Well weigh-in is tomorrow and I have mixed feelings which I'm too busy to express right now. Work has been really busy since we have someone leaving and I'm picking up half her job. Hopefully I will have more time to blog later!

Well I've decided my body just doesn't "do" math. Supposedly for every 3500 calories deficit you lose a pound. "Nope", my body says, "Not gonna do it".  I've been tracking every little calorie in and every calorie expenditure. My body just HAS to be uncooperative and not do what it's supposed to!!!  Why do things always have to be so hard?  Not that things have been ever easy these 6 months, but gosh this has been especially difficult. I have been working my butt off, literally, the past couple weeks and the scale won't budge.   I've been especially diligent with fats and carbs. Only the "good" stuff except for just 2 times I've caved and eaten bacon.  I'm glad the "you are what you eat" quote isn't true because I'd most certainly be sprouting feathers with all the eggs, chicken and turkey I've eaten. Although my activity has been limited because of my flare-up with my neck/back I've been walking a lot and doing hills,stairs and inclines and really pushing my limits. Yesterday I went bike riding and was so tired afterwards I could barely lift my bike in the car. It took several attempts (must admit my cruiser bike IS heavy" though).  The scale didn't move again this morning and after BOUNCING on the thing a few times I went to a chain restaurant for breakfast.  I didn't binge or even order the way I would have in the past and it wasn't even one of the big breakfasts, but looking everything up afterwards it totaled 879 calories for ONE meal.  It took 879 calories (AND A STOMACH ACHE) for me to remember WHY I don't eat that way anymore. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean I'll never eat there anymore, it just means that I have to take better care to choose WHAT I eat.  I also forgot my new philosophy when eating out "1/2 now, 1/2 later". So now my stomach hurts and of course it didn't change what the scale read. I've decided the next couple days I'm going to switch things up like Kate says she was going to, cutting meat and dairy and I'm going to eat just fruits and veggies.  I've also decided that for it's own safety I'm going to have someone place the scale into hiding!!!! Well, I need to go now. Maybe I can pacify my tummy with those pretty bing cherries.

Too miserable to blog yesterday but I finally got to see my pain management doc yesterday afternoon. He was really impressed by how well I've been doing and how much better I'm looking.  I'm glad my doctors are noticing my progress too.  It helps keep you going when others take the time to acknowledge your hard work. In the middle of the exam he asked "HOW are you exercising?". I said "Well, I finally decided if I just sit around on the couch I'll be hurting and just keep getting fatter and more miserable so I decided if I'm going to hurt anyway I may as well get out there and try to have some fun and try to get healthier and maybe some of the pain will get better along the way."  He did warn me to be careful and I'm not stupid. I know this arthritic spine isn't going to get better.  Surgery is a "wait til there's no option, major big deal, one time, no guarantee" kinda thing so I'm holding out for technology.  They make advances so quickly these days and I've been managing to hold out using pain management and my own pigheadedness.  Anyway after about 8 injections he says "I can't believe how much younger you look"! Yeah!!! ANOTHER person who thinks I look younger and here I was so worried about looking older because I wouldn't have all that fat filling up lines and creases anymore!   Hopefully I will look good for my final picture next Saturday. Next Friday I undergo 3 sets of blocks in outpatient surgery.  I usually feel like I've been kicked by steel toed boots for 1-3 days afterwards if I wait until the pain gets this bad because the nerves are so terribly irritated. It takes a few days for the cortisone to start kicking in. Maybe I'll live a little and take the sedation during the procedure for a change. I usually don't so I can go to work afterwards. Even though I was miserable I forced myself to go get some walking in on the treadmill at the Y.  That's major progress because in the past I'd make excuses.  I started out by promising myself to go at least 30minutes. I could only manage 2.5 mph. I went to fill my water bottle and give myself a pep talk and decided I'd try at least another 15 because there were lots of machines open. I ended up finally getting myself into a rhythm and ended with another 61 minutes between the treadmill, elliptical and the recumbent. Promised myself 30 and ended with 91 minutes although at the end I was exercising close to the red zone according the the HRM.  At home after I synced my FitBit I noticed I was only at 8 floors for the day so I walked up and down the stairs for a total of 11 for the day so I could keep on my new goal for the week. Total miles 7.17 and 17,242 steps. Not bad for a bad day.

Well I managed to keep my goal of over 10,000 steps a day, which I ended up increasing to 5miles a day for the last 7 days! Well, that's if I average, LOL. Yesterday was the only day I didn't make it because I felt under the weather. Only managed 2.74 miles but I did climb 11 flights.   I managed to total 43.59 miles for the 7 days which isn't too bad. My best day was Saturday. I logged 9.59 miles. I was up cleaning late and really made the 10 but the clock rolled over to midnight and the rest of my miles reset for the next day :-(.  The goal for the next week is to make it a full 7 days instead of 6 with the walking and add a minimum of stair, hill or ramp climbing. I have the FitBit Ultra and it counts all elevations. I'm managed 94 floors the last week, even doing 23 flights in one day but missed making my 10 flights a day goal twice. I know zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...... really snoozy blog but goals are important when you are trying to get healthy even if it's just walking DOWN the stairs rather than taking the elevator. You don't have to start with anything big but you can't complete a goal if you never start one! Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.  ~Henry Ford Goals are dreams with deadlines.  ~Diana Scharf Hunt

Yes, I'm blogging again today.  I don't know if anyone reads these especially since the blogging has tapered off so much the last few months but I'm making sure this is at the top of my priority list for the 11 days then the contest will be over. I had a wonderful lunch. When you finally adjust to making better dietary choices you can find some healthier but completely awesome meals.  I'm finding that I really prefer the changes and they don't make me feel so weighed down or tired after eating.  You should feel better after eating NOT worse.  It you feel worse then you really need to reassess your diet. I adore a certain chicken piccata dish, it's boneless chicken breasts lightly floured, browned and then there's this yummy sauce made with olive oil, lemon juice and capers and artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes are added.  Normally we eat it over pasta. Last night I had mine without it but with a side of cauliflower.  It was really good but something was missing I brought leftovers for lunch and poured it over a cooked kale. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever eaten. Puts the pasta to shame! I don't think I'll ever eat it with pasta again, even when I go back to eating pasta occasionally, whole wheat of course!

correction the walk had 281 finishers

Looked up my results today. Gets me a just little teary . I ended up with a placement of 170 out of 275.  My official time was 50:03.8 that's 3.66mph for a 5k.   So congrats to everyone who did the Johnnycake. It doesn't matter if we had a good walk or run time or a not so good time (there's no "bad" time in my opinion), it's absolutely wonderful that we did it. Like one of the signs said yesterday, some people were "still in BED" or didn't walk because it was hot outside or were afraid it might rain! We put ourselves out there and we decided to challenge ourselves and we should be proud!!! Especially the walkers that were over 70 years old! There were a surprising number and a lot had better times than I did. Heck there was an 80yr old guy that finished 101st! Before this all started I needed to push a grocery cart just to walk around the store. Honestly. Even if we were just browsing or I was picking up just a couple small things I needed to push the cart because I was so tired and would get so short of breath. Actually I would push a cart around the stores sometimes just to get some exercise because I needed something to hold onto when doing it.  I can still remember the surprise on my husbands face when we went to Target one day after I started losing weight and getting more active and he pushed the cart towards me and I said "thanks, but I don't need it". Boy, did I smile.  Every time you make the choice to be more active you are making the choice to be healthier.