Marie and Mindy's Biggest Loser space

I've had a sinus infection and bronchitis for almost a week now.  Needless to say, I haven't been doing much as far as exercise is concerned.  And since I haven't been headed to the gym with her, Mom hasn't really been going to the gym this week either.

 

Even with all of that though, Mom has maintained her weight, and I've lost several more pounds.  I could very well gain some of it back once I start eating normally again though.  I haven't been keeping track this week of what I've been eating, but I am sure that I have not been getting enough calories really.  That could account for quite a big portion of this loss.  We'll have to wait and see.

 

I'm hoping to be better enough to head back to the gym again by tomorrow.  I think I'm going to try to go, even if I don't manage to do too much.  I've got to get back in the habit, and the sooner the better.

 

More soon.

~Mindy

Well, Mom and I both met our initial goals by last week.  As of this week, we've both lost more than 10% of our overall long-term goal.  Not too shabby!  But we hadn't updated our goals to reflect something, so today we added a new goal each.  We intend to lose ten more pounds each by the end of March.  That gives us six weeks.  We may very well meet that goal before then, which would be great.  But we want to do it at least by that point.

 

Mom's still sick, so she isn't working out or really eating the way she normally does.  But she still managed to lose about 1/2 a pound this week.  Not too bad!  Especially considering that she lost 4 pounds last week.  This week, I've lost 4 pounds.  I'm feeling really good.  I've got so much more energy these days, and I'm really not finding it hard to stick to my plan anymore for the most part.  Do I have a cookie every now and then?  Sure I do.  But I make sure that I am not going over my calorie range when I do it.  That's the key.

 

I'm also working out more, and finding that I enjoy it.  It's not such a chore anymore.  I just wish that I could get to where I could work out for a much longer amount of time, or at a higher intensity.  Then I think I would really start to see a difference.

 

More soon!

~Mindy

Mom went back to the doctor today.  She's been fighting sinus stuff all week long, and it really escalated today.  The doctor said she's got an upper respiratory infection, a sinus infection, and she still has an infection in her kidneys.  Not a good combination.  When you combine all of that with her ongoing back pain, she is in really bad shape right now.  Needless to say, she hasn't been working out with me this week, and it doesn't look like she will be for at least several more days.

 

I've been trying to get my workouts in anyways though.  I haven't gone to the gym this week...instead, I've been doing some step aerobics in my living room while watching TV.  It's been a good change of pace for me, to do something other than just walking on the treadmill.

 

I'm planning to do some work on an elliptical trainer at the gym once Mom is feeling better and wants to go back.  I'll do some treadmill too.  But I think it is a good idea for me to add some variety to my workouts instead of just doing the same thing over and over again.  I don't want to get bored with my workouts and then just stop doing them all together.  I want to see results!

 

We'll weigh in again on Sunday morning.  Who knows what will happen with Mom's weight.  She could wind up losing quite a bit from lack of appetite, or she could gain some from not working out and not eating enough, or she could be about the same.  Only time will tell.  I have a feeling that I'm going to have a good week this week.  I just feel good, so I'm hoping that is an indication of what is going to happen.

 

More soon!

~Mindy

Yay!!!  I realized that yesterday, for the first time.  In fact, they are so loose that I can pull them up and down without unfastening them.  It has been a very, very long time since that has happened.  After I get home this evening, I'm going to see if I can get into some of the smaller clothes that I have, just for fun.  I've got so many clothes in my closet, from all different points in my life when I've been different sizes.  It'll be good to have to switch out the clothes that are too big.

 

~Mindy

So this week, Mom lost four pounds (!!!!!) and I lost another pound and a half.  Not too shabby.  Not at all.

 

I've managed to get to where I'm able to control my portion sizes really well, and I'm staying within my calorie range almost every day.  A couple of times I've gone a little over, mainly when eating out, but even then I haven't gone too far over.  So now, my new goal is to be sure that I'm eating the right things within that calorie range.

 

I think I mentioned before that I'm using sparkpeople.com to track my food intake each day.  I discovered this week that I could use it to track an awful lot more than just calories, fat, carbs, and protein.  It will track calcium, dietary fiber, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and just about anything else you want it to track.  So, I set it up to start tracking those things for me...and I discovered that I wasn't getting enough of most of those things in my diet.

 

In addition to making changes to the things that I eat, I'm also taking a multivitamin, a potassium supplement, and a combination of calcium, magnesium, and zinc.  Between those things, I'm now getting the recommended amounts of those things every day.  But I was still low on dietary fiber more often than not.  So, I've done a little research on where to get the dietary fiber from, and I'm starting to make some changes.

 

A lot of times, I'll make a pasta salad on the weekends and take it with me for my lunch during the week.  I am doing that again today, but I am using a multi-grain pasta that has 6 grams of dietary fiber per serving.  I'm also going to include some lentils in the pasta salad, for some added protein and fiber.  I've also bought some multi-grain tortillas, that I'll have for breakfast some days with turkey bacon or sausage and Egg Beaters, with low-fat cheese.  It's a low-fat, high-protein, high-fiber breakfast, and it's pretty easy!  Also, did you know that Yoplait makes a low calorie, fat free, high fiber yogurt?  It's called Fiber One, and each 4 oz. yogurt has 80 calories, 0 fat, 5 grams of dietary fiber, and 4 grams of protein.  I've bought those to take with me for snacks this week instead of the traditional Yoplait Light yogurts that I've been taking recently.

 

With these changes, in addition to the changes that I've already made, I think I'm taking the right steps towards becoming really, really healthy, not just towards losing weight.  Yes, losing weight is one goal...but it is only part of the process.  I want to change my life, not just how I look!  And now I'm going to be able to do it.  These are just small changes, but they are going to make a big difference.

 

More soon!

~Mindy