Debt update 5/1/711

On May 5th I sent a certified letter to NCO asking that they validate the debt they are trying to collect from my hubby. I have yet to receive the delivery conformation postcard from them. and I have yet to get anything back. Fair Debt standards mandate they respond with in 30 days so I'm playing the waiting game for now.

I did get a letter from them saying DH owes on another Capital One account. I plan to send the same letter to NCO regarding this debt.

Please understand if this debt does belong to the hubby I will pay it as swiftly as I can, in the meantime I want to know what options I have.

Ankle Weights...

I've been walking a few days a week during my lunch break. It's made me feel really good about myself and my efforts to shed weight. As you also know that my weight loss has ben kind of halted lately so I decided to purchase some Ankle Weights, My first instinct was to click right on over to Amazon.com and order me up a set... I got intimidated. I don't know what to shop for in fitness equipment... 
Hello.... I'm just under 300 lbs and prior to this year had never once exercised for the exercise...

Well, this morning I had to go to Wal-Mart for dog food so I thought I'd cruise past the fitness section and see if they had any. I'm so glad I decided to stop in person. While on Amazon I thought I needed the 10lb weights because I've lost 21lbs so I should be able to handle it right.. wrong!

I settled for the 5lb adjustable set for about $10... while writing this I found that can be had online for just $5.77 plus .97 shipping (walmart).

Let me tell you, I took 1/2 the weight out before my walk today...   Boy did I feel the burn!  I didn't get 2 blocks before I got a pinch in my left calf muscle. my legs feel it now and I plan to wear them all the time in the office.  As my weight decreases or my legs get stronger I intend to add some of the weights back in...


Wish me luck!

Wednesday Weigh In 05/05/11 - Thursday!

Cinco de Mayo! - Maybe I'll have a Corona with my wings tonight! Ha that'd be differant... I always want to try new beers but I usually find them sooooo disgusting.

On with the nitty gritty.....
Start weight 308.4
Current weight 286.4  (Wk 3)
Same as last week
total loss to date: 22 lbs

Last week I was diapointed to see I was still at 286.4 but today I'm kind of joyfull. 

• I stoped taking all diet pills I had been taking so I was fearfull the weight would jump back on over night!
• I've been so increadibly hungry that I did not stick to my food plan
• Monday I was back at 290 and just yesterday I was close to that!

Well, last night I fell asleep on the couch very early, around 8:30. That must have done something to me because today I am feeling fine and down a few pounds! 
I've walked twice this week. Once around 1 block, Once to the mall and around 2 blocks. I felt great when I got back.

Burdened with debt

Last night we received a very disturbing phone call from hubby's brother who he has not really spoken too in about 8 years. They aren't estranged really, they just don't have anything to talk about.
Big Brother has been receiving numerous harassing phone calls at his home in another state attempting to contact the hubby.

This company had refused to identify them selves, used aggressive language and scare tactics & had a number on the caller ID that didn't ring anywhere. They basically convinced big brother that hubby had used his name and contact info on a credit application and then ran with the goods.

I would like to note, we are paid in full on all of our current bills and I have begun to pay off old balances on things like credit cards that had fallen to the wayside as we were starting our family.

After a quick google search I learned the creditor in question was NCO financial, like many other collection agencies they have a slew of websites devoted to bashing them and their collection practices.

Because this blog is about growth I'm going to share with you things I learn about the collections process and delay with consumer debt. Currently our credit scores are pretty low, around 630. I hope to be able to report back in a few months with a marked improvement in our scores.

Wednesday Weigh In 4/27/11

Start weight 308.4
Current weight 286.4  Again///
Same as last week
total loss to date: 22 lbs.

This weight seems to be a barrier for me. I was up a bit on Monday as I usually am after the weekend.

Monday evening was inspirational for me, instead of our normal boring, indoor craft girl scout meeting we hit the wood and hiked! if I calculated it correctly we did about 1 mile in about 40 min. on the moderate level coarse.

