i'm losing weight, post one......

So, I have to lose weight.  The doctor said so.

In May, I went to see Dr. Lovelady because my heart was beating irregular and I was having issues with my breathing.  I just didn't feel like I could get a full breath of air.  I was really afraid that my lungs were affected worse than everyone thought from my lung surgery last year.  But, I was told that I needed to lose about 50 pounds, stop drinking caffeine, eliminate stress and start exercising more.  My first thought was, "You're not asking for a whole lot, are you?" Anyway, he set me up with the nutritionist in his office and told me to come back in a month.

I met with Audrey for the first time on May 24.  I weighed in at 192 pounds.  She put me on a diet plan that consisted of eating about 1,400 calories a day, drinking 64 ounces of water, no regular sodas and we began working on the caffeine issue.  My goal was to be completely off of the caffeine when I saw Dr. Lovelady again at the end of June.  We decided to start with 30 pounds and see how I felt and how I looked and then re-evaulate to see if I wanted to lose more weight, or just maintain.  She said that while the doctor had good intentions, sometimes it's better for the patient to make the decision on how much weight to lose based on how they feel.  I think 30 pounds is a good place to start. 

For the first month, I saw Audrey every week.  When I went for my first follow up on May 31, I weighed in at 188 pounds.  I had worked myself down from drinking regular Dr. Pepper from sun up to sun down to drinking about 3 diet sodas a day and around 56 ounces of water a day.  So, the first week was a success.

When I went in for my second follow up on June 7, I weighed in at 183.4 pounds and was down to one caffeinated soda per day.  I had discovered Diet Sierra Mist by this time and was falling in love with it!  I was up to drinking 5-6 bottles of water per day, which was a HUGE success for me.  I had also discovered Mio flavoring for water and would actually put down a soda in favor of water with Mio. 

I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Lovelady on June 26.  I was happy to report that I was off caffeine and had lost 9 pounds in one month! I was very excited and he was very happy with my results!  The irregular heartbeat had corrected itself with the elimination of caffeine.  The breathing issues were still a concern, so he referred me to a Pulmonologist.  He ordered an echocardiogram of my heart and a breathing test.  I have not gotten the results yet, so I'm still not sure what is going on with my breathing. 

I didn't go back to see Audrey until June 28.  We were headed to the beach the following weekend, and I wanted to wait until closer to beach time to see where I was and to get some tips for controlling myself at the beach.  When I went for this follow up, I weighed in at 180.8 and was completely off caffeine.

While we were at the beach, I gained only one pound!  This surprises me because I had TCBY 3 nights in a row. :) But, I got right back on my diet when we got home and when I went back to see Audrey yesterday (July 19) I weighed in at 179.  So, in total, I have lost 13 pounds since May 25 when I started my diet.  I've been dieting 8 weeks today - that's an average of 1.62 pounds per week.  Not too shabby.

I started a weight loss boot camp last night.  This is a work out program that runs for a month, 3 work outs per week.  Hopefully, this will get me started with the work out portion of my diet.  I'm anxious to see the results of this as well. 

This is a "before" picture.  Not the best, but I generally avoid the camera because of how bad pictures are of me.  If I do have my picture taken, I generally just have them taken of my face.  I'll try to post pictures as I continue this journey of losing weight. 

Beaches, babies and bumper boats

We took our annual trip to Gulf Shores the week of July 4th - me and Kevin, Morgan, Elaina, Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn's friend, Emma, from Church.  We were PACKED!!  I wish I had taken a picture of the back of the truck, but I just didn't think about it.  But, it was so full, we probably could not have put a sheet of paper in there and gotten the top to close. :)  I forgot how much stuff a baby needs!!

We left on Sunday, July 1.  The condo we stayed in is the same condo we have stayed in for the past 10 years.  We rented it from a guy that Kevin works with, but they have sold it to a lady in New Orleans.  We did not like the way she did business, so we will not use her again.  It was bittersweet to say goodbye to the condo - it's been a home away from home for so many years. :(  But, oh well.  We looked at a couple of other places to stay, so hopefully we can find something that we like as much as we liked this condo.

Anyway, back to vacation.  We weren't able to check in until 4pm this year (it's usually noon) so we didn't leave as early as we usually do.  We got there around 4:30 and unloaded.  Kevin and I went to the grocery store while the girls stayed and unpacked.  We finally got in the pool around 7pm.  Pure Bliss!!

The weather was yucky a good bit while we were there.  I think total, we had sunshine 2.5 days of the 5 full days we were there.  None of us wore sunscreen and none of us got sunburned at all.  That's good in a way, but I miss my beach tan.

