Not much to report on the weigh-in this week. I was -0.2, which is really nothing at all. I’m ok with it. I’m surprised that I’m so ok with it. Usually, I would be upset about something like this, but I know that I had a big loss last week and I didn’t work out as much this week, so it makes sense. I also had some food splurges (though not as bad as it could have been) so I’m really happy that I basically stayed the same this week. It is just pushing me to work harder this next week. I can do it. I will do it.

My knee isn’t bothering me as much anymore, but I’m also trying to modify my exercises to accommodate it. I’m not doing the higher impact circuits on the 30 day shred, and am focusing on ones that will still get my heart rate up, but won’t irritate the ol’ knee.

This is the knee I had surgery on almost 9 years ago. It’s always been a little beyotch. Right now it’s really more of a dull ache or feels stiff. Totally manageable. I’m going to look for some knee strengthening exercises and some other workout dvds that will be easier on my knee… though I will still do the shred. I love it. I feel good when I do it. I haven’t felt good about myself in a long time, but I feel good about myself when I do this workout. I can feel the changes in my body… even if the scale didn’t show it this week, I know I’m making progress. Next week I will be taking measurements again, so we’ll see what kind of changes I have there. Can’t wait!

Now, on to my health… which is becoming a huge part of this blog, and for good reason. It is my poor health that was a kick in the pants for me to change my life.

So, some fun things to share (as if what I shared yesterday wasn’t enough).

• Had an appointment with my neurologist (Dr. V) today because of my increased headaches lately. The appointment was… interesting. He asked if I had been stressed lately and I started laughing. “Yes doc, I’ve been crazy stressed lately.” He asked what was stressing me and I explained about a situation I’ve been dealing with for the past few weeks that has really stressed me out… plus, I was just told last month that I’m anemic, have hypothyroidism and they need to monitor my blood pressure. What’s NOT stressful about that? Since my headaches started getting worse in November, the month before I was diagnosed with anemia and hypothyroidism, he thought those might have been aggravating my headaches. My headaches are caused my a chemical imbalance in my brain – low levels of serotonin… so my low thyroid levels could be contributing to the problem.
• Dr. V asked about my sleeping habits and then asked how tall I was… and then proceeded to calculate my BMI… by hand. We’re talking long division folks… He didn’t have a fancy program to calculate it (I knew it was about 40.5 right now), and seriously, there is nothing more horrifying than seeing someone calculate your BMI by hand. I almost threw up to see him crunching those numbers. Then he said, well you’re morbidly obese. Punch. In. The. Gut. I mean, I knew I was fat, I knew I was obese… but MORBIDLY OBESE??? I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t cry when I got to my car. How many times this month am I going to cry in the clinic parking lot? He wanted to figure out my BMI because of how I’ve been sleeping, always being tired, etc… he also thinks I should get tested for sleep apnea. So, two docs in one month tell me I should get tested. I guess I can’t put it off any longer. I will have to find the money for it somewhere.
• Dr. V is sending me to physical therapy for my neck. He thinks the tightness in my neck might also be contributing to my headaches. So, again, more medical bills. I am really upset about all of this. I have already spent a small fortune in the past 2 months on medical bills, and it’s just going to get worse. I am not handling this all well. I’m scared. I’m worried. I’m stressed. My mom talked me off the ledge cheered me up a bit today by reminding me that I am taking control of the situation. I am eating healthier. I am exercising. I am committed to getting healthy. Where’s my genie y’all? Fairygodmother? Bueller? I know change can’t happen over night, but it sure would be nice, wouldn’t it?
• I wasn’t afraid to see what the doctor’s scale said about my weight, cuz I knew already.
• My blood pressure was 126/82. WTH. Just last week it was 149/96. I don’t know what’s going on, but I was encouraged to see a good reading.

I’ve lost  .2 pounds in the last week and lost 7 pounds in 3 weeks. Want previous stats? Click here.

