Deep Fried Snickers!!!

Are you kidding me? A snickers bar, on a stick, dipped in batter, deep fat fried until golden brown, then sprinkled with powdered sugar???? Really?

Yes! Yes! Yes!!!!!

Okay, so given my current journey, I should be saying "No! No! No!!!!!" Since the creation of the deep fried Snickers bar, I've wanted to try it, but decided it wasn't worth standing in long lines for...as well as paying $4. BUT, as I embarked on this journey to healthier living, I soon realized that one thing that I crave...a lot...is a Snickers bar! It's my go-to candy bar. Most days after eating one I question whether it was worth the 8 PointsPlus values...and many days I come to the conclusion that yes, in fact it WAS worth it!! I don't have them very often so when I do, I consider them a treat.

Back to the point...Monday my family went to the Iowa State Fair. The one place in the world where you have to search far and wide for a healthy treat. Sure there is fruit on a stick and salad on a stick, but seriously??!! I go the fair maybe once a year. So I'm thinking, let's splurge! I've been doing great, why not treat myself this one time??

So I waited in line, and I paid $4...and I loved it! Today I jumped back on the treadmill, kept refilling my water, ate my apple and cherry tomatoes (yes, together), and am back on track. I think that's the important part. Splurge if you must, as long as you get right back on track!!!

24 down...76 to go

So I went to the doctor this morning to discuss a concern of mine. I keep feeling this lump (sort of like a big marble) in my jaw. It moves around and sometimes feels bigger...other times it's small enough I can't find it. Long story short, said a little prayer before the doctor came in and "thank you God" it's just a lymph node!! Didn't know lymph nodes just kind of float around and they can get swollen when you have a lot of drainage or an infection...just like your glands would! So they took some blood to see if I have an infection, but it could also be because my allergies are sooooo terrible right now, so I have a lot of drainage.

But the true point of this entry is some exciting news. The last time I met with Dr Abler was July 10th. In exactly one month I lost another 10 pounds, so I'm up to 24 pounds lost!!!! I'm so excited that I'm seeing this type of success this time around.

You know, in past times I've started this same journey, I had in my head that I should lose a lot of weight quickly because that's what happens when you're as overweight as I am. You see a lot of initial weight loss. Those times I didn't see results like that, so I got frustrated and decided it wasn't worth spending the money each month if I wasn't losing weight!!!

Reality check: I'm 10 years older than I was the first time I ever did Weight Watchers, during which I lost over 70 pounds. Increased age = decreased metabolism = increased difficulty in burning calories. The first time I joined the program I didn't truly exercise for the first 4-5 months!!!! I plateaued, joined the YMCA (it was a free membership through my work at the time), and less than a year later I was 70 pounds lighter.

This time around everything is different. First of all, exercise is my friend...it has to be one of my best friends, because this time around I'm not going to be able to accomplish my goals without it! But I don't hate it. In fact, the days I don't get to spend time with my new best friend, I actually kind of feel like crap! Whoa, hold the show...who is this person inside my body having an actual desire to be physically fit???!!! :)

My goal isn't to lose the weight yesterday. After all, it took 2 babies (who I wouldn't trade for the world) and 8 years of bad health decisions to put the weight on. It's not going to come off over night. I want a lifetime of change filled with good decisions regarding diet and exercise. I want this to be a true lifestyle change for my entire family. I want to become educated about health, and I want to be able to teach my kids the benefits of being healthy. I want to be a GOOD example to my children, not one who says, "Do as I say, not as I do".

So as of today I'm 24 pounds closer to my goal...that which is 100 pounds lost, at least to begin with! Once I hit that goal I may reevaluate and decide I want more, but oh what a day that is going to be. There will be a party...a big party. Think about it. Let's just say 100 pounds is the weight of your average freshman. I will have lost an entire CHILD!!!!!! I'm excited for that day. That excitement and anticipation is going to keep me going on this journey.

24 down...76 to go

Accountability...who is most important?

