Annie Weighs...

I've Lost It!

2012-01-25T14:04:00.001-06:00

Last year I walked the 5K and 10K in the Fargo Marathon and I think a bug bit me. I was hooked to doing events and winning medals! I haven't done any events since, but I love seeing my medals every day hanging at my desk and I love the feeling I had when I completed those races. I just walked them, and not even that fast, but the sense of accomplishment gave me such a high and I want to relive it!

I signed up to do the 5K and the 10K again in May in Fargo. I'm looking forward to them and hope to be able to run some this year. Then I really lost it... I signed up to do a HALF MARATHON in September!

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I can't believe I did that! The self-doubter in me is telling me that there's no way I can do it, but the optimist in me knows that I can and will do it well. So today I re-started the Couch to 5K program to start jogging. It was cold outside and I didn't feel like going to the gym to get on a treadmill, so I walked and ran around my house, literally. I'm sure if anyone had seen this, they would have thought I truly lost it, but I was running laps around my living room, down the hall to my son's room, into the guest room, down to the kitchen and back through the living room. HA! I know that's weird, but it worked for me! I'm looking forward to spring to get outside to do the program as I have an irrational fear of running on a treadmill. In the mean time, I'll run around my house and work up my endurance and, come spring and the races in Fargo, I'll be running!

Serving False Gods

2012-01-24T12:07:00.000-06:00

I just weighed in this morning at WW and lost two pounds!!! So glad to finally have a weight-loss on the scale. The last few months have been tough on me. To be honest, I wasn't tracking, working out, or really putting much forward at all as far as losing weight goes. I was embarrassed to list my gains on my sidebar on the left side of this blog and left a few months blank until today. Today I decided that I ought not to be ashamed, but to move forward and not look back. I've learned from my mistakes and I'm ready to really move forward and get to my goal weight. This isn't a New Year resolution. This isn't a short-term thing. I need to do this for the rest of my life to be healthy and happy and be the best woman I can be. I can no longer serve this false god of food. Only one GOD is for me and I love and worship Him and I will no longer allow myself to serve food more than I serve Him. I will not try to fill any voids in my life with food. I will no longer try to stuff down feelings with food. If I'm stressed out, I'll work out and pray along the way. Turning to food is a sin and I'm confessing now that I've used it in place of my God. No longer. I've said it before, I'm starting over. No quitting this time and with God's help, I'll reach my goal in 2012. I will be honest along the way, with myself, with Him, and with you, my blog readers, friends, and family. I will blog more to be accountable, so stay tuned! :)

2012...Resolutions

2011-12-31T22:40:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to my blog followers and readers!!! I hope this year brings you much love, joy, prosperity, and good health!

My resolutions in 2012 are:

Stay with Weight Watchers and keep losing!
Focus on moving more.
Read the Bible cover to cover! (My church is doing this together, you can learn more about it here: Project 4:4)
Be better about cleaning our house regularly, not just when some one is coming over!

I've made up a little sheet that will be laminated and hung on our fridge to help me stay on track with these goals each week. I thought I'd share it with you so if you like it you can make your own. It was super easy to type up in Word and took all of 3 minutes to do.

Merry Christmas to me!

2011-12-29T17:59:00.000-06:00

I have Christmas and birthday money to spend and yet I can't think of anything I want more than to reach my goal weight and live a healthy, active life from now on! Looking at the pictures below, I hardly recognize the girl in 2009 and what a great feeling that is! When I was that girl, I felt like I was about as big as I am now. Crazy how we lie to ourselves, isn't it?! I was so unhealthy and living in denial about just how big I really was. I look at that girl in 2009 and I feel elated that I'm not her anymore. In so many ways, I've changed since that picture was taken. Not to be "braggy", I'm a better person inside and out. I've grown so much as I've shrunk and I can't wait to see how much more I grow during 2012!

No More Soda

2011-12-05T13:13:00.001-06:00

this photo is not mine, it has many online sources that I've found

I've said it before and meant it when I said it then. I'm saying it again and hope to hold true to it this time. I'm giving up Diet Coke. I've read many articles lately about how back diet soda is for you and the side-affects it can give you and realized that I have many of those side-affects and I don't want to poison my body any longer. Yesterday I had two cans left in my fridge and I drank them both. Now there is no soda for me in the house to be tempted with. I want one right now, but I'm chewing gum instead. I don't want one bad enough to get in the car to go get one, so that's progress. Hopefully I can keep this up and be soda free forever! No more artifical sweeteners for me. No more addiction to something SO unhealthy for me!

Wish me luck, this might be a long week!

Starting again...again...again....

2011-12-03T20:31:00.001-06:00

I realized last night why I've been on a "plateau" since July. My husband was doing WW with me and quit in July. It isn't his fault I basically quit, too, but at least I've now realized why I've done what I've done. Today I weighed in since I missed my Tuesday meeting thanks to a cold. It wasn't pretty, but I faced it anyway and am back to tracking faithfully as of today. I have some work to do to get back to my lowest weight since starting this journey, but at least I haven't gained any sizes! Thankful to be starting again with the knowledge of why I got off track to begin with.Short-term goals of mine are to get back to faithfully tracking every day. I started doing this yesterday and tracked almost everything I ate. Today I've tracked everything. I also plan to focus more on activity points and the healthy guidelines that WW provides. I know that these things will help me get back on track. My other short-term goal is to cut Diet Coke, the only soda I drink, out of my diet completely. I have two cans left in my fridge and then that's it. Water will be my priority and I'll use points to drink milk and juice, too, which I don't typically do. I don't want to end the year regretting this month like I've regretted the last few. I want to end the year on a positive note and get back to losing weight. My health depends on it!

I think I can...I think I can....

2011-10-21T17:04:00.000-05:00

I'm still here! I'm plugging away at WW and am struggling with the numbers on the scale. I've lost inches, but not weight and it's frustrating! I'm focusing on those inches and just keep tracking my food and such and hope that the numbers on the scale will eventually go back down. :)

What If?

2011-09-20T15:58:00.000-05:00

Last week my WW meeting had a substitute leader and she asked us all, "What If?". What if we tracked everything we ate? What if we got more activity in? What if we chose a healthy snack over a savory treat? What might happen? Well, she got me thinking and I started tracking again. What if I started tracking again....I might lose 5.2 pounds in a week! Hmm...what if I did that consistently for the next 11 weeks until my birthday or the next 13 until Christmas? I wouldn't expect 5 pound losses each week, but what if I lost a half pound each of those weeks? Would that make a difference? Yes of course it would! 1-2 pounds per week is a healthy rate. How would I feel 11 pounds, or....22.....lighter at my birthday?! What about 13 or 26 pounds lighter by Christmas?! WHOA! 13 pounds from where I am right now is exactly what I weighed when I got married. What if I could weigh that for Christmas? What a gift that would be to myself and my family! I'm not going to make that an official goal of mine, but I'm going to work towards doing it. I think it's a great question to ask of ourselves...what if. What if I got off of this computer and folded some laundry right now? I'd check something off of my list and my husband would be thankful to have clean, folded clothes...plus I'd be moving! What if I went for a walk after dinner tonight? What if I planned menus for each week and stuck to them? What if I went to the gym a few times a week? What if I tried a new fitness class? What if...?

What kinds of "what if" questions could you ask of yourself and what if you did something, just one small thing to make a difference in your weight-loss journey?

Weigh-In Sept 19th, 2011

2011-09-19T20:08:00.001-05:00

It's been a month since I last blogged! Oh no!! Being away from my blog, meant I was away from Weight Watchers, too. I was going to weekly meetings and weighing in, but that was about it. This past week, though, I started to track my food intake again. -5.2 pounds this week and it goes to show that TRACKING WORKS! Long ago I would say to people "I don't understand how people can say they're "on Weight Watchers" if they're not tracking" and yet I was doing that! No more! I'm back on track, back to tracking and back to losing! I'm 1.2 pounds away from being OUT of the 200's. I've lost 91 pounds and ready to keep going and reach my goal. My goal to reach life time and someday work for Weight Watchers so that I can motivate and encourage others to do the same. Losing weight is hard whether you have 5 pounds to lose or 305 pounds. I want to be a WW leader to show those who have 100+ pounds to lose that it can be done, it can be maintained, and that I'm living proof of it. I'm ready to face the end of this journey head on and finish strong. I've got about 41 more pounds to go to reach my goal, maybe a tad more, and I can't wait to get there!

Catch-Up

2011-08-18T09:31:00.000-05:00

I've been a bad blogger lately! Let's just say it's been a busy last few weeks with my son having surgery on his ear, a trip to Colorado, house guests, an out-of-town wedding, and getting ready to take my son to kindergarten! Life is settling back down a bit now and I'm thankful for it! Updates on those things: the wedding was beautiful and it was great to see family, house guests were fun to see, surgery went well and he's recovering beautifully so far, Colorado is gorgeous, and kindergarten started on Tuesday with no tears from me (the tears came Wednesday!)!

Since my son is in kindergarten all day, I've gone to the gym the last two mornings. It's been great! I've had lots of people ask me what I'll do with all of my time while he's in school. I'm the coordinator for my MOPS group, so that takes time, I have a house to clean and going to the gym will hopefully lead to a job someday as I'd love to work for Weight Watchers, but can't do that until I reach my goal! I do teach piano lessons, too, some evenings. I may go back to school after Christmas, but time will tell on that one. In other words, I'm plenty busy!

I've had some gains lately, but with going to the gym and getting back to tracking my daily points, I'm back to business this week and am sure I'll be seeing losses once again. Today is my 11th wedding anniversary and I'm *this close* to fitting into my dress. I hope this time next year that dress will be too big! I have some goals in my head that I may share later, for now just know that I'm refocused after a crazy summer!

Are you focused right now? What do you do to stay on track during crazy-busy times?

Overweight Can Snack Up On You!

2011-08-03T06:00:00.015-05:00

Snacks. I love them and hate them at the same time. I need snacks to get me through my day, but don't always make the best choices. I often grab a mini Weight Watchers snack bar. While they're quite tasty, they don't fill me up and I usually end up eating something else, too. I've been trying lately to switch up my snacking to healthier choices that fill me up and stick with me. It so happens that this topic was what we talked about at my WW meeting yesterday, too. Yes, I went to WW on vacation, I've never missed a meeting since I joined! So what kinds of foods fill you up for longer and make good snacks? Anything that gives you energy and keeps hunger at bay such as:

low-fat dairy
eggs
sliced lean deli meat
Whole-grain breads
whole-grain crackers
whole-grain chips
Fruit
veggies
fiber-filled cereals
hummus

Healthy fats such as avacado, nuts, and peanut butter should be enjoyed in small amounts, but provide essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins and are great to pair with foods from the above list.

My new favorite snack is apple and peanut butter sandwiches. They fill me up, give me my peanut butter (I love PB!) and satisfy a sweet craving, too. Apples are full of fiber and peanut butter gives me protein, so this snack is sure to stick with me between meals without wanting anything else.

Knowing when to snack is another obstacle for some. I often crave something around 10AM and 3PM. Knowing this, I try to be prepared and don't let myself get past those times without a snack to avoid over-eating once I do get a snack or to the next meal. Being aware of when you usually need a snack is powerful knowledge that you can use to your advantage. Being prepared for those snack times will help you in your weight-loss goals. Keep in mind that food is fuel. It should be enjoyed, but not too much and make sure that whatever you're eating is worth it! You're worth it!

Weekly Weigh-in {August 2nd, 2011}

2011-08-02T13:08:00.000-05:00

Starting Weight: 292
Last Week: 205.8
This Week: 202.8
Weekly Loss: -3 pounds
Total Loss: -89.2

Finally feel like I'm getting back on track! I lost three pounds this week. I'm on vacation in Colorado right now and am having a great time! Here are a few pictures of what we've seen so far:

A thunderstorm coming over the mountains.

From the top of Pikes Peak.

Coming back down from Pikes Peak

What does it mean?! Hahaha.... a double rainbow last night. Just beautiful!

Sunset last night after the little rain that caused the rainbow.

Weekly Weigh-in {July 19th, 2011}

2011-07-19T14:38:00.000-05:00

Starting Weight: 292
Last Week: 203
This Week: 204
Weekly Loss: +1 pound
Total Loss: -88

I went out of town for a wedding this last weekend, so a one pound gain is okay with the fast food and lack of activity. Still disappointing to have two gains in a row, but I'm staying positive and am moving forward. I've got to turn July around before it's over!!!

Weekly Weigh-in {July 12th, 2011}

2011-07-12T10:19:00.000-05:00

Starting Weight: 292
Last Week: 201.2
This Week: 203
Weekly Loss: +1.8 pounds
Total Loss: -89

I was expecting the gain this week. I didn't track every day and splurged over the weekend. It was expected, I know what I did and I'm already moving on with a new week starting today! No big deal in the grade scheme of things.

What It Looks Like To Lose 90 Pounds!

2011-07-05T19:46:00.005-05:00

This is my after losing 4.4 pounds and then today at -90.8 pounds!

