Week 10
During week 10, we had another birthday in our family. On September 4th, we celebrated Andrew’s Birthday! No cake for us this time either. Andrew is not a cake person, so saying NO to cake is easy for him. So, only the kids had a cupcake and some ice cream. Andrew did have some sugar free ice cream, but a very small serving!!!
When we celebrated my birthday two and a half weeks earlier, we had steaks and ribs. They were so good that Andrew wanted to have them again!
I’m super pleased with ourselves as we only bought three ribeye steaks and cut them in half to serve the six of us! This is a monumental moment for us as I stated in our last Health Update #4, in the past we would have bought one steak per person. It feels great to be eating the correct portion and also be saving money at the same time. Ribeye steaks can be expensive!!
This was the old us!
Our whole plate is nearly covered.
I’m sure there were times our entire plate would have been covered.
This is the NEW Us!!!
Smaller meat portion and more vegetables not drenched in oil!!
Weight Loss
For Week 10, I lost another 1.8 lbs bringing my total weight loss for this journey to 31.2 lbs. During week 9, Andrew stopped taking some of his medications and due to that, he did gain a few pounds. It is discouraging to see the scale go up, but we both know that his body is readjusting to not having the diuretics in his system. Andrew is focused on staying the course as we know we just have to wait this time out and we will see the weight go down soon.
At the beginning of each month, we measure ourselves. It great to see the inches drop off even when the scale doesn’t move. Andrew lost 4.5 inches this month and I lost 12.5 inches overall. We both have lost a total of 24.5 inches overall since we started losing weight!!!
In this picture, I have 24 inches pulled out from our tape measure! Losing 5 inches off my waist, 7 inches off my chest, an inch off my arms and legs all adds up! This shirt that I’m wearing is fitting me better as well. I received this shirt in a Stitch Fix order last year. At the time, it did fit me, well kind of if I’m completely honest with myself. It was on the snug side and every time I sat down, the fabric would pull around the buttons and the sleeves were tight around my arms. Now, this shirt fits me so much better, but sadly, I will not be able to wear it much longer as it is close to being too big for me now. Sigh!!
Cravings and Temptations
We haven’t put ourselves in a position where we are tempted to eat the wrong foods. On the Sundays that we serve on the media team at church, we know that we should avoid going to the back room where they have donuts and kolaches for the worship and media team. We still haven’t gone out to eat for dinner together for that is when the big test for us will be.
I did grab some Chick-fil-a one night for my dinner before heading to our Wednesday night service. I wasn’t able to make dinner before leaving the house, so the only option was to get take out. I quickly looked in our Dining Out Guide to see what I could order when I got there.
I ordered the 12 count grilled chicken nuggets and a side salad. I ate the chicken nuggets in the car and then ate my salad at church while I prepared the screens for the evening service. I was full after eating this meal and was happy that I was able to stay on plan and still eat out. In a couple of weeks, Andrew and I will have to eat out as we will be going away for a few days and will be forced to eat dinner out. Pray for us!!
Week 11
When it was time to weigh in for Week 11, we were still unsure how Andrew would do. He gained a few pounds again. 🙁 I only lost 0.8 lbs. Barely 1 pound. I was sure enjoying losing 1.8 to 2.6 lbs a week, but maybe I am coming to a little plateau in my weight loss journey or it could just be an off week for me. I’m not going to let this discourage me as I know that if I keep continuing to do what I’ve been doing for the past ten weeks, the weight will continue to drop.
Exercise
These past ten weeks, we have not exercised AT ALL and we still LOST weight! It’s great to know that we don’t have to be working our butts off in the gym every day. Even if we did work out every day, there is no way we would have had the same results that we have had already. In 10 weeks, Andrew lost 44.2 lbs and I lost 31.2 lbs. This program has been so easy to follow and the results are proof that it works!!
Now, exercising is important and we understand that. We know we are out of shape! We know that we need to do both, to lose weight and to exercise, to have optimal health. I shared a little about the story of my hip in Health Update #2, so because of my hip condition, my left leg has practically no strength. My muscles are weak! I needed physical therapy after all my surgeries and never received any. With all the weight gain I had, I know that has put a ton of stress on my hip, back and knees. Several years ago, we purchased an elliptical for me to use at home. It is gentle on my hip and allows me to get my muscles and joints moving. In the past, when I regularly used my elliptical, I noticed that walking and sitting down got easier.
We are starting to add some gentle exercising to our routine a few days a week. Andrew is using a workout video while I use my elliptical.
We are taking this slow and easy! Working this into our schedule is probably the hardest thing to do. We always feel great after doing our exercises, just got to make the time to do them!!!
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!!
Andrew is starting to see his weight go back down! YAY!! We thought that this would take at least a month before we started seeing his weight drop. So we are ecstatic to see the scale go down!!!
Each week, I’m getting closer to onederland!!! For those not familiar with the weight loss community’s terminology, it means I’m close to weighing under 200 lbs. I have no memory of me being under 200 lbs. So I am anxiously awaiting this day! I wish it would come tomorrow, but realistically it will probably take several more weeks.
Before/After Photos
Here is our latest before/after photos! We are loving the results!!!
Thank you for following our journey. Sharing our story to the world is not easy and posting our pictures is WAY out of our comfort zone. We realize the struggle is real for many and we wanted to document what we are doing for two reasons.
One, to help hold us accountable! We are at the beginning of our journey and we know that we have a long road ahead of us.
Two, we want to encourage others to help take their health back! It’s never too late! The hardest part about starting this journey is just saying YES to a healthier YOU!!
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