The Graceful Skinny

A homeschool mom of one sharing my thoughts, curriculum reviews, organization techniques, and planning ideas with others in the homeschool community.

Weekly Update: Getting back to the Swing of Things May 6, 2011

Filed under: Revalations along the way,Small Victories,The Weekly Check in — The Graceful Skinny @ 3:28 pm
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I have decided that I am going to flat out refuse to let this wall that I recently splat against take me down.  It may have taken most of a month and practically 10 pounds to do it but there you go.  I have already lost about 4.4 pounds since my doctor’s visit last week.

After realizing the amount of weight that I was starting to gain I went through a mired of emotions.  I will be honest here and admit that I came very close to letting myself succumb to the helplessness and dejected feelings. But then I started noticing that not only was I not helping myself, but I was re-gaining the weight and fast.  I realized that if I didn’t snap out of it soon I was going to be starting back at the beginning of this whole process all over again. I couldn’t let myself do that.

So I have decided that I am getting myself over this stupid wall even if it’s the last thing I do.  I am going to make this happen! And today, for the first time in month and a half I got in my 30 minute biking activity in on my Wii Fit.  I didn’t hit the same top mileage that I was hitting but today’s score was within the top 4, which is a bit better then what I set out to do for the day.  I knew it was going to be hard so when I started I set a goal to at least make sure my mileage made the top 15 scores.

Imagine my surprise though when I got halfway through my workout and realized that I had missed it. I finally get how people say they enjoy their workouts, because to be honest, I have never really understood that before now. I mean really, who actually finds themselves actually enjoying the all out exhaustion and sweaty grossness that you get from workouts? Well, much to my surprise, me apparently. There is something truly gratifying about taking things into your own hand and taking control over the mess that is your weight. There is a message that the work out speaks.  The workout acts like a microphone that announces to the world and yourself that you are going to refuse to stand down and let the fat and the pounds win. I not only can do this, I am doing this! I can lose this weight and it is going to come off.

So to all of you out there struggling or feeling defeated like me, join me in the rebellion! Don’t let this crap win. We CAN do this and we WILL do this! And in the end, we will feel so much better because of it!

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Weekly Update: Pollen: 3 – Me: 1 April 8, 2011

Filed under: Road Blocks,The Weekly Check in,Venting Frustrations — The Graceful Skinny @ 5:17 pm
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Rachael Lorenz, diet, blog, weight loss, pollen, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, PCOS, Hashimotos thyroidits, Asthma

Why hello there strangers!  I would like to take a moment to apologize for falling off the face of the earth for a few weeks.  Spring is rolling in fast and with it the evil of pollen has been giving me quiet the beating.  My asthma has flared horribly causing me to have to have nebulizer treatments and heavy steroids.  Not only are the steroids unpleasant by themselves but they always come with extra weight and enhanced hunger and food cravings.

I have sadly gotten slack in stepping on the scale like I am supposed to.  And I am finding out that the longer you put it off the easier it is to keep putting it off and the harder it becomes to make that step up on to the scale. By the time that I stepped up on it this morning it felt more like I was trying to step over a mountain then take a baby little step up on to a scale.

Step up I did though, and I am desperately trying to encourage myself with the fact that at least I am not ignoring the issue. I am trying to remind myself that I am almost done with the steroids and that the weight gain from taking them is just an unfortunate side effect of the medication that is helping me to breathe better.

That being said, I have gained 4.6 pounds in the last 2 weeks.  That by far is not a happy number. To say I am feeling a tad on the dejected side right now would be a bit of an understatement.  But at least I know that the worst is almost over pollen wise and I can recognize that I got that weight off once I can get it off again.  Maybe I needed this bit of wake up call to get my but back into gear.

So how have you been in my absence? Is anybody else getting kicked in the butt royally by this horrid pollen? If so, stay strong dear readers! We can fight it together!

 

Weekly Update:Glad to see Spring! March 18, 2011

Filed under: Small Victories,The Weekly Check in — The Graceful Skinny @ 2:59 pm
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So I’ll fess up now, I had a bit of a re-laps into laziness for a bit there. It was so bad I just completely brushed off my weekly updates. For that I am sorry. I think part of it was that I had a bit of a gain period and I hadn’t fully lost it last week. I don’t think I really wanted to face it. However I am proud do say that I was able to kick myself back into gear and I got a 30 minute workout done this week. Did pretty good to!