Click on picture to enlarge

Weekly Weigh-in {July 5th, 2011}

2011-07-05T10:20:00.000-05:00

Starting Weight: 292
Last Week: 202.4
This Week: 201.2
Weekly Loss: -1.2 pounds
Total Loss: -90.8

I'll be updating my progress pictures later today for another ten pounds lost!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T06:20:00.000-05:00

I posted this last year, but thought that it was worth posting again. Happy 4th of July to all of my US friends! Enjoy the holiday, make smart choices and stay safe!

Thin Dependence Pledge

I pledge allegiance to myself in quest of my weight goal

and to the healthiness for which it stands.

One body...

under control...

indisputably...

with confidence in new clothes for fall!

Perfect Girls

2011-07-01T12:27:00.000-05:00

Real girls aren't perfect.

Perfect girls aren't real.

I just read that saying online a few days ago and thought I'd share it with you all. How true it is! Real women aren't perfect, we all have imperfections. We aren't good at cleaning our houses, are over-weight, are too thin, don't read our Bibles enough, are bad drivers, forget to return library books, lose things, have baskets of laundry everywhere, have enough dust bunnies under our beds to create a cat, or forget to feed the dog. That is real. That is normal.

Perfection isn't something I even strive for. As a Christian, I believe that only God above is perfect and that no human being is, or ever will be, perfect. It is not possible to be perfect. Even Martha Stewart and Jillian Micheals aren't perfect. We, as women, need to stop comparing ourselves to other women, especially to super models and celebrities in all of their air-brushed glory.

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Is this what perfect looks like?

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Or this?


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Is she perfect?


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What about her?

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Are these women perfect?

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Not one of the women above are perfect. Not one of them is more "real" than another. I often see plus-sized women defending their size by calling themselves "real." Would that make thin girls fake? Are they some kind of animal or monster? No, we're all human no matter what kind of body we wear. God doesn't make mistakes or fake people. We're all real and beautifully imperfect. Ask any women out there, even the ones who seem to be perfect, and there will be something she's unhappy with about her body or herself. Everyone has some kind of imperfection. I'm writing this today to encourage you all, and to remind myself to do the same, to embrace those imperfections and love yourselves anyway. You are beautiful in the eyes of God and those who love you, cherish that and give yourself a break. Perfect isn't real.

Most of you read my blog because you're trying to lose weight. I hope that you're trying to lose weight to get healthy. I hope you're not trying to lose weight to get skinny and to be "perfect". I hate to say it, but if you are losing for those reasons, you will never reach your goal. You will always have imperfections. Instead of fighting them, love yourself.

Weekly Weigh-in {June 28th, 2011}

2011-06-28T16:27:00.002-05:00

Starting Weight: 292
Last Week: 203.2
This Week: 202.4
Weekly Loss: -0.8 pound
Total Loss: -89.6

Weekly Weigh-in {June 21st, 2011}

2011-06-21T10:39:00.000-05:00

Starting Weight: 292
Last Week: 204.2
This Week: 203.2
Weekly Loss: -1 pound
Total Loss: -88.8

I can't believe how close to ONEderland I'm getting. It feels a little strange that I'll get there soon! Only 3.4 pounds away from 199.8!

ABCDEFood!

2011-06-14T11:51:00.000-05:00

A: is for Apple, what’s your favorite variety?
Pink Crisps (also called Pink Ladies)

B: is for Bread, regardless of nutrition, calories, or whole grains what is your favorite type to have a nice big piece of?
Something that is crunchy on the outside, but soft and light on the inside. French and Italian loafs are often like that.

C: is for Cereal what is your favorite kind currently (just one!)
Fiber One raisin bran clusters

D: is for Doughnuts, you might not currently be eating them but what kind do you fancy?
I haven't had one for well over a year, but I do like maple long johns with nuts or apple fritters.

E: is for Eggs, how would you like yours prepared?
Scrambled, well done. No runny stuff for me, please.

F: is for Fat Free, what is your favorite fat free product?
I don't buy fat-free products because they're usually full of other junk to make up for the lack of fat.

G: is for Groceries, where do you purchase yours at?
Mostly Target

H: is for Hot Beverages, what is your favorite hot drink?
Apple Cider, it is the only hot drink I like.

I: is for Ice Cream, pick a favorite flavor and add a fun topping.
Chocolate peanut butter fudge with Reeses on top.

J: is for Jams or Jellies, do you eat them, and if so what kind and flavor?
Strawberry jam, if I have it.

K: is for Kashi, name your favorite Kashi product?
I don't care for any Kashi products.

L: is for Lunch, what was yours today?
I haven't yet had lunch today. Yesterday I had a Lean Cuisine pizza, a few Pop Chips, and some strawberries.

M: is for microwave, what is your favorite microwave meal/snack?
Orville Smart-pop Kettle Corn

N: is for nutrients, do you like carbs, fats, or proteins best?
Carbs for sure!

O: is for oil, what kind do you like to use?
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

P: is for protein, how do you get yours?
Mostly from peanut butter, turkey, and chicken

Q: is for Quaker, how do you like your oats?
Quaker apple cinnamon, made thick with milk

R: is for roasting, what is your favorite thing to roast?
Chicken and tomatoes for sauce

S: is for sandwich, what’s your favorite kind?
I'm a plain jane when it comes to sandwiches, I like turkey and cheese and that's about it.

T: is for travel, how do you handle eating while traveling?
I pack a lot of my own snacks and try to make the healthiest choices possible otherwise.

U: is for unique, what is one of your weirdest food combos?
I don't think I have any weird food combos!

V: is for vitamins, what kind do you take?
A women's multi-vitamin and extra calcium and vitamin D.

W: is for wasabi, yay or nay?
Never tried it, but heard it's spicy, so nay.

X: is for X-RAY. if we x-rayed your belly right now, what food would we see?
The Fiber One bar I ate at my WW meeting this morning and that's it. (It's nearly lunch time now!)

Y: is for youth, what food reminds you of your childhood?
Shoe string potatoes, cheese balls, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, cream of mushroom soup rice, and chocolate cake (birthdays).

Z: is for zucchini, how do you prepare it?
Baked in bread.

Weekly Weigh-in {June 14th, 2011}

2011-06-14T10:31:00.000-05:00

Starting weight: 292
Last week: 205
This week: 204.2
Weekly loss: -0.8
Total loss: -87.8

I'm happy for this loss as I had a tough week of eating some high point days. Having my DH home again after he was gone for a month meant more eating out, which meant higher point days. I'm so close to -90 pounds and can't wait to get there!

Stream of Consciousness

2011-06-10T13:01:00.001-05:00

Last weekend DH came home from a month-long trip to England, we took DS to the circus and we got to meet the crew from the TIV from the TV show "Storm Chasers" it was such a fun weekend! I've included some pictures to share from our fun weekend below.

Elephants at the circus

It is Friday and I'm so glad for it! DS has been waking up early all summer and I've been going to bed late lately. These two things don't go hand-in-hand well and I'm tired! I usually sleep in on Saturdays, so tomorrow I'll catch up and then I'll be better about getting to bed at a decent time! Studies show that people who get at least 7 hours of sleep each night are most likely to lose weight and keep it off. Time to get some rest!

My guys and me with Sean Casey

I've been told a lot lately that I'm an inspiration. That's the point of my blogging about this weight-loss journey of mine, to inspire others. I just want everyone out there who needs to lose weight to feel as good as I do! I've overcome a lot to get where I'm at and I'm still working on it, so I hope that I'm inspriring others along the way. After my conversation with my WW leader on Tuesday, I'm more motivated to reach my goals and become a WW leader. I think I'm finally headed in the direction to making a decision as to what I want to be when I grow up and I think it is going to be weight-loss/nutrition/fitness/helping others related.

DS and me in front of the TIV

I'm blogging right now to avoid cleaning my kitchen, changing sheets, and folding laundry. I really do need to get it done, but just don't want to! I sometimes wish there was a magic fairy to do these things for me. :)

I love it when you leave comments on my blog! To inspire some answers, here are some questions...What is your least favorite household job? What do you do to make cleaning more fun? What inspires you?

Exercise Is Not a Four Letter Word!

2011-06-08T09:01:00.000-05:00

I have written posts about exercise and how I don't do a lot of it. I've gone to the gym here and there, but, I've lost most of my weight simply by following Weight Watchers guidelines and walking. The last few days, though, I've felt the urge to exercise. What is up with that?! I want to exercise?! How in the world did that happen and what do I do about it?! My first instinct when overcome with this feeling was to quickly call my doctor. I mean, I've never wanted to exercise before, something must be wrong with me! But, then I started to think about it more...maybe this is a good thing. Maybe I'm ready for the next level of commitment to losing weight, keeping it off, and changing my life. Yes, that's what this is...I'm just changing my life some more.

I started with it yesterday. I walked to Weight Watchers. I got up, got dressed, and my son and I walked to our WW meeting yesterday morning. It is only a mile away, but it was hot and windy outside yesterday and we walked anyway. I wasn't very bright about it, though, and wore brand new shoes yesterday. I now have some blisters on my feet from that two miles of walking. Today, because of those blisters, I was going to not do anything and let them heal. Then my friend Kenlie posted a video on her blog of herself moving after a big work-out. You should go to her blog and see it! The girl can move! So, despite my blisters, I'll be working out today. I think I'll be working out barefoot in my basement family room with a video, but it will be exercise nonetheless! I'm excited about these new feelings of craving exercise!

What do you do for exercise? What are your favorite videos? Do you belong to a gym, if so what is your favorite thing to do there?

PCOS and Weight-Loss

2011-06-07T21:32:00.001-05:00

Tonight I read this article about PCOS (Poly-Cystic Ovary Syndrome) and weight-loss: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/maternal-ammunition/2011/mar/23/pcos-and-losing-weight/

I just want to write a brief note about this. I was diagnosed with PCOS June 2005. I went on metformin and, luckily for me, it was all that was needed to balance me out enough to have a baby. My baby is now 5 years old. I haven't been on metformin since then and am still losing weight. I'm writing to say that if you're suffering from PCOS, you don't have to listen when people say that you can't lose weight without medication. Yes you can, I did. Metformin is a good thing and I'm not saying otherwise, it is the answer to many PCOS related issues for most PCOS sufferers. I'm just saying that it's not the only way. I've lost 87 pounds with zero medication. The only changes I've made are in what I eat and how I exercise. Weight Watchers works. If you're suffering from PCOS and you want to lose weight, you can. Stop using PCOS as an excuse as to why you can't lose weight and have faith in your ability to overcome it. Yes, it is more difficult for your body to lose weight and it will take more determination and work than the regular person, but it can be done. I'm living proof.

Weekly Weigh-in {June 7th, 2011}

2011-06-07T11:47:00.000-05:00

Starting weight: 292
Last week: 206.2
This week: 205
Weekly loss: -1.2
Total loss: 87

I'm happy with that loss this week! The last few weeks I've been slacking a little. Last week I didn't track three days and before then I had never miss one day since I started WW in April of 2010! I could give excuses about my DS being out of school for the summer along with my DH being out of town for a month (he's home!), but I won't. I simply didn't track because I wasn't feeling motivated to do so. I did better this week and was back to tracking every day. Tracking works and it was the topic of my WW meeting today, actually. I may blog about tracking later this week, but today I'm celebrating some NSV's instead!!!

NSV's = Non-Scale Victories or ways to measure success off of the scale. Here are a few I'm celebrating today:

I lost 7 inches last month! I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but I know I've lost over 85 inches total. CRAZY!
My WW leader talked to me today about being a WW leader once I reach my goal. I hadn't yet shared with her that I was hoping to to do that someday and she approached me today to talk about it. In order to do that, I need to reach WW guidelines, which means at least 45 pounds more to go! I'm excited that she believes I'd make a good leader and I hope that this time next year I'll be one!
She also talked to me about once I reach my goal, submitting my story to Weight Watchers magazine. Even if they don't publish my story, I was taken aback that she would suggest it and tickled to think that it might happen. It felt great to be recognized and it was exactly the motivation I needed to hear today to continue on this journey of mine.

I got home and felt refreshed from our meeting and from my talk with my leader. What a blessing she is to me! I made this little word cloud and have it printed out and am going to hang in on my desk.

Oh Ruby!

2011-06-06T11:06:00.000-05:00

Call me slow, but I've just learned, through a Facebook post, about an ad campaign by The Body Shop that was out in 1998. Apparently The Body Shop wanted to show the world of cosmetics and fashion that women come in all sizes and we don't all look like Barbie dolls. The average size woman in the US is a size 14, this Ruby doll is a 16. I've read that Barbie would be a size 4.

With the Facebook posts made by my friends, I've read some comments about this ad that surprised me. Some have said that they think this ad is disgusting, that it allows women to give up on exercise and diet and that it's okay to be obese. One said that they felt that it was an "out" for women to let themselves go after having children. I disagree with these statements. I don't think this ad glamorizes obesity at all. I think it shows everyone that the majority of women have curves and lumps and bumps. I think it shows that there are few who don't have a shape similar to this in some way. Even women who work out and are physically fit have a curve, lump, or bump somewhere, especially if they've carried a child at some point.

I'm a size 14 right now. I look a lot more like Ruby than Barbie and so do pretty much every woman in my life with the exception of a few. Embracing different body types is a positive, good thing and I'm sad that this ad campaign didn't last longer.

