Today is monday, April 27th. I was slow getting up this morning because I was up sharing pictures wit Larry (the new possible guy) until about one a.m.) After brushing my teeth and using the restroom, I eyes the scale with some skepticism. Let's face it... I was flat out scared!

I eased onto it and with one eye glanced down.

254!!

OMG! I almost fainted. That is about 9 pounds in six days. HOLY CRAP! I was so excited, I ran from the bathroom, took my pills, and went straight to work on my company correspondence. When I finished, I ate two eggs with mom, and nothing else. Then I went back to work for a while, smiling the whole time!

The "returning warrior" guy I have a crush on had not written this morning, and I was a little broken hearted about it, but all in all, I remained up beat about my body. For me that's rare.

I worked for a couple of hours, then took my pills. An hour later, I worked-out. I started with the floor work, building my stomach exercises to 35 reps, and then did the same for the push ups before I started stretching. I then did some medium impact dancing, to increase my work-out from twenty minutes all the way up to forty-five. I was so happy I couldn't see straight!

By the time I got finished, mom was serving green beans with sliced raw tomatoes on top. That was a good healthy lunch. I didn't put any butter or salt on my food.

So, still buzzed by the weight loss and the work-out, I strapped on the weights and went for my walk. As I walked out the door, one of my clients called the cell phone so I sat down and took the call. Business is business.

Unfortunately, the sun was REALLY blaring down by the time I got to walk! When I crested the first hill of death, I ran down, and added another ten steps to it as I have been doing. It then took me to the other side of the following hill to catch my breath. By the time I reached the top, my arms and abs were on fire from all the extra work. I didn't make it to the 1500 foot sign today. I fell a little short due to the extended work-out and the heat. SO... I ran to the bottom of the hill and as I was going up the next hill, I thought I was going to melt into a little pool and die!

I called for help. My mother came and got me. I decided to do what I CAN do, and not push it. I am going to be smart about this this time.

When I came home, I showered and went right back to work. Larry called again and we talked for about an hour. After hanging up with him, I was in the middle of editing a book when my mother asked me to ride to the airport with her. We had a funeral to go to and she was picking up the rental car, so she would need me to drive back. 

The whole way, I kept thnking how I wanted to hear from the "Returning Warrior". He is famous for going days without writing, and sometimes when we talk he says things to cut me short. I looked at his profile again, and I see where he's written the words... "If it looks too good to be true...IT IS!" I don't want to be one of those things. I want to be the me I have always been inside and by God's grace alone, I am going to get through this!!

I know he was in the field and unable to write until Sunday, but today was Monday and I had not heard anything from him. I couldn't get him off my mind today. I can't explain it either.

I mean, Larry is REAL nice, fun loving and easy to talk to. If I met him, I might even fall in love with him. Who knows? Still, my mind never leaves the man I have been talking to for the past three weeks. He's into martials arts, which I have always wanted to try, he jumps out of airplanes. Another thing on my to-do list. We like the same movies, same foods, he's athletic, I'm a fatty. (Well you can't win them all). I have only sent him pictures of my face because I'm worried about losing the opportunity to meet him some day.

About the only thing working in my favor right now, is that he's not around and won't be in my part of the woods for another four or five weeks. Naturally, it would be nice if this hydroxycut would help so I can be in better shape and NOT feel self-conscious.

ANYway, we got the rental car, came back here and Larry was calling again. Still, it was nice to hear from him. After I hung up, I heated up some clam chowder. I ate, and checked my e-mail. The returning warrior had written!! He even went as far as to say that he couldn't resist talking to me, ***sparkle*** even though he had been trying to. HAHA  He and I then got into a good twenty minute discussion. By the time I got off the computer from chatting, it was getting dark out. I took my walk anyway.

When I got home, I showered, shaved, watched the Big Bang Theory and did a little more editing before I packed my bags for the funeral trip in the morning. I then worked out on the floor work again and went to bed.  It has been a VERY good day!!

