My Weightloss Journey...One Year Down

Life has turned me upside down the past few weeks. Our home was opened as a provisional foster home and we have two new little ones. My daughter had an appendectomy, my husband has a hiatal hernia, my husband's car broke down, the two new little have both been sick separate times, we had hiccups in getting my stepson here for Christmas break and I have been swamped with paperwork to get certified for fostering. I've definitely been humbled this month.

I've managed to stay on top of tracking my food and getting my workouts completed. I didn't lose any weight last week but I also had an unwelcomed visitor. I did splurge on Christmas Eve and Christmas more than I wanted to.

I have one more week left of this year and I want to lose ONE more pound. This would put me at 60 lbs lost for the year. Even with PCOS, that's an average of 1.15 lbs per week. Although there were plenty of weeks that I lost nothing...

I keep getting compliments and questions about my weight loss. People ask if I am at my goal weight and a lot of them seem to think I have lost enough. The reality is I still weigh 178 lbs. I am still a size 13/14. I am super happy about that but I know there is still progress to be made.

Rather than focusing on the scale, like I have my entire life, I am going concentrate on strength training. I know that to change the shape of my body I have to train with weights. This will be a learning process for me.  

This is the first year that I have not given up midway through and gained all of my weight back. What exactly did I do to lose weight? I tracked all of my food intake. I use Weight Watchers' previous points system. I made sure to keep up my intake of supplements. I love AdvoCare. I workout. True story. lol I love FitnessBlender videos on youtube.com. I drink plenty of water and get plenty of sleep. Easy enough, right?

I would say the two things that made the difference was giving it to God because I know I can't do it on my own and I committed to the process through affirmation statements. Have a support system if at all possible. If you don't have one at home or work you find one online. I love Instagram because you can follow real people on their fitness journey and find inspiration and motivation.

I gladly welcome others to join me on this journey to get healthy! :)  

Celebrating Non-scale Victories!!!

I have had 3 non-scale victories this week and it's only Wednesday! I forgot how awesome they feel! I have been so focused on that scale not budging much over the last few weeks that I have gotten a little discouraged. I have still pushed on though. In the past this would have been the point that I threw in the towel. Did I mention this is my 4th time to lose weight? I also have PCOS which likes to play games with my hormones and can make it more difficult to lose at times.

Okay so on to the positive stuff!!! Monday I was super exhausted! Plus I have been stressed. I really wanted to binge eat. I had a ton of cravings and I only have 14 Flex points left for the week (which I plan to use on Thanksgiving). I had just went grocery shopping and had some junk in the cabinets. I have not complete convinced my family to go 100% healthy and they are a small army that overpower me! ha (I do encourage serving sizes and moderation) Needless to say we had bags of chips and sugary cereal to name a few. I contemplated and tried to justify my need for sugar and carbs for about 10-15 minutes. Instead I went and took a bath. I wasn't hungry anyways and it was 9pm. This may seem small and unimportant for some but when you are an emotional binge eater and you are stressed THIS IS HUGE! I almost always give into to my ridiculous cravings.

Yesterday we had our Thanksgiving celebration at work. We had didn't do a tradition feast but there was still a lot of unhealthy options. Luckily there were enough healthy options to pick from. My dear friend made a gluten free veggie lasagna. The real non-scale victory was staying away from the dessert table! Did I mention that I LOVE sweets? They are my kryptonite! Victory #2!

Another friend gave me a ton of her clothes that she doesn't wear anymore or never wore at all. I was super stoked. I love a good deal! ;) So I mentioned to her that I had a pair of the pants on and she mentioned them being size 13/14. I told her no, I thought they were 16. Got me thinking...so I went and checked. Sure enough they WERE a size 13/14!!! I didn't even know! At the beginning of the year I wore an 18/20. Victory #3!

There it is. Three things that I am super grateful for. Small things that matter. I am working on loving my body for what it is and what it can do now instead of hating it for what it's not. This includes not letting the scale define me. Yes, I need to be within a healthy weight but as long as I'm working daily at achieving that I am okay with it taking as long as it takes.

What are some of your non-scale victories that you need to celebrate?

Importance of Journaling

Some women love shoes...I love journals and notebooks! I love putting pen to paper. I have my food journal with me at all times. Only way for me to track properly. I usually have a smaller notebook about 5x7 or a smidge smaller. This way it can easily fit into my purse.

I also keep a prayer journal. I find it easier to talk to God this way. Usually if I start to pray out loud (technically in my head) next thing you know I'm over in left field off on another tangent. Writing helps me stay focused on the Lord and to show all of my gratitude...and of course pray!

I only have a few pages left in my prayer and food journals. You know what that means! I got to take a stroll down the stationary aisle. I ended up with two new journals and then two super cute composition notebooks. I couldn't decide which I liked best...so I got them all.

My prayer journal has the scripture of Psalms 118:24 on the front. "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it". In love! I usually get up about 5:30 am to start my day and this will be a great reminder to be joyful!

The "yes you can" composition notebook will be my goals notebook. I am starting to write my goals in 12 week increments. As I accomplish goals and find things that aren't working I will need to update them. Three months seems like a great time to re-evaluate. 

The "anything is possible" composition notebook is just for funsies right now.  Who knows. I am sure I can assign a purpose to it.

I pulled a muscle in my left quad so I have been taking it easy today. I happen to have an appointment scheduled with a massage therapist tomorrow but I don't know if that will help? I will talk to her bout it. This is the first time I have had a pulled quad. lol Other than magnesium oil and a bit of heat I'm not sure what to do with it.