Sunday Confessional {Too Quick To Judge}

2011-06-05T12:19:00.002-05:00

This morning I had a huge light bulb moment, but first I have to back track a little to yesterday. Yesterday my husband and I took our son to the circus. It was a great show, but part of it really bothered me. There were these two guys who are strong men. They total 657 pounds between the two of them and consume over 7, 000 calories each, per day.

Photo Source

I was disgusted with their calorie intake and their size. They didn't look "that strong" to me, but more fat than anything. Clearly in the photo above, they're quite strong. At the time I was watching them, though, I was stuck on how many calories they eat each day and how big they were. I realize now that these guys must eat like that in order to feed the muscle that they so clearly have and to be able to lift five clowns at a time on two huge beams of solid wood several times a day for each show. My husband pointed out to me that Michael Phelps, the olympic swimmer, consumed almost twice what these guys do when he was in training and that didn't bother me one bit. I was too quick to judge because of their large appearances.

I woke up this morning still thinking about these guys and Michael Phelps, and then I got on the defense when someone questioned my husband's diet. I thought, "It's none of your business what he eats!" "How dare you judge him!" Yet, yesterday at the circus I was doing the exact same thing. Not only was I judging the guys in the rings, I was judging the larger lady sitting next to my husband and the guy two rows in front of us who likely bought two tickets for the two chairs he was taking up due to his size. How dare I judge them! Who do I think I am?! One year ago I was one of those big people, being judged constantly and I hated it. I could see judging eyes every where we went. I stayed in my house an awful lot to avoid those judgmental glances. And here I am doing the same thing. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but feel that I need to be open to this so that if you're able to relate to it, you'll stop this judgmental behavior with me. Everyone deserves to be loved and to be treated with love and respect no matter what their size is. Shame on me for forgetting that!

New Look

2011-06-02T14:38:00.000-05:00

I was just itching for a hair cut for several weeks and finally went for it this afternoon! So long pony tail, you can't hold me back anymore!

{Support} The Definition of

2011-06-01T00:01:00.010-05:00

Reference of definitions

–verb (used with object)

1. to bear or hold up (a load, mass, structure, part, etc.); serve as a foundation for.

The foundation of my weight-loss success is my faith. My God supports me through it.

2. to sustain or withstand (weight, pressure, strain, etc.) without giving way; serve as a prop for.

My body used to have to support a lot more weight. I've been told that your knees support 4 times your weight, per knee. I've lost 86 pounds, that is 344 pounds less weight on each knee.

3. to undergo or endure, especially with patience or submission; tolerate.

It takes a lot of patience to lose weight at a healthy long-term rate.

4. to sustain (a person, the mind, spirits, courage, etc.) under trial or affliction: They supported him throughout his ordeal.

I've had great support from so many friends and family members.

–noun

1. the state of being supported.

I am in a constant state of being supported. My blog readers, family, and friends are a huge source of support along with fellow meeting attenders and my WW meeting leader and receptionists.

–adjective

(of hosiery) made with elasticized fibers so as to fit snugly on the legs, thereby aiding circulation, relieving fatigue, etc.

When I'm at my goal weight, there will be no more need for support hose! LOL!

I have been so blessed to have such a huge community of support. Off the top of my head, I'm going to list some of my supporters here. If I miss you, I apologize in advance!

Ken W.

Sandie B.

Keary B.

Sallie D.

Tom W.

Beth S.

Laura W.

Jeff W.

Paul S.

Kim B.

John B.

Courtney T.

Peggy D.

Tina A.

Carrie D.

Karn B.

Amber E.

Liz M.

Judy T.

Shannon B.

Andrea E.

Roselyn S.

Lori R.

Eve H.

Justin H.

Eric H.

Mary K.

Bill H.

Michelle H.J.

Karen

Jennifer

Jenny D.

Jen S.

Jen H.

Angela S.

Tanya W.

Beth A.

Beth U.

Cami H.

Sue

Noreen

Donna

Mary

Diane

Lorene M.

Megan L.

Melissa G.

Molly S.

Mindy R.

Nikki H.

Laura G.

Veronika S.

Kelly H.

Matt K.

Christine L.

Jackie M.

Bob M.

Jason L.

Nicole H.

Amber D.

Jennifer G.

Kristin D.

Jackie C.

Tawni

Rachel S.

Dawn T.

Gina F.

Julie B.

Ruthie H.

Sarah A.

Sarah B.

Michele I.

Janis F.

Amy A.

Amy M.

Ada T.

Jackie T.

Dorothy T.

Sandra T.

Annette B.

Annette J.

Bess G.

Connie W.

Dan F.

Holly F.

Gerry T.

Heather M.

Jodie W.

Katie W.

LiAnn S.

Kris K.

Stacey W.

Brent W.

Stacie S.

Tara W.

Toni P.

There are SO many more of you out there who have supported me and for you I am grateful! You ALL deserve a huge gold star.

Fargo Marathon Weekend: Day 3

2011-05-31T12:32:00.001-05:00

First things first, I weighed in this morning expecting a gain. I didn't gain, but lost 0.2 pound. A loss is a loss, so I'll take it! That is one stick of butter off of me somewhere. ;)

About two blocks away from the finish line

5K, 10K, and "Go Far Challenge" medals

The Fargo Marathon Saturday morning 10K race was a big deal for me to complete! I was so excited that I didn't sleep well the night before. I woke up at 5:30 AM and quickly got dressed and had a bite to eat along with a big glass of water. My mom walked the 10K with me along with one of her co-workers (such a sweet lady who sometimes reads my blog...Hi J!). The morning was a little rainy, but it didn't rain at all during our race. We walked through old neighborhoods where I grew up, saw friends along the way and had fun! Mile marker 4 was right by my parents' home, so my dad and son were outside cheering us on along with my aunt and uncle at the end of our block. At about mile 4 1/2 I got tired. I kept moving, but was ready to just be done with it. Someone cheering everyone on had some great music with the perfect beat playing and I picked up my pace and by mile marker 5 I was on a roll. I went ahead of my mom and then jogged into the Fargo Dome to finish the race when a lady passing me cheered me on and said, "Come on, Girl, you can do it!" I jogged in with her (thank you whoever you were!!) and felt awesome!

At the end of the race, when I was walking by myself, I had quietness that allowed me to reflect on the last year and where I was just a year ago. I got a little choked up thinking about just how far I've come in the last year and just how proud of myself I am. I try hard to keep that pride at bay and be grateful for the blessing that the last year has been to me, but in that moment I felt like shouting, "I've lost 86 pounds in the last year and look at me now!!!" I didn't, of course, say anything at all, but I'm sure the smile on my face when I finished the race showed everyone just how happy I was to be there, finishing my first official 10K. My finishing time was 1:43:02, which was a slower pace than what I was hoping for, but I was just so happy to finish it.

Races complete!

For completing two races during the weekend events, I earned a third medal for the "Go Far Challenge"!

Next year I hope to RUN the 5K and 10K!

We Remember: Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-30T11:04:00.001-05:00

For my husband, grandfathers, uncles, cousins, brother-in-laws, sister-in-law, and many friends who have served our country and those who have supported them, waited for them at home, and served along with them...I thank you.

Fargo Marathon Weekend: Day 2

2011-05-23T14:06:00.000-05:00

Friday evening was the 5K race! My husband had signed up to walk with me, but he was out of town for business so couldn't attend. Instead, my dad walked in his place (and joked that he got to be 34 for the day)! We ended up walking with my cousin's wife and the three of us stayed together for the walk most of the time. We walked past my elementary school and neighborhoods of friends. So many people were out in their yards and the streets cheering us all on and playing music for us. It was so fun! We were walking fast enough to pass many people, so we were weaving in and out of the pedestrian traffic quite a lot, so at times we got seperated. At the end we got seperated, my dad got ahead of me and I got stuck behind a large group of people and my dad ended up beating me to the finish line! It rained before the race, but cleared just long enough for us to walk. The cooler 60's temperatures were perfect. My official time for the 5K was 49:01, which is the fastest I've walked a 5K! I usually do it around 54 minutes. Next year, my goal is to run it!

Fargo Marathon Weekend: Day 1

2011-05-22T21:40:00.000-05:00

I've been home from Fargo for just a few hours and am still on a high from the weekend events! I had so much fun participating in the 5K and 10K and cheering on fellow participants, too! Since the weekend was just so full of fun, I'm going to write about it over the next few days.

Day 1: I got to Fargo on Thursday after a long drive from Omaha through a lot of construction that caused delays turning what should have been a 6 1/2 hour drive into an 8 hour drive. Once I got there, I headed over to The Fargo Dome to pick up my packets and check out the expo which was full of every kind of product a runner would need!

Picking up my packets!

Between the two race route maps that I was going to participate in.

T-shirts, bag, and bibs for each race! My 10K bib said "Full Marathon" on it! We went back in the morning to check it, but they had run out of 10K bibs, so printed the last few on Full marathon bibs! I guess because my last name starts with a "W", mine was one of the last to be printed!

I wasn't too pleased that the 5K shirt (and medal) says, "Uffda" on it. For those of you who don't know, you can read about the phrase HERE. Other than that, I love the shirts and the bag is nice, too!

Tomorrow I'll write about my 5K!

Weekly Weigh-in!

2011-05-17T12:31:00.000-05:00

I weighed in today with a 2.6 pounds loss! I lost a daily allowance point, too, so I'm now down to 32 points per day. My total loss is now 86.6 pounds! I'm looking forward to 90 pounds, but am looking forward to 92 pounds even more as that will take me out of the 200's and into ONEderland! I'm so close!

This coming weekend I'm walking the 5K and 10K in a marathon, so I'm excited about that! Hope the weather will hold up so I don't have to walk in the rain. I'm sure I'll share pictures early next week once it is all done and I've recuperated. :o)

Earrings Give-away!

2011-05-16T13:16:00.000-05:00

Hollee over at Dandelion Wishes is having a give-away for some super cute earrings by Relaxed Beauty! Go check them out and enter to win!!

Cleaning House

2011-05-15T14:07:00.001-05:00

Happy Sunday! This morning I weighed myself just to see where I was to know what to expect on Tuesday at my WW weigh-in and things look promising! :o)

Something that is a constant battle of mine besides my weight is my house and cleaning it. I do an okay job most of the time and sometimes even do a fantastic job at keeping it clean, but I'm always striving to find simpler ways to get it done. Today I sat down at my computer with two books at hand. Fly Lady's (aka Marla Cilley) "Sink Reflections" and Sarah Mae's "31 Day to Clean." Both books are full of great ideas to not only clean your house, give a simple schedule to get it done, but also talk about focusing on family and faith while taking care of your home. Combining the ideas from both books, some of my own, and some from friends and speakers I've heard, I came up with a schedule to get my house clean and keep it that way! Most of my readers here are the ones who do the cleaning, so I thought I'd share it. (You can click on it to make it bigger)

The second line is my weekly laundry schedule. I'll wash one person's laundry each day along with towels, bedding, and extras. Of course there will be days when I'll need to wash extra bedding or someone will need that one specific shirt washed, but this will be my general schedule.

The third line in pink is my weekly schedule. Each day beyond the lower schedule I'll work on certain things throughout the week. If you want to know more about Monday: Home Blessing Day, click HERE.

The 35 boxes with chores listed focus on detail cleaning. It is on a five week rotation rather than a monthly schedule because not all months have the same number of days. You'll notice that I kept Sundays as my day of rest. I have a hard time with this and often find myself scurrying about to clean on Sundays to be ready for Monday to come along. No more of that! Sundays are for church, to rest, enjoy my family and have some quiet alone time, too.

So why did I choose to write about cleaning on my weight-loss blog? I have found that as I shed pounds I also want to shed clutter from my house. They seem to go hand in hand for me. Letting go of the weight both in pounds off of my body and pounds out of my home has been freeing and I would love to see you all shedding the weight, too!

We Want To Know Wednesday and my Weekly Weigh-in!

2011-05-11T16:53:00.000-05:00

First things first, I weighed in yesterday with a whopping 0.6 pound loss! Woot! A loss is a loss. That takes me to -84 total, though, which I'm pretty happy with. Hoping to lose at least one pound this next week for my 85 pound mark!

Now I'll get to the "We Want to Know Wednesday" hosted by Impulsive Addict, Janette, Mamarazzi, and Seriously Shawn.

This week's questions come from Janette

{1} What game show have you always thought you could be on and totally WIN!
{2} Do you have a tattoo(s)? What are they and what made you chose them? If not, would you get one, yes/no/why?
{3} What is your favorite piece of jewelry that you own?
{4} What is your driving pet peeve(s)?
{5} What was your favorite sitcom growing up that you wish was still on?

{1} The Price is Right! I remember watching it with my mom and my grandma's favorite game was Plinko. I'm pretty good at guessing the prices of things, so I think I could win!

{2} I have no tattoos. I have thought about getting one in the past, but just never did. Maybe someday I'll get my starting weight tattood on me somewhere to remind myself to never NEVER go back!

{3} Ohhhh! I have a great love for jewelry so I have several pieces that are favorites. I would say my wedding band because it is simple and reminds me of our humble beginnings.

{4} My driving pet peeve the the accelleration at yellow lights around here. Yellow means slow down and come to a stop if you can, not speed up and end up running a red! That and texting while driving. DON'T do it!

