Friday, January 31, 2014

TOOLS TOOLS TOOLS !!!

 POCKET HUNGER  COACH  -   POCKET HUNGER COACH


SHRINK YOURSELF -   SHRINK YOURSELF


RECIPES AND MOTIVATION   FOR TSFL :  

http://www.sandyskitchenadventures.com

http://newbeautifulme.blogspot.com

http://onefatgirlshea.blogspot.com


Looking forward to trying new discoveries...


Because my greatest focus is still on the 5 & 1   most of my recipes are medifast approved...  I do however love this one blog and have found many adaptable recipes there too..


SKINNY TASTE


WELL WE ARE HEADING OUT AGAIN TO SEE HOW THE  ROADS ARE... AGAIN....
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

FAILURE

It is my least favorite word..yet it is a word I see people use often ... Most often in the weight loss universe...People refer to being one of these if they have a binge... Or gained a little or even all of their weight back... Or the scale did not move ..or it moved in the wrong direction...they measure themselves by the sum of their pounds rather than as MLK would say " the content of their character" ......defining themselves by a number rather than who they really are..one feels that others judge him/ her by what that scale says...
The scale is simply a tool.. 

The reality is you make a choice...I will eat this .. I will not eat this...

In my experience as a emotional eater and binger..I had the misconception that eating this or that would comfort me..take away my pain.. Of not having many friends...growing up.. Of not being invited out.. Of not having the requisit boyfriends..I remember for a minute I was numbed ...but it never "fixed " things ....the only thing it ever did was make me unhealthier... Unhappier and ultimately use that word to describe myself. 

I wonder why did I choose food ??? 
I guess it was easy.. 
 But when that word gets laced into it..
when that word 
starts dominating your thoughts ...
 do you actually become that word???? 

NO!

I have heard and read the horror stories of bingeing... My case is not near as severe.. And my heart aches for those who are in a constant self inflicted war.. If I could say anything at all to them I would say stop usng "that word" because you are not that..You can find a way out of it...

Perhaps, 
for those that apply
 that word 
to themselves whatever their situation,
 should think again ...
 It is not a necessary word ...

here are words we SHOULD learn...

WARRIOR

SURVIVOR

CONQUERER

POWERFUL

STRONG

TRY

SUCCESS

WINNER

STRENGTH

POSITIVE 

SMART

FIGHTER

PEACEFUL

BELIEVE

BELIEF  

UNLIMITED

THANKFUL

COURAGE

NEVERGIVEUPER ( ok.. I made that one up but it works 😊)
 
Even in our darkest hours the above words should dominate our vocabulary ..our self vocabulary ... I am not saying never feel sad or bad about something but instead of focusing on the Worst .. Turn the worst around ...We can never expect things to change if we keep viewing life through the same lense..change happens when you open yourself up to creating something different instead of reacting the same old way...

BELIEVE !!!

YOU CAN ALWAYS REWRITE YOUR LIFE..

YOU CAN ALWAYS CHANGE YOUR WORDING!!!

YOU  ARE:

WARRIOR

SURVIVOR

CONQUERER

POWERFUL

STRONG

TRY

SUCCESS

WINNER

STRENGTH

POSITIVE 

SMART

FIGHTER

PEACEFUL

BELIEVE

BELIEF  

UNLIMITED

THANKFUL

COURAGE

CHOOSE YOUR NEW WORD!!

Have a peaceful rock solid week!!

Friday, January 24, 2014

IT JUST MAKES ME CRAZY!!


So there I am.. 
 My neck drives me crazy.. I look at that picture and just see my neck .. The old version of me never had a neck like that ( my husband pointed out to me that the old neck was 3 chins..)  I have butt cheeks for a neck.. I know it's superficial and I should just see the healthier , me.. The nice smile me..  But I don't .. I see bat wings on my neck.. I am afraid a strong wind will cause me to flap away.. I am fifty fucking one years old.. I have to accept the skin just is not gonna bounce back to a more youthful me.. So not only must I deal with wrinkles, a furrowed brow.. Now I got butt cheeks on my neck.. Or as my husband says a turkey neck .. He has it too since his weight loss.. His looks better than mine.. 
My niece caught on to my turtle neck devotion .. To try and hide it.. I also have extra skin in a few other places.. I was told that in 24 months those areas will tighten up because I am exercising more .. However the neck .. Short of surgery well it's a flapper.... I told Steve on windy days I am gonna keep a rope on my feet so he can catch me before I get caught in a up draft.. (  smile ) 
It is all superficial .. I do really get that.. It's just that this weight loss and continuing loss is revealing a body I am very unfamiliar with and surprised with.. In some good ways and ways that make me feel more self conscious..  than I did when I weighed over 200 pounds .. 
I guess this is all part of my learning process.. Overall I do like the new me.. With hints of love.. But that damn neck just well I guess sooner or later it's just going to have to make me laugh.. Here is to all our adjusting .. All our positive changes .. All our better and stronger selves.. 

