Wednesday, October 30, 2013

EACH DAY IS A LESSON

 I am guessing I am a bit reflective this week due to my quickly approaching 51st birthday on Friday..
 I always get reflective at birthday times...   usually it is a time of great regret for me .. a time when I am not thinking about how far I have come  or changes ... but more so .. just a time of shrugging my shoulders.. and just going forward... same old me.. same old weight.. or gaining and nothing changing with in me...

 I have said this multiple times... but it is a defining fact... a simple conversation on FB led to the flame that ignited the spark that helped change my life...  This birthday I am 38 pounds lighter,  this birthday .. I feel proud...  this birthday ... while the road still may be long I actually can see myself succeeding...   In 3 months my life has changed dramatically...    Each day I plan for my future... and how I will hold on to this success...  I think the most important thing about weight loss  and maintaining a healthy weight is working mostly on the core of who you are... on the core of what has caused you to hide or be trapped in such a unhealthy body...   A lot of large folk would disagree with me.. saying Hey I am fat and I am fine .. no health problems...  that may well be the case for the moment.. but being morbidly obese.. will eventually cut your life short... the human body is not built to support such an abundance of weight... your internal organs suffer... your bones suffer,  your joints suffer.. and that is the reality ... 

Being a person who lives with Fibromyalgia and chronic pain .. I know that the above is true... yet it never motivated me to lose weight...  It was like I was in a constant battle with myself.. of knowing I should not eat this or that.. but doing it anyway just to spite myself.. just because I wanted what I wanted and I wanted it now... I wanted that Magnum bar with  NO consequences,  I wanted that big slice of pizza  or whatever I wanted .. the bread... etc...   so I kept eating that way telling my husband that I was trying to lose weight... telling the world I was trying  ... but I was not... I was not at all.... Until July 8th 2013.... one week prior on our Colorado trip .. I was eating healthier and better.. but not yet on program .. but due to the walking we did on our trip and the better eating I lost 4 pounds that week.. then started TSFL the following week on July 8th..  
 The program has not been easy.... so I will not say ohhh this is so easy.. its not... but sometimes desire overrides the mind and in my case my desire to be stronger and healthier ... has led me on this path...  I have been surrounded by tempting foods... and sometimes it can be difficult  ... but the DESIRE and the LESSONS I have learned in the last 3 months.. not to mention the self discovery too has been overwhelming  .. more overwhelming than the desire to eat....
To see that my former clothes  size 20 / 18 plus size  swim on me and that I now wear a size 12  regular .. and 12 short.. is amazing.. more than amazing... exciting...   .. It is still very hard for me to go shopping I get uncomfortable in stores.... but I am working on that    ( haha) ...
 
The mind on this journey is so  bizarre there are days that I can feel my body losing weight and days I can see the difference and then there are days that I am like  the Michellan man.. ( that white tire dude monster thing)  days where I feel so big .. so distorted that I fail to see any accomplishment~ that I am more so that morbidly obese person I was  than who I am now... Its tough...  ...

So each day I learn something new .. be  it a recipe.... be it something about myself.. each day I learn just how strong I really am..  EACH DAY IS A LESSON...

Monday, October 28, 2013

38 40 50 etc.

WOW.. 38 pounds  gone... GONE  GOOOOOOOOONE!!!...    2 pounds away from 40 pounds .. the 4th 10 pound goal... yep... I imagine that will get here soon...  then we concentrate on the next 10 pounds...  50 will be an amazing number for me.. 50 will be  the last amount of weight I lost in 1989 it stayed off for a very short time.. and much like quicksand  claiming its next victim  the oozing fat climbed up my body ... and nearly over took me for 20+ years...  with my help of not learning how eat correctly and maintain a new weight...  Such a different time then...now I am learning along the way and have the tools I will need to maintain my hard work.. and it has been hard work...


