My New Ending

Thank you for the well wishes about being sick and such.  I am feeling better;  now I’m trying to get rid of the annoying phlegm and cough that doesn’t want to leave.  Thankfully, there are no more real aches and pains and more energy for holiday happenings.  🙂

Not only have I felt better with regards to being sick, I have felt better with regards to my health.  I’ve made better food choices and gotten some regular activity in.  Nothing drastic, but enough to see the scale make a downwards turn.  I’m grateful.  

Officially …

Thank you for the well wishes.  I’m not 100% yet, but I’m sure feeling better today.  Now on to something I’ve been thinking about for a while. 

In recent months I’ve heard two instances where people were confronted with weight issues and they took offense.  One is obviously overweight, was confronted by a doctor and felt crushed when the pouring out of the heart was met with [paraphrasing] “Let’s take care of your weight first.”

The other has recently lost some weight while making strides to eat healthier and exercise regularly, so when the pastor of the church comments [again paraphrasing] “people are overweight because they eat too much” the person vented to me about it.  

I sympathize with the patient for the hurt feelings.  I do not know the doctor, nor the delivery in which this help was offered, except as shared by the patient.   I know there has been a struggle with weight for a long while now, so the fact that the emotional stress was linked directly and solely to weight just felt like a slap in the face.

As for the pastor’s comment, I do know this particular pastor personally and he is very thin and has never had a weight issue, nor has he lived around any immediate family with one.  Over the years I’ve learned to take was is true in what he says and let the opinions go.  

What was interesting to me after both situations was how we don’t like to hear the truth.  

Because whether we like it or not…most obese people are that way because they eat too much and exercise too little.  I have known a few people who were doing everything in their power to be healthy and had hormone related reasons why their weight was very high, but most people are overweight because they consume more calories than they burn.

Now add to the overeating hormones, aging and genetics and being healthy can seem very difficult.

I know this, because it’s my truth as well.  

My genetics will not ever allow me to be skinny naturally, but I do have the capability to be thinner and healthier when I watch what and how much I eat and get regular exercise.  

In fact, a recent anonymous commented pointed out what a failure I currently am and all I could say was, “Yep!  You’re right.  I’m probably not going to lose 10 pounds by December 31st now.”

When I alluded to this comment on my Instagram many instantly came to my defense.  While I appreciate their concern, the truth is still that I need to change.  Not because I’m a horrible person and being 192 pounds makes me ugly or not worth being around, but because my health is important.  

In fact, our pastor recently mentioned something to this effect, “people don’t change because they aren’t desperate enough.”  

There’s that truth again.  

Some would say but they are so desperate, but I knew for me I hadn’t truly been desperate enough to work on getting healthier again.  I was desperate to not be heavy and to fit into my clothes better, but not desperate enough to change what I was doing  

So, I prayed and I repented.  Honestly, facing the truth and acknowledging what needs to change is so freeing.  

Then I got sick and couldn’t post and could barely eat…yada…yada.  

But I’m here now.  Still recuperating, but inspired.  Because this past almost two years has thrown me for an emotional loop and I know I allowed myself to get lazy because it all seemed too much to handle.  

I also know this is all part of life and I’m okay with that.  But instead of getting upset when truth hits I’m choosing to see it for what it is — truth, that if embraced, can bring about good change.  

I’ve been there before, in a happy healthier place,  and I know I want to be there again.  It’s not easy, but it will be worth it.  

Oh, and when I found this quote this morning I knew it was perfect, because facing the truth and changing doesn’t mean I’m “bad” it simply means I have areas that need improving.  

Well, I’m completely behind on updates for the Healthy Holidays Challenge.  Our Thanksgiving included a short visit from my brother, his wife and daughter and after all the cooking and eating was completed we spent time watching cheesy Christmas movies and then shopping for ornaments the day after.  

We had pouring rain pretty much most of the week, but a break in the weather allowed us to get our Christmas tree last Saturday.  The break in weather also allowed me to complete my Thankful Journey 5K.  I took a nice fall during my run, spraining my ankle a bit, which I planned on blogging about until I got sick. 