Thursday, January 23, 2014

SIZE MATTERS

Don't get your hopes up.... its not that kind of post..... however it is this kind of post...
Pain level was high this morning but I said to myself I am getting out of bed and going to the gym... I can not get in the pool right now.... just too many temperature changes... (indoor pool) ... will start again once it warms up a bit outside...  I was determined to see about walking on the treadmill and see how it felt... I was also feeling deeply sorry for myself.. because I was hurting so bad and I was angry .. resentful... even...  Why after losing more than 50 pounds.. am I not feeling better... in the sense of reduced pain levels...  I have begun to think that Fibromyalgia has invited a friend over called arthritis ... though I am not sure about that... So.. anyways.. I was getting dressed... I knew my former gym clothes... ( if you want to call them that) .. were size 2-3x  so I knew they would be too big.. I guessed I was a XL  so I bought some XL pants.. and I tired on a L jacket.. before I got that .. did not try on pants just assumed they would fit... I also bought a xl top.. Since it was a fitted top I thought XL would work.... WELLLLLLL much to my shock... I am not a XL.. in fact I am a L.. I can wear the XL they are somewhat big but not unwearable.. but the L is what actually fits like they are suppose to... after the gym this morning I got a L pair of work out pants and a couple L tops... Now I have 3 things to wear to work out in... and 2 very full drawers of  clothes that I need to bag up and get rid of... Its pretty amazing when I think about it... I also bought some new tops to wear too.. and the young lady insisted I was a L and even a medium in some things... she was right.. that to me is just bizarre I totally am having to really learn about the size thing.. It really does matter.. I am having to accept that I am not what I was ... and when I was what I was I knew how to shop... Shopping was never about style.. it was about what fits. Now I have choices and it can be a bit overwhelming but fun never the less..


 I also am loving finding new and healthy recipes to help me along my way too...
It is still a shock to me... to see the changes... but in a good way... I had only wished my pain would have been so receptive and leave... however.. each of us has something we have to push through and overcome.. and this is my thing.. the chronic pain... and you can bet I will continue to push through .. no matter how many times I cry I can't anymore... I honestly can say I get how people end up staying in bed... I used to think it was because of all the meds they took... and would think if they quit all the meds they could get up and move and that will help.. ... the fact is unless you  live with chronic pain.. you have no idea.. what it is about...some of us can keep fighting while others resign themselves to bed.. me I keep fighting... and pushing through....
and learning how much...
Size indeed does matter as it helps shape your destiny ... and that's a very good thing...

Monday, January 20, 2014

A RAMBLE WITH A VIEW

No big exciting weight loss.. Stayed the same and had  to weigh a day early...I am okay with that...

Travel :

A morbidly obese person has to think about travel in ways their thinner amigos never do... For example will my butt fit in a plane seat with out spillage and will the belt  fit.....me with out cutting off my need to breath ...( have not been on a plane yet.... ).  
And hotel towels ...
oh boy... 
How many hotel towels will I NEED.. 
Let's see.. 
One for the hair
 and maybe 3 for the body..
geez 
I have to ask for more towels... ..
will I fit in the shower with out my hips touching the  slimey curtain or the ice cold wall... 
Well .. 
Uhmmmmm
 things have changed ...
 In a BIG Way....... 
at a HAMPTON INN...

I eyed the towels suspiciously and wondered how  humiliating was this going to be...
. Wow.. 
Uhm... 
Well... 
Oh my goodness..!! 
The towel wraps around me...???
 Even my thinner friends complain about towelege not being ample..
but this regular size towel fit... 
Granted I know most folks are thinking..what the hell is she freaking out about... 
Seee....
The towel fit me.. And I could use a second towel out of CHOICE not NEED.. big difference for a formally morbidly obese person... 
The mind needs to start viewing things differently soon.. 
Accepting that I really am succeeding .. 
And also accepting that this cycle of hard work will never end until my last breath.. 
The hardest is really accepting that in order to stay in a good place there is no magic bullet..
. It is about Choices!!
when one wants to be their best self in the most authentic way possible both on the
inside and outside.. 
It is a ever changing practice...
adaptability .
.or as my thinner travelers would say ... 
Hey.. It's just living...hmm... Living.... Imagine that ..I like living with out the extra worry.. 
I like shopping  too..in
small stores where the sales associate recognizes me...
I like this new version of me I am creating...I pray my mind really gets it though ..
Just heading down the road of feeling better and hopefully getting healthier .. 






Friday, January 17, 2014

THE SHORT VERSION OF ME... TRAVELING THIS ROAD TO WHERE I WANT TO BE...

The strange thing for me is realizing I do not binge anymore ..
When I was growing up food was my best friend.. Most kids did not like me much..yeah I was " that kid" ... The one who looked different...was not pretty enough... Thin enough..right enough...but with food.....well it never turned away from me.. It did not care what I weighed... How I dressed or what I said...no matter what ... I found a way to hoard it..hide it and gorge until my belly hurt and I swore up and down to God I would never do that again...but the lure of easy food... Sweetened cereals...snack cakes whatever ..anything.... I could get I took...and for just a ...few minutes I was not anxious .... I was not scared... I was not alone... I was not ugly....

