Sonja & Aaron's "Biggest Loser" Journey

Another Week Down... and Finally Getting Back to "Normal"

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:13:10 GMT

This "day late" posting is becoming more of the norm than unusual... guess I need to work on that! Anyway, it's the end of the week again (actually the beginning of a new week since I'm late posting this) so it's time to update ya'll on how my week went... and if you read our weigh-in blog this week, you'll know that it was an AWESOME week for me!!! That is because I finally reached "ONEDERLAND"... only after 18 years of trying to unsuccessfully get back there time and time again!

I'll start out talking about my nutrition by saying that I am finally starting to feel more "human", and so my appetite is also finally getting back to normal. I won't claim to be "100%" on Nutrisystem this week, because I purposefully didn't plan on doing so. Let me explain that statement: now that I've gotten under 200, that puts me 75% of the way to my goal (from when I started NS). Because I'm on the last leg of this current goal, I made the decision to start combining my NS meals w/ "regular" food to hopefully make the transition off NS easier when I do reach my goal. I'm eating NS for 2 meals a day, and then a regular meal for the 3rd one, and I'm mixing up when I eat that 3rd meal to keep my body from getting into a routine. I realize that this will probably slow down my weight loss a little, but I'm hoping that it will make maintenance alot easier.

So, this week's calorie intake:

Mon, 8/18: 934 calories, 80 oz. water

Tue, 8/19: 1072 calories, 80 oz. water

Wed, 8/20: 1121 calories, 80 oz. water

Thu, 8/21: 1274 calories, 96 oz. water

Fri, 8/22: 1047 calories, 80 oz. water

Sat, 8/23: 1251 calories, 96 oz. water

Sun, 8/24: 1020 calories, 80 oz. water

I know some of my days were still low on calories, and that was not planned... I'm shooting for 1200+ calories everyday. Like I said, my appetite is just "starting" to get back to what it was... so slowly, ever so slowly, I'm getting back to where I need to be.

As for the fitness side of my week, I finally had the energy towards the end of this week to start doing a little something again. I'm starting out slowly so as not to overdo it, but I gotta say that it felt really good to get a little movement going again! I told ya'll earlier in the summer about an upcoming challenge at our gym that paired you up w/ a personal trainer for 8 weeks and that I was being encouraged to sign up for it, since it would be loosely based on the Biggest Loser format. I promised to keep ya posted: well, bummer, it starts in just 1 week, and due to my recent illnesses, I could not get the physician approval to participate at this time. Darn it! (but better than trying to do something that I shouldn't and have another setback!)

My exercise for this week:

Mon, 8/18

Tue, 8/19

Wed, 8/20

Thu, 8/21

Fri, 8/22

Sat, 8/23 Stationary bike: 20 min.

Sun, 8/24 Walked 1.83 miles in 45 min.

So, that's my week in a nutshell. Nothing to write home about, but at least I'm getting moving again!

As for the upcoming week, I hope to just get my calories back where they need to be, and to continue to move a little more. After being off work since the 20th of July (technically since the 17th since I was in the middle of a 5-day lake weekend when I went to the hospital on the 20th), I am finally returning back to work tomorrow night. We'll see how that goes, because I can honestly say I haven't been "up & busy" for 12 hours straight since all this started, so I may find myself pretty worn out after working a full shift right away!

Just an FYI: Aaron got the roommate settled in, made it through freshman orientation, and officially started classes today. Haven't had any "distress" calls yet, and he even graced us w/ his presence tonight (had some software for his computer delivered here today)... and for those of you who know him (Marcus & Amber specifically), he showed up here w/ not 1, but 2 females in tow! I'd say he's settling into college pretty well! LOL

Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend coming up - get out there and do something fun to end the summer on! As always, I'll close with... GET UP OFF THAT COUCH & KEEP CHUGGIN' THAT WATER!!!

Sonja

Weigh-In .... followed by happy dance!!!

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:55:58 GMT

So it's our "official" weigh-in day...

Aaron is holding steady at 187 lbs., like he stated in his blog yesterday. Now, he's in full "freshman orientation" mode, so his schedule will only be getting more & more hectic!

As for Sonja... major milestone achieved today! She weighed in at 198.6 this morning, down 1.6 lbs. from last week, but more importantly, officially in "ONEDERLAND" as of today!!! To put this into perspective & explain the magnitude of this, she hasn't seen a "1" on the front of the scale since she became pregnant w/ Aaron... and as you all know, he is almost 19-freakin' years old! That's a loooooong time to be in the 200-range!

So, we're doing a happy dance as our exercise today! ;-)

I'm back....

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:36:36 GMT

Hello everyone!

So, it's been quite a while since you heard from me, which means I have alot to update you on.... Today is move-in day here on campus and since I'm already in my room, I have a front row seat to watch the thousands of other students trying to all move in at once... Move-in started at 8:00am and currently it's 8:30 and I'm pretty sure I've already seen enough humor to keep me going for the rest of the day.... but it's like a train wreck - you just can't look away! So while I wait for my roommate to arrive, I'll write up a nice little informative blog for all of you...

