renee68

Good morning Buddies! I have so much to catch up on with everyone here. I have missed you all!! Haven’t read any blogs all week!!  I hope everyone is doing great! I have been sick since Tues or Wed…..I can’t remember which day it was. I have had a major resp bug that my daughter Izabella shared with me. Nice of her, hugh? She had been sick the week before, and missed almost an entire week of school. I really figured it was more like the flu with her. I limped along at work, and just fell out when I got home at night. I spent all day yesterday in bed-which is really strange! I think I feel better today…..havent been awake long. Anyways…..enough on that!! HOW ARE ALL OF YOU??!!

As if things couldn’t be more complicated in my work world…you wont believe what else happened! The nurse at my work-who also happens to be my friend-informed me that he could no longer do his job….tired of the driving, tired of patients, etc. and so he left Monday morning with no notice!!!!!!!!! Some friend, right?  Just a quick background-I work & manage a respiratory company. We set patients up on oxygen, cpaps/bipaps, and nebulizers. The nurses job involves lots of driving, going in to peoples homes, and setting them up with equipment. Anywaysssss……now I have to find a new nurse to do the job-fun, fun! In the meantime, since I am a nurse I will be able to do the job. LIKE I HAVE TIME!!!!!!!!!!! Oh such is life, I guess. The help wanted ad went out in the local paper today, so I hope to have lots of resumes tomorrow!

On a very positive note-I had blogged about my brother a few weeks ago, and the cancer scare he had. Well, he did have testicular cancer-which they removed, and so far no evidence that it had spread!! He had a Cat Scan this past week, and it looks normal. We are now waiting on a blood test that measures tumor markers. At this point it looks like he caught it early-thank GOD!!!! This is key with testicular cancer, because it is a fast growing cancer.  There is no family history of test. cancer in our family.

On the diet front for me……had a maintain this week, which I knew would happen. I am hopeful that I am back to 100% by tomorrow and get back with the program. Prob wont be a ball of fire just yet…

Much love to my Wildcat team! Thanks for all the love this week….you guys are the best! Buddyslim is a pretty wonderful place!!!!

Have a great Sunday everyone!!!

Hello everyone! As most of my buddies know, I don’t blog much, and I thought it was high time I sent one out.  I had a terrible week, and oddly enough the eating stayed on track (for the most part), but the exercise went by the way side. I hate to come to all of you when the chips seem to be down, but here I am.

On Tuesday we found out that the doctor strongly recommended surgery for my 31 year old brother, because they suspect he has testicular cancer. This was based on ultra sound images, and blood work. On Friday he had surgery, and now we are waiting for the pathology report to come back tomorrow for the results. They basically said that it is cancer just by viewing it, but we don’t know what type or what stage it is in. This type of cancer has a very high success rate of being cured, so we are hopeful on that account. Nonetheless, my family is scared! It has just happened so fast, and it is kind of hard to wrap your mind around it.

In the same week my 21 year old son had his follow up visit with the retina specialist. He had his 5th and final surgery on his right eye a little over a month ago. He got bad news on Thursday. The doc said that the retina is not laying correctly and there are tiny microscopic holes developing. This is exactly what happened in the beginning of this whole mess with the eye. He has some scar tissue-from all of the surgery-and it is causing some pulling-hence the holes. I am so bothered with this because my son will not go through any more surgery. I am not even sure if surgery will fix the problem at this point. I am also bothered by the fact that the doc said come back in 1 month to reevaluate it again….take pictures, etc. Ok, when there are holes in the retina, fluid then goes through the holes, and the retina is then pulled out of place. Come back in a month!!!???  The jist of what will eventually happen is that my son will go blind in that right eye. Like I said he refuses to go through any more surgeries…..they were pure hell! Also, at this point I think they have “messed around” with it enough! Its not like its the worst thing that could happen-it just saddens me, and I worry about his other eye. Ethan, my son, seems just fine with all of this and I guess that is the most important thing. He hasn’t really been able to see out of that eye now for almost a year, so he has adjusted.

So ya see….my week was a recipe for failure (I am an emotional eater). Like I said, stayed pretty good on track with the food. My emotions have been a wreck!! I am trying not to dwell on things…..for fear I will end up in a puddle.

Update on the guy in my office that started dieting to loose weight for his HS reunion in May….he has lost a total of 14#. He is doing good, but not loosing as fast as he thought he would. It’s so funny because he weighs himself at work…..fully dressed with some heavy work shoes on!! So not like us girls! I wouldn’t think of weighing with a stitch on!! lol!

