OH CHRISTMAS!

I realized that Christmas without desserts may have made me cry, but then again Christmas WITH desserts almost made me cry.  After a shaky week or so (give or take a few days) I'm back on track.  I'm up a few pounds but plan on taking care of that.  All desserts are out of the house and I'm tracking for WW again.  I said I was going to lose weight during this holiday season, and by golly I AM!!!

FIGHT ON!!!

Sorry for not posting in a while - STILL doing GOOD!!!

I've continued losing throughout these past few weeks.  I've been *trying* to track for Weight Watchers and have been really upping the exercise.  My daughter's birthday party was this past weekend and I allowed myself to have a "day off" from being in control/disciplined.  That's NEVER a good idea!  I struggled yesterday with trying to get back on track and ended up in a bag of potato chips, the end of a container of ice cream, and into a box of chocolates. :-(  All the sweets are out of the house now and I'm back on track...again.   It's a nice day out so I'll be pushing my youngest in the stroller.  FIGHT ON!!

AN AWESOME WEIGH IN

I got weighed in a WW today and I'm down 5.6 pounds.!  Not only that but I also hit my 10% weight loss goal!!!  Since last October (of 2010) I've lost 26 pounds!!

Victory!!

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I didn't have one dessert.  Also, I kept my plate to half veggies, 1/4 turkey with a little gravy and cranberry sauce, and 1/4 stuffing.  It was awesome and I didn't feel deprived at all.  And the bonus?  I haven't been craving any dessert at all today!  YES!!

I'm Still Here!

I haven't posted in a while, but I'm still here!  I made it through Halloween,  my birthday, my son's birthday, my mom's birthday, and my anniversary, with minimal damage. :-)  I ended up having some desserts on the birthdays and anniversary (and some of the days in between them), and Halloween candy a whole week AFTER Halloween (it was still in the house b/c of my kids).
  Over the past 3 1/2 weeks I've gone up and down the same 2.5 pounds.  This week I'm doing awesome and on a mission to lose weight.  Once again my goal is to skip dessert tomorrow, Thanksgiving.   I realize I said I wasn't going to have any dessert/candy on my last post but I ended up having some.  I was disappointed in myself, but I never thought of myself as a failure and I got back up again and moved forward.  So here I am logging in and once again stating that I'm going to lay off the sweets, which always lead me in an overall eating downward spiral.  Tomorrow my plan is to have half my plate be veggies, 1/4 be turkey with a bit of gravy and cranberry sauce, and 1/4 STUFFING.  Mmmmmmm, Stuuuuuuufing.  For dessert I'm going to have a sweet drink i.e., some type of hot coffee drink.  I'm saying no to desserts.  There will be another Thanksgiving next year and hopefully I won't be in the position of wanting to lose 40 pounds, so I'll be able to have pie.  This year however, losing weight is more important than the pie.....and cookies.....and pie......and cookies....and whipped cream....and pie.....(you get the picture).  Good luck to everyone!

Not ONE Candy. NOT ONE!

I made it to Halloween and now 4 days past, and I have not had one piece of candy.  It hasn't been easy, either.  It's not like I don't have candy in the house.  I have three little kids who not only have their Halloween candy, but they need ME to open it for them!  It quite a tease/torture to have a Reese's Peanut Butter cup in your hand and not eat it. 
I have a strength I didn't have last year.  I'm going to do this.  I am going to lose weight during this holiday season!  Just watch me!!

I Tried it - I'm human - and imperfect - and flawed

My son's party has come and gone and I tried the cake.  I did.  I tried it. I didn't have a piece of cake but I did have a few bites.  Today is Monday.  I didn't have any dessert yesterday and I'm not going to today (NOT EVEN HALLOWEEN CANDY!).  I'm feeling good!!

Dessert? NO THANK YOU!

