Curves + DietBet Goals

I was sad when I had to cancel my Curves membership. Even though I don't go often, I love the atmosphere and the people. I canceled two weeks ago, but still hadn't received a phone call from the new owner Melissa saying my membership had been officially canceled. I called on Thursday and was told that Melissa would be working yesterday morning and I should call to talk to her. I did and asked if my membership had been canceled. Melissa said she had put my account on hold, but she wanted to speak to me before she completely canceled it. She asked why I was putting it on hold. I said I didn't have any spare money and had to cancel everything that I could. She asked if I felt like there was a light at the end of the tunnel... if I thought that sometime within the next six months or year, if I feel like I'd want to rejoin Curves. I said that I was currently trying to fix my financial situation by looking for additional work and paying off my bills how I could... that I really do love Curves, the atmosphere, and the people and I would love to be able to come back when I'm financially able. She said that she would keep my account open, but put it on hold indefinitely. She is going to call me once every couple of months to see where I stand. If I get back on my feet and want to become active again, all I have to do is call her and let her know and she'll open my account back up. This month's payment was not taken out of my account which is good to know. I'm relieved. She also asked what kind of work I'm in and said she'll keep an eye out for job openings which is pretty amazing and nice of her...

So, I need to set some goals for my DietBet. Let's see...

Exercise:

• Complete Level One of the 30 Day Shred at least three times each week.
• Walk on my treadmill at least three times each week.
• Wear FitBit tracker each day.

Diet:

• Drink at least 64 ounces of water each day.
• Stay within 1200 to 1500 calorie range each day.
• Eat more healthy, fresh foods and stay away from fast food.

Don't forget!!! My DietBet starts tomorrow. Right now we have four participants and the pot is at $100. It would be more awesome if even more people joined, so feel free! Thanks!

DietBet + Doctor Appointment

Have you all heard about DietBet? It's this website where you bid a certain amount of money and bet that you can lose 4% of your body weight in four weeks. If you lose 4% you split the pot with the other people who successfully complete the bet. If you don't lose 4% your money is split by the participants who did... The bets are ran by people who have to verify your weight is correct so it's hard to cheat... I've never participated in a DietBet, but my friend Brenda has and she's rocking her weight loss. I started a DietBet competition that starts on Sunday (meaning weigh ins are tomorrow and Saturday). Right now there are only three of us competing. You all should check it out and join. The more participants, the better the competition!

I went to the doctor last week for my annual gynecological appointment. Fun times. The good news: I get to start weaning myself off my Prozac. This is amazing. I will start doing it beginning July 1st. Basically instead of taking one pill a night, I will take it every other night for two to three weeks. And then I will take it every third night for a couple of weeks. By that time, I should be weaned off of it.

She also suggested that I start taking prenatal vitamins. I told her that once I'm off the Prozac, we're not going to TRY to get pregnant, but we're also not going to prevent it. I guess she's hoping I get pregnant sooner rather than later. Haha...

I talked to her about seeing a nutritionist and she referred me to the Weight Management Program at the hospital. Your first visit is free and then from there they determine whether to set you up with a personalized nutritionist or not... I emailed to ask about it and they can't get me in until July 15th, but I do have an appointment which is exciting.

I need to tackle a plan so I don't lose my DietBet, but I'm out of time today. I suppose I'll try tomorrow!

Nutritionist

I've been needing to schedule my yearly gynecological appointment for a while now. I usually have it in March or April, and here it is June, and I still haven't had it. This is mostly because I don't want to see my doctor. I don't want to go in there not weighing less than I did last time. I hate to see her disapproving look... especially since I was so sure that my problem was the compulsive overeating. I no longer compulsively overeat, but I still overeat and I still eat very, very unhealthily.

