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Monday, October 31, 2011

Week 7 of Fire Up For Fall

Happy Halloween ! 

My positive Thought for the week is a weight loss cartoon--  made me chuckle when I read it.  Some days I wish it were true.
Weighing laying down Pictures, Images and Photos

Questions for the week:
What have you done this week towards your goals? - This has been a crazy week and I have not done much as I have been on call to go help my daughter with her needs as a new mother. 

My goals:
  •  Be accountable by participating in Challenge and Blog weekly -  I am doing this--although I did get last week's questions done two days late because of my granddaughter's early arrival
  • Decrease weight by 10 pounds - I maintained my weight from last week
  • Pay attention to body signals. Eat when hungry -  I've been snacking way too much.  I need to get a handle on this
  • Exercise at least 4 times a week - No exercise this week unless you count playing with my 3 year old grandson.
  • Sleep at least 7 hours a night - This was accomplished more or less
What have you done this week to make yourself feel fabulous?  - I have been a grandma, loving on my grandchildren.

How do you pull yourself out of a slump or prevent yourself falling into one?  Generally speaking I keep myself very busy and satisfied with my life/work to prevent falling into a slump, but once in a slump I either go re-connect with the things I love most--my family, then my closest friends.  I call my children, or visit my grandson to play for the afternoon.  I also find that if I help someone else, I feel better. I find a way to reach out to those less fortunate than myself. It helps me to count my blessings.   There is always someone worse off than me-- basically, I get an attitude shift.

Are you naturally positive or do you have to work at it?  How do you keep yourself positive?   I am a pretty positive person.  I have been blessed and I try to remember that. I always try to look for the silver linings in things.  I also have the perspective that even the tough things in life teach us something that will ultimately lead to our good - we just need to see it.  Sometimes this is a lot tougher in practice, and that is where my faith steps in.

If you could go away anywhere tomorrow ( and work wouldn't get weird) where would you go?  Any change of scenery along with good friends or family would be welcome!  The suspension of work duties and responsibilities combined with the companionship of loved ones is most refreshing.  Where doesn't matter.  If forced to name somewhere - with unlimited funds I would go somewhere farther than a close drive --maybe Canada or take the train to Chicago.  If funds are limited, I'd stay close by  and just get a change of scenery--perhaps to my aunt's farm or my sister's home.


Three weeks to go --




 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Week 6 of Fire Up For Fall

My posting is late this week and my positive picture will help explain the reason.   My picture is the bottom line of why I am choosing a healthier liefestyle. 
 My grandaughter was born this week.   She wasn't expected for another 3 weeks so surprise came with our joy.  Grandchildren fill your heart with amazing love and joy.

Week 6 Questions:
What have you done to achieve your goals this week?  - I have been carefully monitoring what I'm eating.  I also was able to get out and walk in the neighborhood for at least 60 minutes three days last week.  This was in addition to going to the gym 3 times and doing some cardio and strength training.

What have you done to make yourself feel fabulous? - I did a little "retail therapy."   I needed to get a professional type outfit appropriate for going to job interviews.  I haven't bought too many new clothes as I have lost weight as I want to wait until I get where I want.  And I figured I should wear well-fitting clothes if I am "presenting" myself.  On my shopping trip, I happened to find some great deals and I bought about 3 outfits with some extra tops all for a good price -- and it looks good too!

Do you listen to music when you work out?  What gets you fired up?   - When I am walking on the treadmill I do listen to music.  Ususally something fast -- the faster the beat, the faster I go.    When I go out walking in my neighborhood, I start off listening to some worship songs on my playlist after a few songs I listen to podcasts that I subscribe to until I am finished walking.

Whats your guilty pleasure music?  How does it make you feel?  This doesn't apply to me - I don't have guilty pleasure music.

If today were a song what song would it be?  No excuses!   Martina McBride's Anyway





Friday, October 21, 2011

Back on the Right Track

Friday is my weigh-in day.  Last week was not good for me partly due to poor food choices and not exercising as I should. Therefore this week I have been trying to make some better choices in these areas. It has paid off and I have lost about half the weight I gained last week.

