The Friday Report

This morning I cried.

Today when I got on the scale I hit a major milestone.  Today I weigh 339.6 lbs.  That's officially 50 lbs less than I weighed when I started this journey.  I guess knowing that I've come so far was just a bit overwhelming.  I've come such a very long way in the ten weeks since I changed my diet.  I've learned so much and I know that I've made changes that I'll be able to stick with for the rest of my life.

From the beginning I've known that this was something I had to do to get healthy and be the best me that I could possibly be.  I didn't have a choice this time.  It was either lose weight or face the possibly fatal circumstances.  Well I'm doing it and I feel so much better already. 

Now I just had to figure out and maintain an exercise regimen. :\ 

The Monthly Report

Usually, I look forward to October; my birthday and getting to dress up in some ridiculous costume at Halloween are definite highlights.  This year October was pretty sucky.  Loss and loneliness were common themes. 

There were some high points though, namely my weekly weigh ins.  Every Friday when I got on the scale this month, I saw a smaller number than I saw the week before, so October wasn't a total loss. 

Be sure to check out my new stats on my Weigh In page. 

The Friday Report

352.8

What makes that number important enough to make it the first thing you see in this post?  That's the number I saw when I got on the scale this morning.  I thought for a second I was seeing things.  But I'm not second guessing and I'm not double checking.  I actually lost 10.8 lbs this week.  That brings my total weight loss for the month of October to 15 lbs.  I'm totally and completely flabbergasted. 

I really think I've gotten a handle on my nutrition but I'm still working on my exercise regimen.  This is a process and I will figure it out eventually.  In the meantime, I'm seeing the results of my diligence on the scale and the fact that I'm able to get into some of my smaller sized clothes.  It may be time to retire the size 26s.    

Just last week I set my first goal weight - 325 lb by January 1.  I anticipated losing about 3 lbs a week for the last 12 weeks of the year.  We'll see how next week goes, but I may need to rethink my goal.

The Friday Report - Holly's Hope

The last week and a half has been a case of crazy ups and downs.  First I did my first month's weigh-in and could not have been happier.  In Month 1, I lost 16.6 lbs and 16.75 inches.  Proving to myself that I can do this.  It was such an awesome feeling.

Then I got the terrible news that my dear friend Holly was about to lose her hard fought battle with metastic melanoma.  I'll forever be grateful that I was able to see her that one last time and tell her that I loved her.

Then?  My birthday.  So many wonderful birthday wishes but I wasn't exactly in the mood for celebrating.

Friday was a constant roller coaster.  My weekly weigh in, some bad news at work and then Holly's Memorial.  The good news, I lost another 4.2 lbs.  I guess stress worked to my advantage this week.  Work is just something I'll have to deal with. 

Holly's Memorial was a true celebration of the wonderful person she was.  I was honored to be asked to speak.  We laughed, we cried, we felt a little closer to her.

One of the things that was asked of us was to share Holly's Hope.  To "Keep it Alive - Inform 5".  Well today, I'm informing.

Most Americans are unaware of the seriousness of melanoma.

If not caught early, melanoma is known to be the most deadly of all skin cancers.

Melanoma can be successfully removed and monitored by regular skin screenings in its early stages.

However, the disease is deadly in its most advanced stages as few melanoma treatment options exist.

The median lifespan for patients with advanced melanoma is less than one year.

The statistics around melanoma are astounding:

• One-in-50 Americans has a lifetime risk of developing melanoma.
• In 2009 nearly 63,000 were diagnosed with melanoma in the United States, resulting in approximately 8,650 deaths.
• The projected numbers for 2010 were even higher with 68,130 diagnosis and 8,700 deaths.

This means that every eight minutes, someone in the United States will be given a melanoma diagnosis and that every hour someone will die from the disease.  

Melanoma is the fastest growing cancer in the United States and worldwide.

• The American Cancer Society estimates that the risk of developing invasive melanoma in the United States is 1 in 41 and 1 in 61 for men and women, respectfully.
• The incidence of people under 30 developing melanoma is increasing faster than any other demographic group, soaring by 50 percent in young women since 1980.
• Melanoma primarily affects individuals in the prime years of life and is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common cancer in adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old.
• Although melanoma is most common in Caucasians, melanoma can strike men and women of all ages, all races and all skin types. The mean age for diagnosis of melanoma is 50, while for many other cancers it is 65-70 years old.

I'm hoping you'll take the time to find out more about melanoma and maybe you'll be moved to support research to end this horrible disease.  If you are, you can donate to Holly's Fundraising Page for the Melanoma Research Foundation.

The Friday Report

I know it's Sunday but hey, I'm a slacker.  I admit it.

Anyway.  I started out working my butt off with @Fit__Chick.  I don't remember the last time I sweat so much.  What made it even better is my friend Kecia decided to join me in the torture.  I didn't have to suffer alone. 

I followed Sunday's workout with water aerobics on Monday.  Who knew you could sweat in the pool?  The instructor was awesome and took the time to work with me one on one throughout the workout.  I'll definitely be making this part of my weekly routine.

The first week of this journey, I didn't work out.  The second week, I did Fit Chicks.  The third week, Fit Chicks and water aerobics.  Are we seeing a pattern here?  This week I plan to work on my goal of doing some type of physical activity at least three times a week.  Once I've established and maintained that routine for a while, we'll see about working in a few more days a week.

My nutrition plan of 1600 calories a day seems to be working for me.  I think my body is still getting used to existing on fewer calories so it seems like I'm constantly hungry.  But, I've armed myself with healthy snacks and lots of water to be able to make it through my day.  I'm also enjoying playing with my food; finding recipes that let me have all of my favorite foods and stay within my calorie goals is so much fun.

As a step to keep me from constantly weighing myself, I've left my scale at the office and the only time it comes out from under my desk is Friday morning for my weekly weigh in.  Well this Friday, my scale was very good to me.  I lost 8.4 lbs this week.  That brings my weight loss since the first of the month to 14.2 lbs and my total weight loss since the end of June to 19.8 lbs.  That's almost 20 lbs people.  Woohoo!!!!!  I can't wait till next week's weigh in when I'll check my measurements for the first time.