Balanced Focus

What a week it’s been. Good in general life, not the best in weight loss life. Today I find myself praying to find the balance between staying focused on my weight loss journey and life.

I need to stay focused on weight loss to lose the weight, but I don’t want it to be the only thing I think about all day. My whole problem is having food consume me and I need to break that. Yet, I need to not let food consume my every moment without losing focus to the point that I gain weight.
I’m finding myself repeating the same mistakes and falling into the same habits that prevent me from going forward with my weight loss at a steady pace. I’m about the same weight I was at the beginning of December and not happy about that. Yes, I’m happy I haven’t gained, but I need to continue losing.
hhmm… it’s a thinking day today. I know what needs to be done to lose weight. As Syl mentioned in her blog post on Monday. It’s real simple and I don’t really need magic pills or plans or even cool accesories (dreaming of a Body Bugg here..).
I just need to get to it, and keep it in a balanced focus with the rest of my life. I’m working on that.
Feel free to comment…. experiences? Similar struggles? I’m open…. 🙂
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Weekend… Good and Bad

Okay, so I didn’t do so great at the weekend eating. Actually I did okay with the exception of some chocolate and a late night meal last night. Oh, and I also realized this morning that I didn’t track my food all weekend. Not on purpose, just lazy… hhmmm…
As I was reminded after reading Diane‘s post today, it’s a good wake-up call to see the scale go up or not move. Then you realize that you can’t food yourself by making un-weight loss food choices/portions and see the weight fall.

I can say that Friday night I did fine with my chicken and dumplings. I enjoyed every bite of them and didn’t overeat.
We had company for dinner and my friend said this would be a great shot…so, no worries, I did not eat nine bowls of it. *grin*
I broke my month of no desserts Friday night and had some interesting observations with eating sweets over the weekend. I’ll write more about it tomorrow.
In the meantime, today is a new day. I’ve had my normal, weight loss portion breakfast and I will get back on track and to tracking today. 🙂
Have a great week everyone!
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Weigh In … :o)

Today’s Weight: 184.5

Loss/Gain: -2.5 lbs.
Total Loss So Far: -46.5 lbs.
I couldn’t think of a good way to title this weigh-in, because I just smiled when I saw that number. I have been trying to stay focused and it shows. 🙂 It’s not been easy, but then I know anything worth having isn’t always easy to get.
This morning as I was getting my breakfast I found myself thinking about what I was going to to eat later (thinking more excessive than moderation), because it’s Friday. Then I stopped and I reminded myself that I need to stay focused even over the weekend so I can see another loss next week, and the next week, and so on.
So, we’ll see how I do. I am making chicken and dumplings for dinner, so that will be a treat. I will do my best to enjoy in moderation. 🙂
Well it’s cleaning day for me, so I need to get focused on finishing that up now. Have a nice Friday and stay warm this weekend if you’re having lots of snow…like us. 🙂
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Survivor News!!


Yes, as the above card says my mom was declared officially cancer free on Tuesday. No more cancer!!! Her doctor said all the tests came back normal, so she is a breast cancer survivor now.

To go along with that, a couple of weeks ago she had another doctor visit to check her blood sugars. The doctor said something to the effect of , “It looks like you don’t have it [Type II Diabetes] anymore.” She’s gone from being diagnosed with Type II Diabetes last spring to being told she doesn’t have it anymore. Glory!!
I know people lose their parents at young ages, and many lose family members to breast cancer or diabetes-related issues. So, I’m especially grateful my mother has made it through this past year and is in much better health now.
God is good.
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Snow Day Workout

Today was a snow day for, well everyone. We knew a storm was a’comin and we woke up to snow like they said we would. Okay, well not as much as Lori has been getting, but still enough to shut everything down because we’re not used to roads covered in snow. 🙂

So, what did I do today? Well, I spent all morning working on a project at the computer. Washed bedding on and off all day. Made lunch for the kids – all four of them. Yep, my love was home today too. 🙂
Then we all settled in and watched Secretariat (very neat movie) and suddenly I was tired of sitting around…so I put on my tennis shoes, popped in the DVD and started a Leslie Sansone Walk At Home 3-mile workout.

I stepped higher than ever before, and pushed myself as hard as I could. Ms. Leslie even did a little bit of an arm workout with the hand weights. Boy it felt good!