Why is it always so easy to gain weight, but oh so hard to lose it??
*sigh*

Monday, October 17, 2011

Week 5 of Fire Up for Fall

Positive Picture
I am thankful that I have access to fresh fruit and healthy food.  There are many people in this world who either don't have access to healthy food and clean water or cant afford the same.  May I never take for granted the abundance given to me. 



On to the questions for this week:

What have you done this week to achieve your goals?
This week was not good for me. I fell off the wagon, but I am going to pick myself up and dust off and press on towards the goal.  I'm pretty disgusted at my lack of self control - it's an emotional thing and I need to work on different coping strategies and/or do the hard job of working through my emotions instead of medicating with food.

1. Be accountable by participating in Challenge and Blog weekly - accomplished  

2. Decrease weight by 10 pounds - gained weight this week  

3. Pay attention to body signals. Eat when hungry - oh yeah, I ate when hungry and when I wasn't hungry too 

4. Exercise at least 4 times a week - only 1 out of 7, no excuse, but I was out of town for a few days and it made exercise inconvenient   

5. Sleep at least 7 hours a night - I averaged about 5 1/2 hours.  I made a point to get myself to bed most nights at a decent hour but I had trouble sleeping this week for some reason.  I kept waking up and the quality of my sleep was very poor 

6. Have a food plan and keep right food on hand - no menu, no tracking, no grocery store with healthy foods   *sigh*  


What have you done to make yourself feel fabulous?
I nurtured some relationships: I met for an afternoon with a favorite cousin and we had some deep conversations, I visited my daughter who has recently moved away, and I met my sister for lunch. 

My athletic sister is 5 years younger than me and lives 2 1/2 hours away.  She did a bike ride along one of our state trails to take advantage of the good weather and fall foliage. She rode 72 miles round trip!  I drove to meet her at her halfway point and we had lunch at a little cafe near the Missouri River edge. Then she got back on her bike and rode back.  I am so proud of her and admire her.

It's halfway through the challenge, you can change 1 or more of your goals (max of 3). What are you going to do and why?
I am going to drop my last goal of having a food plan and keeping the right food on hand.  It is my 6th goal, so I am not going to replace it.  This goal has never been fully accomplished and it stresses me when I realize that it is not being accomplished.  Instead of motivating me in the challenge, this goal does the opposite and by making me want to quit because I feel like a failure. So, I am just going to eliminate the goal.

What's your worse bad habit and have you ever tried to tackle it?  Do you want to?
Outside of food, my worse bad habit would have to be the making of stacks or piles of books and papers.  These can be found wherever I need or want the particular items: on the counter, the table, the sofa, my desk, and on the floor when when my desk runs out of room.   Every so often I clean up the stacks and put everything in its place, but eventually things end up back in stacks.  In theory I would like to tackle this habit, but in reality the stacks work for me and I can live with them.  Do you think there is there a 12 step program for this?  "My name is Mary and I am a slacker stacker."

Fun Time: Would you rather have burgers for feet or sausages for fingers?
Yikes!  Id rather have neither!  However, if I had to choose I think I would prefer to have burgers for feet.  I see my hands and fingers much more than I see my feet and I don't want to see chubby little sausages all day long. 


Five weeks to go--- I really need to fire up to meet this challenge!



Friday, October 14, 2011

Wordle




This is a wordle created from all my blog posts.  The more times a word is used in the text you want to use, the larger the word in the wordle.   This is what I see as I look at it:
  • Weight.   That is what I am focused on 
  • Get Gym   Hmm... maybe a message to me
  • Want Dessert  No comment, that phrase is telling in itself  :)   
Wordles are fun and can be created from any text or even random words. After creating it you can print it out from the site. Get your wordle here


 

Monday, October 10, 2011

Week 4 of Fire Up for Fall

Weight Wars

This week's questions:

What have you done this week to achieve your goals?
I feel the weeks blending into one another and it's difficult to remember what I did when. Does anyone else feel that way or am I just getting so old that the days fly by? I struggled with temptation and self control this week and I wrote about it briefly throughout the week which coincidentally takes us to my first goal.

