Article - The 10% Solution

I received this article in my email today from SparkPeople.com. I thought it was very good and I hope you can find something useful out of it also.

To read "The 10% Solution" click here.

Updated Progress Pics - 8 Months

I finally took an updated picture for my Weight Loss Progression Album. You can see the difference below or look at the entire album by clicking here.

May 2009: 231.0---------Today: 206.0

Though I've only lost three pounds since October I can see and feel the difference that upping my fitness level has made just this last month.

Now I look forward to seeing more consistent losses and leanness in the coming months.

Remember, as my mom told me once, "Little by little, we whittle and whittle!" :)

Perfect 10 - Update #4

Here's another update for the Perfect 10 Challenge, brought to you by Steve over at Log My Loss.

My Perfect 10 Goals Are:

1. Complete the Couch to 5K program. Yes - I did 2 out of 3 days of week 4. Due to weather conditions I haven't been able to get to the gym Thursday or today. If roads are better on Saturday I will try and go finish day 3 of this week. I have done cardio between every day of running, so I feel pleased with where I'm at. Since I did a workout at home today and managed to workout 5 out of 7 days this past week I decided it was okay to use green for this one.
   


2. Drink 6-8, 8 oz. glasses of water daily. Kind of - I know I didn't get enough in last weekend. I'm hoping with my new water bottle I'll remember to carry it around in the car and drink more when we're out and about.
   


3. Adjust my eating to see weight loss. Yes - I saw a 1.0 pound loss this week! You can read my post from earlier today if you want to read more about what I'm doing. :)
   

As for the little tidbit on me....

I love old radio shows! Mysteries and dramas are my favorite shows to listen to, but I love the comedies and radio theatre as well. I grew up listening to them and when I found them for free audio streaming online years ago I was a very happy girl!

I listen to them when I'm cleaning, making meals, working playing on the computer, etc. etc. Our main computer is hooked up through our Bose stereo speakers, so I can listen to them via a podcast or online and hear them come out of the stereo likes it's live radio. It's great!

Weigh-In ... Intuitive Eating Works

Today's Weight: 206.0

Loss/Gain: -1.0 lb.

Total Loss So Far: -25 lbs

I feel good about losing the pound I gained last week. I'm still very thrilled that the numbers "209 & 210" haven't shown back up on the scale. It makes me feel like I really am down and not just in a valley of fluctuation with another mountain to come again.

Back in December I read a book called Intuitive Eating and it has become the way I am learning to eat to lose weight and be healthier.

Wikipedia defines intuitive eating as "a nutrition philosophy based on the premise that becoming more attuned to the body's natural hunger signals is a more effective way to attain a healthy weight; rather than keeping track of the amounts of energy and fats in foods or satiety levels. It's a process that is intended to create a healthy relationship with food, mind, and body. Intuitive Eating, just like the many books available today, goes by many names, including non-dieting or the non-diet approach, normal eating, wisdom eating, conscious eating and more."

That sums up best what I am working through to see my weight come off. It's not easy, but I'm learning to listen to my body and only feed it when it's hungry and then stop when it says it's had enough.

There are very good pointers in this book of how to deal with certain attitudes towards food and it even has chapters on making sure you get a balanced diet and learning to love exercise. It gives tips on eating when you're just a tad hungry (but you know it will be a long while before you have another meal) so that you don't get to a point of starvation and then overeat when food is available.

While I'm finding this whole concept to be a good fit for me there is a little bit of fear involved. To just listen to my body takes some trusting of myself and that can be scary. Plus, there's no guarantee to "lose 10 pounds by _____". However, I keep plugging along and the weight is going down again.

It's funny that along this process I'm also learning to eat only the foods I love and that make me feel the best, and some times that is a nice yummy salad or a piece of fruit. Amazing.

Thanks for enduring my long post, but I thought it might be time to update what I'm working on, what "plan" if you will, to help me reach my weight loss goals.

Have a great Friday!

Wintry Day

Well, we have a storm coming in, all schools were cancelled and I've been in the house all day. No going to the gym today with the icy roads and such, but I've just been careful to only eat when I'm hungry and not mindlessly munch. Somehow that was easier to do today than in the past and I'm grateful.

As I was working on a small receiving blanket by hand I decided to have my water bottle on hand instead of coffee. It was early in the day for another cup and I knew it would get cold while my hands were busy anyway.

