Unexpected

My sweet youngest daughter Megan has always been a tough kid. She has a lot of little quirks that we have always just chocked up to being "Megan". However, recently it has become obvious that her life has become a bit more frantic. We have known that she suffers from ADHD and had originally decided not to medicate her for it. But it has been starting to affect her schoolwork. So we took her to the doctor last week to discuss putting her on medication so that she is able to focus and catch up in school. However we got more out of the appointment than we were expecting.

It has been discovered that Megan also suffers from a form of Autism called Aspergers. We have only had a few days to absorb this information so I don't have a lot of details to pass along. But I do want to get it out there as a means to explain Megan. All these things we thought were possibly naughty behavior are actually from the Aspergers and she honestly doesn't have any control over these behaviors.

So please bear with us as we navigate what this means for Megan and for our family. We have some serious adjustments to make. Please keep Megan in your prayers. She is going to have rougher time in life than I wanted for her.

Until next time,

Weigh-In #11

It is the home stretch. Only two more weeks to go until the final weigh-in. Thank goodness. The competition part of this is starting to get to me. It was fun for a while but now it just stresses me out. I really wanted to win but now I am struggling and it makes me feel like I can't do it.

I didn't lose any weight this week, but I didn't gain any weight either. So that is good, I guess. I went to the gym after work tonight and forced myself to workout. I am going to go every night after work for the next two weeks. I feel like I have to do everything I can to try and finish this competition on top. However, I know I will be taking a break when the competition is over. I just need to focus on myself and not the competitive part of this.

I did get to buy a new pair of jeans in a smaller size and I love how they fit. And the shirts I bought are a smaller size as well. That is the real reward.

Until next time,

Weigh-In #10

I know I missed last weeks weigh-in report. I am very sorry!! Please accept my apology.

Last week I hit my first milestone of passing the 20 pounds lost mark!!!! However I ended up being tied with my co-worker at exactly 9.4% weightloss each. I mean seriously, what are the odds of both being at exactly 9.4% each?!?!?!

But I was able to pass him again this week and claim 1st place all to myself again. He is still right on my heals though with another co-worker just right behind him. This is the home stretch now. There are only 3 more weigh-ins left in this competition. I really need to buckle down if I am going to try to actually win this thing.

Seriously, I never thought I would be this close. But I really want it!!!! I really need the money to buy new clothes that actually fit me. The other day it took me three pairs of jeans to find a pair that weren't way too big. Now that is a great feeling!!!

I will try to be better about updating. I know I have been really bad about blogging. I am sorry and I hope you still come back to check in.

Until next time,

Weigh-In #8

I am so close to losing 20 pounds that I can almost reach out and touch it. I lost another 1 1/2 pounds this week. And that is with pigging out on pizza last thursday and eating chips and salsa yesterday while sitting on the couch doing nothing. I only have 1 more pound to go to reach the 20 pound mark. And then only 30 more to go to reach my original goal of losing 50 pounds. That is a frustrating thought considering how hard it has been the last couple weeks.

Losing weight is not easy!! It can be so frustrating to watch people eating whatever they want and knowing that I really shouldn't be eating the things that I crave. I am not only doing this for the competition but also for a lifestyle change so that I am happy with how I feel about myself. I haven't felt so great about myself the past couple years. But it takes a certain frame of mind to be able to get the strength to work on changing one's lifestyle. I feel like I am somewhat in that frame of mind, it just sometimes seems to allude me.

I have people ask me what I am doing to lose the weight. The main thing was focusing on eating MUCH healthier. Snacking on fruits and veggies has been a big change. And watching my portion sizes is a huge step as well. I have discovered some great cookbooks and have followed a lot of those recipe ideas. I have virtually cut out fast food (except for the occasional french fries or pizza) and have avoided sweets almost totally. I have only had a tiny bit of chocolate this entire year, which is so not easy!!!

I did join a gym. Although I find it very hard to get motivated enough to workout as much as I should. I really don't particularly like going to the gym, so that has become my biggest struggle. And then the guilt I feel for not going makes me feel even worse. I know I need to go. I know that is going to help my overall weightloss goal and make me much healthier. I just wish it didn't suck so much!!!

If you were wondering, I am yet again in 1st place this week. I didn't know I had a competitive side, but I am certainly tickled to be coming in 1st place all the time. It feels really good. And it feels good to have people notice that I am looking different (even if I don't think I look different).

Until next time,

Hungry Girl

When I started the Biggest Loser at work one of my co-workers got us hooked on a website called Hungry Girl (not to be confused with Hungry Girls, trust me). You can check out the website here. They send out daily emails with lots of helpful hints and ideas.

So tonight I decided to buy the cookbooks.

I am really excited to crack these books open and start planning my weekly menus. Planning ahead and having ideas really helps keep me on track. I plan on hitting the grocery store tomorrow and I am excited about having a healthy menu planned out for the week.

I will let you know how it goes. And I will pass along anything fantastic that I discover. Hopefully I don't poison my family. Wish me luck!

Until next time,

One year ago

I am so very thankful that this has been a calm year medically speaking, at least so far. Today marks one year ago that Rick was hospitalized for complications following his ERCP. He became seriously ill with pancreatitis after the procedure. It was truly one of the scariest nights of my life, and lead to a very stressful week.

If you are new to my blog, or would like a refresher on what went down last year, here are the links to the posts that I wrote once Rick was released from the hospital:

ERCP/Pancreatitis Part 1
ERCP/Pancreatitis Part 2
ERCP/Pancreatitis Part 3
ERCP/Pancreatitis Part 4

I am really glad that I wrote those posts and documented everything. As much as so much of that experience is burned into my memory, alot of the little details have been forgotten.

We had a LOT of support from friends and family during the week long hospital stay. Did you know that I only left the hospital to shower and change clothes? I ate every meal there and slept in a recliner.

I am praying that this year continues to be uneventful. However I do need to schedule Rick for his yearly ERCP. And quite frankly that scares me silly!

I am taking to tonight to say some prayers and thank God for granting Rick some time to be stable.

Until next time,

Weigh-In #7

I have taken back the lead!!! I won the Gold Medal for the week!! I wish there was a real gold medal. But there will be a real award at the end of this when I am significantly lighter and I win the $$ so that I can buy new clothes. I lost another 2 pounds for a total weightloss of 18 pounds. I am hoping to make a certain goal by next Monday.

So I now need to really focus this week so I can meet my next goal. I haven't been feeling good the past couple days so it has been hard to eat correctly. And the last couple weeks I feel like I have lacked a bit of focus. So this week I am back on the horse, so to speak. I plan on making going to the gym more of a priority and really focusing on my eating habits. I am really going to focus on the weigh-in next week.

I think my biggest problem with my eating habits is that I am getting bored with my food choices. I could use some new and creative meal ideas. And snack ideas as well.

Thanks for everyone's support!! I really appreciate it!!

Until next time,