My binging stopped in my late 20s..l still had minor food issues. Like buying extras of things I enjoyed for fear I would not find it again..but I did not binge I just made poor choices...there were diets ..with no final ending... There were bribes...from my folks... Lose 40 pounds and we will get you a nose job... 50 pounds and a breast reduction...nothing stuck because I never learned......at my largest 211 ( I am 4 ft. 11 inches tall) in 2007 right before my wedding..

I lost 25 pounds ..

 The weight came back ..

Even my mothers words in 2008 right before her 2nd open heart surgery ...Please take care of your heart...she died 30 minutes later on the operating table.....

Nothing..reached me..not even my husband begging.....

Back up to 205.8 .....

Nothing motivated me to get a real grip....

 Until....One night I was chatting on FB about how I felt with a friend...she suggested TSFL... Very off handed very lightly..she was doing it and was successful ..and her coach was a mutual friend...

I really don't know why I jumped.. I really don't know what clicked ...it was perhaps just a matter of do this or die....

July 8 th was my start date ...here I am roughly 6/7 months later.. 51.4 pounds healthier with 22-25 to go....
I have worked tirelessly on myself...and am learning that food is ONLY my friend in the sense it makes me healthier and gives me energy to function...eating every 2-3 hours has been such a great tool for me...

Learning what true hunger is vs.just maybe being thirsty...

Learning I am free of a burden and accepting I am an ever changing work in progress ...

well... It is nice to be free.. And I love the tools that I find ..to keep me strong and healthy and reaching for even better health...

most importantly I love the sense of community and compassion I have discovered during this greatest adventure thus far in my life

... May we all be strong and garner strength and wisdom from each other to be the best version of ourselves we can be...

Monday, January 13, 2014

DO NOT LOSE YOUR FOCUS




It is tough when bad things happen.. Or difficult situations arise.. finding the courage to continue is the dividing line between success and failure..  We will always have moments that go against us..unplanned events that can shatter a seemingly perfect day...it is at those moments when your choices are challenged the most... 
because we are in the food business ..I have multiple times a day where I can opt to make a choice .. That in the instant might really taste good but in the long term be a detriment to my goals.. So the question becomes what do I really want... A few seconds of immediate gratification or to feel stronger and better.....

I am also working on the pain factor here are my results as of today 
:  So  have a plan now.. Find a Rheumatologist ...have EMG test.. Have MRI of neck ...start massage therapy .. After all testing .....possible steroid shots in shoulders, had X-ray's today to verify what is going on there in case it's not fibro but arthritis ... Had a rather thought provoking experience today.. A bit of a discovery..  Doctors are very willing to help a patient who they see is helping themselves ( I.e.. Losing weight..). .. As a formally morbidly obese patient.. I was handed off a lot.. Or told this was going to happen to me.. Or I was bound to have a heart attack or be diabetic ....no one said anything like that.. They were impressed with the weight loss.... This time I was really listened too.. I mean by a nurse and two doctors trying to develop a plan of action for over 45 minutes we talked.... Glad my doctor sent me back to him again...not looking forward at all to EMG...

Had a chipper little weight loss this week about a half a pound ..grand total 51.4 pounds... 22-25 more to go... 
over the next few weeks will discuss transition. And maintainence ... Doing a lot of reading on ose topics now.. So I can develope my plan of action..

And finally to make you smile ::


Monday, January 6, 2014

THERE IS NO LIMIT..

 
 

Anything you want to Achieve ~you can!!! Today I passed the 50 pound mark.. I am at 51 pounds now.. 22~ 25 pounds away from my goal ..it can be done!!! 
Find what works for you!! For me it was and is TSFL / MEDIFAST... It has been what I needed!!! Get yourself ready to change your life... Your direction ...whatever works for you.. Follow it !!! That's the best advice I can give..  My choices have been hard!! I don't reccomend my route..there are great programs out there..that being said...TSFL is what I needed and continue to follow..Rsearch for yourself what can work for you!! Remember all things can be achieved!!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

CHALLENGE 2014


 Make this a true new year by challenging yourself to change the things you need to change !! Why ride the tide..and just continue on a mundane road when you can create something better for yourself.. 
It is anything and Everything.. That business that you have wanted to start.. Give it wings...you have a great idea ..take it to the next level! .. You want to change something at your current job.. You want to create something ????? Something more...wellllll you know this tag line...JUST DO IT!!! 
We all have the Routine we have to do to survive...that is a fact... But you can still create a change a challenge to make a personal difference in your life... There is a new job opportunity for you????? Take it... If you see an opportunity ...try it...make this life what you need it to be.. Contentment is great.. Comfort zones are good... But pushing out of those zones whatever they are can be invigorating...

Let's talk Health... Because that is my Challenge. If you are morbidly obese..( you know it if you are) if you are unhealthy... ( you know that too) You can change that ..find the steps that work for you ... If you love your body no matter what your size .....that's great..but I have one question for you?? Does your size limit your life???? If so...perhaps you might want to rethink things..... No one should be limited by their girth.. That is something that can be fixed.. It's one of the few things in life ...you can control... While it's far easier to just stay the same each year ... Why not create an adventure ...??? Do one thing different..strive to become the best Version of you ..there is...
Wishing you a happy and all around blessed new year!!