But back to more fun things…

 We had to leave our tree upright in the garage to dry out a bit before we could bring it in for decorating.  While the tree dried out I pulled out my bins of holiday decor and started changing out the fall for Christmas decorations.  

So, the tree got up and we decorated it on Sunday, then Monday was laundry day and my nose started to run, and run, and run. 

Then my throat felt like it was on fire and everything got worse and worse and I’m on day 4 of being sick.  It’s been a pain because I’m hosting a party tonight and still had a couple things to do.  Thankfully, I planned way ahead and could afford a couple days of complete resting in hopes of getting better.  I’m not 100%, but I am doing better.  

No fevers or infections, so we’re going on with our party plans (me doped up on Mucinex and Tylenol).  My daughters said they’d be happy to host it if I could be up for it.  lol  

Needless to say, all the hustle of Thanksgiving followed by getting sick hasn’t helped me stay on track with my challenge.  I haven’t eaten as much while being sick, so that is nice.  (You know it’s bad when I don’t even really want my morning coffee. *smirk*) 

So, the best of an update I’m going to give you is the scale isn’t up or down.  Activities of daily living have been my “exercise” this week and I’m hoping to be back to normal asap.  

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and are enjoying getting into full holiday mode.  I know we are!  

Thanks for stopping by!

I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is in one week.  At first I was almost sad, because it didn’t feel like the holidays were coming, but now things are settling into a more festive mood around here. 

My mother-in-law came into town this past Monday and I have had a crazy busy week.  So…my “dieting” hasn’t really happened, but it’s okay.  I had a feeling these two weeks would be good if I could not gain any weight.  Unfortunately, I had hoped to lose at least 5 pounds by now, but oh well.  

I can’t be upset about my week when I’ve had this kind of fun happening….

My daughters have both been accepted to their colleges of choice and this past Wednesday I was able to go with one of them to her campus tour at the University of Oklahoma. 

 My husband attended the College of Dentistry at OU, so it was fun to go up and visit with friends the night before and then enjoy seeing Oklahoma again.  The OU campus is beautiful and it was a gorgeous fall day.  I was a Sooner wife and now I’ll be a Sooner Mom.  Yay!

My mother-in-law is an amazing cook.  She is Mexican by birth and her love language is food, which we don’t mind one bit.  Yesterday we went and finished buying fixings to make tamales and made a couple dozen in the evening. 

Today we are making up the rest of them … I told her I’m blogging till the masa is ready and then we’ll start assembling.  Woo Hoo!  It’s not the healthiest of foods, but they are something we only eat once a year, so it’s fun to have her making them for us here.  

I’m taking notes, because I really should try and do these on my own.  I’m so glad she enjoys teaching me how to make foods her family loved, because we all love it too.  

But…you really want to know about the update, so here it is…for official purposes: 

Next update post will be after Thanksgiving.  I don’t do Black Friday shopping, so I’m sure I’ll hop on here and post a quick update.  My brother and his wife and my niece are coming on Wednesday and I’m looking forward to that. 

I hope you all have a nice weekend and don’t go crazy getting those last minute plans done before the celebration.  

This has been the week that arrives monthly where everything goes up.  The cravings for sweets, the scale and the food.  So, unfortunately I wasn’t really thrilled with, oh, pretty much anything.  I just told myself to wait it out and things would start feeling normal again.  

Today things are feeling back to normal, so that is good.    

Here’s my update: 

All in all it was an okay week.  It was normal for my monthly (with the exception of the scale jumping so high), so I’m okay with that (..now that it’s over and my monthly emotional fog has lifted).  It’s life and life happens.  

Quite honestly, I have days I don’t think I’m going to hit that goal of losing 10 pounds by the end of the year, but I won’t let myself quit this challenge and put off losing weight until the New Year … I’d probably end up gaining another 10 over Christmas if I did that.  

So, I’m here.  I’m not quitting and I’m looking for better things this week.  

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you all have a nice weekend!