1. Be accountable by participating in Challenge and Blog weekly - accomplished : I blogged several times this week including a difficult post that documented a little of my story up to now on this journey

2. Decrease weight by 10 pounds - accomplishing: weighed in with a loss of 1.6 lbs

3. Pay attention to body signals. Eat when hungry - 75% accomplished: I did really well with being in touch with how I was feeling and my body signals, but I struggled qt times with the action part of only eating when actually hungry. This is what I need to work on - why I continue to eat even when I realize that I am not eating for hunger

4. Exercise at least 4 times a week - accomplished : exercised 4 out of 7 days

5. Sleep at least 7 hours a night - not accomplished: I am really struggling with getting to bed early, I just have too much going on during day and evening then find myself on the computer at night where I lose track of time. I should probably resolve not to get on computer or read after 10pm. I also find myself waking up at sunrise or before - even on the days when I can sleep in.

6. Have a food plan and keep right food on hand - not accomplished: In fact I am failing this goal miserably. Perhaps it is not the right goal for me this season, or perhaps it is too large. I am going to drop this goal for now and will pick it up again in the future. At that time I will break it down into smaller goals, such as (a) have a written menu plan; (b) have the right foods on hand to implement the written menu plan; (c) follow written menu plan (with some flexibility); and (d) track actual food consumed either electronically or by paper journal.

What have you done to make yourself feel fabulous?
I spent a wonderful afternoon with friends at a performance of our local community theater group. I enjoy theater. My sister and I have season tickets to professional theater, but I have to travel 140 miles to get there. Community theater doesn't have the same budget, but the acting is good and it made for a great afternoon.

What is your go to food or activity when you've had a bad day?
This is a great question! If we are reflective and know what our go to food/activity is then we can possibly head ourselves off when that go-to feeling comes upon us. Much easier said than done though, I know. I find myself heading towards the starches like a loaf piece of nice, crusty bread - not the wimpy sandwich slice. Although I haven't had a sweet tooth for most of my life because I was giving in to my starch cravings, I find I now may get a craving for something sweet when I am having a bad day.


What is the last thing you did that you were really proud of?
First, I am proud of making the decision to make a change in my life by working towards a healthy weight. This is an ongoing feeling as the decision really is a day-to-day one.
Second, I am proud that I courageously made the decision to leave a horrid, poisonous an unhealthy work environment without knowing what I would do next. It has made me live daily by faith and has made me broke taught me many things. For someone who is very planned, this is a big thing. It took courage, but it was definitely the right thing to do. I don't know where this decision will ultimately lead me, but I have never had any regrets.

What was your favorite school subject and your least favorite? Why?
I have to give a disclaimer upfront that I am a teacher by trade. I have taught all general subjects and truly like them all. I was a typical "schoolie" when younger- I enjoy learning and dabbled in many subject areas.

I think my least favorite subject, both to teach and to learn, would have to be science. This is because of its broad spectrum. Some areas are so difficult for me to get in and digest and/or are boring not my cup of tea, i.e biology (one I like) vs. weathering/erosion. On the positive side, science can be one of the most fun subjects depending how it is taught. It lends itself well to hands-on learning.

It is equally challenging to name a favorite subject. My teaching certifications for older kids are in social studies and communication arts and for everything with younger children.  I gravitate towards liking history/ social studies best both for teaching and learning - depending again how it is taught. It could be very boring if you are lectured/lecturing or only reading a textbook. History is perfect for projects - who wouldn't rather act out the Boston Tea Party than read about it?

I like learning about cultures and people. Throw in a little geography, then dream about visiting there someday! Sharing my love of learning regardless of subject is what I like the best.


My positive picture of the week is a comparison. In September, My daughter and I had our picture taken at a wedding we attended. When I saw it, I was reminded of a similar picture we had taken just   3 years ago at a different function. I pulled the two pictures together and saw how much I have really changed in those months. In the top picture I am on the right and on the left in the bottom picture.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Seeing what I have already accomplished helps to motivate and propel me towards my ultimate goal.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Crisis Averted (sort of)

I was at the store today and the seasonal display kept calling my name.  Why is it when you don't have the time or the money to shop, you see all the cute things that you would love to have?