I have not bought or eaten dessert in ELEVEN days!!  I'm making my son's birthday cake this weekend and I'm NOT going to have any (I actually just started to sweat and shake from sadness and fear  while typing that).  I am NOT going to go through this holiday season a slave to dessert.  I am just. not. going. to!  Right now I'M in control, if I start eating dessert then IT will control me until February.  In the next 4 months I have to make it through the following: 5 birthdays (plus extra birthday parties), Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas parties, Christmas, and New Years.  If I ate dessert (and we're talking just ONE dessert) on each of of those days, that's at the VERY least, 10 desserts.  But that is SO far from reality for me it's not even funny.  I usually average AT LEAST 3 desserts PER EVENT, and once I start eating dessert I usually can't stop for DAYS.  This means that if I don't continue to put the breaks on now, I'm looking at consuming 50-80 desserts EASILY over the next 4 months.  Wow, I'm actually really glad I'm typing this out because it's really driving the point home for me even more.
NO DESSERTS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!!  I realize what a bold and scary statement this is...eek!  But it's happening, and I AM going to continue to LOSE weight over these next 4 months!!!!
Fight!  Fight!  Fight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Milestone

I was able to button a pair of jeans yesterday, that I have not been able to button for the past year and a half.  I was also down 3.2 pounds at my weigh-in this past weekend.  I'm staying strong this week.  I want another good loss.  I'm doing this!!!

Starting Back up Again (Again)

Went to Weight Watchers today to get weighed in.  I'm up 4 pounds (that's what a week of completely overeating will do).  I'm not giving up.  I'm tracking again and I'm taking the pounds off this week!!
My gosh, how many rounds do I have to go in this fight anyway??!

Sometimes Life Gets in the Way

Since my last post, my beautiful grandmother passed away.  I was doing excellent until last Friday, the day of the funeral, the reception, and the open house at my parent's house.  I've been grieving, stressed to a degree, and have been wanting to fill up on "comfort" food.  For me "comfort" food is always carb loaded food (especially desserts).  I wasn't really able to exercise on Friday or Saturday, could of but didn't on Sunday and Monday, and then got back into walking today.  Now I just need to start tracking again.  I really really wanted to be down 5 more pounds by next Monday (refer to my last post), but at this point I will be very pleased with staying even.  Exercise today, tracking tomorrow.  Time to start fighting again!!

On a Mission!

I've lost another 2.4 pounds!  I did a zumbathon (2 hours of Zumba) on Saturday and I power walked/jogged 6 out of the 7 days last week!  I am determined to be down another 5 pounds by October 17, which is exactly the one year mark of starting this blog.  LET'S GO!!

It's been a while but I'm back.

Sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks.  Here is an update:  I went about 3 weeks not tracking my points on Weight Watchers and was overeating.  I started eating a lot of carbs and desserts and just couldn't seem to get off them.  When I weighed in three weeks ago I was up 4.8 pounds.  After that week I started tracking a bit more (but not completely) and lost 2.1 pounds, then last week I did better tracking and lost 1.6 pounds.  This week I have exercised every day and have been tracking, and so far I'm feeling great.  Here's to a great week for me and for all!!

Truth is (again)...

I'm doing better this week than I have for the past two weeks but I'm not tracking like I should.  Today is Thursday - let the tracking BEGIN!!!!!!!!!

Truth is.....

Truth is, two weeks of not tracking and eating whatever I pleased got me a FOUR POUND gain on the scale.  Here's to a better week.

See. You. Later!

I just chucked the bag of chocolate chips that were taunting me from the cupboard - they were evil, PURE EVIL! I have a sign in my kitchen that says, "Chocolate makes my clothes shrink".  When I bought it I thought it was funny and clever and cute.  Now I just want to throw it through the window because it's funny and clever and cute, and cruel and honest and TRUE!!
I love all those studies that say how "GOOD" dark chocolate is for you.... in *moderation.*."  Who the bleep eats chocolate in moderation??!!  There are 365 days in a year.  Maybe (maaaaaybe) I could eat chocolate in moderation for 30 of those days, but for the other 335 days I'm chewing that smooth, creamy, fat filled, dark brown, "I think I've died and gone to heaven," melting glob of pure utopia, like it's my last meal.
Aaaaaaaanyway, I think this was just a venting post more than anything.  Thanks for suffering through the babbling.  Begone evil chocolate - YOU will not win!

