No Time for #4

Okay, I have to be honest and come on quickly to say that I have not had time to get that 4th workout in today.

I forgot that we had a parade to go to this morning, in which my son walked. Then we had birthdays to shop for as I will be busy this next week getting ready to go out of town. Then it was home for lunch and house cleaning and making some snacks for this evening.

This evening I am going back over to our church for a Halloween-like function and it will keep me up at least to midnight, so there will be no fitting in a workout before bed.

*sigh* This week was very busy, again much more busy than earlier in the school year and summertime. So, while I'm proud that I got three very good workouts in this week, I'm sorry to say I did not completely meet my goal of 4 for the Hot 100 challenge.

Hopefully next week...

Weigh-In ... Hot 100 Update #5

Today's Weight: 193.0

Loss/Gain: +1.5 lb.

Total Loss So Far: -38 lbs.

TOM arrived yesterday, earlier than I expected, so I'm sure this is what caused the gain. I'm trying to keep my chin up about it. The main vex is that because of my one really "bad" week I now have only shown a net loss of 1.5 pounds this month. I always expect the gain during TOM, but that 4 pound gain really threw everything for me this month. *sigh*

As I finished up my jog today I wanted to cry thinking about this less-than-stellar month of loss, but then I reminded myself what I was doing. I was jogging steadily along for 30 minutes and getting faster each week. I was wearing a size I haven't worn in years. And I am not giving up on losing weight for the first time in years.

So, I cheered myself right back up. Plus, I decided that I need to observe this month, learn from it, but I'm not allowed to have this look-how-bad-you-did conversation while I'm in this state of mind that often comes prior to and at the beginning of TOM. :)

I will keep going. I will not give up. And as a best friend of mine reminded me today, "You're not up!" So, yes, I may not have seen a great loss this month, but I didn't see a gain and that's always a plus in this journey.

Now on to my Hot 100 challenge update:

WEIGHT GOAL: Lose 0.5 - 1.5 lbs a week. I am up this week putting me behind in my weight loss schedule now, because even at 0.5 pound a week I should be down 2.5 pounds by now. Hopefully as TOM wears off this situation will be fixed.

ACTIVITY GOALS:

• Exercise four days a week, no skimping down to three during the holidays. Yes, I've done three days and have one scheduled for tomorrow.
• Be able to jog at 4.8 mph for 25 minutes. This gives metime for slight warm up and cool down on the treadmill that has a 30-minute limit at the gym. Yes. I tested myself on this and jogged 2/3 of my jog at 4.8 mph one day this week. This is my huge positive in this week. Knowing that I can jog faster than I ever have in my life is great. I'm well on my way to reaching this goal.

FOOD GOALS:

• Drink at least 64 oz of water daily. I did this 6 out of 7 days this week. Yesterday I was so swamped at school that I didn't even stop to drink water. It was weird. I didn't get any in later either because my day was that busy. It was a bit strange. I drank water fine every other day.
• Journal all my eats and drinks and stay within my calorie goals daily, with the exception of one high-calorie day that I allow to throw things off a bit. No. I journaled less than half the week, so this was not good. I was mindful of what I was eating, and didn't realize until Tuesday that I hadn't journaled in like four days. Not good for this girl.

EMOTIONAL GOAL: **I've decided to make my emotional goal the goal of visiting one new blog each week. Connecting with others on this journey is the emotional support I need at this time. I don't have time to visit blogs and focus on the Beck book, so I'm switching it up for the challenge. Yes. It's been nice to have visitors to my blog and to visit back and see other people out there who are fighting the fight.

HOLIDAY GOAL: Only one or two "foo-foo" coffee drinks from Starbucks the week I am visiting my mom in November. I will stick to regular coffee and cream the rest of the weeks. Done. Sometimes I want to stop for one, and I remind myself that I'll get one when I get out to my mom's. Then it's easy to wait. :) I leave in a week and a non-fat white chocolate mocha is on the menu. :)

I leave you this weekend with a favorite quote of mine wonderfully illustrated by one of my favorite artists:

I will see success in this journey and I wish you all success in yours! Have a great weekend everyone!

Sweet Nothings

Getting closer to 190 has brought some very sweet moments of victory with it:

• My husband made my evening when gave me an unsolicited comment the other night and said "You're shrinking!" He's not one to say anything, and this is the first time he's said something about my weight without me asking him if he can tell. To be fair, I don't give him much chance to comment, because I milk every pound and he always rejoices with me by saying, "Cool." But to have him comment without me even saying anything? JOY. :)

• My son is hugging me before leaving for school Monday morning and we have this conversation:

Son: Mom, I can put my arms around you!