Then I saw them.  Stacks and stacks of candy for trick-or-treaters. I looked through the aisle to try and find some candy corn and candy pumpkins see what they had.  Last week in a different store I had to quickly walk by this candy - why do they put the candy that tempts me so on the end of the aisle where it can be plainly seen from miles many vantage points?



But I resisted the urge to throw the bag after bag after bag in the cart, and instead bought
three Halloween T-Shirts.  True, I could have had eight bags of candy for the same price of the shirts, but I felt good about resisting the urge for sweets. Besides, the shirts will last longer. 


Price of Candy Corn: $2.00
Price of  T-Shirts:  $25.00  
 Sticking to my Goals: Priceless









Friday, October 7, 2011

A Battle of the Will


Fridays are the day that I do my official weigh-in.   Since I had gained last week, I wanted to turn things around and I did.  Even with a couple lapses in my self control, I managed to lose 1.6 lb. 


I've been pretty good this week thus far with paying attention to my body signals and eating when hungry, not at other times.   I have to watch that I don't eat because the clock says it is dinner time, or that I'm bored, angry, upset, etc.   I also have to really be careful not to eat just because others around me are eating. Social eating can be very detrimental to your calorie limit!  

An example of this was last night. I went out with some friends for dinner.   After we ate, one friend ordered dessert.  It looked so good!  I wasn't hungry.  But my eyes wanted me to eat this dessert.  I gave in to the temptation and I ordered dessert.  It was really good-- but-- it added a whole lot of calories to my day and it also cost about half as much as my entree did!   So I ended up paying more than I had planned and eating more than I had planned.  The moment of pleasure was not as great as it seemed to be. 

As a "Monday morning quarterback"  I tell myself that dessert really was a pretty poor choice and not worth the calories or money spent.   But in the moment, I lacked the self-control to say no to my desire.   I also have to be careful today with my cravings.  When I eat something loaded with sugar, I then crave sugar and food in general and will binge if I am not on alert to fight the temptation.  Already today I have toyed twice with the idea of going and buying chocolate frosted brownies and then cake with gooey icing.  My rationale to myself is my grandson's birthday is today and it is perfectly normal to  celebrate it with sweets.  I am fighting the urge by writing this and then reading some other people's blogs.   From past experience, I know that these sugar urges will be gone by tomorrow if I do not give in to them.  

All this is from a few minutes of eating a dessert.   Dessert itself is neither good nor bad - it is how I react to it.  It's a matter of  opportunity costs --am I willing to put in the extra work for the dessert?

Do you have any foods that trigger cravings?

     

My Journey

I don't think there has been a time when I haven't felt fat.  When I was in Jr. high school I was what I would now consider  to be "not fat", but even at that time - I thought I was fat.  After I got married and had children it just got worse.  I let myself put on the pounds and keep them.   At some point, I had a divorce and that seemed to be a springboard to gain even more weight.  It was like I was blanketing myself to protect myself from getting close to anyone. 










 March 2008

Then in August 2008, I had to go the doctor (who I avoided) because my knee was hurting me and I thought I had perhaps torn something.  What happened was I was told that I needed to lose weight (of course).  I had degenerative arthritis in my knee.  I also had  high blood pressure and was pre-diabetic.  I was put on medication.  That was not what I wanted to hear!  So I started playing around trying to diet, but I didn't really put my heart into it. Over the next year I lost about 15 - 20 lbs.    

 July 2009

 
 November 2009

This picture was taken about a month before I started my serious journey to losing weight.  I'm not sure what it was  that made me get serious, but I realize now that unless your mind is involved, you won't lose all that you want.  The first couple months were the most difficult with cravings, but then it wasn't too much of a struggle to stay on my diet.   In fact instead of a diet, it was more of a lifestyle change.
I did not make a big deal out of my diet and did not really tell anyone what I was doing. Sadly, I lost about an additional 45 lbs before anyone at work- even friends- noticed. 

