Ain't Computers Grand?

I use Sparkpeople to do my food journal, so I rely on having Internet access. A couple of days ago, I didn't.

Turns out, I had purchased a webcam and when I loaded the program for it something went haywire and sent my computer into a tizzy. I couldn't get the computer to do anything. It wasn't recognizing my commands and it was taking forever to load what it did. I'm exaggerating only a little bit. I couldn't even use Task Manager to end programs. I had to manually shut down, which I've been told is not a good thing to do.

So, I did what I usually do. I didn't know whether it was a program I had loaded (I had loaded several that day) or whether it was a hardware problem, or even a virus or something evil of that nature, so I disconnected everything from the computer and left it off overnight. Several times, I've done that and when I reconnected everything, all was good. I talked about it with a friend (who is also doing the weight program) and she gave me the number of a friend of hers who is an IT guy. She told me later that she called him and told him to "do right" by me :D

As it turns out, I didn't need to call him. When I got home, I opened up in "safe mode" and started deleting programs and reset the computer defaults to before the programs were loaded - the last time I knew I didn't have a problem. After I deleted the webcam, everything was back to normal..or close. I still had one program that was apparently corrupted somehow. I deleted that program (a favorite game) and reloaded, but it still wouldn't load. So, I downloaded the game from the website and paid to register. I bought the game twice now (from different vendors, darn it), but it's loaded and I can play!!

I've considered trying to reload the webcam program, but I'm a bit skittish about doing so. Maybe when I'm off next week, I'll give it a try. I'd really like to have the webcam going so I can talk to my niece and nephews. If not this one, then another one. But dang it! I don't want to buy another one! Maybe I can get another CD from the manufacturer if I keep having problems.

In the meantime, I have to hop over to Sparkpeople to enter my food for today.

Another Setback

As I've posted before, I have my Wii and my Wii Fit. I now need to get a switcher so that I can automatically switch from TV to DVR to TV and Wii. The one I have now only has plugs for three devices.

I went to Walmart, but the one I bought doesn't accomodate coaxial cables. I guess that's because it is for HD, which I don't have. It's got loads of plug-ins though. I'll save it since sometime in the future I will probably have HD.

The problem is, every store I went to had either HD switchers or none at all. So, I went online and found one at Walmart. The very one I need. I was getting ready to print out the information so when I went to Walmart today I would know exactly what I wanted. Then I realized that it's not available in the store, only online. So I ordered it.

It will be another few days before I can get the Wii hooked up, but when I do.....

::grin::

Not So Successful This Week

I weighed in today and found that I had gained a bit this week. Less than a pound, but it was a gain. I won't let it get to me, though. I looked at my food and don't see anywhere that I went over my allotments. Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. If I'm right about why I didn't show a loss this week, next week it should show up.

I did the 3-month analysis today. Some more disappointment, although the news wasn't bad. My BMI is down, which is good. Still not where I want it, but it is coming down and that is good. I was disappointed that it wasn't more, but that's me, and not that I haven't done well.

Of my 29 pound weight loss, 17 was body fat and 12 was muscle loss. Obviously, I need to work on strength more to keep from losing muscle mass. In reality, I haven't been working on the strength training end of my exercise until just recently, so it's not unexpected to have lost muscle mass. Dr M said this is common and not to worry about it, but to step it up.

I talked about the analysis with Dr M and she understands what I am doing and will be doing and appears to be happy with my plan. She also was happy with my progress and congratulated me on my progress.

I'm an over-achiever in some ways (which will probably come as a surprise to people who know me), so I'm disappointed that I didn't do better, but happy that I did as well as I did. The upshot of the whole thing, and what I must focus on, is that I'm 29 pounds lighter than I was 3 months ago.

And that's a good thing.

I'm on the 30 Yard Line

So to speak. I've officially lost 30 pounds now. I weighed in yesterday and got the good news.I still have a long way to go, but I will make it.

A couple of us on the program were talking Thursday about another employee who started it, but quit. I really don't understand. This is the easiest time I've ever had with a diet and I've been on many.