However, I now have some coffee brewing to sip on while I read blogs and maybe go back to reading my book for a bit. This is my first day of rest from working out and I'll probably leave it like that. I might still go play on the Wii Fit later, but we'll see....I'm enjoying this lazy day immensely with my family all home.

One Of My Very Own

Okay, I'm a sucker....seriously. I love water bottles with straws versus an open lid. Since Oklahoma has such wonderful water I have no problem drinking water from the tap here. However, I only have one 32-oz insulated water cup that uses a straw. It's great for keeping around the house, but not for taking on the go as it doesn't fit into a drink holder.

I've been eyeing people's water bottles at the gym and in blogs and finally decided to get myself a new one. I chose to try the new Camelbak Better Bottle water bottle.

So far I love how it fits so easily in my hand as well as the drink holder in my car. I'm still getting a little used to having to bite the nozzle and then suck the water out, but I must've done okay because I drank two of them full yesterday. It holds 24 ounces.

My kids all think it's cool and I might just invest in one for each of them as the sports seasons go on and the weather warms up (okay looking waaaay into the future here). At $11 a bottle I wasn't about to go out and buy them each one right now. My son is a straw biter, so the girls think this would be great for him especially. We'll see...

Oh, did I mention the parts are all dishwasher safe? That's a selling point with me for sure! :)

Fitness Mind

You know you're becoming a gym rat, or fitness/health minded, when you see a weather report showing a major winter storm coming and the first thing you think is, "Am I going to be able to get to the gym? I should make sure I plan how I'll work out if I can't go out."

That was me today as I watched the news and did the elliptical machine. I shocked myself by thinking that and then laughed. It's a nice change of thought.

Afterwards I also thought about how I can plan with groceries, cleaning supplies, batteries, firewood, etc. in case it gets bad. These ice storms can close down schools here and make the roads just awful, so I'll need to be prepared to not have to go out unless it's absolutely necessary.

But, mark it down, I will also make sure I'm prepared to workout from home if it's necessary. :)

I Got Another One!

Syl from Live, Smile, Run was so kind to share a blog award with me. So, I shall accept it and try and share another seven random things about myself. :)

1. I love the cottage style of decorating, and my dream house would be decorated like something out of Cottage Living...with lots of white.
2. Flowers of any kind bring a smile to my face.
3. I have lived in six states in my lifetime.
4. I love musicals!
5. We bought a mac computer almost two years ago and I love it!
6. I enjoy scrapbooking and now digital scrapbooking as well.
7. I've become addicted to blogging and reading blogs.

The Ambition Shadow

As I was cleaning out my wallet the other day I came across a fortune I had saved from a fortune cookie once. It read:

"Do not let ambitions overshadow small success."

I felt it was a perfect response to my emotional moment the other day.

I have an ambition to reach my healthy weight, but if I'm not careful I can let that ambition and final goal overshadow and cast darkness on the small successes along the way. It's easy to look at the calendar and think how far I could've already been in my weight loss journey if I had gotten either my exercise or my eating in better order earlier on.

But wait.

What if I hadn't done anything at all? What if seeing 232 pounds on the scale last April would've saddened me, but I never did anything about it. What if hiding myself on purpose behind my kids in a photo wouldn't have embarrassed me enough to start doing something about my weight?

I wouldn't be where I am today.

• Noticing when I eat too much and learning why so I can change.
• Eating smaller portions.
• Choosing fruit to go along with meals.
• Drinking water throughout the day instead of soda or iced tea.
• Caring whether non-dairy powdered creamer has more or less calories than half-n-half.
• On week four of the Couch to 5K program and thinking how easy it is becoming for me to jog at 4.0 mph.
• Oh, and 24 pounds lighter. :)

No, at eight months into my weight loss journey I'm not even halfway to my goal of 140 pounds,heck I haven't even broken 200 pounds yet, but I have persevered and made many small successes along the way. I will not let the ambition to reach my goal weight steal the joy that each small victory has afforded me.

Tired, But Glad

This morning I went to the gym...at 8:00 am. In my opinion, that is too early to be going to the gym on a Saturday morning (especially after working a full week and being busy all but one night), but I did it. As I lugged myself out of bed I reminded myself that I was going to be glad I did it later.