I wore my Garmin with heart rate monitor (yes, I finally used it and will post about it tomorrow maybe) and tracked my heart rate throughout the workout. I was pleased to share with my husband that I kept my heart rate between 145-155 bpm’s throughout the workout, and I even hit just over 160 bpm’s at the most intense point. Woo Hoo! He’s always doubted whether “walking DVDs”, as I call them, do that much good for me.
Well, they sure did today. My old faithful 3-Mile Weight Loss Walk DVD gave me a way to get some good exercise in on a cold, cold day.
Have a nice evening! I’m off to make a late dinner for the family. Er, scratch that…while I’ve been posting my Luv has taken up my offer to free himself of boredom and make dinner. *insert sly smile* He’s “getting creative in the kitchen” and I’m all for that this evening! 🙂
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FOCUS is My Word

Short Story: FOCUS is the word I’ve chosen to keep in mind this year as I accomplish all God wants for me, including reaching my weight loss goals.
Long Story:

During the month of January the morning radio personalities on the national radio station K-Love have been talking about picking out a word for the year 2011. They were making a big deal about having a word for yourself for this year and how it helped each of them last year, yada. yada. Honestly, I thought this was silly every time I heard them talk about it, but nonetheless it got me thinking.

If I had to pick one word to encourage, motivate, describe or in any way keep in the back of my mind this year what would I pick? hhmmm…. Overcome? Finish? “Ah well”, I’d think, “I’m not picking one anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
Of course, it kept nagging me, because I thought, “It could be a good thing to have one word to remind me what I’m doing in life.” hhmmm… more thinking….
Then our pastor preached a week or so ago on staying focused. He used the scriptures around Philippians 3:14, which happened to be my scripture on my high school graduation announcements.
“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. ”
He preached on staying focused on what God wants of us; watching out for distractions that would take us away from serving God. It was an answer to prayer, because I tend to get distracted and lose focus in many areas of my life.
I’ve always known this, but it was really brought out to my attention when I kept wondering what it is that keeps me from losing weight more steadily. As I began some serious introspection I realized, er, was willing to admit, I get distracted easily and lose focus on on projects and goals.
I set out to start something wonderful and then I end up not finishing it. Okay, I do get some things done, but I have a box full of unfinished projects and half a room full of craft stuff that’s waiting to be made into the perfect “______”. I even have cards that never got mailed and, more than I care to admit, I have days that seem to fly by with really nothing to show for them. Put me at work or with an appointment and I’m fine, but left to myself…*shaking head*…slightest distractions can keep me from getting things completed in a timely manner.
Okay…focus…focus…for the sake of my blog I’ll stick with the weight loss area of my life in this.
Gosh, countless times I find myself doing well part of a day, part of a week and then not the rest of the time. That’s what leads to great losses some weeks and not-so-great losses, or no loss, others. I know I’m not alone in this, but it’s not something to be taken lightly when it’s stopping me from reaching my goals.
I know it’s okay to lose slowly and if it takes forever, then fine…unless it’s simply because I’m getting distracted and not staying focused. Then, I don’t think it is okay. I need to get with it and “git er done”.
So, I prayed and committed to being more focused. Focused on what God wants of me as a woman, wife and mother, including being focused on reaching my weight loss goal. I know making it to the end of this journey ultimately is up to me. As I pray and work on staying focused I’ll have to remind myself of that fact often. Like it says in James 2:26:
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Post Script
To start I bought a weekly calendar to write down chores I need to complete daily, just one or two things that HAVE to get done…and “workout” is one of them. 🙂
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Weigh In … Motivation Question

Today’s Weight: 187.0

Loss/Gain: +1.5 lbs
Total Loss So Far: -44.0 lbs
TOM arrived this week, so I’m not surprised about the gain. Of course, it’s never fun, but at least I know what’s up.
I have to say that I made it through PMS without any chocolate this month!! Woo Hoo!! When I started my no-desserts month I wondered how it would be during this week. It wasn’t too bad, but it has been the couple of days that a piece of chocolate has sounded good more than once. 🙂
That’s about it for today for me.
I leave you with with a question that a friend asked me this week and I’m curious what everyone has to say on the subject. She had reached her healthy weight about five or six years ago and has since gained it all back. She said she wonders what happened.
So, if you ever lost weight in the past and gained it back what do you think caused you to lose your motivation to stick to whatever was helping you stay thin?
Share as much as you care too. Thanks!
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Sweet Cravings & Exercise

Oh, my…

Short Story: I had my first big craving for chocolate in 2.5 weeks and did not give in. I also made myself exercise this evening when I really. really. did NOT want to. Go me.