On Monday night, we went to eat at Mikee's, which is a new place for us to eat and it was delicious! We will definitely go there again.  Afterwards, we walked on the beach and put Elaina's feet in the ocean for the first time.  That little girl is definitely going to be a water baby!!

Kaitlyn and Emma checking out the ocean

 

PaPa gave her her first seashell. How sweet is that?

Kevin and his girls

So, I have developed a fascination with alligators.  We saw

this one on the beach and I had to take a picture of it.

 This was the entertainment for the night one night while we 

were there.  Can't explain it - it just is what it is.

This is how Elaina spent her first day trip to the beach - all 20 

minutes of it.

While we were at the beach, Kevin and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary (July 3).  We had a date night at the beach for the first time ever!  He took me to Ribs and Reds.  Not the best place we have ever eaten and probably not one that we will return to.  After eating, we drove around and looked at some other condos to rent.  We can ride around together for hours, and we did.  For about 2.  We had decided earlier in the week that we were going to go eat ice cream for our anniversary.  So, we went to TCBY and shared a Cookie Dough frozen yogurt.  It was SO good!!  Of course, no date night is complete without a trip to WalMart, even at the beach. :) So, we went to WalMart, but I can't remember what for.  Probably drinks or something like that.  Then we went home to fighting kids.  Oh the wonderful world of teenagers!!

The next night was July 4th and we planned to watch fireworks on the beach.  Kaitlyn had to have the perfect outfit for that, even though no one would see it, because it was dark.  But, that's the diva in her.  Emma wore shorts and a t-shirt.  I love this kid!  Below are a couple of pictures from before we left.

 The only family picture we had made the entire trip.  This was on the

beach before the fireworks began.  Definitely one of my favorite of all time!

While we all watched fireworks, Kaitlyn played in the sand.

This is her version of a sea turtle.  I love my child!!

 Thursday night, we took the girls to The Track to ride go carts and play in the bumper boats.  Elaina just watched the crowds and took everything in.  She is definitely a PaPa's girl and just lights up whenever he comes in a room, or where she can see or hear him.  If she was fussy at all, he could walk in where ever she was and just speak to her and she would calm down.  If he picked her up, the look on her face would be total bliss!  The picture below is of them watching the girls in the bumper boats.  She reminds me a lot of Kaitlyn when she was that age.  Kaitlyn acted the same way with him.  She could be fussy and crying and he could walk in a room and say one word, or touch her, or pick her up and her world would become calm again.  I don't know what kind of magic this man has running through his veins, but I thank GOD for it when I have crying babies in my life!!

I'm sad that our trip for this year is over.  I hope we can get back to the beach again before next summer. What I really wish is that we could retire there!  I love the beach - it's my Heaven on earth.

All Stars 2012

Kaitlyn was honored this year to be selected to play on the East Tuscaloosa All Stars team for 12U softball.  We played in the Regional Tournaments in Jasper, which was a double elimination tournament, the weekend of June 8-9.  We played two games on Friday night and three games on Saturday.

The games on Friday night started at 7pm.  We FINALLY pulled into the house at midnight that night.  They won one and lost one that night, but those were games to determine what seat they would be in on Saturday morning.

We had to be back in Jasper at 9:30am on Saturday and the girls started playing at 10:30.  These games were double elimination.  We lost our first one, won our second and lost our third.  This tournament was to determine if we were able to go to the state competition.

The girls played so hard!  They didn't get more than a 30 minute break between games and didn't eat anything all day.  Kevin was an assistant coach for Kaitlyn's team, so he didn't get to eat either.  I didn't eat, because it was hot. So, when we finally left, we were all three starving!

Anyway, because they lost two games, they were not supposed to get an invite to the state competition the weekend of June 24-25 in Wetumpka.  But, one of the teams that got invited decided not to go, so our girls got a invite!  We were so proud of them!

So, on June 24, we packed up the car and headed to Wetumpka.  The girls played their first game on Friday at 2:30, and lost.  This tournament was not like the Regional Tournament - the game on Friday counted against the double elimination.

They played their second game on Saturday morning at 11am, and lost.  We were headed home by 1:30.  But, even though they lost, they had a great season.  Kaitlyn learned a lot from her All Star coaches and I am extremely proud of her.  When she is on the field, she gives it her all (most days) and I just love to watch her play.

 Batter up!!

Last minute advice from Dad/Coach

I absolutely LOVED that the coaches and players held hands and

prayed after every game!!

Kaitlyn D and Katelyn T - 

Best Friends and TROUBLE!!