Maybe it's because I'm finally at the mindset I needed to lose the weight. I have the passion and the drive to continue on and complete the program. I admit that there are incentives besides the weight loss that are part of my reasons for completing the program. But honestly, this has been easy.

I haven't really done much in the way of exercise yet. I was sort of waiting until I hit the dreaded plateau before kicking the exercise up. Next week I'll do the analysis again which will tell just how much body fat I've lost, and if my BMI has gone down. I know I'll have a good showing. I'm already 12 pounds past where the doctor thought I would be at the three month mark. In your face, Doc!

No actually, I'm sure she had good reason to believe I would have lost only 18 pounds in three months. I'm just glad I've lost nearly twice that. It would be very difficult to do, but if I could lose another six pounds this week, I can make it double. It's doable, but difficult.

I was afraid Thursday would be a difficult day. I cleaned out my work lunch bag to repack it before leaving for work Thursday morning and left my pills sitting on the kitchen counter. Of course, I was at work before I realized it and live too far away to go get them during my breakfast break. Oh, well. As it turned out, I did fine.

I haven't had a chance to try out my Wii Fit yet. I know, why not? Well, I've been busy with other things. Yes, I could have done it, but it's not the end of the world that I haven't. And as I said earlier, I've deliberately waited to kick up the exercise. The Wii is mostly set up, I just need to actually plug it in and do whatever it needs to set it up. Tomorrow is another day.

And I have a week's vacation coming up in a couple of weeks, if it's not up and running then, it will be.

Blood Pressure - What's Good About it?

One of my reasons for losing weight was because I was concerned with my blood pressure inching higher every year. I have my BP taken at weigh in every week and on Thursday, had a discussion with the nurse about my blood pressure.

I remember when I was a kid in school, I learned that the top number should be 100 plus your age. I have learned over the years that the bottom number is of the most concern. When it hits 80, it needs to be addressed and anything over 90 is dangerously high. But since it's been a long time since school, and so many ideas have changed in medicine since I was a kid, I think I'll do a bit of research to see what constitutes a "good" BP.

Last week, J, the nurse was a bit concerned that my BP was 142 over 70. She seemed surprised that I wasn't on BP medication. Personally, I thought that was pretty good. I was okay with it, but thought I'd like to see the 72 come down a bit. I was happy with the 142. My doctor wasn't concerned when he got a similar reading during my physical last year. If it didn't bother him, I definitely wasn't going to worry about it.

The good news is that my BP was 117 over 72 this last week and J was happy. I'd still like to see the 72 come down some, but that's one of the reasons I'm doing this, isn't it?

Weekly Weigh In

I weighed in on Thursday last week. It was good news, I lost another two pounds. This is a grand total of 28.5 pounds since May 8th. I was stoked!

I've got to change my "workout" routine. I've been walking at work, but I'm concerned that I'll hit that dreaded plateau soon if I don't mix things up a bit. I do have a Wii Fit which is still waiting for me to hook it up. Just procrastinating, I guess. But, I will get it together. Both myself and the Wii Fit.

Actually, I just have to plug the various cords into various outlets the plugs need to go into. So that will be done probably tomorrow. I had to clear some stuff out of the living room and I've done it. I really need to wait until tomorrow just because the lighting in my living room is so atrocious that I'll need daylight to see what I'm doing. I wouldn't want to plug the wrong plug into the wrong outlet.

So, on with my plan. I have the program that came with Wii Fit and I have the Dance Revolution pad and program. I can get my exercise by dancing and from the Wii Fit program. I will be closing the drapes when I dance because I know it won't be pretty, but I will enjoy it and I will benefit from it.

Wii Fit

I finally got my Wii Fit the other day. I haven't set it up yet, that will be done tomorrow. I should have done it today, but today was not the day to do anything that might require much thought. Actually, most of it is ready to go. I just have to plug it in and go through the initialization process and I'll be ready to go.