So I'm no longer on the cheer squad. Due to disagreements and lack of interest, I found it best that I leave that before I hurt the squad. But I did find something to replace the involvement I would have had in cheer. Last week I signed my bid to be a pledge for one of the fraternities on campus here: Sigma Alpha Epsilon. So I'm now an official SAE pledge!!!!

Since my last blog I have moved into my new room... where only HALF of the room is mine :-( Talk about cramped....

But on to the weight loss stuff -- I have been doing ALOT of walking, but not much of anything else. Once school gets into session, I plan to go to our health center here cuz it's free and I have friends that want to go with. Right now my exercise includes the 2 mile tour I do twice a day at the Admissions office and all the walking I do with that job, as well as all the walking I do at my other job at Sonic!

My weight has been pretty steady at 187, but I'm going to kick it in the butt and get down to that 175 by Christmas!!!!

But until next time.....

Aaron

Still hangin' in there...

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:39:07 GMT

Okay, so again I'm a day late posting this, but at least I here to do it & not back in the hospital! LOL

So let me just put this out here before I get anywhere near my calorie counts for the week: my appetite has been NON-EXISTENT since getting out of the hospital thanks to all of the antibiotics that I have received over the past month (and am still taking). Basically, I've had to force myself to eat most days, so as you will see, my calorie counts are extremely low, but hopefully that will start to improve over the next few days as some of this starts to get out of my system! I have tried to make sure that what I do take in is "good for you" calories (lots of protein for healing, etc.) and I've made sure to keep my fluid intake up as well. So, please don't worry about me, as I know many of you will - I am doing the best I can, and will continue to do a little better each & every day!

So, this week's calorie intake:

Mon, 8/11: (still in hospital)

Tue, 8/12: 1082 calories, 80 oz. water

Wed, 8/13: 1021 calories, 64 oz. water

Thu, 8/14: 762 calories, 64 oz. water

Fri, 8/15: 937 calories, 64 oz. water

Sat, 8/16: 840 calories, 64 oz. water

Sun, 8/17: 1079 calories, 80 oz. water

The three days where I didn't even make 1000 calories were days that I basically slept most of the day away due to total exhaustion! I am still tired most of the time, and of course, (how can I put this "gently"?)... my digestive system is not handling 5 different antibiotics over the last 3 weeks very well. (I'm sure you understand where I'm going w/ that, so enough said! LOL) Anyway, thanks to all of that, my fitness has been non-existent as well... since I don't have the energy to even put my sneakers on, let alone do anything else! Hopefully that will improve as well over the next week or so.

Unofficially today I am in "Onederland", as I had a follow-up dr. appt. this morning after my antibiotic infusion and weighed in at 199.6 lbs. - but I won't change my ticker or other stats on here until my "official" weigh-in day on Friday. Keep your fingers crossed that I stay under 200 until then! (I don't see how I wouldn't w/ what I'm eating these days, but I hope that will improve, so who knows what might happen to the scale!)

I hope everyone is doing well... especially those still competing in the Olympic Challenge! I'm still rooting all of you on - sure wish I could be participating w/ ya'll! Until next time, I'll close with... GET UP OFF THAT COUCH & KEEP CHUGGIN' THAT WATER!

Sonja

Weekly Weigh-In Time

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 01:38:56 GMT

So it's our "official" weigh-in day...

Sonja is down 1.4 lbs. from when she got out of the hospital, weighing in at 200.2! (That scale is taking it's own sweet time getting into "onederland", but it's close enough she can taste it now... which only makes her want it more!)

Aaron didn't actually weigh-in today, but he's holding steady at 187 on his Wii Fit (which is the only way he can weigh now that he's in the dorms). They have finally opened the cafeteria at the dorms since all the athletes have moved in, so he states his eating habits are already improving. (In other words, he's not living on mac/cheese, cereal & microwave meals anymore! LOL) He finally got his computer back from the "doctor" today... still don't know what invaded it, but they ended up having to restore to the factory settings! Soooo, hopefully he'll get a blog on here in the next few days to update everyone before school gets into full swing.

Good News... x2!!!

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:32:48 GMT

Again, I want to start by thanking everyone who continues to inquire about my health, and who has sent well wishes my way! I can't express enough how much it has meant to me!

One to the news that I have been so looking forward to being able to tell you: I AM FINALLY HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL!!! YEAH!!! And this time, it is "for good"... no return trips in a week or so! I am having to go in twice a day for IV antibiotics to complete treatment of the "lump". We never have figured out exactly what it is, but between my natural immune response & all of the antibiotics I've been on, my body appears to be reabsorbing it on it's own. The docs say that this is actually the best case scenario, because anytime you open something like that up, you run the risk of exposing it to even more bacteria. I did have another fever last night, but it was below 100.5 (100.0 to be exact) so they aren't concerned about it. I still feel rundown and tired, but I'm sure the antibiotics have something to do w/ that. I'll be on them for another 10 days, so I think the workouts will be on hold for a little while. But, the important thing is that I am HOME!!!

