Week 11, Friday, Weight Lifting and Looking for the Queen

Oops...just realized that my pic is sideways. Oh well.

Well, here I am, bright eyed and bushy tailed early in the morning. I am so excited about my trip to Tulsa this evening! For anyone who may have missed it, I am going to State Recognition Days for TOPS (take off pounds sensibly). There will be nutrition and exercise workshops, lots of before and afters, awards for people who lost more than 100 pounds. Oh! And a new queen (and king) will be crowned! They are the people who made it to their goal weight in 2008 and who lost more pounds in the process than anyone else in the state. I wanna have my picture made with the queen! Ok, actually I want to wear her crown, but I won't ask. I will be happy with a picture. Maybe next year *I* can be the queen! When I get to my goal weight, I will have lost 137.25 pounds.

Last night I was searching the internet about my back issue. I read that a lot of back injuries come from sports related stuff. So, I began to think about what I was doing when I hurt my back. (get ready for too much information).....I was sitting on the toilet and I saw a wet towel in the floor just inches away from the laundry basket. I leaned forward to get it and put it in the basket and when I did *OUCH*, well, that's when I hurt my back. And now you know the rest of the story. Anyway, I decided that it IS a sports related injury. And the sport is weight lifting! Hey-- I'm carrying over 100 pounds of extra weight with every step I take (and with every bend I make)....so...yep...there ya have it. I haven't had a spasm in over 24 hours now, so maybe it is getting better. I can still feel it though and I am stiff. It will pass.

The pic shows my wonderfully delicious 500 cal breakfast.

Well well well...I guess that is all there is to say...........I hope you all have a great weekend! I'll "see ya" in a couple of days!

Thanks for your friendship!

:) Amy aka that TOPS lady

Week 11, Thursday, I can do ALL things.

Today started with an obstacle. I got up for prayer with hubby and my back was not being good. I hurt. intensly. Hubby prayed for me and I made my way back to the bed. He was going to put his back brace (from his work) on me, and I was too big for it. That was rather discouraging.

He carpools to work and he was needing to know FOR SURE whether or not I was still planning to go to SRD in Tulsa on Friday, so he could tell the carpool guy. He was thinking "Amy, there's no way you can go to Tulsa in the pain you are in right now." I said "Babe, I am going to do my best to go." And I went back to sleep.

I woke up hours later and my back wasn't spasing out. It was still sore, but when it has a muscle spasm, THAT is when I can't hardly move for a while. Anyway, I've been dealing with this soreness since Tuesday and I am so ready for it to be over. I didn't have another spasm today except that early morning one. I am determined. I am not going to let this get the best of me.

If I didn't have this thing this weekend, I would just go to bed for a few days and quit fighting it. But I didn't work this hard to give up. I didn't walk 30 miles just to say oh well. I didn't raise $500 just to send it all back. I AM going, back pain or not. I can endure it. I know I can, because I can do all things through Christ.

I don't know if I will get a post in tomorrow before we leave or not, but if you don't hear from me until Sunday or so, don't worry....I'm just enjoying Tulsa.

Thanks for reading!

~That TOPS lady

Week 11, Wednesday, supper and snack and a bad choice.

Hubby came home and said he wanted pizza. I said "fine, but I don't have enough cals to get full on pizza, so I am still going to cook" and I did. I had a hamburger patty made from lean meat and cooked with onions, topped with bbq sauce and ketchup, and also half cup baked beans and a whole can of green beans. I was hungry! The plan was to eat, bathe, and go to bed even though it wasn't even dark under the table yet, so I included my "bedtime snack" calories in this meal by throwing in a fiber one bar. This meal totaled 693 calories.

Then the pizza arrived and it looked awesome! Hand tossed crust, pepperoni with extra cheese from Fat Boy's Pizza (that really is the name of the place). I was having a mental war with myself over this pizza. I was NOT hungry....I mean, you see the pic that shows what all I had just eaten! I was just WANTING it. Just because it tasted good.

