Thyroid Issues

Well.  I just got the results back from my blood work and apparently I have an underactive thyroid.  Which could be why I'm having issues trying to lose weight.

The doctor called me in some medicine, which I took for the first time this morning.  I guess we'll see what it does. It would make me feel less crazy if it is causing me to have a more difficult time losing weight.  Because I sure have been trying and not only am I not losing, but I've been gaining.  So we shall see.

Meanwhile, I walked 7 laps this morning!  1.75 miles!  Woohoo!  Feels good!

And here is my morning pic:

Fitbit Issues

I really count on my Fitbit to help me.  It tracks my heart rate, my calories, my steps - all things that help inspire me to do more, move more and be better today than I was yesterday.

But I don't think my step rate is accurate.

I've been walking the track every day.  I am now up to 6 laps (yay me!).  But the same 6 laps that I walked on Monday counted 2800 steps while today only counted 2200 steps.  I walked the exact same track, in the same spot, for the same amount of laps.  How could that be off by 600 steps??  And when I count my steps in my head, it takes over 700 steps per lap - which times 6 laps should be 4200 steps!  Clearly something is wrong, and since my data is what keeps me going, I've got to figure out what to do.

I did just read that you have to adjust your walking stride (duh - I should have realized that, but I thought it was a smart tracker that somehow just "knew" what I was walking).  So I will figure out my stride and reset and see if that makes a difference.  But that still doesn't explain how I can be off by 600 steps walking the exact same route from one day to the next.  It's not like I do astronaut jumps or anything ...

So, I'm a bit frustrated.  I can't decide if I need to go ahead and buy either the surge or the blaze.  Both are super ugly, so I don't know.  But, the Fitbit community is the best and the data, charts and graphs are super inspiring, so I don't really want to leave Fitbit.  Meanwhile the Charge HR (which is what I have now) is falling apart.  It's got some kind of defect in the band - this is the second one I've had (they did replace the first one with no hassle, so that was nice), but given the accuracy issues and the band that is falling apart, I don't really want to do the Charge HR again.

On the bright side of things, I'm still managing to walk and I'm keeping up the increased distance - I almost thought I could make it one more lap today, but didn't want to push it given that my hip joints have been sore.  Still, I'm proud of myself.

I'm also still doing the bowflex for strength training, so I'm also proud of that.  I got a new weight bench for Christmas, but have no weights for it yet, and I'm going to start looking at what that will cost (my hubby says it will cost more than the bench did, so I may have to wait for Christmas this year to get the weights).

All I can do now is wait and see if my work will eventually pay off.  And try and pat myself on the back for what I'm doing in the meantime.  Oh, and try not to get discouraged when the weight doesn't come off quickly.

I still have issues with eating - especially now that I'm exercising.  I seem to be starving all the time.  If I remember from the last time I lost weight, when I upped my protein, that helped, so I'll try and do that.  I just love food!!  And when I'm starved, it's so hard to choose right.  I'll keep trying, though!

Beginning Week 2

Week 2 begins!

Got up early for my walk.  I increased my reps around the track so that I managed 6 today!  Last week was all 4-5 laps and today I made it 6!  My legs do feel like rubber, but I'm pretty happy I made it!

I walked 5 out of 7 days last week.  I couldn't do Friday morning due to a doctor appointment requiring fasting, and I overslept on Saturday, but I made it Sunday.

Now I just have to modify my eating!  I have stopped drinking which is good - no more empty calories!  I plan to drink for the 4th of July week in Virginia, but I'm going to try and hold off on the glasses of wine I like to have at night.  They are bad for 2 reasons - 1) I lose my self control and tend to eat everything and 2) empty calories.

At any rate, all I can do at this point is take it one day at a time.

And enjoy the morning view (today's sunrise):

Perks of an Early Morning Walk

So, I got up even earlier today so that I could be at work earlier.

As a reward, I got this:

It's still super warm, even this early, but watching the sun rise is a nice perk to making myself get out there and move!

This pic was at the end of my walk so I got to watch it rise through the trees on every lap.  Very pretty!

Starting Over.

This year has just been ridiculous.  I've had so much to do - one fire to put out after the next.  This week is the first week I've had to breathe and I'm latching onto it with all my might.

I got pretty sick back in April and May - couldn't shake it - and THEN, allergies kicked in.

But I'm better and things have calmed down for this brief moment.  I started walking again on Monday as well as lifting on the bowflex.  I have a new weight bench that I got for Christmas but no weights to use on it yet ... one thing at a time, I guess.

The only thing I have to sacrifice to give myself time is sleep, so I've started trying to get out to the park/track by 6 am.  At that time, it's light enough that I'm not afraid of getting attacked and I'm able to get my walking done and get back to my desk for work before 8:00 a.m.  Still, I am used to being at my desk and working before 7 a.m. so I still feel like I'm losing time.

My muscles are all sore in that good way that tells me I'm doing something.  Hopefully I can keep this up.  Nothing looms for the next few weeks to stop me, so cross your fingers.

I'm well over 200 lbs again.  I am going to try and take measurements today and break out all my tools to keep myself on track.  I've got to put myself a little higher on my priority list or I'm going to keel over.  I do have blood work to be done on Friday, which will tell me about sugar levels, B-12 levels, cholesterol levels, etc.  Not really looking forward to those results.

Writing here helps keep me on track, so I'm going to make an effort to report in my progress.