Back to scrapbooking...

It's finally time for me to get back to one of my great passions...scrapbooking.

I am refurbishing my scrap space once again and I intend to get oodles of scrapping done between now and when school is back in session. I ordered 679 photographs from Kodak Gallery and they should arrive soon. I think I wait a bit too long to order my pictures, don't you? Well, it's usually a wonderful walk down memory lane looking back over the past several months' worth of photos. It's also a nice boost to my creativity, especially now that I have a scrapping/stamping station that is cleaned off and ready to go. Well, it's almost ready to go. It'll be ready to go soon, I promise!

Final TEAM Weight Loss class tonight

It's been 13 weeks and my official weight loss is 22 pounds. That's not too terrible, considering I sat out of exercising for two weeks a while back due to health issues. Also, I haven't been good at counting calories for the last several weeks. I think I could have lost more had I been more diligent about counting every calorie I put in my mouth.

So now the question is will I keep the weight off and indeed continue to lose? I HAVE to make sure I continue to exercise and account for what I'm eating. I plan on continuing to exercise regularly starting next week when I finally get to enjoy my summer vacation. I have been teaching for the past three weeks and I am very much looking forward to having a break.

OK--so I know that the pants I'm wearing in this pic make me look shorter than I am! Also, I know I have more weight to lose but I think 22 pounds is something to be proud of!

18 pounds in 9 weeks

I can't hardly believe it is already June 5! I haven't signed in a in a few weeks. Within that space of time, I had a few illnesses that prevented me from exercising so my weight loss has hit a road block. As it is, I am just about done with week 9 and I have lost 18 pounds. Although I am proud of that, I wish it were more. However, I went off my strict diet a little bit and I didn't exercise for 1 1/2 weeks, so I shouldn't be too hard on myself.

Summer vacation is finally here so I hope to really rev up my exercise regime. I hope to get some cardio in on a daily basis, I am mowing every week, which burns mega calories, and I plan on going to the pool often with the kiddos. I think as long as I watch what I eat I'll start losing again.

I am going to set up a new goal for myself. There are approximately nine weeks until I return to school in August. In that time, I hope to lose at least another 18 pounds. That should get me fairly close to my goal weight. It should get me within the normal weight category at least. That should make my doctor happy when I see her in August. That should make me pretty happy too.

OK, time to get off my duff and get some things done around here. Ta ta for now!

I have lost 15 pounds in 6 weeks!

Yes, it's true. 15 pounds in 6 weeks! I am very proud of myself!

I have begun week 7 but unfortunately I've hit a snag--I threw my back out last night. I have called in sick to work today to try to heal my ailment. Many times throughout my life I have thrown my back out so I know what to expect. That doesn't make it any easier, however, but I hope to be better in a couple of days.

As for the weight loss, I don't feel it too much in my body composition nor do I see it very well. But I've had a few people tell me they can see the difference, which of course makes me feel good.

I did go off my strict eating plan this past weekend because I was just so sick of eating the same food over and over. And now I can't really be active much this week either so I hope I don't put weight on.

As the school year ends, I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I hope to exerice during the day every day instead of just three nights per week. I want to incorporate safe weight training into my routine. And of course, I want to swim with the kiddos in the outdoor pool at LT Fitness. It is going to be a healthy summer!

Standing still...

First of all, happy mother's day to all moms out there. I am so lucky to be mom to two wonderful children. Je vous aime, mes cheris!

I am a bit sad this weekend, however, due to a standstill in my weight loss. I am at 165 today, even though I did make it down to 164 the other day. I have been keeping track of my calories so I'm not sure why I've gained back a pound.

I have also injured my left arm by pulling a muscle while doing a lateral pull down. I had too much weight I was pulling which I think I knew at that time but I thought I was pushing myself and doing something beneficial. How wrong I was! It's always better to do more repetitions with lighter weights than to do a few reps with weights that are too heavy. I have had pretty bad pain off and on for several days now I don't really know if it's a pulled muscle or something worse. Hopefully it'll heal itself soon.

Have a lovely week!

End of week 4--I've lost 11 pounds!

No photos yet because I really don't see much of a difference yet. Hopefully I'll keep losing and it'll become visible soon.

I am excited but also somewhat guarded. I need to get more into the exercise aspect of it all, but I am constrained by a lack of time. Once the school year is over at the end of May, I'll be able to spend a lot more time in the gym. I am very much looking forward to those days.

Day 6: I've lost 5 pounds!

OK--so I thought I'd be on here daily recording my thoughts and feelings about this weight loss journey. However, life is simiply too busy for me to do that. So here I am, nearly one week after starting my T.E.A.M. Weight Loss program and my strict calorie counting, and it turns out I've already lost 5 pounds!

I know, the 5 pounds that I've lost is most likely water weight but I am still pretty proud of myself. I also know losing 5 pounds per week is not the wisest way to lose weight because it's likely that weight will come back. However, I will take a look at my progress next week and see if I lose a more reasonable amount of weight. If I continue to drop too much, I'll up my calorie intake. Right now, I am following my LoseIt recommendation of eating 1,331 calories per day. LoseIt is an application for the iPhone that is keeping track of all my calories. This is a godsend for me because I HATE counting calories. I am so very happy with LoseIt! Check it out at www.LoseIt.com.

As for the exercise program, I do it three times per week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. I was a bit disappointed with the first two nights because we really didn't get a lot of exercise in. However, we more than made up for it on Thursday because we walked for 59 minutes, doing interval training and using rubber bands to help work out the upper body. It was quite a workout indeed. I wanted to go again yesterday but my back was hurting from sleeping funny on it. I think I may go today while Lizzie is at a birthday party, and work out for 30 minutes or so. I might even treat myself to a fruit smoothie afterwards. I'll have to check the calories first.

I am very happy about seeing real progress in this regime. I don't look any different yet but I hope to continue to lose and start seeing results soon. The progress is a great motivator to keep going. Onward and upward!