Best news, not only did I keep up, I often set the pace! My 18 year old assistant leader and her mom lagged behind as the girls and I wondered and chatted threw the forest. I really wish every meeting could be like that.

Wednesday Weigh In 4/20/11

Start weight 308.4
Current weight 286.4
Down  3lbs from last week 
total loss to date:

What a differance a week makes. I seams I'm down 3 pounds from last time. Bringing me back to my 2011 low of 286.4. I've been making a strong puch to eat when I am hungry. Not alot, just something. so far it has seamed to help, I feel better and I'm losing weight again!

Wednesday Weigh in 4/13/11

Start weight 308.4
Current weight 289.4
UP! 1.6 lbs from last week

The diet is about the same, if anything I ate less. I did get a ton of exercise this weekend. I also drank a lot on Saturday night.

Monday when I weighed in I was shocked to see 294.6. Prior to the weekend I had been down to 287.4 so I had "gained" 7.2 lbs in 3 days. Please not this is not my time so the gain  is not cycle related.

I have found my body to be a storage machine in times of stress. Looking back on the weekend I think working a full week and working Thursday and Friday at the bar and hiking 3 hours Sat then drinking until 4 Sunday at might have been more then my body could handle. My food intake was low.

Thursday:
crackers for breakfast
pizza for lunch
Cheese fries and 5 wings for dinner

Friday:
crackers for breakfast
Cheddar bowl appetite for lunch
chicken and rice for dinner
1 moz stick around midnight

Saturday
Mcdonalds steak egg and cheese bagel with OJ for breakfast
Corned beef Reuben with fries and Mt. Dew for a late lunch
No dinner...
a few pieces of Easter candy while hiking. 1/2 gallon of sweetened raspberry tea while drinking.

Sunday:
no breakfast
Summer sausage and crackers Late lunch (snack)
Salad with french dressing, 4 stuffed shells and garlic bread for dinner.

As you can see, I'm not sure I even ate 7 entire lbs. of food...  I think I need to eat more often on the weekends.
I have been neglecting a trip to one of my favorite discount groceries because then I get home late but this week I have to bite the bullet and just go!

It will be nice to have fresh pepper and other produce in the house.

Wednesday Weigh in 4/6

Start weight 308.4
Current weight 287.8
down .2lbs from last week

Not so good...

Swag Bucks

Image via WikipediaWhat: Swagbucks is a discount comunity where you can earn points for reffering friends, taking surveys and seaching the web.

Does it work? Sure does, I'm not veryy good at remembering to do my daily searches and I am still able to earn about $20/year in Amazon.com gift cards.

Is it safe?  I think so, I've been using it and the tool bar for about 2 years nows.

Why am I sharing this here?  While I think I'm awesome I realize that you, the reader, need more value in my blog. I love to write about the weight I'm losing or not losing... but I no that you can hear shameless bragging or pouty whining with our coming here to see me.

This is an attemp to expand the scope of my blog and bring some value back to you the reader. I will also post when I find great deals and coupons.

If you have any questions now, or in the future, please let me know. I will do my best to answer your questions in a timely manner.

I have posted a link to swagbucks below and in the sidebar:

Wednesday Weigh in

I have chosen Wednesday as my week to weigh in here. I weigh Monday's on Stickk.com and truth be told I actually weigh myself at least once a day.

Todays weight....
288.0 one pound less then last week...  but it's a bit skewed....
I once read the best time to weigh was just after you got up in the AM, I did that today and for the life of me I can't remember exactly what it was... I think it was 286.8 but I don't want to really broadcast that number if I can't be sure wo the 288 weigh in is early afternoon right after some tea and a can of beef and barley soup.

I missed lunch with my hubby today, he chose to go into work. I honestly don't blame him. In fact, I'm kind of proud of him, he work for an hourly wage plus commission, today he chose commission over recreation.

Regaurdless of the pride, missing lunch with him has really gotten me down. We go see our freinds and have wings Thursday evening but our Wednesday lunch is just us.

Broke the 290lb mark!