I had to go early because my husband needed to go to the school for a while today and we had plans all afternoon and early evening. So, it was either go early for some good cardio or not go at all today.

As I was on the elliptical, being amazed that other people go out at that hour just to exercise, I remembered that Diane at Fit to the Finish gets up to walk even earlier on Saturdays as well. Whew. I don't normally sleep in really late, but I enjoy sleeping in until around 8:30 or so on Saturdays and having my coffee at a leisurely pace.

Of course, when I was done I was glad I went. :o) I'm still glad I went. And if I had to do it again, I would.

Because I know I'd be glad I did it when it was all over with. :)

Emotional Moment

Thinking late at night can be detrimental to my mental health because I tend to vex on things that really aren't important, or not as important as I make them out to be.

I've lost 24 pounds in the last eight months. I am very proud of this and even more proud that I'm losing inches along with it due to my recent increase in exercise.

However, after catching up on my weight loss blog reading this evening I began to think...

This is only 3 pounds a month, which is approximately 0.75 pounds a week.

I'm a little upset by this slow progress, but I think I'm more upset when I see that so many people just stuck to their diets and got it done. They decided to do it, did it and reached their goals in a year or just over.

In May of last year I decided that I wasn't going to start a diet to lose weight. I was going to make small changes to better my health with the final goal in mind of buying a nice dress for my husband's dental school graduation in May 2011 coming from a regular sizes department versus a plus sizes department.

Along the way I've made small, good changes in my eating and really upped my exercise level, but I'm still seeing so many of the bad habits with my eating. I do good for a couple of days and then I do fine. Or I eat fine at meals and then catch myself munching. *sigh* This bothers me, but I know it's no one's fault but my own.

It is something I need to work on, because, honestly...I'm tired of posting my weigh-ins and seeing them go up and down every week. Well, actually I'm only kind of tired of it. I don't mind what I see on the scale as long as it's not a huge gain. I think it's when I compare myself to others and their weight loss journeys that I begin to get upset.

I guess if it bothers me that much I just need to get tired of it enough to be consistent (like I posted here months ago) and stick to making better choices all of the time.

Meanwhile, I'll try not to let it get me down and instead I'll just keep staying active and work on the eating less part. I know this is the comparison demon that is not a good thing at times, so I will publish this post and then let it go.

Good night and thanks for allowing me this emotional moment.

Happy 101 Blog Award

I was kindly given the Happy 101 blog award by Gina at Fit by 41, Maybe 42. She is too kind! :)

My understanding is I'm supposed to list ten things that make me happy and then try to do at least one of them today. Then I am to pass this award on to 10 other people and their blogs.

Ten things that make me happy are:

1. Serving Jesus with all of my heart. The road of life is not always smooth, but my Savior is always faithful, merciful and gracious to guide me every step of the way. I'll never regret giving my life to Him.
2. Being a wife and mother. It was a my dream as a little girl to get married and have children. I've been living my dream for the past fourteen and twelve years respectively.
3. A good cup of coffee. I start my day out with a good cup of coffee to sip while I read my Bible. The best part of waking up is Starbucks or Seattle's Best in my cup! :)
4. Smiles. I love to smile and I love it even more when someone smiles back.
5. Girlfriends. There is nothing like a good long talk with a dear friend to brighten any day or situation. And girlfriend getaways have been some of the most fun I've ever had.
6. Giving. I get great joy out of putting together little packages for people for special occasions or no occasion at all.
7. Mary Engelbreit's art. I've loved her art since high school and can always find a reason to buy some new notecards or notepads with her work on it.
8. A clean house. I can rest and enjoy a day or a nice evening after I've just done my weekly cleaning. It's like everything has a fresh start for the coming week.
9. Happy endings. I know sad endings are a reality in life, but I must admit I love a good chick flick or book with clean romance and a happy ending. Enter Karen Kingsbury or Jeanette Oke or Beverly Lewis.
10. Finishing a tough workout. Being that this is a weight loss blog I shall end with the fact that I have recently begun finding great joy in finishing a good workout, or a day of the Couch to 5K program. It means I'm making progress and doing something good for my body instead of ignoring it. :)

Now, I'm supposed to pass this on to other bloggers. I'm going to pass it on to just a few people that are new followers and commentors on my blog.

Gina at Fit at 41, Maybe 42 - Back at you! I think being from Arizona links us, even though neither of us lives there now.

