Don't Eat That

Yes, I know, I have the Your Shape game courtesy of Collective Bias and I’m suppose to show you what I do and not tell you but……let’s just leave it at seeing myself on that TV is bad, seeing it in video, oh my, not for the weak hearted, let’s just leave it at that.

I will tell you that I started last Monday when I had managed, somehow to regain all the weight I had lost.  I’m blaming that on all that pineapple ice cream at Disney.

But, here we are one week down, many many more to go and I used Jenny McCarthy’s Your Shape Challenge only three days last week.  Sorry, but I am down 4 pounds, who know, I ate a dozen donuts out of anxiety after I had the car accident on Wednesday but I don’t think I actually at anything else until late Friday night.

And now?  I could be doing my little sprint of exercises from the game while my five-year-old is gone and can’t sit and laugh at me (more like roll on the floor laughing) but instead, I’m starving because this not chewing of food is really getting to me.  Right now I’ve resulted to the bucket of chocolate ice cream I found in the freezer. 

And, it’s not like I get any encouragement here, my cousin just sent me a text message to tell me all about this great new restaurant.  Of course, he can chew!

Ok, one week, 4 pounds…I’ll take it!  Let’s hope SXW doesn’t induce lots of weight gain!  Normally when I do conferences I don’t gain weight but normally there’s not so much ice cream just hanging out on every corner!

With that!  I’m done!  Brave?  Absolutely not and I’ll show you guys later but for now….just be happy, mmmkay?

Remember about 8 weeks ago when I lost 15 pounds?  Well, apparently it was a fluke or a really bad stomach bug one.  I say that because after having TMJ surgery, I’ve slowly started to gain it back.  I haven’t had anything much to eat up until last week.  I was on a mandatory “no chew” diet. 

It was amazing the things I had managed to eat with actually chewing.  If you soak a taco salad long enough, and you take out things like big tomatoes, and the lettuce is shreaded enough, you can actual eat that.  I don’t recommend diving right in though when you’ve been eating yogurt and eggs mostly. 

And then I discovered that even though it was freezing cold outside, milkshakes were a lot better than yogurt and pureed fruit.  And so when I climbed on those scales this week, I was up to 210 again.  And, not only that, I ate some ham last week after the doctor told me I could start with some pasta and other soft foods.  That hurt my mouth really bad and I’m back to liquids. 

So, with that, I figure if I am in a situation with just liquids away, right here at New Year Resolution time, I might try a cleansing.  And, since I have already been involved with Genesis Today, I decided that their New Year’s Cleanse.  I’ve been drinking their juices and they have a program for cleansing that you can find on the New Year’s Cleanse.

That article will tell you why you cleanse, what the purpose of the cleanse is, who should take part in a cleanse and then it gives you the directions for proceeding with the cleanse.  As always if you have serious health problems you should consult your physician. 

I’m going to start on Monday since we haven’t actually celebrated Christmas with my mom yet.  We will do that tomorrow and then Saturday and Sunday will be a time to get the house back in order.  I will keep you updated. 

I’ve always said that I simply couldn’t make changes to my nutritional habits and that I would just have to exercise more.  And, as I was able to get more involved in the EASports and do some of the more active exercises (games really), I was expecting to see a larger weight loss.  And, I did..kind of.

I dropped down to 205 and that was two weeks ago today.  I had jaw surgery on Thursday of that week and by Monday, I had gained up to 213.  UH?  No, I wasn’t exercising at all, I was barely moving around I was in so much pain, but I was not eating anything to amount to much.  I am on a no chewing diet for 6 weeks (5 more if you are counting). 

But, again, there’s no way I’m getting moving like I had just started to on my EASports just yet.  I am in a bit of pain still and the thought of any hard landings on the floor makes me shutter.  But, I’m telling you, I’m eating nothing.

And, so, back to the title, I have always had poor nutritional habits.  I grew up on Burger King and honestly, that’s how we eat now too for the most part.  And, I couldn’t imagine changing that.  And, I had made no efforts at all to change them, I was merely exercising.  And, I was getting results. 

Of course, everyone tried to make me feel better by telling me that I had only gained the weight back because of the swelling and such.  And, as big and chipmunk as my jaws look and as much as I’d like to think it was “just swelling”, I think it was more like…..something that can’t be explained.