So, the one positive thing from the whole ordeal is that I did lose a little more weight. Not near as much as I had hoped (thanks to all of the IV fluids & stuff that they pumped in me, I'm sure), but it did get me closer to my goal! I weighed in this morning at 201.6 lbs., which does put me over the 70 lbs. lost mark since I started Nutrisystem, and it also gets me that much closer to "Onederland"! Slowly, but surely, I'm getting there... VERY slowly, but surely. I did start back on my Nutrisystem today... so we'll see how that goes.

Anyway, I hope things are going well for everyone else, and again, thanks for your concern & well wishes!

So I'll close w/ my usual: GET UP OFF THAT COUCH... AND KEEP CHUGGIN' THAT WATER!

Sonja

Quick Update....

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:01:49 GMT

To begin with, I want to thank everyone who has sent well wishes my way! I really appreciate all of your kind words & prayers! Ya'll really are like an extended family and I count myself lucky to know each and every one of you.

Now, on to a short update: there isn't much of one! PSYCH! But seriously, I am still stuck in the hospital... and it sounds as if I'll be here through the weekend. The lump is starting to get softer, and we can see signs of it "liquifying", which is what it has to do before they can open it up & drain it (and then culture it to found out exactly what we are dealing with). However, they think it will take a couple more days before getting to where they want it to be. (hope I didn't gross anyone out there - I apologize if I did) Still running fevers & some occasional nausea, though I do believe that is beginning to get better. I have been fighting a pounding headache at times, which they believe is partly from the fevers & partly from the fact that I don't have much of an appetite. (NOT a recommended way to lose weight!!!)

So, here I sit in my hospital bed, glad to have my laptop w/ me to help pass the time - I've definitely had more time to keep up w/ ya'll's spaces than I usually do. :-) And of course, the Olympics start tomorrow, so at least there will finally be something decent to watch on TV! To try to see the "positive" side of this whole adventure - I'm pretty sure that I will be in "ONEDERLAND" by the time I get outta here! (kind of an expensive way to get there though!)

So I'll close w/ my usual: GET UP OFF THAT COUCH... AND KEEP CHUGGIN' THAT WATER!

Sonja

Happy Birthday to me... NOT!

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:43:11 GMT

Okay, the title of this blog may sound a little negative, but as you read on, you'll totally understand the reason for the statement. Let me start by saying I'm not one of those people who dreads birthdays... I turned 39 today, and am totally psyched, because overall, I feel better now than I ever did in that past 15-20 years! And though I didn't reach my overall goal of getting into ONEDERLAND by my birthday, I got pretty darn close (202). That is 70 lbs. lost since I started Nutrisystem 10 months ago!

The negative attitude comes from the fact that I am back in the hospital AGAIN! And that is NOT how I wanted to spend my birthday... or any other day for that matter! To make a long story short (or attempt to anyway), I had a bug bite from our "shortened" weekend at the lake that had itched like crazy the entire time I was in the hospital before. I went home on antibiotics, and as soon as I finished them on Thursday, my bug bite became inflamed. Overnight, it grew to the size of a baseball, and is situated right over my spine - so it makes it very difficult to find a comfortable position. I woke up Friday morning sicker than a dog, running a fever & unable to keep anything down all day long... so, by Friday evening, I was back in the hospital recieving IV fluids, pain meds and antibiotics once again. At this point, it's just a huge hard lump - nothing inside of it (as we found out when the surgeon jabbed it with a humongous needle in an attempt to see what was inside of it - talk about PAIN!!!). So, we're waiting to see if it will start filling up w/ something that they can go in and drain, or if it is just going to stay a swollen lump. All I know is it hurts like hell... and being unable to find a comfortable position only makes the hospital beds that much worse!

I did keep track of my calorie and water intake for the week that I was actually out of the hospital & at home... but of course, I don't have those numbers w/ me. I can summarize it up like this: calorie-wise I barely took in more than 1000 calories a day d/t the continued nausea from the original hopsitalization for colitis. Water-wise I did continue to get in at least 8 cups of water each day, with the highest amount during that week being 12 cups. As for exercise, other than the day that I helped Aaron move from his summer dorm to his school year dorm (which included 20 flights of stairs while carrying his stuff either up or down them), I didn't really feel up to any exercise this week. I've done alot of sleeping this week... so much so that my hubby was beginning to wonder if I had mono or somthing like it! LOL

That's all I know for now - not sure when I'll be getting outta here... can't be soon enough for me though! I am keeping up w/ the second half of my favorite saying... GET UP OFF THAT COUCH AND KEEP CHUGGIN' THAT WATER!!!