Lori at Finding Radiance - I've found great encouragement and great food ideas on her blog.

Syl at Live, Smile, Run - I started following her blog as I got interested in running. She's a 5' 4" blonde (like me) who looks great after losing 80 pounds and I hope to look that great some day also. :)

Tricia at Endurance Isn't Only Physical - I also came across her blog when I got interested in running. Seeing that she couldn't run at all a year ago and is now preparing for a half marathon is impressive. This is also because of the weight she has lost this past year. Very inspiring.

Staci at Weight Loss Mama - She always stops by with a kind, supportive word and is doing well in her weight loss journey as well.

Diane at Fit to the Finish - I could and probably will forward any award I give to her. She has been very patient with me in my weight loss journey and encouraged me every step of the way. Diane, no pressure to do this, I just had to say it one more time.

That's it for today folks. Now for me to go and catch up on all of your blogs! :)

Perfect 10 Update #3

Here's another update for the Perfect 10 Challenge.

My Perfect 10 Goals Are:

1. Complete the Couch to 5K program. YES - I finished week 3 last night. I'm having a bit of an issue with shin splits, but nothing serious.
2. Drink 6-8, 8 oz. glasses of water daily. No - I had three days for sure that I didn't get at least six 8-oz glasses of water in, maybe even four. Back to normal yesterday and today though.
3. Adjust my eating to see weight loss. No - I saw a 1.0 gain and I know why. After a large unexpected loss I was for sure I'd see a gain, but then I had a few days where the eating wasn't that great - always eating beyond full, so I know that's the issue. I just have to stop eating beyond full and when I'm not hungry.

I'm not giving up and continue to look for progress in the future.

As for the little tidbit on me....

Since I mentioned it this week, I'll expound. I'm a substitute teacher. I do not have a teaching degree, but here in our district you don't have to have anything beyond a high school graduation and a clean record to sub. Yes, it's strange, but you are also only allowed to sub for a teacher 70 days out of the school year when you don't have a degree (as many days as you want for a class aide). So, it works perfect for me, because I only sub at my children's school part time.I sub in all elementary grades, music, art, P.E. and special ed.

I was a teacher's aide in a special education classroom with very low functioning children for a year before moving out here, and I did daycare for a few years when my children were much younger. I've also taught Sunday school for about eight years. So, I do have some experience working with kids and I really enjoy it.

If I had gone to college I would've gone to either be a teacher or an accountant. Since I have to work right now I love that I have found such a perfect job for me. I love it!

Weigh-In ... Not Too Upset

Today's Weight: 207.0

Loss/Gain: +1.0 lb.

Total Loss So Far: -24.0 lbs.

Well, yes, I'm up a pound. I should be really bummed, but I'm really not. After that large unexpected loss last week I was expecting a maintain or possibly a gain unless I was really "good" with my eating.

And I wasn't really good.

So, I have to say that I'm still a bit excited because I'm below 209, which was my stuck point for so many weeks. I would go up and then down to that weight for a while.

I do plan on doing better with my eating this week so as to see a loss next week.

Improvement

My week has been very busy, but that's good. :) The eating has been okay, but the water is horrible. Hmm.... I haven't been getting it in at school like I thought I would. Teaching PE I'm not at a desk where my water is sitting in front of me most of the day. I'm going to have to make myself remember to drink it. I have been getting my exercise in and that is good.

I want to share a great quote I came across last week on Run the Planet under their beginners section. Since my weight loss journey is a much slower one than some I took great encouragement in this thought.

"Improvement is defined as being closer to where you want to be than you are right now."

I am closer to where I want to be than I was a year ago and even a few months ago, so I guess I've shown some improvement. I will continue to strive to see more improvement in my health and fitness as the days and weeks go on.

Have a great day everyone!

My Original Inspiration

Today I'm using my old computer to post to the blog while the family use the other one. On this computer I came across my old "favorites" and found some Weight Watchers websites I used to follow to encourage myself in my diet a couple two or three years ago. Two of the three sites I had bookmarked are still near their goals - one under and one only 12 pounds over, but still keeping track of it. This was encouraging to me.

On of those sites was A Woman's Right to Lose and I noticed that she has gone beyond her original goal and is now working towards a personal best in weight loss. This is the site where I found my original inspirational quote for this blog and my own weight loss journey. You can see her success by clicking here.

