tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53335728275793204542024-03-13T11:02:48.632-07:00A Life Plan, NOT a Diet PlanLearning to reclaim my life, lose 120 pounds, and not go crazy!Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-38222230756235037272011-08-15T10:47:00.000-07:002011-08-15T10:47:35.082-07:00Good Monday Morning!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It looks like I am getting around to my blog about once a week. That is OK, except that I get behind on reading my blog buddies' posts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My life plan is continuing about like my last post with one new change. Alan and I are getting up earlier in the morning so that we can exercise after breakfast. Hopefully, that will start to show some new lower numbers on the scale for both of us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We have a conference at a big, fancy hotel the end of October, so we decided to use that date to set some new goals. We both would like to lose 20 pounds over the next 10 weeks -- two pounds a week is a good goal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So the battle continues!</span><br />
Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-77031835487745583062011-08-10T07:19:00.000-07:002011-08-10T07:19:08.157-07:00Whirlwind<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems like the last few days have been a real whirlwind of activity, and I suddenly realized that I hadn't blogged since Friday! Where does the time go?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">To summarize the days since then, I am hitting about 1500 calories on average, 1 to 2 miles per day on average, and I have lost 1 pound down to 234. My blood sugar numbers are a bit high because I really need more consistant exercise than I have been doing -- so I need to work on that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am off and running again today, so I will check in tomorrow. Have a great day!</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-20753533478146632402011-08-05T21:04:00.000-07:002011-08-05T21:04:47.066-07:00It's Good to Be With Friends<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went to quilting today for the first time since March, and it was really good. I had needed the time off to get my "life plan" underway, to get moved, and finally to have a good vacation. But it was so good to get back to friends who share my interests and many of my same struggles. What a great day!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The only bad news is that when I quilt all day long, I sit for most of the time. So I will have to be careful to make up for that the other days of the week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Alan and I are doing pretty well on our new plan. We eat a moderate breakfast, a good sized lunch, and then I have a salad with a bit of protein and a bit of carb (like some crackers) for dinner. He just has water or sometimes watermelon for dinner. We are finding that we aren't missing our evening snacks in front of the TV at all. Amazing!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Both yesterday and today I hit a total of around 1600 calories, so I still need to cut that back to about 1200. My blood sugars have been excellent -- all in the "green" range.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We hope to do a lot of walking this weekend, so I will let you know how it goes. </span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-83546059034947008172011-08-04T07:36:00.000-07:002011-08-04T07:36:15.520-07:00I'm Back At Last<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are finally moved in and back from vacation and back to the life plan full time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We had a smooth move and a terrific vacation. We went to Texas to visit with family and meet the two new babies in the Horn clan -- Logan and Julie. Both are adorable, friendly, curious, and just everything else that is just perfect! We had great visits with the family, too many good meals, long drives in the Texas countryside, and lots of sleep and snuggles. Who could ask for more?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The downside of moving and vacation, of course, is lots of meals at restaurants. We both gained back some of our weight -- especially since Alan sprained his foot during the move and could barely walk for a couple of weeks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am back at 235 this morning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But, Alan can walk normally again, and we are somewhat settled in our new nest -- so we are back to our life plan. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The doctor who looked at Alan's sprain also had a new suggestion for our eating plan. He said to eat all of your calories at breakfast and lunch and to just have water and more water for dinner. Alan is doing that, and I have modified it for my diabetes to eating most of my calories at breakfast and lunch and having salad or veggies at night. We will see how the new idea works for us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Glad to be back!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yesterday's Stats:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Weight: 235</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Calories In: 1270 Calories Burned: 113 Total Calories: 1157</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">BS Average: 122</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-58539725158923235272011-06-28T09:16:00.000-07:002011-06-28T09:16:06.841-07:00Moving Along<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It looks like we will be moving on Thursday. Obviously, I have been up to my eyeballs in boxes and getting ready to go. I wanted to move my sewing machines and fragile items myself, and Alan won't let anyone touch our computers! The movers will pack up the leftovers and get us hauled over to the new place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">At any rate, I will be off of the internet for probably about a week. Don't worry!