Thank you, (online) Walmart!

Weekly Weigh In

Last Friday I went to my weekly weigh in. I was a little nervous because the week before I had lost only 14 ounces. Sure, it's still a loss, but almost not worth mentioning.

So, I stepped on the scale with some trepidation...and found I had lost 4 pounds! Excellent! I had added some walking and had watched my food portions and fat gram better this last week than the week before.

The week before, I had watched my food intake, but hadn't logged it as well as I should have in my journal, so I spent a lot of time backtracking and trying to remember what I ate, when. To be honest, some of my entries were made up. I don't think they were far off from what I had actually eaten, but still fictitious nonetheless.

I resolved to be more careful about logging my food and to increase my walking and I did. I got serious again about making sure to write down what I ate at work (I eat breakfast and lunch at work) and then to log my dinner and any snacks as soon as I ate.

I'm using a new pedometer that I think is pretty good. I hope it's accurate and will take it on faith that it is. The building I work in has two long hallways that intersect in a T shape. I decided that I will walk the halls going to breakfast and again when I return to my office. And again at lunch. That gives me four laps, and a fifth when I leave in the evening. Between those five "laps" and my usual routine walking during the day, I usually walk between two and three miles.

Just after I decided to add those extra laps, I was tapped to train a new employee. I couldn't ask Chris to wait while I did the laps, and couldn't ask Chris to walk it with me. (Although it would do Chris some good to lose a couple of pounds...not that I would ever say that to Chris or anywhere that Chris might see it. I'm not here to judge and certainly not to judge or criticize anyone else.)

So, anyway, it took a few days before I could get into my new routine and now it's part of what I do at work.

Tomorrow is my next weigh in. Wish me luck!

Milestone

I weighed in today and found I had reached, and even passed, a self-imposed milestone. I have lost, since May 9th, 26.7 pounds!

My milestone was 25 pounds and I reached it at week nine. I also found that Dr M had projected that I would have lost 18.5 pounds in the first three months. Well, as you see, I've surpassed that by 8.2 pounds. I've impressed myself.

I'm proud of myself for reaching my first milestone. I'm proud that I've stayed on the program for almost 3 months. And I'm proud that I've beaten the doctor's projection, too, even though I didn't know about it until today.

I'm finding the hardest part is logging the food I've eaten each day into the food journal I'm required to keep. If I don't log it, I don't later on when I'm trying to catch up what I ate. That's my own fault, and I have to take the time to record it in the journal or do better about writing it down so I can record it later.

Believe it or not, the easiest part of the program is the food part. I have not denied myself any food. I don't eat "diet" foods; I eat just about everything I want. I just don't eat the portions I used to eat. Logging the food after work shows me how many calories and grams of fat I've eaten so far. I make a decision on what to have for dinner based on how many calories or fat I have left in my "food bank". Because I've been "good" I've been able to treat myself with pizza for dinner. I've had ice cream, cookies, and candy because it fits into my program. I don't do it every day, and only when I don't go over my calorie/fat "budget". Or at least not by too much.

The only thing I haven't done for almost three months is eat at a restaurant. I'm not sure enough of myself to be able to eat away from home. And fast food is out for a long time. One day I'll be able to eat McDonald's or Burger King or KFC, but not yet.

Honestly, I'd love to have some fries. I've been eating hamburger patties instead of a real burger on a bun. And yes, I'd like a real burger on a bun. Add those fries to it, and maybe even a chocolate shake. But. I won't do it. Not right now. I have a point to prove to myself first.

I love my country, and I love being an American, but I don't want to be the
"typical" American. Not "typical" in this sense, anyway. I've heard figures that between 30% and 50% (or more) of Americans are overweight and/or obese. Even if the real number is 30%, I want to be one of the 70%. I personally believe that the figure is closer to 50% than 30%.

The typical American attitude is that more is better. And to a certain extend, that may be right. When talking about weight, more is not better, more could lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, and heart disease, to name a few. There are studies that say obesity can contribute to the onset of certain types of cancer.