OKAY. It's Sunday, April 26th, and I could just cry. I stood on the scale this morning and weighed in at:

257!

Don't get me wrong here! Less than a week ago, I weighed 263, so it could be worse. I know muscle weighs more than fat and that I have been working out and walking... it doesn't make seeing that weight any easier to stand!

I had allowed myself a cup of coffee this morning with Splenda... which is bad because I'm not supposed to drink caffiene. I was so depressed about this that I started a diet coke. I think I drank three swallows though.

Marc wrote and apologized for not writing back. He stopped over some friend's house and didn't get home until late. Having said that, I wrote him a letter, saw that he had read it, and he hasn't responded. I am apprehensive as to the meaning of his silence. Still, I talked to the new guy Larry, and the "Returning Warrior" who inspired this weight loss in the first place has written to me, so I'm happy about that.

I took my pills on time. Mom made an egg and cheese sandwich on toast for breakfast. For lunch, no one was eating, so I had a couple of handfuls of almonds for lunch. I worked out on my stomach routine, then caught a nap. I don't know why I was so tired. Mabe it was the depression about the weight gain.

After waking up from that, I had to drive my car to cycle the stop leak through the engine, so I went to the canyon, and hiked the whole three miles.

I had to stop a lot and take my time walking, so I took alot of photographs, which you will see below. Still, I felt really good when I finished the hike. It was MUCH harder than the regular three miles so I was REALLY grateful for not having worn my weights.

I came home, and again... no one was eating dinner. I ate some toasted almonds, a can of beets and a slice of cheese (over the course of three hours), and then I talked on the phone with Larry. After which, I logged onto my e-mail and shared the pictures of the canyon with him. In turn he shared his pictures from his recent trip to Germany and Poland. I turned him on to the website with the fat pics of me, thinking he would hang up. But he just kept talking about what a pretty face I have and how sweet I was. [[[crossing my fingers]]] We'll see.

So that's day five. Uneventful and depressing. I did do my nightly little routine of stretching, working my abs and push-ups... but nothing serious.

See ya tomorrow!

~Roni

OK folks! It's day four: April 25th, 2009. I got on this scale again this morning with a little less intrepidation.

256!

That's a whole pound better than yesterday! I thought I was going to have a heart attack! Still, it's Saturday and I promised not to work myself too hard on weekends. I did take the two pills, which is cool because it gave me quite an energy boost, then I did my little morning dance routine without weights and with the floor work for my stomach.

In the afternoon, I took my pill before I shopped with my mother and aunt for the upcoming funeral. Which is quite a work-out in itself! With all the stores in the mall, the sales racks and things to accessorize with, we were on our feet a LOT! They stopped at Mickey Doodles for lunch and I had the spicy chicken sandwich for a buck. I took the top bun off and drank unsweet tea. It was a pretty fun time.

The coolest thing though, is that I caught guys looking at me more than usual and I felt good about myself.

In fact, before we left the house, I got a call from one of the men from the internet dating service I had been trying and he asked me out. I had sent him pictures ahead of time to make sure he would know what he was getting into and he still called. Luckily, I have lost nearly thirty pounds since I sent those pictures.

Well anyway, Marc wanted to take me to lunch but because we girls were shopping, it was going to have to be dinner. He lives about and hour away from me and I promised to call him when we got done running around for the day.

After making the rounds with mom and my aunt, I called and told him where I would be going. Within an hour and a half, I had taken my two pills and was in the car with a very handsome guy, feeling good about my progress and on my way to dinner. We went to a local restaurant with a very big menu. He has a twinkle in his eye and is VERY fun to talk to. The BIG "yes!" for me though, was when he joined me when I wanted to pray over the food. **(Thank you God!)

