ericaloses

[ericaloses]

Hello, all 2 of my followers who haven't given up on me!!

I haven't posted in so long!

I haven't had motivation to be really committed to anything, although having a healthy young pup does help me get out and be more active. He is quite attuned to me, though, and isn't so high energy that I can't miss a few days here and there.

My eating has been so blah. A real pain in the neck - actually tongue - is that the acid in even an apple is making certain taste buds swell and feel awful, and nearly all fruits are having that effect. SO annoying, because it limits my snacks when I want some sweetness.

One thing that I've been having more than I need is the really nice, Tassie-made cashew ice cream the local supermarket has brought in. Which is one reason I'm making this post. I have a food/fitness compromise for myself, and I'm writing it down for accountability:

When I feel like buying a tub of ice cream, I'm going onto Kobo and buying a book instead!

This is a good compromise because, brain food > unnecessary food and e-books don't add to the clutter I desperately need to find the motivation to bust!

The other things I have planned that will be giving me some structure in an exercise way revolve around my pup. I have a friend who has conservation detection dogs - an old hand and a pup in training - and I asked her if she could point me towards any basic resources for training scent dogs. So now I have a 15-day course workbook to train Tarka to be a sniffy boi. He won't be a professional sniffer, since I'm not able to work as his handler, but it will be awesome enrichment for him and his springer/hound nose.

Next, I want to teach him some gundog moves using lures and teaching him how to scurry. That will be more exercise for him, but there will be some for me as well!

And then, I want to do some agility stuff. When I'm teaching him about the course and obstacles, I'll be going around it with him, so that will get me moving!

I have become very dog-focused (you might have noticed?), but having Tarka has been a huge help with my emotional well being over the past 7 months.

TL;DR - Books instead of ice cream; lots of pup stuff for exercise and mental health. Might remember to post sometimes.

[ericaloses]

Goals Recap

I'm reposting my goals so they're easier for me to find, should probably pin the post or something... Anyway. Also posting without a bunch of chatter. Honest!

WEIGHT GOALS:

129kg

124kg

119kg

114kg

109kg

104kg

99kg

94kg

WALKING GOALS

Spring Beach end to end

Stapleton to Rheban gate

Home to Pines ✅

Pelican Walk ✅

Stapleton Beach end to end

Pines to farm gate

Top to Rheban Gate

Home to farm gate

Convict track to probation station

Bolton’s Beach northern end 

[ericaloses]

Weigh In 10/06/2023

Weight 25/05/2023: 125.3kg

Weight 10/06/2023: 124.4kg  

Loss/Gain: .9kg

”Starting” Weight: 132.2kg Overall Loss/Gain: 7.8kg

Woo, I'm under 125kg again! It's been a while since I was here.

I went and had a look through my old, very sporadic weight loss/tracking blog, and in mid-2020 I was around 113-115kg. Mid-2021 I was about 120kg. By June 2022, I was up to 130kg +

11th of November 2021, I was 124.4kg. So. It's nice to see the under-125 again.

I bought myself a pair of super cool jeans many sizes smaller than I am now as a goal/reward. They should be the right size when I get where I want to be, and if not, they'll probably fit J!

Having to walk dogs again as regularly as I'm capable is good. It will be better when J comes home from interstate and I'm not solely responsible for Mr Energetic. 🥴

[ericaloses]

Weigh In 22/05/2023

Weight 26/04/2023: 129.0kg  

Weight 22/05/2023: 125.3kg

Loss/Gain: 3.7kg

”Starting” Weight: 132.2kg Overall Loss/Gain: 6.9kg

Full disclosure: I started on Ozempic on Thursday. I know there's controversy around using it for weight loss, but I wasn't aware of that at the time when the doctor recommended it. And since I gained weight rapidly due to grief, depression, unusual inactivity, and medication changes, there's a fair chance I was heading towards pre-diabetes again.

So. That's a thing.

Unfortunately, it seems to be screwing with my CFS/fibro fatigue and making me absolutely ravenous while I'm losing weight. which may be a good thing in the long run, but for now it's making me feel like shit.

We'll see how it goes, I guess.

[ericaloses]

Weigh In, 26/04/2023

Weight 12/03/2023: 129.1kg

Weight 26/04/2023: 129.0kg  

Loss/Gain: .1kg

”Starting” Weight: 132.2kg Overall Loss/Gain: 3.2kg

Only a small loss to record since my last weigh in, but things have been really up and down in the past six weeks.

I have been a lot more regular with walking, since the pup is now fully vaccinated and full of energy! So that is getting my step count up several days a week.

My Reward of going to see my bestie in Adelaide might not come to fruition, though - she and her family are planning to move back to Tassie! Which is awesome for me, but in some ways a bummer for her. But it is what it is.

Anyway, a quick check-in today, and I'll try to be more regular with posts!!

[ericaloses]

Weigh In 12/03/2023

Weight 06/03/2023: 129.5kg   

Weight 12/03/2023: 129.1kg

Loss/Gain: .4kg

”Starting” Weight: 132.2kg Overall Loss/Gain: 3.1kg

Happy to see that the downward trend is continuing! I don't have the medication the locum doctor wanted me to start on, because there was a whole situation there. Suffice to say, I'm probably going to have to wait for the supplies of my regular doctor's recommendation to come back in. But in the meantime, I'll keep plugging away on my own.

