Trials of a Long Haired Girl

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 to say that this past Monday October 27th sta

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 Simply Filling for severa

For those of you on my FB page, you know I have been on my weight loss journey for longer than I'd care to admit.  However, I was SADDENED and OUTRAGED when I saw this earlier.  I am sad for this neighbor who clearly thinks that this man who according to the post has lost 80 pounds before this letter was received. I was outraged because clearly this man has made himself a priority and is working on taking back his health.  Kudos to him and his weight loss efforts!  It sounds as if he is well on his way to taking back his life.  I am proud for him and of him for his efforts. To the neighbor that wrote this mean spirited letter, you may never have had a weight problem or financial problems, etc., but I am sure there is something that you have struggled with.  I suspect that you have had a child, mother, cousin, father, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, best friend, or even adopted family that may have had a weight loss problem.  To truly solve this problem, it is a struggle and

I have felt a little disconnected lately.  I think part of it is because I failed to track for a few days and pain/stress, etc. just got in the way of what I was trying to do.  I’ve really had to remind myself over the last few days, seemingly since weigh in, that I am not in this to be perfect.  The only perfect person that walked the earth was Jesus Christ and I am certainly not on the same as Him.  What I can do is do the best I can with what I have each day and make the best choice I can.  Like Saturday evening, after our church service at our new start up church, they announced that they were going to dinner.  DH decided we had to go because he hadn’t been to that restaurant in ages.  I know that Mexican food is a weakness for me.  While I know I probably ate more tortilla chips than I should have, but it seemed to take forever to get our food because of our large group.  Ultimately, though, I am not displeased with my choices while there (aside from the chips) because DH and I s

I have been trying to do a bit of soul searching of late.  There have been some crises (minor, but it seemed worse at the time) that I have had to deal with that have sort of prompted this current bit of soul searching.  If you have met me in person or gotten to know me through the internet, email, etc. I am a positive person…a Pollyanna, if you will.  I try to always see the positive side of things and honestly, the glass is half full 90% of the time.  I have noticed that while I can “Pollyanna” my way through a lot with my friends and family, I am not always so nice to myself.  I have learned a lot while on this journey, which often times seems like a roller coaster ride, about myself and what I need to do and what works for me with my weight loss journey and just me as a person.  It is beneficial for me to make lists and schedules, but I have to remember that sometimes life happens and I can’t blame myself for those moments when I can’t make it to water aerobics or whatever.  There

Yesterday was a bit crazy.  My mother has been running a fever but we don’t yet know why.  Hopefully we will find out today.  She called me this morning and seems to be feeling better.  DD12 had her talent show last night.  We are gearing up for her last week of elementary school.  DS14 is finishing out middle school next week as well.  You would think this would not be so emotional for me since I already have one that has graduated, but it totally is emotional for me. Getting to my weigh in, I maintained this week.  Considering I went a little crazy a couple of times with pizza, etc. over the holiday weekend.  I do feel better going into the week because I have an idea of what to cook and when I can get meals cooked in advance.  I am trying to prepare my meal plan up to a week and a half out so that I can’t really make excuses.  Goals for this week:  Preparing at least 2 meals in advance and tracking EVERYTHING.

I volunteered to co-organize a charity walk for Conquer Chiari again this year.  Last night, we had a fundraising event at McAlister’s Deli.  I probably ate more PointsPlus than I would care to admit, but I didn’t eat all 49 of my extras and I did track it.  For that reason alone, I feel positive about how I did yesterday.  I have dinner ready for tonight; it just needs to be warmed up.  I have already tracked everything for today and still have a couple of PointsPlus remaining.  I did wind up with a migraine yesterday, I think mostly due to the weather.  I am definitely going to try to fix another casserole tonight so I can stay at least one meal ahead…or maybe two.  I haven’t decided if I am going to fix the cheeseburger and tot casserole or the Mexican Lasagna.  Either way, I entered the recipes into the trackers. Anyone have any suggestions for good audiobooks?  I enjoy listening to them when I am at work.  It helps the day go by.

