My first Clothing Victory

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding


When I started working on my weight loss I was 231 lbs and pretty much everything I own was getting tight on me. I had only one new t-shirt that was loose. I didn’t have any other loose clothing because I refused to buy a bigger size of anything. Because of my clothes all being so tight, my weight loss so far has just helped my clothes actually fit, but nothing is really loose yet (except that one t-shirt).

However…..
Yesterday morning I was getting ready for church and I decided to try and wear a top I haven’t worn since the winter. That last time I wore this pink dress shirt it was so snug that I had to leave the bottom button undone. I decided I wouldn’t wear it again after that because I was embarrassed about leaving that button undone.
Well, IT FIT!!!! I told my husband this and he replied with a, “Good for you!”. Though no one else at church knew what it meant for me to be wearing that shirt, I wore it with pride to both services.
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Small Steps, Smaller changes

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

I have been on my weight loss journey seriously now for almost three months. In that time I have only lost 13 pounds. As of last Friday that means I’ve lost an average of one pound a week. They say 1-2 pounds a week is a good, healthy rate of weight loss. I wish it was coming off faster, but I know the changes I’m making are going to last forever.

One thing that is going fine for me is the exercise. I enjoy it and I haven’t had a problem doing my walking workout daily. That just “clicked” for me. 🙂 Food has been another issue entirely.

It’s taken me a while to cut out the really high-fat foods. I’ve just had to come to the realization about how some foods are better for me. It’s been a slow process for me, but my eating habits are changing and I’m doing okay with it.
In fact, just yesterday I was thinking about how months ago I said I’d never eat “strict and healthy”, just watch my portions. Yet here I am learning that while portions are important, so is healthier food. Yes, I can have the occasional treat, or higher-fat meal, but in general I need those healthier foods, for my body to feel its best.
The funny thing is that I don’t mind eating better now. I enjoy the better choices and I don’t feel like I’m being deprived (most of the time) [grin].
So, while it’s taking some time for my weight to come off I just keep reminding myself that these small changes are making a difference. Hey, I eat better, I workout at least four times a week and I’ve lost 13 pounds. None of that was happening six months ago! 🙂
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Back-To-School Challenge – Final Weigh-In

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Our back-to-school challenge ended last Saturday, August 8,2009. We were hoping to lose 20 lbs by that date. Here’s the stats:

Chris – total loss: -18.6 lbs.
Leah – total loss: -13.0 lbs.
As you can tell, Chris came the closest. GO CHRIS!!!!! She’s only 1.5 lbs away from being able to tell the teachers that she’s lost 20 lbs over the summer. I just know she’ll make it this week.
I’m a little bit farther away. There are no excuses, but I do have little reasons. Just last week I finally decided to cut some more high-fat foods out of my diet…this has taken me some time to do. So, while I would’ve loved to have lost 20 pounds by now I’m not really upset about it. I’m just glad that I’m still down.
We both decided that challenges are a little stressful. We’re not in this for a race, but for lifetime changes. So, for now I don’t think we’ll be doing any more challenges. 🙂
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Back-To-School Challenge – To be cont…

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Because I am leaving and Chris is in a time zone two hours behind me I will not be posting our weights for the Back-to-School Challenge until tomorrow.

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Weigh-In … Small Changes Work

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Today’s Weight: 218.0

Loss/Gain This Week: – 1.5 lbs.
Total Loss So Far: – 13.0 lbs.
I’ll have to write more thoughts later, because we are leaving for an entire day out in a few minutes, but here’s a quick thought about this weigh-in:
I made a few small changes this week in cutting out the higher fat foods and it paid off. I’m glad to see the loss, because those changes weren’t 100% dead on the entire week.
Thank you all for your support and here’s to another week of not giving up!
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Little Workout Partner

Posted on August 7, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding
We’ve been babysitting the 1 1/2 year old of some friends for a couple of days while her mother stays at the hospital with her very ill mother (tots grandmother). Yesterday I was doing my walking workout while she was awake and she kept watching the video and wondering what was going on. Then when I was stretching she started doing what I was doing. It was so cute, so my daughter grabbed the camera to take a picture of it.