Once again I'm inspired to keep working towards my weight loss goals and know that I can maintain that loss for the rest of my life ... er...I mean, for the rest of my new ending. :)

I Take It Back

Saturday I didn't have time to go to the gym. We were out and about and then I had things to take care of at my house. So, in the evening I thought I'd give my new Wii game "The Biggest Loser" a try and see if I could get some kind of a workout done. I wasn't expecting much, but I figured something was better than nothing.

I did the "easy" one first for about 28 minutes. Okay, I was sweaty and it worked me a bit. Then I tried the middle level "challenging" for around 20 minutes.

It kicked my butt.

I didn't realize that jumping rope in place or doing jumping jacks was so hard still. Whew!

So, I take back everything I thought about how that workout wasn't going to do it for me. I was sweating just like I do when I jog.

Amazing.

I also tried just the Wii Fit Plus and it can get the heart rate up as well.

Now I know I truly can do the Wii at home on days I just can't get over to the gym. Yay!

Oh, and I didn't use shoes for the easy workout, but I did for the harder one. I don't like exercising without shoes.

Anyone have hints on whether you use shoes or not when working out with the Wii?

The Icing on the Cake

Sorry, but I couldn't find a better title for this post.... :)

To top of my successful week of the Perfect 10 challenge and my weight loss on the scale this morning I had a wonderful experience at the gym after school.

I decided since my C25K was done for the week I would see where my speed was at for running a mile.

Long story short is I ran a mile in 13:20, which is almost three full minutes faster than the last time I tried to run a full mile a month ago.

I set the pace at 4.5 mph on the treadmill and ran at that pace for a full mile. I wouldn't let myself slow down.

I knew I wasn't going to die, but the last two minutes were SO HARD. I ended up walking briskly to complete two miles and I was so proud of myself. Inside I was doing the happy dance!!!!

In fact, I think my husband is tired of me reminding him that I jogged a mile in about 13 and a half minutes - and 3 minutes faster than a month ago. LOL !!! Woo Hoo!!

Okay, I need to get ready for bed and rest these tired legs, but I just had to share that with everyone. It made for a very happy day for me. I feel so strong and capable. Yay!!

Weigh-In ... Cautiously Excited

Today's Weight: 206.0

Loss/Gain: -4.5 lbs

Total Loss So Far: -25. lbs

I just giggled when I saw that number because I was pretty sure the M&Ms I had yesterday afternoon were going to blow the weigh-in for me. I was desperately trying not to worry about it last night, but was having a very hard time. I knew I had worked out steadily this week, drank my water, etc., but I was still very nervous.

I am cautiously enjoying this loss, because I know I've gone down a lot in the past before only to see a slight gain or maintain the week after. Who knows? Maybe I'm breaking the cycle and will finally see regular losses again. I'm definitely going to to keep trying for that.

Oh, and this loss means I've finally lost my 10% of body weight - just skipped right over it in fact! That is exciting too...now to keep it off forever!

Have a great Friday everyone! I have to rush myself off to get ready for work now...

Perfect 10 Update #2

Here's another update for the Perfect 10 Challenge.

My Perfect 10 Goals Are:

1. Complete the Couch to 5K program. YES - I finished week 2 yesterday! Go me! I'm excited about how this is going, even though there was a day I didn't want to jog. I felt better once I just did it.
2. Drink 6-8, 8 oz. glasses of water daily. Yes - At least 6, usually 8 every day!
3. Adjust my eating to see weight loss. Yes - Now, I was going to put this in yellow, because I had a few times this week that I know I ate beyond full or when I wasn't really hungry. However, with such a nice loss showing up I guess I should take it and enjoy it, right?

So, I guess green is the color this week for my goals. Let's see if I can make it stay this way. :)

As for the little tidbit on me....

I speak Spanish fluently, but I am of English, German, Irish and Scotch descent. I took Spanish from eighth grade through my junior year of high school and then was a T/A in a Spanish one class half of my senior year.

I first heard the language as a little girl with some Puerto Rican friends I had then and fell in love. Then I saw West Side Story when I was about thirteen years old and fell in love some more with the language.