{5} Growing up I loved The Cosby Show! I don't necessarily wish it was still on, though. I wish Friends was still on, though! :o)

We Want To Know Wednesday...Something New!

2011-05-04T09:41:00.001-05:00

Don't worry, my weight-losing readers! This is still a blog about my weight-loss journey, but I thought it would be fun to join in something new every once in a while to keep things fresh around here. I'm sure you're all just so excited each Tuesday when I post my weigh-in and cling to the computer to see when I'll post about my latest healthy food find! Just kidding, of course, I know you have better things to do in life than hang on my every word. So I wanted to join in on something I found this morning called "We Want to Know Wednesday" hosted by Mamarazzi, Seriously Shawn, Impulsive Addict, and Janette. Feel free to join in on your blogs and link-up with them!

Here are the questions:

{1} If money didn't matter, where would your perfect vacation take place? Briefly describe.
{2}What's a bad habit that you have (or had) that is/was hard to break?
{3} If you weren't on a diet or counting calories, what would you like to have for dinner tonight?
{4} If you had the chance to interview anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and what's one question that you would ask?
{5} Describe yourself in 6 words.

{1} If money didn't matter, I would love to go to England. With all of the royal wedding buzz lately, I've really wanted to go even more! My husband is leaving to go there in a few days, too, so maybe that has something to do with it. Twinges of jealousy that he gets to go to England while I stay here in Nebraska!

{2} A bad habit that I've had to break is eating junk in the evening. I used to eat HUGE bowls of ice cream or candy almost every night. No more.

{3} If I weren't on a diet or counting calories (neither of which I'm doing, btw...Weight Watchers is for LIFE!) I would eat chicken Parmesan...yum!

{4} If I could interview one person and ask anything, I'd interview Jean Nidetch, who is the founder of Weight Watchers about her struggles with her weight and her entrepreneurship that started Weight Watchers. Her story sounds like something I could relate to and I'd love to pick her brain!

{5} Six words that describe me are Christian, Loyal, Enthusiastic, Creative, Girly, and Bold

May Vlog: What's in a Name and My Purse

2011-05-03T13:34:00.004-05:00

The Monthly VLOG Challenge for May...

Emmy Mom @ One Day at a Time wants to know...Is there a name you can't stand and why? And along with this do you like your own name?

Shawn and Mamarazzi also asked This or That questions:

Ocean or Mountains?
Sweet or Salty?
Early Bird or Night Owl?
Edward or Jacob?
Book or Kindle?
Manicure or Pedicure?
MAC or PC?

And finally the Show and Tell portion: Beth @ Living a Goddess Life wants to know: What is in your handbag/purse?

Okay! So did you love this? If so, please do it, too, and tell them I sent you! It is fun!!

BTW, Connie @ The Young and The Relentless sent me!

Edited to add at 10PM to answer a common question in the comments:

I'm originally from North Dakota. I lived there until I was 25 and then moved to Oklahoma before moving to Nebraska where I've been nearly 5 years. So, yes, I'm from the North and have a bit of a funny accent. When I go up to visit family and friends in ND, though, I now hear their accents, so I know that I don't have it as thick as they do and I do refrain from phrases like "Yeah, sure you betcha" and "Uff da" and I call soft drinks "soda", not "pop".

Weekly Weigh-in!

2011-05-03T10:27:00.003-05:00

Starting Weight: 292
Last Week: 211
This Week: 208.6
Weekly Loss: -2.4
Total Loss: -83.4

I'm happy to report a 2.4 pounds loss this week! I lost what I gained last week over Easter weekend and managed to lose just a little bit more, too. I now weigh what I weighed in late 2002!

For my friend who compares pounds to sticks of butter: 83.4 pounds equals 333.6 sticks of butter!

My son's 5th birthday party last week was a blast, thank you to those who wished him a happy day!

One Year Anniversary!

2011-04-29T00:00:00.035-05:00

Today is my one year anniversary of the first time I stepped foot into a Weight Watchers meeting. Today feels like a birthday of sorts. A year ago I woke up with a song in my head that told me it was "time to make a change" and I did...and I stuck with it! I'm not done with this journey of mine. I still have weight to lose and things to learn so I'm looking forward to what this next year will bring.

I started this blog on that day, too. I wanted to have a place to journal about this journey so that it was all in one place. This blog has brought me so much more than I ever imagined it would. I've met some great people through it, have been inspired by those people, I've learned more about myself, too. It has become a theraputic place for me at times, a place to be serious or silly and I thank you all for reading my blog, posting comments, and giving me your support throughout this past year. I hope you'll be along for the ride as I begin a new year!

Blessings From a Fellow Blogger

2011-04-28T13:55:00.000-05:00

A week ago one of my blog followers sent me an email. Her name is Karen. She used to blog at Heart & Soul, but doesn't blog any longer. Karen has been touched by my story and when she read my post about my reward bracelet, she decided to bless me with some charms. Her daughter works for Swarovski and they have a new line of crystal beads for pandora-style bracelets. Karen asked if she could bless me with a few beads for my bracelet to represent those who read my blog who have been inspired by it. Today I received a package with this inside:

Karen sent me five charms for my bracelet and they are gorgeous! She sent Crystal, Aquamarine, Rose, Aurora Borealis (rainbow-like crystal), and Silver Shade.

Her daughter wanted to bless me as well, so she sent me this beautiful Swarovski pen. The picture doesn't do it justice, it is so pretty and pink!

The candles Karen sent smell so sweet, too!

Here is my bracelet with the new charms added on. I will continue to earn one for each ten pounds I lose and will think of the new five beads as representation of those who I've inspired and will inspire in the future.

I'm so touched by this gift. Karen wanted to bless me and I feel blessed and completely spoiled! Karen, thank you for this blessing and thank you for wanting to represent my blog readers with this gift. I blog with the hope to touch someone out there, to inspire them to make a change in their life to be healthier. I don't post my weight out there for the world to see for selfish reasons. I don't post pictures of myself to be recognized. Sure, it feels great to be complimented and have my accomplishments recognized, but that isn't what drives this blog or my facebook page. I simply want to inspire other people to make changes in their lives to be healthy and live long, full lives. I want those who are struggling with their weight to be inspired to do something about it and to finally face the challenge. I want to be able to help other people out there to break away the chains that come along with being overweight and to find their freedom. If I can inspire ONE person through this blog, it is all worth it. I am so touched by this gift and humbled by it as well.

Are you waiting to start your journey? Now is the time! Please read this blog post I wrote as a guest on The 4th Frog Blog yesterday.

A Year From Now...

2011-04-27T13:29:00.001-05:00

"A year from now you'll wish you had started today."

It is a quote that I read on someone's blog in January 2010. It spoke to me and by April I was ready to start losing weight and stick with it once and for all. April 29th, 2010 I walked into my first Weight Watcher's meeting and throughout the last year I often reflected on that quote knowing that a year later I was going to be so glad that I did start that day. Well, that day is nearly here. Yesterday I weighed in for the week and gained 2 pounds, but that number doesn't matter to me this week. I brought my size 24 jeans to my meeting yesterday and received a standing ovation for my year anniversary and accomplishment. I held back the tears and smiled through it. It felt so awesome to be celebrated! This week I'm looking at the big picture. I'm remembering where I was a year ago and am celebrating where I am today.

In the last year I've:

Gone down from a size 24 jeans to a size 14
Lost 75 1/2 inches from head to toe
Exercised, on purpose, and enjoyed it
Ran through the yard with my son and didn't get winded
Gone up and down my stairs several times without wheezing or being out of breath
Played with my son for hours at a time without stopping to take a break
Wore a dress for the first time in years
Walked my first 5K and many after that!
Walked my first 10K
Met every single goal that I set for myself, and learned how to set realistic goals for myself
Lost 28% of my starting weight
Smiled and laughed a lot more...joy from health and energy!
Shared my journey with friends and family and have encouraged 25 other people in my life (that I'm aware of) to join Weight Watchers
Never missed a single WW meeting, I went every week!
Learned that it doesn't matter what number is on the scale or in the back of my pants as long as I'm feeling better along the way and am continuing towards a healthier life.

I'm so incredibly blessed to have the family and friends that I do. The friends who have supported me along the way are wonderful and I'm so so thankful for each one of them. There are those who support me by literally cheering me on each week through this blog, Facebook, emails or phone calls. There are those who cheer me on when they see me at my MOPS meetings or play dates for our kids. I've had teachers and parents at my son's school cheer me on. There are those who I know are silently cheering me on, too. You're all blessings to me and I'm so thankful for each one of you. I'm not done with this journey, so I look forward to what the next year will bring. I have no idea what the future holds, but I know that with God ALL things are possible and He is cheering me on and giving me the strength to continue.

"A year from now you'll wish you had started today."

This week I'm starting my year once again!

What a Difference a Year Makes!

2011-04-26T08:28:00.001-05:00

75 1/2 inches lost and over 80 pounds in one year!

I'll write more about my one year on Weight Watchers later this week. Today I'm celebrating my son's 5th birthday!

Weekly Weigh-in!

2011-04-19T15:50:00.000-05:00

Finally! A loss on the scale. After a week of maintaining and then a tiny little gain, I finally had a loss this week! Phew! I was getting a little worried that I was on a plateau or something, but I'm not. I lost 2.6 pounds this week for a grand total of 83! Very cool!

In bigger (or smaller!) news today, I dropped another jean size!!! I'm wearing 14's today. I started in a size 24 almost a year ago!

Next week is my one year anniversary week with Weight Watchers. I joined April 29th, 2010! Hoping for another loss (maybe 2 pounds to reach 85?) to celebrate that anniversary. Either way, I have much to celebrate over the last year!

Long Time No Post!

2011-04-13T21:04:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't written a blog post in two weeks! Oh my! I'm feeling a little discouraged with a week of maintaining followed by a tiny little gain. I know I can push beyond this and keep losing, though! I have about 50 more pounds to lose to be in the WW healthy guidelines, so I can't stop now and I certainly don't plan to! Just wanted to check in to let you all know that I'm around and am counting my points, drinking my water, and getting in lots of activity with the warm spring air we've had lately. :o)

What It Looks Like To Lose 80 Pounds!

2011-03-29T11:08:00.000-05:00

I had a three pound loss this week which brought my total loss to 80.6 pounds! I can't believe it. Today is my 11 month anniversary of starting Weight Watchers. I lost 8.6 pounds just in March. It feels SO good to say "80!"! Here is a slideshow of me and my starting weight and today:

My measurements where a huge NSV for me this week, too! I lost 2.25 inches this month. Here's the breakdown in inches:

Head - .5
Neck - 2.25
Chest -3
Bust -5
Ribcage -4
Waist -16
Hips -11.5
Thighs -8.75 (17.5 for two)
Calves -2 (4 for two)
Bicep -4.25 (8.5 for two)
Wrist -.75 (1.5 for two)
______________________

Total inches lost = 73 1/4! My husband is 73 inches tall!

I'm so thankful for the blessing that Weight Watchers has been to me and for the progress that I have had so far. I'm not done by any means, but I'm feeling so great with how far I've come! WW works!

Rewards

2011-03-26T14:41:00.000-05:00

This is my new bracelet. Since I started Weight Watchers nearly a year ago, I have been thinking of a unique way to reward myself for my hard work and success. New, smaller, clothes are always fun, but I consider them a necessity not a reward. A few weeks ago I discovered Pandora bracelets and fell in love. I love jewelry and the charms are reasonably priced so this was something I could afford. I did my homework on them and scoured the internet for ideas and inspiration on which charms to get. I thought that I had seen these bracelets at my local Kay Jewelers, where I get my rings cleaned and repaired, so DH and I went in to check them out. Well, Kay doesn't carry Pandora, but they do carry a system just like it called Charmed Memories. They are a little less expensive and the look and quality is the same. Perfect! The bracelet and charms are sterling silver, the crystals are genuine Swarovski, and beads like my pink one are Murano glass. I've decided that I will get one charm for every 10 pounds I lose. I can't afford to get seven charms for the 70 I've already lost, so I started with three for the first 30 (which I accomplished back in July!) today. I'll add to it little by little and will end with either a dangling star or butterfly. The two end pieces are stoppers to keep the beads from sliding around...they don't count as rewards. ;o) The cross is my first charm because Jesus comes first in my life and without Him, nothing is possible.

How do you reward yourself for goals met or other successes?

Fat Talk

2011-03-25T17:13:00.001-05:00

Watch this video:

The Fat Talk Free week is past, but isn't that video so powerful? How often do you look at the number on the scale and instead of seeing the number, you see the word "FAT"? How often do you eat something and "feel fat" afterward. This blog, this new lifestyle of mine, isn't about a journey to being skinny, it is about health. I used to call myself fat quite a lot. I used to see myself as not much more than a fat girl. No more. No more of that "fat talk" in my life. I'm still not at a healthy weight, so am on this journey to get there, but in the mean time I'm happy with my body and the amazing things it does. I'm beautiful and, my dear readers, so are you. No matter what you weigh, how big your clothes are, or what you eat...you are a child of God and you're beautiful!

Confession on Exercise

2011-03-23T09:18:00.000-05:00

Photo credit

A reader of mine, who blogs at Healthy Happy & Wise, commented on my recent "Eat and Lose" post.

