Saturday, January 30, 2010

Feeling great and doing well. I don't feel deprived in any way. As a matter of fact I haven't even had any cravings for fast food at all : ) As long as I don't allow myself to get too hungry, all is well.

Challenged myself to earn 10 activity points this week and to gather some positive affirmations.

I'm learning that the closer I draw to the Lord, the less "power" food has over me. I'm participating in a Bible Study, through my church, at this time too. It's called "I Saw the Lord" by Anne Graham Lotz. Wow! Perfect timing! Not mine ... His. He knew what I needed, and He has provided for me. Feeling blessed beyond measure.

January 29, 2010

Wrote out this prayer today:

"I give You my body to do with what You will. Take it and use it for Your purposes and for Your glory. Any weight loss or not, I give to You. You are the Creator of and the Potter who molds me. The results are in Your hands."


Whether I lose a pound or not, I want my heart to be transformed. Coming to this place has made a huge difference in how I see this journey I'm on.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

I was looking forward to this week's weigh in. Thought I'd make it to 10 pounds lost (at least!) I just felt thinner : ) and I had ridden the exercise bike 5 times this week !!

The scale said that I was down .4

I was disappointed. I asked our group leader if that was "normal" (to have a big first week then to have very low numbers the next two weeks). She assured me that it was and told me not to let myself get depressed about it. She told me that my body was adjusting. She said once it did, the "norm" was to lose 1-2 pounds a week.

OK body, be warned. I am not giving up or giving in. We're in this for the long haul. You can cry and moan all you want when I get on that exercise bike. You can even whisper, "tomorrow" or "later" but this is the year of" no ifs and smaller butts !!"

Week Three -- Mid Week

Week two weigh in ... down .6
That brings my two week loss to SEVEN POUNDS.

I'm tracking my points every day without any problem. Started riding the exercise bike on a more regular basis. I've ridden it first thing in the morning the last two days.

Foods I've been tempted to overeat: Veggie Straw (love them!), Vitatops (muffin tops) and skinny cow ice cream sandwiches.

I haven't gone over my allotted points, and for this I am thankful to God ... for His strength.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Left home in a hurry today to go watch two of my grandsons play soccer. I didn't eat breakfast before I left home.

Stopped at a Goodwill store (today was 50% off everything!) to look around, on the way home.
I knew I was approaching the danger zone on my way home because I was noticing all the fast food places. When I have eaten recently and am satisfied, I'm not as aware of them.

Planned to cook up some lean hamburger patties for the whole family. As soon as I got them in the oven, I prepared a plate of raw veggies and hommus for myself. Had to get myself under hunger control. It worked : )

Watched the Cardinal's game with Bob as we ate our burgers. I noticed that he continued to snack and nibble afterward. I finally told him that I would have to go watch the game in our bedroom because I couldn't handle his continual munching. Watching TV seems to have that affect on me too. Makes me want to eat something crunchy and / or salty.

I rode the exercise bike for 30 ninutes this evening. I was tempted to cut the ride short about halfway through, but didn't. I'm glad, it feels really good to have ridden !!

I noticed a marked difference in the way I felt when I have not taken the apple cider vinegar on a regular basis. It's also a good way to tell my body that my meal is over ... nothing seems appealing with that "delightful" taste in your mouth : )

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Since I know I will continue to track every point I eat this week, I decided to challenge myself with the goal of riding the exercise bike everyday, Tuesday through Saturday.

I didn't ride it yesterday. I HAD to get on it today. I'm so thankful that my little ipod is up and running now : ) Time just flies by as I listen to the music.

Today I am struggling to get all my points eaten (I still have 2.5 more to go as I'm writing this).

Weight Watchers, week one weigh in

Tonight I found out that I had .... lost 6.4 pounds! I was shocked! I was awarded my "5" sticker and couldn't be happier!

Hoopla and kuddos are right up my alley. Bring them on ! Can't wait to get a ribbon for losing 10 pounds !