Me: *giggling* Well, it's probably because you're growing.

Son: And because you're getting smaller!! (aww....)

• All my clothing that was getting so tight on me at my heaviest of 231 lbs is officially too big to wear. I wore capris to school last week, that were too tight for me to wear July 2009, and laughed every time I went to the restroom and could practically slide them off without doing the button or zipper. It was a great feeling to realize I had to give them up because they are just too big. I actually gave a bag of skirts and blouses away that all used to be tight on me.

• I can no longer buy blouses in the plus sizes department. Every time I try on a 1x it's too big any more (unless it's some store with weirdo sizes like the odd shirt at Ross) and a regular XL is just fine. In fact, I think all my shirts are now XL from the regular section of the stores. :)

• I just bought a size 16w pants that are comfy, not even snug. I zipped up and fit into a size 16 pant (though too snug for me just yet) at the store the other day for the first time. And, finally, I bought two skirts size 16 and they fit. I haven't worn a 16 in almost seven years. More joy!!

I'll stop at that for now...

These are a few of the sweet nothings that keep me going on this journey. Something about losing this last 10 pounds has really taken me to a new level in my weight loss journey and I'm so grateful to have made it this far.

Good Plus Bad Equals...Life

It's been a nice past couple of days. Friday I was busy being lazy for an hour and then cleaning up my house and cooking lots of chicken for a men's dinner at our church.

Saturday, after a morning of breakfast and shopping with the girls, I came home and tackled the mess that was my house. We've been so busy that things had been let go and it was driving me nuts. So, I went to town cleaning my house, my kitchen, my bedroom closet and then still took another 30 minutes to do 30-Day Shred. I have to admit that I made myself do this because of the Hot 100 challenge commitment to working out four days a week. That was the main motivation, and it sure felt good to stick to it and get it done.

My husband said, "I was going to tell you to stop cleaning and sit down, but I thought you looked like you were on a roll." I was. After that workout I was ready for a shower and to settle down for a few minutes before bed. It was a gloriously productive day!! :)

We both agreed that it was wonderful to wake up to a clean house on Sunday. Then I was able to relax a little more between services.

That's the good.

The bad is that I seemed to have the munchies for chocolate, and, um pizza, and ate more than I needed. hhmm... Funny thing is I realized Sunday I hadn't journaled my food for Friday and Saturday and I realized that I wasn't as careful about my food intake when I wasn't writing it down. This is a very interesting topic for another day.

Overall, I find that this is .... life. My life in my weight loss journey.

I have good days, I have not so good days. All in all I don't give up and I keep going. If this weight is going to stay off for good I can only take these kinds of weekends and learn from them. There's no all or nothing - it's making it all work together and pressing forward to see my goals reached.

Weigh-In ... Hot 100 Update #4

Today's Weight: 191.5

Loss/Gain: -4.5 lbs.

Total Loss So Far: -39.5 lbs

Yes, did you see that?!?! I had to rub my eyes, squint and look real close to make sure I had it right. [giggle] I even got off the scale and did it twice. Same number. Yippee!!

I took the lessons learned from last week and got those four pounds off just as quick as they had come on in the first place.

Here's my first gut thoughts... maybe it was stress and lack of water and lack of exercise that brought on the 4-pound gain. However, I think it was also calories. I didn't take into consideration that I wasn't working out as hard in regards to my calorie intake and it showed. Too many calories could be added on top of the other three factors I mentioned, but I think it's the biggest thing to keep in mind that will make the difference between a gain or a loss. Which is why I track my food now, but I digress. On to more important things.

The Hot 100 Challenge..update #4 ..

WEIGHT GOAL: Lose 0.5 - 1.5 lbs a week. For four weeks I should be showing a loss between 2 - 6 lbs so far. Well, my net loss from a starting point of 194.0 lbs is 2.5 lbs, so technically I'm right on track. I don't want to have to see another gain like last week, but I'm pretty happy with this fact. My goal was doable and I'm doing it.

ACTIVITY GOALS:

• Exercise four days a week, no skimping down to three during the holidays. Three down and one scheduled for tomorrow. So, yes.
• Be able to jog at 4.8 mph for 25 minutes. This gives me time for slight warm up and cool down on the treadmill that has a 30-minute limit at the gym. Huge YES on this one. I had a personal record of an 11:55 mile on Monday, and I jogged intervals on the treadmill the other day going no lower than 4.8 mph except for the two-minute break to walk fast while I caught my breath in the middle. Woo Hoo!!!!