I hang my head in shame and admit that I put a piece (not the whole box, like the picture implies) of pizza on a plate and took it to the bathroom with me (of all places). I told myself that I would relax in the hot bathtub and eat it. I think I was really trying to hide from the rest of my family saying "I thought you said you didn't have enough calories left for pizza?"

I couldn't enjoy it for being so guilt ridden, but I ate it anyway. I ate half of it and then put it away and said I wouldn't eat the other half. A few minutes later, I rationalized eating the other half by absorbing the grease from the pizza with toilet paper. (well...........we don't keep paper towels in the bathroom silly!) Then I ate it. Anyway, I needed to admit it.

I had 2,373 calories today.

.................moving on.......................putting this behind me..................making an effort to feel better (but still planning to go to bed by 9:30)....................and doing some laundry.

There's a song I sing sometimes that is so true:

I'm an overcomer.......by the blood of Jesus

I'm an overcomer......through His holy Name

By myself I am nothing,

But in Him I can do all things

I'm an overcomer...in Jesus Name.

I may have lost the battle (supper) but I haven't lost the war!

Week 11, Wednesday, Lunch and 2nd snack

2:30 p.m....lunch....one can of peas mixed with 2 pc american cheese and miracle whip, half serving lasagna......500 cals

4:30 p.m.....snack...fiber one bar......140 cals

6:03 p.m...My back has felt a lot better today until just a sec ago when I tried to get out of the chair too quickly. I can eat supper at 6:30 and it sure sounds good. I need to get in there and cook it but I'm resting my back for a few minutes first. Really, I want to eat supper, take a hot bath and take a pain pill and go to bed. We will see.

Week 11, Wednesday, breakfast and first snack

10:30 a.m.....500 cals worth of raisin bran with 1% milk.

12:30 p.m....140 cals...fiber one bar

(hey hey...loving having a camera again!)

Week 10, Tuesday, WoOOOooooo HoooOOOoooo!

Wow. What a great meeting at TOPS! I weighed in at 304.25, which is a loss of 5.25 for the week and a 10 week loss of 23 pounds! Whoooo hoooooo! I was the best loser.

I recieved the TOPS chapter check of $200 to send me to SRD. I also recieved $45 in walk-a-thon money today, so I have quite a bit over what I need. I went to walgreens and bought me a $89 camera so I can take pics at SRD.

My back "went out" this morning. It happened once before, about a year ago. That time, I was in Sunday School and I just bent the wrong way and I was in horrible pain and had muscle spasms and ended up with a $1,000 emergency room bill. They gave me muscle relaxers and pain meds and told me to stay in bed. I did, and it still took about a week before I was okay again.

WELL, I can't do that this time..........I plan to be in Tulsa three days from now, having a blast! Luckily, it isn't as severe this time, but it still is very painful. I had some of the meds left from last year, so today I took a muscle relaxer and slept a lot of the day away. (you should see the mess my house is in....unsupervised kids usually don't clean up after themselves...but oh well)

I'm planning to keep some motrin in my system for several days and to rest as much as possible. I don't want to miss SRD! So, *if* I walk today, I'm only planning to do a lap or maybe two....if any.

Oh...I found a MP3 player on clearance at Walgreens today for about $7! yay! Now I've got to figure out how to download songs. Anyone know of a place that I can download them for free? I am so clueless about this stuff.

Thanks for reading...........please pray for that nerve or whatever in my back........have a great night. ;)

~ that TOPS lady

Week 10, Monday, Exercise High and Night People

It is 9:05 pm. I have more energy and feel better right now than I have in several days. I think I'm on an exercise "high". Now, when I walked earlier today, in the heat, I didn't particularly feel good afterwards. But tonight I walked at 8:15, when it was almost dark and the humidity was way down. It was wonderful! I enjoyed it! I could walk some more but it is dark and I need to get my monkeys headed to bed soon anyway. It feels good to feel good.

I took a looooooooooong ( 3 hours maybe?), much needed nap this afternoon. I am so wide awake now.....at almost bedtime. I am usually a night person, especially when I have had my required rest. But I had been running low on rest and so for the past 2 nights, when I have gone to bed, I have been rather grouchy with my hubby..........I was tired and I wanted to sleep....and sleep I did. Finally I caught up, so I'm sure hubby will be glad that I will be less of a grouch.