Where Did My Wagon go??

I fell off the wagon 13 days ago.  Initially I was dangling by one hand and was struggling to get back on, but then I hit a bump and lost my wagon altogether.  I caught a glimpse of the wagon yesterday but then lost sight of it again today.  My goal is to run after it tomorrow, hop back on, and hold on for dear life.  The scale is up, I'm sure of it, but if I get back on track now,  the damage will be minimal.
Goodnight dear readers. Time for my sleep - I'll need it, that wagon is rolling fast!!

SO CLOSE!

My goal was to lose 2 pounds this week.  I lost 1.4.  I'll take it!  This week - I'm getting those TWO POUNDS!!!

Tracking and Running

I've been tracking this week and even went running/power walking yesterday.  Two pounds HERE. I. COME.!

Time to Re-Group

Got weighed in today and was up 1 pound.  That's okay.  I didn't track this week, but I also didn't go out and buy sweets.  Started tracking again today.  My goal for this week?  Lose 2!!  Let's go!

Extremely Difficult

Wow!  What a difficult week!  I battled the urge to go get sweets several times a day for the past week.  I am happy to say that I won, but it was hard.  I've come to realize that thoughts such as, "I have to get a cupcake or I'll die!" and "I have to get an ice cream just to get this thought out of my head", aren't true.  Something I've learned are that thoughts are just that, thoughts.  I'm not trying to say that they're not crippling or that they can't just completely overtake you and consume you, rather I'm trying to say that they eventually pass.  Something I've tried is doing deep breathing when strong thoughts that start with, "I need...." come on.  Usually after 7 deep breaths the thought isn't nearly as strong as it initially was and I'm able to move on.  This week - I've been breathing A LOT!!  Breathing, try it! :-)

Doing Good - but it hasn't been easy.

I've managed to keep fairly on track with my points this week, but have gone over by 4-5 points each day.  Initially I was upset about going over on Monday, after putting up the post that I wasn't going to, but I had to get the "I have to be perfect" mentality out of my head, and just be happy with the fact that I kept tracking and I was "close" to being on point.  I think the bigger victory is that I've managed to defeat some very intense cravings for desserts over the past two days.  I know that I just have to stay away because I have to break from this past weekends cycle of having sweets on both Saturday and Sunday (sugar is like my cocaine).  Breaking that cycle is not easy, but I'm doing it. 
I'm feeling good about this week!

Getting back on track after de-railing!

This past weekend I had a high school reunion and then a day to myself (beyond awesome).  I decided to take the weekend off from tracking on WW and have gone into today knowing that I've used all my bonus points for the week.  Just trust me, I have. :-)   In the past, I have NOT been able to get back on track again after a weekend like the one I just had.  On Monday I would begin saying, "Oh just one more day of "freedom," which turns into 2 days, 3 days, 4 days, 5 days....and before I know it I've done an entire week (or several weeks) of "free" eating.  This time it's different.  I can't really explain how or why, except that I'm finally truly motivated to lose weight.  I want to lose weight more than I want to make up excuses for why I can't, and I want to lose weight more than I want to not track and keep eating whatever I want.  I feel focused and organized when I'm tracking and I think it helps me with other areas of my life.  When I'm not tracking, everything seems to take on the whole "I could care less" attitude. 

Anyway, I'm at 20 points today and I have 29 points total.  Between eating fruits, salads and lean protein, I know I'm going to be okay!  Fight on!!!

I'm going down down down down....

I lost 2.7 pounds this week, which means I've lost 22 pounds since last October!!!!  Yay ME!!!!!

Still going strong

Still sticking with the diet and tracking points.  I'm hoping for a big loss this Saturday.  Big time baby, big time!

V is for Victory AND Vacation!

I ran, I ate, I walked, I ate, I swam, I ate.....and my weight stayed the same.   Having my weight stay the same over vacation deserves a pat on the back!