Either way, for the last 10 days, (really more because the 3 days before I had surgery, I had severe gastritis), I have had jello, pudding, and yogurt.  I’ve had chicken noodle soup twice but I’ve been content to eat this low-fat yogurt which is a total surprise.  Tell anyone I know and they would tell you that “Jerri Ann does not eat that kind of food”.  And, it wouldn’t be a matter of disrespect for my size, it’s just that people who know me, know that I am a very picky eater. 

Low-fat yogurt?  Never

Jello?  Once a year

Pudding?  Twice a year

Chicken Noodle Soup? Once every two years or more

But, when you have the surgery I had and you had the pain prior to the surgery and the pain afterwards, you will do exactly what you are advised by your doctor to do………..because, you certainly do not want to ruin a good thing……

And, with that, today, I weighed 208.  That’s back down five pounds…..but here’s your warning..my Grammy makes the best Fried Apple Pies in the land and I will be getting some at Thanksgiving and freezing them until I can eat….sorry, everyone has their vices.

I promised myself (and you the readers too for that matter) when I started this that it wouldn’t be another “diet blog”.  I didn’t want it to be another “exercise blog” or “whiney blog” or “obsessive eating of 2 dozen donuts blog” either.  But, for the most part, that’s what I’m about to tell you…

1.  It’s Monday, I weighed in down a total of 20 pounds again.  I have a stomach virus and just for giggles I weighed again tonight….I gained 2 pounds…amazing eh?  I was just being silly, no need to remind me that those 14 gallons of Gatorade actually weigh something.

2.  I have seen very little activity in the last week.  Last Week was a miserable week with the TMJ and on Wednesday I had steroid injections in each jaw.  I had to be sedated for this, but I still have the bruise on my cheek to prove it.

3.  I was miserable with that TMJ thing, the miserable from the steroids and then Saturday evening the stomach thing started.  No kidding…whiney blog, sorry.

4.  Last week was crazy and we went out to eat two nights with my in-laws who were visiting and we just…we just didn’t well ok?

So, with that, here we go….if I break 200, as in below not above this time…we re having a party…oh party, I forgot that 2 dozen donuts thing didn’t I? 

Well, first of all, who in their right mind puts a dental office across the road from a Krsipy Kreme donut shop knowing full well that I have no restraint when it comes to these things.  So, while half-sedated and instructing my mother on driving, I lead her to KK where we get 2 dozen donuts plus 1 for the kiddo.  And, I hate a dozen of them on the way home.  Honest.  the whole dozen.  The best I have it figured, my mom had 2, my husband had 1, my oldest had 1, my youngest had 2 so that’s 6 out of 25 that went somewhere besides my belly and that is 6 too many when we are talking about Krispy Kreme…I am so not kidding…

I’m writing this post a day earlier than normal.  I have a couple of reasons why, one being I am going to be extraordinarily busy tomorrow and I have some awesome news. 

I am currently down a total of 16 pounds.  I am still doing static exercises and if you think I’ve lost my mind and that I should just get over it already and do more exercises, you have to know that the bone graft area hasn’t healed an I’ve already fallen once when putting all of my weight on that food while stepping off my porch.  I have to have more strength in the ankle. 

The other reason that I’m writing this today…..is…I’m treating myself to a piece of apple pie.  And, when I say a piece, I honestly mean a tiny minute piece.  This little piece of pie is probably nt even 1/4 of the size I would normally eat.  But, I bought it pre-made and I”m assuming that the folks that marketed it had ever intention of me eating only one serving of it. 

So, as of October 11, 2009, I am down a rockin’ total of 16 pounds….but next week…..let’s just hope the apple pie doesn’t show up….

And, no one even noticed. Not one person has noticed. I finally asked my husband today and he said that I wear my clothes too baggy for him to notice….whatever!

Ok, so, for the first time since this blog went up and I took the challenge of getting some weight off of me, I’m here to tell you that, I have lost one pound.  No kidding. 

If you remember when we last looked in, I was going up 7, down 9, up 10, down 10, up9, down 8 and so forth. But, this is indeed the second week in a row that I have managed to see a lower number on the scales and not a higher one.

Now, I’m don’t think anyone can tell it.  I mean, I’m still wearing my maternity pants and some other pants that I’ve worn for a couple of years but they are baggy.  A small army could move in the backside of most of them.  But, no clothes purchases until I see if I can make something happen.

Two more weeks for rehab and strength building and then, EASports, here I come!

So, I know I’m late with this post, and probably had I been here to bear bad news, I would have just forgot about it entirely.  However, the good news is kind of an odd bit though. 