This guy made good eye contact, had an easy smile and a hardy laugh. I could only eat about half my food so we got a "to-go" box and hit the road. He brought me home, gave me a respectful kiss on the cheek and left. I didn't expect to hear from him again, even though I asked him to call when he got home so that I would know he made it okay. He had put in new headlights that morning and was concerned about whether they would work or not.

I did my tummy work-out and my other nighttime goodies of stretching, push-ups, sit-ups, and back bending. I kept a watch on my e-mail but Marc never called or wrote. The up note was that while I was checking e-mail I got a letter from a guy named Larry and we talked for three hours.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day on the scale. Even though I didn't put as much work into it today, I watched my calories and fatty foods, I did do the lighter work-outs and I did take my pills on time.

See you guys tomorrow!

~Roni

Well it's day three! April 24th, 2009... and it's Friday!

Time to get on the scale. I was scared. I know in my mind that muscle weighs more than fat so I REALLY didn't want to get on that thing. Yesterday I had managed to see a break from 260 and I don't want to go back.

Slowly, I slipped off my house shoes and took that first step.

257!!

I cried.

I was so happy I couldn't see straight. I hopped off the scale, took my pill, and hopped right to my work-out. Today, I did twenty sit-ups, twenty leg-lifts, twenty crunches, and I laid flat on the floor for better than five minutes stretching and working my stomach. I did twenty push ups, I did my stretching and my back bending,which went MUCH farther than usual. After a few more days, I think I should be able to do those without using the wall!

I then did my twenty minute light little aerobic dance work-out. When I walked that morning I felt terrific. I was walking out of my pants though, so I am going to have to invest in suspenders or a belt. No point in buying new clothes if I am going to lose weight!

While I was walking, three people stopped to tell me how great I was looking and to ask my how much weight I had lost. That was a nice surprise because I have been pretty self-conscious about walking because I always felt like people were sitting in their homes or driving by in their cars and laughing at me. I found out today that I was inspiring people! WOW! I was SO happy!

When I came to the "1000 feet remaining" sign, I had already decided to walk to the "500 feet" left sign. When I got there, working out with my hand weights and that, I wondered how very little more time it would really take to just go the extra 500 feet and back to get in the full three miles today. So I checked my cell phone for the time, and did it! It took a whole 8 minutes. Crap. It's amazing how very little effort it takes and how very little time just to go a little farther. I'm glad I did it! Still, I could kick myself for not trying to do this stuff earlier in life.

Also, in keeping with making new landmarks for myself every day, I ran down both hills. Coming up was hard, but I took it slow to regain my breath. I don't remember the last time I felt this healthy or this happy!

Well, I came home, got all my work done and watched both "Tomb Raider" movies for inspiration while editing one of my client's books.

I took my pill at lunch, then did some floor work on my stomach. After that I printed the files I had been working on for proofreading later on, called one of my clients and then ate a can of peas. To be completely honest with you though, I was fast running out of steam. Four days with no caffeine or soda, and all this working was making me tired. I took a small nap. When I woke up, it was five o'clock! Good God was I beat!

I began to realize then why it is that you have to start taking two pills at a time on the fourth day. By day three, your body has acclimated to the stuff and the odds of it working any more are pretty slim.

So anyway, I waited until the sun had settled a little in the sky, and took that three mile walk without the weights. I came home, at a can of carrots and worked on myown book for a while. After a few phone calls and half a movie, my mother called me into the kitchen for supper around nin at night. I had one spoonful of spaghetti and a slice of garlic bread and I though I was going to explode! Thank God for Hydropxycut because as good as my dad's pasta is, I could have eaten the whole pot under normal circumstances!

After that, I finishe the last hour of my movie, did my nightly exercise and stretching then called it a day.

Just a side note. I have never been much of a "sweater" in the past, but since I started this stuff, I have been leaking like a sieve!  HAHA

That's it for now! See you tomorrow!

 

Hi all! It's day two: April 23rd, 2009. I leapt out of bed again and downed the pill because I was starving and KNEW I was going to have to eat soon. After the morning constitutional, tooth and hair brushing, I stepped onto the scale with some serious trepidation.