Gonna really try and get my act together this week. Really would like to loose 2#’s! I know the exercise is what has to happen. I have set some small goals for myself this week, and I am going to attain them! I have lost 20#’s so far, and it is time to attack the next 20! I know I can do this.

I hope all of you are doing great! Thank you to to my Wildcat team for being soooo awesome! I hope you all have a fantastic week!

*TOGETHER WE CAN!!! 

Have a super Sunday!

Hey everyone!! Beautiful Sunday morning here! Not as warm as yesterday, but a beautiful day just the same.

I had a bad weigh in on Friday…up 3#’s, and it really got the best of me. I am pretty sure I was letting some “blues” enter the picture here anyways, and then the weight!!! UGH! Of course I knew before Friday morning what the weight was gonna be, as I weigh daily. So, what did I do yesterday??? Threw everything out the window, and ate BAD, BAD, BAD!!!!!!!!!:(  It’s stupid, and I know it. It scared me too. Made me think about the “old days”…the days before joining buddyslim-the days of eating, eating, and doing NOTHING! I felt shi*** yesterday. I woke up this morning, and thought about it..I can throw all of the work I have done out the window or I can charge ahead. I have decided to CHARGE ahead. I am the only one who can make this happen-it’s up to ME.

I looked at the livingstrong site today. It is pretty cool. I learned that I need around 1700 calories to loose 2# a week…that coupled with light activity. Interesting. I am gonna shoot for that for about two weeks, and see what happens. I know that I need to get the exercise in..no excuses! I hate to be all talk, and no walk -so to speak. I feel like that is what I do. Every week that is one of my goals-Exercise. For the last two weeks it hasnt happened. It’s like dont say it if you arent gonna do it!!!!!!! I always have good intentions, but somethings seems to always get in the way. I must get it done this week. No matter what kind of crazy hours I put in at work. It has to happen.

About the office guy I blogged about previously…..he left for lunch on Wed, and came back with all kinds of groceries to start his diet! He sure was irritable the rest of the week!!!! I felt for him. I am anxious to see how his weekend went. That being said-he is on and I have been off!! Cant let him beat me at this, now can I??!! hehe All the more reason to get with the program.

Thanks to all of you for the continued support….and of course thanks to my wonderful team THE WILDCATS!!!!! This journey has been so different from past attempts..and I owe it all to MY BUDDIES!!!!

Have a wonderful day everyone…and much continued success to all of us!

A funny update about the guy in my office. He is the one I blogged about that was going to start his diet today…and told me that he would prob loose 30# the first month. Well bless his heart!!!! He didn’t start today-because he didn’t have time to buy groceries! I was sooo bummed! Was so looking forward to having some added support at work. In due time, I suppose!  I also couldn’t help but identify with that excuse…ya know?? How many times in the past-I was always gonna start on Monday, and then some excuse kept me stalled. I am not gonna give him a hard time about it…just keep doing my thing. Not sure if he is on for tomorrow, or if another Monday must come before he begins….the saga continues.

 Hope everyone had a wonderful Monday!

Hello all of you wonderful buddyslimmers! I don’t blog much…do read lots of blogs, and try to comment as time allows. I gain so much inspiration, motivation, and encouragement from reading what others are going through. Not to mention, sometimes enjoy a good laugh too!! Thanks to all of you for that!

 I just wanted to share what has added some fuel to my fire! This guy I work with is preparing for his HS reunion in May…he has been talking about it for some time. Saying he is going to loose weight cause he wants to look GOOD for the occasion. Well, first off…this past week has been his BIG FEED time! He kept saying “I weigh 246, and want to get up to 250# when I start on Monday (tomorrow)!!! It has been a joke around the office. I think…why would you want to do that???! But, whatever. He then tells me….”Your gonna hate me, cause I will prob loose 30# the first month!”  At this point he drinks like a liter & 1/2 of regular soda daily. Not to mention the pizzas, and the fast food. He says as soon as he cuts all of this junk he thinks he will loose that amount of weight off the bat. He might???! First off, men do loose faster than women….he is a few years younger than me..think he is 38. ANYWAYS…..this has encouraged me to kick it in high gear!!! The last two weeks of Jan I had a few slips, and didnt get the exercise in that I really needed. So, along with my own quest for health & “added” beauty (lol)..I am letting his comment fuel my fire and motivation. It will also be nice to have someone else in the office on this journey. I will keep you all posted as to how this goes!!!!