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My blood sugar numbers have come down enough to lower my insulin again, and I am doing better with my exercise. Our doctor vist went well and he was pleased with how I am doing -- even if I haven't lost anymore. Hopefully the lower insulin and the increased exercise will fix the scale!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Have a great week!</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-79958654545317425042011-06-21T08:57:00.000-07:002011-06-21T08:57:28.706-07:00Good Start for a New Week<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a good start for the new week. I walked 3.5 miles yesterday and had 1250 calories total. My blood sugars continue to come down closer to normal and my weight dropped back down to 230. Hooray!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This is a busy week. I took the truck in yesterday to have the air bag fixed and the oil changed, etc. There was a recall on the air bag -- evidently they have had some of them deploy for no reason. Ouch! I am glad to have that fixed so we don't have any nasty surprises.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I will be giving notice at the old apartment today and we will be talking to the movers this week. We will also have our last checkup with Dr. Wang. We will need a new doctor because of the new insurance plan, so we might as well find one that will be in Irvine. It looks like we will have a dentist and an optometrist right across the street from the new apartment. It looks like we will make up some of the higher rent in lower gasoline bills!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Hope you all are having a great week.</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-44865613775790880512011-06-18T20:45:00.000-07:002011-06-18T20:45:28.892-07:00Hip, Hip, Away, Away!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have had a bunch of things to celebrate the past few days. First of all, I am officially in a smaller size! I have been tugging up my pants, so I decided to try on a smaller pair of jeans. To my amazement, a size 20 fit perfectly -- not too tight -- just right! Hooray!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We also went today to sign up for a new apartment in Irvine. We found a complex that we fell in love with. It is only 1 mile for Alan to walk to work. We figure most days I will walk with him, since I try to walk at least 2 miles in the morning anyway. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The complex is also next to a 44 mile long bike/hiking trail that goes both north and south. You can actually take it about 10 miles down to the Pacific Ocean, or north up past Tustin to several different parks. Since we love to walk, this is just perfect! We may just go to Walmart and pick up a couple of bicycles, too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Our new apartment is on the 3rd floor, so Alan joked that we were getting a new "stairmaster" for free! Across the street is a shopping center with a grocery, pharmacy, and just about anything else you might need. So I won't need the car to go shopping.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We are really pleased and hope to move in around the first week in July.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Meanwhile, I had some birthday goodies today -- so way too many calories. However, I did do 10,230 steps for 3.71 miles, so it wasn't all bad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Hope you all have a great Sunday!</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-17906756014719244592011-06-14T21:34:00.000-07:002011-06-14T21:34:33.296-07:00Back in the Groove<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I feel like I am almost back into my groove, and that feels good! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yesterday my blood sugar average was 153 at 74 total units of insulin. I walked twice and reached 10,472 steps. That came out to 3.8 miles. And my total calories were 1309 for the day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Today my numbers were very similar, although my calories for the day came out to 1530.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Hopefully, after about a week I will get my blood sugar numbers down closer to an average of 100 for the day. Then I can start reducing the insulin again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Since my insulin level is higher, my weight has been sitting at between 230 to 234. I sure can't wait to get into the 220s!</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-22763311902964651802011-06-13T09:44:00.000-07:002011-06-13T09:44:53.084-07:00Pretty Good Weekend<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought this weekend would be a bad one, because my honey had to work long hours rather than go have fun with me. But it turned out not to be too bad. I made major progress on a baby quilt for my new niece, Julie. It has a large pink elephant appliqued in the middle. Fun!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I got back into my Bible study, and that helped a lot. I am going verse by verse through Isaiah at the moment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I got my blood sugar average down to 165 on 74 units of insulin. So that was a big improvement, too. Part of that was getting back into the exercise after breakfast and dinner. Did well with the breakfast exercise, but not so good with after dinner. So I need to work harder on that this week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My weight this morning was 233. Still up from where I had been, but going back down. So my plan for this week is just more of the same:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Daily Bible study and prayer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Get blood sugars level at about 100</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Exercise for 1 hour after breakfast and dinner</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Get the calories down to about 1400 intake</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-74668935549455375622011-06-11T10:47:00.000-07:002011-06-11T10:47:47.640-07:00Reving Back Up<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday went much better, although I still have a ways to get back to where I was. At least this morning I lost 2 of the pounds that I had regained.