259!!

Eureka! The first time since I got here that I weighed less than 260! Woohoo!!

Fueled by this new excitment, I ran straight to my room and "suited up" for the day. I "cued up" some dance music! I started on the floor, pulling at my stomach muscles. Then I did fifteen sit-ups, twenty crunches in three different directions each for a total of sixty, and then I did some leg lifts. I started with my legs just off the floor, then lifted them up together, out apart, back together, and down. HOLY GOD did that mess with my stomach! I did about eight of them before I gave up. I didn't want to do too much too fast.

Then I rolled over and did my stretching, moving this way and that to pull out any kinks in my mucles. then I did about fifteen push-ups, which was more than the day before. 

                                                      

After that, I got up and put on my ankle weights, picking up the hand weights just as the Britney Spears song about being the ring leader in a circus was on. I started walking in place. I did that until the end of the song, then played it again. During the repeat peformance, I worked out with my hand weights, while walking, or stepping from side to side, or squatting. That song had a steady beat, but wasn't so fast that I thought I would die trying to keep up. When it went off, I did the twist for the entire first two minutes of the next tune then walked out the last minute and a half to catch my breath.

Once I finished working out, I was ready for my walk. With the weights in hand and on my ankles, I set out on my little three mile hike.

At the end of this thing, there are road signs telling you how far you are from the dead end. To go to the dead end is a mile and a half from the house. This particular morning, I walked to the sign that said there was 1000 feet left to go, then turned around and came home. The day before, I had only been able to go to the sign that said there was 1500 feet left so this was quite an accomplishment for me.

The entire time that I walked, I flung the weights around and did arm workouts so that I could get rid of some of the bye-bye arms underneath my regular arms, that keep waving even when the rest of me has stopped!

                                                                        

It was near ninety degrees today too, so I was dead on my feet when I got home. My face was so red my mother thought I was going to have a stroke. Still, I got busy hooking up my new office equipment and working on the business. After I got my morning work out of the way, I took another pill, and in thirty minutes, ate a salami sandwich with very little mayo and no cheese. I had that on light, white-wheat bread.

I stayed busy most of the afternoon. Which doesn't say much for me really. I have a desk job. Still, at the end of the day, after the sun had begun to set and it got cooler, I decided to go ahead and walk, just without the weights. Before I left, I took my last pill for the day and within thirty minutes, I ate a can of Asparagus. Then I embarked on the walk.

My nephews went with me, so it was a longer walk, more for fun than anything and we went the whole three miles. All in all, that makes this a good day.

My mother didn't get our regular supper on the table until after 8 at night. I had a pork chop, about one tablespoon on potatoes, and a glass of water. I have to say that I was beyond full when I got done.

Bear in mind inthe background of all this, that I drink G2, the low-calorie electrolyte beverage after every work-out or walk, and I have been drinking almost a gallon and a half of water. I have completely cut out caffeine and soda.

I can't wait to see what the scale says tomorrow.

See you then! Same bat time, same bat channel!

glitter-graphics.com

 

Ok. So I bought the weights and the Hydroxycut yesterday. Now what? It's time to kick butt. THAT'S what!

The directions said to start in the morning. For the first three days, you take one pill 30 to 60 minutes before your meals, three times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. That's it. When I read that, I felt like Pippin off Lord of the Rings.

"We've had ONE breakfast yes, but what about second breakfast? What about elevenses, luncheon, dinner, supper, afternoon tea? He knows about them? Doesn't he?"

Clearly the Hydroxycut people haven't heard about those things. HAHA

ANYway...

Starting at the weight 263...