“Forget yesterday - it has already forgotten you. Don't sweat tomorrow - you haven't even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift - today.”   ―   Steve Maraboli ,   Life, the Truth, and Being Free Sometimes we tend to beat ourselves up over what we have done in the past, but truth be told, we cannot change it.  I can’t honestly say that I am always happy with where I am on the scale, but it is a reflection of what I did the week before.  Honestly, no matter what the scale says if I don’t change what I didn’t do well the week before, the scale may not change for me.  So I am focusing on small goals and trying to get back to where I know I need to be.  Focusing on meal planning and if I can do this for a week or week and a half and buy groceries for those meals, I should definitely be on the right track.  This is not always easy, but it is necessary.  Not just for my weight loss journey, but for my money saving goals as well.  I am feeling pretty

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching, Love like you'll never be hurt, Sing like there's nobody listening, And live like it's heaven on earth.” ― William W. Purkey I read this quote this morning and it reminded me of the friends I have lost in the past 12 months and that I need to live my best life now.   I can’t expect things to change for me with my health or with the goals that I have set for myself if I don’t do something to make it happen.   Honestly, a friend recommended “The Diet Fix” to me and it has really made me take stock of what I want to do and that I need to escape the diet mentality and focus on making the positive changes.   Some of these things I was trying to make an effort to do anyway.   Making no single food “off limits” and for me, not having beef is just not an option.   I grew up on beef/red meat so I will have chicken and turkey, but I can’t just take ground beef out of my meal plan because then I just fe

I know I have really been slacking on writing the blogs and keeping everyone updated.  We've had a lot going on around here.  DS13, whose birthday is today so he will now be referred to as DS14, went to California for the World Championships in Robotics.  So much preparation for that, reservations to be made, etc.  I am not going to lie, I really started having a bad case of the "I don't want tos".  And I had to have a "Come to Jesus" meeting with myself and determine what I really and truly don't want.  I have been on this journey for longer than I would care to admit to myself, but while at my WW meeting the other night, I did admit it to a girl that has been coming.  The other part of this is that we had a very nice member from another meeting come to our meeting.  He has lost 210 pounds.  Again, I was reminded that just because I don't track it, it doesn't mean I didn't eat it.  The only person I cheat when I do that is ME.  So I have rea

So I am checking in after my weigh in last night…and I lost the 5.2 that I gained the week before.   Still not certain how that gain happened in the first place, but I am thankful for the loss.   I am trying to be more diligent in my tracking.   Also, I have been looking for some new recipes.   I found a girl on youtube (WeightWatchergirl1) and she has some great recipes on there.   I am excited to try a few of them out…well, minus the sloppy joes because I had a bad experience with sloppy joes as a child and I just won’t eat them. Also, let’s be honest, I have been told repeatedly that I dress frumpy or older than I actually am, etc.   I was raised Pentecostal so I dress modestly compared to many people.   I don’t like to wear skirts too short, etc.   I know that it probably doesn’t help me look any taller or anything, but I prefer to maintain my modesty.   I told a friend that I would go to a personal shopper after we hit our weight loss goals, but I am concerned that I

As of last night at my weigh in, I gained 5.2 pounds over last week’s weigh in.   I am upset by this, more than I can really express.   I have been walking 10,000 steps or more per day and trying to eat well.   I can honestly say after looking back at my food logs, I probably did not have enough veggies and fruits everyday and several days I was slightly below my calorie range (even the 1200 mark, if I’m honest).   I didn’t eat anything crazy this week.   I didn’t have any sodas and was, in fact, pretty proud of the fact that I was hitting 10,000 steps most days including Sunday, which I normally take as a rest day.   I came home, depressed, as you can imagine and promptly started making my meal plan for the coming week.   I normally sit down with everyone and discuss it, but I decided that I couldn’t wait for everyone else, so I started going through the recipe book (I print off recipes and put them in a binder) aside from my cookbooks that I have and started marking stuff and ma

Yes, I know I have been lax again in my blogging. I think I was in a bad mindset. I had 2 weeks of gains, they were both less than a pound, but equaled a pound. I think that it was the not eating thing, but I managed to lose 2 pounds this week. Not quite sure how, but I am thankful for it. Today starts a new challenge for the next 8 weeks. My goal in the next 8 weeks is to lose 9.3 pounds, which is about 1.2 pounds per week. I know I can do it. I think this will definitely help me to focus on more active rest days on the weekends. I was reminded by a friend on another board about using the library as a source for the audiobooks again. I think that I may try that to help me get through my time on the machines at the gym. The other plan I have is to make sure that I prepare my salads for lunch this week (we got salad mix with Greenling this week) and I'm going to make use of it...aside from just having sandwiches. I think I am getting in a food rut and I need to get out o