Well, today it they day I can finally say I brok 290lbs. For the last 2 weeks I have really been struggling... I spent a week a few pounds heavier then I had been, then I spent a week not loosing at all but I think I'm back on track now.
Todays weigh in:  289.0

As of today I have lost exactly 19.4 lbs
11 week (approx) avg.      about 1.76 lbs/week

My average is down a little but it's still great to know I am loosing weight!

I slipped...

• lost 0.1 pounds since her last weigh-in! She's lost 18.3 pounds so far.  - 1 week ago
• lost 0.6 pounds since her last weigh-in! She's lost 14 pounds so far.  - a few seconds ago

Okay  so whats wrong with that picture...  yup I'm up 4 lbs over the last week... I fell prey to newbie thinking...
I've done so well so far, surely I don't have to read every package! Why do I need to log every bite?

I'll tell you why, if you don't log it you don't watch it! In just 1 week of eating close to where I should have been I managed to undo 2 weeks worth of work.

I think beer also has a lot to do with it. Now, I'm still firmly on track to exceed my initial goal of 50lbs in 50 weeks  but I was getting really excited to see that I could have been down 90 lbs in 50 weeks instead. Now stickk.com says I could weight 240 by December...  this has really set off my trend.

Now to get through today... One day at a Time! Perhaps when I weigh in tomorrow I'll have better news to report.

Can I get a hot tub!

OA, Overeaters anonymous...  this is not a group I ever thought I would be a member of. I've always known I was fat...  but, you know... I always thought it was because of my families bad genes... lol

Today, at work, my Outlook calendar reminded me of yet another OA meeting I was bout to miss... meeting are held 4 times a day online. At first I felt guilty, hmmm  yet another meeting down the drain!, then I reconsidered. I'm here at work trying to find free lit for another support group I recently joined... why not log in and see if I can become inspired...

 I'm not sure I can put into words what happened...  I'm not religious... I don't have faith in a higher power... but I think my higher power just showed up and blessed me!

I logged in to the meeting early fully anticipating I would get distracted like I usually do and miss the meeting anyway  when a guest reached out for help. She had missed work because she had been eating for 2 days and was too sick to leave the house.

I offered to start a private chat and get her through the next 15 min.... after all if she could just do that she would be able to do anything..

We chatted... she cried... I made small talk... she purged some of her fears... I related and shared some of my own... neither of us are alone in our journey... we are just on different paths..

After about 20 minutes the chat started to take a lighter note... I could tell she was starting to feel better. long story short, she's on her way to the gym....   not to refocus her compulsions to the machines but to sit in the hot tub and feel better...!

We exchanged email addresses and I expect to hear back from her when she gets home...
Now I sit... crying... not of pain but of joy..   I helped... I helped a perfect stranger on the worst day of her recent life...  I meant it when I told her she was worth it... I know that she has to be... I know that I am too...!

My Stickk.com profile

One of my favorit blogs of all time is Get Rich Slowly, JD has a way with words. GRS is a finance blog that not really about finance. JD and his guest writers have found a way to make personal finance more about life then money. Early in January when I first really committed to loosing all of these additional pounds I had so happily stored GRS published a post about financial goal tracking. One of the tools the writter used was stickk.com. I quickly reveiwed the site and signed up.

I chose not to have any money wagered on my success or failure. This is, after all, my first attempt at weightless. I have faithfully logged my progress every week.

Things I like about Stickk.com

• It's free
• People (strangers) can follow & encourage you
• You can specify a referee
• If you need the additional motivation of a punishment or reward you can build that into your program
• You lost your goals and it calculates your incremental goals based on your reporting preferences
• Most importantly to me....   I tells you what you are on pace to hit at the end of your commitment.

According to Stickk.com  if I continue to loose weight at my current weight I will hit 210.62 just before Christmas of this year (2011).  That would be 98 lbs. lost in just 52 weeks...  I hope I can do it!  No wait, I know I can do it...!!!