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Average BS: 184 Still too high</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Insulin Level: 98 Total for the day</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Exercise: 30 minutes after breakfast, 30 minutes after dinner</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Steps: 6,114</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Miles: 2.21</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yesterday's weight: 234</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This morning's weight: 232</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-25924093511183597172011-06-10T09:17:00.000-07:002011-06-10T09:17:35.161-07:00Where Am I and Where Am I Heading?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where Am I?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Well, I have regained a few pounds, so I am at 234 this morning. What is worse is that my blood sugars have soared up into the 200s again. I tried for several days to raise my insulin a little and increase my exercise, but it wasn't enough.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Where Am I Heading? My new goals for the coming week:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">First, I need to get back into my prayer and Bible study time. I let that slip, but it is my primary weapon in this battle for change</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Second, I need to get the blood sugar back under control. So I am raising my insulin back up to its previous high level. As I increase my exercise again, I will be able to reduce the insulin back down. But first, I have to get this into normal ranges. (I really do hate diabetes!!!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Third, I need to get back to 1 hour of walking or other moderate exercise after breakfast and after dinner. This is a must to keep those sugars in control.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Fourth, I am going to watch my calories this week, but not obsess about it until my blood sugars are back to normal and steady.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Fifth -- CHILL OUT! I have been really stressed about things in my life for the past week, but worry never helps and certainly hurts. So stop it already!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks again for all of the input and encouragement out there. Hopefully, I will see some pounds start to come off again soon.</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-55686285788988523462011-06-09T23:16:00.000-07:002011-06-09T23:16:41.312-07:00AWOL and Thank God for Blog Buddies!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been AWOL from my blog as well as my new life plan. I got completely off track the past week and was too embarassed and ashamed to write about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">How stupid can you get? That's the whole point of blogging each day -- so that you can admit when you've blown it and get back on track. Sigh!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So there I was, beating myself up over it, and I decided to start catching up on my blog buddies sites. Wow! Why did I wait so long to do that? You all are an amazing bunch that so inspire me! There were so many comments that went right to the issues I had been facing all week. Just what I needed to hear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I think two things are really going to help me get back into the battle of a new life style. One was a comment that my brother-in-law posted on Facebook:</span><br />
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<span class="messagebody2"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><em><strong>"You cannot take charge of the present if you are busy reliving the setbacks of the past."</strong></em></span></span><br />
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<span class="messagebody2"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was a great reminder that when I fail to meet my goals, I need to confess it to God, ask forgiveness, and then let it go. I tend to wallow too much.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="messagebody2"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The second help was that so many of you set specific, measurable goals for the day, the week, and the month. I really haven't done that other than really general goals.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="messagebody2"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So I am going to sleep tonight happy and ready to continue the fight tomorrow. I will think about some specific goals and then work to meet them.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="messagebody2"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks you all!</span></span></span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-54147077562922067832011-06-01T10:03:00.000-07:002011-06-01T10:03:23.271-07:00What a Difference a Good Breakfast Makes!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I last posted, I raised my breakfast calories to about 400 to 450. Wow! What a difference!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It has made it much easier to get my total calories for the day down to around 1500 total for the last few days and to increase the time and intensity of my exercise. And my energy levels have stayed up throughout the day. Hooray!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Bottom line -- I am down to 229 pounds. Hip, hip, hooray!</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-19445195343943629102011-05-29T10:26:00.000-07:002011-05-29T10:26:34.164-07:00Extremely Wishful Thinking??<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Several of you pointed out my new weight -- 131! I wish!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Actually, that is very close to where I want to be eventually, so it must have been wishful thinking on my part.