YES!

Weighed In this morning - down 4.2 pounds!!!  Woohoo!!!!!!!!  I'll be away from the computer for a few days, which means I won't be posting.  Just don't want anything to think I'm giving up!

Fight on!!!!

Mindless Snacking is NEVER Your Friend!

Yesterday was SO stressful and I was SO tired that I just wanted to do a face plant into a bag of potato chips and then roll over onto a whoopie pie.  I didn't BUT it was a huge struggle not to snack.  Another victory!

Exercise Tip

When doing an aerobic DVD make sure the floor is clear of ALL Mr. Potato Heads BEFORE you start doing back lunges.  I got a little bit more lunge than I bargained for this morning. :-)

THIS is why I have this blog....

I have this blog because it's very easy to say, "I want to lose weight", or  "I'm going to start exercising", or join "I'll join Weight Watchers" or, "I'll start my diet Monday" however, it's very hard to put words into actions.  This blog is to document victories as well as very real struggles.

I'm doing great this week.  I've exercised, I've written down everything I've eaten, and so far I've stuck to my allotted points, but it doesn't mean it's been easy.  This week "life unexpected" has challenged my diet.  I had a stressful day yesterday and my habit/current behavior tells me to go to the pantry when I'm stressed and look for crunchy and salty food, which means fishy crackers, peanuts, chips.  Yesterday I ate 5 chips and said, "STOP IT!".  I popped a bag of light popcorn instead, measured it, and documented the total of points.  Unfortunately I also had to document the chips and give myself 1 point for eating those.  My mind also went to, "I NEED to have a dessert," which is also something I've been doing when I'm stressed or feeling overwhelmed.  However, I took time to breath, let the thought of "needing" dessert pass, and I didn't get one.

I would say yesterday was a HUGE victory.  I took steps to try and change behaviors and I remained strong.   My ultimate goal is to not turn to food at all when I'm emotionally challenged, but for now I'm giving myself a big pat on the back for having the light popcorn instead of the bag of chips!

Work it! Own it!

Thirty minute power walk last night.  Forty five minute power walk this morning.  Take THAT - FAT!

You mean the weight doesn't automatically come off?

I joined Weight Watchers - again - back in February.  I was saddened to realize, once again, that just because I joined, and got a monthly pass, and a tracking book, and a calculator, and e-tools, that the weight didn't just start melting off.  "OH!  You mean I have to write down what I eat AND stick to the allotted points??!"  I would track for a while and then stop and my weight came off and then crept back up again.  This past week I was extremely discouraged and thought, "This is just too hard, I can't do it!"  Then I went to an awesome WW meeting, got some great advice, and here I am trying it out once again.  I have cut out the BIG goals and am focusing on the small goals.  My goal for this week?  Write everything down that I eat (in my WW tracking book) and stick to the points.  And I'm remembering to take it one meal at a time and one day at a time.  So far so good.
If I fall (like I have done hundreds of times over the past few years) I will get back up again (like I have done hundreds of times over the past few years).  What I will NOT do is give up!

GAME ON!

Okay folks, time to start writing stuff in this blog again.  I'm not sure how frequently I'm going to be doing it, but I'm GOING to do it!  My weight has basically stayed the same since my last posting.  I've lost some and gained some, but I haven't given up.  I'd love to hear how other people are doing.  *I*   need inspiration too!  If you've taken off your boxing gloves, put them right back on again!  Let's do this!!!!

Signing off for now

Keeping up with this blog has become just one more thing in my life that I need to manage, and let's face it, I haven't been managing it well.   I have a lot of demands on me daily and I need for this to not be one of them.  I also need to re-group and figure out what the heck I'm doing on this weight loss journey. 
I'm not deleting this blog, but I'm going to stop updating it for a while.  Best of luck to all of you on your weight loss journeys, thank you for reading this, and thank you for your support.
This is not an end to the fight - I'm just changing the fight up a bit.

