Nutrisystem, with a meeting

That's what the hospital weight loss program turned out to be. The program is based on HMR meal replacements, which are shelf stable packaged foods similar to Nutrisystem. I would have done the 3 entrees/2 shakes/5 cups of fruits/veggies a day. I would have gone to one meeting a week, which was 90 minutes long but that I had to leave 10 minutes early to pick up Luke from daycare. And I'm sure I'd have lost weight on the program.

But it just didn't feel right. More on that in a minute.

Have you ever had shelf stable entrees? They are, without a doubt, one of the yuckiest things I've ever eaten. I couldn't imagine eating three of those entrees a day for three months. I knew when I called the hospital and asked about the program that meal replacements were involved, but I didn't realize it was the backbone of the whole deal. I hoped it might be like LA Weight Loss's shakes, where you could optionally substitute a shake for a meal, or you'd do 3 meals a day and 2 shakes a day. But no. It's expensive Non Food that they built the program around.

I'm sure it works for a lot of people. But it's not for me.

The not feeling right part started with the nurse who did the informational meeting. She was not obese by any means, but she seriously has more weight to lose than I do! That was the first strike.

At one point in the presentation she asked the group (there were 4 other people) why they wanted to lose weight, and she completely ignored me. Just listened to the other 4, and went right along as if I wasn't even in the room, as if someone who wants to lose "only" 20 pounds isn't worthy of her time. Strike two.

After the meeting was over, I explained that I would have to leave the weekly meeting 10 minutes early each week, and they treated me like I was nuts. "Can't you have someone else pick up your son?" "Can't you do the 6 p.m. class?" Why, no, I've already thought of those options and if they WERE options, I wouldn't be asking to leave 10 minutes early. I'm kind of busting their chops on this issue, because it wasn't that big a deal. It just added to my overall icky feeling about the whole thing. So, strike three, they were out.

I came back to the office afterwards and talked with Mark about it. He had done Nutrisystem last year and hated it. I told him what I wanted--LA Weight Loss back--and he said, why don't you just create your own program and follow it?

Well, yeah, easy to say. Not so easy to implement.

But I am definitely in the "pre-planning" stage of making this happen, and I feel the momentum building toward implementation.

Because I have got to get this weight off in the next few months.

Because I have signed up to (wait for it) run a full marathon in April 2010.

Yeah, I know, I know, I already said ages ago I was going to run the marathon in Nashville next year. But with everything going on with my dad & with our business, it wasn't an option to plan an out of town trip that far in the future.

So in October, right after I ran the Evansville Half Marathon, I was given a huge gift. I learned that Evansville is hosting its first ever full marathon on April 11, 2010, which is 2 days before I turn 40. Perfect timing. The organizers of the race are running a training program with long runs on Saturdays--bonus!

No excuses, I'm doing this marathon next year.

I printed the running schedule off today. I'm resolved to do this thing, but right now I'm completely freaking intimidated. The PRE-TRAIN schedule says I should be running 5 days a week for a total of 21 miles a week for at least a month before the training starts in December. Holy crap! That's more miles than I've ever run in my life.

Which I guess is the point, eh?

I always do my best and accomplish great things when I have a goal. I not only have a goal, I will have help to get there thanks to the Saturday training runs. And I know that I will always, thankfully, have my blog friends for support and accountability.

Thanks, guys, for sticking with me during these dark days. I can feel the light coming. Hopefully I'll be lighter on the scale soon, too.

Desperate Times

It hit me hard this weekend that I was on a slippery slope, sliding out of control toward being obese again. It also hit me hard that there is no way I can correct my course without help.

I've been here before, in this place where I keep telling myself "tomorrow I'll start eating right" or "what is wrong with me? why'd I put that food in my mouth?" And the way I fixed it, at last, was through L.A. Weight Loss, where I met with someone three times a week and followed a prescribed portion plan.

Unfortunately they went out of business in our town in 2008--before I finished my one year contract with them, by the way.

So yesterday I called a local hospital's weight management center. It's a bariatric surgery center, but they have a non-surgical program that is medically supervised and has weekly meetings. I'm going on Tuesday at noon to an informational meeting, and then the weekly meetings will start for me on Wednesday of the next week (I have to have a medical review with a nurse before I can start the meetings).

I guess it's a little nuts to start a weight loss program right before the holidays, but honestly I just can't take this anymore. I could easily gain 10 more pounds by the end of the year--or, hell, it could 20 pounds at the rate I'm going--and I'm not willing to put myself in the "obese" category again.