50 will be a celebration for me.. an emotional conquest.. much like each pound has been so far.. only more so... but... 50 comes later.. now  we work towards 40... sigh... its good ...

I had only planned to maintain for today's official weigh in .. after my colonoscopy last week... and to lose even a quarter of a pound is nice..  so here I am at 167.8    2 pounds away from the 40 pound marker...

I am happy  ~ FOR MY UPCOMING 51ST YEAR  ( FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1)   I am 38 pounds less than I was at this time last year.. I am stronger than I was... this time last year.. and things .. life ... well .. its not so bad... yep... So now we go to My 51st year.. with Motivation, Faith and Intent to get Stronger and better and healthier..

We are going out to dinner Friday night to Seasons 52  to celebrate my birthday .. its a great place and I can eat so clean and healthy there...

So my question is... what should I do for Birthday cake.. ??? I was thinking  a  choc chip soft bake .. with a wedge of laughing cow cream cheese and a packet of splenda.. ( to make the icing for my cake of course... or perhaps a soft bake brownie with the same toping.. or I could do a cheese cake soft bake by adding the wedge to the choc chip soft bake or brownie.. hmmmm decisions  decisions... lol... frankly the sweetness in my life comes from the love and support of my wonderful husband.. who understands me even better than I understand myself sometimes..

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

BUTT WHY?

Fifty is a interesting age.. At  least for me it has been ...in the course of a year I have  gotten healthier and did the dreaded and maligned colonoscopy.. That was today ,
 Dusting off soap box and  stepping up and reaching for Mic... Can ya hear me.... 

Please listen...
So for all of you over 50 or with a history of colon cancer in your  family...It's time  to :  Prep up, step up and drop your drawers... Yeah yeah the prep is no fun.. I spent my day yesterday  starting at 10 am.. 2 dulcocet tablets  then at noon ( I started a little before) I started the liquid part of the prep.. 64 ounces of miralax mixed with my beverage of choice. propel berry flavor .. You could not taste the miralax other than a slightly salty after taste much like Gatorade ...I had to drink 8 oz. every 15 minutes.. Mine was more like every 20 minutes...until the solution was gone then I took the last two dulcocet .. The effects hit me midway into the liquid portion of the prep...so basically from 130yesterday  To 530 this morning .. The bathroom and I had  were very good friends???this morning I got fairly weak ... But was fine.. Went to the facility,,, checked in.. Taken back..all I remember is the sweet nurse poking the shot in my IV and saying time for a nice nap.. Then I was in recovery .. The doc said to Steve .. Well.. It's clean boring uninteresting and perfectly normal.... Yay..Seee  no big deal deal.. I do it again in 10 years!  Sooo here is what I am saying .. GET YOUR BUTT TO THE DOCTOR...save your life .. Knowledge is always Power!.....
....stepping off soap box....

FYI I did go off program.. For the test.. I also lost two pounds which I believe will probably return now that I am back OP..

 Life is good TSFL GOOD!!

Monday, October 21, 2013

WHO WILL HAVE FAITH IN YOU IF YOU DO NOT HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF~

I  am going to be 51 years old in  couple weeks... I am not very sure what exactly happened to me back in June.. I do not know really how all of this happened... Perhaps I was just opened to change... I still am not really sure... I know my many blessings involve some good friends Susan Goodman and Laura Benjaminson have both changed my life... Susan by mentioning Take Shape for Life to Me ... it was not even a deep conversation.. it was more .. hey .. this is what I am doing why don't you try this... I can give you Laura's number.. and she can tell you all about it... that's all that was said basically .. No crying.. no soul searching deep conversation.... just a comment just a thought that changed my life... I think of Susan often.. and I think of Laura often.. they are both on their journeys to better health too... and they took me along for the ride..  and what a ride it has been... 
The Topic of this post is WHO WILL HAVE FAITH IN YOU IF YOU DO NOT HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF...    ??  You have to have find it with in you to believe you can achieve what you want... no matter how long it takes you have to have faith  in yourself first... It is contagious... when people seeing you striving for a goal they get motivated for you.. and encourage you along the way ... they also start looking at themselves and realize that they have things they want to accomplish and realize that if NOT NOW WHEN? applies to them too... I love watching my husband fit into size medium shirts now..  I love seeing him succeed in getting healthier too.. So far all his numbers are excellent too we just have to watch his cholesterol now... 