Ok....dd needs me to wash her hair.....ta ta til tomorrow and thanks for reading!

:) That TOPS lady

Blue Ice Cream

(This is a pic I found on photobucket....this is not my ice cream or my car....but I wanted to show you what our ice cream looks like.)

Today is so out of norm for us. No school. Hubby is home. We are celebrating son's 10th birthday.

I picked up a carton of blue ice cream from Braums to go with son's cake. The flavor is "birthday cake ice cream" and it has chunks of cake in it. It is good but swwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeettttttttt.

I ate too much. I'm not proud of it and I'm not going to confess an amount. Let's just say it was "too much". I'm sending the rest of the blue ice cream to my sister and I'm going to eat soup this evening instead of the pizza that the rest of my family is going to eat.

I walked just over a mile today.........whew it is hot out there. I may walk again this evening.

I was just checking in. Have a great memorial day!

Week 10, Sunday, Richard is missing!!!!!

I am so tired of walking, I told myself I didn't have to walk today. Surely I can skip ONE day of walking. Mentally, I needed to not walk today. I do plan to walk tomorrow.

I was encouraged to make sure I do get in a workout of some sort today. So I decided to dance with Richard. Are you asking who Richard is? Richard Simmons of course! I only have one dvd of his-- "Disco Sweat"-- which I got at a thrift store one upon a time. It is so corny but it really is a workout. However, I looked high and low and I have to report that Richard is missing! I really need to find him because I need something I can do here at home on the days that I need a break from walking or if it is raining or whatever. If you see him around, tell him to come home. He probably left because I ignored him so much ;)

According to my scales (which I have decided are of the devil LOL) I gained 6 pounds in 2 days. But today it said I lost 5.5 pounds of it overnight. Crazy. I'm taking Sean's advice and getting the demon possessed contraption out of my house. ;) The scales are going to my mama's house and I will only weigh at TOPS, which is Tuesday evenings.

We had a cookout at church tonight. I really didn't want to guesstimate on the cals of their burgers which I figured was NOT lean meat...so I brought a salad.

Here's what I ate today:

7:40am= 2 pc toast and jelly=360 cals

10:20 am= 24 teddy grahams and 2 tsp cool whip (this was the snack my sunday school kids were eating)= 150 cals

12:25 pm= fiber one bar= 140 cals

2:10 pm= .5 cup corn, 1 cup lasagna, 1 pc toast= 493 cals

4:56 pm= fiber one bar= 140 cals

6:30 pm = salad and 2 cookies= 500 cals

10:20 pm= fiber one bar= 140 cals

That leaves me with 27 leftover cals, which I am not going to eat.

I got a 1.5 hour nap today which was good. I'm enjoying being able to just go to bed at bedtime instead of making hubby's lunch and ironing his uniform which usually ends my day. I'm glad he is off tomorrow.

Well, thank for reading, all of you wonderful people ;)

~ Amy aka that TOPS lady

Week 10, Saturday, victoriously defeated

The victorious part-- I walked my 30 miles! I did it! yay!

The defeated part-- my unreliable scales are showing a 6 pound gain. **insert sobbing here** GAIN. gain? why? That is so discouraging.

But I won't give up. I probably didn't watch my cals good enough the past few days. I *know* I didn't get enough rest, if that has anything to do with it.

I took a water pill, just in case it is water. I hope it is water.

Nevertheless, I am kind of down as I go to bed tonight. I'm eating a stick of cheese, 2 pc turkey breast slices and a pudding cup. I am going to sit in bed and eat and watch another Lonesome Dove episode.

I am such a wishy washy person when it comes to emotions and feelings. I wish I could be more consistently encouraged. Why am I giving the scales so much power? I know I did what I was supposed to do this week. I worked hard. Who cares what the scales say.