It's hard enough feeling like I do now. I can't even fathom what 170 or 180 pounds would feel like again.

And I don't ever, ever want to find out.

Thankfully I'm self aware enough (& desperate enough) that I know I can't do this by myself. I need accountability, I need a financial investment, and I need an official plan. So I'm hopeful that the hospital program will be the ticket.

It may be a desperate measure, but that's what I need right now.

M.I.A.

Missing in action is definitely how I feel lately, & not just in blog land. My life right now is so far from what I want it to be--so far from what I've created over the past two years--that I feel like I'm missing an essential piece of who I am.

Namely, the Skinny Girl.

I'm in crisis, guys. My dad's dying, and he's getting a divorce (yes! a divorce! this is a very, very good thing), and it's a lot of work (I'm handling all his finances & paperwork) and emotional upset (the separation/divorce filing court hearing was yesterday and it was a really tough day).

I haven't run or done any exercise since the half marathon on October 11. I've had a few good food days here & there, but there's no consistency for me to get any traction. I've been having those "I can't control myself" feelings around food again and the "Why am I eating like this?" zombie brain like the bad old days.

Work is crazy busy, which is good because we have gotten a couple new clients recently and we are doing marketing events and we are making some money. Every month we are still in business is a victory. But busy is still busy, and it's just one more thing derailing my workouts & food.

I'm not in a place where I can just prioritize better, or wake up earlier, or plan my meals ahead of time. Yes, those are all excellent ways to live a better life. They just aren't possible for someone in my position.

Which is hanging by my fingernails from a very steep cliff.

Thank God, we are healthy. Neither of the kids is sick. I've picked up something in the last day or two but it's just an annoying head cold thingy. Mark is doing okay. Sophie's dizzy spells have been, praise the Lord and medication, pretty much nonexistent this fall. So I'm not without saving graces here.

I have tons of family support. My mom and my sister are always there for me. My uncle (my dad's brother) has been a rock. There are many extended family members--cousins, aunts--who are coming to our rescue, as well.

I am not alone. I'm just overwhelmed.

I will be around the blog world, as I have a little time. This part of who I am--my blog, my bloggy friends--is why I know I can resurrect Skinny Girl when things aren't so insane.

I just hope she doesn't get completely smothered by Fat Girl. I'll settle for Moderately Overweight Girl for the time being.

***
And yes, dear friend Vickie, I had a lovely time with my dad at the Celtic Woman concert, thank you for asking. Altogether, there were 15 of us there! Dad & Mark & Sophie & my niece Jillian got to go backstage & meet two of the singers. It was a remarkable evening that my dad said "filled a hole in his heart." Sophie said she will always remember that night, as long as she lives. I think the rest of us will, too.

Imagine what I could do if I applied myself

So I ran the half marathon Sunday, even though I'd only gotten 4 hours sleep the night before and even though my training basically evaporated 2 months ago.

It wasn't bad.

I finished officially in around 2:54:ish, and unofficially (because my Garmin stops counting when I stop) in 2:43:ish. I walked a good portion of the last 3 miles and my running pace, when I was running, was much slower than usual, in the 11 - 12 min/mile range.

I was really, super glad I did it.

I didn't get injured, I didn't feel horrible all day, and I was stiff the next day but on Tuesday I was back to feeling normal.

It's frankly amazing that my body cooperates with me so well. I feel like I have been given a huge gift, to be able to run/walk 13.1 miles with virtually no training, not hurt myself, and not be miserable for days after.

So I keep thinking to myself "Imagine what I'd do if I'd trained?!"

I'll share more soon......

Tiny little update

So today is a good day. I'm taking it a day a time, and today so far is a good day.

I got to run yesterday, 3.24 miles, 39 minutes. It was a good run. I felt strong, even though it had been forever since I'd run much. I weighed 158.6 this morning, so I'm holding steady. I didn't binge last night--it's hard to eat Oreos when you're watching The Biggest Loser, ya know?

Things with my dad are still going well. He wanted to take the family to see The Celtic Woman performance this Saturday night, so we have 13 tickets (we have a big extended family!) and we are all going. It's his big "final gift" to everyone. I'm going to surprise him with a gift of our own--we have backstage passes for him. Right now we have 2, and I'm trying to get a 3rd so that both my sister & me can go with him. Otherwise, I'll let my sister go (if that's what Dad wants) because she has put up with so much crap over the years and never left his side. I think it will mean the world to him.