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am unfortunately still at 231, but still working on it!</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-19887922425794201652011-05-28T21:44:00.000-07:002011-05-28T21:44:59.126-07:00The "Aha" Moment<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've talked quite a bit this past month about how stuck I have been as well as how discouraged and depressed it has made me. I realized that I had somehow switched from "lifestyle change" to "diet think." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Alan and I talked and prayed about it today, because he has had problems, too. A little while later, he came up with the answer. <strong>Both of us had cut back on our breakfast calorie intake. </strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">By the time I did my morning exercise, I was out of fuel and never got "caught up" with my energy levels for the rest of the day. So I ended up eating more yet still feeling too tired to work as hard as I had been.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">That old saying of "Eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner." still makes a lot of sense as a guideline. We increased our calorie intake by just 100 calories at breakfast this morning, and my energy level was better all day!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">That having been said, I still fell on my face at dinnertime. We were watching TV, and mindless eating set in again. Oops! Thank heavens that tomorrow is another day, God willing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><u>Report Card:</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Weight: 131 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Calories in: 2295</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Calories burned: 226</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Exercise time: 75 minutes, 9291 steps, 3.37 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Average BS: 128</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-4245455680809349042011-05-26T06:58:00.000-07:002011-05-26T06:58:01.231-07:00Ready for a New Day<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am feeling good this morning and ready for a new day of eating healthy and moving my body.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yesterday:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Weight: 231</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Calories In: 1740 Calories Burned: 415 Total Calories: 1325</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Exercise minutes: 65 Steps: 9617 Miles: 3.49</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Average BS: 146</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-27078973185203830032011-05-25T08:35:00.000-07:002011-05-25T08:35:00.906-07:00Mini Vacation<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are wondering where I have been for the last few days, I took a mini vacation from worrying about weight loss while I figured out what was cramping my progress. Stepping away from the problem for a while helped a lot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I realized that sometime in April, I switched my brain from <strong>"life plan"</strong> to the deadly <strong>"diet think".</strong> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For those of you who are Christians, you will understand when I say that I switched from living freely under God's grace to self-righteously living rigidly under the Law.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In other words, I stopped freely embracing daily choices for a healthier life and enjoying the <em>process. </em>That process was a free expression of my love of God, my family, and myself. Instead I was rigidly trying to stick to diet and exercise "rules" and beating myself up when I didn't get instant <em>results</em>. For me, that is a sure fire road to self-sabotage and failure, and this time wasn't any different.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So I have readjusted my attitude once again. I know that will be an ongoing process. It is just so easy to slip back into those old thought patterns and behaviors!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In the meantime, Alan and I had a great weekend. We drove down to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on Sunday and had a great day. We had never been there and were surprised at the large botanical garden section as well as the animal exhibits. We didn't worry about calories, but I took my pedometer and found that we walked over 5 miles during the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I found during that day and the days since that I can see a marked increase in my strength and endurance in walking. My pants are also getting really loose!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Talk to you all again tomorrow!</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-41252212465707104932011-05-20T19:27:00.000-07:002011-05-20T19:27:05.411-07:00A Good Friday<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I made some changes based on my talk with Alan this morning. We will see over the next few days if they show up on the scale! Overall, it was a good day with my exercise balanced throughout the day and smaller meals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Weight: 232</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Calories: 1380</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Exercise minutes: 95 Walking, recumbant bike, and treadmill</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Average BS: 121 Much better!</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-69065627016080540742011-05-20T08:58:00.000-07:002011-05-20T08:58:38.538-07:00Getting Unstuck<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK -- I've been stuck at around 231 for almost 4 weeks now. Enough already!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Alan and I talked this morning about what might be the problem, now that I am exercising again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It really comes down to too many calories which is due to too much insulin. It is obviously time to lower the insulin again and exercise harder for a while to get my blood sugars down -- but then I will be able to lower the calories and get off dead center and lose some more weight. I hope!