FOOD GOALS:

• Drink at least 64 oz of water daily. Yes! Can I tell you that I spent a few evenings drinking it up and in the restroom just to make sure I met this goal, but I did it!! LOL
• Journal all my eats and drinks and stay within my calorie goals daily, with the exception of one high-calorie day that I allow to throw things off a bit. Yes on journaling and six out of seven days I stayed within my calorie range. Again, WOO HOO!

EMOTIONAL GOAL: **I've decided to make my emotional goal the goal of visiting one new blog each week. Connecting with others on this journey is the emotional support I need at this time. I don't have time to visit blogs and focus on the Beck book, so I'm switching it up for the challenge. Okay, I think I visited one, but I'm not sure...so I'm putting this at yellow. I had a crazy, busy week and didn't spend much time on the computer.

HOLIDAY GOAL: Only one or two "foo-foo" coffee drinks from Starbucks the week I am visiting my mom in November. I will stick to regular coffee and cream the rest of the weeks. Done. :)

I told my friend this morning that the thought that went through my head today was, "It's not over till the fat lady sings!", but then I thought....well, it's going to be one skinnier lady in my situation!

Have a great weekend everyone! Thanks again for sticking with me through all the ups and downs.

Hanging in There

Hello!

First off, thank you for all your words of encouragement and wisdom Monday. I appreciate it!

Secondly, this week has been very busy. I haven't blogged or even read blogs since Monday. However...I have been doing fine with my eating and getting in exercise. The week has gone much better than the weekend did. :)

So, I will be back tomorrow with my weigh-in and a better update on how things have been.

It's Not Over

Well, I had a very emotional weekend. That weigh-in on Friday was one more thing to add to lots that's been going on around here. Nothing too drastic, but not always fun none the less.

Finally Sunday morning we had prayer meeting before regular service and I took the time in prayer to really lay my heart out to God on this weight issue. I had been in tears the entire way to church. I was so frustrated with myself.

It wasn't the weight being high that was frustrating. It was the fact that I had fallen back into old habits on Saturday afterwards, and the lack of loss over the week really opened my eyes that I wasn't being as careful as I need to be to lose weight. Whether I wanted to admit it or not there was room for improvement in my week of gain; like learning to adjust calories to the activity level and stick to my plan whether I feel like it or not.

In a nutshell, I was feeling like I'd rather just go back to being the old Leah who decides not to fight, but to stay fat and enjoy not having the pressures of discipline.

But at the same time, as I was praying I felt something deep in me that really doesn't want to quit. By the time I was done praying I know a load of depression and negative thoughts had lifted from my spirit. I went to join my husband minutes before the service and told him, "It's not over yet. I'm going to fight this and I'm going to win."

So, that's it folks. I'm tired of being fat and not having control of my eating habits. More than that I'm tired of being lazy and lacking discipline in other areas of my life also, because really the habits that have lead me to gain weight and stay heavy for years are some of the same issues that cause things to go undone around my house, etc. etc.

There are deeper issues than a smaller dress size at stake here and I refuse to give in and quit. I am ready for change and I know I can do this. With a faith in God that he won't give me any more than I can handle, and the tenacity inside myself to hang on when it's tough, I will reach my goals...both in weight and life.

p.s. I have to tack on that I went jogging this morning at the park and I had a PR in my one mile. I jogged with a buddy, who has a Garmin, and we jogged the first mile in 11:55. This is a minute faster than the last time I tried. I had to walk/jog the rest of the time. It sure felt great to run again...of course, more when it was done than during. LOL It was beautifully cool out, so that was nice too!

Weigh-In ... Hot 100 Update #3

Today's Weight: 196.0

Loss/Gain: +4.0 lbs

Total Loss So Far: -35 lbs

Baffled. Frustrated. Upset. Tearful. Those are the words that explain how I feel this morning.

I was not surprised, because I got on the scale a few days ago and was surprised at what I saw. So, I started watching the scale daily and it crept up another pound. I was very baffled and spent time last night looking over my food journal to see what went wrong. I compared to other weeks. The only huge difference is that I haven't been able to get to the gym in almost two weeks now. I have had "high" days in the past, but it has not ever caused this kind of gain.