Focus on the positive in your life... and don't let other things cloud your way... learn how to cope and handle things .. find the tools that help you along...

 I have learned also to just let it go... regarding the pain.. I  hoped that the pain would start resolving itself with weight loss .. and though there is minimal improvement I still ache and hurt ... and Fibro still has a grip on me.. Rest assured though it will never beat me no matter how hard it tries and flares up... I am stronger than that..  So even though the pain is still part of .. I have greater strength and will power to not let it overcome me..

Speaking of rides... My husband and I took the leap and traded the Mazda 3  for a MX -5 Miata power hard top ... it is sheer awesomeness.. and so fun too drive.. will post pictures soon..


 I am so excited for two reasons... In February Laura is coming to Birmingham .. It will be the first time for us to see each other physically since our life style changes and losing so much weight.. I hope I will recognize her still.. by then she will have lost a person... I hope Susan can come too... I am also overjoyed that my first niece will have her baby boy too sometimes in late January or early February.. I will have a baby boy nephew.. so excited .. he is a kicker boy so I call him Beckham... I will probably always  call him Beck.. just like I call a friend of mines baby Peanut since that was her name prior to her birth... she will always be Peanut to me. I finally got to feel Beck kick.... I think we have a future soccer or baseball player on our hands.. just in case he is swinging an arm in there lol..

SO those are my exciting things..

Please have faith starting today that you can accomplish your goals no matter how big or small or how old you are ... You can have the life you want... by staying focused and believing in yourself. and walking slowly towards your goal...

Thursday, October 17, 2013

MORE FOOD THOUGHTS MEDIFAST STYLE



BOO FOR BLUEBERRY  soft bake.. meh... thats the only word that works..... I am going to try it as a pancake next time and see if my opinion changes.... It was extreemly fake tasting....  I seldom  say anything negative about Medifast products and always like to jazz things up a bit.. but there is little to no jazzing of this product...  the only thing else I might try is adding some of the Walden Farms No Calorie Blueberry preserves to see if that perks it up a bit and makes it more moist... per package directions it is not a favorite.. at all... 

So since I have not done a updated  Favorites list in a while here we go..

MEDIFAST  MAC AND CHEESE    LOVE IT   MY WAY! 

MEDIFAST SOFT BAKE BROWNIE   DELICIOUS ESPECIALLY IF YOU ADD A LITTLE  WALDEN FARMS NO CAL CARMEL SYRUP AND A WEDGE OF LAUGHING COW CREAM CHEESE ( PLAIN) ... YOU KINDA HAVE A BROWNIE CHEESECAKE CARMELY THING GOING ON LOL... 

MEDIFAST CHOCOLATE CHIP SOFT BAKE... DELIGHTFUL  SMOOTHIE...    AND OKAY AS A SOFT BAKE TOO.... I HAVE ADDED  LAUGHING COW LIGHT CREAM CHEESE TO AND GET A CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESECAKE SHAKE THATS PRETTY TASTY TOO... BEATS THE SAME OLD SAME OLD..