I will probably be chipper again in the morning. I am just tired. So tired. tired. tired. tired. tired. tired. tired. tired..................................tired.

Week 10, Friday, Seven Miles

I did it! I walked 7 miles today! (not all at once, but still, that's awesome for me!) Tomorrow I have to do 7 more and *then* the walk-a-thon will be O-V-E-R. I almost bit off more than I could chew with this walk-a-thon, but all I lack is 7 miles and I have a day to do it. Since I did 7 today, I know I can do 7 tomorrow.

I feel empowered. Tired, but awesomely tired. LOL

I tried going to our town's gym today. Our town has probably less than 1,000 people, so our gym is kind of hoekie, but it was so hot that I was looking for an air conditioned treadmill. Well, wouldn't you know, it was FULL of itsy bitty supermodel girls who didn't even smile and to top it off, it wasn't air conditioned. I can walk in the heat for free......its called "outside". So, that was my one free visit and I obviously didn't join. Oh big fat well.

The above picture was taken on April 9, 2009 at a relative's house. It is going to make a great "before" picture for TOPS's greatest improvement contest next year. Check out that belly! And I'm holding cake. How appropriate.

I've done enough blabbing for tonight.........rest is calling me......I was walking at 6 am this morning.

Thanks for reading!

~ Amy aka that tall, fat lady who always wears a skirt and has been walking her fool feet off aka that TOPS lady LOL

Week 10, Thursday, chipper

I'm pretty chipper at the moment...probably because I'm listening to "Carry me" by Jars of Clay. I really need a way to listen to upbeat music while I walk. That would be good.

I had a hard time with endurance today while walking. I was exhausted after a mile every time. I walked 3.5 miles today. That means that I HAVE to walk 7 miles tomorrow and 7 on Saturday NO EXCUSES...because the walkathon ends at Saturday at midnight.

Therefore I have to get to bed soon so I can get up at 5:30 for prayer and then my first walk of the day. It is 8:41 right now. I'm going to check email, read a couple of blogs, shower, put the kids to bed, sit in bed with hubby and eat our supper watching yet another sequel to Lonesome Dove. (I love that show)

I currently have $9 more than what was required to go to SRD so yay!!!!!!! Now I've just got to live through this walk-a-thon!

After tonight's supper, I will have eaten 1950 cals on the dot, which is my cal limit.

Goodnight...get some rest...kiss your hubby/wife...and enjoy living.
~~that TOPS lady

anyway

I do not listen to country music, therefore I had never heard this song before. Well, a christian singer rerecorded it and I heard it last night and I was like "THAT is my theme song". So, in blue are the original words and then in pink are the areas that *I* think of when I hear this song:

You can spend your whole life building something from nothing
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway
You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach
and you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway
Chorus: God is great, but sometimes life ain't good
And when I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway, I do it anyway
This world's gone crazy and it's hard to believe
that tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all your heart, for all the right reasons,
and in a moment they can choose to walk away
Love 'em anyway
Repeat chorus
You can pour your soul out singing a song you believe in
that tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway, sing it anyway
I sing, I dream, I love, anyway

I teach way more than my share of kids in Sunday School because the teachers are so few and sometimes it stresses me out more than it should..............teach them anyway.

There are a millions things that I could say as to why I shouldn't have to to walk today but if I really want this dream to really come true.................walk it anyway.

I've eaten what I should today, yet I am craving more. I don't really want to walk out of the kitchen door.........do it anyway.

Week 10, Wednesday, 950 calorie strawberry malt

These are my kids. Since my camera is broken, I'm having to use pics that I already had. Anyway....the bear.... oh yes, I made a major mistake today. I gave in to a temptation to have a LARGE STRAWBERRY MALT that came in at 950 cals. I told myself that I wouldn't eat any more snacks and just have 350 cals for supper and that it would be fine. That was a lie. It wasn't fine. All of that sugar tore up my stomach really bad AND seems that it started the cravings. POOEY on that. I didn't eat anything for several hours after that. But when we got home from church I thought I was starving and I comsumed 2 fiber one bars, a salad, and 3 bites of ice cream. THe ice cream shouldn't even have been in my house.