So, I'm still very baffled by it. I will be honest that I have so much going on right now that I don't have time to spend crying about it, but it's all I've wanted to do all morning. I know that the belt has needed tightening in certain areas, but when those areas never caused a gain of this magnitude in the past it's very frustrating.

Also, no matter what we say about it only being a number on the scale it is a number that is frustrating when you feel like you've really been making strides in your weight loss journey. If it was just a number then I wouldn't be allowed to rejoice so greatly when I saw 192. So, it does have significance in my journey, but now I have to let it go and get on with my day.

To top off how vexed I am to be up to a number I haven't seen in over a month it's compounded by the fact that I'm in the Hot 100 Challenge. My #1 goal in this challenge is to see weight loss. All my other goals are pillars I want cemented in place to support that goal. Three weeks and a weight that is higher than when I started isn't conducive to feeling very victorious. But I will keep going, because I've come too far to give up.

To keep going I have to post my update, so here goes....

WEIGHT GOAL: Lose 0.5 - 1.5 lbs a week. No. I am now officially higher than when I started.

ACTIVITY GOALS:

• Exercise four days a week, no skimping down to three during the holidays. Two down and two scheduled today and tomorrow, but I won't even put this in yellow because I have two to get done and not just the one.
• Be able to jog at 4.8 mph for 25 minutes. This gives me time for slight warm up and cool down on the treadmill that has a 30-minute limit at the gym. I am going with yellow on this, because I have continued working on strength and getting exercise in but I haven't jogged in two weeks. Schedules at home haven't allowed me to get to the gym.

FOOD GOALS:

• Drink at least 64 oz of water daily. At least half of the week I did, but still not 100% of the days. This is an area of belt tightening I will work on.
• Journal all my eats and drinks and stay within my calorie goals daily, with the exception of one high-calorie day that I allow to throw things off a bit. Yes on journaling everything. However, I was over my daily calorie goal more than my one day. I know many of you are wondering, "Well, just how much, that's probably why the gain.", but before you criticize, please trust me that it's not more than I've done in the past and according to past habits should've only brought a maintain or one pound up .. not 4. Thus the frustration. It doesn't mean that I can't fix it and I was planning on it before I even saw the gain.

EMOTIONAL GOAL: **I've decided to make my emotional goal the goal of visiting one new blog each week. Connecting with others on this journey is the emotional support I need at this time. I don't have time to visit blogs and focus on the Beck book, so I'm switching it up for the challenge. Done. I visited a few different blogs this week. Some are at goal and were encouraging and some are fighting the fight like me.

HOLIDAY GOAL: Only one or two "foo-foo" coffee drinks from Starbucks the week I am visiting my mom in November. I will stick to regular coffee and cream the rest of the weeks. Done. Only regular coffee the one time I went to Starbucks this week.

Well, while I like red and yellow in falling leaves this time of year, I don't plan on sharing those colors every week on this challenge. For now I have to leave my blog and get my mind onto other projects that await me this weekend. I've had a few moments where I allowed myself to cry. I've prayed for guidance on how to handle this and I know God has brought a peace of mind to me. I will remind myself that I need to just keep going, get with the program and remember that God doesn't allow me to go through anything I can't handle.

I will keep going, because I know I've come to far to quit. And if the scale is still up after a great week next week, then I'm buying a new one. :)

Have a nice Friday everyone and have a great weekend! I hope you are all having some nice, autumn weather. We surely are!!

Diabetic Victory

I've asked my mom for her permission to share this good news and she said okay...obviously. :)

*****

Last March I told everyone about how my mom got inspired to start losing weight. At that point she had already lost 45 pounds. Shortly thereafter she was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes.

The numbers were so high the doctor put her on medication right away. As you can imagine, it was very unsettling to someone who has made great strides in her weight loss to find out she has an issue that can be directly related to being overweight. I reminded her that at least she was in the mindset to lose the weight and so learning how to keep working on her health as a diabetic wouldn't be as hard as if she weren't.

So, she starts reading about it, seeing what needs to be done, taking her medication, etc. etc. Then she finds out in April that she has breast cancer, will need a mastectomy and possibly chemotherapy and radiation after that.

When you're faced with something like that you don't care as much about doing anything but surviving the current situation. She took her diabetes medication and kept doing what she was doing to lose weight, but didn't worry too much about it while she was going through surgery, starting chemo, etc.

In July she went for her first three-month checkup and her numbers were looking good. So, the doctor cut her diabetes medication in half. This was awesome for her and great news to hear that something was going right while she was getting through the breast cancer situation.