My daughter and I together lost 10 pounds this week. My mother and sister also lost. Just like we were told: This program works, if you just do it.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Today I took some yogurt and a rice cake to church with me to eat while we sat in the coffee shop. I purposely brought a baby spoon to eat the yogurt. It accomplished what I had intended for it to do. I ate the yogurt very slowly. As a matter of fact, it seemed to take forever for me to eat that yogurt ... a little bite here, a tiny bite there.

Another day caffeine free! I'm an apple cider vinegar believer!!

This afternoon, as I was watching the exciting Cardinal's game, I had a strong desire to snack on something crunchy. Hubby was popping his peanuts; I was relieved to have Jolly Time popcorn in the pantry! Just one point for a whole bag (94% fat free).

Stocked up on more of the frozen Amy's Bowls at Sprouts. The good price of 2 for $7.00 was over, but they were still cheaper than buying them at Fry's. My daughter and I especially like the Enchilada Bowl !!

Rode the exercise bicycle for 30 minutes while watching TV this evening.

I'm exctied to return to our Weight Watcher's meeting tomorrow night and get weighed in!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Today I had to make a trip to the grocery store to get more of our new staple items : ) We found some light whole grain English muffins that we like and also some light 9 grain bread. Got to have the Skinny Cow Ice Cream sandwiches (just 2 points !) I am drinking soy or almond milk; had to get more of that as well.

I HAVE NOT had to drink coffee this whole week !! That is amazing in itself! I don't know if it's the apple cider vinegar I'm ingesting 2-3 times a day or that I'm not overeating or what? It's certainly not because I'm getting more sleep ... sadly, there's not much of a change in that area yet.

I made a concoction for Bob and I to eat together today. Concoction is what I call anything I make up as I go along. It has this and that in it. He said he liked it. I did too. The problem with concoctions is that they are hard to remake!

This evening we were out running errands and it occured to me that we would not be stopping to get something to eat or drink (yeah!) ... so what are we going to do with all that money we're saving?? It's exciting to think about the future and what new things we can do as a family (that doesn't involve eating out) because that was one of our main things we'd do together.

We talked about going to a theatre to see a movie this weekend. My husband said he MUST have popcorn and a soda to watch a movie in the theatre. I'm a tad bit afraid of putting myself in that tempting spot.

I was on the verge of doing some out of control eating. I rationed out a portion of veggie chips into a bowl and then before I put the lid back on the container, I reached in and grabbed more chips and shoved them in my mouth. Not good. I did that a couple of times.

I rode the exercise bike for 30 minutes and that restless beast disappeared, thank you Lord!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Yesterday was my son's birthday. Fortunately he doesn't like cake. His girl friend took him out for dinner and invited us to join them. We (my daughter and I) declined. We're not ready to eat in a restaurant just yet. Especially not one that serves BIG yummy hamburgers and fries !!

Today, I was becoming glugged down with lots of emotional gunk. I sat down and wrote out my emotions (and what caused them). I felt MUCH BETTER after getting it all out on paper. I have found this to be very theraputic for many reasons.

One reason is that as I write them out, they lose their power over me (I see them for what they are ... or for the TRUE size that they are). Also, as I write I can discover any "thinking errors" I am having.

Hubby's home. Gotta go hear how he almost died twice on his drive home!

Wednesday, Jan. 6

Last night, my daughter and I sat at the table eating one thing after another to use up all of our points. We were laughing, it was nearing midnight, and here we sat forcing ourselves to eat!

It's important that you use your alloted points each day (to purposely choose to eat less is not beneficial to this lifestyle change).