MEDIFAST CARMEL CRUNCH BAR
MEDIFAST SMORES BAR
MEDIFAST CHOCOLATE MINT BAR
MEDIFAST  OATMEAL RAISIN BAR
 MEDIFAST  CINNAMON ROLL BAR
MEDIFAST  STRAWBERRY CRUNCH BAR

MEDIFAST CHILI  MY WAY 

MEDIFAST SOFT SERVE MINT
MEDIFAST  SOFT SERVE PEANUT BUTTER

MEDIFAST APPLE OATMEAL
MEDIFAST BLUEBERRY OATMEAL
MEDIFAST CHOCOLATE SHAKE

MEDIFAST PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEWY BAR
MEDIFAST COOKIES AND CREAM CHEWY BAR ( I KEEP BOTH THESE BARS IN THE FREEZER)

MEDIFAST CHOCOLATE PUDDING MAKES A GREAT SHAKE
MEDIFAST CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES
MEDIFAST   SPICE PANCAKES 

MEDIFAST NACHO PUFFS
MEDIFAST PARMESEAN PUFFS
MEDIFAST  BBQ BITES
MEDIFAST HONEY MUSTARD BITES
MEDIFAST CINNAMON BITES
MEDIFAST CHEESE PIZZA BITES

MEDIFAST CINNAMON CRUNCH CEREAL
MEDIFAST BERRY CRUNCH CEREAL

AND THATS MY FAVORITES... IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER...

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Medifast Unstuffed Cabbage Yum

Recipe click on you should be able to see it.. You can sub veggie crumbles, lean ground turkey or chicken for lean ground beef ~ this recipe is from Sandy's Kitchen. Here is link to her website with recipe too. http://www.sandyskitchenadventures.com/2013/10/unstuffed-cabbage.html.   

She is amazing her ideas have helped me so much!!!
Starting and Cooking
Finished product yummy

Monday, October 14, 2013

THE BITTER AND THE SWEET

Weigh day today ...  gained .4 of a pound....  it was not a happy morning for me... but much like life ... we must take bitter with the sweet and realize that the human body will do what it needs to do during this process...  I reviewed my food logs and  realized I did not get all my water in this week... and I skipped 4 meals during the week for various reasons... the  IDEAL SOLUTION to a PROBLEM is figuring out  how the problem might have occurred and developing a plan with out panic or drama... SO with out either panic or drama... this week  features.. making sure all water is in.. No over exercising... ( walking twice a day  once is enough and no walking if I swam that day) ... making sure I get in all my meals on the 5&1 .. I was going to go as low carb as possible on the plan but then I started thinking if 4 out of seven days in the past week I skipped a meal that means I ate under 800 calories that day  which is NOT good.. so rather than restrict myself this week I  wonder if hovering at 1000 would not be better... just to see what happens since I have never done that... and keeping my carbs right at 95-100 rather than 85 or below..  any thoughts would  be appreciated..

I talked with a trainer at the gym and he said he would not train me until I was in maintenance because he feels that for my calorie intake that working out is not in my best interest that alternating between swimming and walking  is much better and less stressful  until I am done with the 5 & 1.    He even suggested if I reach a point where I stop losing to take a month break from medifast ... increase my calorie intake and exercise for that month... so my body can :"  heal" or adjust to the New weight.. then go back on the program for a more accelerated weight loss...don't think I will be doing that but it is a thought down the road...  It seems I do not plateau  I gain .4 of a pound and then drop again... Back in August I went through the same thing... and that time I kept the carbs under 85 and that was all I did.. and the following week I had a 2 pound loss...

Well.. time to button up.. and get on with the week! 

Friday, October 11, 2013




10 GREAT THINGS

10 GREAT THINGS ABOUT BEING MORBIDLY OBESE:


>.............................................(crickets)..........................




10 GREAT THINGS ABOUT GETTING HEALTHIER:


1.  GETTING UP IN THE MORNING IS EASIER

2. FEELING STRONGER

3. FEELING BETTER

4. FEELING MORE CONFIDENT

5.  FEELING EXCITED TO TRY ON SMALLER CLOTHES

6. GETTING ON THE MOTORCYCLE IS EASIER

7. GETTTING  IN AND OUT OF A MIATA IS MUCH EASIER ( THINKING ABOUT GETTING ONE) NOW..

8. FEELING INSPIRED

9. FEELING THAT I CAN ACCOMPLISH MY GOALS

10.  FEELING HAPPIER

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

TWO SIDES OF DIET

I suppose whether you call it a lifestyle change or a diet ... or a plan or a program.. it really does not matter in the long run..  BUT  .. when I start thinking of the term diet the first thing that comes to mind.. is ...  the two definitions of that word... A diet being on a program to lose or gain weight...
Secondly a diet being your eating style.