My blood pressure has been my only health concern. And even that has been okay. It's not high enough to "worry" about, my doctor isn't worried and hasn't even suggested medications for it, but I've been watching it go a little higher every year. I decided that enough was enough. Since I've been on the program, my blood pressure has dropped.

I saw what diabetes did to my husband and I know that obesity was a big part of why he had diabetes. I will not go there. I seldom say "never", but this is one time I will: Obesity will never contribute to my developing diabetes.

Heart disease and high blood pressure run in my family. If losing weight will decrease my chances of developing heart disease or having a stroke, I will lose weight.

I know that losing weight will not eliminate the chance of any of those life-threatening diseases. I do know that losing the weight will decrease the chance of developing any of them. And I'll go for decreasing the chance, since I can't eliminate it.

Last week, I only lost 14 ounces - less than a pound. I wasn't happy, but I was happy to have lost that much. I could have gained that 14 ounces instead of losing it. I wasn't as dedicated to the program as I should have been, and maybe it showed in that 14 ounces. That's okay. Like I said, losing is better than gaining.

So, here I am. I've lost 26.7 pounds. I still have a long way to go, but I will get there. I've been crunching numbers (just because that's what I do. I get curious), and realized that I need to lose an average of 4.5 a week to get to my target weight by the end of the program. Is it possible? Yes. Can I do it? Yes. Will I do it? That remains to be seen.

I won't be devastated if I don't make my own goal by the end of the program, but I will make it. I know that if I'm close to the goal and that I've shown that I've been trying and that I've been dedicated to the program, I can be extended in the program.

I know even after I meet my goal, I will have to maintain that weight for another 24 weeks in order to completely comply with the program. I also know that I can do it if I really want to. I can do anything I want if I want it badly enough.

And right now, I want this. Badly.

Getting Fit with the Wii Fit

So you've read about my quest to find the Wii console at a reasonable price. Now here is my journey on finding and getting the Wii Fit.

The problems I ran into with the Wii console were the same I was running into with the Wii Fit. No one had it in stock, or if it was in stock, it was so expensive, I wasn't going to buy it.

The Wii Fit program retails at $89. I've seen it for $150 and up. It was actually easier to find the Wii Fit than the Wii console. It was the price I objected to.

Now, let me say this: I am all for capitalism. I am something of a capitalist myself, so I don't blame anyone for selling the Wii Fit for whatever the price will bear. I'm just so amazed at the prices this program was fetching.

So, I figured out how much I would be willing to spend: $100 and placed my eBay bids. No luck. I was getting depressed about this. I was going to have the Wii console and no Wii Fit, the very reason for getting the Wii.

One day I was wandering from online store to online store and not having any luck. I wandered into the Walmart site and, wait a minute...am I seeing things? It looks as if Walmart has it in stock. At least online. And at $89. So I rather timidly placed the order and clicked on check out.

It took. I actually got to the check out page. And filled in all the information. Name, address, telephone, and so on to create an account. Then, entered billing and payment information. And clicked on complete check out.

And found I had actually purchased a Wii Fit.

Oh joy! It will take about 10 days to be delivered, but it was on the way!

I had to run some errands and when I came back two hours later, found a notice from Walmart that the Wii Fit was on backorder. Walmart didn't know when they would have the item. They would hold the order for 30 days. If I wanted to cancel the order, call the number below.

Shoot. Well that's not really what I said, but this is a family blog :D Gotta keep it clean. I just placed the frickin' order and now it's on backorder? I let the order stand and went about my business.

The next day at work, I decided to check out one of the Walmart's nearby. It was a little out of my way (that convenience thing, remember? :D ), but I stopped anyway. No, they didn't have it in stock. Didn't really think they would, but I wanted to try. I thought if Walmart had it in the store, I'd buy it and either cancel the order, or get it and sell one of the one's I had at an outrageous profit! I said I was a capitalist, didn't I? :D

So I didn't get it, left Walmart and headed home. I checked email, as I usually do, when I got home. And found a notice from Walmart.