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Wednesday: Thursday:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Weight: 228 (A fluke?) 232 (stuck, stuck, stuck)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Calories: 1520 1670 (still too high)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Exercise minutes: 60 90 (going up)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Average BS: 137 128 (still a little high)</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-63603046373552913542011-05-17T19:36:00.000-07:002011-05-17T19:36:24.831-07:00A Lovely Rainy Day<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a nice gentle rain today -- always refreshing. And it was quite cool this morning, which was perfect for working out with the windows open in the exercise room. An older Chinese gentleman kept me company on the recumbant bike next to mine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of the older Chinese in the apartment complex were born on the mainland and know only a little English. In fact, I have enjoyed listening to their English lessons in the study room next to the exercise room. It is a little like first grade for the 70 something crowd! They are always very friendly, though, and we can usually make ourselves understood to each other in simple terms.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Report Card:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Weight: 232</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Calories: 1530</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Exercise minutes: 35 3,526 steps</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Average BS: 151 I kind of bounced around a bit on that today</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My hubby is working late again today, so I am going to relax and wait for him to get home.</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-92229891526493775662011-05-16T21:47:00.000-07:002011-05-16T21:47:04.691-07:00New Monday, New Week<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today went pretty well. My foot was healed enough for a 30 minute walk with my hubby this morning. And I got my calories down to a more reasonable effort.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The funny thing was that I was tired around 10 AM and decided to take an hour long nap. I didn't wake up until 4 in the afternoon! I guess I was more tired than I thought! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have had that happen several times in the last few months. The only reason I can think of is that my body is going through changes that aren't obvious to me. Has anyone else had anything similar happen?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope all of you are starting out a great week, too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Report Card:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Weight: 231</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Calories: 1230</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Exercise minutes: 30</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Average BS: 127</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-87192350617001047542011-05-15T21:13:00.000-07:002011-05-15T21:13:18.284-07:00Emotional Eating Strikes Again!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had problems with emotional eating this weekend. At least I ate fewer calories "binging" than I used to do, so my weight stayed at 231 pounds. And after a long talk with my hubby, we got straightened out what was bugging me so badly. Whew! I am glad that is over with. It messed up my sleeping as well as my eating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My foot is just about healed up, so I plan to begin short walks again tomorrow. I am looking forward to walking again -- I missed it! I also want to get a bit stricter with my calories than I have been.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Hope you all have a great week!</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-3945046936362411082011-05-13T21:27:00.000-07:002011-05-13T21:27:20.752-07:00Back on Line<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am back on line after getting a few days behind. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basically, this week has gone pretty well except for the exercise. I kept my calories about the same as the week before, and I am down to 231 pounds. Without as much exercise, my blood sugars did spike a bit more -- but not as bad as in the past.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have had a hard time getting one of the blisters to heal up properly. That has made walking for any distance nearly impossible. I had to drain it again today. I finally cut away some of the calloused skin that was on top. Ick! Hopefully, the skin underneath will have a chance to heal up now, and I will get back on track this coming week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">While I have been on exercise hiatus, my husband has been walking to work every day this week! He walks 4 miles to work in the morning, and then gets a ride home. Wow! His legs are really showing the build up of muscles. I notice a difference in how my pants fit, too. The waistband is certainly loose now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We got the A1C report from the doctor. Mine was down to 6.8 and Alan's was at 5.8. Not bad at all!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Have a good night, and I will be back on line tomorrow!</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-52905319875446410302011-05-13T21:18:00.000-07:002011-05-13T21:18:37.386-07:00Better Choices Mean Better Results<div><strong><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;">This article is from my AccuChek newsletter and has really good tips for lowering your calorie intake..