 

For those that don’t know, I use my Wii Fit to track my weight and to do my exercise. I like it because it keeps track of everything from your BMI (which is actually a bit more accurate then my Doctors office calculations), it also keeps track of my activity and how much time I spent actually moving.  It then calculates out how many calories you burned. It makes exercising feel less like a chore and more like a fun game. My favorite activity as of late is the 30 minute free ride biking one.  To move you step with your feet on the board just like you would when you are riding a bike.  You work the same muscles but from the comfort of inside your own home which takes away all weather based excuses to avoid the workout.  Not only that but it keeps score for you. It has become my challenge when I do it to do my best to match or beat my high score. This forces me to keep pushing myself and work myself harder and harder. I am also noticing that the more I do it the easier it is to go further. I almost always end with my legs like jelly and exhausted beyond belief but it amazes me that when I started out my high score was 4-5 miles. I was overjoyed when I finally hit seven miles. Now? Well I actually hit 11.4 miles this week.  And on that ride I was shooting for 10.6 miles.  Part of me wonders if I could actually pull that off on a real ride. It might be something I would have to try sometime.

 

Well I have to say that when I hopped onto the scale this morning I was not expecting much. It is a rare day indeed when I show any kind of loss the morning after Aunt Flo rolls in. It’s not uncommon at all for my weight to go stagnant throughout the period.  I was overjoyed and immensely proud of myself when I saw the numbers for the week. It just goes to show myself that if you actually get off your butt and do the work the results will come. (Don’t you just hate it when logic comes back to rub it in your face?)

 

So on to the results for this week:

 

  • This Week: 1.4 pounds down!!!
  • Total Weight Loss: 31.4 pounds down!!!

 

I am very much not ashamed to say that I did a bit of a happy dance around my living room when I saw that number.

 

So dear readers it’s your turn to update me! What is your favorite way to get in exercise? What do you do to kick your butt back into gear when the laziness attacks? How has your week gone?

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Weekly Update: Dancing through the Potholes on the Road of Life! February 25, 2011

Filed under: Road Blocks,Small Victories,The Weekly Check in — The Graceful Skinny @ 6:16 pm
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Well dear readers my week has been quiet interesting and busy. Due to my birthday on Monday I spent the weekend celebrating with Friends, family and loved ones.  I refused to deprive myself and even caved and brought a few special treats to munch on throughout the week.  I set my expectations low for the scale and relaxed and enjoyed myself knowing that this is a rare occurrence.

 

My birthday was wonderful! It was filled with my wonderful friends and family and some great food. The best part of it all was the beautiful sewing machine that my husband gave me! I have been wanting to learn to sew for the longest time.  He conspired with my friends and family and I now have everything that I need to learn to sew. I am almost done with my first project!

 

But alas, it wouldn’t be my life without a few trips to different doctor’s offices and yet another referral. I had my physical on Tuesday. It was probably a mistake to go in for a physical the day after my birthday but I wasn’t thinking about that when I scheduled my appointment.  So yet again I had all the fun of fasting and giving up 4 vials of blood to the Vampires to test. I was subjected to an EKG and a Breath Test due to my asthma. The EKG was good. The breath test however, came back with results showing I have the lungs of an 84 year old. It is possible that the test was not accurate however I am being referred to a pulmonologist just to be sure.  Oh yeah we also get to tack on yet another medication to help with the asthma.

 

My blood work came back with a mixed bag of results. It would appear that my TSH levels (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) are perfect. Both my general practitioner (GP) and my gynecologist were happy with those numbers. However, apparently my cholesterol levels are still high.

 

My GP wants me to consider medication for it, but my gut tells me strongly not to.  This gut feeling was re enforced when I went to the drug store to pick it up and the pharmacist explained some very likely complications this cholesterol medication would cause with my treatment plan for the PCOS.  Needless to say I have declined the option for this medication.

 

It just goes to show you that when it comes to your medical issues, you can’t just sit back and assume everyone else knows what they are doing 100% of the time. You can’t relax. You have to stay on top of things. Sometimes that might mean you have to get annoying, others it might mean that you have to get stubborn. But always falls back on you to fix the issues of the day.

 

Needless to say, I have been busy this week. Which is frustrating, because it means I haven’t had nearly as much time with my new sewing (to me) machine as I would have liked.  And while I could have easily have let all this negative news get me down I choose not to. I am choosing to focus on the good side of things.  But enough with that. You probably are just sitting there anxious to see the damage all that celebrating did right? I know that I was when I stepped on the scale this morning. It took me a moment to actually peak at the screen and see my numbers for the week.

 

Imagine my absolute shock and surprise when I actually did take a look at the numbers!

 

The Results for the week are:

 

  • This week: 1.1 POUNDS DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!
  • TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: 30.5 POUNDS DOWN!!!!!!!