I will likely see a loss on the scale this week…thanks to the dentist. Yep, I have mouth pain again. They were trying to remove the temporary crowns and although it hurt, I thought I could suck it up because they would pop off in a minute. Yeah, not so much…those temporary crowns did not want to come off. The dentist came in and looked at them and they have decided to wait for 2 more weeks because my teeth were so tender. I can’t say that I’m not frustrated because I would be lying to myself and everyone else. It frustrates me when I can’t floss between all of my teeth. I wound up taking the first pain pill but when it didn’t help, I did take second one. Then my annoying friend “Insomnia” showed up. Not the way I wanted to spend my night/morning. I didn’t make it for my date with my boyfriend “GYM”, but I’ll definitely work on getting some extra steps in today to try to make up for it. Just hoping I can get in enough calories when I am not able to eat much. So today’s Spa

So tonight is weigh in and, again, I have no idea what to expect. I have been doing better with my food and only having a splurge here and there. I guess one of the main reasons that I am unsure what to expect is that I have gone to the gym every day this week except Tuesday. My “dates” with my boyfriend Gym are getting more consistent. I love how I feel going through the day knowing that I started my day right. I have also noticed that I am feeling more rested when I get up. I do try to get 8 hours of sleep at least…and sometimes I go to bed at the same time as my two younger children because I want to make sure I can get to sleep to get at least 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep. Here’s what I have been doing to sort of insure I don’t have an excuse not to go to the gym. I have been laying my clothes out at night at the end of my bed (socks, undergarments, etc.) with my sneakers where I can find them. When my alarm goes off at 5 a.m., I can grab my stuff and start putting it on becaus

So this morning when I was going through the SparkCoach tasks, Becky Hand was discussing your “Happy Weight”. She defines this as not being about a chart or graph or some magical number that you have in your head for years. This really made me start to think. I talked to my doctor awhile back about my goal weight for Weight Watchers. I told her that I honestly didn’t think that I could get to the ideal weight of 96 to 120 pounds. We agreed on 135. She indicated that it would not put me in a healthy BMI range. Honestly, I can remember being 125 when I got pregnant with my son and felt pretty good at that weight. Sadly, even smaller than that, I thought I was fat back then, but my body honestly seemed comfortable at 19 years old at 125. This is a journey and I’m fully aware of this. I’ll see where my body is comfortable and how I feel. What I do know for sure is that any loss of any percentage of my body mass right now, is a step in the right direction and will give me great h

I must admit that I am feeling frustrated this week.   I tried to push myself last week to getting to the gym and wind up with an upper respiratory infection which has had me knocked out most of this week.   I am not going to let it stop me though.   I am more determined than ever to make sure that I do what I need to do to not fail myself on this challenge.   That is the thing about this…whether I do workout or follow my meal plan, the one person that it really affects…is ME.   What have I accomplished since starting this challenge 14 days ago?   I am listening to my body.   I stop when I am feeling full and don’t push myself to clean my plate.   Yes, I am a clean plate club member.   I don’t know if it was only the time I grew up in.   I am not pushing myself when my body says STOP, I need to rest.   I’d feel so much better about working out right now, if I could NOT hear myself every time I breathe.   My chest seems to be rumbling every time I breathe.   I am hoping tha

Well, you may have noticed that I have been MIA for the last couple of days. This was not by choice. I woke up Sunday feeling under the weather but was really hoping that a day of rest would help me to feel better by Monday. On the contrary, however, I woke up Monday feeling like I had been run over by a MAC truck and they backed up a time or two just to make sure. I suspect that it is allergies that have turned into an infection of some sort…especially when I started noticeably running a fever. I listened to my body and literally did not move (other than to go down the hall) and stayed in bed. This means that no exercise or workouts were done. This was NOT the way I intended to start the week…or get through the first month of my challenge, but it was a sure reminder that I can plan all I want to, but my body has the ultimate control. I’m not sure I feel up to doing a full on workout today, but I am hoping that I can at least get 15 minutes on the upper/lower body cycle just to

