Let The Exercise Begin

Blog number four about my continued weight loss and get healthy journey.

Success took on many different forms.  I kept up my food journal, drank the recommended amount of water and only ate what I was suppose to.  I did start loosing weight but with a long road ahead it was hard getting excited over 2 or 3 pounds a week.  I know that is good for healthy weight loss and I also know I spent years gaining this weight so it will take a while to get it off.   I just need realistic expectations.

After a month I was ready to add in some exercise.  I just didn't know what kind of exercise would be something I could stick to.   Once again I put a lot of thought into my decision.   Normally walking would be a good place to start but with the narrow country roads and blind curves I don't feel safe walking close to home.   I  have driven to one of the larger neighborhoods and walked around there a few times.  The phrase a few times isn't a good place to start.  Maybe a gym----maybe not.  I am a high maintenance kind of gal and generally a morning person.  If I went to a gym I would shower do my hair and put on a bit of make first, LOL right, just being honest here.   I would also have to drive 15 to 20 minutes to get there.   No way would I do that in the snow.  What was I to do?????

During my bible study group I felt that God wanted me to share about my new journey to get healthy and ask for prayer.  This was really hard for me since I was afraid of failing and more people witnessing my failure.  My willingness to share brought about an answer to my exercise dilemma.   After the group one of the women told me about Leslie Sansone.  She has a program for walking at home.

I went on You Tube and gave it a try.  After a month it was time to switch it up with something new.  My kids told me about Fitness Blender.  Daniel and Kelly have workouts for every level of fitness along with motivational tips.  I have grown to both love and hate these two.  

In October I celebrated my One Year Anniversary of working out 6 days a week for an average of 45 minuets.  I have to say of all my goals this one makes me the proudest.  Exercise has made the biggest difference in my overall health.  I actually enjoy exercising.  All the workouts can be done at home.  Some dumb bells, a chair and a mat are the only equipment needed.  This program is perfect for me since all my excuses are removed.  With so many different workouts I don't get bored.   I did purchase some of their 8 week guides since I do better with a bit more structure but you can access all their workouts for free on fitnessblender.com or on You Tube. 

Food Haul

This is my third post on my weight loss journey for any one who hasn't read the other post.

I was excited when the food arrived.  It was fun unpacking boxes of yummy-sounding meals. There were even cookies, candies, chips and other snack foods. Everything was color coded: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack.  There was a booklet that explained how the plan worked and there was a food journal.  I was supposed to eat several small meals and snacks as well as drink 8 or more glasses of water.  There was also a recommended grocery list for fruits and vegetables to supplement the boxed food.  So I took my list and headed to the store.  I wanted to be set for success not failure!











Ready set go:  My first meals were interesting.  The portions seemed extra small but at least I did eat often, about every 2 hours.  Honestly I wasn't hungry, but it was hard mentally.   My habit was to eat when I was stressed, bored, lonely or basically any time!  I rarely experienced hunger.  Some days I would eat a lot, others I would go without until later in the day and then start eating.  Obviously a inconsistent eating schedule wasn't going to work, so I needed a better plan.  Staying out of the kitchen helped as well as finding distractions.  There were times I had to leave the house (as scripture commands us to flee temptation).  Most days it was easy to stay on the program.

Before Starting My Journey

Just in case you didn't read the first Blog about my weight loss journey this is my second post.  I am discussing the process I went through before starting.

Something had to be different this time if I was going to make this a permanent change.  I spent a long time thinking about my eating habits and what kind of exercise I liked.  First I live to eat,  I am a "Foodie"!!!!! I am an emotional eater, I didn't controlled how much I ate and I didn't ever give myself much opportunity to feel hunger.  While eating I would think about what I would consume next.  House work or walking around Target was my only exercise.  The biggie was fear of failing!!!!!!

First I started praying about this and I gave God a chance to give me some direction.   Literally  I thought about this for several months before starting.  I needed a program that took away most of my decisions.  I wanted to open a drawer and select my food.   I researched several programs.  There are as many different approaches to loosing weight as there are types of people trying to loose weight. I decided on Nutrisystem, it was the kind of program I was looking for. With Nutrisystem there are no meetings to go to but councilors are available to answer questions.   You can order the food on line based on  your program.  I wasn't required to go to any weigh in's but I had my own privet log to keep track of my weight and measurements.  There are Forums with other people in the program available to talk to and success stories to read.  I was able to get a good discount by buying the gift cards through Costco.  I still needed to add in fresh fruit, vegetables and some dairy in addition to the packaged food.

