I did it, I stepped on the scale!

I actually am down 1 pound!  Woo Hoo!!!

Well, I stepped on the scale terrified that I had undone all my dieting and fitness training. To my surprise I weighed 135 (I was 136 before I left on my trip) and had not gained.  Needless to say.... the happy dance was extreme and it's a good thing the blinds were closed because no one needed to witness that! 

I had started a habit of eating 2 very light meals (or drinking meal shakes) and one good solid meal a day.  Also, eating for specific nutrition verses just what was available or that I craved has really helped overall.  As much as I over did with drinks and foods while on our work trip, following this routine I believed saved me from gaining my lost weight back in the end. I did do a bunch of walking while on my trip instead of driving to the closer destination spots and I'm sure that it played a big roll in burning off some of those extra calories I was consuming!

So here are some of my weight loss tricks that are definitely working.....
1) Eat 2 light meals a day or drink meal shakes with one full satisfying meal.
2) I see greater weight and inch loss when my one full meal a day is lunch and I don't eat after 6:00pm at night.
3) I notice a huge difference in my appetite and cravings if I drink at least 6, 8 oz. glasses of water a day.
4) Walking to your closer destinations instead of hoping in the car!
5) An Apple A Day!  One apple has traces of to many vitamins and minerals to really count and mention here. The raw apple provides you with natural digestive enzymes that help your body digest foods more effectively and to more effectively absorb the nutrients from the foods you put into your body.  I also have on a regular basis been less hungry in the day if I eat an apple in the morning.  It makes sense that if your body is getting the nutrients it needs your less hungry throughout the day too!
6) I exercise every day even if it's just 20 minutes of yoga or a quick 30 minute aerobic workout!

I will be back again in one week with my weigh in and progress report!

Cheers and Blessings To You And Yours!
Kelly Lynch Ring

The fear of stepping on the scale........

I was doing so well reducing my weight and I am completely scared to get back on the scale to see the damage I have done with a week long glutenous work trip in Hawaii!

After being on away on business for a week in a tropical location with scrumptious foods and tantalizing foo foo drinks, I am terrified to get back on the scale.  I didn't exercise while gone and hardly kept my calories at 1200 each day.  I did do a lot of walking and swimming but not the amount of exercise I had planned on.  I really did have good intentions but they weren't fruitful.  However, I had a wonderful time! I will be back reporting on this subject on Monday and how far back I have set myself in my weight goals. I will be stepping back on that scale on Monday, scary! 

Weight down to 136.6 pounds! Woo Hoo! Even through back pain!

Losing weight with my back acting up constantly when trying to exercise has been incredibly difficult and I need to drop that weight to help my back get better. Ugh!  My mission to figure out what is going on with my body has lead me to discover that my SI Joint in my pelvic area is hyper-extending or just seizing up with intense cramping in the entire area when it acts up.  In my low back area my lumbar vertebrae 3 and/or 4 area has a disk that is causing me quite the grief. The mid thoracic area has anther disc and/or vertebrae that is not cooperating to my standards.  They all seem to synchronize their activity to bring me down and I must make this stop!  I normally have no back issues when I weigh around 120 pounds and right now I am desperate to get there to eliminate some of this pain.

Now how do I prevent my back from seizing up and going out?

I am discovering a few tricks that are working for my body.  I am still doing Yoga in a studio here and there at Bliss Dog Yoga & Crescent Moon Yoga which is helping immensely. At home I have 2 different exercise DVD's that are working to help me build strength back up.  I have tried to do them both in one day but my back is not ready for that yet.  The Beach Body, Start It Up routine is perfect for slowly building core strength.  I also use the Better Sex Through Yoga dvd, this is a core centered routine & is great for strength building. AND no you are not in the mood for sex when your done, you want to relax or sleep!  The biggest thing that I have discovered is that I need to keep moving & exercise every day to keep all my muscles loose in my back or things start to tighten up. 