Well, last night was a rough night.  I want to do nothing more than lay down.  We had a dog that did nothing but cry all night long.  Sadly, I don’t think it is the new dog, but one of the other ones and then the oldest dog starts barking because the younger dog is getting on her nerves.  DH goes in to check out the situation, Daisy (my oldest dog) makes a mad dash out of the kitchen (which is where we keep them).  I know good decisions are not always made when one is tired.  Thankful for my meal plan.  We are having beans and special cornbread tonight.  I did wake up this morning feeling bad.  I have a bit of a sore throat and I feel like one of the 7 Dwarfs…I just can’t figure out if I am Sneezy, Sleepy or Droopy.  Oh and on a random side night, I got flour and gluten to make bread.  I am hoping it will be as much fun as I remember. Yesterday was a fun day with the family.  We played games and learned a couple of news ones.  I love me some family time.  Unfortunately, not a lot of ac

Okay, so today is a week since I started my challenge. How am I feeling? I’m feeling pretty good actually. I’m getting into the habit of planning my activities. Meal planning is becoming more of an obstacle to do as a family. DH and I took on the task by ourselves. Here’s what I know, I definitely have to have a meal plan and a grocery list. I don’t want to go crazy with the Points so I’m trying to stick with the Simply Filling foods. I definitely see more salads/side salads in my future for this week. I may even try to throw together lasagna. I have seen several crockpot recipes or recipes that I know I can transform into crockpot recipes that I want to try. I am getting excited about cooking/baking again and I feel positive about that. Goals for the week? Well, I have already said that I want to try to workout enough to not use the Weekly PointsPlus allowance. I don’t know that I can make that happen, but I’m going to try. I know eating more of the Simply Filling Power

As I write this, I have to tell you I went into my Weight Watchers meeting thinking that I maintained at best. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had actually lost 1.8 pounds. Weigh-in the Thursday before Starting the Challenge: 189.6 Current weigh in: 187.8 Loss: 1.8 According to what I had set up for myself for the challenge: Lose 14 pounds to 28 pounds (Starting Weight: 189.2 [02/27/2014] End of challenge Goal: 175.2-161.2) Given that, I am off to a good start in the right direction. I am excited to see where the rest of this challenge will take me. My DH and I have struck a deal. He will let me try to do 2 classes (actually I guess it’s a class and a half) tonight and we’ll have pizza. My goal for the week is to try to stay ahead of the Weekly Points that I am using. It is definitely going to require some effort on my part, but I am excited about trying.

I must admit that I sometimes feel it is a bit much for me to write about each day of the challenge, but at the same time, I feel like I should to hold myself accountable. Head was so bad last night that I pretty much went home and to bed. My sweet husband put dinner together for me and brought it to me. I am so blessed to have him. Although I don’t tell him nearly often enough how thankful I am for him. For the most part, I have an idea how to finish out the week. Whatever happens on the scale tonight, I have an idea of what needs to change for the coming week. While I had planned on having leftovers today for lunch (probably more PointsPlus than I should have been eating anyway), my plans got changed when I was offered something from outside the office. I opted for a mixed greens salad from Paradise Bakery. I did get ranch dressing, but I kept it on the side and just dipped which prevents me from using too much. For those of you that know me, you know that I enjoy baking and

Today is a new day. I realized after eating dinner and tracking my food that I have depleted my Weekly Points and my Activity Points. Admittedly, I felt like this was going to happen. What does it mean? That I’m going to have to workout in order to eat the foods that are going to cost me PointsPlus. Tonight my Weekly PointsPlus start over. In the coming week, I will need to be more careful of what I am spending my Weekly Points on. Honestly, as frustrated as I may be over that, I am proud of the fact that I have been tracking consistently. I feel like that is definitely a step in the right direction for me. In the past, I have tracked breakfast and lunch, but not dinner. Speaking of, I changed up my smoothie and put Greek Yogurt in it, along with some fat free organic milk, mixed berries, banana, flaxseed and protein powder. I have figured out that most of what goes in it, besides the protein powder is Power Foods. For lunch today, the plan is to have the Simple Start Tun

Admittedly, today is one of those days. I have a headache…it isn’t migraine status and to be honest, I think it is my allergies, but it is annoying as all get out. Foodwise, it’s not been too bad. I did, however, splurge when my bosses came and asked me if I wanted Jersey Mike’s. I always get the same thing (#7 Turkey & Provolone Sub in a Tub, Mike’s Way). I’ve already calculated the PointsPlus value and it’s in my SparkPeople Tracker as well. I have been trying to be good about tracking my food even though I have mostly been following the Simply Filling Plan which allows you to only track your “extras”. I just feel more comfortable tracking. I changed my tracker to Simply Filling instead of counting PointsPlus. My Weekly PointsPlus allowance refreshes on Thursday (at 12:01 a.m.), but so far, it appears that I have definitely been dipping into my Activity Points as well.  Good thing I’ve been working out, right? Exercise wise, I took a walk with my husband to get our lunch on Satur