 On another note….cant believe it is FEB!!! Already!? Wow! That being said…I encourage everyone to kick it in high gear for this short month. Spring is around the corner….soon enough I wont be able to hide in that big winter coat!!  Here is to all of us! This is our time….lets make it happen!!!

Hope you are all enjoying a beautiful Sunday, and looking forward to a SUCCESSFUL week! We can do it!

Love ya all! 

WOW!! I made it the entire weekend…stayed on track with eats, and exercised!! The exercise is what I am most proud of. The cardio really kicks my butt! I know it will get easier with time, and with more weight off.

I had blogged a couple days ago about POWERING IT UP in the month of January. I just really need to get with the program, and I decided one way or another I was going to do just that. By the way, I dearly appreciate all of the wonderful comments you guys left me. I also was really excited about others that wanted to do the same as me….get busy & make this happen! There really is something to be said about power in numbers-WOW!

Lucky for me….Nancy, the coordinator of the WILDCAT team, replied to me and said she was going to come up with a challenge for our team for the month. Just what I needed!! A challenge! That really got me pumped…again, just what I needed. The next day there it was-a jump rope challenge! This will be a challenge, but she posted some really good tips and ideas on how to train with a jump rope. The one I will be doing is jumping for 5 min and then weight training for 5-in a 30 minute period. I really think this is doable. So, tomorrow I am gonna buy my rope and shake the place up!!! lol!

I invite all of you to join me in this. Doesn’t it sound like fun??!

Take care you guys! Have a great week!

~Renee

I am soo excited about the NEW YEAR! Kind of glad to have the holidays behind me, so I can focus better.

 I joined here at the end of September ‘08. Honestly, I am not impressed with the weight loss to date. Thirteen pounds. While it is better than a poke in the eye…I know I could have done better. This is ok though….In the beginning, I tackeled the eating, and gained control of that. I then increased water intake, and now drink 90+ oz daily. It has become an obsession! (thanks Nancy) I have a full water bottle with me at all times. Love it! The exercise has been an issue for me. I started doing really well with it, and then it fizzeled during the week of Christmas. Since then, it has been hard to remotivate myself. I am getting back in the swing of it though. It has been difficult at times….depressing, happy, etc…what a ride. But, oh so worth it!

Being on Buddyslim has been sooo helpful for me this time. I know I would not have continued, if I didn’t have this wonderful community of likeminded people. It is sooo insightful to read what other people are going through, and how they are being successful. Plus the support is awesome. Buddyslim is now my guilty little pleasure!!! hehe!

I want to make January my power month. I WANT and NEED to see results!!!! I am fully aware that this will not happen overnight…..just want to see some progress of my weight ticker MOVE to the right!! I don’t want to end this month thinking…..”I could have done better, or more”. I know the only way for this to happen is to put all of the processes in place. I am gonna do it. I appreciate the support from all of you, and invite you in turn to join me….POWER IT UP IN JANUARY!!!!

HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!!

Christmas is just about over! There is so much preparation for the big day, and then it is over sooo quickly! I had a good day, but feel somewhat let down. The holidays always leave me feeling this way. Not sure why-maybe I have big expectations. My grown son got me some smelly good stuff for my house, and the cutest Santa Clause tin filled with Russell Stover chocolates!!!!! He knows I am on a diet, so I am not sure why he would have done that??? He knows me I guess, and so I know he did it to be nice. I will be taking it to work tomorrow for the office staff to enjoy. My other son filled a basket full of nice things, but one of the things was a huge rice krispy treat in the shape of a Christmas tree, decorated with chocolate!!!! UGH!!! Not even going to open that sucker!!! I just cant have that stuff in my house. For me having that stuff here would be the same as if you brought alcohol in to an alcoholic’s house. I can NOT be trusted with it!!

 Looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow!

I do want to add here, that no one noticed or said anything about my weight loss. No one even asked about it!!!!!!! Really makes me mad/sad. Maybe they think I have fallen off the wagon (since I was eating regular today) (I did have my bottle of water-should have been a clue !!!!), and don’t want to bring up a sore subject?? I don’t know. I can tell that I have lost weight, and I see myself every day….can they not tell? What is the deal? I will say that I am not wearing the most flattering clothes-maybe that is it. My pants are kinda baggy-havent bought anything new yet….no new sizes. But still I would think it would be worthy of my Mom or my sister to mention. This is important, and the support and recognition from my family would be nice.  I do know that ultimately I am doing this for me..for my health and my life!!! If I know the truth and the progress, that is all that should matter. I think I just felt like the fat one today, and I didn’t like feeling this way. My Mom and sister are both normal size.  I did think to myself this morning…next year they wont recognize me! I am just feeling sorry for myself, and I am sorry if this brings anyone down on such a special day.