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Reduced-Fat Thoughts

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

First off, we took the kids shopping for new tennis for school the other day and I got a new pair also. You can see in my picture that I put them on right away. Well, nothing makes you want to workout more than a brand new pair of tennis shoes so I proceeded to workout in them right away. That wasn’t such a great idea. I needed to work them in a bit before walking hard for a straight 30 minutes. My feet weren’t sore for too long, so that was good. 🙂
Okay, now on with my thoughts…
Yesterday I went grocery shopping the other day with “Fit to the Finish” on my mind. I was shopping and looking at labels, which is something I’ve never really done before. It was quite the learning experience. I learned that many things that are “reduced fat” are not that much less in calories and/or they are much higher in sugar. hhmm…. This is partly why I think keeping fresh fruits and veggies in my diet is so vital. Boxed and pre-packaged foods can carry a lot more in them than we realize.
In my shopping I decided to buy reduced-fat Mayo. I have a recipe to make that uses 1/2 cup of mayo and I thought this would be good to use for that and cut the calories, plus I can use it on my 98% fat-free turkey sandwhich on 100% whole wheat bread (yes, I’m a little proud of these better choices). As I put it in my basket I thought to myself, “My husband is going to flip out when he sees this in the fridge. Oh well, I’ll tell him it’s for me and not tell him that I’m going to use in a recipe also.” I grinned to myself and went on with my shopping.
When I got home and put my groceries away I showed him that I bought him some Hot Pockets for snacks. He said, “No more.” and proceeded to pat his belly. “What?!?”, I was thinking. (Remember he’s been working out daily, but he’s not that big – still in the high end of his healthy weight range and he told me a long time ago he wasn’t changing how he ate) Upon further inquiry he explained he had watched a little video clip about how cardio and weight loss are necessary to lose belly fat and show the six-pack abs. No, he’s not a body builder, but getting rid of that little bit of belly fat he accrued over the last five years means a lot to him. (Someday I just might be able to see what I’m hiding under all this fat also…*giggle* ) I decided that was a good time to tell him that I bought reduced-fat mayo and he just shrugged. Time will tell if he gets desperate enough to use it on his sandwhiches, but in the meantime I was glad he didn’t “freak out” on me about the reduced-fat mayo.
Speaking of sandwhiches..I don’t think I care too much for the reduced-fat mayo. However, if it will help me eat less calories and lose weight, then I’ll keep using it.
Wait a minute.. That’s what this is all about, right? We are finding out what will work best to help us get healthier and lose excess weight. Sometimes we may not like it, ie. reduced-fat mayo, and sometimes we may love it, ie. new tennis shoes, but we know that in the long run the pay-off will make it all worth it. And I LOVE that thought most of all! 🙂
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Good Choices = Good Feelings

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

As most of you know, last Friday night I ate a some junk food on our girls-only overnight trip and I felt very yucky the next day. Well, I’m back on track with my healthier eating and I am feeling so much better!!!

Plus, today we went to Sam’s club and decided to eat lunch there before going home. What to eat?? I knew I wasn’t going to eat a hot dog or slice of pizza, but a hot pretzel with mustard sounded good. Hey I’m sure it’s not too high in fat, right? Well, they also have a chicken caesar salad made with romaine lettuce, grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast, a few shavings of real parmesan cheese, croutons and the caesar dressing.
I was a little worried about the dressing, but since it is served in a little cup on the side I figured it would be fine; and overall, a much better choice than the hot pretzel. So, I bought the salad and ate that with half of the dressing while my family ate slices of pizza. I even only ate two of the croutons and gave the rest to my kids.
I wanted a taste of crust, or even a bite of the pizza, but I didn’t have any. I stuck with my salad. It was very yummy and I felt so good having made a better choice while eating out.
Note: My husband asked if my salad was okay and looked a little worried for me. LOL!! I told him it was wonderful and he even shared a few bites. Something about eating better just feels so good!
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All In Good Time

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Let me start by saying that this post is not an excuse to make poor eating habits when trying to lose weight, nor is it an excuse to be lazy and not try and stick to your weight loss plan of choice. It is, however, something I think makes a difference in how you look at your progress when trying to lose weight.

For some people deciding to lose weight just “clicks” and they “get ‘er done!”. (grin). But for others, like me, it takes a lot of thinking, trial and error and can get very frustrating at times.
Personally, I’m not having the easiest time changing my eating habits. I have good days and I have not-so-good days. I think the difficulty for me right now is that my not-so-good days aren’t as bad as they would’ve been in the past. So, while I know that I need to make better choices I can sometimes fool myself into thinking that I’m okay, because I’m not eating like I would’ve six months ago.
But you know, I don’t beat myself up for that, I just kind of give myself a stern look and try to do better next time. There may be those that think I’m lazy, or need to really get with the program, but you know this my journey, not theirs. I’m making lifelong changes and I want them to stay. I am breaking years of yo-yo dieting and bad habits with every intention of never having to go through this again.
And it’s going to take some time. And it’s defnitely proving not to always be easy (to order a chicken wrap when my family orders Big Macs…)
Do I plan on eating junk just because I’m “learning and I make mistakes-oops!”. No. I actually found myself ready to step it up a little this week and cut some things out because they just aren’t worth it right now if they are hindering my weight loss.
I’m fighting some major flesh and mind battles some days, but you know what? I’m not in any great hurry and I know it will come off in time. Some days I just make sure to workout, drink water and try to keep my attitude positive…otherwise I’d go crazy. 🙂
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A good "Ugh…"

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Leah@MyNewEnding

I took my twin daughters on a mini, girls-only vacation overnight last night. We had fun, ate some treats and today my stomach was not happy with me. I can’t remember the last time my stomach was upset from eating junk, but it was today. We ended our little trip with lunch at Applebees before coming home and I was never so happy to have a salad as I was today. 🙂

It didn’t feel good to have my stomach upset, but I’m glad that I did just for the fact that it showed me my body likes healthier choices.
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