I’m really trying to find a balance on the Simply Filling plan. I can’t honestly say that I have been following Simple Start to a “T” because I found that some of the things that I would like to have that were suggested in our meeting like Cheerios were not really on the list. Cheerios have seemingly become my go to snack when I need a little crunch and don’t have any freggies on hand that don’t require cooking. I know the red light probably just went on. Please know that I am planning my meals and I keep sugar free/natural applesauce on hand, as well as some frozen Green Giant veggies and have been bring fat free Greek yogurt with me as a snack as well. Just sometimes I need a little crunch. I do put them in 1 cup bags (Ziploc Snack bags are the perfect size). We are supposed to warm up a little later in the week and I’m excited because I planned a little (okay, maybe not so little) Greek salad for myself. Although the Simple Start recipe calls for Fat Free Feta, I couldn’t fi

1. What is your all time favorite movie? Hmm…I am a great fan of Sense & Sensibility and of some of the old black and whites…The Desk Set, Shop Around the Corner. 2. Who is your favorite actor and actress? I really enjoy watching Leonardo DiCaprio recently, as for actress, that is a little harder for me. I think Julia Roberts. 3. What is the first movie you ever saw at the cinema? I honestly cannot remember, but I do remember taking my oldest son (when he was very young) to see Backdraft. 4. Did you watch The Oscars last night? Unfortunately, I did not. We don’t have cable or antennae so I did not watch it. 5. How many of the Best Picture nominations did you watch and which did you enjoy the most? Honestly, I’m not sure we saw any of them. We tried, but were not successful. 6. What did you think of Ellen hosting The Oscars? I am hearing all sorts of things from last night, but I think she is an awesome host. 7. If you had the chance to play a part in any movie, what would

Yesterday? Well, honestly, I have really realized that weekends are hard for me. I think it is the lack of schedule. We had such a nice day on Saturday for things to turn completely on Sunday and we were under a winter weather advisory. We quickly got our grocery errands taken care of and headed home for the rest of the day. I did drink some hot tea instead of my normal hot chocolate when the weather is cold. I am thankful that I found some hot tea that I like and can drink without sugar. It is much easier for me when I have my routine to fall back on. I am still trying to adjust to the Simple Start/Simply Filling Plan. I am still tracking because I feel better doing so, but I am feeling more and more comfortable with it each passing day. Although Mother Nature seems to be trying to thwart my workout plans…little did she know that I had a backup plan with some DVDs in the event that the bad weather struck. If anyone of my WW friends has some suggestions for snack foods, I

Honestly, I can't say yesterday was the best day ever, but I don't think I did too bad considering I am allowing for the human factor as well.  DH and I did buy some new teas for me to try which I hope will help curb the craving for sweets.  We bought a Red Velvet Cupcake tea and a Chocolate Covered Strawberry tea.  I also have a Chocolate Mint Truffle tea that is awesome!   I did sort of splurge at dinner.  To be honest, we went to the gun range and even if I had packed a snack, I wouldn't have felt comfortable trying to eat it because my hands were dirty from reloading magazines, etc.  I wound up having a Taqueria style chicken quesadilla.  I didn't have nearly enough fruits and veggies, but I did mostly stay within my PointsPlus for the day.  Breakfast was a 2 egg sandwich with fat free cheese on a sandwich thin and a banana, which is all free under Weight Watchers Simply Filling plan.  Oh and let's not forget my coffee, which was 0 PointsPlus because I only us

1. Introduce yourself in under 10 words. Texan, and mom of 3. 2. How did you find Friend Makin Mondays? I don’t remember how I found Kenlie’s blog, but that’s how I found Friend Makin Monday. 3. Have you ever met any of your blog readers? I don’t have too many readers at the moment, so other than my best friend, no, I have not.. 4. How many states have you visited? I won’t really include the ones from when I was little bitty because I honestly can’t remember the trips, just being told about them. I have been to Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Arkansas, and that’s all I can remember right now. 5. What did you have for lunch yesterday? Yogurt. I had dental work done on Tuesday and my mouth was still sore. 6. How many different places have you lived in? I was born and raised in Denison, Texas and now live in Richardson, Texas. I was in Kissimmee, Florida for 3 months while going to school, but can you really count that since I was in a dorm?? 7. Wha

