I kept getting worse, then a little better, then worse again. The doctor said I had a virus that turned into a sinus infection and pneumonia. My breathing got pretty bad so now I’m on an inhaler, along with antibiotics and cough medicine with codeine but I am still feeling pretty rough.My eating has devolved into whatever I can lay hands on that is easiest. I don’t have the energy to go shopping or do much cooking (just throwing stuff from the freezer into the crock pot.) One night we literally had frozen meatballs and a jar of pasta sauce cooked in the crock pot, with melted cheese on top. The kids have been eating sandwiches and I ordered (and ate) pizza one night. I …

I am not doing so hot lately. My eating is in a pit right now. I am kind of appalled at the stuff I have been eating when I should be focused on the best possible nutrition to get myself better from this illness. But the fact is, I am eating worse (nutrition-wise) now that I was when I got sick… even worse than I have since last summer. This week when I didn’t get better (and just got worse) my eating plummeted to the depths of junky comfort. I’m not proud of it, but I don’t know how to fix it, either. Sure, I know logically “how,” but that’s quite different from having the strength to do it. I mean, I spent *months* letting …

Wow, it’s been a week since I last posted. I feel like I’ve lost a month of my life with this sickness: lots of sleeping, laying around coughing, and being groggy from medicine. This morning I finally woke up in a state I can definitely call improved. It’s a good thing because this has gone on long enough. Still coughing and using the inhaler, but I’m having longer stretches without coughing so hard I lose my breath, choke or vomit. That’s good right? I’m still very tired… going to bed at 8, which was unheard of before this illness.Anyway, after my last post I did manage to escape the Burger King draw and lay off the Starbucks and other convenience foods. I have no appetite for vegetables …

I feel like my brain turned back on today! Wow, I feel better. More like I have a bad cold (still coughing, tired) but the lung stuff does seem to be finally resolving. I weighed this morning, 232, so I have a few pounds to get back off over the coming weeks. I’m eating better already and put myself on the exercise bike for 5 minutes this morning. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you’ve been barely moving for a month it is a good start. It felt good to get the blood moving again and I’ll take a walk later today (I did get a short walk in yesterday as well).I was watching Extreme Weight Loss last night (Jason and Rachel) and I was struck by …

Happy Easter weekend! I am happy to report that I am all better, cough is finally gone, and I feel back to normal. It’s been a good week, emotionally, but I have to say it has been hard to get back to the mindset I had before I got sick (eating-wise). While I was sick I craved carbs and had no appetite for healthier foods (except soup); seems my ‘comfort foods’ when sick include things like grilled cheese sandwiches, toast, crackers, banana bread, muffins, and sugary stuff like cereal and ice cream and pudding. I’ve allowed myself all of those things over the fall and winter and still was able to lose weight (slowly) but that’s because those foods were a very small percentage of my …

I am really having a hard time getting it back together. Just waiting/trying to eat the way I ate before is not working for me. I wasn’t having cravings before… they were basically nonexistent so I *could* eat whatever I wanted, because I didn’t want things that strongly or that often. My portions have definitely gone up since I got sick and it has been harder to cut them back down. Before, if I wanted a sandwich, I’d make half of a sandwich and eat 3/4 of it and that was enough. Or if I wanted pasta I could have a few bites and that would be enough. Now when I want a sandwich it’s a whole sandwich to feel satisfied, or a bowl of pasta to …

Today is the first day I broke out my Fitbit One and put it on. Technically I got it out yesterday, charged it and slept with it on to track my sleep. I plan to wear it all the way through April to see if it helps me stay motivated to move more. I’ve been so sedentary since I got sick over a month ago and I want to push myself to move more! I already took one of my dogs out for a long walk this morning with a friend, and I’m going to take another walk later.I’m also using low carb protein shakes as breakfast for a bit while I come off the sugar. I really ate too much candy last week and it’s …

I was looking over my 2016 posts and weights and suddenly realized a whole quarter of the year has gone by. And in that 3 months, what have I accomplished? Well, basically I maintained, while eating what I wanted and not moving a whole lot. I started the year at 229 pounds, and today I weigh 230. A pound gain. I think my lowest weight of the quarter was 228 pounds.I am setting goals for the month of April, and then on May 1 I will update whether I met those goals or not.1. Wear my Fitbit all month, tracking my activity. Yesterday I got 7501 steps, so I will try to average more than that per day over the course of the month.2. Ride my bike every day. Minimum of 5 minutes, every …

Setting my new goals for the month of April has really helped me focus on what I can do each day to reach those goals. Sure, it’s only been two days since I set the goals, but I feel so confident and energized about life, not overwhelmed and sad like I felt many times over the past few years. Today I feel that all of my goals are within reach… and it is not at all overwhelming (to think of losing 50-60 pounds) because my focus is narrowed: goals for one month, steps for one day. It is so important to take concrete steps every day toward our goals.What I have done today to meet my goals:Got on the bike first thing this morning. Made it …

This is the first week that I’ve set and followed some concrete goals regarding my fitness and weight loss… trying to get to a place of better health and more energy. Today I have some mixed feelings about the whole thing. They’re familiar feelings though; I have had them every time I made a concentrated effort to *do* something about my weight but haven’t gotten the results I want, quickly enough. It’s a mindset of “I am putting in this effort, and I deserve X result!” And it has never done me any good to think that way in the past. But it’s there, just starting to bubble up (already! Less than a week in!) so I want to put it out in the open …

After my post the other day I had to really force myself to keep staying active and trying to eat low carb. But I said to myself… Self, either lose the weight or stop it and go eat what you want and deal with the consequences. You’re an adult. Make your choices.Today my Facebook page on my phone showed me a picture of new Oreo Toaster Strudels. When I saw it, I just sat there and stared, longing filling my soul. I could just go buy a box of those, I have to have it. I can just eat one. Or I can eat as many as I want and try to do better tomorrow. I kind of hit a crossroads, because I felt like I …

I’m feeling good… so much better with the lower level of carbs and less sugar. I think since going off gluten my carb level just gradually crept up over the past few months. It’s so much easier to grab a sandwich for lunch when you aren’t eating gluten free. I am switching back to the just-as-satisfying bread-free sandwiches (aka lettuce wraps full of delicious sandwich fillings) and making other small substitutions, like today’s lunch of smoked salmon, light cream cheese, and green olives… no crackers necessary. Tonight’s dinner is already prepped and waiting in the fridge: I made a veggie lasagna by layering cooked spaghetti squash, mushrooms, pasta sauce, turkey sausage crumbles, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese in a dish to bake. The inspiration for …