Here’s what I’m using right now – my brand new Asics Gel Kushon 2 running shoes, Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day shred DVD, a yoga mat and a pair of 2 lb free weights.

I just got the shoes yesterday at Kohl’s. Already I can feel a difference… the gel cushioning is great for shock absorption, which, let’s be honest… when you weigh 267 and you’re jumping around, there’s BOUND to be some stress to the knees and ankles. I’m hoping that these shoes will help alleviate some of that stress, because my knees are killing me.

I thought that a day of rest would help, but it didn’t. I tried just walking the past 2 days, but it hasn’t gotten better. I’m sure that standing for four hours on cement at the Pettitt didn’t help, but seriously, WTH.

I’ve been using biofreeze and that helps, but I’m not sure what else to do. Do I rest another day? Do I push through it?

I’m sure they just hurt because I haven’t worked out in so long and carrying around 267 pounds can’t be easy.

Le sigh.

Ok, enough complaining. Today I did day 6 of the shred and it was ok. I haven’t done the shred since Wednesday, so I feel like I went backwards a li’l bit. I will have to be more diligent with it to complete my 30 day shred challenge.

I’ve been doing pretty well as far as my diet goes… Friday night I went to Comet Cafe with my sis and I got the Baked Chili Mac… which was ahhh-mazing (see below). I ate less than half of it and felt sick the rest of the night. Lesson learned.

Two workouts/one day.

Yep, I’m certifiable.

Actually, I think I’m on some kind of high. Is this what it feels like to be fit? Is this what it feels like to know you’re doing something RIGHT?

Cuz if it is, I’m down with it.

A few notes:

• The part I hate most about my body is my midsection. I would chop it off if I could (even though it does make a good resting place for a bowl when I’m sitting on the couch). I know I need to do abdominal workouts in order to fix the situation but they are quite difficult. It’s not the lack of muscle that makes them difficult. It’s the giant blob of fat between my chest and my thighs that makes it difficult. Do you see pregnant women doing situps? No, because there’s a giant mass on their abdomen. If you have a flat midsection, imagine trying to do situps with a basketball under your shirt. Yeah, it gets in the way. I think I could do them better if it wasn’t for the blob, but if it wasn’t for the blob I wouldn’t be doing them right now. Catch 22?
• When I do jumping jacks, jump rope or the butt kicks in Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred, I feel like the house is going to crash down around me.
• Also, when I do the jumping jacks, jump rope or butt kicks in the 30 day shred, I’m pretty sure my face gets smacked by my boobs.
• Will I get to the point where my thighs don’t rub together anymore? Cuz that would be awesome. Former fat girls, can you tell me?
• I love dailymile.

And… a post workout photo. Gentlemen, eat your hearts out.

It’s Weigh-In Wednesday, Thursday edition because I didn’t get a new battery for my scale until today… drumroll please…..

272.0…for a total of 2.2 lbs lost in one week.

HOLLER! That’s even WITH my not-so-good weekend.

So before I do a li’l celebration dance, I have a few more things to share.

First, I bought Jillian Michaels’ 30 day shred DVD today at Target (bonus $2 off coupon = $8 investment, not too shabby). I did level 1 today. It’s about a 20 minute or so workout… and boy am I feeling it. But I know I done good… so I’m happy about that. Hopefully I won’t have to stay at the level 1 “easy” stage for long.

Second, I found an awesome app for my Droid that will help me keep track of weight loss, calories, etc… AND it has this cool barcode scanner feature… which will look up your food item in its database. I’ll have to do a video blog about it someday, but until then, check out Calorie Counter from Fatsecret.com.

Third, we have food porn.

I sauteed a chicken cutlet from Whole Foods in some Wildtree Grapeseed Oil and Garlic & Herb Blend… along with a shredded zucchini. Then I added some cherry tomatoes and some fresh mozzarella. ZOMG. Soooo good.