Whatever

Sorry if my title seems to have some attitude.  I've been up since 4:40, it's 7, and I've already had my fill of a crying two year old for the whole day.  Will I get to exercise today?  Who knows!  Will I get to eat exactly what I need to in order to be healthy and lose weight?  Who knows!  I'm going to try, though. 
This past weekend was filled with birthdays and baptisms and although I ate well during regular meals, I ate a lot of sweets.  Unfortunately I also had some dessert yesterday and Monday. 

Today is a new day.  So far so good.  Good luck to all of you, and good luck to me!

Crazy Saturday!

We had a birthday party for my daughter today and I had some cake and ice cream.  I also had tortilla chips with guacamole.  Other than that it was a good eating day, cereal for breakfast, some rice for lunch (I was crazy busy cleaning the house for the party and didn't have time for a normal lunch), and stuffed peppers and brussel sprouts for dinner.
Aside from the cake and ice cream it was a good day.
This week has been good.  It hasn't been perfect but I'll give myself a solid B+.
Tomorrow will be a bit tough to plan out.  I'm going to a baptism and we'll be having lunch at a buffet type restaurant.  I'll probably stick to the salad bar.   I'll let you all know how I did tomorrow night.

Something noteworthy

I FEEL thinner!  SUCH a great feeling!

What day is it??

Sick children, snow days, and cabin fever (I think it's should be called "cabin crazy") have interfered with my posting this week, but I'm still doing well!
Yesterday I ended up having:
Breakfast:  banana, toast w/a little butter, one egg and one egg white
coffee w/ cream and sugar
Snack:  a few handfuls of fishy crackers??  (not the best snack but things were so terrible around here I couldn't even think)
lunch: a baked potato w/ a little butter/sour cream and some veggie soup
snack:  small piece of pizza (not my choice for a snack but the kids were having dinner and my husband was very late coming home due to traffic...blah blah blah)
dinner:  1/2 sub (turkey, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions and small bit of mayo).
All in all it was around a 30 point day.  Close to target...maybe too many fats and carbs but given the day I had yesterday, I'll take it!
As for today...I still don't know what I'm eating...I'll post tonight.

Yesterday

Yesterday was good.   I stuck to my food plan and only had to extra things (a hand full of potato chips at lunch and a few handfuls of almonds over the course of the afternoon/evening).
Oh boy...can't write more now....screaming in the living room.....

Regarding yesterday....

I didn't post how I did yesterday because I fell asleep at 7:30 last night!  Yes that's right, I'm totally lame.  I woke up at 12:30, washed my face, brushed my teeth and went back to bed.  Anyway, yesterday was fair I guess.  I was extremely down...another day stuck in the house due to weather with one sick child and all three of them arguing and NEEDING me all day.  I didn't quite stick to my meal plan, but I didn't totally blow it either.  In addition, I got some exercise in my doing what I've become very good at - shoveling snow!!
Today I'm going to follow the meal plan I was going to do yesterday.  So far so good.  Wish me luck!

Meal Plan for Feb 1st

Breakfast:  packet of oatmeal, banana and coffee (w/cream and sugar)
Snack:  apple with TBSP of peanutbutter
Lunch:  4 oz chicken with veggie soup and 1/2 cup brown rice added to the soup
Snack:  hummus with veggies and 94% fat free microwave popcorn
Dinner:  veggie burger, collard greens/onion/garlic sauteed in a little bit of olive oil and a baked potato with 1 tsp butter and 1 TBSP of sour cream

The total points for this is roughly 29 points, which is right around what I should be having.  I'm also going to try and exercise again.

Another good day!

I did well today.  I didn't stick quite to what I was going to eat but the calorie intake was roughly the same.  Here is what I ended up eating:

Breakfast: Toast w/ a little butter and one egg and two egg whites
coffee with cream and sugar

Snack:  banana

Lunch:  1/2 turkey sandwich with a little mayo
veggie soup with about 1/4 cup of added rice

snack:  94% fat free microwave popcorn
a few handfuls of fishy crackers
2 tortilla chips

Dinner:  Lasagna and green beans
two bites of a granola bar

All these "bites" of something or just "2 or 3" of something all has to do with me having samples of my kid's snacks.  I'm not going to get upset about a few bites here and there for now, but my goal is to stop sampling food I wasn't planning on eating in the first place.

