Danielle’s Journey

So far so good…another pound melted off today and I was thrilled because I was not sure if what I was doing to loose the weight was good or not.  Six pounds total down and I am very excited!!  ^_^  I have not had this kind of success in my life before and the coolest thing about it is I am doing it with a diet plan I created.  LOL  Not just a fad diet or exercise regimen (which I have tried many in the past) and it just feels good!  In fact I feel less bloated and tired and I had an epiphany yesterday when I realized I was full.  Not over-stuffed or uncomfortable, just full and I quit eating.  It has been so long since I realized what that felt like and I decided I never want to stop feeling it.

Thank you Wildcats!  Without all of you I would have probably already binged, quit and given up by now!  You ladies are amazing!  Every single one of you and you are all so very inspirational!!  ^_^  Also thank you to all of my non-wildcat buddies!  You guys are amazing too!

A quick update on my friend in ICU: She is doing much better and should be able to be transported to a physical therapy hospital in the next few days!  ^_^  We are all very excited!

Have a great new years everyone!  Be safe!

I was terrified going into the holiday season especially when it came to my diet.  I really wanted to splurge and I managed to lose a pound!  Me!  Me?  I could not believe my own self control and I am proud of myself for having it.  I have a new goal…I want to master the art of knowing when I am truly full and forcing myself to stop eating when I get to that point.  I truly believe it will make me feel better and more healthy.

It has been hard to exercise outdoors because of all the snow up here (nearly 20 inches).  But I have done so many circles of walking around my apartment I think I bore a hole in the floor.  LOL  :)  I also used the indoor stairs to get some cardio in.  I am starting the exercise slow because I have not done it in so long I need to train my body how to exercise again.

I had a good Christmas family and gift wise.  I gave many gifts and received what I had asked for, but I feel better giving then receiving.  My boyfriend and I had a short vacation which was nice and I got to see my family.  ^_^  However, it has also been difficult because a good friend of mine was involved in a major car accident the day before Christmas Eve and she ended up having a shattered pelvis and a ruptured stomach and large intestine.  She had to go into immediate surgery and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day in the ICU.  She is only 18 years old and this has been difficult for her family, herself, and we her friends.  However, she is feeling a little bit better and is able to breath on her own as well as eat a few ice chips every once and a while.  It is going to be a very long road to recovery, however, I know she can do it.  Any prayers or thoughts would be great, though.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  ^_^  I am not sure how much I will be able to be here in the next couple of days, however, I really will try hard to get back here and blog!!  ^_^

Hello Buddies!!  I want to wish all of you a wonderful holiday and happy new year!  I am not sure how much I will be able to be on in next few days but I will try!  :)  I really will!  Good luck and God bless!!

Sorry for my absence the past couple of days everyone but it snowed enough up here in Portland in the last 36 hours we lost power!  O_O  I KNOW!  But it is really pretty!  See there is an upside to every situation.  I am staying with my boyfriend and his family this evening because I still have no power, but he and I walked down to a local library so I could send in my weight and losses for the week and check my inbox, etc.  I only have a short twenty minutes so I will have to keep this brief tonight.

Overall for the week I lost 2 pounds and kept it off all week!!  That is 4 pounds I have lost all together since I started on buddyslim!!  ^_^  I AM EXCITED!!  Whoot!!  I am also very grateful to all of the wonderful people in the Wildcat group!  I have found my home!!  THANK YOU LADIES!!!  And a special thank you to Miss Nancy for inspiring me from the beginning and asking me to join the group!  You rock girl!!  ^_^

I love watching the snow…I just don’t like driving in it!  EEK!  In fact I consider myself a great snow driver I just worry about all the people driving around me.  O_O

I walked today for an hour and a half and I worked for 3 and 1/2 hours.  Was on my feet the whole time.  I did not do any cardio today other then walking, however, that was more walking then I normally do.  I have felt better today as well.  However, my throat is still a little sore and my lymph nodes are soooo beyond swollen.  LOL  :eek:  BUT I will persevere!  I hope everyone else is feeling better and having a good week!!

I feel like I had an amazing day and hope I start feeling better soon because feeling under the weather is never a fun thing.  I am going to bed with every intention of not sleeping in too late tomorrow…lol…we shall see if that happens.  ^_^

I was not able to workout today like I had originally planned to, but that is because I woke up with a cold. I have asthma so it would have been a bit detrimental to my health and I would have become winded far too easily. However, I did go to work for 3 hours and was on my feet staying active the entire time. For a day like today I think that was enough exercise. I felt good after work, like I accomplished something healthy and worthwhile, which is always a good feeling. Overall, I was pleased with my day both on a diet level and exercise level.