Have I mentioned we get a pretty nice autumn here in Arlington, Texas?  I’m so glad.  Even though I was willing to move back to the desert I’m secretly rejoicing I didn’t have to.  The cooler days, changing leaves and smell of fireplaces being lit make me happy.

 

Autumn days also make me want to run.  I run best in cooler weather.  So, now that temperatures are steadily staying lower the last of my excuses for not running is gone. 

 

However, I seem to be one who is motivated only when I’m accountable to someone, even in the smallest way (read: blogging helps me stay accountable.)  I’ve looked over training plans over the past month, but nothing jumped out at me.

 

Then I received an email from the ladies at Another Mother Runner and I was hooked.  I pondered the Stride Through the Holidays Challenge before going back, at the last minute, and signing up.

 

This is a simple five-week training plan that focuses more on minutes spent being active than a distance.  It also combines my love of running with my love of giving.  All profits from this challenge are being donated to Heart Strides. 

 

So, there it is.  I am running again.  And I’m helping another mother runner at the same time.  Yes, it’s a lovely time of year.

For the past few years I’ve participated in some sort of virtual 5K race Thanksgiving morning.  I’ve been wondering if I’ll do it again this year.  I haven’t been running as much, but the weather is becoming beautiful for it and the itch to run has begun.

Enter Alissa at A Journey to Thin.

She is hosting a Thankful Journey 5K this year, so I’ve signed up.  You can walk, ride, jog, run, do the elliptical, anything that takes you 3.1 miles.  The best thing is you have 10 days to complete it.  

So, feel free to pop on over there to sign up.  She has all kinds of prizes that will be given out through a random drawing at the completion of the “race”.  

This week has gone much better.  There was no drastic dieting, but simply sticking to the goals I had set for myself.  There were still more higher calorie days than I need, but definitely more sticking to my plan.  

The best news, and ultimately where I want to see change, is… the scale is going back down.  I’m pleased with this.  

For the official check-in …

This challenge has made me think about setting a good example to those that are following it.  As the hostess of the challenge I feel a need to be a good example.  If I’m going to tell people that I lost a lot of weight and I’m currently hosting a challenge, shouldn’t I be living what I’m preaching?

It’s been hard, because I just haven’t felt like it.  

Honest.  I read a post on procrastination and the author mentioned, “Why are you procrastinating something you’ve been wanting to do?”  I originally started reading the article thinking of some projects I need to finish, but when I read that line my weight came to mind and I thought because I don’t want to [eat healthy, watch portions]. 

I didn’t dwell on the thought, but went on with my day.  I wasn’t surprised by my internal response, but knew we don’t always like what we have to do. 

This challenge has really been forcing me to think about my actions and whether I’m being a good example to those following.  No worries, there is no pressure to be perfect, but the pressure to at least follow what I’m preaching.  It’s a healthy balance “between challenging myself to stick to a healthier plan and allowing myself to mess up.”.

So, here’s to another week.  If you’re reading this and wondering who are the people following this challenge I’m talking about…they are all on Instagram.  I have 12 or so people on this challenge with me and I want to do better so they will be encouraged to keep it up as well.  🙂

Thanks for checking in!  Have a good weekend!

Well, this week went better than the last.  The scale isn’t down, but I’m figuring some things out and I’m pretty sure I know what the problem is.  I’ve also decided I can’t complain about my weight if I’m not doing what’s necessary to change it.  

For the official Healthy Holidays Update Record: 

So, there we are.  I still haven’t had my “stellar” week, but I am figuring out some things.  When I get vexed I want to do something strict and drastic, but I keep reminding myself I need to make changes that can last.  

I hope you all have a good weekend!  I hoping for lots of trick-or-treaters — I have candy for bunches of them.  Otherwise, it’s all going into goodie bags to give the kids at church or for my own kids’ lunches for the next six months.  🙂 

Thanks for checking in!  

I’d like to write off this week and try again.  The gain from the state fair weekend never did come off.  Geez.  So, I’ll do an update and move on with my challenge.