All in all - a great day!!  Oh, and if you've read my post from earlier today I should let you know that I'm VERY sore....Jillian beat me up GOOD!

Sweating

A forty five minute Jillian Michael's "Cardio Blast" workout is DONE!
I dropped my older two kids off at preschool, stuck the little one in front of a video, and I got my workout in. 
Today is a victory. 
However, it was hard to put the DVD in and do it in the first place.  The "mother's guilt" set in and I thought, "I should be playing with my daughter right now instead of sticking her in front of the t.v.", but I had to change that thinking and tell myself "it's OK!".  I also looked around at a dirty kitchen, living room, bathroom etc. and thought, I really need to get some cleaning done.  I then had to tell myself, "it will get done later and you'll feel better about yourself for exercising."
So it's a victory because a. I put the DVD IN in the first place, and b. I completed the workout.

I AM going to lose this weight!!!!!!

I DID IT!!!

I stuck to my plan today AND I managed to get in a 40 minute aerobic workout.  I wasn't absolutely perfect (a little extra dessert and lasagna), but it was close and I'm VERY proud of myself!!!

Tomorrow's Meal Plan:

You know what?  I'm going to do the exact same thing as today, minus the dessert.  This means I'll be able to have a little bit more "healthy" food during the day.  I'll probably add a glass or milk and a yogurt. I'm also going to try to get in at least 30 minutes of cardio.  Oh, and coffee...I forgot about that...one cup of coffee w/ a little cream and sugar. :-)

Wish me luck!

Team Hoyt: I Can Only Imagine - CAN

Reality Check and a Plan

Wow, the Holiday season coupled with Winter is sure doing a number on me.  What's the date now, January 29th!?, and I finally feel like I'm mentally getting back in the game.  I'm either going to do this or I'm not, it's that simple.  I'm sorry if I seem like a crazy person to some of you with all my back and forth thought patterns, ideas and strategies for weight loss.  One of the reasons I wanted to do this blog (in addition, to having it be a way of keeping myself held accountable) was that I wanted it to be a place people could come to and read about one person's day to day triumphs and struggles on a weight loss journey.
Just last week People magazine put out an issue called "Half My Size."  It was all these success stories of how people lost a ton of weight, and it truly WAS inspiring and made me think, "YES, *I*  CAN do this!"  However, the thing I don't like about those stories and other ones like them, is there is no mention of the day back in November of last year when Betty Lou had a setback and ate half a bakery and how she felt like I failure on her diet and it took everything she had to rise above it, or how in May of last year Joe Schmo didn't get to exercise for a whole weekend and it took him a full week to get back on track again, or how Sally May had plans to exercise and then two of her three kids ended up getting sick, and at the end of the day she was proud of herself for managing to brush her teeth. 
I'm not making up excuses for myself but I will tell you right now that if I were working and on some type of a schedule, and I wasn't in the kitchen most of the day either preparing food, feeding people or cleaning up, this journey that I'm on would be a WHOLE lot easier.  But it is what it is.  I can't exercise for hours and hours each day to lose the weight, and as healthy as I try to feed my children, I am ALWAYS going to be surrounded by extra food because of them.  So I'm going to do my best and I'm going to have to be happy with that.

So what the heck is my plan now?  I'm taking it one day at a time.  I went to the gym today and did 40 minutes of cardio (burning 500 calories) and I lifted some weights (working mainly on chest/back and triceps/biceps).  I also HAVE TO commit to sticking to an eating plan.  For this ONE week I'm going to post what I'm going to eat the following day and then at the end of that day I'll post as to whether or not I stuck with it.  Please GOD let me stick to this ONE WEEK goal I have for myself!!