To top it off...I fell in love and married a handsome mexican young man, who was impressed I could pronounce his name correctly. So, now I have a spanish last name, but I'm white as white can be. :)

Compliments and Goals

Yesterday I had these nice brown, khaki style, pants on for work. I wore them to church last night also because I had nursery duty for the service. Well, I received four, yes FOUR, compliments on my figure along the lines of "Are you still losing weight?" and "What are you doing? Because you are looking good."

Since my scale hasn't really moved in the last couple of weeks, but I have been working out harder and more steadily, I was greatly thrilled and encouraged by these nice words. I also decided that I should wear those pants more often!!! :o)

Now on to another goal of mine....

As I walk/jog on the track up around the gym at the church I pass quite a few couples walking. They are older couples, some maybe in their 50s, but more are probably in their 60s and even 70s. Some are going slower than others, but they all continue round and round steadily getting in their exercise staying right next to each other. Every time I'm coming up behind one of these couples I think to myself, "That's what I want to be when I'm their age - healthy and going for regular walks with my husband."

Should Jesus tarry, and we're given the blessing to grow old together, I believe it's another goal I can reach.

If you like giveaways...

....and reading, then hop on over to Lori's site Finding Radiance here and see about a book she's giving away.

I find Lori very encouraging, because she kept plugging away at her weight loss journey even when she felt like she had failed. She continues to be very inspiring as she maintains and continues working towards being healthier and more fit.

Back to Real Life

Well, my week suddenly got busy. :) I was originally scheduled to work only Wednesday, but got calls for subbing today and again on Friday. So...this means that I have to figure out when I'm going to work out, on top of all my other mommy duties.

And I did.

I was going to go ahead and do a Wii workout or DVD here at home tonight, while hubby took daughter to her basketball practice. But my husband encouraged me to go ahead on over to the gym after dinner while he took all the kids to the practice.

Such a great guy!! So, I got my workout in and we've planned how I'll get it in the rest of the week too.

This is real life and I'm glad we're still making it all work. :)

Painful Feet

Friday at the gym I was chatting with an elderly man while doing the weight machines. This was after doing my walk/jog intervals upstairs on the inside track. The end of our conversation went something like this:

Gentleman: Yea, so I saw these three ladies up there the other day walking with a bag of peanut M&Ms in their hand! Said they use them to keep track of how many laps they do.

Me: Really?!? (grinning and shaking my head)

Gentleman: Yep. Every time they finish a lap they eat one. (pause) Now wouldn't that be like shooting yourself in the foot?? I mean, gosh, you could eat one banana and still have to come in here for 30 minutes to burn off those calories.

Me: Yes, sir, you're right. (still somewhat grinning, but feeling so convicted...)

We exchanged a few more pleasantries and then he went on his way. Meanwhile, I was left thinking on this....ALL WEEKEND.

Let's just say, both of my feet hurt, because I've shot myself in the foot so many times just like he said. Oh, I would NEVER take candy to the gym with me, but I've had my share of self-inflicted shooting going on.

Yes, I've had my victories this past seven months, and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, but my feet do hurt figuratively speaking. And the only way to help them to "heal" is to stop shooting myself in the foot. I am going to run a 5K this year, but I know I don't want to do it at 210 pounds.

So, here's a new goal: Leah, stop shooting yourself in the foot.

Perfect 10 Update #1

It's time for my first update for the Perfect 10 Challenge.

My Perfect 10 Goals Are:

1. Complete the Couch to 5K program. YES - I finished week 1 this morning!!! As I ran today I kept wondering how the heck I'm ever going to run 3 miles consecutively. Then I reminded myself to just take it a day at a time, a week at a time.
2. Drink 6-8, 8 oz. glasses of water daily. Kind of - I drank at least 6 glasses everyday but yesterday.
3. Adjust my eating to see weight loss. No - I saw a 1.5 lb. gain this week. However, my husband thinks that along with the overeating this past weekend and the effects of TOM it could just be my muscles getting a bit stronger because I went to the gym for 30-40 minutes of cardio and then weights all five days this week.

So, there's my very colorful first update on the goals.

As for the little tidbit on me....

I love to handwrite letters and have ever since I was a little girl. I wrote my first regular letters when I was five years old and my best friend at the time moved to the Philippines with her family to be missionaries. Ever since then I've had a love for writing letters and writing in general.

