Structured...Again

Remember last summer when I went to The Structure House for 4 weeks? (If you've forgotten you can read last years posts beginning here: http://www.shelleyhodges.com/2009/06/im-off.html)

Well, I'm going back. This time I'm only going for a week. I wish I could stay longer, but it's just not possible this time around. My great friend Lauri, who I met there last year, is going to be there as well. I'm looking forward to spending time with her and revisiting the goals I set last summer. I'm a little (well, a lot) disappointed in the amount of weight I've lost this past year. I started off real strong, and then just flat-lined around January. I haven't gained very much back, just about 6 pounds since January, and it's been really up and down at that. I'm going back on Sunday with (as of now, there's still room for a few more pounds to drop) a loss of 32 pounds. These past few weeks have been tough. I was getting back on track here a few weeks ago, doing well, and then I had a change in some medication and it turns out it was causing me to gain weight. I gained about 4 pounds in 3 weeks. I quickly told my doctor I needed a change! He changed some things around and now I'm back on track. My trainer told me the other day that she recalculated my percentages. I hadn't lost any weight in the past few weeks and had actually seen a small gain on the scale, but she knew I was working hard, and not eating too bad. Turns out I'd lost 3 pounds of body fat and gained 2 pounds of lean muscle. I guess even though that doesn't show on a scale, it's an improvement. It made me feel a LITTLE better, but I'd still like to see the numbers fall off the scale, and my pants to fall off my bottom!!! I'm excited about going back and getting a jump start again. Hopefully I can make it last longer than 6 months this time!! I'll try my hardest to post regularly. I'm even going to try and take some pictures of the campus this time too. And since Lauri and her sister will have a car, I can get to the Duke Trail more often, and even try my darnedest to get those pictures I have in my had into my camera. I just hope that in the 7 mornings I'm there, at least one will offer the amazing images that were there my first day around the Duke Trail. It would be an amazing thing if that huge spider web were there with the light shining on it like that first day. I've wanted that image back so many times this past year... I'm determined to get SOMETHING from the Duke Trail that can do justice to that place!

So long for now. See you in North Carolina!