 

 

In all honesty, I think that is the best birthday present I could ever give myself! And it goes to show that you can indeed have your cake and lose weight to! I can’t describe how great it feels to finally break through the 30 pound wall. And in just 4-5 pounds more I will officially be out of the obese category! How great is that!

 

So dear readers now is the time I hear from you! How has your week gone?  Anything exciting going on with you?

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Weekly Update: Aunt Flo takes a visit….. WILLINGLY! February 18, 2011

Filed under: The Weekly Check in — The Graceful Skinny @ 3:13 pm
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So I am slightly frustrated that I have yet again come so close to reaching my 30 pound mark one week just to yet again swing back the other way slightly. However, there are a lot of factors in play this week and for the most part I feel pretty good.

First of all I woke up Saturday morning to the arrival of Aunt Flo. While usually we women would groan about that for me it was a rather good sign.  The royal mess up of blood work from a few weeks back had my doctor’s office swearing that there was no chance for a period this month and said I might as well go forward with a 5 day round of Provera .  However my spidey senses were tingling and despite the nurse’s confident assurances that the 5 day delay in taking the blood had nothing to do with the resulting low numbers, I had a feeling that there was a strong possibility that they were wrong and that the pregnancy like symptoms I had been experiencing were just a very strong PMS reaction due to the fact that this was my first naturally induced period in over a year.  Needless to say my skepticism paid off and Aunt Flo arrived upon her own accord on Saturday.  Boy was it nice to see her arrive willingly!

So on top of the fact that I have been on my period (and have always shown a gain the weeks were that occurs), we also had Valentine’s Day.  And Lastly I have been rather busy this week running errands and doing chores getting ready for my Birthday Party tomorrow night. (My Actual Birthday is Monday.) And when I haven’t been doing chores I have been outside enjoying my wonderful Birthday weather!  So I haven’t been able to get my usual workout in.

So what were my numbers this week?

  • This Week: 0.2 pound Gain
  • Total Weight Loss: 29.6 pounds down

Overall, it’s not too bad all considering.  Especially considering that usually when I have a week of Period Gain the spike is a lot more significant than 0.2 pounds.  I almost don’t even count numbers that small as a  gain.  So this weekend is my Birthday celebrations, and because of that I am not expecting much next week on the scale.  But I did learn from Christmas. This year instead of going to Costco for large amounts of over-processed crap, I went to my favorite little sandwich place that does some catering and have placed my order to let them prepare everything. It turned out a bit cheaper and it will be significantly better quality and will taste miles better. I even get the added bonus of not having to bake everything and deal with a dirty kitchen with guests arriving. I get to just sit back relax and be the Birthday girl.  I have to say it’s a win all around.  Not to mention that this place is always great about proper portions so by just giving them my head count they helped to ensure just enough food. This makes me less likely to have portion control issues.  It also leaves me with fewer leftovers after everything is all said and done. And while some of you might not see this as a good thing, it actually is.

So readers, anybody else have exciting plans for the weekend?

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Weekly Update: Doing Better! February 11, 2011

Filed under: The Weekly Check in — The Graceful Skinny @ 7:28 pm
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So this week my stomach bug has finally started to pass! Thank the Lord above! I have had a pretty good week work out wise. I was able to remember to weigh in 3 out of the 5 days this week. Not perfect, but certainly better then what it has been lately. I even got in 2 separate workouts in.

 

So with all this progress comes some results. However I am a tad frustrated, even though I know I don’t have much reason to be.

 

So what are my results for the week?

 

  • This Week: 0.9 pounds down
  • Total Weight Loss: 29.6 pounds down!

 

 

Its remarkable progress I know, but part of me is disappointed I couldn’t get that last 0.4 pounds off to make this week’s totals a rounded total of 30 pounds.  I guess it just means I have to wait until next week to finally see that number.  I just hope that this new round of Provera I start tomorrow won’t mess me up yet again.

 

I almost feel as if the 30 pound mark is a bit elusive.  It has been dancing just outside my grasp since just before Christmas.  I am getting anxious to surpass that point in my journey.

 

Anyways that is how my week has gone! How have you been my dear readers? Has anybody else ha victories in getting back into the swing of things?

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Weekly Update: Where did my week go? February 5, 2011

Filed under: The Weekly Check in — The Graceful Skinny @ 4:53 pm
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First off I would like to apologize for being a day late for my weekly update. I had full intentions to get up yesterday and do my work out and weigh in and post my blog. Life however had other plans for me.  I ended up having to go back to the doctor’s office to redo some blood work because the lab that it gets sent to spilt my original vial. Once I got home my energy levels crashed and I completely forgot to write my blog post.

