Trials of a Long Haired Girl

So I was watching CSI: Cyber episode called “URL, Interrupted” which is about a girl being cyberbullied and Peter MacNicol’s character (Simon Sifter) was talking to his son about participating in cyberbulling.  His character said “Your words hurt this girl.  Words have consequences.”  Honestly, this statement could not be truer.  These are not just the words that we say to others, but the words (or thoughts) that we say to ourselves.  Negative self talk is not a good thing for any of us.  I have really been trying to focus on changing my mindset, but it isn’t always easy.  Sometimes those thoughts pop in your head out of habit.  Once those words (or thoughts) pop out, you can’t take them back.  I remember hearing when my oldest child was little to “be careful because little ears hear what you say”.  Those seemingly innocent thoughts like when my leader announced the loss for the group last night and the thought that popped in was “I did...

So, honestly, I have been feeling like I am headed in the wrong direction.  I haven’t been eating quite like I need to everyday and I haven’t been working out.  After probably an hour or more of holding our Bichon Frise to get him trimmed or helping trim him, I got up this morning to an aching body.  My wrists, elbows, knees and hips hurt.  I was being reminded that my health is important and I need to take care of me too.  I have really started trying to rely on essential oils for my pain relief rather than Tylenol, Ibuprofen, etc.  So today, I am trying Wintergreen.  Although it says to mix it with fractionated coconut oil for larger areas, I put it directly on.  It was a weird sensation, but it seems to have helped with the pain.  As you may be aware, I have decided to focus on real food.  For purposes of Weight Watchers, I am using mostly the Power Foods list.  However, I am not eating fat free or low fat anything.  I ...

I have had much on my mind of late.  I have been having a hard time focusing on making myself a priority and taking care of myself.  I took a break from pretty much everything.  I didn’t meal plan, I missed multiple Weight Watchers meetings, I didn’t post on online forums.  I think I felt like a fraud.  I have been starting threads and trying to be positive about my weight loss efforts, but I felt like a hamster on a wheel.  My weight has just fluctuated up and down and I am pretty much losing and gaining the same 10 pounds or so.  I made some changes that a lot of people are probably going to disagree with, but it makes sense to me.  When I was a small child (i.e. when I was still very thin), I ate whole fat foods, I drank whole milk, I wasn’t focused on eating “diet” everything.  So that’s what I am going back to.  I am focusing on feeding my family unprocessed foods.  I am making snacks for them to take in their lunch boxes so i...

So a friend posted today in one of the Facebook groups that we are in together that she is frustrated by her ability to lose because she is sabotaging herself.  This spoke volumes to me because I do the same thing.  I have been for quite some time.  I am determined to make changes for myself.  It is not always easy when you have had a love/hate relationship with yourself and your body to love the woman that you see in the mirror.  Another friend (thanks Nancy) reminded me how important that this is.  I will be the first to tell you that I have not always loved or appreciated this body that the Father gave me.  Truth be told, I have had a hard time on more than one occasion remembering that it is the only body that I have and I need to take care of it. Here is the long and short of it.  If I want my body to change and I want to learn to love the woman in the mirror, I have to start making that change for myself.    So, I thought...

I know it has been months since I have posted anything.  I am sorry for that.  I have had some personal stuff going on and I was off my game.  I am now 9 days away from my 44 th birthday or the 15 th anniversary of my 29 th birthday as my husband says.  I wish I could say that things are wonderful and that I was well on my way to my goal weight.  I have actually been heading the wrong direction.  The call of sodas has been a bit much for me to overcome of late with my headaches, which has not had a good effect on my weight loss. I have recently come back in contact with a group of friends that gave me lots of support and so many of them inspire me.  I am so thankful that they are back in my life, especially when I was feeling like just taking a break for a bit. I did make another decision.  My cousin recommended a book to me called “Real Food: What to Eat and Why”, which really resonated with me.  I purchased Nourishing Traditions...

First off, let me just say that I know it has been awhile.  There has been much going on in my world.  The months of September/October were rough months for our family.  My mom fell and, ultimately, broke her back.  She had a compression fracture in her back, but after 2 visits to the ER, they sent her home.  They even did a CT scan the first visit and they said she only had bumps and bruises.  I am so annoyed over that, but moving on...we ultimately brought her to a hospital down closer to where I live.  They did an MRI and discovered that she had not one, but TWO compression fractures in her back.  She underwent a less invasive back surgery and seems to be doing better pain wise. My weight loss over the last little bit has been hit and miss, but I continue to go to my Weight Watcher meetings.  Here is a little something else that I decided to do for the month of October...I was determined to hit 10,000 steps per day EVERYDAY. I am proud t...

Sometimes we get complacent and old habits creep in...not always good ones.  During these times, we need to refocus on what we need to do if we truly want to hit our goals.  As I was watching Biggest Loser (I know I said I wouldn't watch again) on Hulu, I heard Bob say something that resonated with me.  He said: "Your mind has got to be clear. Your mind has got to be the strongest part of your body right now, because all the obstacles are happening from the neck down. Get your mind straight. Think about what you want."  As often as I have read that your brain is the strongest muscle in helping or hindering you on this journey, I just sat there in awe...it was my lightbulb moment.  I need to get out of my own head and betraying my body.  If I am going to make it to my weight loss goal, I need to continue to take steps that will get me there.  Since I am doing Weight Watchers, I have decided that I am going to try to focus on the Power Foods and do Simpl...