I'm Large

This morning I found a link on a website to calculate your body size, it was not surprising that my body type came back "large". Shocker!
There was a more useful link on this page though...a weight lose calculator. You can use it by putting in desired pounds or desired weight in combination with the date that you would like to reach this goal and it tells you the daily and weekly weight loss needed to reach your goal. SWEET!
Since I am not in a rush to lose weight and I am more focused on getting healthy and developing better eating habits I said my goal date was December 31, 2010. As for my pound goal, I mostly just wanted to get under 200 so I set a goal of 190. Here is what I got:

To lose 40 pounds and reach your target weight of 190 pounds by Friday December 31, 2010, you would need to lose:

Number of pounds to lose daily : 0.25 pounds Number of pounds to lose per week : 1.78 pounds

I'm not sure that I can reach that goal, but it doesn't seem to unrealistic to me either.

The not so funny side of being fat

Health risks!
I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes around October 2008. I had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy and my numbers never went down after delivery. The truth is I was probably pre-diabetic before the pregnancy as my weight was soaring out of control at that time. I had a blessed pregnancy, and worked hard every single day on getting healthy. I lost almost 50 pounds while I was pregnant and kept the gestational diabetes in check. I knew that there was an increased risk in developing Type 2 after delivery (and it was even higher for me, because I was diagnosed early on in the pregnancy) so I was not surprised when I was referred to an Endocrinologist at my six week check-up. I was disappointed...I had come so far, lost a lot of weight, was eating healthy but not so lucky.
I spent the first year of my diagnosis trying to ignore it and hope it would go away on its own. Not that I think there is a precedent for that happening. I started eating crap again, gaining weight and became sedentary. Then I snapped out of it...I stopped feeling sorry for myself and let go of the embarrassment and shame that I felt from the diagnosis. I went to a diabetes counselor and started meeting with a diabetic nutritionist as well. As a result I am eating better, losing weight and more active.
I went to the Dr. this morning and was a plump 228, down from 243 at my May appointment (which was down 8 lbs since my February appt). My A1C (diabetic blood test) was 5.8 no change since May, but definitely down since February. The ADA defines diabetes as an A1C of >6.4 and the pre-diabetic category as 5.7 - 6.4.
My goal is to one day be off the medication and I think I might be getting close. But until then I will prick my weary fingers every day, every three months I will continue to get stuck in the arm for lab work and see the Endocrinologist. I will take my medicine daily which causes me to have umm, lets just say intestinal issues. And I must not forget to have my eyes and feet checked annually. None of this is fun, in fact it all kind of sucks!

Reckless Abandon

That is how I describe my eating style for the past two weeks. I see it, I want it, I eat it. I try to start my day off good, measuring and weighing my portions...but as the day goes on I find myself reaching for a snack and not calculating or recording it. And once I let a few foods go untracked, it snowballs out of control.
I have had several weekends where this happens but I am usually able to get right back into the routine on Monday and even pull off some weight loss too. But not recently, I just don't know where my motivation went. I'd like to say I need to go to the beach to find it, but more than likely I'll find it at the gym!

A LOT has changed!

So A LOT has changed since the first and last posts I made. My weight continued to increase until I reached about 255. I was so disappointed in myself. After shedding over 50 pounds during my pregnancy I really wanted to be able to keep the weight off. In addition to just wanting to be "thin" I really don't want to have Type 2 Diabetes and take medication for the rest of my life. But here I was gaining all the weight back.
Somewhere after Thanksgiving and before the New Year I decided enough was enough and I didn't want to get back to my highest weight, a shocking 273. So I went to see a diabetes nutritionist and started eating the right foods. Then around March I added the much needed exercise into the routine.
I am happy to report that as of today I am a plump 228! Well, I might be 229 as I did eat McDonald's for lunch!