In the first definition if you Google the word diet   every program under the sun pops up.. and usually the last diet program you googled is in the first 5

Everything from the Paleo diet to  the QUICK AND EASY DIET..  to MIRACLE diet tips... etc etc.. can be found..

I know many people who have made the Paleo commitment and are very happy .. they turned this from a diet into a lifestyle change.. Same with MF ... Same with several other programs...  

It is the folks that simply say I am on a diet I can't eat that that I think about..   " so when I am off the diet and go back to "regular' eating then I can have  whatever..

Oh well I guess we have to choose our own path and views... and my view only works for me if it works for others that's awesome too.

I prefer the second definition myself..  just because it seems to be more in line with how I feel now ...a diet being the way you eat...   ..I was reading where someone felt good about saying no I can not eat that I am on a diet... to me that says ... I wanna fit in my skinny jeans .. give me 2 weeks and then I can have a beer or pizza with you... the question would be are you learning how to eat properly.. are you learning that beer and pizza are on the rarely list... and  healthier choices are what you should fuel your body with .. Going out to dinner should not be an excuse to raid the cooks pantry and kitchen... it should be thought out and a decision made prior to going if possible..  that way its no stress.. you know that instead of the breaded chicken fried steak you are going to have 6 oz of grilled chicken with their house salad and salad dressing on the side and maybe even some grilled broccoli too.. You know you have those options because you called where you were going out to eat and found out your choices.. you did not put yourself in a position where you are not prepared.. Locally I am learning great places for me to  go out and eat with family and friends..  Sometimes I do say no thank you.. ( with out elaboration ) and if I get to pick where we go I pick one of the better choices for me...

For the most part at least for now I choose to eat at home.. its easier.. I know what I am getting ...

TWO SIDES OF DIET

THE QUICKIE

AND THE LIFESTYLE CHANGE..

Monday, October 7, 2013

MOMENTS FOR MONDAY

 So its like this you start thinking about things and you realize that we are not all one prescription ... in other words what works for you might not work for me..
I  think this is one of the reasons I love MF   I feel like its more geared to me.. granted the 5 and 1 is more for all of us... .. but when you move into transition and later maintenance  you actually learn what your body needs at a resting rate and what your body needs when YOU ADD more exercise into the mix..
 So if you are very active then your calorie/carb intake is a bit more ...then say someone who is not as active... 

So you get to learn where your body fits...  You are not guaranteed that you will eat 1800 calories once you are finished with the 5 and 1 you have to learn what your body needs to function at  your goal weight... it may be more calories than you thought or it might be less...  I know the focus with MF is not so much calories.. but for me... its much easier to think in that concrete frame  calories and carbs.. scientific numbers.. than  go a different route... its easier... and its nice to know when I am done with the 5 and 1 that the next phase will introduce me to more whole foods...
Never in my life have a actually craved an apple... or fruit for that matter... but now.. I think an apple would be nice at this time of year.. I am on a mission right now.. so when I get to transition I will be looking forward to those new experiences and learning how I can maintain my weight and not be afraid of what I eat..   I am also learning and perfectly okay with serving sizes... learning that a serving size is basically a 4 oz. ramekin ( say of fruit, or pasta for example) is now okay by me... In the old days... a serving size of Pasta was a HUGE BOWL LOADED WITH CHEESE AND SAUCE AND OF COURSE     P  A  S  T   A ... So  now  that has comfortably flipped on me... there is really no food I miss since I know one day it will be worked back into my menu.. in some form... I however have made the decision to keep medifast  a part of my menu once I transition into the other phases... so it will always be with me in some form... for the rest of my life.. it will serve as a reminder of my hard work... and the effort I use to maintain the victory of that hard work...  see the losing part is easy if you can call it easy... the maintaining part is what I am preparing myself for...  I am interviewing people all the time... I watch people all the time..   I think its really cool how there are folks who never had to worry what they eat... and then there are those of us that have to make it happen..