The one thing I've been fighting to overcome since the start of this journey is becoming accountable to the most important person...myself. Being a member of Weight Watchers, I have become accountable to the friends I've joined with, to my leader, and to the other members of my group. All through our childhood we are taught that it doesn't matter what other people think about you. Now here I am using my fear of disappointing and letting down my Weight Watchers friends as my motivation to keep going. Having somebody to be accountable to has been a key to my success thus far.

But why can't being accountable to ME be motivation? Why can't I be the person I fear letting down?

The next two weeks I will be missing my Weight Watchers meetings due to events I cannot change. And unfortunately I can't go to any of the other evening Weight Watchers meetings in the area. Now the accountability to ME has to kick in.

JC started the workout program Insanity a couple of weeks ago. In a matter of two weeks he's lost 9 pounds. Why is it that men lose so much faster than women? To the point, though, he has become the most accountable person I know. Yes, he's accountable to the group of four guys he works out with. But more importantly he's being accountable to himself by leaving our house by 5:00 every single morning to go work on himself...FOR himself!

Some days I find myself jealous that he can still do a program like Insanity and that it's working so well for him. Why do I let myself even go there? Why can't I just be thrilled that he's found something that he enjoys and that is going to help him get back to the body he is confident to be wearing??!! I get so frustrated that my knees won't allow me to get on the floor to do push ups or to do squats, or whatever. When I think of what my body was in college I become so frustrated with myself for having hated that body! What I wouldn't give to have that back now!

But you can't turn back time. I did this to my body, so now it's time to undo this.

I love my husband for making me jealous of his success...you know why? Because I'm still the competitor I was in high school and darn it, I will NOT let him leave me in the dust!!! It might take me longer to get there because of what I have done to my body, but I will get there WITH his support. That's the key. I have his 100% support because now we have a common goal. To be Mom and Dad to the two coolest kids for a VERY long time!

From this point forward I promise myself I will be first and foremost accountable to the most important person in this journey...ME!

10 Day Challenge Success

Okay, so it's been a little while since I've posted on here, so it's time to catch up!!! I completed the 10 day challenge and it was a success!!! Lost 4 pounds, my appetite was much more under control, and I had enough energy to get through my work day...success!!!

I have taken prescription appetite suppressants before. They worked, but I felt very nauseous if I ate past that feeling of fullness, and unfortunately there was no lead up to that feeling. It just hit me. I'm now taking Slimmetry, an all natural appetite suppressant that I buy through our Amway business. A little plug here: Nutrilite is the top selling vitamin and supplement company in the world!!! Prior to my 10 day challenge I knew that, but I didn't have enough faith in that statement to shout it to the world. Now I know first hand that Nutrilite is amazing! Slimmetry uses plant based ingredients that aid in suppressing the appetite and giving your body a feeling of satisfaction. After all, you should eat until you're satisfied, not until you're full!!! And that's exactly what it did. I could feel myself getting to that full status and programmed myself to just stop before I got there!! The best part was that I continued to not be hungry until 4-5 hours later!!!

In addition to taking Slimmetry for suppressing the appetite, I took the Rolls Royce of multi-vitamins as well as supplements to help me maximize my performance while exercising and to help boost my metabolism. All are made from natural ingredients, so I'm not worried at all about putting them into my body!!

All in all the 10 day challenge worked like a charm! 4 pounds in 10 days and more energy than I've had since before having the kids!! Maybe now I can play WITH the kids instead of watching them from a chair on the sidelines!!!!

To date: 15 lbs gone since joining Weight Watchers + 7 lbs lost prior to = 22 total lbs gone!

Next challenge: Camping this weekend with my family...yikes!

My Former Self

So I realized that I never really took a picture before my weight loss journey. So I went back through my pictures and found probably THE MOST unattractive picture that was taken of me in the month of May, the month I made the decision to change. I can't stand looking at it, which I guess is a good thing...at least it'll help keep me on the right path!