EATING!  I have been having 2 meal shakes a day made by Natural Factors with one full meal a day.  I have discovered that my weight drops faster if I eat the meal for lunch & not dinner.  There are lots of amazing healthy options for this out there.  My daughters and I have been using this particular brand and mix "Slim Styles" because if we drink 1 a day we never know when our monthly cycle will hit, we don't have any PMS (love that, obviously).  Also, we normally don't get the regular menstrual cramp routine during that time of month with consistently drinking this 1 time per day. Another great meal replacement shake and weight loss program is through Shaklee called Cinch ( here is that link http://vitalearthtraditions.myshaklee.com/us/en/category.php?main_cat=WeightManagement ).
Remember it's best to use what works best for your personal constitution.  Right now Natural Factors is working for me but when I run out I am going to try the Cinch again to see how that will work with my body and personal constitution. 

I am currently at 136.6 pounds and am excited to drop the last 16 pounds!!!  When I started this mission my weight was at 150 pounds.  So, total I have lost 13.4 pounds, now to tackle the last 16.6!!!

Thank You for visiting my blog!
Cheers,
Kelly Lynch Ring

My Journey To Get Fit, Feel Healthy & Have A Pain Free Back!

I will be documenting my journey on this blog as I strive and struggle to figure out what works for my body, personal constitution, spirit, to achieve an overall balance of wellness and loose weight. 

I have been struggling with pre-menopausal symptoms starting at the age of 33 years. I believe this is the result of a reaction to the same chemicals and hormones in dairy, meats and personal care products that caused my now 17 year old daughter to start developing at the age of 4.  The doctor said to go organic immediately and don't look back.  It has been a struggle but you can't avoid all foods with a child, school, play dates parties, etc. but we manage at least to be 65 to 85% organic throughout each week. In 1993 right before I got pregnant with my baby mentioned above I was in a car accident and it has done quite the number on my back.  I then worked as a massage therapist until I overworked myself into being done doing massage in 2005.

Now I simply just don't feel good and the back issues are escalating.

I was doing nothing physical, just working at the computer and I felt my back stiffening up on Wednesday afternoon. Then I stood up, I felt the pinch, thought here we go again and knew it would be days until I would be able to stand up straight again. I am at a current weight of 144 lbs. and need to get my weight down to 120lbs.  I don't ever remember having any back flare ups when my weight was at 120 lbs. & would like to get back down to that mark.

I have been exercising regularly almost every day of the week and if I don't, that effects the stability of my back also.  The catch is that at a heavier weight exercising at a mild level is all my back will tolerate. I have tried the Lean Cuisine and Skinny Cow 31 day challenge but I didn't loose any weight after the 1st week.  Towards the end my throat swelled up around my thyroid area and went away as soon as I quite eating the Lean Cuisine meals.  I have no idea if it was the dinners that caused that but I am not going to re-visit that to find out! 

My first step is going to be detoxing.  I started a detox kit yesterday and am hoping that this will help detox my body of course but also give my weight loss a jump start. 

I will be back tomorrow to discuss Detoxing.

I wish you all Blessings of good health!
Kelly Lynch Ring
http://www.vitalearthtraditions.com/

Lean Cuisine/Skinny Cow 31 Day Challenge Day #10

Weight Loss In 5 Days

0.8 lbs

That's it! Yes, I'm disappointed but I am only eating one Lean Cuisine meal a day right now. I am doing this because I want to make sure that I am getting enough Digestive Enzymes in my diet through fresh fruits and vegetables.

I am still cooking my foods in the oven & explain why in my video.

I have been doing some light yoga & today heading back to the gym so I hope this helps make a difference in a greater weight loss next time I weigh myself.

I AM STILL LOVING THAT I MUST EAT 1 SKINNY COW ICE CREAM A DAY!!!

It's my fav. part of this challenge!

I will be back on Friday for a weigh in!!!

Have a great couple day's everyone.

DAY #2 ~ Lean Cuisine & Skinny Cow Challenge

Lean Cuisine & Skinny Cow 31 Day Challenge

********

I am excited, I actually have lost weight in 1 day!

Yesterday's Weight: 150.4 pounds

Today's Weight: 147.8 pounds

Total Weight Loss: 2.6 pounds

Food Intake:
Coffee & Creamer ~ 12 Calories
Apple ~ 95 Calories
Yogurt ~ 100 Calories
Propel Water ~ 25 Calories
Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich ~ 140 Calories
Lean Cuisine Chicken Club Sandwich ~ 360 Calories
Lean Cuisine Rosemary Chicken ~ 230 Calories
Total Calories today: 952 Calories

I did not exercise to day....kids, work, etc. were not cooperative!

Today's Meals........

Rosemary Chicken

Chicken Club