Here it is - My meal plan for Sunday, January 30th (Oh, I should mention that I'm going to let Sunday be the day I can have a dessert, and I have to eat it with my husband :-)  I need to get used to having dessert and then stopping, so Sunday is the day for dessert with the family.)
 Weight Watchers is what I'm used to using to keep track of the amount of food I should eat in a day.  This day is roughly 26-27 points, and I should be having 28 points per day.  SO, even with the dessert this day is right on track :-)

Breakfast:  1 egg with two egg whites on a slice of Ezekiel bread (toasted) with a little butter
Snack:  apple with a TBSP of peanut butter
Lunch:  4oz chicken breast (cooked in a little olive oil), with veggie/rice soup (probably 1 1/2 cups)
Snack:  1/4 cup almonds with an orange
Dinner:  One serving of lasagna with brussel sprouts
Dessert:  One "No Pudge Fudge Brownie" with 1/2 cup strawberry ice cream

Wish me luck and if you pray, say a prayer for me!!

Oh my head!

I had great plans for myself this week in terms of exercise, but a three day migraine has all but ruined those plans.  I exercised my butt of (well not completely off, maybe a centimeter?) on Saturday, didn't get around to exercising on Sunday, and was going to do an aerobics DVD Monday morning.  Well, a migraine spoiled that on Monday, and then on Tuesday, and now today.  It's now 9pm on Wednesday night and my head is finally feeling okay, however I feel like if I make any sudden movements the pain is going to come back again.  Tomorrow is a new day and my plan is to do some low impact aerobics at some point in the day while my kids watch a movie.  I'm just nervous though because the aerobics on Saturday may have been what caused this mess in the first place.  It seems like I get headaches after I do any type of higher intensity working out i.e., aerobics or running, which is why I'm going to keep the impact low and pray that my head doesn't start pounding, or  fall off.  Hey, but doesn't the human head weigh like 20 pounds?  That could be an easy 20 pound loss...maybe I should jump around a lot! :-)

I've started exercising - AGAIN

This past week I shoveled a lot, did a bit of cardio with my kids the other day, and did about 40 minutes of cardio today.  I haven't wanted to go to the gym, so I'm doing my aerobic DVDs at home.  I also tried out my new, "Dancing with the Stars" DVD today.  I tried doing the Paso Doble - pronounced Paso Doblay.   I've been sitting here paused in thought for a few moments trying to figure out what to write next about how THAT went.  Um, let's just say people might have been "doblayed over" laughing watching me do the Paso Doble.  :-)  It felt great to work out though. 

I'm feeling a lot better emotionally these days and I'm excited to be getting back on track again.

A Bit of Reality

This article pretty much breaks it all down into a nice neat little package.  After reading it I realize that if I want to lose a significant amount of weight by summer I need to quit my lollygagging, start exercising A LOT more, and knock off all the "extras" that I've been eating.  


Following a Cardio Plan for Weight Loss - For Dummies

I Apologize

To anyone who has been following this blog and has been looking to me as their motivation and inspiration, I apologize.  I apologize for all but abandoning this blog, AND for dropping the ball, falling off the wagon, quitting the fight (however you want to say it).  There is no other way to say this except to be honest, I have been battling with some pretty significant depression and writing in this blog either wasn't or just couldn't be a priority.  It's not that I've totally "let myself go" and am not monitoring my diet anymore, I am.  I just didn't have it in me to write about it.
Anyway, I went on a retreat this past weekend and the theme of the weekend was "Alive Again".  I left a lot of baggage back at that retreat house and I'm feeling really good again.  I've attached a video of one of the songs that was played this past weekend on the retreat.  There is a line at the very end of the song that says: "This is the first. day. of the rest of your life!"  Today is that day.  I'm picking up and moving forward with joy and hope (and hopefully a lot less fat in the months to come :-)!!

Cabin Fever!

