Holidays...Dressing & Sides & Big Pecan Pies, Oh My!
Wow! The holidays are fast approaching! As I'm diving back into my calorie restricted diet too! O'well. I had turkey dressing not too long ago for my birthday....my mom had Thanksgiving early cause no one would be able to make it home cause of work.
Suprisingly enough....this dish that I've stuffed my face with for so many years just didn't taste the same! Yeah, it was like yummy but with a side of heartburn and guilt! Let me tell you, guilt doesn't taste good going down. It was like I was cheating on myself!
I guess I've learned a lot about a lot of things over the last few months and those 15lbs. Food is only as comforting as we allow it to be. When we make comfort about something else, that food that has been so seemingly wonderful to us turns into this huge, ugly monster!
There in nothing comforting about an item that sticks to the waiste and to the inner lining of my arteries! Of course...there is always that lapse in judgment and it will come! That old friend sitting on the table looking so inviting and then bam! Diets over, benge has passed & you've gained 10 pounds in a weekend!
What's a girl to do? I'll tell you what! I'm gonna carry my healthy choice pasta with me! What's more comforting than pasta?!?!?! Oh....and before I walk out the door to go to those family gatherings.....a snack of veggies and dip! I'm going to make it through this holiday....and I'm gonna do it lighter!
Here's to seeing Thanksgiving and Christmas in and out with no lasting effects.....well other than the stress meltdown that having so many critical family members around! HA!
Hey everyone. Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I really appreciate you taking the time to send them. Very sweet!
I've been missing for a bit. Fell off my diet wagon. Luckily I haven't done any major damage. The scale is holding steady, lol! I didn't get lazy, just fell into a really bad emotional eating trap. A little stress I can handle, but apparently when things all start flying in my face at once, I'm not capable of staying out of the fridge.
Let me just tell you. Okay, so a family that I grew up with has a son just a few months older than my own. He was diagnosed with leukemia. We found out he has 3 years of treatment ahead of him! 3 YEARS! He started his chemo immediately upon diagnosis. (He has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia...acute meaning it progresses quickly.) Thankfully they were told that there is a very high success rate in treating it.
Just shy of a month after diagnoses and almost all the way through his first round of treatment, they had a devistating blow! One of the medications cased him to have blood clots in his brain and a few bleeders. They had to do a couple of surgeries to remove clots and place a tube in his brain to drip clot busting drugs directly onto the major clot behind his sinuses. They had him in a drug induced coma for I believe a week. They were told he'd have brain damage and he might loose all motor skills, not be able to speak and not be able to use his right side.
Praise the Lord that once he finally woke up, he immediately started speaking. He is making leaps and bounds, but has a long way to go! It really is a miracle that he is still with us. If you have a moment, please pray for Mason!
On top of all of that, which has really bothered me....it could just as easy be my son in that hospital, things are not going well in our local economy. Not as bad as what is being felt nationally by any means, but enough to put a crunch. Business is slowed and my husband's company has had to let go of several dozen workers. Now they've been told they will be cut back to 32 hour weeks. That drops 8 hours of pay off our check! I'm a stay at home mommy and we have three kids. Two are in school and one is 20 months old. I do photography for extra money. But not that much extra! I don't work cause where we live is pretty rural and I don't have a degree. To work for me = my paycheck going to daycare (full time for one child and after school for two more), gas, wardrobe with not much left over. That's why I quit work when my second child was born 7 years ago. It just wasn't worth it.
I know we can do it...our income has come a long way in 7 years and we did it back then. We just have to trim the fat and teach the kids how to be more frugal. (sp?) The thing that I'm most afraid of is my husband coming home saying he doens't have a job! I am hopeful that that won't be the case since he has been with the same company over 9 years. The family owned business is committed to cutting no more jobs which is why they are cutting hours....paychecks and benefits are better than no jobs at all. But it is just scarey! There is only so much fat you can trim from the edges before you begin cutting into the very meat you need to live.
I am thankful that we haven't fallen into the trap of buying a house that is beyond our means...we don't live a lavish lifestyle....it won't be a great shock to us or the kids. But, the worries grow 10 fold because you know if it gets tighter after that point, you actually have to start letting go of things you really do need. I really hope and pray that this new administration...though I don't agree with it's means and motives...will help this country over the next 4 years. I hope they don't push the small business with approx 1200 employees that my husband works for completely out of business by taxing them to death! I hope the many many small businesses that make our rural area tick will survive this tough market!
I've really been struggling with the emotional stress eating! Gees, it's a wonder I haven't gained 40 lbs! But I have mad progress....that progress is realizing what I'm doing...catching it before it spirals out of control...and admitting that I'm doing it! It's all a step forward for me. Before I wouldn't have been aware til it was too late. At that point I would be hiding it from everyone.
So....once this rain clears over the next day or so, it's back to the grid iron! Back to the walks that feel so great, relieve so much stress and drop those pounds! Back to watching my food intake and drinking God's Life Juice (water) starts today! Thanks for being supportive. Thanks for listening!
Okay...so since my last weigh in, it's been a zoo. We all had a horrid stomach virus (me first followed by 3 kiddos...somehow the hubby managed to stay well.) That week was a total disaster!
Well, through it all, I managed to somehow gain a pound! WHAT?!?!? I still don't get it. I'll blame it on the sports drinks I had to guzzle to keep from getting dehydrated.
It took so much out of me that the next week I sat on my bum. I managed to loose that pound I gained. Woo freakin hoo!
This week, it's all about pictures and editing. So I'm stuck in front of the computer quite a bit. That's how it will be over the next few weeks as the holidays approach and my schedule gets a bit jammed. I know I'll make it through it...I pulled out a bunch of winter clothes & was reminded how badly I want them to fit!