When we last saw “the scales”, I was up 7 pounds.  Yesterday, down 9 pounds.  Now obviously at this rate, I should start to slim down albeit extremely slowly if I am going to gain 7 and lose 9, gain 7 and lose 9.  However, this does put me below where I’ve been in about 3 years.

I’m not sure if you guys realize that when you eat like I do (as I shove another chocolate covered cashew in my mouth because I am a nervous wreck about an event tomorrow), losing weight is no easy task.  And, regardless, exercise is the answer.  However, I have yet to be released from the Ortho and so I am stuck…..doing static exercises and trying to build up the strength in my foot.

And really, static exercises rank right up there with watching glue dry – worse than even watching paint dry…

Hopefully, soon, and I do mean soon, I can say that I am ready to kick the EASports ladies butt.  That chick, she just mocks me and my static exercises.  I have tried the volleyball and boxing again from my chair which I know sounds ridiculous but I try to bend and reach to my sides as much as possible when I do this.

The down side to that is I tend to put my legs in a constant state of contraction and I end up with an aching leg (from the break and subsequent surgery) for a day or two.  But, it’s better than watching glue dry. 

Check this out on Dr. Andy Baldwin and his ride across Pennsylvania. 

Ok, as you know, I lasted indicated to you that I was down 2 or 3 pounds as I began my journey.  And, as I weighted this morning, I was tempted to cry.  I am back to that 215 mark and not happy about it.  Here’s what’s been happeing though, just for the record…

• I ran out of thyroid medication on Friday and forgot to get it filled and since my husband and I both are battling the flu, I didn’t get it today.  That alone could cause an increase in 2 pounds just because my face is severely swollen as are my hands and feet. 
• My foot still hurts quite a bit so I am still using the exercises on my EASports Active that are static.  I’m dying to try my hand at volleyball but my one session about mid-week last week left me with a really achy foot.  So, I vowed to go back to the actual physical therapy and static exercises to build strength
• I have found that habits are easily formed and not easily broken.  Basically, I have always been a midnight snacker, and luckily for me I have become addicted to carrots and Light Ranch Dressing as opposed to chocolate covered donuts. 
• I actually managed to return to drinking more soda than water last week as I was out and about at my son’s school and it was easier to just grab a soda.  And, with this little flu bug bothering us, we ran out of the kind of water we prefer (I know, we could drink the water from the faucet but it is really disgusting and chlorinated heavily). 

So, I attempt to keep doing the physical therapy on my foot doing the static exercises and return to drinking water more than soda.

That’s it in a nutshell…

I’ve mentioned this before but I’m going to “mention” it again.  I was diagnosed with diabetes and a thyroid condition in October or November of 2007.  Since that time, I have weighed as much as 224 and as low as 215.  I’ve gained and lost that same 9 pounds about 10 times.  And, then, in January, I broke my leg…and I was in a cast…until about 3 weeks ago.  I was in a brace until last week. 

Being bound to a chair with orders to stay off of your feet makes it pretty ridiculous to think about exercise and I am really crummy about my eating habits.  However, as of late, I have started keeping carrots and plums, nectarines and the like in the house instead of chips and chocolate. 

So, I was released last week as far as walking on my bum leg without any support goes.  However, I had twisted the other one several times trying to compensate I think.  Anyway, I spent the better part of Saturday and Sunday working in my house, shoes on (we are a remove your shoes at the door kind of family).  And, today, today I started my physical therapy for the foot.

And, since I have a degree in physical education and it would be a 90 mile one way drive for me to go the doctor for PT, I’m doing it myself and I’m using my bands and EASports Wii 30 Day Challenge to do it with. 

Yes, the Wii 30 Day Challenge has tons of “games” you can play. Sports of all kinds.  But, I am hardly ready for that.  But, what you might not know is there is a section on really static strengthening exercises as well.  And, it’s pretty obvious that my left ankle (the one that I recently had surgery on) is weak.  Earlier this morning while leaving Wal-mart and twisted it again, just a mild twist but it is definitely sore.  So, yes, strength and range of motion right now are big. 

The other ankle is not really swollen anymore but it is sore so definitely the strengthening and range of motion will be helpful there as well.  That said, I kicked my butt in gear, broke out the bands and got started this morning. 

I decided to take a starting weight before I began this morning (and I am glad I did) and I am starting the PT and subsequent 30 Day Challenge at 213.  To you, that might not be a big deal, 213 is a lot of weight to carry around.  But, considering that during the time I have been in a cast is when my weight soared to 224. 

So, let the games began…will you join me?