My kids have been sick with a stomach bug and I've been in the house for two days.  I'm doing good on my diet, but not great.  It's tough when you're stuck inside with sick kids, and don't have much else to do but be bored and eat.  I was also very blue yesterday and I just didn't have the motivation to do much of anything.  The good news is that I haven't had any desserts, the bad thing is all my snacking and overeating in general.  All in all I'm doing well given the circumstances (oh, and we're getting a huge snowstorm tonight and school has already been canceled for tomorrow...looks like one more day inside.....a person could really start losing it :-).  In a "perfect" world I wouldn't have these life obstacles getting in the way of my "fighting fat".  I would be able to get out of the house when I wanted, exercise when I wanted, eat the way I want because I wouldn't be confined to the house with both good and bad choice foods, I would be motivated to exercise because I wouldn't have both internal and external factors bringing me down, and I would be in a good routine.  However, the world is FAR from perfect and I'm doing the best I can with the life I have.  My own husband even said at dinner, "Doesn't winter just want to make you pig out?"  Believe me, he's on my side and is VERY helpful to me (he basically shoved me out the door the other day and made me go to the gym), but something about this weather and being stuck inside really does just make you want to eat.
Anyway, I'm watching "The Biggest Loser" right now and getting my weekly dose of motivation.  The good news is that I'm not sitting here eating while watching the show like I used to do.  I'd sit down with a bowl of ice cream and watch these poor people pass out on their treadmills.  At least I'm not being so rude anymore!  Ha!

Made it through the weekend

I made it through the weekend without a dessert and was able to exercise yesterday.  It feels good to have some structure again.  I did weigh myself and I've gained 6 pounds (in three weeks), but I'm still at a 9 pound loss from when I started.  Anyway, the new year is here and I AM going to achieve a 40 pound loss by this time next year!!

The Party is OVER

 It's a shame that special events, celebrations, holidays etc.,  have to be surrounded by rich and highly fattening food (and alcohol).  In trying to figure out why I associate "fun" with "food" I realized that it's because I've been conditioned to think this way, we all have.  I think part of why I have trouble getting back on track after the holiday season is 1., I crave what I've been eating (sugary, carby and rich foods), and 2., the holiday season is just more fun in general than every day life and honestly, who wouldn't want the party to continue??  Maybe the party can't go on forever, but the food sure can...and it has been...and it needs to stop!
Apparently my life is extremely boring because I keep turning to the "fun food" to keep the party going (the party for ONE!).  I have to figure out how to have "fun" on a daily basis, without my "fun food" AND to try and find a way to make the holiday season (which could last all year if I let it) more fulfilling, without the need to binge eat.  I'm sure by now you've figured out that I'm having some trouble getting back on the "fat fight" wagon. :-)
Last night I decided that TODAY is the day that the party ends (have I already make this statement in another post??  Well, I'm not perfect so I'm saying it again!).  I'm back on my  NO sugar diet that I was doing well just up until Thanksgiving and then was kind of sort of doing up until the week before Christmas.  While on that diet I was  1. able to remain focused on my goal of wanting to lose weight, 2. I was actually losing weight and 3. After about a week on it, I wasn't craving sugar as much anymore and I was feeling A LOT better both physically and mentally.  So far so good....it's 1pm and I'm doing well.  There are no excuses right now and there is fear of failure that I have no choice but to overcome.  I'm tired of not putting my full dedication into something because of the fear of failure.  I'll never know if I can lose this weight unless I try, and try hard.
Keep fighting everyone...we CAN do this!

First Ourselves

This is an email I received from "First Ourselves" this morning.  I loved it and thought it was appropriate to share here.

Daily Encouragement for you on January 4, 2011:

"We practice bravery when we resist the pull to run – or indulge – and instead stay. We practice humility when we embrace our very human neediness as something precious, tender, and valuable rather than something shameful. We practice grace when we hold our human neediness lightly and see beyond to the divinity underneath. "

Happy New Year!!

Hello to all and happy new year!  So far so good for 2011 (we're just going to forget about the end of 2010 :-).  I exercised today and didn't have any desserts.  Come on fat fighters, we can do this!!!!!!!!!!