Sonja

Here' an interesting article about "Why The Scale Lies"

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:05:06 GMT

Why The Scale Lies
by Renee Cloe,
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
We’ve been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can’t resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can’t bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence it’s readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.
Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body’s water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don’t understand what’s happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto it’s water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.
Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it’s easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn’t have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That’s why, when it comes to eating, it’s wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners.
Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.
Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it’s packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it’s stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with it’s associated water. It’s normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you’re prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.
Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it’s wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It’s the actual weight of everything you’ve had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you’ve finished digesting it.
Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it’s not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it’s likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it’s only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it’s physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you’re really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.
This brings us to the scale’s sneakiest attribute. It doesn’t just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you’ve lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you’re just sitting around. That’s one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.
Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn’t differentiate between the two. It can’t tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat. There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current.
If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn’t appeal to you, don’t worry. The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don’t be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. It’s a matter of mind over scale.

This Week's Weigh-In

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:21:55 GMT

We seem to be on a teeter-totter w/ our weigh-ins... one of us is down one week, up the next & vice versa! So, on to our weigh-in this week:

Sonja is down 1 lb. from last week, weighing in at 204.8, which is the lowest she has been since starting the MPM! (Her previous low was before the trip to L.A., and was 205.) So hopefully this is a sign of lower numbers to come...

Aaron is up a little this week, weighing in at 186. Long story that doesn't need to be played out on here, but he has withdrawn from the cheer squad at school. (He can go into as much or as little detail as to why on his own blog.) Between the loss of cheer squad workouts and the fact that he was the dutiful son who sat in the hospital each evening w/ his mom for the last week, he obviously hasn't gotten in much (if any) workout time. So, the slight gain wasn't necessarily surprising. Hopefully when he gets into a routine after school starts, and is able to improve his eating habits by not living on fast food as he has this summer, he'll be able to continue on to his weight loss goal (he's soooo close!).

Finally Home!!!

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:12:09 GMT

After a miserable (and extremely boring) 6 days in the hospital, I am finally back home! Thank you to those who sent well wishes... I really appreciated them!

Well, we still don't "officially" know what exactly caused all of this, or for that fact, even what it actually was! I have to let everything "settle down" over the next couple of weeks, and then we'll do a colonoscopy (fun, fun - NOT!) to figure out exactly what I'm dealing with. Best case scenario - just a fluke "non-specific" colitis. Worst case - something chronic, like ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, which would probably require daily medication, and most likely, a departure from Nutrisystem.

I'm still not feeling 100%, kinda weak & tired (of course) and nauseous after eating. I'm currently on a low residue diet, so limited fruits/veggies and whole grains, and absolutely nothing spicy or "heavy". So, obviously I'm taking another brief hiatus from NS, because it's mostly made up of whole grains, high fiber & veggies! I'm sticking to MUCH lighter fare, so I hopefully I'll begin losing some weight again...

In fact, today, I already weighed in below my lowest weight ever: 204.8 lbs. With all the IV fluids they were giving me in the hospital, on top of what I was eating & drinking, I wasn't sure if I would lose any weight or not. But that's actually 1 pound down from last week, and that's after having a couple of days at the lake, where I was indulging a little (though I was doing it with low fat/sugar free versions). So I have a feeling I probably actually lost more weight than I can account for! I kinda doubt I will be able to reach my short-term goal of "onederland" by my birthday, since that's just a week away, but I'm not giving up - stranger things have happened! LOL

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to withdraw from the Olympic Games Challenge, because although I'm allowed to do some walking to keep my exercise up, I am not supposed to overdo it until we figure out exactly what's going on w/ me. So, GOOD LUCK to everyone still competing, and CONGRATS to those who have already won! I'll be keeping up w/ ya'll and cheering ya on from the sidelines! I still haven't decided whether I'm going to try to compete in the 1/2 Marathon yet or not - the 12-week training schedule begins on Monday, and obviously I won't be able to start it then. I'll let you know what I ultimately decide on that...

Hope everyone is having a great weekend, and as usual: GET UP OFF THAT COUCH AND KEEP CHUGGIN' THAT WATER!!!

Sonja

Not the update I had planned to write...

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:08:13 GMT

So, I was planning on this post being an update to how my long weekend at the lake was... and in a way it is, but not my typical update!

I was enjoying myself until very early Sunday morning, when I awoke from a sound sleep w/ an excruciating pain in my lower abdomen (I know what you are thinking - I've already had both my appendix & gallbladder out several years ago). It continued throughout the night, and by the time I finally got up in the morning, I was also sick to my stomach, as well as having some lower back pain. Thinking I was trying to pass a kidney stone, I headed to the ER.

Flash forward several hours (and tests later)... and I am now sitting in my own hospital as a patient. They believe I have Colitis (for non-medical readers, inflammation/infection of the large intestine). Not sure what has caused it - still trying to figure that one out. Receiving IV antibiotics and fluids, and restricted to a clear liquid diet "to give my system a rest". I'm also stuck on bedrest! So... obviously I won't be participating in this week's Olympic Games. (Sorry I didn't get around to emailing last week's points to the Committee - I spent Thursday running around getting everything ready for the lake & just totally spaced it off!)