A girl I used to work with sent me a message on Facebook about a week ago saying that I should look into seeing a nutritionist...  She's seeing one and it's really helping her out with her weight loss. I can't afford anything like that because I am so poor right now... like canceling my Curves membership and some of my cable poor. So, I decided to email my health insurance and see what they said about seeing a nutritionist. This is their response:

Thank you for your online inquiry. In regards to seeing a nutritionist, individual nutritional counseling is covered up to 3 visits (1 date of service per visit) for certain diagnosis such as obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or heart conditions. The provider has to bill with the appropriate CPT and diagnosis codes. You would also want to utilize an in-network physician. You would want to use one through the [my local hospital]. No referral is required and there is no copayment, just coverage of 100% with approved diagnosis.  

I am definitely obese as my BMI is currently 36 and obesity is considered a BMI of 30 or greater. I would need to get down to 191 before I am no longer considered obese. I also have hypertension (high blood pressure). I guess I'm doubly qualified for 100% coverage on nutritionist visits. Now, my insurance doesn't need a referral, but the only way the nutritionists at my hospital will see you is if you have a doctor's referral... My ex-coworker (who works at the hospital) told me this...

I am going to bite the bullet and get yelled at for not losing weight. I scheduled an appointment for Friday. I'm going to have my gynecological exam, a skin screening (checking for cancerous-looking moles), and talk to her about getting a referral to see a nutritionist at the hospital. The good news is because of my pap smear and skin screening, I will get $250 back from my Colonial Life plan just for having the procedures done. This is way, way exciting because I am totally and unbearably broke right now

After thinking about it all weekend, I thought that it wouldn't help me if Matt isn't on board. He buys the groceries. He's set in his ways. So yesterday I asked him if he would be game in eating healthier if I learn how by meeting with the nutritionist. He said yes which makes me very happy. We eat like crap and we're both overweight... me moreso than him, but still. I'm excited for the possibilities. :)

Slim Fast: Day Two

DAY TWO:
MONDAY
(06/10/13)

Starting Weight: 229.6

Day 2 Weight: 227.8

Daily Change: -1.8

Total Change: -1.8

Breakfast (8:30 am):
~ Slim Fast - 3-2-1 Plan Strawberries N' Cream Shake (180)
Morning Snack (10:15 am):
~ Dannon Light & Fit Blueberry Acai nonfat yogurt (80)
~ Breakstone's Cottage Doubles with Pineapple (100)
Lunch (12:30 pm):
~ Slim Fast - 3-2-1 Plan Rich Chocolate Royale Shake (190)
Afternoon Snack (2:45 pm):
~ Frigo Cheese Heads Superstring Natural String Cheese (70)
~ Mandarin Oranges In Light Syrup, 1/2 cup (90)
~ Mott's Healthy Harvest - No Sugar Added Summer Strawberry, 1/2 cup (50)
Dinner: (5:15 pm):
~ big salad with ham, bacon bits, shredded cheese, croutons, and dressing (440)
~ Big Hawaiian dinner roll with light butter (165)
Dessert (7:00 pm):
~ Big Fudge Bar (90)
Total Calories: 1455 (Range: 1260 to 1520 calories)

Source

I feel like today went a lot better than yesterday. I really like the Chocolate Royale flavor of shakes. I only got the two flavors for the first week. I used Matt's money or I would have spent a little more and gotten the high protein one. It has less sugar and twice the protein. They had it in... I think Creamy Chocolate flavor, but that's it. I think I'll get those for next regardless because I'm sure the added protein will greatly help with my hunger. I was only hungry a couple of times today... Around 4 pm, I got a pretty severe headache. A few minutes before, I went to use the bathroom and, while I was washing my hands, I had one of those burps where acid comes up your throat. Ugh. After that, I had a headache and was slightly nauseous. I think the nausea was definitely just from the weird burping/half vomiting things. I had my fudge bar and my headache subsided. It was almost a migraine. I'm thinking maybe... well, my idea was sugar withdrawal, but then I just realized that there's a bunch of sugar in my Slim Fast's so I don't know... Maybe it's just lack of sleep because I didn't sleep well last night. Who knows? I definitely think today was better than yesterday even with the crazy headache. *shrugs* Oh well, I'm out of here. I've gotta go to bed early tonight. So tired!!! Night!