"Hi, just curious how much exercise you do while being on weight watchers? I think it's important to mention your exercise too (i'm assuming you are getting exercise to lose weight) but don't want to give people the wrong idea that you can achieve weight loss without doing the exercise.."

To answer that question honestly, I don't exercise. I've gone to the gym on and off, I've walked 5K's around a lake and my neighborhood (even did a 10K once not too long ago), I've shredded with Jillian Michaels, but I don't exercise consistently by any means. I should. I want to, but if I'm being honest...I don't. That said, I am the mother to an almost 5 year old boy who keeps me busy. I get a lot of walking done while grocery shopping, running other errands, and certainly keep busy cleaning my house. I move and I move a lot, but as far as structured exercise goes, when I really get my heart rate up and sweat,...not very often. It is something I'm striving to change because it is important to incorporate it into my new lifestyle, but it has been something I've struggled with as far as making the time to actually do it.

So, yes it certainly is possible to lose weight without a lot of structured exercise. I've done it. BUT...I don't recommend it. I recommend getting exercise, getting that heart rate up and breaking a sweat. I just don't want to be hypocritical and pretend that is what I do because, in all honesty, I don't. Not yet, anyway...I'm working on it!

If you want to read some great tips to help you get back into exercise, read this!

Weekly Weigh-in!

2011-03-22T11:02:00.000-05:00

I weighed in this morning, here are the results:

Starting Weight: 292
Last Week: 214.8
This Week 214.4
Weekly Loss -0.4
Total Loss: -77.6

I'm only 0.4 away from losing 80 pounds, which I hope to do next week! I dropped a daily point allowance, too, to 33 daily points.

Today I'm wearing a pair of capri pants that are far too big for me. Kind of fun! They are size 20 and I'm in a size 16 now. They don't look terrible, but are obviously too big as they were tight on me last year and now are so baggy. I need a belt. I need to go shopping for some warm weather clothes...soon!

Eat and Lose

2011-03-19T10:38:00.001-05:00

Weight Watchers gives me 34 points a day plus 49 points that I can use throughout the week. If I had started on the new WW PointsPlus program, I would have started with 45 points per day, plus the weekly 49. That is a lot of food to eat and lose weight. Weight Watchers is just so great like that. As long as I'm making good food choices, I can eat quite a bit each day. If I feel like indulging I can do that, too...and still lose weight! Here is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast
Three eggs, scrambled 6
1/4 cup 1% milk (in the eggs) 1
Bagel Thin 3
Laughing Cow garlic herb cheese wedge (spread onto the bagel) 1

Lunch
3 cups of whole wheat pasta 13
Prego marinara sauce, 1 cup 5

Dinner
1 slice of light bread 1
deli turkey breast 1
1/2 slice of cheese 0
1/4 tbsp brummel & brown spread 0
Pop Chips, 1 oz 3

Snack
jello dark chocolate pudding cup 2

Beverages
water and one 12oz diet coke 0

Daily Total: 36

Lunch was my indulgence. Pasta was a craving that I gave into knowing that I could "afford" it if I had a light dinner (1/2 a turkey sandwich). No fruit or veggies yesterday, I really need to be better about having more of them! Yesterday's breakfast wasn't typical for me. My breakfast is usually a Fiber One bar with fruit or a bowl of cereal with fruit. To use my 49 weekly points, I splurge on high carb foods like pasta or pizza or an ice cream treat (smart ones or skinny cow). I love peanut butter, but it costs a lot of points so I use the 49 for that. It is okay to indulge like that and still lose weight. Those 49 weekly points are there to use! I figure if I use them now and lose weight, then I'll continue to lose weight and be able to eat them as I get closer to my goal. In the 10 1/2 months that I've been a Weight Watcher, I've never felt hungry or deprived. Not once! WW isn't a diet. Diets are temporary. Weight Watchers is for life. It isn't something you can start and expect to have continued success if you don't commit to it for the long haul. Weight Watchers allows you to eat whatever you want. No going "cold-turkey" on anything. What some chocolate cake or a glass of wine? Go ahead! Just don't eat the entire cake or drink the entire bottle! Be accountable for everything you eat, track it, and you'll have success that is long-lasting. It is possible to indulge and lose weight!

Wonder Woman

2011-03-18T12:25:00.000-05:00

I saw this cartoon on someone's facebook page and thought it was too funny! There are times during this journey that I have felt like Wonder Woman, able to tackle any challenge! Cookies? No problem! Ice cream? Who needs it?! Gain on the scale? I'll lose it next week! Other times I feel like The Invisible Man is holding me down and I just can't get over a craving, negative thought or other challenge.

What do I do when when the Invisible Man is messing with me? I often pray about it and find the challenge to be no big deal. Other times I give into the craving and find it wasn't so bad after all. Sometimes I binge and eat well into my 49 weekly points. I'm always accountable for whatever it is I eat, though. I always, yes I can say always, track everything that goes into my mouth. Tracking is my super power! I've been going to Weight Watchers meetings every single week for 10 1/2 months. Many times I've heard people in the meetings complain about how they hate to track their points. That is what Weight Watchers is all about. Well, no, that isn't what it is all about as there's much more to it than that, but it is a HUGE part of the WW program. If you're not tracking what you're eating, then you can't be successful. It is like having money in a bank account and spending and spending and spending without keeping track of it and then not knowing how you ended up in bankruptcy (a gain on the scale)! You wouldn't do that with your money, why in the world would you do that with your food? Track your food intake and you'll see results. Use the super power that tracking is and don't let the Invisible Man get the best of you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T11:14:00.000-05:00

May the sun shine all day long,
Everything go right and nothing go wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you
And may all the wishes you wish come true!

Stay safe if you go out to celebrate tonight and have a designated driver!

Weight Matters

2011-03-15T14:12:00.004-05:00

Picture credit

As I've mentioned before I'm in a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. A friend of mine, and fellow Weight Watcher, is our coordinator for the group and she wrote an article for our March newsletter about body image and how God doesn't look at your body, but looks at your heart. The first sentence of her article was "I weigh ...". Wow. That article goes out to our entire MOPs group of 60 or so women and the staff of the church where we meet. I found it to be so brave of her to share her weight so openly. It wasn't something that she thought would be fun, but she prayed about it and felt led to share it in that article to drive home the point that the number on the scale just doesn't matter. It doesn't matter to God, anyway, and all too often too much emphasis is put on that number. Her article got me thinking about how much emphasis I put on that number. Here I am blogging about my weight-loss and sharing a lot about myself here, but never the numbers that show on the scale week after week. Why does it matter? It doesn't! Today at our WW meeting, one of our members actually said THAT NUMBER out loud to the whole group. No one does that, not even at WW meetings! I applauded her! After reading my friend's article and hearing the lady at our meeting say her number...I've decided to share mine. It doesn't matter. It doesn't change who I am. I am a child of God and am wonderfully made.

My starting weight was 292 pounds. My starting jeans size was 24.

My current weight is 214.8 pounds. My current jeans size is 16.

Weight Watchers gives me a healthy weight range goal of 128-160, so I have at least 55 more pounds to lose. You can see all of my weekly weights on the side bar.

I hope that in sharing this information about myself that you'll be inspired to put less emphasis on the number on the scale and put more emphasis on your health and your heart (your soul). What matters is what is inside of you, not what the scale says.

Thanks for reminding me what matters, C...you're a treasure!

Blessings,

Two

2011-03-15T11:09:00.001-05:00

Busy day, so just a quick post for my weekly weigh-in! I lost two pounds this week bringing my total to -77.2! So happy with that number! I didn't realize it until today, but I've now lost over 25%!

Later this week I'm going to post about just how much I eat and still lose weight. Stay tuned for that, you may be amazed!

Weekly Weigh-in!

2011-03-08T13:54:00.000-06:00

I lost 1.4 pounds this week which brings my total to....

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

75.2 pounds!!!

I'm beyond thrilled to hit this goal this week. All week long I wanted it so badly and prayed for it, too. I drew strength from above when I was having strong cravings, thanks to TOM coming on Sunday, and that strength got me through this week. I did it! I'm flying on a natural high today and am just beaming with joy and doing a little happy dance!

I was recognized at my meeting with the above certificate, the 75 lb charm for my key chain and a magnet. A dear friend stood up and said some very sweet things about me, made me cry because it was so unexpected, and I had so many congratulations from fellow meeting attenders. It felt SO so good, I can only imagine what hitting my lifetime goal is going to feel like once I'm there! Wow...if I feel this great now, how great is that going to feel!?!

If you need to lose weight to get healthier, know that it can be done! Only ten months ago I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting and look how far I've come. It is unbelievable to me. With God's grace and the WW program, I've come so far already and am looking forward to going even further in this journey. If you need to lose weight, too, you CAN! You can do it, just take that first step, keep going forward and soon enough you'll be sharing in this high feeling of success.

Three Things Thursday

2011-03-03T09:34:00.000-06:00

1. I'm looking forward to seeing my husband in less than 24 hours!!! He's been out of town for two (very long) weeks! I'm also looking forward to a women's retreat hosted by my church this weekend. It is my first retreat like this as an adult, and I'm looking forward to fellowship with other women, a few friends, and growing in my faith with them. It will be my first time away from my kiddo overnight, but I'm just fine with that so far...like I said, my DH has been out of town for two weeks, I'm ready for a break.

2. I REALLY want to lose 1.2 pounds this week to hit my -75 mini-goal while my DH is in town so he can celebrate with me. REALLY really really Really want it!!! Of course, TOM is due to arrive within the next week so who knows what that will mean. I'm drinking my water like crazy to try my best to combat any water retention! Lord, please let it be!

3. I have found myself talking with many friends, some family, and some strangers about joining Weight Watchers and helping them with questions and such. I find it extremely satisfying and am praying about it. Is God leading me to do something like this as my profession? I'm not sure at this point, but I'm definitely feeling a nudge. To date, 23 people, that I'm aware of, have joined WW since I've become more vocal about my efforts. To know that I've inspired 23 people to give it a shot and learn to live healthier lives is so rewarding. It keeps me motivated to keep going, too!

Fresh Look

2011-03-01T21:06:00.000-06:00

There's just something about March 1st that makes me want to throw open the windows, dig out my flip-flops, clean my house, and have a fresh look! I thought I'd take that enthusiasm for spring and give my blog a little face lift, too. I got this template free, see the little button on the bottom left sidebar or click here, and think it's cute, fun, and fresh. It is called "Domestic Diva", which is something I strive toward, but fail miserably. :o) Hope you like the new look, if you're a steady reader of mine you know that I often change looks, but I think this one will stay around for awhile!

Enjoy!

March 1st Weigh-in and a little rant about DPA's

2011-03-01T11:17:00.000-06:00

I weighed in this morning and lost 1.8 pounds this week! I'm thrilled with the result as I wasn't very good with eating as my DH has been out of town for awhile and I tend to eat more comfort foods when he's away like pasta, pasta, chips and more pasta. I tracked everything I ate, though, and stayed on point and it worked!

At my meeting this morning I was sitting next to a lady and another young lady who I assume is the lady's daughter. Before the meeting started I overheard the older one telling the younger one that it was okay for her not to eat all of her daily points allowance and that she could bank her points for the next day. Meaning if she had 8 points left over at the end of the day, she could eat those 8 the next day without any repercussion. No, no, no! I didn't know what to do, it wasn't my business to correct her as I was just overhearing their conversation, but I didn't want to let it go, either. I told my WW leader about it afterward and she said she would mention it to them. If you are doing that, banking your points, stop right now!!! You daily points allowance is just that...DAILY! Eat those points every day, if you happen to have some left over throughout the day, then you need to change your menu so that you're getting them all in. If you have some left over every day, you'll lose weight, but once you get closer to your goal and you end up eating all of your daily points allowance, you're going to plateau big time and get frustrated. Eating your DPA (daily points allowance) every day allows you to lose weight at a healthy rate and you will continue to do so as you get closer and closer to goal. Don't mess it up by working the system to your benefit now, it doesn't work that way and you won't succeed at maintaining. Weight Watchers works, do the program the way it is intended to be done and you'll have great success!

Weekly Weigh-in and a 10K!

2011-02-22T12:46:00.000-06:00

I weighed in this morning with a 2.2 pound loss! Yay. I wanted to lose that 0.6 I had gained last week, so I'm was happy to have more. I dropped a weekly point (finally) and am 0.1 away from dropping a decade on the scale! Great week!

This past weekend I walked my first 10K! It took me an hour and 43 minutes with a little jogging, but mostly walking. I was SO sore for a few days afterward, but it was well worth it. I'm walking a 10K in May and needed to know that I could do it. I can do it! Now I want to work on upping my pace a bit so that I can do it a little faster, but for now I'm thrilled that I did it and felt great afterward.

Weigh-in Results and Working Out Challenges

2011-02-15T10:15:00.000-06:00

I gained 0.6 pound this week. No huge surprise as TOM is visiting and I'm retaining water, I think. Either way, it isn't anything I can't handle! I anticipate gains from time to time, that is a normal part of losing weight, strange as it may seem.