Having the puppy has definitely helped the daily, incidental movement! Just having to get up to take him out for toileting has made a difference! I got DOMS the first few days, lol. And after he has his last vaccinations next week, we can get him ready for going out for proper walks. Yay!

I also had an appointment with the exercise physiotherapist, and I have a program of stretches to do as best I can each day. They're tailored to fit my chronic illnesses, so that's good.

Still haven't come up with a treat for myself for getting below 130 last week. Should really do something about that. 🤔

[ericaloses]

Skimming through my Facebook memories and realise that this months marks 10 years since I developed chronic pain/fibromyalgia.

10 years of constant, though fluctuating, pain.

Definitely a day to treat myself.

[ericaloses]

Puppy spam!!

He's a staffy x ?bull terrier. His three brothers are white and look very bull terrier-y.

I love his goth lipstick, lol.

[ericaloses]

Weigh In 06/03/2023

Weight 01/01/2023: 132.6kg  

Weight 06/103/2023: 129.5kg   

Loss/Gain: 3.1kg

”Starting” Weight: 132.2kg Overall Loss/Gain: 2.7kg

It's been a couple of months. I've been weighing myself sporadically, and I've been going back and forth around 130.XX and 131.XX, so posting every time seems a little futile.

Today it was REALLY nice to see 129 on the scale! I know, I know, the scale doesn't define my worth, blah, blah!! But the truth of the matter is that I am carrying excess weight from lack of movement and from medication side effects, so weight is something that I need to monitor.

I didn't eat very much yesterday, I've been feeling slightly off for a couple of days, so that may be the reason I dropped out of the 130s. But I have been somewhat more active over the past week because we got a puppy on Feb 26, and he's a bundle of energy - as they all are at 12 weeks, lol. We haven't started walking him yet because he doesn't have his final vaccinations for another 2 weeks. But once he's fully protected we'll need to do a lot with him, because the plan is to apply to a program to train him as a mental health assistance dog for J.

My secondary doctor mentioned the medication my main doc wanted me to go on when it becomes available in April, and said she's a bit sceptical that it will become available then. Apparently there's a shortage because it's a diabetes medication which has shown great results for patients with obesity, so now everyone wants it. Instead, she offered me an alternative from a compounding pharmacy which does essentially the same thing and is slightly cheaper (but still expensive). So I've paid for that and Australia Post says it's waiting to be collected/processed to be mailed to me. So here's hoping that helps kick things along.

I haven't got any rewards planned for myself with this weight loss journey, except the surprise visit to my bestie interstate after I get below 100kg, but I feel like celebrating the mini-milestone of not seeing 13X.XX on the scale for the first time in what seems like an eternity!

I've really slowed my roll on buying myself little bits and pieces for the new house/because I like them because progress is bogged down and I'm worrying about money, so today is the day to pick a just-because thingamajig for myself. Possibly a useful one, possibly a decorative one. Possibly both. Who knows?!

[ericaloses]

I’m gonna take a wild stab that the 18 new followers I got are all spambots. *sigh*

Anyway.

Recuperating from my holiday. Had a fantastic day for exercise and getting my steps in last week when the kid and I went to the markets and the aquarium. Since getting home, not so much.

But! That’s mostly because while I’ve been recuperating, I’ve been using my energy setting up a small business! Woo! And it’s all official now because I got a business number and registered a business name with the government. Eeek!!

If you want to check it out, I’m starting my social media ahead of time (Lord knows I need to up my social media game... 😬) on Instagram @haunted_bay_apothecary and Facebook @HauntedBayApothecary. My shop launch on Society6 will be on 8th February. 😊

Today my activity will be getting everything done that I need to for the weekend, and cleaning out Mum’s old caravan so I can use it as my office.

[ericaloses]

J got me a smart watch for my birthday! I'm out with S today doing lots of steps and keeping track. 😃

[ericaloses]

Weight In 01/01/2023

Weight 19/12/2022: 131.0kg   

Weight 01/01/2023: 132.6kg  

Loss/Gain: 1.6kg

”Starting” Weight: 132.2kg Overall Loss/Gain: .4kg

Sigh.

J and I have both been sick for the last 3 - 4 weeks, so diet has been whatever we feel like throwing together, and not a whole lot of nicely prepared, balanced meals.

On the positive side, as of Friday, I’ve been feeling better mentally, and like the depression and grief have started shifting. So there’s hope that over the next coupe of months things will start to fall into place and things will get done around here!

Happy new year, lovelies!

[ericaloses]

Reward!

I’ve decided on one reward for myself:

When I reach my second-last goal, 99kg, under 100, I’m going to go to Adelaide to visit my best friend. That is definitely a good incentive, we haven’t seen each other in years.

[ericaloses]

I hope next year treats you kindly, but above all else, I hope you treat you kindly.

[ericaloses]

Haunted House by Greg Luzniak

[ericaloses]

I was all ready to jump into regular walking and such. But instead I got the chest infection J has had for the last couple of weeks.

Yay.

I slept most of the day yesterday. And was back in bed by 9:30 this morning. Ugh.

Hopefully it doesn't stick around long.

[ericaloses]