walked for an hour and I did my shovelglove. I managed to get a blister on my heel because I wore the wrong shoes so I am not sure if I am giving myself a walking break or if I am going to do multiple smaller walks in flip flops or what the heck to do today.

I am finally counting myself at 210! My scale showed 207.8 this morning which is well under. I am pretty sure I was holding onto some water weight lately due to girly issues, but I held strong and ignored the scale for a while.

So YAY! Ten pounds down since mid July!!

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 3:46 pm

Naebird wrote:So, I did good yesterday, another success.....

I am finally counting myself at 210! My scale showed 207.8 this morning which is well under. I am pretty sure I was holding onto some water weight lately due to girly issues, but I held strong and ignored the scale for a while.

So YAY! Ten pounds down since mid July!!

This is wonderful..and I'm now thinking of pizza for dinner after seeing what you ate for dinner..

Here's to another great day to you!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 12:59 pm

Thanks NoSnacker. I plan on finishing another week strong.

Yesterday was good, another success.

Breakfast was Cinnamon Life cereal with skim milk and coffee.

I did 11 minutes of shovelglove but yesterday was an exempt day for walking because I had to help my mom show that rental house we have been working on to potential renters and I was there from 8am-7pm. But that is perfectly fine, I have told myself I can have one day off from walking a week and this will only be my second day off for the entire month of August. (Plus I had that miserable blister to deal with, so I wanted to give my tootsies a break anyway.)

Lunch was at the local chinese buffet and I managed to make it out of there with one plate. I think I did great, I virtual plated enough space for a cup of egg drop soup and felt full. I beat the buffet!! How awesome is that?

Dinner was country fried steak, mashed potatoes and half a plate of california blend veggies. Hubby cooked so that was fabulous!

I am starting to really see the power of habits. It just feels right to eat this way now, and boy oh boy, I sure missed walking today. I saw other people walking while I was driving home and I SO wished I had enough time to get out there. Doggie was sad too.

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 7:05 pm

Naebird wrote:I am starting to really see the power of habits. It just feels right to eat this way now, and boy oh boy, I sure missed walking today. I saw other people walking while I was driving home and I SO wished I had enough time to get out there. Doggie was sad too.

Isn't it funny how our bodies come to love to get out there and walk. Do you need a new pair of sneakers?

I take Sunday off from exercising...they say to rest one day..tomorrow I'm meeting a spark friend and going for a walk...

Have a great friday eve!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Sat Aug 27, 2011 11:40 am

Nah, my sneakers are in good shape. My mistake was that I went for a walk in some penny loafers. They were good for about a twenty minute haul and they have nice arch support but when I kept walking for about an hour it was too much. Serves me right lol.

Yesterday was a success. I feel like I am hitting my stride with these new habits.

Breakfast was more Life cereal, which I love so much.

I had a half hour walk to drop off some books at the library in the morning.

Lunch was a chicken salad sandwich, some of those cheesy rice cake things and a few pickles, oh and a V8.

Dinner was a gyro sandwich and fried mushrooms from the local gyro shop. Hubby really likes that place and he had been on a business trip all week. It was yum......but I think they have changed their sauce which is disappointing. I am not sure I will continue ordering them with the new sauce. It is too tangy for me.

After dinner I took the doggie for another walk, about 20 minutes.

Oh, and I did my shovelglove again. Next week I am going to up it to 12 minutes.....I am going to get there eventually. After all of this I am actually looking forward to digging out the driveway this winter. How about that for sick? This place is starting to rot my brain.....in the best way!!

I hope this weekend isn't going to be too crazy. I have plans for French Toast this morning and have been batting around an idea for brownies.....but I have no kids here this weekend so I hate to bake a full thing of brownies when I would be the only one able to eat it. Maybe I will just wait till next weekend. It isn't an emergency or anything lol.

tobiasmom · Post by **tobiasmom** » Sat Aug 27, 2011 3:50 pm

You are soooo inspiring! You are doing awesome. You aren't depriving yourself, and you're working the plan! I love it! I'm gonna go find me some Naebird success next week!! ha.....

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Sat Aug 27, 2011 5:16 pm

Oh my goodness tobiasmom, you are making me blush!! Thank you so much!

So, here is an S-day update. I had my french toast, it was super yum. We had gotten some cinnamon apple bread at the brand new bakery in town. It has real chunks of apple in it and is SO good, so we made it into french toast. I had two pieces and was stuffed.

So lunch time rolls around and I was still not hungry. I finally broke and had a little something at about 1:30 so I wouldn't get too far off schedule.

After a little sandwich and some soup I am back to comfortably full. How in the world did I ever regularly eat seconds?!?!? I cant even imagine now. Just thinking about it makes me feel all bloated and crazy.

I love how Reinhard is all, "eat whatever you like just don't be an idiot." When the whole time he is sneakily training me to be unable to even THINK about seconds. Well played Reinhard. Well played.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Sat Aug 27, 2011 8:13 pm

Another update.

DH bought a coconut cream pie home from a specialty pie shop he passed on his way home from his business trip on thursday and he left me a slice for today.

I was slightly peckish this afternoon so I thought, "What the heck? I might as well have my piece of pie." So I go to get it and it looks too big. (And it was normal sized.) I decided to cut off a slice that was only about a half inch wide.

Oh my goodness! It was too sweet. I mean it was okay for pie but.....I just couldn't do it. I had about 3 or 4 bites and said, "Forget this, it isn't good enough for an S day."

And now my tummy is a little gurgly and unhappy. What is happening to me? I used to inhale every sweet in sight. Unbelievable to realize the power of habit.

r.jean · Post by **r.jean** » Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:16 pm

Good for you! You have learned that sweet treats can be small and will take care of the craving without overindulging!