I'm having a hard time making the time to get to the gym. I've worked out with Jillian's 30 day shred a few times, but the last time I was at the gym it was January 19th and I'm due to go back for a following up with a personal trainer tomorrow, a month later! I have no news to report to the trainer since I haven't been back. I have a desire to get up and go at 5AM every day, yet I really like to sleep as late as possible. I want to go when my son is at school, but he goes at noon, right in the middle of the day, and that just isn't convenient to my schedule. By the time DH is home from work, I'm teaching piano lessons, having dinner and then am too tired to think about going to work out. Excuses, excuses, excuses! I know that if I work out consistently that I feel better, have more energy, sleep better, digest better...the list goes on and on. So, my dear readers, I'm going to recommit to it tomorrow with that meeting I have scheduled with the personal trainer. I'm going to post here on a new workout page how many minutes I'm working out each day. I'll give myself one day a week off (Tuesdays), so if you see a day go by that I don't have minutes logged, leave me a comment and tell me to get off my rear and move (seriously, please do!)! Cheers to earlier bedtimes and early morning movement!

Down, Down, Down

2011-02-11T18:38:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd share a picture of my weight-loss chart on Weight Watchers. I love seeing that line go down, down, down!

Here's the key for the little colored stars:

The first orange star is for the first 5 pounds lost, every pink star is for every 5 lost since the first 5. The black star is 5% off, brown is 10% off, dark blue is 25 pounds lost and light blue is 50 pounds lost. Soon enough I'll have a star for 75 pounds lost! I'll also be awarded another charm for my 10% key chain. I can't wait!

No More X's

2011-02-10T13:19:00.000-06:00

Today I went shopping for a new pair of jeans. My current jeans were slightly big, so I knew I'd be in the next size down soon and wanted to have a pair on hand to work toward since all of my clothes in my closet are now the right size and I've run out of smaller sizes. I haven't been my current size since 2002 and certainly don't dress like I did then! Well, I got home and tried on the new pair of jeans to see how far I had to go before I'd fit into them and...they fit!! I couldn't believe it. TOM is due anytime so I'm feeling bloated and they fit! I also bought two shirts off of the clearance rack for only $2.97 each! Being a size down in my jeans and my shirts, means no more X's in my size!!! I can't believe it! I haven't been THIS new size since 2001! Ten years ago...WHOA! I'm celebrating this HUGE NSV today!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-09T09:42:00.000-06:00

What It Looks Like To Lose 70 Pounds!

2011-02-08T11:14:00.001-06:00

So excited to announce that I lost 1.4 pounds this week which takes my total loss to -70.4! Finally, I'm past the 60 pound loss decade!

I feel great today! I worked hard this week to get that 1.4 off and gone forever! I went to WW early this morning to weigh in and will go back tonight for the meeting with my DH to celebrate. I can't wait!

Friend Makin' Monday ~SuperBowl Edition~

2011-02-07T09:38:00.000-06:00

It is Friend Makin' Monday once again! Click HERE to see how others answered this question.

Did you watch the Superbowl? If so, did you enjoy it? If not, what did you do instead?

I did watch the Superbowl yesterday and I thought it was a great game! I'm not typically a fan of football, or really watching any sports on TV, but last night I tuned in with my DH and DS and had a nice night together. The game was great with scoring for both sides, the game seemed to move along quickly. I watched Christina Aguilera mess up the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner (seriously...) and The Black Eyed Peas and Slash at half-time. Christina...how awful, she'll never live that down. BEP...they were good, but their audio was all sorts of messed up, so it didn't sound great at all. It could have been so much better than it was. The commercials during the game were good. I liked the Doritos commercials the best, especially the one with the co-worker licking the cheese off of his fingers. LOL! Overall, it was a great game and I enjoyed it!

Weigh-In Day Tips To Ensure a Loss

2011-02-02T12:42:00.000-06:00

I've had some people ask me for tips for weigh-in day on how to budge the scale just a little bit more. Here are my top ten tips!

Take a shower the night before. Your body absorbs water when you shower and you don't want to risk adding water weight the day you weigh-in.
Shave your legs, arms, anything you can and feel comfortable doing...hair can weigh a lot!
Make sure you use a loofa in the shower the night before, too. Dead skin can really add up.
Take off all fingernail and/or toenail polish.
No product in your hair to style it and skip the conditioner, too.
Take off all jewelry!
Wear contacts, not glasses. Glasses are heavy!
Step on your home scale at least once every hour before you go so that you know exactly what to expect and maybe it will go down more! Plus you'll burn some more calories stepping on and off of it.
Blow your nose really well.
Make sure you don't eat anything within 12 hours of weighing in. Your body needs time to digest food and get it out so it won't weigh you down. This is why weighing first thing in the morning is best.

I hope you don't believe a single thing I just listed above! What should you do on your weigh-in days? Go potty, have a good BM if you can, and then get on the scale. If you're weighing in at WW or later in the day, take a shower and go on with your day. Perhaps eat lightly, but don't starve yourself and hold back on water until after your weigh-in, but otherwise just live your day like any other day. Doing all of those silly things above isn't going to change how you did all week leading up to your weigh-in! What you do day to day, week to week, is what is going to be reflected upon on the scale. Be accountable for the choices you make all week long and as long as you're making healthy choices, the number on the scale will reflect that naturally over time! Anticipate set-backs, no matter how "good" you've been. They happen and it's okay! Just stay on track and the scale will reflect it with time.

February is here and Tuesday Weigh-in!

2011-02-01T11:54:00.001-06:00

Bye-bye January!! Even though I lost 5.4 pounds in January, I'm glad to see the month gone. One month closer to spring and there's just something about February that I love. I weighed in this morning and lost one pound this week! Yay! So glad to have a loss. I caught myself being disappointed that it wasn't two pounds to take me to -70, but I stopped myself from going there and am so happy to have lost a pound this week! Maybe next week I'll reach -70!

My New Year resolutions are all going well with the exception of a picture each day. I didn't last long with that one and was just doing it for fun anyway. It ended up being more work than fun and I stopped. That's okay, because the other resolutions are the ones that really matter anyway, continuing on my healthy journey and growing in my faith. Organizing the house is going, slowly, but steadily.

On the right side of the page there is a link to my facebook page. Go check it out! I'm doing a challenge right now to drink more water and am holding myself accountable on FB. Join me!

Friend Makin' Monday

2011-01-31T10:18:00.000-06:00

A Short Survey

1) What is your favorite household chore? And what is your least favorite?
I like vacuuming. And my least favorite is folding laundry.

2)What is your favorite city?
Florence Italy

3) Have you found real love yet?
Yes, we've been married 10 1/2 years.

4) What's one thing you eat almost everyday?
chocolate

5) What was your last thought before falling asleep last night?
I'm usually in prayer as I fall asleep and last night I was praying for a friend and an aunt.

6) What's the worst injury you had as a child?
Hmm...I didn't get hurt often, never broke a bone or had stitches. I did get a goose egg bump on my forehead in grade school when a classmate accidentally tripped me in gym class and a slid head first into the wall. Or there was the time that I fell while roller skating in high school and hurt my tail bone pretty badly.

7) Will you/have you worked out today?
I'll work out with Jillian's 30 Day Shred tonight, maybe doing two levels. Roads are too slick to get to the gym and I'm getting windows installed in my house today, so I'm not working out in front of those guys!

8) Do you tweet? If so, what's your name?
I have twitter, but rarely use it. I'm @AnnieWeighs

9) List three things you wouldn't want to live without:
Bible, family, computer/iPhone

10) Hold old were you when you had your first kiss?
I don't remember if I was a jr. or sr. in high school. Just a quick peck and it certainly didn't send off any fireworks! Haha!

Go HERE to see how others answered these questions!

Water Challenge

2011-01-26T08:52:00.000-06:00

I'm doing a little water challenge today on my facebook page. Water is SO important when trying to lose weight and I haven't been good about getting in my daily requirement lately, so I'm getting back to it and challenge you to do the same.

Head on over to Annie Weighs on facebook and join me!

AGain

2011-01-25T21:55:00.000-06:00

I gained a pound this past week. I was only one pound away from losing seventy pounds and was certain that I would make it happen this last week. One stinking pound was all I needed! I was so frustrated during my WW meeting over that one pound. I was mad that I did everything "right" and stayed completely on track and still gained a pound. I was crabby about it and wanted to temporarily throw in the towel and be done with it.

Then I remembered that I've lost 68 pounds and that is something to be proud of! 68 pounds, total, in 39 weeks is an average of 1.7 pounds a week. 1-2 pounds a week is healthy, so I'm losing at a healthy, normal rate. I lost 5.4 pounds in January and that is something to celebrate! I haven't lost 5 or more pounds in a month since September! I also remembered that I usually don't see as high a loss, or even will gain, when I'm mid-cycle. Most women lose then, but I tend to gain or have a very small loss compared to other weeks. So this shouldn't have been a surprise to me if I had paid attention to that. So, now that I really think about it, I don't need that scale shouting out "Help!", I'm doing just fine and am moving on to a fresh week. I shouldn't allow the scale to impact my moods like that and take each week, no matter the result, as a learning opportunity and keep in mind that no matter what the scale says from week to week, I'm making life-long changes that good and healthy and a gain one week isn't going to change that.

Stylin'

2011-01-21T10:11:00.000-06:00

Apparently I'm a stylish blogger! Both Moving Mertle and Eve gave me this award! Thank you both! :o)

Award Rules:

Post and link back to the person who awarded you this award
Share 7 things about yourself

Award 5 bloggers who have "Stylish" blogs.

1. Click on their names above to read all about these two terrific gals. :)
2. Seven Things about me:

My favorite nail color is OPI Bogota Blackberry

My favorite flower is a hot pink gerbera daisy. White calla lilies take a close, close second.

My favorite pampering thing is a long bubble bath.

My favorite book in the Bible is Isaiah

My favorite cardio machine is the elliptical, at the same time it is my least favorite!

My favorite beverage is water with lemon in it, in just three weeks I've acquired a love for it.

My favorite material item is my Coach purse. It was a splurge for me to get it, I used birthday and Christmas money, but I love it!

5 Stylish Blogs that I'd like to pass this award onto are:

Chris at A Deliberate Life
Kenz at All The Weigh
Whitney at Slimming Down for the Gown
Kimberlynn at Minding My Weigh
The Curvy Housewife

Quick Rant

2011-01-19T13:25:00.002-06:00

I need to rant just a little bit about something that is just buggin' me! There is a local news station hosting a weight-loss competition through a local gym. They have 13 constestants working with a personal trainer and such and in the end someone will win a membership to the gym, food from Complete Nutrition, and...something else, I don't know. Anyway, they're giving daily tips to people on their Facebook page. The first tip was "you are what you eat" (uh...that's not a tip). Today's tip is "Avoid sugar! We all have cravings, but don't give in. Sugar can be our worst nightmare when it comes to weight loss." WRONG! If you cut out any type of food altogether, you're going to end up wanting it more and binging on it later! Be responsible for your food intake, treat yourself every now and then, and you'll be much more likely to keep the weight off for the long haul! It irritates me to no end when people tell you to cut this or that out. No, go ahead and have that brownie, ice cream, or margarita, just don't have your indulgence every day, or even every week! If you cut it out, you'll be much more likely to binge on it later and you'll never be satisfied! It isn't worth it and it isn't a way to lose weight for LIFE.

Rant over.... ;)

Weigh-In 1-18-11

2011-01-18T10:39:00.000-06:00

On a week when I ate all of my daily points, all of my weekly points and a few of my activity points...I lost 2.8 pounds! TOM just started last night, too, so this is a huge victory for me. In my WW meeting today we talked about those 49 extra weekly points and how not to be afraid of them. I shared that last week I hardly touched my weekly points and certainly didn't eat any activity points and I just maintained. This week I ate all of those points and a few of my activity points, too, and lost 2.8. It goes to show that deprivation does NOT work! My body needs fuel to lose weight. It seems that it shouldn't work that way, but I've seen it time and time again on this journey of mine. That 2.8 loss this week brings my total to 69 pounds down! Unbelievable!

Question of the day: If you could indulge in one food item a week and still lose, what would you choose?

I would choose chocolate ice cream with a peanut butter fudge swirl. MmmMmm!

Friend Makin' Monday

2011-01-17T13:47:00.000-06:00

FMM: A Survey

1. Why do you blog? I started this blog to hold myself accountable for my weight-loss and to hopefully inspire others to get healthier, too. Most of my family and friends are not local to me, so it was a way for them to keep up with me, too.
2. What is your favorite TV show? Grey's Anatomy is my current favorite, but my favorite past show is Friends.
3. What's the first thing you drank this morning? water with some freshly squeezed lemon juice
4. Are you married, single or in a relationship? I've been married for 10 1/2 years.
5. List three of your hobbies. Music (singing, piano), crafts (decoupage, knitting, painting, sewing, making hair accessories and tutus...etc), and blogging.
6. What do you like most about yourself? I'm a hard worker and woman of my word
7. List a couple of your favorite sites: Facebook, Weight Watchers, 365 Project and you can see a list of great weight-loss related blogs on my sidebar.
8. What's the last book you read? Eat, Pray, Love. Book was far better than the movie.
9. Can you whistle? Yes I can
10. List your favorite pro sports teams. I don't follow sports, therefore I don't have a favorite team. I could say Vikings to please one side of my family, Packers to please another, or Lions or Raiders to please my DH....but I just don't care.
11. What's the last thing that made you smile? My son, he's 4 and so silly.
12. Do you prefer mayo or mustard? Yuck, I don't like either one!
13. Do you have a crush on someone? I think my husband is pretty great, but I think I'm far beyond the crush phase!
14. Do you get up early or sleep in? I sleep in once a week, usually, but most days I'm up around 7/7:30.
15. Do you attend church? Yes. I'm working on making it a weekly thing.
16. Would you rather see a movie at home or in the theater? I like both...it depends on my mood.
17. Was there a teacher or authority figure that ever truly stood out to you? Yes, I've been blessed with many great teachers.
18. What is your favorite game? Word searches or Sudoku, I play a mean scattergories, too. :)
19. Cupcake or potato chips? Can I pick both? If I had to choose, I'd pick the cupcake, but only if I didn't have to count the points for it!
20. Tell us something random that we wouldn't know to ask. I despise folding laundry. It is my least favorite chore.

