Back in July I wrote: “since I started posting about my weight loss journey, I have been followed by just about every keto diet page, healthy living page, eat better/workout more page and such. This irks me for some reason. I post my stuff here to keep myself accountable. On the weeks I gain weight I will post that, too. This is my journey – if you are here to cheer my on, fine. If you are just here to sell your products, you may unfollow me at any time. I don’t plan on following you back.”
These follows continue, and I keep deleting them. I am doing things my way and am not interested in the content of these pages. On occasion, I will get a follow where the page doesn’t even exist, however that works. It’s weird.
At any rate, after staying at the same weight last week, I racked up a 4 pound weight loss this week. This brings my total weight loss to 45 pounds. I am very happy to see the weight coming off, although now I need to start thinking about getting some new clothes. My scrubs are falling off me at work and I put on jeans this weekend and really had to tighten the belt.
I don’t want to get too crazy with a new wardrobe yet, as I still have more weight to lose. I think it is safe to say I at least need a new pair of jeans and a couple of shirts.
I wish I had gotten a good “before” picture. I never think to do something like that. Even though I am seeing the results with clothes, I really hadn’t started to notice it elsewhere until I shaved today. I can kind of see my face is a little thinner. It’s a good feeling.
The journey continues and I will, as Paul says in his book to the Philippians, “keep pressing toward the mark.”
Today, I began my 16th week on Weight Watchers. When I weighed in this morning, I was happy to see that I had hit a major milestone. This week I lost a whopping 5 pounds taking my total weight loss to 41 pounds!
I hope to eventually get past some of the stress related things thrown at me this week and celebrate. Thanks to all those who have supported me in my weight loss journey. There is still a long way to go, and I will get there.
I was up early enough to go for a walk with the family today. I grabbed a pair of shorts that I have been wearing, which I knew were getting too big, and couldn’t find my belt. I asked Sam if she had seen it and she told me no. Then she said, “Don’t you have a box of ‘snug shorts’ that didn’t quite fit anymore?” I told her I did, but didn’t think that I would fit into any of them yet.
I have been holding onto some clothes that used to fit for awhile. I keep telling myself that “when I lose weight” I can wear them. I just have never been to the point where that has happened … until today!
I pulled out the next size down and slipped them on. I grabbed the end with the button in one hand and the end with the button hole in the other and pulled them together. Up until today, those two ends have not met. I was excited that I was able to not only bring the two ends together, but I was actually able to button them!
I cannot even begin to express the feeling of being able to put those on! There is an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and at the same time a feeling of satisfaction. I have been working hard to lose this extra weight. I have about 70 or 80 pounds more that I would like to lose, and seeing the progress today reassured me that I CAN do this.
I was about to take a diaper box out to the trash tonight and stopped. This will be the box that I put all the “too big” clothes in. Once it is filled, I will take it up to the Goodwill. There will be no need to store those, because I resolve to never allow myself to get as big as I was ever again.
It’s been a crazy past few days. On Friday, we took Andrew to the ENT to discuss the results of his sleep study. He has severe sleep apnea. Usually, this means that the tonsils or the adenoids need to come out to open up the airway. The doc took a look at his and said his tonsils were not too big and he didn’t think his adenoids were a problem either. So he did a scope in the office to look further.
The scope showed that he has laryngomalacia. This is something we are seeing more and more of in the sleep lab. Basically, there is extra tissue in the larynx.
This explains why his sleep is so crappy!! When he falls asleep, that floppy tissue blocks the airway.
Lateral view of child’s face showing blocked air flow caused by laryngomalacia.
So it looks like he will have some surgery to correct this in the near future. It will also mean 24-48 hours in the hospital. This will not be fun at all, as he loves to be on the go. I’m sure sitting in a room all day is not going to be pleasant at all! We are waiting on the hospital to call and schedule the surgery.
___
My Godmother/cousin recently had a stroke. She is currently in hospice. I was able to see her over the weekend to say goodbye. It is never an easy thing to do. There were many people in the room, so I kept it pretty simple.
I’m not sure if it is just in Italian families or what, but at some point there was a stretch of years where certain members of the family didn’t speak to each other. I have no idea what it was about but I am sure that it was just stupid. Life is too short to lose that much time. This hits home a lot with my Godmother.
For years, I didn’t see her because of an argument that I wasn’t even a part of! Shortly after my grandmother passed away, my dad began to reach out to cousins that we hadn’t talk to. Thankfully, the peace was restored and I was reunited with my cousins.
I remember seeing her for the first time in forever and just hugging on her! I was so happy to see her. We spent a long time catching up. So many years lost to ridiculousness. So many things we both missed out on.
I am kicking myself because a week before, I was thinking about her and meant to call her and catch up. I never did. I regret that. I am grateful to have had a moment with her this weekend to tell her how much I love her.