So. I sprang out of bed this morning, downed a pill, turned on my tunes and danced aroundthe bedroom for about twenty minutes. After that, I strapped on my ankle weights. The hand weights I bought are pretty cool. They're blue and soft to the touch, but are shaped like dumb bells and they have velroe straps that are adjustable to fit over your hands. This is very handy because after walking two of my three miles in ninety degree weather, I just didn't have it in me to lift them any more. LOL They just hung at my sides. I got so hot coming home I decided I didn't ever need to go home again anyway. I would just melt into a pool of goo on the road and not worry about it.

We live in the country, so I have to carry my phone in case of emergencies. I called mom and asked her to just motivate me to come home. She walked out side and called "You can do it!" While clapping her hands for me to come to her. I felt like a dog, but at the same time, needed her cheerleading to take another step. HAHA  Mom's dog, Mook is about 16 years old and has to have a pep-rally at the back door in order to get up the steps without his hips giving out. Mom has lots of practice at this and I am VERY glad!

                                                                          

Once I got home, I crashed into my computer chair and went to work. I had a LOT of things to accomplish. Midway through the day, I decided I needed a printer, so my aunt took me to town to get one. My car wasn't running at the time and it's a good thing because I forgot to take the magic little pill before I left the house! The way I felt, there was NO chance of me driving! 

We arrived at the store and not long after placing the printer in the buggy. I was extremely sick on my stomach. After bombing the bathroom, my aunt and I made a speedy exit. We managed to get about 10 miles closer to home before I had to stop and go again. I thought I was going to shrivel up and die. While at the convenience store where I had to go to the bathroom, I invested in G2 fruit punch drinks, and sucked them down. I had not managed to get enough water and needed some electrolytes to replenish myself. See, we live forty miles from anywhere so going to the store is a two hour ordeal round trip and that doesn't account for what you do when you arrive at your destination!

After I got home, I took a small nap. When I woke, I realized I was hungry and dinnertime wa approaching. I took my next pill. In less than an hour I had my energy back, and I ate a can of peas for supper. Believe it or not, I was too full to eat anything else, but made doubly sure to drink five glasses of water over the rest of the day!

                         

Before going to bed, I laid down on the floor and really worked on pulling my stomach in. I wiggled my body up and down to stretch the stomach muscles pretty good. I did about ten crunches in various directions each and about ten sit ups. I did 12 push ups, and then stretched. In order to stretch my stomach muscles out to avoid a cramp, I did a back bend of a sort. I basically stod with my back t the wall, then leaned back, catching myself against the wall, and walked down as far as I could... just until I could feel it pulling. Then I used my hands to help me walk back up.

I don't have to tell you, I had a REALLY good nights sleep. HAHA

                                                              

 

Today is Tuesday, the 21st of April, 2009. I met a guy yesterday from the internet. We had a nice dinner out and he went home. I liked him. He was a little older than most guys I've dated. He's a musician and artist, has a bit of a tummy on him and is a little on the mouthy side, but he does have a good sense of humor and is fun to be around.

He was good enough to write back later last night and tell me what a disappointment meeting me was. He expected me to be thinner, taller, somehow. He'd seen my pictures but just didn't realize how big I really was and doesn't like big women. He assured me that as big a sweetheart as I am I should have no trouble finding someone though. Yah Right!

When I got up this morning, the scale was back to 265 from yesterday's 263. Crap! About the only good news, was that I actually got my state tax check. I went to Wally World and picked up some hand weights and ankle weights, and a fresh bottle of Hydroxycut. I've lost a little less than 20 pounds over the last two months. I guess I'm going to try this stuff and see if it really works. It can't hurt.

I mean I've never resorted to diet pills before, but I just have to know if there is some way to speed this up. My weight loss isn't slowing down for lack of trying. I mean for the last two months I have walked 3 to 9 miles every day in an attempt to slim down. I have cut back on caffeine and sodas and have been really careful not only about what I eat, but about eating MUCH less! If my weight can still level out with all this effort, maybe I just need a little push in the right direction and maybe this stuff is the key. Who knows?

ANYway, stay tuned. I'll keep you apprised of my progress.

See ya in the funny papers!

~Roni