What did I learn from all of this? That I should NOT have a meal that is that many cals and ESPECIALLY if it has NO nutritional value. Also, that I need to stick to the 500 cal meals and 150 cal snacks and eating every 2-3 hours. That is the way to go.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Today I walked an hour and 10 minutes---2.75 miles. Tomorrow I am going to have to get with it!

Ok....going to bed so I can be my best tomorrow.

Goodnight and thanks for reading!

~that TOPS lady

Week 9, Tuesday, Weigh Day and good things

Ok, well I do have ONE thing to say that is not a "good thing" but the rest of this post will be pretty positive because today was filled with happy stuff. :) The bad thing is.........tonight while taking my nightly pic to post on here, I DROPPED my camera and broke it. *sniff sniff* So, you'll have to go with a pic from a few days ago. This is a pic I took of myself while walking. Yes, I do random things while walking (such as taking pics or counting my footsteps) because I don't yet have anything I can listen to music with.

On to the good stuff........................ Weigh day!! I weighed in at 309.5, which is a weekly loss 3.5, and a total 9 week loss of 17.75! Yay! I was the best loser at TOPS tonight.

Other good stuff............the TOPS chapter decided to donate TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS of TOPS money to my walk-a-thon!!!! wow! What a pleasant shock! It costs a minimum of $350 to attend (that covers gas, hotel, food and registration) so, with their $200 plus the other $120 I had recieved from other people, I only lack $30! I am *so* gonna get to go! OH dear..>I sure need to get my camera fixed before then! It's gonna be a blast!

Church...........tonight there was a meeting for several of us in leadership at the church. Pastor asked me to please stand. Then he said "Ladies, this is how you need to dress. Don't wear your skirts too short and don't wear your neckline low." He said I was a great example of how someone who represents the church should dress...............I took that as a great compliment! I'm glad he doesn't know about that day my neighbor caught me outside in my gown!!!!!!

It is 12:15 and I just ate supper. I am planning to be in the bed within the next 15 minutes. I slept in today and also didn't walk nearly as much (1.25 mile....30 minutes) but that was okay because that is what was needed. Thursday, Friday and Saturday are not nearly as busy as the first part of this week and I will get caught up on my walk-a-thon miles then.

I'm hitting the hay with 100 cals to spare tonight.

Thanks for reading!

Running points balance:270

Week 9, Monday, attitudes and rest

Do you like my tired pic? I have decided that every night of this walk-a-thon, I will take a pic right before posting, that shows how I am feeling. I thought I was tired yesterday....but today, oh today was beyond tired.

I am realizing what an important part REST plays in our lives. I am not getting enough rest. I am a night person. I like to stay up late and sleep late. And usually I can. But for the past 2 days, I've gotten about 5 hours of sleep per night and it is really throwing me through a loop. Add the stress I am putting my body through with this extra walking and BoY OH bOy......there just aren't words to describe it. I would think I was sick, very sick, except I know what it is. Sleep deprivation and increased physical demand. I will survive and not die. Thank God. LOL

I was very dizzy part of the day today. I tried to take a quick nap but I was interrupted first by a coffee cup broken by mistake by my children and then by my dad needing a ride (he's been having car trouble). I gave up on the sleep and walked some more.

Walk, walk, walk..............just to think that a few days ago I was enjoying walking. I'm not enjoying THIS MUCH walking. However, my endurance is building up and I am thankful for that.

I weigh daily.....sometimes more than once per day (which I hear isn't a good thing, but anyway.....) My scales are not expensive OR accurate but I weigh anyway. I am not seeing them go down like I was hoping with this walking. What is the deal? Maybe I am stressing my body out. I don't know. Maybe my scales are just PMSing. LOL Tomorrow is TOPS and we will see what those scales show.

Speaking of PMSing, I'm not.............but the attitudes of me and my children today were very similar to those of a grouchy old hag. I first noticed it in my son....who lost all computer and video game privileges for today.............then it showed up in my daughter who threw a big old fit............then I realized that I had it too. I know mine was because of my tiredness. The kids' problem was probably me setting the wrong tone in our home. Tomorrow will be better.

