End of Week 5

  I know I've been neglecting my blog this week. Sometimes life just sweeps you away and the only thing you can do is hop back on your broom and come home when it's over. I've had some family issues that I can't discuss here (probably the only thing you won't read about my life in this blog) and some health issues that I will tell you all about. 

If the broom fits, ride it!

  I have bad knees, a bad back and hip pain. I was in a car accident in 1992 where my little crappy Nissan was slammed into on the freeway heading south by a huge RV. I went sailing across the north-bound traffic, nearly flipped the car and landed in a ditch. That's when the problems with my back began. Three years later I was rear-ended at a stop sign by some giant brute in a huge pickup truck, causing more back problems and the issue in my right hip. In 1999, I gave birth to Katie, who weighed in at 9 pounds 10 ounces of ADORABLE! It was a difficult pregnancy and caused more back problems. In 2005, I injured my right knee working out at the gym. My knee filled up with fluid and was incredibly painful to walk on. The pain and swelling spread to my left knee. Then to my hips, shoulders and elbows. I have been tested for everything from M.S. to lupus, R.A., fibromyalgia, even gonorrhea (no joke. And no, I never had it! So gross!) I don't have anything. But I have flare-ups from time to time that make movement difficult. And it almost always accompanies my monthly visit from Aunt Flo (sorry for the image guys) that causes my personality to deteriorate into something less amusing than my usual "pixie-of-positivity" that my family enjoys on a regular basis. Ok, you can quit laughing now. Somewhere, someone in my family just shot milk out of their nose. 

Every member of my family after reading the "positivity" line

  Walking has been a huge challenge this week. Saturday was especially painful. Jeff walked with me as he does every day. I got my 10,000 steps in at a pace of a 26-minute mile. It took us an hour and a half to walk 3.37 miles. And when I got home, I collapsed on the bed and cried. But I did it. Poor Jeff has had to put up with my whining and complaining this week. He has taken it all in stride (get it? See what I did there?) and been my rock, ever supportive and slows down to a crawl to walk by my side. I think he has more than made up for the nurse duties I've had with his feet. In fact, I'm pretty sure I still owe him, big time! 
  We mostly stuck with the diet this week, although we did have a few weak moments (I think you know by now that I am the weak one in this group). Darn those Girl Scouts and their cookies! How do you say no to Samoas? I bought a box, ate a few, and gave the rest away. *sigh* They were so worth it. 

Girl Scout Cookies-all the cool kids are doing it. 

 Also, Jeff and I started tracking our meals on the Lose It! app (the one tied to the Axis of Evil 2.0. The scale that still hates me. The feeling is mutual). Now we are not only watching carbs, but also counting calories 'cuz this little gadget will do all the math for us. Jeff, of course, gets twice as much food as I do. The apps we use all tie together, so when we exercise we get bonus calories added to our day. And, of course, Jeff's workouts give him twice as much as mine give me. So not fair. I wish I was taller. But, I'm a runt, so I get to eat pixie-portions out of thimbles and bottle-caps, while Jeff gets his giant meals on a serving platter. Ok, he eats off of regular plates. But he gets to have seconds sometimes. And ate all of his tater tots when we cheated. Jealousy is not a good color on me. I'll have to work on that.

Anyone care to join me for brunch?

  On to the stats:
  Katie is still at her dad's for the weekend. She comes home tonight, so I'll catch you up on her tomorrow.
  Jeff lost 2.6 pounds this week, bringing his weight to 286.6! He has been walking 20,000+ steps every day for the last 4 days and his goal is to have a 7-day streak of 20k+. He'll do it, too. So proud of him!
  I did not fair quite so well this last week. I lost a measly, crappy .2 pounds. That's it. All the pain of walking and counting those calories (I never once went over-budget on calories) seems to have been almost a waste. I'm so frustrated. I'm not going to give up, but it's so disappointing to see such lousy results. I've had a rough week and it would have been nice to start the new week off with a better result. In 5 weeks I've lost 7.8 pounds. I really thought I'd be down about twice that by now. I'm not sure what my next steps should be to kick this thing up into a higher gear for me. So for now, I'll just keep with the program. Unless you guys have some brilliant insights? I could use some new tips and tricks. Or a magic wand, if you've got one.

A friend posted this on Facebook today. Gave me a good laugh.