I still can't believe the time I lost! I've gotta step it up to get back on track. Hopefully all my peeps will be as supportive as they were when I started out. Anyway....I'm off to take a brake. Here's to the 12 pairs of jeans that are waiting on me with size 10 stamped on the tag! I'm gonna be wearing them out soon! :-)
I lost two more pounds this week! I'm now at 178! I'm outta the "80's"! I'm so very excited! Yesterday I wore a size 12 pair of Levi's that I haven't been able to wear since Christmas last year!!! No lying on the bed and sucking in to zip and button them! It's a good thing too!
The jeans I was wearing were getting rediculous! Gaping in the back & sagging! Sad really, but no way was I buying anymore pants! I knew I'd get back into the 12's that were hanging out in my drawer waiting to see day light! HAHA!
Over the next couple of weeks, I see a homebody becoming more social! Yup...I'll have clothes to wear! No more hiding!!!!! Such a relief! I'm looking forward to getting out my Fall/Winter wardrobe! It will actually fit....or maybe it will get too big! Now that's a shopping trip I'm willing to go on!
Now...for "Goal" updates! Thanksgiving in my Goal 1/2-Way Date. I've got like 7 weeks to loose 16 lbs. I've lost 14 lbs in 6 weeks, so I have no doubt that I can do it! That will put me at 162 lbs! That's 6 lbs less than I weighed when I got preggos with my 3rd child back in June '06. Here's to having lost 30 lbs by Thanksgiving! More importantly...here's to shaping up 4 life!!!!!!
Well, it's been one month since the initial weight & measurments! I'm very proud of myself & can't wait to see what happens over the next few months! I'm going to keep working hard. Seeing what I've done in a month makes me that much more motivated! Yup...RESULTS!!!!
Well, this week got away from me before I knew it. It was super busy & I think my head is still spinning! But....even though I didn't stick totally to my diet or exercise plan, I didn't do any damage to myself! I didn't gain any weight! So....time to get back on track and make some more lasting changes this week! I'm excited! I am looking forward to some great numbers along the way! I'm looking forward to staying focused! Most of all, I'm looking forward to being healthy & fit!
Well, this wasn't the greatest weekend for my diet! With Ike barging through, we ended up with no power. Convenience snacky type foods do wonder for water weight with all that salt in them! URG! Not to mention that I'm an emotional eater...I was nervous and worried so I naturally ate more than my fair share of junk the last couple of days.
Nonetheless, I am back on track today! I got my walk in this morning...and what a beautiful morning it was! I'm back on my "meal plan", so that junk is outta here!
So, here's to the coming weeks ahead! And, may the tropics take a cold shower!
~K
To all those on the coast that were affected by Ike: Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Okay...I've been doing this for 2 1/2 weeks. As of this past Friday (2 week mark) I've lost 8 lbs & 11.5 inches! I'm excited! I know I have a long way to go, but I know that this time is the time I actually get it done!
I actually look forward to the weekly weigh in & measurements! I know that I will see some sort of progress each week. Even if it isn't much....down is better than up...no matter the totals! Eventually all those little numbers will add up to great success!
Okay....it seems like every time I actually start doing what I need to do, something attempts to derail the whole thing! It's my left knee again.
I've had problems with it since high school. Yesterday during my walk it hurt badly enough to stop. I'm going to get out the old brace and push through. Hopefully that will be enough to get through this weight loss...which I'm sure will help the condition of my knee tremendously!
In the meantime, I'll be doing extra quad strength building exerercises. (I was told that the knee cap is being pulled to the outside cause my outer leg muscles are stronger than my quads. I'm guessing the brisk walking on my hilly route has pushed my muscle tone out of wack.)
So, here's to pushing through the pain & accomplishing my goals....No Excuses!!!!
A lot of great ideas/plans never see fulfilment. They sound great on paper or even when they are spoken. So why don't they succeed? The fact is that without a passionate purpose there is nothing to drive them to success.
Passion is a funny thing. Many of us think we are passionate about something only to find then when things get a little rough, we turn and run. What we experienced wasn't passion at all, but rather intrigue. We get excited about the general goal...we only see what's in the end. We never quite get that being truly passionate about that goal means taking the idea and acting upon every aspect knowing that there will be phases that are uncomfortable and difficult.
Weightloss is one of those ideas/goals that many people court but never actually pursue. The idea sounds good and we can see the end picture (though sometimes way off base and unrealistic.) The problem is we overlook all the hard work and dedication that falls in between. We make it maybe a few hours before we fall into the temptation of that all too tempting food item plastered all over TV!
But we really did want to loose weight right? Yes....we just weren't willing to do all that is required of us. Isn't wanting to look good and wear a size "x" jeans enough? Well, no! Unless you make millions each year on your appearance, fitting into those cute pants you saw in the magazine isn't going to be enough to get you across the finish line!
You have to find a driving force to create passion. Something that you aren't willing to trade away in a moment of weakness. For me that passion is my family! I can't be the part of that family that God called me to be if I'm not healthy...or worse...not present at all.
My joints (KNEES!!!) are starting to rebel! They practically scream if I get out and play with my kids. I'm built on a pretty small frame...though I don't look like it now. I've got a family history of heart disease. I'm practically a ticking time bomb.
There is my driving force. To be here and be healthy for my kids! I'm going to hear my kids tell me one day how they are so proud that I was an active part of their lives. I can't be that if I'm sitting and yelling from the sidelines. No. I have to loose this weight and get healthy for them! They deserve to have a mom who is 100% by their sides. There ain't a dish of southern cooked food in this world that I'd trade that in for!
So, find your driving force! Be passionate and find the new you!