The Wii Fit had been shipped.

It should be delivered sometime between July 7 and July 10.

It hasn't arrived yet, but it's on the way.

Wiiiiiiii!!!!!

To Wii or Not to Wii

I know myself. In order to get the exercise that I need to go along with my dietary changes, I have to be entertained.

You may getting enjoy sweaty. I don't. I don't have room in my house for a treadmill or any other exercise equipment. So I need a gym that offers the equipment. But, I need it to be convenient. So convenient that I'll feel guilty if I don't stop.

I tried Curves. I was going with a girlfriend during lunch to a Curves in Parrish. I don't live in Parrish; I live in Bradenton. In fact, to go to that Curves without my friend, was going over 20 miles out of my way. I honestly didn't mind as long as I had her to go with. Moral support? Or just support? I don't know. I knew it wasn't going to last if she took vacation time and we couldn't go together. I like the Curves circuit training and the music was enough to keep me going. Okay, so I ended up quitting that one.

Did I say it had to be convenient? There are other Curves nearer to where I live, but I would have to drive past my house to go to one. Not convenient for me.

Finally the county opened a fitness center in a building downtown. I literally pass the place every day. Oh, I could "avoid" it by driving a block or two south and then west, but that was just avoiding. So I signed up and even went several times. They offered circuit training that was very similar to that of Curves, plus several other pieces of equipment, such as a trampoline and treadmills. No dressing rooms, though, you had to change in the restroom, and no place to stow your personal stuff while you were working out. I certainly couldn't argue the price: it's free to country employees.

So, it's free and convenient. What's the problem? I need someone to work out with. And I couldn't find anyone who could go at the same times I could. It's not that I need someone to hold my hand; I realize now that it's accountability. If someone, a friend, is there, I'll be there too. I'll do the workout. I just need someone I know to work out with me.

A few months ago, I began hearing about Nintendo's Wii. It had sports games, such as tennis, golf, bowling, and boxing to work out to. You have an avatar that does the motions you are doing using a wand. This began to interest me, but I didn't pursue it.

Then, in May, the Wii Fit came out. It is designed to help people exercise. I found the county weight loss program, and now I'm finding something that will help me exercise while keeping me entertained? Now, this is interesting.

So I began the quest to find the Wii and Wii Fit. You've got to have the Wii console to use the Wii Fit programs. This couldn't be hard, now could it? If the local stores didn't have it, or too expensive in my opinion, I'll get it online at my favorite place to find items at less than retail: eBay.

So I went to eBay and found the Wii console. And quickly realized that I was going to pay anything from $300 and up, depending on what came with the Wii and how much people were willing to pay for it. Forget about refurbished or used, they were just as expensive as new, unused, and MIB (mint in box). I think people just wanted it and would mortgage their homes for a WII.

Incredible! The prices were outrageous, so I went to online stores. I had found that it couldn't be found in the stores for love OR money. I finally found a Wii console, not refurbished, used, or otherwise not considered to be mint. It was new in box. It was just the basic console with the pieces that come with it: the controller, nunchuck, cables, software, and other stuff. And it was $249. Excellent! I'll take it!

Not so fast...it's sold out. Same with every online Big Box store I looke at, and some not so big. I persevered. I asked to be notified when it was available. Finally one store sent me notification they had it. I went to the website, placed the order and got an error message: due to a technical problem, we can't process your order.

ARRRRGH!!! I got this far and can't order it? It's still sold out in the stores, no one else online has it. What to do?

So I went back to eBay and used bidding assistant to place bids. I just wasn't going to pay more than $300 for the basic console. And I didn't. I finally won an auction for $275. With shipping and handling, it was still under $300. Yes, I could have waited it out and maybe gotten it for $249. And maybe not. I still haven't gotten notification from any store that they have it in stock.

I finally got the Wii in my house. I'm still deciding do I want it in the living room or the bedroom? which has more room? Will I want to use it with the bigger TV in the living room or will the smaller TV in the bedroom work for me? I think I'll put it in the bedroom and move it if I decide the bigger TV is necessary.

