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Weekly Weigh-In: Health Improvements

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Weekly Weigh-In

It’s Weekly Weigh-In time and I’m excited this week!  No, it wasn’t a good week on the scale.  I actually gained 0.2 lbs.  However, yesterday I went for my annual health risk assessment check-up through my husband’s work.

Let me just set the scene for you.  Last year, I did not want to go for this appointment at all.  We get a discount on our insurance if we both go for the appointment each year.  In previous years, the employee could go and get a partial discount and, if the spouse went, you got the full discount.  We had always gotten just the partial discount because I refused to go.  Last year it was all or nothing and we both had to go to get the discount.  So, Brian basically forced me to go.  I would have preferred to pay higher insurance premiums than go for the assessment.

I was very angry about going for that appointment.  As a matter of fact, I was supposed to go in Brian’s birthday month, July, but I put it off until November, the last possible moment before it affected our insurance premiums.  I let it be known that I did not want to go and I felt that I was being forced to do so.  I let Brian know I was mad about going.

In the end, it wasn’t as bad I as expected it to be.  Other than being obese, which I already knew, I was relatively healthy.  My biggest fear was that I would discover that I had diabetes.  It was my biggest fear because there is no history of diabetes in my family and I knew that, if I did have it, I would have it because I was fat.  Period.  How embarrassing would that be to have a totally preventable disease for no other reason than being overweight?

I didn’t have diabetes, but I was borderline with a glucose level of 107.  Because there was no previous history with which to compare, it was conceded that 107 could be normal for me.

Well, yesterday, I had this year’s HRA.  I was actually excited about going!  I was excited to see, in black and white, health related proof of my accomplishments.  The results did not disappoint.

  • My weight has dropped 57 pounds (according to their scale and last year’s weight — 58 by my scale, but I was pleased to see that the “official” doctor’s scale was only a pound off from my scale)
  • My waist circumference no longer puts me in the high risk category (I was a little surprised by that one since I’m still 37 lbs away from my goal weight)
  • My LDL cholesterol has dropped 24 points
  • And that glucose number?  It’s now at 89!

I am so proud of those results!  It’s so exciting to see that all this hard work is paying off in more than just my physical appearance.  I’d already decided that I was ready to make some changes, but this just excited me to really get busy.  When I got home tonight, I updated all my bodybugg stats. I haven’t been updating my calories consumed for the past several week.  I went in and updated that, starting with today’s calories consumed, and I updated my goals.

The bodybugg site put my goal weight date as sometime in October, based on my initial stats.  It’s always been more my plan to be at my goal weight by the week of Thanksgiving, a full year from when I started.  Since I’ve gotten off track of my long-term goals by basically maintaining instead of losing this summer (I’ve only lost 8 pounds in the last two months), I updated everything to show Thanksgiving week as my goal date.  Because I’ve kind of slacked off this summer, that still means I have to burn the same amount of calories and lose 2 lbs. a week starting this week, but, psychologically, it’s better for me not to see the “your short-term and long-term goals are off track” message each week.

I also want to make some changes in my eating.  I feel like I’ve gotten a handle on eating healthier, lower-fat meals and watching my calorie intake.  However, I want to start moving toward truly well-balanced meals.  My focus, over the next few weeks will be to start getting the recommended servings of fruits, vegetables, and fiber.  I’m going to be tracking these more carefully over the next couple of weeks, so that I can see where I need to improve because my goal is ultimately better over-all health, not just weight loss.

So, there’s the really long-winded update on me.  How are you doing on your weight-loss goals.  Anyone else want to join me on recommitting to reaching your goals?  I’d love the support and accountability!

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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

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13 Comments

  1. Awesome job Kris!! I know you had to be so excited about those numbers from your doctor appointment. I am dreading mine in a few weeks … not being where I wanted to be but, it is time to face up to the facts and move forward.

    Have a great week!
    Alicia

  2. That is so great that you were able to see the results of your hard work like that, in black and white and beyond "just" the scale numbers. What great motivation that must be to keep on keeping on. 🙂 COngrats!

    I have a question for you about the bodybugg….did you start your weight loss journey with it or is that something you added down the road? I've been thinking it would be sooo nice to know exactly how many calories I burn each day and take the guess work out of it, but I'm not sure I want to pay that much to find out!

  3. Thanks, ladies!

    Kendra, I got my bodybugg a little less than 2 weeks after I started my weight-loss efforts. Yes, it was expensive, but I don't think that I would have been as successful as I've been without it. I'm not saying that everyone should run out and get one; I know everyone is different in what works for them, but for me it has been extremely beneficial.

  4. That is just so encouraging to hear! The scale is finally moving for me, I really need to get out more and walk. I am thinking of putting the family on a no white sugar diet for the rest of the summer. We're really close already – I also need to get more veggies as snack fillers around here. We are eating healthy – the boy's bodies have really transformed, and that is encouragement to me. 🙂

  5. Wow, Kris, those are exceptional results!!! I'm so happy for you. It's always nice when someone confirms that all your hard work is paying off with tangible results. Of course you could see and feel the changes, but this is like icing on the cake (maybe I should use a different cliche…haha).

  6. What amazing numbers!! If you want to up your fruits and vegetables each day, I totally suggest green smoothies. They are DELISH and ssooo good for you. Making that switch alone dropped my blood pressure tremendously!

  7. Kris…I am new to your blog, but I'm TOTALLY impressed with your accomplishments! WOW! Reading this post has motivated me. I'm in a terrible shape…at least 100lbs overweight and I'm too scared to get an HRA…seriously. I know things are bad. I will be embarking on the homeschooling journey this coming fall…and I'm afraid that my anxiousness will turn into…EATING! (It usually does). Anyway…I will go back and read about your journey to get myself up to date. Just know that you have a new supported and I just may join you!!

  8. Wow, Kris, those are exceptional results!!! I'm so happy for you. It's always nice when someone confirms that all your hard work is paying off with tangible results. Of course you could see and feel the changes, but this is like icing on the cake (maybe I should use a different cliche…haha).

  9. That is so great that you were able to see the results of your hard work like that, in black and white and beyond "just" the scale numbers. What great motivation that must be to keep on keeping on. 🙂 COngrats!

    I have a question for you about the bodybugg….did you start your weight loss journey with it or is that something you added down the road? I've been thinking it would be sooo nice to know exactly how many calories I burn each day and take the guess work out of it, but I'm not sure I want to pay that much to find out!

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