Slim Fast Day One + Starting Stats

Just a forewarning:
These entries are probably going to be a bit boring as I want to chronicle what happens as I try this whole Slim Fast thing out. :)

DAY ONE:
SUNDAY (06/09/13)

Starting Weight: 229.6
Day 1 Weight: 229.6
Daily Change: ± 0
Total Change: ± 0

Breakfast: Slim Fast - 3-2-1 Plan Rich Chocolate Royale Shake (190)
Morning Snack: 3/4 cup cottage cheese with pineapple tidbits (180)
Lunch: Slim Fast - 3-2-1 Plan Strawberries N' Cream Shake (180)
Afternoon Snack: 2 frosted brown sugar cinnamon poptarts with butter (450)
Dinner: cheese ravioli in marinara sauce (355)
Dessert: none
Drinks: 1 cup chocolate milk, water with zero calorie flavoring (220)
Total Calories: 1575 (Range: 1260 to 1520 calories)

I woke up around 6:45 when Matt came to bed. I laid in bed for about 45 minutes and then got up. I finished the book I was reading and then Rusty wanted out. I let him out and started a load of laundry. Then I decided to have breakfast even though I wasn't really hungry. I got out a Slim Fast shake and drank it. It was 8:50 am. I watched some television... I watched the final part of a three-episode series on BBC America called In The Flesh. It's about zombies that become humanized again. They're diagnosed as having "Partially Deceased Syndrome". Good show. You should watch it sometime. Around 10:45 am, I had my morning snack which was some cottage cheese and pineapple. I watched a cute Hallmark movie and my stomach was growling around noon. I wanted to hold off until one to have my lunch shake so I got a glass of chocolate milk that I had been craving. At 1:30, I got out my second shake for the day. Around 2, I became hungry again. The shakes weren't really keeping me full, but I'm also sure it's because I've been eating probably 2500 calories a day and my stomach isn't used to eating so little. When Matt got up, he had a couple of poptarts and that made me really want some. Since my calories seemed so low for the day, I decided to go for it as my afternoon snack. I love cinnamon brown sugar poptarts that have been toasted in the toaster and then the backs brushed with butter. So I did that. There were two pieces of leftover ravioli bake and I ate one of those for dinner. Overall, I'm pretty proud of my first day. I measured everything that I ate and drank. I only ate one piece of the ravioli bake instead of two. I was a little over my calorie range, but nothing severe. All-in-all, it was a good day! :)

Slim Fast

I need to jump start a diet and exercise plan. I am back to my highest weight and I'm seriously tired of it. My face is getting more round and I don't feel cute in my clothes anymore... My problem is that I've been eating way too much bad food and I need to greatly reduce the foods I can eat in order to get over my addiction with fatty food. I'm considering doing a Slim Fast diet. I want it to go for at least two weeks and only as long as a month. This is just to get me out of the habit of eating greasy fast food all of the time. It needs to stop.

My meal plan would look something like this:

Breakfast: Slimfast Shake (180-210 calories)
Snack: fruits, veggies, nuts, dairy, something healthy (150-200 calories)
Lunch: Slimfast Shake (180-210 calories)
Snack: fruits, veggies, nuts, dairy, something healthy (150-200 calories)
Dinner: salad with meat, lots of veggies, croutons or roll, dressing (500 calories)
Dessert: fudge bar or popsicle (100-200 calories)

Estimated total daily calories: 1260 to 1520

I don't want to starve myself but I want to limit the things I can eat. I think this is a good variety of foods and that it will keep me full. Especially if I go to the upper limit on my calorie range. I also want to start walking. Since I watch a lot of TV, I think I will allow myself to only watch TV if I walk on the treadmill first. If I walk, not insanely fast, just at a normal pace, for an entire episode of a show, that's almost 45 minutes. And I want to do this:

I'm going to start all of this as soon as I can get to the store and get the things I'll need... which will hopefully be tomorrow. I'll document this once I start to see how it works.