That's the saga of getting the Wii Console. Stay tuned for the Wii Fit. I didn't even have to throw a fit...Wii or otherwise.

Walking With a Pedometer

I've used pedometers over the last couple of years. I have one that that I got from our county insurance office. It looks like a clock except, of course, it goes from 1 - 10 instead of 1 - 12. Arrows point to the number of steps you take.

I bought another one that has a digital read. A little easier to figure out the steps. Instead of figuring out which arrow points to the thousand, hundred, tens, and from 1-10, it gives you the numbers. You can easily see you walked 2583 steps. However, you have to figure out how many miles that is, if you want to know miles. Same problem with the clock face.

And I found that unless you are very careful with it, you could easily reset the pedometer to zero. Not a real problem if you looked at the numbers before you reset them; a real problem if you don't have a clue how many steps you took over the last ten hours.

The one I just bought is digital and has settings for steps, miles, time, and calories burned. It knows the difference between when you stood up and when you actually walked across the room. I guess most pedometers, or at least some, will count up and down motions as steps taken.

When I read that, I didn't really care because I figure any movement is better than sitting still. The very act of standing is causing your muscles to move. And movement is what we are looking for. It's when we don't move that we run into trouble with our weight issues.

This pedometer, from VoiceZone, besides having a digital readout, has a digitalized voice that will tell you verbally how many steps, miles, calories burned, and how many hours you it took you to walk those steps or miles, and burn those calories. You can set it to tell you when you've walked so many steps, when you've walked a mile, or when you've burned so many calories. Or you can set it to keep quiet.

When you get it, you enter your weight and you have to measure your stride and enter it, so that the pedometer can figure out the number of steps to a mile. I don't know how it does it. It was made in China, so maybe there's a teeny-tiny little Chinese man inside with an abacus figuring it all out. I haven't been asked to provide any kind of sustenance, so I don't think that's the answer. I just don't know. I really don't care either.

I'm not specifically recommending the VoiceZone pedometer, but I do like it better than the others I've used. It may be better than some, or not as good as others.

I do like it, though.

Walking...Just What is a Mile, Anyway?

Over the last couple of years, we've all heard the benefits of exercise while dieting. Dieting will lose weight, and exercise will lose weight, but adding exercise to a diet will boost the loss potential.

I know the benefits of exercise. It used to be that in order to benefit from exercise, it had to be a specific length of time or a specific number of reps or sets of the exercise. Then I started hearing about the accumulated effects of exercise. Specifically the accumulated effects of walking.

Walking has been my chosen form of exercise. I don't have room in my condo for exercise equipment such as a treadmill, Bow-flex, or most of the other stuff you see advertised as must haves for weight loss. Because of the design of the building I work in, and the work I do, I can walk over a mile just in a normal day. I started wearing a pedometer to find out just how much I walk during the normal course of a day's work.

The current philosophy of walking is that the body doesn't care if walking is done over a day's time or not. Don't get me wrong, walking a measured mile or using a treadmill is great exercise. I am one of those who hates “exercise”. If I can find a way of exercise, that doesn't seem to be exercise, then I'm more likely to do it. Sure, I've chosen to walk the T in our building for exercise, but it doesn't really feel like exercise, so I'm more likely to do it. If I walk it in laps over the day, instead of all at once, what difference does it make? None to the body. If I walk more than I “normally” do, the body sees that as exercise. I also prefer to walk indoors since it can be way too hot during a Florida summer to walk outdoors.

My problem has mostly been in just what constitutes a mile. My “research” has been sort of haphazard. I've been using 2600 steps (found online) as an average. The best way, of course, is to actually measure out a quarter mile and walk it, counting the steps. I haven't done this, so I've used the average.