Visit Kenz's blog to read more surveys!

Turkey Meatloaf Recipe

2011-01-16T08:59:00.001-06:00

Last night I cooked a new recipe for my family...turkey meatloaf! Strange? Yes, but oh.so.good! I loved it, my DH liked his with a little hot sauce (his favorite condiment) and my DS liked it with a little ketchup. It had a lot of onions in it, but we like onions, so it was fine. Perhaps I can tweak it a little to cut the onions just a bit without messing it up, but I liked it the way it was. The turkey meatloaf is only 4 PointsPlus per serving and it makes 8 servings out of a regular bread pan.

Here is the site where I found the recipe. They have many other recipes that look great, so look around!

If you try this recipe, let me know if you liked it!

100!

2011-01-15T15:33:00.001-06:00

By the way, thank you for reading my blog!! If you've been reading, and lurking, please send me a comment! I love to get to know my readers. :)

A Good Problem To Have

2011-01-13T13:37:00.000-06:00

After being without them for four weeks to be re-sized and repaired, I finally got my wedding rings and my right hand right back today! They had to be re-sized because they were constantly falling off of my fingers, especially if I got a little cold, and I was afraid I was going to lose them. I hated being without them for so long, but it is a good problem to have to re-size my rings because my fingers are thinner! I got a Bravo! sticker today at my WW location when I stopped in to buy some snack bars and told them I had to get my rings re-sized. Another NSV to write down and celebrate!

What NSV's are you celebrating lately??

My next post will be my 100th post since starting this blog! I'll come up with something fun for that one!

Weigh-In 1-11-11

2011-01-11T11:01:00.001-06:00

I maintained my weight this week. I'm not thrilled about that, but at least it isn't a gain! I tracked my points, cut out my soda, exercised...and maintained. I did everything right, but sometimes the weight just doesn't budge. This week I'll keep doing what I'm doing and I'm sure I'll see a loss. If not, then I'll sit down with my WW leaders and figure out if maybe my PointsPlus allowances aren't quite right.Or maybe I should give this a try...

New Page on Facebook!

2011-01-10T16:03:00.001-06:00

I just created a new page on Facebook! Previously you had to "friend" Annie Weighs in order to follow me on Facebook. Now you can just click on the page and "like" it to follow me! So much easier for my readers and me, too! There is a link on the right sidebar, so click on it or the one below to see my new page! :o)

Friend Makin' Monday {New Year Resolutions}

2011-01-10T09:03:00.000-06:00

I haven't done a FMM in a long time, so I thought I'd join in today!

Did you make any resolutions? If so, what are they? Have you stuck to them so far?

I did make resolutions this year! My resolutions are:

Continue on my weight-loss journey. I have stuck with this so far! I'm tracking all of my WW PointsPlus, going to meetings, working out, drinking my lemon water and making healthy food choices.
Continue growing in my faith. I have stuck with this! I went to church services yesterday and it was great as usual. I find myself reading my Bible a bit more, too.
Take a picture every day, just for fun. I have done this all but one day! I did post a picture for that day, but it was taken last summer. You can see my photos HERE!
Organize my house. I have been working on this!! I cleaned out two kitchen cabinets, the closet under our stairs, and our front coat closet so far. I've written out, on our family calendar, a goal to organize one part of our house each week.

Would you like to read about others New Year resolutions and if they're keeping them? Go to Kenz's blog!

New Cooking Show!

2011-01-08T12:29:00.000-06:00

Hungry Girl has many books and a fantastic website full of tips, ideas, and recipes to slim down your favorite foods and now she has a brand new TV show that starts today on the cooking channel. I'm so excited to see it, I've set my DVR! Learn more about it here: http://www.hungry-girl.com/show For those on WW, she often gives the points values for her recipes, too, so it takes the work out of it for you!

The first episode is all about pizza and who doesn't like pizza?! If you don't have the cooking channel, you can still get the recipes and tips. Here's the link from the first episode: http://www.hungry-girl.com/show/episodes/you-wanna-pizza-me

Enjoy the new show, I'm certain I will!

I'm a Loser!

2011-01-04T19:36:00.000-06:00

I lost 3.6 pounds this week! I gained 4.4 last week over Christmas, so I'm only 0.8 away from being back to my pre-Christmas weight. I was hoping to lose at least 2 pounds this week, so 3.6 is great! I'm

New Inspiring Verse

2011-01-04T11:58:00.002-06:00

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

1 Corinthians 9: 24-27

I just read this verse on another blog and had to share it with you! What race are you running? This verse can apply to so many aspects of our lives. Your race could be an illness, weight-loss, a literal race, or any number of things. Whatever it is that you're racing against, race to win! Give it all you've got and, with Jesus, you'll get to the finish line!

I weight in tonight. I'm hoping to have lost at least two of the 4.4 I gained last week. Wish me luck!

Nifty

2011-01-03T12:47:00.002-06:00

I found a fun site where you can create word clouds or some people call it subway art. You can either put in a url to your blog, like I did above, or type in your own words to create a "word cloud". How neat would this be to do with the names of the people in your family, 2011 resolutions, goals, favorite book titles, a list of your hobbies or a favorite Bible verse? You can save them and print them out to frame, too. Here is my 2011 Resolution cloud:

Go HERE to make one of your own. If you make one and put in on your blog, but sure to leave a comment so I can see it! Have fun playing!

PS Have you seen my new blog?! I started a blog for one my New Year resolutions, taking a picture every day of the year. There's a link on the left side bar of this blog for you to find it, or just click HERE!

New Loser Tips

2011-01-01T18:48:00.001-06:00

Just a quick post...

New Year resolutions almost always means many new people trying to lose weight. I thought of a few tips I would give someone if they were just starting out. Here they are:

Take a before picture, or several! You don't have to share it with anyone if you don't want to, but later you won't regret having one. I have front, side, and back view pictures along with just my face. Sometimes different angles like that show your loss at different times. Then take a new picture every 5-10 pounds, the difference is huge!
Take your measurements! It won't be pretty, no matter how big you're starting out. You most likely won't like doing it, but time and time again I've heard people at my WW meetings who are close to making Lifetime wish that they would have taken their measurements. Do it! I take my neck, chest above bust, bust, ribcage, waist, hips, thighs, calves, biceps and wrist measurements. I also keep track of my pant sizes. Sometimes you'll see inches lost when the pounds aren't going down, so it is a great motivator!
Drink your water. WW says that any beverage that has no caffeine counts. I say drink your H2O! Nothing beats it. Get yourself a pretty water bottle to drink from, I find bottles with straws helpful as I drink more with them. I recently was given a pretty bottle that looks like something you'd put coffee in. I love that it looks like I'm drinking some posh coffee when in fact I'm drinking water. ;)
Wear your shoes! Put on some tennis shoes throughout the day and I bet you'll move more! Just make sure you aren't wearing the same shoes to the gym on the equipment if you're a member. They tend to frown on that.
Get plenty of sleep. 8 hours is a must for me to function well. If you don't sleep enough, you'll have a tendancy to eat more, at later hours and choose caffinated drinks over water.
Stop eating at least two hours before bedtime. Three is better, but two is good.
Exercise. Find something you enjoy and go with it! Park farther away from the store, take the stairs....etc. It all adds up. No one says you have to join a gym or run marathons in order to get in shape! Small things really do make a difference.
Don't say NO all of the time! It is okay to have a treat. It is okay to have a brownie, cookie, soda, chips, pizza, burger....etc. It is okay! Just count the points, track them, and stay on point. Use those 49 weekly points you get, they're there to be used. You're more likely to keep the weight off in the long run if you use them now. Also, don't go "cold turkey" on anything. Just set limits. If you cut something out completely that you really enjoy you'll like end up binging on it later. Don't do that to yourself.
Don't give up! If you have a rough day, tomorrow is a new one. If you have a meal that wasn't so great, start over with your next meal. If you have a bad week, weigh-in anyway and then move forward. It is okay to gain weight when you're trying to lose it. It is normal to do so. As long as you're accountable for every BLT (bite, lick or taste) that goes into your mouth, you're going in the right direction!
Enjoy this journey you've started! You CAN do this!!

Races?!

2011-01-01T11:11:00.000-06:00

Yesterday after I wrote my New Year Resolution post, I had a "God wink", as I call them. A God wink is defined, by me, as a little feeling or intuition that tells you to do something when you weren't thinking of it already. Like back in August of 2005 when I wasn't a day late yet for my TOM and I thought to take a test and found out I was pregnant. Yesterday the God wink was to go to the Fargo Marathon site to see about participating in their 5K this year. I'm originally from Fargo ND and I have many family members and friends who participate in the marathon events. The God wink lead me to sign up for the 5K race and the 10K! Yikes!!! I walk 5K's all of the time, but not 10K's! I know I can do it, though. I got my DH to sign up for the 5K, too, and I'll be walking the 10K with my mom. I'm not doing the events for speed or anything like that, just to do it and know that I can do it (and get a little medal, too!). ;) So God gave me a wink and said, "Go ahead and resolve to do the 5K and 10K...I'll be there with you!" I have two little tickers up on the right sidebar to show when the races are. I'm nervously excited!

2011 Resolutions

2010-12-31T10:26:00.002-06:00

"Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average … which means, you have met your New Year's resolution." – Jay Leno

Haha! I love that funny quote from Jay Leno. How true it is. There are so many overweight people in the USA that is now normal to be overweight. How sad for our country! I'm one of those overweight people, but at least I'm doing something about it. Yesterday I was out shopping and a young man, college age, said to a friend, "Look at her huge a$$!" I turned around to see who he was talking about and it was me. I was the only other person in the aisle. Ouch. My a$$ used to be a lot bigger! So I stood tall and said to him, "First of all, that was really rude. Secondly, you should have seen it before I lost 67 pounds! I'm working on it, so give me a break." He turned bright red, apologized and asked me how I was losing weight because he wanted to drop some pounds, too. *insert rolling eyes here* Amazing. So many people make their New Year resolutions to be to get healthier and/or lose weight. So many people break their resolutions, though! Not me. I make them, I keep them and follow through. I'm not average! ;) Here are my New Year Resolutions for 2011:

Continue on my weight-loss journey. I would love to reach my goal weight, but I won't resolve to do so. I will resolve to keep plugging away at it!
Continue growing in my faith and my relationship with Jesus. I will strive to read my Bible more to learn more about Him and hear His words.
Take a picture every day. I think this will be fun!
Organize my house! I've written out an organizing schedule on my new 2011 calendar, so as long as I stick with it, our house will be in a much better place a year from now!

Other goals for 2011 are to do a 5K race and a 10K, too, by the end of the year. Those are not things I will resolve to do, but hope to accomplish!

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." ~Oprah

Free Food & More About Lemon Water

2010-12-30T14:01:00.000-06:00

I bought some groceries yesterday and they looked so good I had to share pictures with you! Not one thing is worth any WW PointsPlus, they're all free!!! Yum-Yum!

Pineapple is a favorite of my DH's. Bananas, apples and pears are some of mine along with clementines and, of course, I bought my lemons (2lb bag for $1.42 at Target yesterday = 10 lemons!). I also bought, but didn't photograph, strawberries, raspberries and lettuce.

Now a little more about the lemon water. I've had some questions asked! I'm not an expert on it by any means, I've only had it two days. :) But, you want to drink it lukewarm rather than cold or hot so that your body can better receive it and won't have to work very hard to digest it. You're drinking it to aid in digestion, so don't make your body work for it! Also, no you can't count lemon juice in a bottle or the little lemon-shaped bottle with the plastic green top. I just listed the price of my lemons above. That's only 14 cents each and you only use half a lemon per day! 7 cents a day is affordable for just about everyone, so use the real thing. :o) I don't know for sure, but I would think that using lemon juice also won't give you the same benefits because I would guess that it looses some vitamins in the bottling process. I don't know that for sure, but it's a guess as most foods do lose quality once they're messed with in anyway. My bag of lemon cost me $1.42 (US) and I got 10 lemons, that is 20 days worth! Get the real thing!