I still haven’t been all that active this week. That stomach bug from last week is still hanging around and making me feel off. It has been getting somewhat better though so here is hoping that I can at least stave it off long enough to do some major cleaning.  My husband and I have a goal to get at least the main rooms back into shape. Here is hoping that we can make that happen.

The results for the week:

  • This Week: 0.7 pounds down
  • Total: 28.7 pounds down!

The good news is even though this stomach bug has thrown off my healthy eating patterns I still have seemed to lose some weight this week.  So all in all I call this week a success! Not to shabby for a girl that can’t hold down all her meals.

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Weekly Update: I Got an Award! Oh yeah, and some kind of stomach bug! January 28, 2011

Filed under: Road Blocks,The Weekly Check in — The Graceful Skinny @ 4:44 pm
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So my week has consisted of waves of nausea that come and go hampering much productivity.  I haven’t had a chance to weigh in this week due to said nausea but will try to give it a go tomorrow and post it a day late.  But for now, I have just been a little green around the gills and that has just really set me off my game.

 

I do however want to take a second and thank TheBettyLife for the wonderful acknowledgement and award.  I will try to get a list of blogs to pass the award on to in the coming days.  For now though, I will leave you guys with wishes for a good weekend and the hopes that by next week I will be a little less friendly with Ralf the porcelain king.

 

My dear readers, what is it that you eat when your stomach misbehaves like this? Anybody have some healthy options that are easy to eat for a picky stomach?

 

Weekly Update: Kicking my own butt back into Gear! January 21, 2011

Filed under: Small Victories,The Weekly Check in — The Graceful Skinny @ 7:39 pm
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I am not sure what has happened to me over the past two weeks but after checking on a few of my regular blogs it would appear that I am certainly not alone. I have been feeling sluggish and lazy. I have been slacking when it comes to weighing in and getting in my exercise.

 

However, thanks to you wonderful readers waiting for my weekly update I was able to put my foot down and kicked my butt back into gear!

 

Over all I would have to say that this week has been quiet the success.  I finally got to meet my new mentor on Tuesday morning.  God is so good. She is the best!

 

To my amazement, sitting down with my new mentor has not only helped me work out my life spiritually in finding ways to get in my quiet times every day, but I have noticed a dramatic increase in my ability to focus and get things done throughout my whole day when I do remember to spend even just a minute or two in the morning in quiet time.

 

So not only have I been getting myself more organized but when I stepped on the scale today I got a pleasant surprise in the form of not only a weight loss but a weight loss great enough that I lost all that I had gained last week and then some. I am so back on track.  Look out 14s I’m not giving up on you yet!

 

So what was my weight like this week?

 

  • This Week: 4.4 pounds DOWN!!!
  • Total Weight Loss: 28 pounds down!

 

That’s right folks! It’s not quite a complete recovery from chaos caused by the change up in meds and Christmas festivities, but I am within a pound of getting there.  My goal for the coming week is to actually get my but to work out for at least 30 minutes at least twice this week.

 

I set out this morning to work out for 30 minutes and ended up working out for almost an hour! If I could only do that more often, I would be great! But as for today, I will revel in my small victories and use this as the much needed boost to push forward and continue to get back on track with my weight loss.

 

As for those who are also struggling to kick themselves into gear, what are you waiting for? Get to it! You can do it! And you will feel a lot better once you kick your butt into actually doing it as well.

 

Have a happy weekend!

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Weekly Uptdate: One Week down 51 more to go! January 7, 2011

Filed under: The Weekly Check in — The Graceful Skinny @ 5:14 pm
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Wow is it Friday already? Where did my week go?

 

Alright, so I have a confession to make. I have slacked horribly when it comes to doing my weigh ins and work outs. Today was my first day on the scale all week.  I have been busy and disorganized and drowning of a week of chores that went un-done last week in the name of “My vacation”.

 

The lesson learned here? It is SOOOOO not worth it to ignore the chores for a week.  It allowed a back up to happen of seismic proportions! This then lead to a spiral of not so great food choices. Add in a side of Provera and that’s how my week has gone.

 

All this said, getting organized and conquering the clutter and chaos leaves me with a since of accomplishment and victory.

 

Add in the fact that when I did drag myself onto the scale this morning I was pleasantly surprised to see the results.

 

  • This week: 0.4 pounds down!
  • Total Weight Loss: 27.2 pounds down!

 

 

Not bad for the week that I have had. I really can’t say that I can complain.  Over all I more than likely could have done better but overall it wasn’t a bad week.