I'm still waffling about the half marathon, which is this Sunday. I really want to do it. If I get any semblance of decent sleep & the weather is cooperative, I'm going to. If it's too much, then I won't. No pressure on myself, at all. I figure I can do it in 3 hours without too much trouble (hope those aren't famous last words!).

For now, it's all good.

Except I got a speeding ticket this morning, which sucks. But you know? It didn't really upset me, so I guess that's a sign I'm dealing with life pretty well right now. Thanks be to God.

Is it Friday already?

And it's October? Are you kidding me? My son turns 4 in a month. Christmas is less than 3 months away. 2010 is a mere 90 days from now.

I guess my age is starting to show, because time is flying by faster than ever.

We also are one year out from when we thought the financial world was going to collapse. I'm frankly astonished--and thankful--that we (my husband & me) are still in business. It's been a rough year. But we survived.

Things are going well with my dad. The wife is still gone. They are emailing each other, and he is forwarding all their emails to me & my sister so we know what's going on and so he feels protected, emotionally, from her. He still loves her, he says, but he can't have her in his life anymore because of how she shuts everyone else in his family out. I've spent more time with him & talked with him more in the past week than I have in the last 2 years. And it's good time. There's immense healing going on. He's a different person. He told me he feels alive for the first time in years. This, from a man who the doctors have said has 6 to 12 months to live.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

I lifted weights Wednesday night & ran 1.5 miles. I still feel sore. If I'm going to do any more workouts this weekend, though, it's going to be a stretch--I've got plans with Sophie & Mark tonight (nature walk with church group) and tomorrow (swim lessons @ 9:30, pick up my dad for the ALS walk at 11:30, ALS walk from 11:30 - ?, stay with my dad until 7 p.m.-ish). Then Sunday will be church, grocery shop, laundry, clean, and family vegetation in front of TV football if there's time.

Anyway, I'm doing OK. I haven't gained any more weight, which is a plus. My jeans still fit. I brought my SAD light into the office & started sitting under it yesterday. It's on right now. I only have to sit under it for 40 minutes so it being kind of in the way isn't a big deal. I just move it when I'm done.

So that's it from here. I will check in with you all next week.

Too much

My dad kicked his emotionally abusive wife out last Wednesday. You might remember the drama around his illness (he has ALS) and his wife trying to drive my sister & me away from him. He'd finally had it last Wednesday after yet another confrontation and told her to leave. He not only told her to leave, he called my sister and asked her to come over to protect him. Then he asked my sister to call my mom & her husband and have them come over so they could protect him. This is unprecedented. My dad wants my mom around, my mom and her 6'6'' husband who has a concealed weapons license. Dad's afraid. He hasn't been alone for one minute since she left. And she's left peacefully, for now.

I've been spending a lot of time with him since then, which has been a huge blessing.

The good news is that a tremendous peace has settled on our family now that she's gone.

The bad news is now I can't just put his illness and my feelings in my nice little box and file it away and ignore it. I have to deal with all the emotions. And it's hard. Really really hard.

I'm not losing any weight, because I have zero energy for it. I'm scared. I realized yesterday I could easily have 40 pounds to lose instead of 10 if I don't get a handle on myself soon. I have got to make exercise a priority. It's the only thing that is going to save me, because I don't have the energy to do the food right now. Exercise makes a difference on every level. I feel better, I look better, it helps keeps the comfort food eating in check.

But I have had no time to do anything since Wednesday, before I got the call from my sister Wednesday night.

I'm not spending all my nights with my dad. There are miracles at work and we have other family members (on my dad's side) who are living with him & taking care of his daily needs. But I'll be spending significant time with him every weekend, which I'm happy about. He may not have many weekends left. And I'm now co-Power of Attorney (with my sister) and I have responsibility for getting his finances figured out.

I'm not sleeping well, so I started taking xanax again to sleep. That makes it hard to wake up in the morning. It's all quite a mess, actually.

Anyway, I'm going to try to leave today at 4 p.m. and either take a body pump class or go running in this gorgeous weather.

I don't have all the answers. I know things could be worse. I know they could be much much better. I'm going to do the best I can. Please pray that I don't end up back at 200 pounds before this is all over with.

***
Vickie, you'd asked a while back when I go to sleep at night. That is a great question and you have zero'd in on a big problem I have. I'm a night owl by nature, & my brain gears up around 9 p.m. and I usually watch TV and do laundry or just vegetate on the couch or read. I go to sleep around 11 p.m. most nights, sometimes later (last night it was almost midnight). Not a good plan for breakfast, eh? It doesn't help that my husband stays up even later than I do. I need an overhaul!