Looking forward….I am gonna make January my best month yet!!!! I am going to strive for super results. Wanna kick it up a notch! It’s funny because soon loosing weight will be all the rage-on tv, sale adds, radio, and specials for gym memberships. Everyone will be making their New Years resolutions…..most of those will be to loose weight, which will last for about a month. We are all soo lucky to be here. We have already made our decision to loose weight. We don’t have to make that resolution!!! YAY! We are already on that path. I am not sure what resolution I will make-need some time to think on that one.

Hope you all had a wonderful day! If you ate to much, or indulged in goodies-tomorrow it’s back on the healthy train! Take care friends, and much love to you all!!! Thanks for lisening!

Hey Buddies! I have a question and would like some advice. I am thinking about trying the Sacred Heart diet. I have thought about this since I joined Buddyslim. Ya know, the allure of something magical. I would like to know if anyone has tried this approach. I was even thinking about doing it for part of the week, and coupeling it with my regular restricted diet. Would really like to  jump start some more loss. What do you guys think? I have written down the ingredients and am heading to the grocery store today. I just want to see and feel substancial weight loss. I feel like I should have lost more weight by now too. When I weighed yesterday I weighed in at 245, so that is 15 #’s lost since joining here. I am an every morning weigher, and this morning when I weighed it was about 247!!!! So….what is official is that I have FOR SURE lost 10#’s, but it is teetering around the 245-247 range. I just feel frustrated. You should see me when I weigh myself…..I step ever so carefully on that sucker-look-step off-step back on..carefully. It soooo dictates me. When I saw the 245 yesterday, I saw it twice and ran with it. Quickly checked in and reported my weight!!! My day was made. This morning-not so much. Dont even suggest not weighing every day-not gonna happen-I got to be honest!! Dont get me wrong. I am staying focused and looking for the long term payoff. I guess at the same time I dont want it to take this long. :(  I guess what I am saying is that I feel like I should see be seeing better results considering the changes I have made. One of my goals this week is to push myself through the exercise. I dont think I have been doing enough. I am still at a weight that makes me “poop out” quickly. I think about those Biggest Looser people, and how they push-push themselves (with some cracking of the whip, aka Bob & Jillian!), and realize I need to do that too. I am easy on myself.

Anyways, any thoughts on this diet?? Hope everyone is having a good day and enjoying the weekend. Take care!!! 

Love ya ALL!! ~Renee

I know I over did it on Thanksgiving day…and just a tad on Black Friday. I went shopping  with my sister, and mom. I had a really great time both days and had lots of energy yesterday shopping. During the summer we all got together to shop and I just couldn’t keep up! My feet would hurt me something awful, and I would just beg to sit for awhile and rest! I was no fun! I even bailed out on a family trip to Silver Dollar City over the summer. This is a family theme park that involves LOTS of walking up and down many hills. I bailed because I knew I wouldnt be able to keep up. I knew my feet would hurt from all of that walking. That, among other things was the turning point for me. I knew I couldn’t let life pass me by like this. Now granted I have only lost 13 pounds so far, but this has made such a difference in the way I feel. I was ”out-walking” my family yesterday! I was walking faster than everyone too. My sister even made the comment…”I like the new Renee”!!!!!! She was amazed at the stamina I had. I was amazed too! It was a great day and my feet didn’t hurt even once!!!! YAY!

We went to a pizza place to eat yesterday. I did well and made sure to load up on the salad bar. I did eat 3 pieces of pizza-this place was a buffett of pizza and desert. I didn’t have any of the desert and was proud of that! While we were sitting there visiting, I watched the many people going back and back again for more pizza. I am not judging, because this would have been me in the past. It just made me kind of sad. The amount of calories some of these people were eating was staggering. It’s funny how I would even notice something like this now. This food was loaded with calories, fat, and high sodium counts. Not a healthy place to eat really-just dollar friendly! Again, I am not judging these people, it just made me think about myself and my journey-and my own health.

Back on track today. Hoping to see a nice loss on Friday! Gonna buckle down and make it happen! Thanks for all the support buddies! Hope you are all having a great weekend. Take care!!!