 June 2010   total lost  = 75 lb

I kept losing about 2 - 3 lbs a week.  That  summer I started walking in the neighborhood in the evenings with a friend.  I wanted to get myself in a habit of exercise.   We would walk about 20 - 30 minutes and that was a good thing until the heat & humidity of summer set in.  Exercise outside fell off and I went back to just my normal activity throughout the day.

 November 2010    total lost = 115


Nearly one year after I had started seriously on my lifestyle change, I had lost 115 lbs.  From my heaviest weight I was down 130 lbs.   Big problem now was my clothes.  I had lost so much  that it imperative that I get some new clothes.  Especially shirts.  All my shirts hung on me and looked horrible.  I had some skirts that I could wear and fold over and pin, and I bought a pair of jeans.  I didn't want to buy too much because I still wanted to lose more weight.   I had a way to go, but I now also began to think about what my goal weight should be. 

 April 2011

In February, I went off my medication for high blood pressure.  Losing weight had made my pressure go back to the normal range.  I also had not been bothered by the arthritis in my knee for several months.  In April I joined a gym and began to do strength training and some cardio. I tried to get to the gym 4 - 5 times a week.  I noticed quickly results from working out.  I had been having some stress at work and this helped control the stress.  My weight went into a plateau - either from the stress, or it was just one of those things.  However, I was losing inches and toning up. 

 June 2011


 August 2011  total  lost = 135 lbs


In July, blood tests were done and I compared my current numbers with past numbers. Everything was in normal ranges.  I no longer was pre-diabetic, my cholesterol was excellent, and my blood pressure continues to stay in the normal range.  Losing weight has gained me health.  Other changes were happening.  I changed my environment at work -  the stress was more than it was worth- and I took a wonderful vacation to visit  family I haven't seen in years.  My weight loss is still on a plateau - it stays within a 10 lb range.  I still want to losse an additional 50 - 60 lbs.  After my vacation, I have struggled with getting back into the gym routine. I've had a lot  of transitions, so I am giving myself some slack with the gym and with the fact that I haven't lost any more significant weight for awhile.  After all, it is a journey.  I'm in it for the long haul.  As soon as my life settles down some and my mind and body align, I know the weight will begin to drop as long as I continue with healthy habits.




 September 2011 

Total Lost = 130 lbs, 71.5 inches
My Journey ...to be continued









Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Week 3 of Fire Up for Fall


Fall is my favorite season.  I enjoy the crisp days when the weather dictates the need for a sweater in the shade, yet the sun shines warm.  Colors burst forth from the once green trees and shades of orange, russet, and brown dot the countryside.  Therefore, the picture above is my positive picture of the week. I took this picture while visiting a farm last weekend. It is the epitome of fall for me. 

Now to Week 3's questions:

What have you done this week to help get to your goals?
This week I felt I was better focused and on track. I definitely have room to be better, but I improved in working towards my goals over last week.  However, the scale did not agree with me and I gained 2 pounds. I'm not going to fret over it as I know there are hormonal shifts, stress factors, water, and overeating other unexplainable reasons for weight loss and gain.  I am just going to keep doing what I know to be good and healthy for me and  hope  know it will all balance out eventually. 

1. Be accountable by participating in Challenge and Blog weekly.  -accomplished

2. Decrease weight by 10 pounds - gained 2 pounds, but still down overall - accomplishing

3. Pay attention to body signals. Eat when hungry - working on this about 85%, accomplishing

4. Exercise at least 4 times a week -back up plan with DVD and Wii,  4 out of 7 days - accomplished

5. Sleep at least 7 hours a night - I am trying to make myself go to bed earlier which is difficult, 5 out  of  7 nights - accomplishing  

6. Have a food plan and keep right food on hand - I have purged the house of most unhealthy foods, but I only have a plan for a day or two at a time, this is the goal where I am the weakest.  I also find  I try to "track" my food in my head thinking I will remember. Duhh, no, I won't. I need to get better here   - not accomplished