Now, I do love email, texting, instant messaging, Skype and blogging, but there is still nothing as touching or beautiful as a handwritten note to me. Opening the mailbox to find a handwritten note...well, that just touches me to the core. So, personally I'm praying the USPS never goes out of business, because I plan on using it forever. :)

Weigh-In ... The Price

Today's Weight: 210.5

Loss/Gain: +1.5

Total Loss So Far: -20.5

Well, last weekend I decided to allow myself to just eat whatever I wanted knowing in the back of my mind I was going to buckle down on Monday when I got back to the gym. Boy did I kind of go crazy. Lordy! I even surprised myself because I ate fine on New Year's Eve despite tons of food offered at a potluck and at my girls' birthday earlier that same day.

When TOM arrived on Monday right along with my first day of "buckling down" I realized why I sort of lost control on the weekend. That darn PMS munching, chocolate craving, soda craving, etc. etc..

(My apologies to the men reading this...)

Needless to say, I have paid the price for it on this weigh-in. I did much better all week with my eating and am in fact down today from what I weighed Monday by, well let's just say, more than a pound or two. However, I wasn't able to get away with the mindless eating/snacking entirely.

I can honestly say I haven't done that in months, so I'm only glad the price wasn't far higher than 1.5 pounds. Actually I have worked out every day this week and so that was probably my saving grace.

There will be no "letting it go" this weekend and hopefully not for a long, long while.

Coffee Joy

I am a coffee drinker and I always have my morning coffee, strong with creamer and sweetner...you need to know this to know why I'm so excited about what I discovered this week. :)

The other day I bought some half-n-half for a soup recipe. I decided to compare the calories in it with my non-fat, non-dairy powdered creamer that I usually use in my coffee. I was surprised to find out that for 2 Tbsp. of creamer the half-n-half had 20 calories LESS.

That's right. While the non-dairy, non-fat powdered creamer is 60 calories for 2 Tbsp., the half-n-half is only 40 calories.

So I switched over to the half-n-half. I mean, goodness it's real milk and it's less calories. I'm still getting used to the flavor, but it's fine. I usually drink Starbucks or Seattle's Best coffee at home and so with the half-n-half I feel like I'm sipping a drink right from the cafe. :)

Oh, and in case you're wondering why I don't switch down to non-fat milk or going black....

Well, I've already gone from using 3-4 Tbsp. of the powdered creamer down to making it a tad not-so-strong and limiting myself to 2 Tbsp.

I only drink about 2 cups a day, unless I'm really cold and not feeling like hot tea (which I also like). Those 80 calories are so worth it to me, and even more now since they're not the approximately 180 calories a day I was drinking before. :)

Not Be Weary

I am using the Christian Indie Broadcast for my C25K program and so the music I "run" to is mostly Christian. I have to be honest that it's not really motivating in the upbeat, workout music way; however, the lyrics to the songs can be very perfect motivation for running and meeting goals.

Take today for example. One of the songs was titleed something like "Run" and in the chorus they stated the portion of scripture:

"I will run and not grow weary, I will walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31b)

I was almost in tears, claiming that as my own every time it was repeated in the song. Little by little I will get stronger and someday I will run and not grow weary....for 3.1 miles - my first 5K. :)

Only 18 Days

The other day on the radio I heard an radio personality say that while many people are beginning new, healthier lifestyles right now to fulfill the age-old resolution to lose weight most of them will have stopped their diets after only eighteen days. That's not even three full weeks.

Isn't that sad?

As I listened to that I was relieved that I was not just beginning my weight loss journey. Hearing that the majority of people will most likely quit in just under three weeks would not be very encouraging if I was just starting out, yet I'm sure most of us can agree that it's probably very true.

Thankfully, I know it's not always the case and I'd like to wish the best to all those beginning a new weight loss journey. I hope that they (or you, if you're there now) can find it within themselves to not quit this time and to prove to the world that the changes they are making in their health can last more than a mere eighteen days.

p.s. If you don't believe me, click on some of the "Followers" links to the right..they have some amazing stories to tell about their weight loss journeys. :)

Day One and Motivation

Well, I finished the first day of the Couch to 5K program this morning. Woo Hoo! The gym on base doesn't have an inside track, so I will continue going to the little church gym three days a week so I can stay on track (pun intended..grin.) with my running program.

I'm amazed how when I start out the jogging it seems very tough, but when I'm done it wasn't so bad after all. :) I did 20 minutes on the elliptical after that and then the weight machines. It felt so good to workout again, to sweat and to know that I'm capable of it all. Glory!!