Tomorrow I am getting up at 5:30 for prayer with hubby before he goes to work but then I am going back to bed. I am going to sleep as late as I possibly can. Do I have time for that? Absolutely not. But I *HAVE* to..............I can't do another day like today.......my body is screaming for some rest. I will just rush and do my best with the remainder of the day after I wake up, but building back some of my energy will be a priority tomorrow.

I walked 3.25 miles today. It took me an hour and 12 minutes.

I hope to be more chipper tomorrow night. Thank you for reading............it's good to know that someone out there is rooting me on.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~ that TOPS lady

Running points balance is 70

Week 9, Sunday, I. am. so. tired.

This pic completely expresses how I feel at the moment. I took this pic about 10 minutes ago, while sitting at the table and waiting for my pinto beans to heat up. I am so tired.

Today was the first day of the walk-a-thon. I walked 5.25 miles today, which is more than double the amount that I have walked in a day before. Like I said in a previous post, this walk-a-thon falls during a busy week for me............finishing up schoolwork with the kids and revival at church.......so I am forced to be an excellent time manager.

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and was walking by 6. I walked for an hour. After Sunday School, I walked for 30 something minutes. Then I walked again around 4. I don't know if it is a rash from my body stressing out ("hey lady, what are you trying to do to me? kill me?") or if it is a sunburn, but my face is splotchy red and stings.

I walked 2 hours and 9 minutes today.

I've gotta tell about my sweet hubby. I had my exercise clothes with me and changed into them at the church after Sunday School. I sent the kids home with hubby (we drive seperatly on sunday mornings). I was going to do some walking. There was a roast/potatoes/carrots waiting in the oven for them to eat when they got home. I said "if the kids are still hungry, I'll cook some mac and cheese when I get home".

Well,I walked and when I got home, hubby had cooked the mac and cheese! Hubby does NOT cook. I'm a stay at home mom and I do all of the domestic stuff and I don't mind it, but he saw how hard I was working and did several small things that meant a lot to me. Such as cooking the mac and cheese, clearing off the table, fixing everyone's drink, offering to fix my plate, making sure the kids hung up their church clothes and put their shoes away.

Ug.............did I mention I am tired? LOL I'm going to finish eating these beans, iron for tomorrow and go to bed. Another early day tomorrow to fit it all in.

On a good note, I rec'd $55 worth of donations for SRD so far!

Thanks for reading my jumbled words. :)

Amy aka that TOPS lady

Week 9, Saturday, supper and bedtime snack

Supper=5 bites sirloin steak, 1 cup leftover spaghetti, half a pc of toast, 2/3 cup corn= 500 cals on the dot.

Bedtime snack= (can you guess???) another fiber one bar...140 cals

My total cals today was 1,910...which is 40 under my limit.

Tomorrow I begin my walk-a-thon week. I will only be posting once per day instead of my usual post-happy self, because I am going to be sooooooooooooooooooooo busy. Wish me luck! I'm planning to get up at 5:30 am tomorrow so I can get some walking in before time to wake everyone else up for church.

See ya tomorrow! Thanks for reading!

-that TOPS lady

Running points balance:280

Week 9, Saturday, lunch and 2nd snack

Lunch is one can of tuna with miracle whip, relish and one boiled egg....one pc of toast, half of daughter's leftover grilled cheese and 5 strawberry sugar wafers. 500 cals very well spent! 4:15 pm

Afternoon snack is a 4 pack of pb crackers....120 cals...6:15 p.m. .....I have found that the dollar general pb crackers are lower cal than whatever the other brand was...ritz maybe? anyway...go with dollar general.

Week 9, Saturday, breakfast, 1st snack & exercise

Breakfast= bran flakes and 1%milk...510 cals.....11:45 a.m.

Snack=fiber one bar...140 cals....2 pm

Walked one hour!!!! (hubby was home with the kids and I was SO glad to have an hour to myself!) 2.5 miles.