So I am glad I am learning and I am glad I will continue to learn..

For my Monday

down 34.6 pounds... almost out of 170s   

Oh Happy Day!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

A CONVERSATION WITH STEVE ON WEIGHT LOSS AND MOTIVATION

My Husband Steve   and I talked about weight  loss and motivation  today ... here is the jest of our conversation.

 In order to be successful   there has to be something that clicks in your head that gets you started.
It could be an immediate health crisis... In Steve's case it was a diagnosis of Diabetes that prompted him to lose weight and watch what he eats.. from time to time he indulges  but most of the time he is careful in his food choices .

In my case something just clicked for me.. .. I can not say I was at an all time low ...  I just realized it was this or bariatric surgery ... or die..

I opted to live .. and have as many more great adventures with Steve as possible...  I am A lucky one... no health crisis preceded my weight loss so far...  and I have a great support team.

People  are searching for that magic pill... that quick and easy attainment of weight loss and very simply there are no long term or life long tricks like that.

Weight loss and good health  baring any physical illness of course are built  on simple and consistent facts.

      A DECISION  is made
      A PLAN  is developed   be it WW , Calorie Counting, Carb Counting,  a medical necessity , Medifast or TSFL  or any of the other systems out there ... THAT PLAN MUST BE TAILORED TO FIT YOU.
      A STRATEGY  for  life events  birthdays weddings etc...  must be developed as well.
A STRATEGY for coping with your new life ... trust me its a different world  the healthier you get
A PLAN  for  exercise and strength building needs to be put in place.. MUST BE SOMETHING YOU ENJOY OTHERWISE YOU MOST LIKELY WILL NOT FOLLOW THROUGH... I swim and take water yoga classes and walk for now..

MOTIVATION, DETERMINATION, DISCIPLINE AND THE FOCUS TO NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT CHALLENGE COMES YOUR WAY..  that's where I am now...

DECISION ~ PLAN ~ STRATEGY~  MOTIVATION~  DETERMINATION ~ DISCIPLINE AND FOCUS COMBINED WITH A SIMPLE PHRASE~ NEVER GIVE UP!

YOU CAN DO THIS... I AM ALMOST HALF WAY THERE NOW.. I AM STARTING TO SEE THE CREST OF MY SUCCESS ... I BELIEVE YOU CAN TOO... PLEASE VISIT MY COACHES PAGE  FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TSFL SHE IS GREAT ... IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN WHAT I AM DOING... OR FOLLOW YOUR OWN PATH ..

PLEASE KEEP SEARCHING ...IF YOU ARE NOT THERE YET OR READY... AND PLEASE NEVER EVER GIVE UP... NO MATTER WHAT YOUR GOALS ARE.. BE THEY FOR YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS OR YOUR CAREER NEVER NEVER GIVE UP..
 

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

WEIGHT LOSS SIMULATOR

 JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE VISION OF WHERE THE FUTURE IS GOING... I ALWAYS FIND TOOLS LIKE THIS A MOTIVATING  FACTOR..
 
simulator   was Kinda neat to do..    its called modelmydiet.com
 
helps to give you a idea of how things will look as you go on your journey..
 
OKAY NOW FOR  THE REAL ME...  NO I DID NOT GET SHORTER LOL  JUST A WEIRD ANGLED PHOTO I GUES.S.. ....
 THIS IS ME FROM START TO  CURRENTLY ..PLUS A LITTLE OVER 4 MORE POUNDS DOWN..