Long Story:
After dinner tonight I had my first real sweets/chocolate craving since starting this no desserts thing. Seriously, up until tonight it hasn’t been that hard to stay out of the desserts. Okay, well except for the first week, but I digress.

Funny thing though is I realized I was in a munching-don’t-feel-like-doing-anything-PMS-feeling-like-a-fat-failure mood and suddenly I made myself stop for a minute and think, “Is it really the chocolate I’m craving? or just the bad habit of dipping into the M&Ms to avoid a chore I know I need to finish this evening?”

hhmm… It was definitely interesting to see what my brain was thinking since I knew I wasn’t allowing myself a sweets dessert this month.

I had heard eating an apple will take the craving away, but we had just eaten dinner and I was full, so I settled for a small single-serve unsweetened apple sauce with strawberry instead. I’d say the craving went away, but I went away instead…to the other room to finish folding my laundry. The craving is no longer there, so I assume it went away as well, but I didn’t wait around after eating the applesauce to bid it goodbye. *giggle*

Then I forced myself to finish up folding the laundry and eventually a workout with Jillian…ugh. I SO DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS TONIGHT. I fought every step it took to get dressed, put the DVD in, etc, etc.

Of course, behind the fuzzied thinking that is my brain on PMS I know I’m glad I got it done, but I wasn’t glad at the time – even when it was finished. I was just PMS’y with a sweaty body and shaky muscles added into the mix. 🙂

Now that I’ve finished up my chores and am about to go shower and get to bed I can smile a bit a bit. I can smile because I exercised my body when I didn’t feel like it, and I exercised my willpower to not give in to sweets just because I was bored. Again… go me. 🙂

G’nite!
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I’m In For A Healthy Heart

I’m very excited to share about the 1st Annual Healthy Heart Virtual Run/Walk being put on by Lori at Finding Radiance.


The basic rules are that you need to run, walk, elliptical or bike a distance of your choice, on February 11th, 12th or 13th,and prove that you did so by submitting a photo with all the details to Lori.


She’s even giving away prizes!!


So, what are you waiting for? Click here to read all the details and to sign up.


Oh me??


I’ll be running a 5K (3.1 miles) on Friday, February 11th.


Let me know if you decide to join. I’d love to hear about it! 🙂

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Traveling NSV

We’ve been out of town for the last 24 hours. Now that we’re home kids are showering or playing Xbox and I’m checking email and blogs.

As I was checking in on my regular weight loss blogs I follow I realized I have a non-scale victory to report today. So, while everyone else is busy, and the computer is all mine (insert fiendish giggle here), I’m going to share.
Short Story: I did not overeat at any restaurant meals or eat snacks in between meals while lounging at our hotel or driving to and from our destination. I also drank lots of water. I did all of this without really meaning to, as in I didn’t stress about it. I simply kept it in the back of my mind and it happened. 🙂
Long Story: Read on….
First off, we went out to eat after arriving to our destination and I ate what I wanted from Romano’s Macaroni Grill (YUM). I didn’t pick the healthiest items, but I enjoyed what I ate and didn’t overeat. SCORE!
I also skipped the mango and peach flavored iced teas and settled for a unsweetened tea that I sweetened with Sweet ‘N Low. I knew this would save on calories and I really didn’t need that added sugar. SCORE AGAIN!
When we got back to the room I was satisfied to hang out with the family WITHOUT snacking for the rest of the night. DOUBLE SCORE (as this is the first time I remember ever being in a hotel and not snacking.)
Today we’ve eaten out for breakfast and lunch/dinner and except for two bites from my husband’s Slim Jim I’ve eaten no snacks. Both meals I ate what I felt like having and stopped when satisfied. SCORE!
We even stopped to put gas and get drinks before heading home and I settled myself with a cup of coffee. I didn’t even want a snack of chips or junk. SCORE!
The funny thing about all this is that I didn’t even plan to stay focused or on plan when we left. That is to say I didn’t stress out about what I would eat. I packed a protein bar and some almonds in case I got stuck being hungry while we were out and about, but I never even touched them. I also did take half of a case of water and managed to drink about 84 ounces of it just today.
Amazingly, none of those choices were hard. Each choice just came to me, like that’s what I do now. I guess for all of my negativity and wanting to quit I need to remember days like this and remind myself that those changes are really happening in me, and because they are I know I can reach my goals. 🙂
Glory!!!
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