On the plus side - I did get lots of good exercise in at the lake... walking in the sand absolutely rocks! And I did LOTS of treading water - even some unplanned (long story!) LOL

Not sure what my weight was before I headed to the lake (forgot to do that as well since my usual weigh-in day is Friday), but I'm really interested to see what it will be by the time I get outta here! Maybe I'll make it under 200 by my birthday after all!!! (unless all these IV fluids they are putting in me prevent me from losing any weight... which would really suck since weight loss is about the only positive I can see about this whole situation!).

Anyway, that's my story (and I'm sticking to it... LOL)! Since I'm not allowed to get out of bed, I'll encourage all of ya'll to do it for me: GET OFF THAT COUCH & KEEP CHUGGIN' THAT WATER!!!

Later... Sonja

My weekly blog (a day late)

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:53:38 GMT

Okay, so obviously I'm a day late posting this, but at least I got it done! LOL

Well, I may have spoke too soon last week (in other words, I jinxed myself!). My scale stalled this week, despite working out more than usual AND adhering "mostly" to my Nutrisystem. I've been having some serious carb-cravings (which there aren't alot of on NS), and so I've had a "bite" here & there, but that just hasn't been cutting it! So, I've decided to allow myself an off-weekend to get these cravings out of my system (we are heading to the lake for a long weekend, so that will be a perfect time to do so). I don't plan on going overboard - I've bought low fat or sugar free versions of everything, and lots of fruits & veggies. So, hopefully I'll be able to minimize any damage to the scale, since I seriously hope to get out of the "200" range by my birthday, which is the first week of August!

I pretty much maintained 100% on Nutrisystem this week, except for my "little bites" here & there, and I did include them in my calorie counts, so I know that those didn't kill me calorie-wise.

So, this week's calorie intake:

Mon, 7/7: 1484 calories, 96 oz. water

Tue, 7/8: 1271 calories, 96 oz. water

Wed, 7/9: 1489 calories, 128 oz. water

Thu, 7/10: 1532 calories, 128 oz. water

Fri, 7/11: 975 calories, 80 oz. water

Sat, 7/12: 1424 calories, 64 oz. water

Sun, 7/13: 1521 calories, 64 oz. water

I had one low-calorie day, and that's because I had a "hell" night at work and never had a chance to actually sit down & eat while there. I was able to nosh on my celery & carrots that I always take to work, and one of my NS bars - but otherwise, food was out since I was basically stuck in one patient's room all evening (for real!). So, that's my excuse for the under 1000 calorie night - definitely don't want to have too many of those!

Fitness is still going well... though that may not be the case coming up this week! The home gym helps me w/ my workouts a bunch... I should've done this a looooong time ago! LOL See for yourself:

My exercise for this week:

Mon, 7/7 Stationary bike: 30 min. - strength: upper body

Tue, 7/8 Elliptical: 20 min. - strength: lower body - Workout DVD: Bootcamp

Wed, 7/9 Stationary bike: 20 min. - strength: upper body

Thu, 7/10

Fri, 7/11 Walked 5 miles - 100 crunches

Sat, 7/12 Elliptical 20 min. - strength lower body

Sun, 7/13 Stationary bike: 30 min. - strength: lower body

So, that's my week in a nutshell. FINALLY made 5 workouts in a week (in fact I got in 6!), but I will forewarn you that probably won't happen this week. I should get a workout in the first few days of this week, but we are heading to the lake on Thursday and won't be back home until next Monday.

Since I will be gone until Monday, look for my weekly blog to be late again next week, but I'll be sure to update ya'll and let you know how well (positive thinking!) the lake weekend went for me (diet/fitness wise)!

Good Luck to everyone doing the Olympic Games challenge! Though I've worked out regularly, I don't think I've kicked it up enough to be a major contender just yet... but just wait until I get back from the lake! I'll be a fierce competitor then! As always, I'll close with... Get up off that couch & keep chugging that water!

Sonja

Not a Typical Weigh-In...

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 02:40:41 GMT

So we didn't exactly have our "normal" weigh-in this week...

Aaron weighed in earlier in the week, weighing in at 184.2, as he stated in his blog. We discovered that he actually has a better BMI now than he thought he did, because he has added another inch to his height! (makes a mom wonder if he's ever going to stop growing???) So, he continues to lose each week.

As for Sonja, she didn't get to weigh-in until today, and then she hit a big ole' wall. No movement at all on the scale, despite working out more than she normally does and adhering very well to her Nutrisystem! (in all honestly, probably the "most perfect" week she's ever had!) Hopefully next week will be better, or she will never reach her goal of "one"derland by her birthday! (keep your fingers crossed for her!)

Aaron's busy this weekend at cheer practice (racking up those Olympic Games points) and Sonja is trying to get the camper ready for a long weekend at the lake next week... aaaah, wish it were next weekend already! LOL

It's been a while......

