Off For Good

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

During my monthly cycle it’s often hard to find the motivation to stay on track and not feel like the weight will never come off. Yada, yada, etc. etc. I’ve eaten chocolate and salt this evening like it’s going out of style. Again, not like I used to, but more than probably necessary.

However, I was reminded while reading some weight loss blogs just now that I am in this for the long haul, and my weight is coming off for good. I may be the slowest at weight loss, but whatever I’ve lost so far is gone and never coming back on. I’m also not giving up and I know that I will win this battle in the end.
That’s about as positive as I can be right now, so I’ll stop there. 🙂 Take care “y’all” and have a great week!
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Congratulations to Pam!

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding


I wanted to take a minute and pass on a congratulations to Pam over at Journey To The Healthier Side of Life. She reached a big milestone in her weight loss journey and is a great inspiration to us all! Please feel free to stop by and give her a pat on the back here.

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Weigh-In … Maintain, but Feeling Good

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Today’s Weight: 208.5 lbs.

Loss/Gain: 0
Total Loss So Far: -22.5
I’m counting this as a maintain even though last Friday I was up to 211.5; because on Saturday I weighed myself again and I was back down to 208.5.
This is has been a good week for me, even if the scale doesn’t show a loss.
-I have exercised four days for thirty minutes a day.
-I have been learning to eat only when hungry and stop when satisfied.
-I am learning that I need to be content (noticed I haven’t learned it completely yet [grin] ).
– And I have regained hope that I can continue losing.
Also, I actually woke up hungry this morning, which is a nice sign that I didn’t eat too much before bed. You know, if I was really hungry and ate late in the evening it wouldn’t be so bad. However, most of the times I eat late at night it’s just mindless snacking and then I’m not truly hungry in the morning until almost 9:30 or 10:00 am. So, to wake up hungry is a good thing. At least it is today. 🙂
I hope you all have a nice Friday.
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Stick To It

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

I was reading an article in Reader’s Digest’s December 2009 issue and the author wrote about a comment that I found so very true in every aspect of life, but especially in my weight loss journey. It is something I’m still learning to do.

While telling the story of Todd Carmichael’s solo trek to the south pole he quoted Carmichael as saying, “You can never stray from your routine,” he said. “If you rely on adrenaline or emotion, you burn out. Inspiration comes from doing the work, not as a catalyst to do the work.”
I’ve nothing more to add, but just send it out there as something to think about.
Note: I looked on Reader’s Digest’s website to see if I could show you the article, but it’s not available there yet. However, you can read an interview with this man here at SkinnyMoose.com. Talk about taking on a tough task.
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Listening To My Body

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

After mentioning the other day that I really would like to get down to 199 by New Years I’ve been stressing a little about how to go about it.

What plan should I follow?
What should I/shouldn’t I eat?
Should I start some intense workouts?
On and on…
I was beginning to stress out about it all. Then I realized that I need to do what worked for me the week of Thanksgiving and in times past.
Listen to my body. Eat in moderation. Stop eating when full. Make sure to get some exercise in.
“The problem with that”, I argued with myself, “is that I can’t guarantee I’ll lose 8.5 pounds.”
hhmm…. But is that really the long term goal here? I mean, the short term goal is good and something I can still work towards, but will it all be a failure if I don’t make it?
Nope.
The long term goal is to buy a dress for my husband’s graduation in May 2011 in the regular sizes section of a store. It is also to feel better and have more energy, and for me what has worked the best is listening to my body.
Now, obviously and honestly I haven’t been doing that. It’s something I’m really working on right now. I am noticing regularly that my body does tell me when it’s had enough. I’ve just been ignoring it.
Time to stop ignoring and start listening. Deep inside I think this is what will work best for me.
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Hot 100 – November Results (Update #7)

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding


My goals for month two of the Hot 100 Challenge were as follows:

My Hot 100 November Goals:

Scale Goal: Reach my first scale goal of 199 by Thanksgiving. That is losing 15 pounds between now and then.
Emotional Goal: Learn how to stay on track while my mother visits the week of Thanksgiving and not feel bad about it. I tend to not want to make her feel bad with my losing weight. I’ve told her this and she is most encouraging, but it’s still rough for me.


Scale Goal: No. I did not reach 199 by Thanksgiving. As I mentioned in my month progress pics post I am a bit upset with this. I am buckling down to see if I can reach this by the end of the challenge.

Emotional Goal: YES! I did not gain any weight while my mom was visiting. I was even encouraged to see a change in her eating habits as well. We enjoyed eating out at some restaurants she really likes out here, but all food was enjoyed in moderation. She actually mentioned that she would like to get a treadmill so she can do some walking again. This is a great encouragement to me. She was also supportive, as always, and didn’t make any comments if I wanted to eat less. It was a very good week!
So, while I was hoping to really be kicking some butt by now in this challenge I am learning things and making some progression. As I posted yesterday, I am trying to work on being content. It is not easy at all to stop eating when satisfied, but I’m determined to really work on that this next month.
My goals for December are:

Hot 100 Goals for December:
Scale Goal: Lose at least 5 pounds during December, also known as the highest weight-gain season of the year and baking time!!!
Emotional Goal: Enjoy the holidays without feeling obligated to eat or taste everything. Learn that I don’t have to feel like I’m missing out or deprived just because I choose to say no to licking the batter spoon every time or eating 3 cookies every time I bake.
Had I reached by 199 lbs by now losing five more would’ve put me at 194 lbs. I kind of doubt I’ll see that kind of a loss, but we’ll see. I will lose those five pounds, and if I make it to 199 I’ll definitely be happy!