Last week she went for another three-month visit and her numbers were so good that the doctor has taken her off ALL of her diabetes medication. The doctor also noticed that she'd lost 19 pounds since her July visit and told her to keep doing what she's doing because it's working. It's been six months since she was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and she is back to normal.

To date my mom has lost about 70 pounds this last year. She has been through so much and I'm so proud of her. I also couldn't help but think...isn't this what every doctor wants?

They want to warn us of health issues, tell us what we need to do and then see us actually do it. I know her doctor had to be so happy to see a woman take care of her diabetic issue, and while going through chemotherapy at the same time.

So, today I just have to say:

I'm so proud of you, Mom! You're such a good testimony to me. I can't wait to take your picture in November and show my blogfriends just how good you're doing! Love always, Leah

Monday Meanderings

Just a few random thoughts that went through my head today:

• I had a Boca burger for dinner on a whole wheat bun. If you would've ever told me I'd choose to eat a Boca Burger any time up until a month or so ago I would've laughed in your face. It was yummy tonight!!

• The style for fall/winter this year is BAGGY. Yep, a teacher at my son's school (where I sub) has lost some weight also and her pants are baggy. All of my pants and capris are getting really baggy as well. So, we decided baggy is in this season, because we're trying not to buy new pants until we absolutely have to. May I please remind you this is an awesome feeling for me?!?!?

• Today I was heating up my Weight Watchers frozen meal in the lunchroom and without me even bringing it up a fellow teacher starts talking about eating healthy, losing weight and how she is not in the mood and so is choosing to eat bad right now until she's motivated to lose again. She's not that much overweight by any means, but it cracked me up that she felt obligated to say anything to justify her food just by watching me eat my little lunch. LOL

• The above mentioned teacher also told me she HATES exercise. She said, "I can lose weight when I put my mind to it. It's pretty easy for me, but I'd rather starve myself thin than exercise." I couldn't relate to her one bit. I really do enjoy my workouts, if not exactly in the middle of them, then for sure at the end. I kind of sat speechless, because I really couldn't sympathize with that attitude one bit. Again, may I remind you that is another awesome feeling for me!! [huge grin]

• And, finally, speaking of exercise... When you are looking for a challenge, and you call your friend to ask about that intense workout dvd she downloaded off exercisetv.tv, and she warns you it's going to kick your butt... believe her. I laughed as I started the workout, 10 lb. kettlebell in hand, and told my kids, "I'm off to beat myself up." [dramatic pause] Now, I'm shaking as I type because the workout Rock Hard Body By Jake: Xtreme with Steve Maresca that I finished about 15 minutes ago truly did kick my butt. So much so that I had to lower my weight to two three-pound dumbells held together just to make sure I got good form in. I'm going to be sore tomorrow... Yea!! [grin]

So, g'nite my friends and fellow sojourners in this weight loss journey. I'm off to shower, take some ibuprofen to ward off muscle aches and drift off to sleep reveling in the joy that comes from feeling stronger with every good decision I make that benefits my healthiness journey.

Weigh-In ... Hot 100 Update #2

Today's Weight: 192.0

Loss/Gain: -2.5 lbs

Total Loss So Far: -39.0

I stared at the scale in disbelief this morning as a smile spread across my face. I knew I'd been careful later in the week, but I really wasn't hoping for anything more than half a pound of loss. This is one of those weeks that the body surprises me, but for good. :)

And now for my Hot 100 Challenge update after week two.

WEIGHT GOAL: Lose 0.5 - 1.5 lbs a week. Yes! I lost 2.5 lbs this week and that brings me to two pounds (net) lost so far on the challenge. Doing the happy dance! :)

ACTIVITY GOALS:

• Exercise four days a week, no skimping down to three during the holidays. Three done and one scheduled for this evening. Even told hubby last night of this goal as we were talking about me "taking it to the next level" in my weight loss. :)
• Be able to jog at 4.8 mph for 25 minutes. This gives me time for slight warm up and cool down on the treadmill that has a 30-minute limit at the gym. Working towards this. I haven't jogged this week for workouts, but I have worked out good. Also told hubby of this goal.

FOOD GOALS:

• Drink at least 64 oz of water daily. oops. Um, not even half of the days, so I think I have to give myself a red mark for this one. Getting it in, but not every day.
• Journal all my eats and drinks and stay within my calorie goals daily, with the exception of one high-calorie day that I allow to throw things off a bit. This also has to stay yellow as I looked over my calories for the week and realized I was only within my budget four out of seven days.

