Up, Down, and Up Again

If you frequent the land of weight loss blogs then the title of this entry doesn't look good, does it?  Well, don't worry, I'm not talking about the pounds.  In fact, I've lost 4.6 and 5.8 pounds the last two weeks.

So here's the "UP".  Last week was great.  The loss amount sent me through the roof AND I did my first ZUMBA class, which was amazing.  I did really well and was able to follow along.  I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't been doing the DVDs before I started.  Anyway, the class was Friday.  My cousin came in from out of town Friday night and the weekend just got really busy.  My cousin is a 20 year old...21 in a few weeks...former athlete, slim, cutie-pie who is currently trying to GAIN 40 pounds!  Hell, I'm trying to lose 44 so why can't I just transfer them?  I mean really, this option should be available.


Well, with his energy and help we kept Bboy going all weekend.  Saturday, we hit the playground for several hours, the mall, ate at California Pizza Kitchen (I had an amazing grilled vegetable salad with grilled chicken...unseasoned!  I was completely outdone with this salad that I put grilled veggies on my menu for Sunday!), we did some shopping, and Bboy got to ride on a carousel.  I probably drove to the end of the mall exit and he was knocked out.  Well the fun continued on Sunday with a great ZUMBA workout that helped me lose over a pound and another viewing of "The Lion King" for Bboy and my cousin, while I started on my cooking.  Then we took a trip downtown to The Painted Bride Art Center, where they were having a costume party with spooky stories, face painting, and dance lessons on Michael Jackson's "Thriller".  My son loves Michael Jackson, so this was the whole reason that I wanted to take him and while it wasn't exactly what I imagined, it was fun for him and I got some more use out of his Halloween costume...

When we got home, after dropping my cousin off at the train station, I had to resume cooking.  This continued, with only an hour or so break to put my son to bed, until 2:00 in the morning.  I was able to do all of this even though TOM stopped by.  I was actually amazed because I'm usually exhausted before but luckily it didn't descend upon me until Monday morning.

And so now here comes the "DOWN".  I couldn't even get up, my mother had to help me get my son ready for school and my dad took him in.  I even had to call out from work.  I didn't know if I would make it in on Tuesday but we have a training coming up on November 2nd, so I had to push myself.  

Aside from the low energy, I finally made it to the cardiologist per my primary care doctor's request after the fainting and dizzinessI was experiencing in August.  Turns out that my heart rate has slowed tremendously, like in half, from a year ago and he's not really sure what's caused it.  He thinks it's the rapid weight loss but over the next few weeks I'll be wearing a monitor and getting all kinds of tests to be certain.  He said that slowed heart rates are common with folks like Lance Armstrong or other professional athletes, which I'm not.  He also said that I'm not showing any symptoms of there being anything wrong with my heart (dizziness excluded) as both chambers are working and I'm able to do workouts without any problems.  I don't think I'm all that worried, but it's never a great feeling to wonder if something's wrong with your heart.

I've also been very hungry...or wanting food this week.  I've stuck with my no protein bars and have stayed with my plan, but I've increased some portions and eaten certain things at the wrong time again.  I'm pretty sure that it's TOM and since I was feeling the dizziness again, I'm kinda okay with my eating choices.

Enough of that DOWN stuff back to being UP, UP, UP.  My energy has improved but I didn't work out until yesterday, when I went to my second ZUMBA class.  I absolutely LOVED this class, more than the first.  Have you ever worked out so hard that you offend yourself with your stinkiness?  Man, this was a great workout and I was able to push myself to the end.  I'm definitely going to stick with this class.  If my schedule and support with Bboy continues, I'm going to try for at least 4 live classes a week.

Back to the doctor, I am 144 pounds lighter than when I was there a year ago!  The nurse thought that there was something wrong with the previous weight record.  When the doctor was trying to figure out about the rate decrease, he was asking all that was involved with my plan: "are you taking any herbs or medications, blah, blah, blah."  It feels amazing to be able to tell people that you're just putting in the hard work, doing what you know you have to do; portion control, watching what I'm put into my body and exercising.  

The final part of my being UP is a text I got from my boyfriend this morning: "Babe I Love U soooo much & I'm so proud of ur continuing accomplishments.  U r truly my inspiration in life."  How freaking amazing is that text!  Oh, hell yeah, I'm up again and I'm feeling great!

Okay, so I know this was a super long text, but I haven't written in almost a week.