Okay, so I'm going to start with the have you ever part... Have you ever realized how reliant that you get on other things to give you feedback? The laptop computer that my Spark Activity Tracker and FitBit are connected to is basically dying. So I have not had access to my activity trackers because they can't sync if the computer isn't on. I told my husband this morning that we are moving them tonight because I can't take it. I feel like it is pointless for me to walk if I'm not getting "credit" for it which is ridiculous because my body knows the difference. The things you realize, right?  After some research, this is what I have decided for my 100 Day No Excuses Challenge: It will go from March 1, 2014 to June 9, 2014. My goal is to lose between 14 and 28 pounds. Notice I am sticking to a 1 to 2 pound loss per week. Focus on eating less processed foods/eating cleaner. Working out 15 minutes per day, at least, 5 days per week. I will shoot to have an &

I was down 0.8 at weigh in at my Weight Watchers meeting on Thursday.  I have been feeling recently like I am not really working the plan, but just going through the motions.  I will say in the spirit of honesty that I have been really nervous about trying the new Simple Start plan.  Since I have really begun tracking, I feel like I need to continue that trend.  I have made the decision that I have to give it a whirl.  I feel like if I don't that I will ultimately regret it because I will have that "what if I did it and it worked??" feeling.  I owe it to myself to try.  If I don't like it or don't do well, I can honestly say I tried.  If it does work, then I've only lost weight...and how is that a bad thing? So, I have been seeing many people post about their different variations of the 100 day challenge.  A lot are very inspirational.  I am thinking of my own variation.  I am thinking of a No Excuses 100 day challenge.  I will not lie, challenges are someti

Well, actually, it started yesterday.  I made the decision not to go weigh in on Thursday because I had had fun (NOT) sliding home from work a couple of hours earlier.  Since I knew I really needed to see what was going on, I went yesterday morning.  Can I say I have been 100% on plan? No, not really.  But per the official scale, I was 2.6 pounds down.  As I was checking out FB, I noticed that some friends of mine had posted their workouts and it really made me realize that I have been making excuses for myself not to workout.  I do realize that all the workout DVDs or planning in the world isn't going to help me if I don't do it.  So I got up yesterday and did my 5 Really Big Miles DVD (it's Leslie Sansone in case you were wondering) and burned some calories as well as got some toning in as well.  I felt much better once it was done.  Today I headed to the Nia class at Move Studio that my friend Jan was substituting.  I had forgotten how much I really enjoyed Nia until a f

<a href=" http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11433315/?claim=vz32tdztdwe">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> It has been a few weeks since I have posted anything.  Honestly, I have been feeling my motivation wane.  Of late, I have been doing some soul searching.  I know what I need to do, but I have been lax on doing some of it.  However, just when I was getting seriously frustrated with counting every little thing and making sure that it is logged, I received an email that I drafted before the first of the year from Futureme.  It reminded me that my focus was on the smaller changes.  While I may feel like I'm spinning my wheels at the moment, I know that if I work the program, I will be successful.  In the past, I have lost almost 50 pounds, but I gained it back when life got in the way.  Life is not always going to be perfect, but I know I can do this again.  One step at a time by making lifestyle changes.  I can control my own destiny when it comes to this wei

I hope everyone had a great holiday season!  I, for one, am thankful that the holiday season has come and gone simply because some of the sweets were definitely causing me problems staying OP.  So far this week, it has been pretty good.  I have logged all my food (whether I liked it or not) and am not sure what to expect tomorrow on the scale, but I have to say that I am proud of my efforts.  Dinner meal plan was done on Sunday or Saturday, I honestly don't remember.  I have been eating sandwiches with veggies this week.  It helps keep me on track.  I am determined to make this my year . I am taking it back to basics and making small changes.  It may not sound like much right now, but those little changes add up to big changes.   I got a new tracker to help me on my way...I purchased the Spark Activity Tracker.  Although I love my FitBit, it is a little worse for the wear and it is actually cutting into my stomach.  I have been wearing both for the time being so I can adjust and