My Godmother and me at Ella’s baby shower
___
I’m not trying to make excuses, but I am an emotional eater. When I get stressed or worry – I snack. I made a lot of mistakes on my diet this week. I found myself grabbing goldfish crackers and “estimating” how many I had. We hadn’t gone grocery shopping, so almost all of the veggies were gone, so I snacked on crackers and stuff I shouldn’t have. I was completely ready to see a gain on the scale, but actually lost a pound this week. This brings my 10 week total weight loss to 30 pounds.
The heat and rain didn’t help much. It was hard to get my daily walks in last week.
30 pounds is progress and I am back on track. Sunday and Monday we got to go out and walk the neighborhood! Ella is making it a bit more difficult as she wants to walk instead of being in the stroller/wagon. He being out, does make it easy to get pictures, but she walks a LOT slower than I am used to.
A ray of morning sunshine
He puppy friend, Louie, was so excited to see her the other day he “ran” to the fence to say hello!
___
I went to the store on Sunday and bought some new sand for Ella’s sandbox. We moved it to another part of the yard because where we had it, the sun beat down on it. We moved it to a shadier spot and both kids are playing in it. Andrew really doesn’t understand that the sand is not for eating … one would think that after the third time putting it in your mouth, you’d stop, right?!
The sandbox is just another example of how my kids will grow up to be best buddies. I love to watch them play together. I hope it stays warm for a while longer. I’m not sure just how they are going to handle being cooped up in the house all day in the winter.
___
The range of emotions experienced this weekend was overwhelming. I’m hoping that things slow down and return to normal – whatever normal is!
I try to hold myself accountable as I continue my weight loss journey. I neglected to post this week’s weigh in results.
I really was not sure what to expect this week as I had a bad day where I went over the points I was allowed. I tried to counter that by walking an extra mile and a half the next day and really being aware of what I was eating the next day. It seemed to work as I was down 2 pounds this week. I have now lost 29 pounds.
As much as I would have loved to hit a 30 pound weight loss this week, I am going to continue to focus and get there next week. Little by little – pound by pound – I’m going to hit my goal!
This weekend certainly was one that left me emotionally drained. It also left me knowing that there are things that I need to do as well as some priorities that need shifting. Some things are just too important and changes need to be made. I have every intention of doing what needs to be done. That is all I really want to say about that.
Monday
The weather was perfect to be outside. I decided that I was going to take the kids to the zoo. We are members, so it was a free day for us. I packed a lunch and we got there when it opened at 10am. Both Sam and I thought it would be quiet for a Monday, but there were a few childcare places doing field trips there.
We didn’t let that spoil our fun. I think I sometimes go a bit crazy with picture taking, but I love to look back at them. I was so happy that both Ella and AJ sat still at the opening photo op of t he zoo.
We saw the penguins, the otter (who was extra busy that day), the monkeys, kangaroos, and a huge emu. We also saw a wolf, chickens, an owl, alpacas, and a bunch of crazy prairie dogs. One of the first things Ella wants to do is ride the train. We’re members, so we can ride as many times as we want. I think we rode the train five times Monday! During on of those ride, I was able to grab my favorite picture of the day:
Look at the joy on their faces! What a wonderful picture!!
I realize that at 52 years of age, when people see me with my kids, they may assume that I am grandpa. So I chose to go to the zoo with my Bandit from Bluey “Dad” shirt on. I’m sure when I left the house, my wife probably thought I looked ridiculous, but that’s ok. When we got off of one of the train rides, a mom came over and said she loved my shirt.
Mines black – not grey
About 11:30, we found some tables by the carousel, which we were going to ride next. Mom packed a PBJ sandwich for Ella, a PB sandwich for AJ, some goldfish crackers, bananas, apple sauce pouches, and something to drink. It was fun to just sit and eat with the kids. AJ was in my lap and I think I wound up wearing more of his lunch than he actually ate! There were also plenty of crackers on the ground for the birds to eat after he was done.
A couple rides on the carousel, another train ride, back to the carousel and we were getting close to nap time. I told Ella we had to pack up to get ready to go. She wanted to go to the store. Sam and I had already said that we were not going to buy anything day, as we really hadn’t budgeted for it.
As we are walking through the gift shop, Ella picks up a small stuff wolf and says, “My wolf! Look Daddy, it’s my wolfie!” I told her that we’d have to get it next time and the melt down began. Urgh! I hate making her cry. I told her she could carry it for a bit and then it would have to be put back.
When we set it down, she started to cry again. As we walked to the door, a nice older lady stopped us and handed Ella the wolf, saying that she couldn’t stand to see her cry. I told her that we couldn’t take it, but she insisted. It was a nice way to end our trip to the zoo.