I'm not going to bore you with my daily workouts, but I just had to put out my "official" beginning to the C25K program. Woo Hoo!

Finally, I have to share this little funny I heard at church yesterday:

"Motivation doesn't last - neither does bathing.

That's why we have to recommend it daily."

The Gym on Base

My husband was in the Navy when we were married. He's now back in and his job is to finish dental school so he can go back into the military as a dentist. I finally got a military ID again (after eleven years) last June, but I haven't even started to really utilize the facilities on the base even though I now have full access to all of them.

Partly that's because I always felt we lived too far from the base. In reality it's only about 15 minutes away, just in the opposite direction of where we live and shop most of the time.

That changed today.

Today I met my military-wife friend and we went to workout at the gym on the base. She goes there regularly and has been telling me for months to use the gym on base too if I want to workout. (It is free after all...) OMGosh...it's HUGE! Okay, not huge, but very large compared to the little free one at the church nearer my house.

We had a great time chatting and getting our workouts in. I didn't push myself too hard on the cardio machines because I was getting used to them.

It's funny, I was thinking about asking for a gym membership for Christmas, but I know it's not in our budget. Here I got a Christmas wish, and it was right under my nose all the time. I am looking forward to making many more trips to that gym in the future.

Weigh-In ... Belated Weigh-In

Friday's Weight: 209.0

Loss/Gain: -2.0 lbs.

Total Loss So Far: -22.0 lbs

I don't plan on seeing 209.0 for much longer, I'll tell you that much. I was down a little more on Thursday, but didn't want to post it since my technical weigh-in day is Friday. Eating dinner at 9:00 pm New Year's Eve didn't help my weigh-in I'm sure.

It's okay though. I know it's not staying here forever and I'm just glad that a week with fasting in it didn't show a gain. :)

I handled our New Year's Eve get together rather well. There was a ton of food, but I just chose a little bit of what really sounded good to me and ate that. I never felt stuffed and did not keep going back for more and more.

Yesterday was a little different, but the nachos were just sounding so good last night while we played cards. The yellow, goopy, fake cheese wasn't doing well in my stomach, so I think I've had my fill of that for a while. blech...

So, there it is. I had forgotten to post it yesterday with all the relaxing goings on in our home, but now I have another weigh-in posted.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's and I will check back with you on Monday!

A New Challenge For A New Year

Steve at Log My Loss has started a new challenge for the first ten weeks of 2010. I decided to join it as it will give me a good jump start on my running program and hopefully help me reach some eating goals that I've let fall to the side.

Basically you set a goal for yourself and then update each week. On your updates you will also share one random tidbit about yourself. Read all about it here.

My Perfect 10 Goals Are:

1. Complete the Couch to 5K program.
2. Drink 6-8, 8 oz. glasses of water daily.
3. Adjust my eating to see weight loss.

That does it for me. If you check back weekly you'll see how I'm doing and you'll learn some (hopefully) fun new fact about me. :) I'll be posting my updates on Fridays just after posting my weigh-ins.

My 2010

I've never been one for New Year's resolutions, not serious ones anyway. However, I decided to take this opportunity of a new year beginning to make public some resolutions I've been working on in my weight loss journey. I'm ready to leave the excuses behind and push forward to reach the new, healthier me.

First, we'll start with my new 2nd mantra. I will always keep "my new ending" as a mantra, because that won't end until I die. The phrase below is the phrase I will put on my cell phone to remind myself of what I'm working on. You may find me panting it to myself in the gym sometimes if you're in the area... LOL

To the end in 2010.

Because...my goals for 2010 are:

1. Reach my goal weight of 140, or very close to it if I find my comfortable weight is a little above that - no more than 150. (Or maybe less... I can dream, right? hee. hee. )
2. Run a 5K (3.1 miles) by the end of the year.

Do you know I've been waiting almost all month to post that?!?! I'm so excited now to tell you about my aspirations to run!! :o)

Starting Monday I will get back into the gym and begin workouts to make me stronger and to gain more endurance. I am also going to start the Couch to 5K program. I have a life to live, but I will make the time to fit in exercise daily to reach these goals.

I've been thinking on these goals for a few weeks now and I'm really ready to get serious about my weight loss and get the running thing going. Wish me luck and strength to persevere. :)