Yesterday I decided to cut out sweets except for one day a week during this next month. I think this will help me be more careful about not eating too many. So far I’m okay on that this week. 🙂

So, here goes for the last month of the challenge. I look forward to seeing some results this month. Wish me luck!

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Progression Pics – 6 Months and 1 Year

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Well, I’m down a half of a pound this past month. That’s the result of the funk I was in. Since this makes a grand total of 22.5 pounds in six months it’s a little upsetting. I’m just glad it’s not a gain for the month. I can be content with that. I’m looking for a good loss this upcoming month.

~~
To make myself feel a little better about my 3.75-pound-a-month weight loss average I looked up a picture of my husband and I while decorating the tree a year ago. I weighed a few pounds more than I do now, maybe five to seven, and I wasn’t exercising at all; neither was he. This is a little more encouraging.
November 2008

November 2009

I think he actually looks a whole lot thinner here. Woo Hoo! 🙂 My camera seems to be acting up and it’s not too clear, but you get the idea.

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Being Content

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Last week while my mother was visiting we had some really good times of one-on-one talking. Some of it was even pretty deep conversation and something I really needed. One thing she mentioned that has stuck in my mind was when she said, “You just need to be content.” This wasn’t in regards to my weight loss, but she did include my health and weight in general.

Now, she wasn’t talking about being content with being overweight and giving up on losing any more, but with being myself and not living up to the stick-thin examples of “great bodies” we see plastered in the media. She also was talking about a few other personal issues.
She is so right, both in general and in weight-related issues.
I’m always looking for the latest fix to help me lose the weight. Yes, I admit it..I do look in magazines and at those crazy ads once in a while. When I’m vexed with my current situation I just wish I could find the “magic” plan, workout tool, exercise machine or diet that would make the weight drop off easily.
But I know none of that would give me lasting results and they wouldn’t deal with the deeper issues; one of which is being content. I tend to want more in many areas, and food is one of them.
So, to know what to change and how to be content I started with looking up scriptures on the subject and then the actual definition of the word. In my search I came across these definitions:
con·tent

1. satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else.

Ready to accept or acquiesce; willing:

con·tent·ed,
To make content or satisfied: contented himself with one piece of cake.

I found it interesting that the example given for “contented” included an example with food. Somehow the dictionary knew what I was looking for.
Notice how the second definition for “content” says, “ready to accept or acquiesce; willing:” ? It’s almost as if I have to be ready to accept that less food or healthier choices are enough and be content with that. I know to acquiesce is to give in without protest, but look at that through my mind…I’m not giving in to be overweight, but giving in to what I know I must do and I’m not going to protest anymore.
Along the same lines, the definition for contented says “to make content or satisfied”. I have to make myself be content. It doesn’t say ‘ the natural instinct to be content’. It says to make it happen.
Ah ha!
I need to
* stop protesting smaller portions and healthier options
* be satisfied and not want more
* make myself be content, because it won’t come naturally
* be content with the food I eat and stop when I’m satisfied.
You know how Dave Ramsey teaches on living within your means financially, and being content with what you have? Well, I need to learn to eat within my means and be content with only the food my body needs as fuel to keep going.
This is not easy for me, but I know it can be done. I have decided to make it my goal daily to work on being content, because I know there is nothing to lose but the weight if I do.
1 Timothy 6:6 (NIV)

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

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Deborah Award

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Diane so graciously awarded the Deborah award to me today on her blog. Little does she know that it was a great morale booster to me.

I’m going to buckle down and try to reach a certain goal by the end of the year and this evening I’ve been really stressing about what I need to change to make it happen. I know I’ll probably feel much better after I get some sleep, so I’m trying not to worry too much about it.

So, Diane thank you for the award and for your friendship and support during this weightloss journey of mine.

I am not going to pass it on just now, because I need to think a little more on it. 🙂

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Blog Change

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

I change the backgrounds regularly on my family’s blog and I didn’t want to start doing that too much here, because I wanted my weightloss blog to be associated with a certain constant look, like a dot com site might.

BUT….
I couldn’t resist this blog set from The Cutest Blog on the Block. I figured the red, black and white could go on and on past Christmastime, so I would go ahead and change it. We’ll call it my “winter” theme. 🙂
Okay, my family needs the computer now, so I must stop playing and go do something else. Though as I look there is something else I’d like to add. Oh well, it will have to wait until next time.
G’nite!
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