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:06:53 GMT

Hey everyone!

****Warning - this blog is extremely long.... if you are interesting in reading only about my weight-loss/MPM information.... Skip to #2.... Otherwise... the blog is extremely long and contains rambling that may cause temporary brain damage and a drop in your IQ Level. This is your only warning... reading this blog may cause heavy eyelids, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, infertility, and/or mild cases of ADD, HIV, MTV, TNT, WGN, ABC, and in some cases Death..... *****

You have been warned!

So it's been a while since I even said Hello! I've just been so busy with everything and getting "sucked" into the college life early! So I thought I should probably get on here and update everyone as well as fill you in on some details about what has been going on.

So Mom has partially filled you in, but if you haven't been reading her blogs for some reason.... I no longer live with my mom anymore. I moved out in June when I found out that my on-campus job and cheer schedule was going to be very lengthy. So rather than spend $1,834,383.36 on gas a month (that's just a rough estimate), I moved into the Residential Halls for the summer. After I moved in, I began working out with the cheer coach and then found that this job at the Admissions office is a GREAT workout. Essentially my job includes walking a group of people around campus twice a day for a tour and walking any students that need help or new prospective students around to their appointments. The tour itself is just about a mile and a half. So after two of those a day, plus the random walking with other students, I end up walking about 5-10 miles a day depending on how busy the day is. Graduation was great.... and our vacation after was very well enjoyed. It was nice to be able to breathe easy and be able to start over!

Well let's see, what else is new.... well this last weekend (July 4th), I took a nice little road trip out to my father's place. I left after getting off work at Fort Hays and drove to Manhattan, Kansas to visit one of my friends and stay the night. After waking up on Friday, I hit the road again to complete the trip to my dad's and got to my dad's around 4pm that day. And then after some thought of continuing the trip to St. Louis with a friend, I decided to stick around with my dad, stepmom, and brothers for the weekend. But now I'm home, in one piece, and enjoying the weather here.... NOT!

That's something else that I thought I should touch on.... all y'all that are out there in them 70's and low 80's should be feelin pretty gosh darned lucky.... because here in ole' western Kansas, we are dealing with 90's and 100's with a humidity of 300% which makes the heat index about 1,834,383.36.... again... that's just a rough estimate. But for real, you know it's hot when you step outside the building and by the time you get to the bridge on campus (which is .04 miles according to www.mapmywalk.com), you are literally sweating. I thought my co-worker Danielle was crazy when she said she went to Sheridan Hall and was sweating by the time she got back.... (Custer Hall to Sheridan Hall and back is .24 miles according to www.mapmywalk.com). But it really has been that hot. We tried opening the windows at work this morning and no joke, it got so humid in our office the papers by the window were DAMP!

But anyways, now that I've bored you to death we can get into the stuff you're here for!!!! My weight-loss information.....

2) Okay, down to business..... The REAL REASON you are here -- and if you read the stuff above, I appologize, I am in a goofy mood and I kinda just typed things - LOL....

So, basically in a nutshell, I have continued to lose weight and as of this morning my Wii Fit program informed me that I am in the NORMAL range for the BMI test and I weigh in at 184.2!

YAY!!!!!! Aaron is not a fatty no more! Althought, just because I am "normal" does not mean that it's time to give up. I still have just under 10 pounds until my goal, and I have some "flab" to trim up before I will rule myself as a fit human being. So I will post some pics of my rockin bod at some point, but I wanna get all tanned up before I show it off to the internet cuz otherwise you'll end blind from the whiteness or you could end up with a heart attack thinkin it was a ghost, then again you could pee your pants as well which could cause some harsh embarrassment for you if you happen to be checkin' the MPM site in a public place such as your local library.

Now after reading that last paragraph you may be asking yourself, did he really just say Wii Fit?! And yes ladies and gentlemen, I sure did.... I am a proud owner of the official Wii Balance Board and Wii Fit video game. If you are now asking yourself if it would be a wise investment to get the Wii Fit? Well my answer would be yes, to an extent. If you buy the program to have a "sweat your little rear-end off" workout, then you don't want to spend the money on the program because that is not what the game offers. The game offers a daily "body test" that weighs you as well as tests your balance! Also the game has a nice little yoga session that is relaxing and helps improve your balance so when you decide to do your yoga in public, you won't have to look like a goober that falls over in class :-D

But since most the people who read this are either sleeping, in a minor coma, or about to poke their eyes out, I will wrap things up!

I do promise to try and get on here a little more often, but if you would like to talk to me, message us or add me on MySpace and just add that you are from the MPM on the message for the Friend Request!

Thanks for all the support everyone!
Aaron

"Other Half" of Weigh-In

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:43:58 GMT

Believe it or not, even w/ Aaron's hectic schedule, he actually remembered to weigh in today!

And the results: he lost another 2.4 lbs., even after going on a 4-day weekend trip! He is now less than 10 lbs. from his goal of 175, weighing in at 184.6 this morning.