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:12 am

Naebird wrote:Oh my goodness! It was too sweet. I mean it was okay for pie but.....I just couldn't do it. I had about 3 or 4 bites and said, "Forget this, it isn't good enough for an S day."

This is great...did you end up getting a treat that was good enough for your S day? That was really SWEET of your husband, no pun intended

.

Great success!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 12:55 pm

NoSnacker wrote: This is great...did you end up getting a treat that was good enough for your S day? That was really SWEET of your husband, no pun intended .

Great success!

No, I didn't unless you count the apple cinnamon french toast I had for breakfast. (Which I kinda do.) We went out to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner and although I looked at the dessert menu, when it came time to order I was just too full and it didn't look appetizing. Who is this new No-S person??

In related news, my hubby has announced out of the blue that he is going to start No-Sing as well. Frankly, I am going to mostly ignore this announcement and not get too excited. I don't want to drown his new idea in an overabundance of enthusiasm. He can do what he wants. I don't want to "help" too much. I imagine that would get annoying (for him) fast. So I am letting him do his thing lol.

I did ask if he wanted to see the website and he looked at me as if I had grown and extra head and he said, "No, why would I? It's No Snacks, No Sweets and No Seconds except on days that start with S right?"

I said, "Yep, you got it." (I was a little amazed that he had been paying that much attention lol.)

He says, "Seems pretty straightforward to me."

I said, "Yeah, but some people like a little more explanation. If you want to check it out just google it sometime."

This is what I call "the hands off but supportive approach." Silly husbands.

Who Me? · Post by **Who Me?** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 12:58 pm

I love hearing all this.

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 1:43 pm

Heh, sweets can really be TOO sweet sometimes. A friend brought some Twinkies into work from a US holiday a few months back, hoo boy I thought my teeth were going to fall out after one bite!

I think your approach to your hubby is the perfect one

My silly boyfriend refuses to try NoS, the concept of not snacking between meals fills him with horror lol. He doesn't need to lose weight though so as long as he's not a bad influence on me, he can eat what he likes

snapdragon · Post by **snapdragon** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:29 pm

Wanted to drop in and say hi!!!!! Sounds like you have had some great success, congratulations!!!!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:28 pm

Thanks snapdragon, I appreciate it!!

So the weekend overall went pretty well. I had a few more sweets sunday than saturday but I made sure to get plenty of walking in. I walked for 1 1/2 on saturday and 50 minutes on sunday.

Things are going good. My final semester of classes is starting next week so I may have some issues with scheduling and exercise ect. I know that my schedule is going to require some tweaking but I feel confident that my new habits will see me through.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:14 pm

Don't have much time today because of my classes but monday was a success.

Life cereal for breakfast. Check.

A slice of pizza and some chicken noodle soup for lunch. Check

Spaghetti for dinner. Check

Walked for an hour. Check.

Did 13 minutes of shovelglove. Check.

YAY!!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:40 am

Yesterday was good, but it was an exempt day because of my son's 11th birthday.

I had oatmeal for breakfast.

Lunch was a hummus wrap, a plum and some triscuits. (Which did NOT have enough staying power or....I ate it too early. Still working out the school schedule.)

Dinner was homemade potato soup, I had a bowl and a half......so there was my "seconds." Then I had a large piece of birthday cake, so there was my sweet. I tried to keep things sane. (If I can do something similar at Christmas I will be doing awesome.)

Got my walking in, but it was split into smaller sessions due to my classes. Oh and I did my shovelglove as well. Pretty good for an S-day.

tobiasmom · Post by **tobiasmom** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 12:19 pm

Sounds like a wonderful day! And happy birthday to your son! Can't imagine the day my little boy turns 11! I'm sure time flies!

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 2:22 pm

Oh, it goes by so fast! Just enjoy every moment. Last week I visited my Aunt and my cousin was in town. She has a 3 month old little fella and I just looked at my big kid in amazement. I can't believe he has grown so much from his little baby self.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Fri Sep 02, 2011 9:13 pm

Wednesday and thursday were great, both were successes. Today though I woke up with terrible back pain. I am assuming that my bed was attempting to kill me in my sleep or something. So I am out of exercise and Shovelglove for a while.

I went to see the regular doc and the chiropractor. I am on muscle relaxants anti-inflamatory drugs. Ick huh? Ah well, No-S is going pretty good since it kinda hurts to move my arms around to eat, I am not eating as much as normal. Not sure if that is good or not though.

Stupid back, stupid bed. *wanders off grumbling*

snapdragon · Post by **snapdragon** » Fri Sep 02, 2011 9:19 pm

Hope your back feels better!!!!!

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:19 am

Hi, I can hear ya about the back pain..I have an issue too, especially with my L5/S1..

This is what I found helped me a lot...

New sneakers, more often than not
New mattress
We now use recliners as it can take the pressure off the back when watching TV.

These 3 things seemed like a miracle to me..I could not believe it that over a couple weeks time I felt huge relief...don't get me wrong if I do something my body doesn't like I pay the price, but I seem to feel better a lot sooner.

Back pain stinks!

p.s. hence why i won't even try shovelglove...i know it would probably end up causing me pain.

Naebird · Post by **Naebird** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 12:49 pm

Well, I am feeling better today, but I am still moving pretty slow.

I really don't think it was the shovelglove, I did it at about 6am the morning before and felt perfectly fine all day, no pain, no anything. The chiropractor says it is in my neck (which I have had problems with on and off for about 10 years.) This happens to me a couple times a year and everytime I wake up with it like this.

The weird thing is that I woke up at 6 with no pain and decided to go back to sleep for a couple hours, by 7:45 I was completely gimp. Ah well, maybe it is the mattress or the pillow or something, who knows.