We typically go out to eat at least once a week.   I read somewhere that one ought to view eating at restaurants as a social event not an eating event.  Also they say you should decide on a restaurant ahead of time and check out the menu so you can make a healthy meal choice.

One of the hardest steps was to inform my family.  I knew they would be supportive, but I hated to fail again.

I made the commitment to myself to give Nutrisystem a three month try with no cheating and doing everything the program suggested.  I did decide to just focus on the eating part and not add in any exercise at first.

I placed my first order and waited for the boxes to arrive.

Looks like a plat of desserts

"Ok Google

Yesterday I discovered the greatest thing!  I would imagine you have seen the commercials advertising "OK GOOGLE".  Since  I have a Samsung S5 phone I use that feature from time to time. Now for the cool part,  I can say "ok google how do you spell -------" and it tells me.  This just might change my life, literally adding minutes to each day.  :) No really!!!!!  Being extremely challenged in the spelling department there are several times a day that spell check can't even figure out what word I am looking for.   I will even search in the hard back Webster's with no luck.  Spelling words correctly is important to me and I work hard to get them correct.  I can spend quite a bit of time looking for the word I want only to end up substituting in another word that is easier to spell.  I just had to share this since I know there are other spelling challenged individuals out there looking for help.  At least two of my sons got the damaged spelling gene from me.  Those of you who take your gift of spelling for granted STOP IT!!!!!!  You are blessed.

A Happy, Healthy Me

A little over a year ago I made a decision to get serious about my health.  I didn't ever loose all the weight gained after the birth of my first son almost 29 years ago.  Wow time does fly.  My weight has gone up and down as I've tried various fad diets.  I would have some success but it was always short term.  These programs didn't help me change my bad habits or fit into my lifestyle.  Honestly the only real accomplishment was feeling like a failure.

My list of aches and pains was growing quite long.  I was also on medicine for high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  I would be out of breath just climbing a flight of stairs or taking a short walk.  I had very little flexibility so I was concerned about falling.  My weight had robbed me of a desired lifestyle.  It was time to take action and responsibility with my health and weight.  So for the next several blog post  I  will talk about this journey so far.  I am not at my goal but I am finally brave enough to share my success as well as failure.   So stay tuned if you are interested or just plain nosey (LOL).

To Much Multi Tasking

Facebook:It has been several hours since lunch time and I remember putting something in the microwave but not eating it.  I don't feel hungry though so what happened?  After a busy morning at home doing laundry and some cleaning I leave for the dentist and grocery shopping.  When I return  home I empty the car and put the groceries away.  Realizing it is lunch time I stick something in the microwave.  Once my counters are clear of groceries I take out some cottage cheese and tomatos and eat my lunch.  Then I go to my computer and upload some pictures of my homemade cards and fold the clothes I washed earlier, and it hits me I never ate the food in the microwave for lunch.  I also realize that I don't feel hungry.  After a few minutes I start to laugh remembering that I ate cottage cheese and tomato for lunch and totally forgot my other plan.  So do I eat it for dinner or try again tomorrow?  

'via Blog this'

Tribute to Hearing and Vision

Today is the first Christmas event of 2012.  Our Hearing and Vision team is having a luncheon.  This is an annual event that marks the end of another screening year.  Mom and I started doing screenings in 2001 and this will be the last year for us both as well as most of our team.  Over the years I have had the privilege of working with many wonderful ladies.  I know next September will be a bit sad not returning to the schools.  But just like a good book, to start a new chapter you have to turn the page and I am ready to start a new chapter.  I have a few ideas on what to do next but will have to see what I actually end up doing.  Thank you mom for being our team leader!  You did a great job setting up our schedule and working with the nurses to prepare the way for our team.  You were always diplomatic in solving issues.  Maybe politics is in your future, just kidding I wouldn't wish that on anyone.  Thank you to the other team members I have worked with over the years.  It was always a pleasure going to work.  We didn't have the petty drama often associated with working with a group of women.  Many memories were made some good and some not so good.  During our down time we had great conversation and solved many issues from politics to family life.  Best wishes to you all as you move on to other things.  Judy if you ever feel the need to carpool just text and I will gladly accompany you wherever you go.  Tere you were always worth waiting for.  Dorene I know I can share a cup of coffee with you anytime.  I love you all!!!!!