What have you done to make yourself feel fabulous? 
As my positive picture above shows, my family and I spent the afternoon at a farm last weekend.  We went on a hayride and just had a good time.  I had a roll in the hay, but it may not be what you think.  It was when I was getting up into the hay and I slipped, tumbling down in the hay. Didn't hurt-- hay broke my fall, nothing hurt but my pride. :)  It was a good way to stay humble, laugh at myself,  and gave me my roll in the hay ! 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years ? What are your goals? Ambitions?
My life mission is to motivate, support, and empower others to fulfil their potential.  This is what drives me in the areas of my life - as a mother, as an employee, as a friend.  That is the big picture.  My ambitions and goals will all feed into this mission.  Now the sticky part is the details.  I am in a period of transition.   I quit my job and am in the process of looking for the next one.  Whatever it will be, I know it will fit with my mission I just don't know exactly what it is yet.  I am walking by faith until I find it.  
In 5 years,
  • I see myself at a weight that is healthy for me
  • I see myself grateful and finding joy every day
  • I see myself remaining healthy because I am making healthy choices
  • I see myself loving and being loved

Give us a tip or a fact. What is something great that you've heard that everyone should know?
 There is an app for I-phones, I-pod touch and I-pads that I like called weightbot that tracks progress with weight loss (or gain).   You can set a goal, record weight, and see graphs of your weight progress over time.  It can be password protected.  I used to track my weight daily, but now I put it in about 3 times a week.  The data can also be exported to an excel file.   It costs a couple of dollars on I-tunes and I have found it to be helpful for me.  It can be especially encouraging seeing it over time, or serve as a warning if weight begins to creep up.   

What was your most recent dream you can remember?
I hardly ever remember my dreams.  The last time I dreamt and knew I had in he morning was mid- summer. I don't remember now though what the dream was, so I'm afraid I cant answer this question sufficiently.


Fall is my favorite season, what is yours?

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Having a Gym Back-Up Plan


I've been struggling to get to the gym lately, so I decided to backup my gym workouts with these exercise workouts:
  • Slim in 6 is a daily program of  2 week steps gradually getting more difficult and strenuous as time goes on. When combined with their nutrition guidelines, you are promised a slimmer you in six weeks if you are faithful. 
  • Zumba Fitness for Wii is the Latin dance party including a tutorial formatted for the Wii.  It comes with a belt that you wear around your waist that holds the remote.  More belts are available from the Zumba website if you want to have a multiplayer game.   

Going to the gym can be intimidating for someone who is heavy.  It seems that you're surrounded by fit, young, healthy bodies all staring at you -- the fatty, sweaty one who'd look more comfortable with a twinkie in her hand than a dumbbell.
It took a lot to get me to go the gym.  I began going to the gym in April.  It took me about 6 months to decide which gym to join.   I researched all the gyms in my area to decide which one would fit my needs the best. I looked at these criteria:
  1. cost - I chose a gym that gave a discount for my employer
  2. hours - originally my gym was open 24 hours,  I want to be able to go in the "off" hours
  3. features - my gym has classes, weights, pool, basketball courts
  4. ambience, atmosphere - my gym has a friendly atmosphere, not a lot of "hard bodies" strutting around when I am there
  5. location - close to my home so I can go there right from work or quickly from home
 I did very well - I went 5 times a week through July and I even got a friend motivated to join me. Then in August I was going to go on vacation and I spent a week preparing and didn't go to the gym.  The next 3 weeks I was on vacation and didn't go.  When I returned, I had to unpack and then I also had jet lag for awhile and I didn't go for a couple weeks.  This was 6 weeks of no gym at all!  I tried to get back in the routine, but I am finding it difficult to get there more than 2 times a week.  The friend who joined last summer has also gotten very busy at work and hasn't been able to get there either.

I hope that I get my act together and get myself back to the gym proper. But on those days when I don't get to the gym I have no excuses for not exercising - I will be doing the  Wii Zumba and the workouts from Slim in 6.