Since he weighed in today, he'll probably wait until next Friday to weigh in again... actually that will probably be the next time he remembers to jump on the scale! LOL

Another "good" week down...

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:01:20 GMT

I'm doing well with getting back on track... as you know from my previous blog, I did have another good weigh-in (even though I was only down 0.4 lbs. - at least the scale went the right direction!). Another addition to our page is my measurment progress... which has kept me going when the scale has gotten stubborn w/ me! (if you haven't already done your measurements, I highly recommend it - the tape measure is much friendlier than the scale, esp. if you are working out) Though I'm not thrilled to still be "obese" by BMI standards, I am totally psyched that I have dropped more than 10% of my BMI and am no longer "morbidly obese"! Not to mention that I'm getting really close to being "overweight"... and just how sad is it that I'm actually looking forward to being called "overweight"! LOL (however, I'm not stopping until I get to "normal")

Didn't quite make the 100% on Nutrisystem this week, but I do feel like I made wise decisions when I did eat out. One night we went to Golden Corral, which used to mean piled high plates of everything I liked on the buffet, followed by a couple of different desserts. However, this time, I had a large salad topped w/ just a little cheese, plus all the veggies (peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes), and fat free dressing, of course. Then, I stuck to veggies off the buffet - green beans, cauliflower, broccoli & mushrooms (all steamed & plain). My other off plan meal was supper tonight - I had a Subway Club w/ all the veggies & no cheese or sauce, so that kept it as one of the "under 6g of fat" sandwiches.

So, this week's calorie intake:

Mon, 6/30: 1679 calories, 144 oz. water

Tue, 7/1: 1487 calories, 112 oz. water

Wed, 7/2: 1457 calories, 64 oz. water

Thu, 7/3: 1168 calories, 96 oz. water

Fri, 7/4: 1201 calories, 96 oz. water

Sat, 7/5: 1650 calories, 64 oz. water

Sun, 7/6: 1483 calories, 80 oz. water

I feel like I did fairly well with my calories this week. I made sure that I didn't have any extremely low calorie days, since that seems to be a problem with me on occasion. My water intake has been up & down, though I did manage to get 8 glasses in each day as a minimum. We are also having a "water challenge" at work this month as part of our My Health program, so at the end of the month, I'll get an "evaluation" of my water intake... I'm interested to see how that turns out (I'm thinking I'll be told that I have an excess! LOL).

As for the fitness side of my week, it just continues to get better & better! We finished up my home gym last week, so I now have everything I need at home to whip my butt into shape! NO MORE EXCUSES!!! I haven't given up my gym membership yet, because they are going to have a challenge this fall that I may try to get involved with. It is loosely based off of BL - because my involvement in the MPM & our trip out to L.A., the organizer shared some information with me about it already. She really encouraged me to sign up for it, because it will essentially give me a personal trainer for 8 weeks. I'll keep ya posted!

My exercise for this week:

Mon, 6/30

Tue, 7/1 Gym - swimming laps: 20 min.

Wed, 7/2

Thu, 7/3 Built weight machine for home gym & then tried out each "exercise"

Fri, 7/4 Elliptical: 20 min. - stength: upper body

Sat, 7/5

Sun, 7/6 Stationary bike: 30 min. - strength: lower body

So, that's my week in a nutshell. Still pretty proud of my conviction - just gotta keep the motivation going!

As for the upcoming week, since I actually made 4 workouts this week, I hope to workout 5x this week (which would definitely be an all-time record for me). And of course, I plan to get back to 100% on NS, which will help alot!

Just an FYI: Aaron made it back safely from his first "major" trip on his own - though he's having some issues w/ the laundry facility in his dorm tonight. Hopefully, he'll remember to weigh-in tomorrow morning, and if he does, I'll be sure to post a team blog with his results.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July (though not too great, if you know what I mean!). As always, I'll close with... Get up off that couch & keep chugging that water!

Sonja

Happy 4th... and the weigh-in goes on!

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:30:02 GMT

First of all, we'll start by saying "HAPPY 4TH OF JULY"!

So, on to our weekly weigh-in... seems we only have Sonja's, as Aaron has hit the open road for the first time on his own (and of course didn't think about weighing before he did - LOL)! He's heading to his dad's for the holiday weekend (about a 7 hour drive or so), and through a major city too (Kansas City) - so he is definitely exploring his independence! (And honestly, Mom is doing okay with it... really she is... does that sound convincing??? LOL)

Anyway, Sonja is down another 0.4 lbs. this week... which puts her down to less than a pound from her lowest weight! YEAH!!! Happy dance!!! LOL

Thanks to inspiration from Corey (thanks!), Sonja decided to share her measurement success with everyone. Unfortunately, Aaron has never taken his measurements, so we can't share those with ya! However, he would like to share that he must be shrinking because his pants are actually falling off these days! LOL (College coeds should be enjoying that this fall!) So be sure to check out the new measurement list next to our weigh-in's up above...

