I Cannot Believe It!

I did it. Whew. There is no way I could have survived the last two days before DTG. Absolutely, positively, no way.

So I picked up our rental truck (the 16' one) and brought it home to load. John was late getting off work so I started loading it about 10. He got home about 1:30. We were done at 3:30. When I took it to get it weighed, I was expecting about 1500 pounds. My jaw dropped when I saw we had loaded 4120 pounds!!!! In the rain. So I couldn't use the ramp and had to lift each box up into the truck. Now, I was calculating (it's the math major in me, I can't help it.) and if you consider the 50 pounds I used to carry around and add that onto each trip out to the truck I made, that would have been about a thousand extra pounds of toting that barge and lifting that bale. Well, lifting those boxes of books anyway.

You're probably thinking, wow, you much have been exhausted. Nope. Part of it was the endorphin high. But part of it was just that I'm in such better shape now that I've been in 20 years. But that Mac & Cheese was the perfect dinner after that. Not too heavy and cheesy - carby yummy.

So this morning I got up at 3am and drove down to Fayetteville. John got up a little later and followed. He caught up to me around Raleigh. We got the keys to our new rental and started unloading the truck. That backyard may not look too impressive but to us, it's wonderful. It's pretty sandy so not a real lawn but Nicky is going to be ecstatic.



It took about two hours to unload all that stuff and then we headed back home. So a nice 14 hour day with a whole lot accomplished.

It was especially nice added on to my other physical accomplishment of the week. 1.8 pounds lost for a total of 23.8 pounds. Remember back in May before we went on vacation and I couldn't get into my shorts? So last night I tried them on and they fit like a glove. It's such a weird/wonderful feeling to remember putting these shorts on and feeling like I was trying to stuff a sausage into its casing. The little roll that wouldn't get tucked in and wouldn't let me button them. Today, they fit absolutely perfectly.

So before you start your DTG, try on that pair of "skinny" jeans that you haven't gotten into in so long. Believe me, a couple months later when they slide on like silk, you will be like me and the rest of my fellow bloggers, so thankful that you decided to go for it!

Listen to Your Stomach

You know, I've heard about muscle memory. When you train in an athletic , your muscles become used to performing specific motions in order. That's why you hear about athletic trainers changing up routines to wake up your muscles (shout out to you, Steve, our workout role model!) I know that the stomach is not a muscle, but I swear that not only does it have a memory, it's got definite opinions.

We went to a picnic with some co-workers from John's last stationing, Knob Noster, Missouri. (Look it up, it exists.) We encountered a common problem at picnics: what to eat. We took a vegetable tray and set it next to the cheesy potatoes with potato chips on top, the greasy barbecue brisket, the chocolate cake, the cookies. Oh, and the fruit plate. So Nicky ate fruit. I made a mistake. I had a bratwurst. It had been a long time and that was all I ate. And then it sat like a lump in my stomach. Just sat. A big congealed lump of fat. Ewwwwww. Never. Again.

Dinner tonight was spaghetti pie with cauliflower. Spaghetti in a tomato sauce and absolutely covered in gooey cheese. (Arggghhh, cheeeeeeesssseeee) I ate dinner and my stomach was happily full. No lumps sitting in there for hours. I think the phrase "you are what you eat" definitely applies to bratwurt.

Okay, a slight case of hysterical laughter today. We're renting a 10 foot truck to take some stuff down to NC. In the military, if you move things yourself, you weigh what you move and get reimbursed for it. So I've been packing lots of boxes full of books so we can move the heavy, easily boxed items. I got a call from the truck company today. They don't have any 10 foot trucks so they're upgrading us to a 16 foot at no additional charge. My immediate response was hysterical giggling and saying "I haven't packed enough for a 16 foot truck". She actually understood and said it's common at this point to go a little crazy. So now we're looking around the house for things to put in the truck. Now, not for weight but just to keep things from sliding around! But on a good note, the bigger truck has a ramp which will be useful with all the boxes of books!

Still here!

I think I've gotten a lot done this week. And I've got quite a bit to talk about so settle in

We're going to take a truck load of things down ourselves next week. Since there are thing the movers won't move and we'd have to rent a truck anyway, we've decided to go ahead and fill it up. I've discovered that U-haul actually has the perfect size box. It's wonderful. Fill it up with books and you can still lift it. I was packing my china and Pfaltzgraf yesterday and it's wonderful how things set it in snugly, not leaving extra room to fill with peanuts. We've got some memento wines (John's first promotion, honeymoon, etc) and after wrapping them, they fit perfectly in there.

I know. A weird thing to get excited about. But I love puzzles and I love efficiency. There's this bed that I want to get for each of the kids from Berg Furniture. It's not as tall as a bunk bed and not as short as a captain's bed. Instead of a ladder to get up there, it has stairs. And the front facing of each step is a drawer! And under the bed is your bureau. It's so efficient! Anyway, I've got 15 boxes of books packed, 3 boxes of DVD's, a box of CD's and 6 boxes of breakables so far. I've still got plenty of books to get packed up before we head down. (We love books!) We're actually doing a one day trip. Leaving here early, early and getting back before Nicky goes to bed. I'm very grateful that my mother is here to watch the kids for me.

While cruising the DTG website, I found a couple things you might find interesting. I have the website as a favorite because I like reading the blog articles http://diettogo.com/blog like the summer foods to avoid and enjoy or hearing about the 9 people who lost over 300 pounds in 8 weeks. Way to go!! So I recommend checking the blog out for tidbits.

I realize it's been a while since I've posted an official weight loss. My mind has been busy adjusting my "don't forget" list like business to get the address changed, things the movers won't move (don't forget the propane tank!). I guess I'm just so used to making progress, I just assume I will be down. I never thought I'd be in such a mental state. I'm not obsessed with the scale!!!

But I'm at 187.4 right now. 3 pounds from my pre-pregnancy state. Also known as the lowest I've been in 18 years. I lost a pound last week. The previous two weeks I held steady and lost .4. All that box packing gave me a bit of exercise this week. So my total weight loss right now is at 22 pounds. I've topped the 10 % of my body mark. 10%!


I also wanted to post pictures of the kids. Sheesh, they're getting big fast!

Let's Get a Move On!

Well, I've plateau'd again. (I really need to look up that spelling) I lost less than a pound last week. More like a couple ounces. Part of it is a little bit of sleep deprivation. Jason is such a lark. He's been waking up before 4:30 every morning. And he's so happy and talkative in the morning that he's been waking up Catie as well. So quite a few early mornings lately.

It was such a beautiful day today we went out to Manassas for the train festival. Nicky got a new Thomas train and got to ride on the VRE train for a 30 minute train ride. He is fanatical about trains. Not only does he have a Thomas train setup but also a Geotrax train setup. And he plays with both of them equally. Thank goodness for ebay.

So our movers are scheduled to come on the 25th. I've got three weeks to get ready. I think everyone should move every few years. It's a REALLY good way to re-evaluate what you have in the house. If you look around your house with the attitude of "where will I put this when I have to unpack it" you end up wanting to get organized pretty quickly. I've put John to work going through a stack of computer cables, boards, books and CD's. Do we really need the restore disk for a computer we no longer have? Hmmm.

Mom is now a DTG advocate. She's amazed that she lost another three pounds this week even with eating until she was stuffed at every meal. So she's lost five pounds in two weeks and is still really liking the food. The Szechuan Turkey burger was a bit spicy for her and she refuses to eat carrots (something about not eating orange food. I don't know) but she's definitely happy with such an enjoyable way to lose weight.