I do realize at 210 I will still be fat but it will be so amazing to see a whole new me!  I was exactly 210 lbs the first time I was weighed when I got pregnant back in 1998. the thought that I can reverse almost 12 years of gaining in just one solid year of work just fascinates me.

If you would like to friend or follow me on Stickk.com my screen name is 2drgns and my commitment number is #102687...  I can't find a link to me or I would post it here...

If you find Stickk.com useful let me know.
In addition to myfitnesspal.com and stickk.com  what web sites do you use?

Progress to date

I'm down exactly 17 lbs.!!!  With the exception of one person no one has noticed...  That's fine by me, I feel it.   I feel stronger! I feel I can handle more things emotionally. I know my strength is returning.

I had a major ass cramp the other day... lol...  I was leaving work in a very big hurry and I RAN up the stairs...  2 big flights right past the mezzanine to the second floor.  I did breath a little heavy at the top but man I made it up those damn stairs in seconds.  And I've noticed I don't huff as much on my stairs at home when I go to bed, DH still does, but he's not on a diet. Anyway later that night I had a terrible persistent pain in my right rear that eventually spread across my hips.  I took a few ibuprofen and went to bed....  all was better in the morning.

I have been "dieting" since January 3....  so far my diet includes eating MORE food... 
As of today I have lost exactly 17 lbs. right down to the tenth.

2 Months     about 7.5 lbs/months lost
7 weeks and 3 days     about 2.27 lbs/week

To say the least I am elated. I was always so afraid I would fail, I still might but now I know I can do it if I just try. I realize once some of the "easy weight" is gone I will need to exercise but for now the stairs and a healthy diet seem to work.

Did my ass shrink?

On the way home from work Friday I had to slide my car seat forward. I've been driving this car with the seat in place for more then 2 years...  Ladies I know your going to say my shoes were different... but they weren't. I'm 34 so I'm not shrinking.  I really think some of the 16 lbs I've lost came off my ass/lower back.

I'm actually up 1/2 a lb. after this weekend. I didn't eat well. DH and I have been having problems and I think I ate some of them. I really do hope I'm able to figure out how to help him soon... knowing he's unhappy is killing me.

The weather here today is drab and raining, even so I hope to get a walk in near lunch. It's been my goal to walk 2-3 days a week since January but I've not done it once yet.

My Own Genetic Predisposition Theory

Image by Esthr via FlickrDoes your family have a fat gene?
Mine sure does...
We love to be fat! Well that's not entirely true, but, we accept that we are fat because we are predisposed to be heavy.
Maybe your family has big bones, either way, it's not my fault I'm fat!!!

Sounds foolish right?            It is!


For years I have felt that it was my destiny to carry all this extra baggage but it's not my parents fault.
Here in these wonderful United States we are led to believe that your families weight history determines your weight future, I argue that this is simply not true.
In my family we were not encouraged to participate in sports, I was not reminded that 6 cookies was not a good way to finish off the pizza I'd had for dinner,  I was, not once, encouraged to read the side of the box.

My point is, while I do not think my genes effect my weight as I've been led to believe, I do think that a families value system as it relates to food gives the appearance of the former being true.

My challenge to you, challenge conventional thought and instead think about the choices you've been taught to make. Is there room for improvement?