My first week back...

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:12:18 GMT

Okay, so I'm trying to get back in the swing of things, so I'm back to blogging on Sunday night (or early Monday mornings, as was usually the case & is now).

So, I'm back on Nutrisystem 100%... gotta get myself totally refocused before I allow any "extras"!

So, this week's calorie intake:

Mon, 6/23: 1508 calories, 104 oz. water

Tue, 6/24: 1453 calories, 144 oz. water

Wed, 6/25: 1242 calories, 128 oz. water

Thu, 6/26: 839 calories, 64 oz. water (low calories d/t "short" day)

Fri, 6/27: 1264 calories, 128 oz. water

Sat, 6/28: 1095 calories, 80 oz. water

Sun, 6/29: 1171 calories, 96 oz. water

Thursday was a low calorie day due to it being a short day (since I slept after work, but then was off that night so I was only up from 1pm-11pm). Otherwise, I felt I did fairly well, though I forgot to take my NS with me to work the fireworks stand on Saturday, so that is why I just got over 1000 calories. Need to work on getting in enough calories every day, especially if I work out!

As for the fitness side of my week, I have been doing MUCH better than I used to! YEAH for me! LOL And hopefully it will only continue to get better with the new gym at home! Got that started this weekend, by the way... Aaron & I worked like crazy to get the basement ready for it all day Sunday, and then that evening I got my elliptical, and moved my bike down there as well. Should have the weight system in by the end of the week! WooHoo!!!

My exercise for this week:

Mon, 6/23 Stationary bike @ home: 20 min.

Tue, 6/24

Wed, 6/25 Gym - 25 min. elliptical - strength: upper body

Thu, 6/26 Took dog for walk (3 miles)

Fri, 6/27

Sat, 6/28 Gym - 25 min. elliptical - strength: lower body

Sun, 6/29 no "official" workout, but does cleaning entire basement, accompanied by numerous trips up/down the stairs, and building an elliptical machine (after carrying it & the stationary bike down the stairs) count???

So, that's my week in a nutshell. I'm pretty proud of it - now the real challenge starts... keeping the motivation going!

As for the upcoming week, I hope to workout 5x this week (which would definitely be an all-time record for me). And of course, I plan to continue 100% on NS - I'm lucky that both I & the hubby work on July 4th, so I won't have to worry about any parties that might tempt my willpower!

I think I forgot to mention in my "home gym plans" that I have the perfect added element to it: my hubby FINALLY got our hot tub installed & working last weekend! What better way to finish a workout??? Definitely keep that man around for a reason! LOL Aaron's jealous that we waited until he moved out to get it up & running... maybe that's my secret way of insuring he'll come home to see his mom!

Hope everyone had a great week, and that ya'll enjoy the holiday this week... especially if you happen to get the extra day off to celebrate it! And as always... Get up off that couch & keep chugging that water!

Sonja

Weigh-in Time!

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:02:37 GMT

So, we actually both remembered to weigh-in this week... good step in the right direction again! LOL

Aaron is at an all-time low... 187 lbs.! The cheer workouts must be a good thing, even if he does complain about being "freakin sore" afterward! What's that old saying... "No pain, no gain!" Guess you ould say that he is definitely experiencing that these days!

As for Sonja, she has lost another 0.2 lbs. - not a big loss, but a loss none the less. The more important thing is this is the first time that she broke the 206.4 barrier since returning from the Biggest Loser finale trip! So hopefully, that's the little push she needed to get that scale to budge!

And together, we've reached another all-time low, getting past the 42 lbs. lost mark, even if it is only by 0.3 lbs.

On the fitness front, we've decided to participate in our local 1/2 marathon together in October (gotta get ourselves prepared for our Flying Pig date w/ Marcus & Amber next year!). Our "official" 12-week training program begins July 28... so even though we are setting up the gym at home, we'll still be in contact w/ our local gym as well. We're excited to see what the training program does to the scale for us! Wish us luck!

As for our site, we just wanted to let you know that we are working on revamping some things on it, but we've decided to leave the scale picture as our "finale celebration" pic... sort of a memorial to where we were at when we headed to L.A. (plus a reminder of the whole "boot" issue!). Please check back frequently for our updates and changes! Besides, we love hearing from all of you!!!

Photo Album: Kansas Tornados!!!!

Sun, 25 May 2008 21:05:09 GMT

Kansas Tornados!!!!

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More Photos...

Photo Album: Los Angeles!!!!

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:31:07 GMT

Los Angeles!!!!

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More Photos...

Photo Album: Sonja's Weight Loss

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:45:36 GMT

Sonja's Weight Loss

Starting Picture: 230 lbs.

Week 5: 219.6 lbs

Week 10: 213.8 lbs.

Post-Week 2: 210.2 lbs

Starting Picture: 230 lbs.

Week 5: 219.6 lbs.

Week 10: 213.8 lbs.

Post-Week 2: 210.2 lbs