I am going to get up early tomorrow morning and do a workout tape.  I can’t go for a walk because it is very, very cold outside and it is supposed to snow again tomorrow.  However, I have a treadmill in my apartment so I think I will walk for about an hour.  If my cold has subsided I will try and jog for a bit too.  I am excited about working out in the morning, I think it will be fun.  I have a friend who gave me some of her old workout dvd’s so I have tons of things to try everything from turbo jam to Jillian Micheals.  EXCITING!!

On the topic of exercise…could anyone give me some different things I could do at home that are at a beginning level besides my dvd’s and treadmill walking?  I thought about doing a push-up or sit-up challenge or both?  What is a good number to begin with?  I am a bit of a novice when it comes to adult exercise…any suggestions or words of advice would be wonderful!!  ^_^

So I am Danielle and I am new to this challenge group. I really did not have major weight problems until about two years ago. I have gained nearly 40 pounds in the last two years…I know…un-healthy. As a kid I was always very active and full of energy and I can never really remember being massively overweight. I am 5′3″ tall and when I started college 3 and 1/2 years ago I weigh 145 pounds. I am now sitting at 189.

I began to get ill in the beginning of my sophomore year at college I was literally always sick. I had no idea as to why or how I kept getting sick, however, in the last three years I have had whooping cough, singles, pneumonia (3 times), and mono twice. I kept going back to the doctor with legitimate symptoms and was finally tested for some different disorders. I was diagnosed last December with Accute Epstein-Barr Infectious Viral Syndrome and Chronic Fatigue. This is an immune disorder which I have learned to deal with and now have under control, however, for a while I really did question my sanity because it was horrible being sick all of the time.

Though the diagnosis was good to have, the damage had been done. I think I took enough prednisone during those three years to choke an elephant. I gained so much weight and my confidence and self-esteem took a major hit. I really stopped caring about everything and let myself go. Making bad habits in the process.

2 years ago I met the man of my dreams and we have been dating ever since. We want to get married, but until I get out of school it is not really an option. He loves me for who I am, no matter what, however, he wants me to be as healthy as possible and with his help I have started caring about me again. It has been hard but I really do care now…I want to look beautiful for him, for my future wedding day, and most of all for me. I want to feel beautiful again too.

I like working out and eating healthy I just have not done it for so long, it almost feels foreign.  I am so excited to be part of this community!  The wildcats have adopted me now and I am so excited to be a part of their team!  They are all such amazing and wonderful people who have accomplished so much!  Keep inspiring you guys!!

I won’t be seeing them for a while!  I was so happy when I got on the scale this afternoon and it read 189!  I could have just cried!!  I really could have!  I have had an amazing week and really stuck to a healthy diet which is a little surprising because it was perhaps the most stressful finals week I have yet had to deal with.  LOL  However, I prevailed and am very proud of my strength to persevere!

…which means I have an entire month to get myself on track.  I am very excited to get myself into a regimen of sorts!  I have never really been able to do this because I have always been too busy with life in general, performances, assignments (you know what I mean).  I want to make working out the most important part of my day so when I go back to class in a month I will make sure to fit it in.  I am also going to really focus on my diet and nail it…no engrave it on my brain.  I really do not like junk food but I am sometimes the worst when it comes to carbs.  O_O  I really could eat only carbs all the time…but then I would be a major tubbo.  AND nobody wants that!  LOL  I think I am going to try and focus on cutting back on the carbs…I have stuck to my plan so far this week of only one carb per day and though it has been difficult I have felt better and more energized.  I have been eating a bunch more protein and drinking tons of water.  Infact to cope with the cut back in carbs I have been drinking water everytime I crave one.

The hardest part of my day is when I go into work.  I manage an ice cream store…so yeah…I have really been able to curb my cravings for it, however, and I am proud to say I have only had three scoops of ice cream in the past three weeks.  I am wanting to make it a no-no or only every once in a while type of food in my diet and I am feeling great about how much I have already cut back.  The coolest part about it is I don’t miss it!  Infact it was giving me a horrible sugar rush and I have felt much more energized without all the ice cream and extra carbs lately.  The water has also been great!  I have completely cut out pop from my diet and I would like to stop drinking coffee as well, not because I think it is bad for me, but because I cannot stand drinking it without cream!  O_O  I know, I know…but I can’t help it.

My goal is to be in the 180’s by Tuesday!  I am sure I can do it!  I want it really bad!!  Wish me luck!

I am a music major and our annual Christmas concerts were this past week and weekend so I am sorry for disappearing for a while, but between studying for finals and rehearsals it was difficult to find time to sleep, let alone get onto the computer.  However, I did loose another pound in the chaos of last week and I was able to stick to my diet!  I have decided I am going to pick one type of carb per day this week and try to stick to it for the whole week as my dieting goal.  If I can do it then I am going to try it for another week on top of this next one.  Wish me luck everybody both with weight loss and with my finals…they begin tomorrow and end on Thursday!  I need all the luck I can get!