</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Better choices mean better results</strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: medium;">There's no question about it—losing weight is tough. But if you really commit to some changes, you'll start to see results. And that's the best encouragement of all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">You probably already have a good idea which foods and </span><span style="font-size: medium;">eating habits</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> get you into trouble and what a nutritious meal plan looks like. </span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: medium;">So instead of focusing on what to eat, here are 12 strategies that can help you </span><span style="font-size: medium;">make better choices</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> and beat those ever-present cravings. Some of these ideas are easy to adopt—some are a little tougher.</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Pick 3 of these strategies to start using today. Then add more and more to your routine. Remember—don't try to do everything at once. Start slow and give yourself a chance to really win (or lose—pounds, that is).</strong></span><br />
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<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Weigh your food.</span></strong> Get an inexpensive food scale and measure every serving. This can be a real eye-opener, especially when you start measuring things like pasta and breakfast cereal.</span></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Use the 10-minute rule.</span></strong> If you crave a between-meal snack that's not on your meal plan or an indulgence you know you shouldn't eat, think about it for 10 minutes while you consider the pros and cons of giving in. You may forget all about it.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Write every bite.</span></strong> Start a food journal and keep track of everything that goes into your mouth. It'll help you watch the fat, calories and variety you take in to see if you should seek a better balance.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Arrange your plate.</span></strong> Devote approximately 1/4 of your plate to starches, 1/4 to protein and 1/2 to vegetables. Even better, don't let them touch. That'll keep you from piling on too much.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Eat in one place.</span></strong> Don't eat at your desk, in front of the television or standing up at the counter. Always sit down and eat slowly, savoring every bite.</span></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Stick to your list.</span></strong> If it isn't on your grocery list, it doesn't go in your shopping cart. After all, keeping temptation out of the house is half the battle.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Chew sugarless gum.</span></strong> When you're at the grocery store or cooking at home, chewing gum can keep you from </span><span style="font-size: medium;">giving into cravings</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> and taking little "tastes" as you go.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Leave some behind.</span></strong> Take less food or try to leave some of your food on your plate. Many of us were brought up to clean our plates, so you have to retrain yourself not to think about waste, but about waist.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Choose high-fiber.</span></strong> Just about anything from the bakery section will have a wheat, bran or high-fiber version. These are often more flavorful and can keep you feeling "full" longer.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Don't lick the spoon.</span></strong> Bites, licks, and tastes are not calorie-free, so try to minimize tasting when you're cooking.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Carry water everywhere.</span></strong> Water can squelch hunger pangs and it's great for your overall health. Plus, dehydration can feel a lot like hunger, making you eat when you're actually thirsty.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Reach for filling foods.</span></strong> Oatmeal, oranges and soup are three foods that can help you feel "full" longer than other choices. In fact, a study at the University of Pennsylvania found that people consumed an average of 20% fewer calories when they started their meals with soup. Just stick with a broth-based (not cream-based) kind.</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Whatever you do, don't "diet."</strong></span> Make new changes that you can live with for a lifetime, adding new approaches as others become habit. We promise you'll see the results.</span></div>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333572827579320454.post-13084044535011223702011-05-09T21:11:00.000-07:002011-05-09T21:11:34.679-07:00Doing Something Crazy<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, today I did something crazy and I am glad that I did -- sore feet, blisters and all! I decided to walk with Alan to work -- an 8 mile round trip. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I did 4 miles yesterday, but before that, I hadn't walked more than about 2 miles in a day in many years. So, for me, that was a very long hike! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Today it took me about 4 hours to do the 8 miles (not counting 2 breaks of about 20 minutes each).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yes, I got some doozy blisters on my right foot. Yes, my legs are stiff (although not as sore as I thought they might be at this point.) But what a great sense of accomplishment I am feeling! I can't wait for my feet to heal up so I can do it again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Report Card:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Weight: 232</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Calories: 1,850 919 calories burned</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Exercise Minutes: 240 21,413 steps, 8 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Average BS: 127</span>Becky Baker Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13143605202006492092noreply@blogger.com0