EMOTIONAL GOAL: **I've decided to make my emotional goal the goal of visiting one new blog each week. Connecting with others on this journey is the emotional support I need at this time. I don't have time to visit blogs and focus on the Beck book, so I'm switching it up for the challenge. Done. This week I visited a fellow Sooner's blog: Dr. Fatty Finds Fitness.

HOLIDAY GOAL: Only one or two "foo-foo" coffee drinks from Starbucks the week I am visiting my mom in November. I will stick to regular coffee and cream the rest of the weeks. Done. Only regular coffee all week. :)

I hope you have a great Friday. I am subbing again today, but I love to sub on Fridays. It's almost not fair, because I get to enjoy that "last day of the work week" feeling and I haven't been there all week. [grin]

This week...

I've been having to read this reminder card a lot this week. Apparently I haven't come back so easily from having treats over the weekend. Now I know why Dr. Beck has us write out these reminders. She knows we'll need them. This one is on the side of the fridge where I can see it often.

Also, I'm glad I didn't throw out any of my workout DVDs when I started going to the gym. I've been busy this week and have been grateful for workout DVDs to get in a workout without spending transit time to get to and from a gym.

Have a great day everyone! It's been a blogging week for me, hasn't it? :)

Fair Food

My husband and I went to a state fair last weekend and I was impressed to find a salad amongst the fried everything being offered. It was a very good greek salad with light cheese and dressing.

I'd like to impress you and tell you that I ate this healthy all day, but I enjoyed a sandwich and two treats during the day before heading home, one shared with hubby and one small blizzard all to myself. (They don't have DQ here in Oklahoma, so I really wanted one.)

I can say that the smell of fried stuff wasn't any more appealing than this yummy greek salad on that warm, sunny day. So, kudos to the people of greek food at the fair!!!

Oh, and I also overheard this comment while waiting in line later, "Apples? Who comes to the fair to buy an apple?" The young lady had a "DUH!!" attitude, and I wanted to tell her that I was impressed they were offering something healthy for those that don't care to have a "treat" just because they are at the fair. Of course, since we were ordering philly cheese steaks and I'm overweight, I decided it was best to leave that comment alone. I only ate healthy for one of my two meals at the fair, so I obviously didn't completely fall into the "buying an apple" group. LOL :)

***

Extra little shot of hubby and me at fair and getting ready to go into the game, inside the fair. This is my little boost for University of Oklahoma -- GO OU!!! And yes, we beat Texas this year and drove home in an aura of proud contentedness. Of course, the blizzard added to the content feelings for me, but I'm probably not supposed to say things like that on my weight loss blog am I? oh well... It's true. [giggle]

End Results

Today I did some garden work in the front of my house. I put some pansies and flowering cabbage in my whiskey barrel and a little pot next to it and then I started in on the little area in front of the porch. As I was taking a picture of my work to show my mom (yes, I send pictures of my garden to my parents. [grin]) it hit me...

I planted those red mums a year ago and look how they've grown. They took root, stayed healthy and are close to crowding out the orange mums completely.

They are like any small choice or decision I have made since the beginning of my weight loss journey. They started small and in their own time were good enough, but day by day they have grown into bigger ambitions and capabilities.

The little lonely looking fellow on the right is the new mum I planted today. It's kind of pathetic looking (and I'll actually be separating and spreading the mum wealth to fill in, but for my post today stay with me on this...) but I have to remember that in another year, with good care, it has the potential to become as big as one of those red mums.

Again folks I was reminded that the baby steps we make and solidify in our weight loss journeys will become bigger, more concrete parts of our lives if we'll take care of them and encourage growth in the proper areas.

Every decision to drink that water, skip the treat that doesn't fall within our plan for the moment, stay within calories, points or portions each day, etc. etc. will lead to success in the future.

And while small changes may not look like much at the beginning, the end result will be grand and oh so worth it!

Mud splattered face shot just for fun!!

Poster Reminders

I worked today and saw one of my favorite posters in the teacher's classroom. I decided to post about it for my own benefit and for those of you starting out on your weight loss journeys and commenting that you feel like you'll never get it right.

My weight loss interpretation of this poster is this...Those that have reached their weight loss goals had to start somewhere.

So, hang in there, take it a day at at time and have a great week everyone! We will reach our goals and become the "experts" at weight control that we may dream about becoming. Just ....

I know I won't. :)