The building I work in is shaped in a T. A long hallway intersects with another long hallway. A number of employees use it for exercise. Monday I decided that I would would do the same. So, I left my office door, noted the number already on my pedometer and the time and started off. My office is a bit more than halfway down the first hallway, so I walked the T from my door back to my door. Seven hundred and forty two steps. Then, I walked to the elevator which is at the beginning of the T. Another two hundred forty three steps. One thousand, two hundred forty eight steps from door to door. Not quite half a mile (.47). So if I walk it five times (before and after my first and second breaks, and again after work), that's 6140 steps or 2.36 miles (based on the average of 2600 steps in a mile). I timed it at eight minutes, so that's 2.36 miles in 40 minutes. Not too bad.

I bought a new pedometer which arrived Monday. In the instructions, it gives instructions to measure your stride so that the pedometer will be able to give you an accurate reading. Cool. Now I'll know that I've walked an actual mile instead of a sort of mile. I will probably have to change how many times I walk the T, but it will be a more accurate mile than it has been so far.

Now there's been a monkey wrench thrown into the works. I was assigned on Tuesday to train a new employee. Since I had to show the new employee where everything is, I couldn't do my walk. I probably won't be able to do it while I'm training him, but that shouldn't be too long. Our jobs aren't really that difficult, but the training is intensive so that the new employee is on their own within a few days. I was on my own in three days. The last employee took longer, but I think it was because she was a contract employee pending employment. When her employment became permanent she was on her own. Chris is already employed so I don't see that he will be kept in training longer than necessary.

Hopefully, Chris will be on his own next week and I can get back into my new routine.

I'm Losing It

I've started a diet plan through our insurance company and I've had some success so far. Twenty-two pounds since May 9. Whether that impresses you or not, I'm happy with it. I've got a long way to go, but I will make it.

I'm not having any health problems, thank God. I've always said, give me a reason to lose weight and I will. I'm the kind of person who has to come to my own conclusion that I need to do something or I have to have a specific reason to do it. Very seldom will I say, "Okay, that sounds good, let's do it." Just telling me that I will develop diabetes or heart problems "later on" won't do it. "Later on" is too nebulous. Not even a more specific "in five years" will work because anything can happen "later on" or "in five years".

I've always been offensively healthy. I say offensively because while I have chronic sinusitis, I haven't been sick in years. At a physical a few years ago, my doctor told me, as they always do, "You need to lose weight." Like I didn't know I was overweight. I told him I needed a specific reason. Tell me I have diabetes and losing weight may "cure" it, I'll do it. Tell me my blood pressure is dangerously high and I have to go on medication, but losing weight will remove the need for meds, and I'll do it.

So Dr. D tried like crazy to find something to prove to me that I had to lose weight. He looked at my cholesterol and found I was right dead center of healthy. The bad cholesterol wasn't high and the good wasn't low. The triglycerides were good. My blood pressure was a little on the high side of normal but he couldn't complain about it. He even looked at the blood fat. He said that would be the ticket. And that fell flat. My blood fat was perfect. He admitted he couldn't give me the reason I needed. My current health was fine and he couldn't tell me that it would deteriorate if I didn't lose weight.

I had a physical about two months ago. Same old, same old. The doctor (a new one since my previous doctor retired) said I had to lose weight. No problems but I needed to lose. I just agree with the doctors now. I got tired of going over the same thing every year. They can't tell me why, just that I "need" to lose weight.

For some time, I've been mulling my health over. My blood pressure is still good, but I've been watching it inch up over the years. I've had some knee and back problems. Nothing big, just annoying from time to time. I've also been reading and hearing news reports of how the American population is over-weight and obese, more and more are becoming morbidly obese everyday. I know that obesity can lead to life-threatening health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, and stokes, to name a few. My husband was diabetic, had circulation issues, and died from heart problems. He was morbidly obese and had been for years. As I said, while I had the weight problem, my health was otherwise just fine. Even seeing his problems didn't change my mind about my own obesity, although it apparently was in the back of my mind, working with all the other things I had been reading and seeing. I'd become dissatisfied with my weight. I knew that because I am the way I am, I needed a "reason" to lose. And I had finally found my reason.