It's 11: 00 PM and I have 5 more points to use up. My daughter finished hers over an hour ago.
Good for her! We are night owls. We get up later (thus eat breakfast later in the day). Each night we've gone to bed a little bit earlier than we used to. Could it be the exercise we're doing? : )

I am having to go to the bathroom constantly! On a side note, I have an overactive bladder (yes, it was diagnosed as such) which means that a "normal" bladder can hold approx. 500 cc of urine before it has to empty. Mine gets to 175 cc and it starts to spasm and kicks the urine out. So when I gotta go, I GOTTA GO NOW ! I left home to run a few errands and had to stop at fast food places to run in and use the restroom. Had a couple of close calls, but made it each time.

Day three observation: I'm much more focused on what I eat. I think before I stick it in my mouth. Seems like I'm thinking ABOUT food alot more now than I used to, but in a good way. I'm making smarter choices and that feels wonderful !!

Day two of no coffee : ) I did get very tired late this afternoon and took a nap. I also have sleeping problems. I can't stay asleep for more than 2-3 hours at a time. My reality, for now. Hoping that lifestyle changes will help with my sleep : )


Little red hen, you rock! You're my favorite hen! Pulling for you chick! ~ Precious

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

My daughter and I went grocery shopping today armed with our POINTS calculators. We investigated the nutritional labels on different foods and then were able to make informed decisions about what we would buy. She found some potato chips that are only one point per serving (20 chips). I discovered some frozen meals that are perfect for times when we need to eat in a hurry because we're too hungry to cook! Hopefully these meals will be the replacement for the fast food meals we used to bring home.

We tried to hit the grocery store when we were both "satisified" stomach-wise. I wasn't hungry when I got there, but looking through my coupons and staying in the store longer (due to our investigating) took its toll on me. Good thing we had those frozen dinners to heat up in the microwave (just 5 minutes)! It was already dinner time by the time we were checking out.

After we ate, we opened our chip bags and cracker boxes and filled ziploc bags with one portion and the number of points written on the front of the bag. Now we're ready for snack time or when we want to grab something on the go. I plan to take a snack with me EVERYTIME I leave the house ... just in case. I don't want to be caught out and about (longer than I intended to be gone) and approach hunger or even worse: ravenous!!

I rode my exercise bike for 15 minutes last night. I got a cramp in the bottom (the arch) of one of my feet. Wonder if it was because I was wearing my crocs instead of a pair of tennis shoes. I listened to my little ipod for the first time while exercising. It drown out the television (as I hoped it would). Now I know I need to device some sort of holder to attach it to my arm or somewhere on my body. Hmmm .... maybe one of those arm bands.

Oh! I can't forget to mention that I did not have any coffee today! I am drinking apple cider vinegar in water three times a day. It is supposed to give you energy. Maybe it's working on me already?! I am hopeful that it will help to keep my "regular" too.

Little red hen, I am so excited for you! I'm in your corner and cheering you on every day! Today is the first day of the rest of your life! I love you, Precious

Monday, January 4, 2010

This evening I will be joining Weight Watchers, Lord willing, along with my daughter, my mother and one of my sisters. We plan to attend the same weekly meeting together.

I plan to purge all the sweets and other "temptation horrors" from our house, later today. I drank one last cup (ok, a cup and a half) of egg nog ... just because ! Just because we still had some in our refrigerator! And I don't even like it! Maybe I enjoy the first swallow, but after that it's just too rich and too creamy for me. So why did I drink a cup and a half of it??!!

Being overweight is rarely about "the food." It's much more about emotions and other things going on in your head that you are not even aware of. THIS IS MY YEAR to get in there and see what's going on and fight for my life (literally) back.

I've been overweight since I was a kid. Don't know when it all started, and it doesn't matter. I will be 50 years old in 6 months. I want to be healthy! I want to feel good ! I want to have energy to enjoy my life ! I want to get off all the different medications that I am now taking ! I want to be an inspiration to anyone else who thinks it's too late ... it's NEVER too late !!!

YOU can do this little red hen. I know you can. Hang onto the LORD and press into Him. He wants you to be free from all this even more than you do! I love you. ~ Precious