Hubby's yucky face

Last night at the bar one person commented that she thought I had lost "a little weight"! I was ecstatic. These are the words I have been questing for. Like so many of you I played it off... "really TY  I hadn't noticed...."  when in reality I wanted to jump up and down and scream 14 lbs...  in 7 short weeks...  OMG.... OMG.... OMG!!!!!!!
Then came the crushing blow. I told my DH what had been said and he made a yuck face and looked at me like I'm crazy !Now I don't expect DH to get all excited for me and shout it from the roof tops... he sees me everyday, it's difficult to notice small changes when you see people day in and day out. I do however expect him to shelter my feelings and not make that damn yucky face!
I have noticed my body sheds weight on a cycle...  loose for a day or two then hold for a day or two. The hold day is followed by a larger drop... like 1.5 lbs. I think it's trying to figure out if I'm going to keep feeding it.  :) In the past I have not been so nice to my body, I've never been slender as an adult but I was not fearful of food until my children were born.
For the first 15 months I was a stay at home mom, money was tight, we relied on food stamps, wic and food banks. I ate very little during the day so there would be more for dinner. Then I began working 5 hour shifts....  "who needs to eat it's only 5 hours, besides, after gas and daycare if I spend money on food too there will be none of my pay left for bills and I might as well quit!"
 My sick feelings about food only got worse when I started to gain weight. I was on depo provera at the time we I was weighed regularly. In one 12 week period I gained over 50 lbs. I was mortified.... at the time I was at 289 lbs. I didn't know what to do so I blamed the depo and stopped getting the shot. My weight remained unchanged, it has in fact slowly crept up in the 7 or eight years since I went off the shot.
 Anyway, here I sit 7 or 8 years later just 6 lbs from where I was back then!  It's so incredible to think I CAN DO IT!!!! 

Related articles

• Is Depo-provera (The Birth Control Shot) Right for You? (healthmad.com)
• My Weight Loss Journey...Day 50 (cathygworld.wordpress.com)

14 lbs and counting

Image by benchilada via Flickr

Well, I'm down 14 lbs. ppl have yet to notice. It's ok thou  I know that at my current weight each pound is less visibly. I can't wait until ppl start to notice and comment to me. Sure I want to loose the weight to be healthy and more comfortable but the thing that will really make it real is the pride that will come from other ppl being excited for me.

I've had a really tuff week... DH and I are not exactly living in paradise. This have been uncomfortable between us this week. Due mostly  to my Jealousy and his inability to ignore me when I get crazy. I have, so far, been able to refrain from eating these feelings. Seeing the scale steadily decline helps.

Finishing a day on MFP and seeing that you could weigh x... helps a lot too... 

Related articles

• How Much Weight Loss You Should Expect (blog.stephenholtfitness.com)
• How Many Calories Does Jogging Burn? (brighthub.com)
• PICS: 300-lb. Reality Star Sheds Major Weight! (omg.yahoo.com)

Introductions...

I guess a good place to start is with a few detail about me and why I'm here at MFP.
I turned 34 in December, I've been with my DH just over 15 years now. I love him dearly! He completes me like no one else could. I have 2 wonderful children, 1 boy 1 girl. I work full time, run a Girl Scout Troop, help with the Boy Scout troop and shoot darts.
I have never been on a "diet" I have never tried to loose weight. I have been overweight since puberty in roughly the 6th grade, prior to that I was very thin. I was not what would be considered obese until I used depo Provera birth control for several years.
 My weight has increasingly become an issue in my life.  It has rocked my confidence and my happiness. My DH and my family seem not to notice that I'm not comfortable in my own skin. I'm not sure how DH really feels about my current weight but he compliments me often and is proud to be seen with me regardless.
*** full disclosure *** 
I purchased my first scale just a few weeks ago. My starting weight was 308.4lbs... 
***********************
It was horrifying to read that number...

I have read a lot of info here and I'm working on developing a support network to help me. The most important thing I've learned so far is I need to eat. Prior to January 3 when I started this journey I would eat just once a day. Dinner... now that I'm tracking my food I know that my dinners range from 500 - 800 calories... this is simply not enough!!!
I have increased my food intake to include some kind of breakfast as well as a healthy lunch.
Currently I weigh 296.0 - it's still a lot but WOW... I lost 12.4 lbs in about 5 1/2 weeks... I know I'm not setting any records but it's a healthy pace and should allow me to exceed my 50 lbs in 2011 goal...  In other words... if I continue at this pace I will be back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 210 in about 1 year. It took me 11 years to gain the weight so it's incredible to think I could undo all that bad in just 1 short year. 
In addition to MFP I log my goals on Stickk.com (2drgns) I put in the 50lbs and it gives me weekly #s to hit and calculated my final weight at the end of 52 weeks depending on my current progress...

Please feel free to email me. I need all the friends I can get.