We live in a country that has an abundance of everything. And we Americans love anything that is bigger. If it's bigger, it must be better. Well, that's not always the truth. When you weigh in, bigger numbers are not better. The opposite is also true. Those who are under weight or have eating disorders have health problems too. But that's another issue for another time. I think I read that there are more obese or overweight Americans than there are who have normal weight or who are underweight.

It might be a stupid reason, but I decided that I didn't want to be the *typical*, overweight, obese, American. I love my country, but I will no longer be the typical American in that sense. I want to be different.

So when a co-worker told me about the diet program through our insurance, I knew this was what I was looking for. I got the information I needed, made the appointments I had to make and did everything required to enroll. And so I went for my first consultation.

At my first consultation, I met with Dr. M, the doctor in charge of the program. We talked about my goals and reasons for wanting to be in the program. I was told that because of my BMI, I would be a candidate for gastric bypass surgery. I don't want to go that route unless it becomes a matter of life and death. I know people who did that and they have had so many health issues since the surgery that it's not something I want to do unless it becomes a medical necessity.

In my opinion, gastric bypass surgery ruined the health of the people I know. They are always getting sick, they are sick, or getting over being sick with something. Several are in and out of the hospital, seemingly all the time. And seeing that they can't eat more than a few ounces at a time, I don't think they can really enjoy food anymore. I like food (obviously). I don't live to eat (never did), but I want to enjoy what I do eat. Please don't tell me how wrong I am. I know there are people who had the surgery to save their lives. That's a different matter than people who had the surgery because it was "easier" than diet and exercise. I also know there are people who had the surgery and had no complications and no problems since then. I'm happy for them. It's just not been something I've seen very often.

I was told that I would receive a shot every week, I would take Phentermine before breakfast and Trim Slim tablets twice a day (before breakfast and dinner). I had to keep food and exercise journals and go for a weekly weigh in. This is a 24 week program. I had to keep all the appointments except for the one or two I could miss (with a rescheduled appointment). The cost to me is $60 a month for five months and a final $75 payment the last month. If I continue in the program for 24 weeks and lose the weight, I will be reimbursed $350 of what I paid out. I'm not sure, but that repayment might be at the end of another 24 week maintenance program. No matter. Being reimbursed is just icing on the cake for me. If I don't quite meet the target goal at the end of the first 24 weeks, I can get an extension.

I lose weight, and get reimbursed for what I paid out? That's a win-win situation in my book!

At my consultation, I had to stand barefoot on a device that measured my weight, body mass index (yikes! everytime I see that number I shudder), hydration, and a number of other things. It even gives a target weight. I'm not going to give you my starting weight now, or the even the target weight suggested or the pounds I need to lose to meet that target. You'll just have to come back and see what I've posted on my current progress. I'm not really a vain person, but I'm vain enough that it's just not something I want to reveal here. When I get to *my* target weight, I'll be more than happy to reveal all. You might notice that I emphasized "my" target weight. The device I stood on suggested a target weight of about 40 pounds more than I want to weight. Okay...I have a "first" target. Depending on how I look and feel when I hit that target will depend on whether I choose to try for "my" target.

Here it is, eight weeks later and I'm down 22 pounds. I have several pairs of jeans I haven't been able to wear. I try them on every week and I'm getting closer. I have a pair of shorts I wasn't able to wear and now I can. They are even just a little loose on me. They aren't going to fall off anytime in the near future, but they fit and I can wear them. I have a pair of white jeans that I've been dying to get into and now I can. They are just a little tight, but soon, they won't be.

I wish I had taken a "before" photo to put with an "after" photo. But I have photos I can use as a "before", they just weren't taken just before I started this program.

So, this is the beginning of another change in my life. Over the last two years my life has been full of changes. Change can be good (my job change) or not so good (my husband's death). I'll be posting on my success (and it will be) on this program. I hope that if you need encouragement in your losing efforts, you'll find it here.