I vividly remember JC taking pregnancy pictures, with both children, of my belly growing in front of our very eyes. Every month I'd pose sideways so we could see that precious life coming to be. It was amazing to experience.

So, just like we documented my belly getting bigger, I'm going to document, in pictures, me leaving my former self and becoming a happier, healthier me!!! Becoming the woman that God made...he didn't make me to be what I am today. I made me that way through a series of bad decisions. But my story doesn't end there. I'm not going to just throw in the towel. I have lots of living to do!

This blog, taking pictures of myself month after month, and getting excited over even a fraction of weight lost might seem silly to some people, but this is a part of my story! It's a wonderful story, and the ending is going to be fantastic!!!

Woohoo!!!

Despite my nervousness about missing 2 weeks of Weight Watchers, I'm really happy I went to our meeting last night. Lost another 2.8 pounds, so I'm now down 10 lbs on Weight Watchers, 17 pounds overall!!!

So I decided to wear dress capris today. Love it when clothes no longer fit because they're TOO BIG!!! The first pair I tried on immediately went in the garage sale pile. The pair I have on I'll be putting in the laundry and then they will too go in the garage sale pile. Woohoo!!!

Smiling today...and ready to meet a new week head on! By the way, I rewarded myself with a small piece of homemade fudge and it was worth it!!!

10 Day Challenge

So last week I had my 2-month (give or take a week) follow up with Dr Abler, our family doctor, to discuss my progress regarding diet and exercise. Emma met with Dr Abler as well. You see, my daughter is beginning to look like a mirror of the person I am, and the person I do not want her to become...physically speaking.

Our frustration with Emma is that she really, truthfully, does not eat like the typical overweight child eats. We don't buy candy. In fact the only time it's in our house is after a parade (and Daddy takes most of that to work with him so the boys can eat it), and after a holiday in which unfortunately candy is the common gift received!

Pop, for Emma, is a treat. We simply do not keep it in the house for her. I grew up drinking pop. Any kind of pop. Really, it was whatever kind of pop Dad was drinking because he was my hero and I wanted to do whatever Dad was doing. Wow, that's an eye opener. Kids really do look at their parents and model them.

We are role models and I haven't been a good one. Yes, I think I'm a good mom and I hope I've done well in teaching my kids right and wrong, etc, but in the health department I have been a terrible example for my kids!! Time for a change!

So my doctor tells me that I, on the other hand, have had a great 2+ months. Lost 14 pounds (7 of which came while doing Weight Watchers, 7 on my own), and my blood pressure was the best it's been since before Joshua was born. So, given these results Dr Abler has decided that if I can keep up the hard work she is going to cut my dosage in half at my next visit in October. 2-3 months after that, if I'm still going strong, we are going to test my body and see if I can go off blood pressure medication!!! Next step, cholesterol meds!!!!

So, with that in mind, let's get back to the title of this post: 10 Day Challenge. For the next 10 days I am going to eat healthier, exercise every week day (and on the weekends if I can find the time), and I'm now taking a multi-vitamin and some supplements to "supplement" (duh) my new healthy habits! I've never been much of a pill taker, so we'll see how this goes! So far so good, but today is my first day!

I was going to start doing Zumba on the Wii this morning, but poor Emma didn't sleep well last night and ended up on the couch!! I didn't want to wake her so I walked on the treadmill during my lunch hour instead. And I can honestly say, that was the best workout I've put myself through in a long time! To the veteran health nut, it may not seem like much, but in a half hour I did 1-1/2 miles of circuit walking: 2 minute warm-up, 8 minute speed walk, 2 minute recovery walk, 8 minute speed walk, 2 minute recovery walk, 6 minute speed walk, 2 minute cool down. Simple, but hey...I was sweating my buns off and my legs were tingly. I'd say workout well done!!!!

I weigh in tomorrow night at Weight Watchers. Haven't been there in 2 weeks, so I'm a little nervous about stepping on the scale. But in order to start over, I have to, simply put, start over! So what do you say we get this party started??!!