Living with Lemons

2010-12-29T14:28:00.000-06:00

Last night at my WW meeting, my leader talked to us about gaining weight over the holidays and how we can detox our bodies and get back on track. She told us about drinking warm lemon water and how many different weight-loss programs suggest doing this. I went home intrigued by this detox idea and started researching it. I learned that drinking lemon water has many benefits! Here are the benefits I read about from various articles:

Lemons boost the immune system with their vitamin C and also purify the blood and improve the body's ability to get rid of toxins.
Helps stave off the common cold and flu.
A healthy liver that works effeciantly
It may help dissolve gallstones
It can work as a headache remedy
It will help clear the skin, removing dead skin, wrinkles, and blackheads and also has anti-aging properties.
Healthier hair and nails
It can help prevent heartburn
Aids in quicker digestion
Prevents constipation
Helps fight infections of the throat
Helps aid respiratory diseases, such as asthma
Used in dental care as it can cure a toothache, bleeding gums, and relieves bad breath.
Aids in weight-loss through increased rate of metabolism

I'm am not sure if I believe that drinking lemon water every day will give you all of the benefits listed above, but several articles that I read online (ha!) stated the above. I don't believe everything I read online by any means and I don't think you should either! I do, however, believe that drinking lemon water daily will aid my immune system to do what it should, aid my liver to help clean me out and keep me regular, and that drinking it will help clear my skin. I think it would be fantastic if it helped keep my asthma under control, especially in these winter months that it tends to be a little worse, but I'm not going to count on it. One article I read stated that drinking lemon water every morning will eventually give you the energy you'd normally get from a morning cup of coffee. I don't drink coffee, but I do sometimes have a Diet Coke in the morning for a little boost. I'd love to give that up!

I just drank my first glass of warm lemon water with my lunch. I had to go to the store to buy the lemons, otherwise I would have had it this morning. I read on several articles that drinking it at night is the way to go, several other articles said first thing in the morning. So it seems that time of day doesn't matter as much as just doing it.

Here's the recipe!

One glass of warm water. Not hot, not cold, just warm. I put about 14 ounces into my glass and warmed it up a little in the microwave, just to make it lukewarm. Have at least 8 ounces of water, dilute it as much as you'd like though.

1/2 lemon, juiced.

Put the lemon juice into the water and drink it.

Enjoy!

Stay tuned on this subject. As I drink my lemon water daily I may have some reports for you!

My disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be one. This article is of my opinion only and I do not claim any of it to be factual with the exception that my WW leader spoke of this and that I'll be drinking lemon water daily for awhile! Speak with your doctor if you have questions about drinking lemon water and its benefits.

Are you ready?

2010-12-28T11:52:00.001-06:00

I saw this today on spark people. I don't use spark people, but go there to read their quotes and motivations from time to time. I thought this one was fitting for everyone out there who is planning on making their New Year resolution to lose weight. Why not start today rather than January 1st?! Today I start my WW week and am back to tracking everything and counting my points. My weigh-in this evening will not be pretty, I'm certain I've gained at least two pounds. BUT, I'm back on track today already and know how to lose those extra pounds and move forward. I'm ready for a new year to begin and look forward to what it will bring!

A Year From Now...

2010-12-27T12:42:00.001-06:00

First I'll start this by saying that I'm fairly certain I won't be jumping for joy at my weigh-in tomorrow. I enjoyed some sweets and ate larger portions than I usually do over the Christmas weekend. I allowed myself to do that knowing that I know how to take it back off and have all of the tools to do so. I'm expecting a gain, but am not worried about it at all. Watch my scale on the right side of the blog for my results tomorrow...

Okay, now onto bigger and more fun things...New Years Resolutions! As 2010 is coming to an end, I've been reflecting a lot on the year that has gone by. There has been a lot of good in my life this past year and I feel completely blessed. I read a quote last year at the beginning of the year that read, "A year from now you'll wish you had started today." That quote spoke volumes to me and it was after reading it that I decided to finally get on the right track to changing my life for the better. That meant working on losing weight, growing in my faith, reorganizing my house, and more. I have lost weight, I have grown in my faith.....the house is another story, but two out of three isn't bad!

What does that mean for me in 2011? What do I want to strive for this year? Here are a few ideas:

Weight-loss. I've lost 67 pounds so far. I have 50-65 more to go! I'm not sure yet what my goal weight will be and don't think I'll know until I'm much closer to it. I would love to reach my goal weight in 2011, but am not sure how much it will slow down as I get closer to goal.
Growing in my faith. I've grown a lot over the last year, but there is always room to grow when you're walking with Jesus.
Maybe I'll read my Bible in a year. I set out to do that this year, but didn't come close at all to finishing it. Perhaps a fresh start in a new year will be what it takes to finish it.
School. My son will start kindergarten in the fall of 2011. I'm considering going back to school then, too. Not sure what I want to be when I grow up yet, though. I went for three years for music education with a vocal emphasis, but never finished my degree. Perhaps I will continue that course, or perhaps I'll do something completely different. My prayer is for guidance on that decision and for God to use me for His work.
Reorganizing my house. I do fairly well with this at times, but there are areas that need complete overhauls!!
Cooking more. Trying new recipes and learning how to cook healthy, filling, meals would be great. I hope my DH and son can tolerate it!
Have a garage sale to sell our baby stuff and clothes DS has grown out of. That's a big job, but I think it would be worth it!
Maybe I'll give up soda for a year! Yeesh...I really like Diet Coke. Could I go without it for one year? I bet if I did I wouldn't want it after that year was over. Hmmm...
I could take a photo every day of the year. A photo of myself? A photo of my son? A family photo? Or just random stuff that I see every day. That might be fun!

I haven't yet decided which of these things will be my resolutions for 2011. Stay tuned for that decision January 1st!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T12:24:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone! This Christmas I'm celebrating with my husband, son, and parents. We've opened gifts, gone to church and have had some good food, too. Mostly we're just enjoying each other's company and playing with all of our new things.

My focus this year more than any other year has been keeping Christ is Christmas and remembering why we celebrate this glorious holiday. The best gift available is free...salvation! All you have to do is say yes to Jesus and it is yours. No shipping charges or tax, those were already paid in advance by when Jesus hung on a tree for you.

Another wonderful gift that you can give yourself is the gift of health. If you have pounds to lose, join me on this journey. You don't have to join Weight Watchers to lose weight, but I do recommend it! They don't pay me a dime to say it, but it works! Go to your first meeting this next week, buy the stuff (while it is on sale before Jan. 1st!!!) and do the program. You won't regret it. If you do join WW and you'd like some support, let me know! I would be thrilled to hear about it. I'll pray for you, I'll write you daily, weekly, monthly notes....whatever you need to succeed, I'd love to help.

Merry Christmas, my friends. I hope you all got something a little special, something a little fun and that your Christmas day is filled with love.

Goal!

2010-12-21T19:41:00.002-06:00

I had a short-term goal of losing 65 pounds before January 1st, 2011. Tonight, at my Weight Watchers meeting, I hit 65 and surpassed it by two...

I'm down 67 pounds!

I'm thrilled with that result. Tracking everything I eat, counting PointsPlus and allowing myself to indulge in a few Christmas treats worked and I lost 2.8 this week. The new PointsPlus program works and I'm so happy with it! I'm so pleased with myself that I wasn't afraid to trust Weight Watchers with a new program and that I jumped into it with both feet. I am now more than half-way to my ultimate goal weight. I'm not exactly sure what that number will be, but I know that I'm now more than half-way there! What a year this has been. Early in the year I read someone's quote on Facebook saying "A year from now you'll with you had started today." I wish I could remember which friend of mine posted that, I would hug them today! I wrote it down and thought about it a lot for a few months and then finally joined WW the last week of April. Thirty-four weeks later I've lost 67 pounds!

I wish you all a very merry Christmas! I hope that you're able to have friends and family with you, a magical moment, good health, and happy times this weekend. Allow yourselves to enjoy some treats, I will be!

Blessings,

PS If you want to "friend" me on Facebook, simply find me under "Annie Weighs" and request to be my friend! :)

Amazing

2010-12-16T08:08:00.000-06:00

“Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.”
Romans 14:20a (NIV)

Yesterday at my MOPS meeting I was so full of it. I was feeling thin, healthy and...great. I received many compliments and that felt awesome. My hard work at losing weight is paying off. I'm feeling so good and I'm told that I'm looking great, too. I relished in the compliments and they made my day. I failed, though. I failed to give that glory to God. A friend told me on Facebook that I'm amazing. No...I'm not! God is amazing. He is the one who is pulling me through this weight-loss journey. He is the one who brought me to the doctor with an ear infection last spring and brought my eyes to a pamphlet about using flex benefits to pay for Weight Watchers. He is the one who answered my prayer for the strength to lose weight and to stick with it. He is the one I try to remember to fill myself full of instead of food. As much as I'm thrilled to be losing weight, the ultimate goal isn't about making me a smaller sized person but making me crave Jesus as the filler of my heart. Without Him, this would be impossible for me. He is amazing and He deserves the glory! Does that mean that I can't enjoy the compliments and comments on my blog? Of course not, they motivate me to keep going! What it means is that along with those compliments I ask that you support me by praying for me just as much as you support me by giving me compliments. If you don't know Jesus and you don't believe that he is your savior, I pray that you will open your heart up to him so that you can know the kind of joy I do through him. He gives us eternal life and, on this weight-loss journey of mine, he's given me a second chance at life here on Earth before I join him in Heaven one day. Praise Jesus...He is Amazing!

Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (NIV)

Psalm 18:1, “I love you, O Lord, my strength.” (NIV)

Walking Out

2010-12-15T17:09:00.000-06:00

I weighed in yesterday and lost 0.6 this past week. It is going down in the right direction, so I'm happy with it. I've been battling some kind of weird illness for about six weeks, on and off. I've wanted a lot of carbohydrates along with it, so it has been a challenge to take care of myself to get better and lose weight, too. Of course my focus has been on trying to get better over losing weight lately, so the small losses recently are okay with me.

I celebrated a NSV a few days ago and had to write about it here. I had to laugh at myself when I literally walked right out of my pajama pants! The walk from my bedroom to the bathroom is short, but down went the pants on the way! Thankfully Christmas is coming and hopefully some new PJ's, too! :-)

Tuesdays

2010-12-07T10:39:00.000-06:00

I weighed in this morning on a new day. I'm switching to Tuesdays because my WW leader on Thursday nights resigned from that specific meeting and I've heard wonderful things about the leader who runs the meetings on Tuesdays. I'm excited to get to know my new leader! I lost 0.8 pound since I weighed in on Thursday. I'll take it! I dropped one PointsPlus per day, too. My birthday on Thursday won't change my points allowance, which I'm glad about. Losing two points in a week would feel like a lot! :o)

I'm working on my current goal to hit 65 pounds lost by January 1st. I'm only 1.4 pounds away!

Take that Turkey!

2010-12-02T20:16:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving week...TOM visiting...and I lost 4 pounds in a week! Wahoo!

That's all I have to say tonight. My mother-in-law is here visiting with us, (she's doing WW, too) so I'm off to visit!

Annie Weighs...

I've Lost It!

Serving False Gods

2012...Resolutions

Merry Christmas to me!

No More Soda

Starting again...again...again....

I think I can...I think I can....

What If?

Weigh-In Sept 19th, 2011

Catch-Up

Overweight Can Snack Up On You!

Weekly Weigh-in {August 2nd, 2011}

Weekly Weigh-in {July 19th, 2011}

Weekly Weigh-in {July 12th, 2011}

What It Looks Like To Lose 90 Pounds!

Weekly Weigh-in {July 5th, 2011}

Happy 4th of July!

Perfect Girls

Weekly Weigh-in {June 28th, 2011}

Weekly Weigh-in {June 21st, 2011}

ABCDEFood!

Weekly Weigh-in {June 14th, 2011}

Stream of Consciousness

Exercise Is Not a Four Letter Word!

PCOS and Weight-Loss

Weekly Weigh-in {June 7th, 2011}

Oh Ruby!

Sunday Confessional {Too Quick To Judge}

New Look

{Support} The Definition of

sup·port[suh-pawrt, -pohrt]

Fargo Marathon Weekend: Day 3

We Remember: Memorial Day 2011

Fargo Marathon Weekend: Day 2

Fargo Marathon Weekend: Day 1

Weekly Weigh-in!

Earrings Give-away!

Cleaning House

We Want To Know Wednesday and my Weekly Weigh-in!

We Want To Know Wednesday...Something New!

May Vlog: What's in a Name and My Purse

Weekly Weigh-in!

One Year Anniversary!

Blessings From a Fellow Blogger

A Year From Now...

What a Difference a Year Makes!

Weekly Weigh-in!

Long Time No Post!

What It Looks Like To Lose 80 Pounds!

Rewards

Fat Talk

Confession on Exercise

Weekly Weigh-in!

Eat and Lose

Wonder Woman

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Weight Matters

Two

Weekly Weigh-in!

Three Things Thursday

Fresh Look

March 1st Weigh-in and a little rant about DPA's

Weekly Weigh-in and a 10K!

Weigh-in Results and Working Out Challenges

Down, Down, Down

No More X's

Wordless Wednesday

What It Looks Like To Lose 70 Pounds!

Friend Makin' Monday ~SuperBowl Edition~

Weigh-In Day Tips To Ensure a Loss

February is here and Tuesday Weigh-in!

Friend Makin' Monday

Water Challenge

AGain

Stylin'

Quick Rant

Weigh-In 1-18-11

Friend Makin' Monday

Turkey Meatloaf Recipe