Weigh In Day
Before I go on, let me say that since I started posting about my weight loss journey, I have been followed by just about every keto diet page, healthy living page, eat better workout more page and such. This urks me for some reason. I post my stuff here to keep myself accountable. On the weeks I gain weight I will post that, too. This is my journey – if you are here to cheer my on, fine. If you are just here to sell your products, you may unfollow me at any time. I don’t plan on following you back.
Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I am happy to say that the scale showed a 3 pound loss this week. After 8 weeks, I am down 27 pound thanks to Weight Watchers. I am very happy about that. It is nice to be under 300 pounds! I can’t wait to keep reaching milestones.
Eating right and getting a walk in every day has been helping. The heat made it a bit rough this week, and so did the rain. Getting in a mile or two every day is something I have come to enjoy a lot. I love being out with the kids in the stroller.
The last time I saw my doctor, I was supposed to have lost 10 pounds. I hadn’t and she kind of gave me a lecture about that. I was supposed to have joined Weight Watchers and because money was tight, I chose to wait. When I left that appointment, she told me to see her again and the 10 pounds had better be gone – or she’d yell at me again! I see her this week and can’t wait to show her the progress.
Maybe next week – I can hit the 30 pound mark?! We’ll see ….
I’m not perfect. I disappoint people. I hate when I do that. Sometimes I take things the wrong way or read a signal wrong. I hear something and it reminds me of my past life and I react to it that way, which is wrong. I am sorry for it, but you can only say sorry so many times.
I will pray that I can be better and hope that I disappoint less.
I know that is a downer way to start the blog, but that is why I am not in the mood to write. However, I wanted to keep myself accountable and post the results of my weigh in this week.
Good results this week as I was down 3 pounds. My total weight loss in 7 weeks is 24 pounds. I have a doctor appointment next week. She had given me 2 months to lose 10 pounds. I am glad that I will be able to come in with a bigger loss then she asked for.
I have more things to share, but that will be another day … or later ….
Over the past 5 weeks, I’ve been on a journey to once again drop some weight. I began that journey on May 31st.
This past Tuesday marked my 5 week weigh-in. I was happy to see a 3 pound weight loss which brings my total weight loss to 17 pounds. Slow and steady I stay focused and will keep pressing toward the mark.
It is my hope to once again be under 200 pounds. It has been a long time since I was there, but I know I can do it. My wife is extremely supportive and I have a couple co-workers who are also doing it, so we can support each other, too.
Both Sam and I were off on the 5th, so we decided to enjoy the nice day and we went out to the local pizza place. They have a patio and we ate outside.
Both of us got salads, and we got a pizza for the kids. It was a little past their normal dinner time, so we ordered an appetizer. They have this garlic cheese bread there and we figured we could get the kids started on that.
I have never had it before and it looked delicious. I had some extra points to play with, so I had a piece. The “bread loving Italian” in me kicked in quick. I savored every bite. It was SO good. I will do a few extra walks this week to hopefully work off that bread.
Saturday Sam and I took the kids out to eat at a local pizza place. They have a patio, which allowed us to eat outside. The weather was perfect. It was sunny, but not too hot and there was a nice breeze. Of course, there was plenty of cottonwood flying about, which was only a problem if it landed on our food.
Eating outside also allowed for Ella, who isn’t really great about sitting still, to wander a bit. There was a family who came out the patio and sat a table or so away from us. I guess the kid hurt himself, and Ella really wanted to help him. She said, “Kiss and make it better?” We told her that the boy’s mommy would do that for him.
She was walking around like she owned the patio. In one photo I snapped, I swear she looks like she is walking a model runway. She looks like a movie star with her sunglasses and all.
Sunday and Monday both allowed for neighborhood walks, but there were also showers and storms.
Tuesday started with “weigh in” for me. I was thrilled to see a 3 pound loss this week, bringing my total to 9 pounds in two weeks. I hope to keep seeing weight loss.
After breakfast and a few errands, I took the kids for our neighborhood walk. It’s become a thing to count squirrels, birds, cats and “puppies.” Ella sings through the entire walk, saying hello to everyone we meet. Tuesday, there was a guy riding his bike who passed us about 4 times. She said hello every time. LOL
When we got home, she wanted to swing on the swings, until she heard loud yelling and noise from the back of the house. It was field day and the kids were out with bounce houses, outdoor games, and kickball.
Both kids absolutely loved watching the kids play. Ella said hi to all the kids sitting on the bench and they were very nice to her. I think Andrew got the biggest kick out of it though. His smile as he stood against the fence was priceless.
Sam said if it was warm enough to put them in their bathing suits and let them play with the water table and little pool. The two of them had a blast. As much as Ella gets to where she doesn’t want Andrew around her, outside she welcomes him as a playmate. They splashed together, she poured water on him, and they got muddy together.
The only time they were really unhappy today was when it was time to come inside and nap.
Looking forward to the rest of the week and Father’s Day weekend.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 