Week 17- In control

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
       - Jim Rohn

 I have had great joys and sorrows this week.  Before I blog about my joys I want to take a moment to give honor to a great man who lost his battle with cancer.  His passing really rocked me because his wife and my dear friend Jennifer loved her Superman Doug with all her heart.  I see so much of my relationship with Ron in their relationship and the heartache she must be feeling is overwhelming for me.  I also feel for the children and all those who were lucky to know and love and be touched by Doug's influence.  He was a great, great man!

Now on to the positive and the joys.  This was Thanksgiving week and I am overjoyed by the new me.  I was so in control, ate small amounts, nothing bad, and I did lose.  I can't remember a Thanksgiving weekend where I have EVER lost.  I usually gave up and would say I will try after Thanksgiving is over.  But then Christmas would sneak up and I gained even more with all the candy and Holiday parties.  IThen January 1st rolled around and the usual New Year's resolution was to watch what I ate, exercise, and lose weight.  This year I had no real desire to overeat.  I didn't even cook.  We ordered our meal from Shari's.  It was very low-key and the festivities had very little to do with the eating.  Ron and I enjoyed a good movie next to a roaring fire.  It was a very pleasant day.

Though I did lose I only lost 1.5 pounds this week.  At first I was a little discouraged but I noticed clothes were hanging even more than usual.  Lost Sunday I tried on a pair of pants I had bought in a size 20.  (I started at a size 26/28).  These jeans were inches from being zipped up just a week ago.  However I thought what the heck, I'll try them on anyway.  They had no trouble zipping up and fit!  Now that was obviously not because of a 1.5 pound loss.  So I guess I need to realize it's not all about the scale.  I can have success with the size and in the long run isn't that more important?  People don't see the scale but they do see your size.

   

Friday I took the time to decorate the house for Christmas.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Christmas and what a joy I got from making the new home look festive.  There were bumps along the way and I ultimately had to buy a new tree, but in the long run, it was perfect!  I could sit and stare at the tree all day and all night long.  

  Here is this weeks picture.  As a disclaimer this picture is taken after a very long, long day.  I left the house a little after 10 AM and I was doing church work until 5 PM.  I didn't even eat or drink until I got home at 5 PM.  I was beat.  So this was taken today, Sunday November 25th.  I am down 90.5 pounds and weigh 239.5.  Again it was just a 1.5 pound loss but it was a loss nonetheless and over Thanksgiving weekend.  I feel so in control and am thrilled by that fact.

Week 16, November 20, 2012

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many–not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.
~Charles Dickens

Being Thursday is Thanksgiving I wanted to dedicate this week's blog to giving thanks.  I have much to be grateful for and I try hard not to take my blessings for granted but to acknowledge my Heavenly Father and His goodness and mercy.  Even though I have had many trials and afflictions I have for the most part lived a very blessed life.  Some of those choice blessings started with the loving home I was born and raised in.  I am so grateful for my family.  I was raised by and with incredible people who influenced me with good.  I have been blessed to live on this beautiful earth and given the appreciation of nature and all the wonders of it.  I have been blessed with a loving husband who is absolutely and unequivocally my best friend.  I have 4 amazing children, one loving daughter-in-law, 3 fantastic step-children and 3 fabulous grand children.  I have been blessed with an incredible home, the ability to work 2 jobs, my husband's employment and his wonderful benefits that blesses our family.  I have good health that is constantly getting better with every pound I drop.  The surgery has given me a new lease on life and I have a chance to take full benefits from this great blessing that was bestowed upon me.  And not lastly as there are too many blessings to list, but I am blessed with good friends that support and encourage and bless my life in more ways than they can ever understand.  My cup runneth over and I have more blessings than maybe I'm even deserving, but I am eternally grateful for them.

This last week was a fantastic week for weight loss.  I lost 5 pounds!  I am trying to get my exercise in more regularly.  Time is never my friend but I'm trying to make it happen nonetheless. The weight is a testament of what a good workout can do to help speed up the weight loss, not to mention the endorphins feel incredible after the workout.  

I finally reached a point where my old clothes were just not going to work any longer.  It was very necessary to go shopping.  My problem is that I don't want to spend much because my clothes will fit one week and not another.  So after Ron and I went to Breaking Dawn 2, (which I LOVED by the way) we went over to the Macy's Annex.  This is the discounted section of Macy's.  I found 7 sweaters for only $4.99 each.  Now the price was super exciting  but there was something even better than the cost.  I took in a whole bunch of sweaters to try on and I couldn't even begin to believe what I found.  I was no longer a 3x to 4x.  In fact I was not a 2x or a 1x.  I bought 4 sweaters that were an XL and 3 that were just a normal large.  And they fit!!!!!!!  I still can't believe it.  The one I'm wearing today is a large and it fits perfectly.  I think I was in my early 20's the last time I fit into a large top.  Woohoo!!!!!

I noticed wearing clothes that fit help to make me look smaller.  I have many more people noticing the loss now.  So I guess the moral of the story is, wear clothes that fit even throughout weight loss.  

As of Sunday I have lost 51 pounds since my surgery which was 16 weeks ago.  I have lost a total of 89 pounds from my highest weight which was in February 2012. 

This first picture was taken July 15, 2012 and I was at 305 pounds.  The second picture was taken November 18, 2012 and I am at 241.  So this depicts a 64 pound loss.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family.  May you each take time to count your many blessings.  I wish you all a happy and safe Thanksgiving with the ones you love.  Remember not to eat too much!

Week 15

It seems I never have enough time to get all the things I want to do done.  My blog is one of those items on my never ending lists of things I must update.  I'm sorry to my friends that keep asking me when a new post will be added.

Moving is never easy and after almost 20 years in my old home one can only imagine the accumulation of pure junk there is.  What is even more amazing to me is the filth I'm finding under heavy furniture that doesn't get moved very often.  The filth is thick and gross and it really makes me feel so dirty.  I can't believe I was living with it.

I can't help but to use the move as a metaphor for my weight loss journey.  I have been in my overweight body for even longer than the 20 years at my old address. I have accumulated more junk not only in the trunk but all over my body.  Being that my body was so heavy I didn't move it often to clean under it. Moving to the new address feels like a great new start.  And what's even better is it feels so clean and helps me be motivated to keep it this way.  Ron and I are both feeling like we want to stay as minimalistic as we can.  Isn't this a great way to treat our bodies as well?  I want to keep the junk out of my body and keep myself clean and healthy.  Moving my body and cleaning the cobwebs and dust away on a daily basis is the best way to keep my transformation on the right track.  Doing this makes me feel fantastic and I hope to always feel like this.

I have many friends that have had the surgery around the same time as myself.  One of the biggest dangers I keep facing is comparing my weight loss to theirs.  I don't lose quite as quickly and haven't for probably the last 5 years of my life; ever since I started perimenopause.  What I'm learning is I can't focus on their losses, but stay focused on my accomplishments no matter how big or small they are.  I am moving in the right direction and this is a lifelong commitment   It's okay to be the tortoise and not the hare.  I will never, never, never give up.  I AM creating myself!  I am confidently moving in the direction of my dreams and living the life that I've imagined.  I am very, very happy with how well I have done.

Sunday, Novemeber 11, 2012  246 pounds  (84 pounds lost)