While I rest up I am going to start writing in my notebooks. Making my goals super official. To achieve your dreams you must turn them into goals. Then turn your goals into affirmations. Writing time!

Progress of 24 Day Challenge {Day 5}

I am super excited about my progress with the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge!!! I started on Monday 10/3/16. I had been stuck at 192.2 throughout September. Between our move and the kiddos back in school my stress levels where crazy high and with PCOS that just makes matters worse. I am happy I was able to maintain and not actually gain during September.

However, I know that I needed to step things up if I wanted to keep progressing towards my goals. My next goal is to get to 180. See where I started here.

  

I weighed in on Friday 10/7. That's 4 full days of my 10 day cleanse phase of the challenge. I have already lost 3.6 lbs!!! I've never been on a cleanse that was this easy before! I actually get to eat real food and I am not in the bathroom 27/4. I work full time and it hasn't interfered with my job. I feel pretty amazing too. I will tell ya around day three I was a little irritable. I vented to a friend and got over it and by Thursday morning I was feeling great.

 

I feel better than I have in a long time. I eat 6-7 times a day. I count Weight Watcher points to stay on track with my calorie intake. I know all too well how quickly calories can get out of control! I do follow the Herbal Cleanse precisely with the exception that I have added an extra dosage of OmegaPlex daily.

I will post an update after my full 10 Days of the cleanse and then my weight and measurements after the 24 days! So stay tuned!  

Quiting Coffee...What?!?

So I haven't posted in a minute. It's crazy how life can get away from you. We are back in the swing of school and all of the activities and homework that comes along with that. My youngest is in fifth grade this year and let me tell ya'll I am not smarter than a fifth grader! It's kinda embarrassing!lol

So I love coffee. If I could have had an IV drip hooked up I would have. Ha! I was drinking about 5-8 cups a day. Yes I am aware that was quite excessive. Here's the thing, my coffee would "wake me up" for about 27 minutes at a time (being a little dramatic here) but honestly it would wear off quickly and I would need more. I literally thought I couldn't live without it. I was addicted and dependent. I was still tired and oh so cranky.

I really didn't think there was a problem. I would drink it black often so I wasn't using my Weight Watcher points on in. A little over three weeks ago I was getting nauseous throughout the day and it happened for about 3-4 days. It seemed to happen around the same time I'd have coffee. It was seriously upsetting my stomach. I had to stop drinking it.

A month ago I would have thought I'd die without my coffee. Here I am three weeks later. Alive. I feel great. I haven't quit caffeine 100% but it has been reduced soooo much. I drink a Spark in the morning and then have a cup of hot tea in the afternoon.

I feel different. I am not sure how to explain it. I am less tired and less anxious. I have an anxiety disorder so I am sure that the coffee was not helping that at all. I am happy that I quit.

I know that I could NOT have done this without my Advocare Spark!!! I have been using Spark off and on for about two years. I'd use it for workouts or a late afternoon pick me up. I started having it every morning when I gave up the coffee. Spark is a unique blend of vitamins, minerals, nutrients and the right amount of caffeine.* I love it! It helps me focus, gives me enough energy to feel sustained and I get so much done during my day compared to the pot of coffee I was drinking before. It isn't like a crazy burst of energy which is what I like. I don't want to feel crazy out of mind. I do a good job of that on my own ;) My favorite flavors are cherry, fruit punch and pink lemonade.

Find out more about Advocare on my micro site. I signed up to be a distributor after two years of using Spark, CorePlex and OmegaPlex. I immediately got a 20% discount and free products. Advocare now has a preferred customer option if you want a discount on your products. You can even get up to 30% off!!! If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me.

I am starting the Advocare 24 Day Challenge. Come back to see how that goes! Hope y'all have a great day. Don't give up on your weight loss journey!

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Weight Loss Update Since the Move: Back on Track!

We are starting to settle into the new home. Still have a garage full of boxes but life is starting to look normal again. I was scared to weigh myself since we had been grabbing convenience food for a week or so. I did finally get on the scale because I knew if I didn’t I would continue to let it get out of hand and it would end up worse than what it could be. I dreadfully stepped on the scale and it read 195.6. Okay. Not as bad as I thought. I only gained 2.4 lbs. over three weeks or so. I was really scared that it would be more.  

I know the only way to lose weight and even maintain my weight is to make healthy choices and keep track of everything I am eating. I did not do that. I was highly stressed and didn’t manage it well. Plus I ran out of my AdvoCare vitamins! 

I was starting to feel defeated again and starting to plan my next pity party. This is when I remembered my new motto: fall down seven times, stand up eight...I am only a failure when I give up!

 

During the midst of the craziness I decided I would try the 21 day fix. I wanted to change things up a bit. I thought it would give me something to focus on. I bought containers, made a binder, started a pinterest board and looked up as much info as I could. I failed on day one. 

Although the plan seems great, there wasn’t much wiggle room. I realize it is about clean eating and portion control but there was no “cheat” meal, no day off…nothing to look forward to lol. (Of course this is just the info I found online and I did not speak with an advisor for the plan.) It set me up for failure right away. All of a sudden I felt restricted and controlled. Don't get me wrong I still think this plan is good and can work for others but for me it just didn't fit. At least not at this time in my life. I do like some of the tips and food ideas and will incorporate them.

With that said, this is why I love Weight Watchers. Freedom. I get to choose. I track what I eat and stay within my daily points. I do plan out my days and I do the prep work. I love fruits and veggies so I always get 5+ servings in a day. If I get in a pinch for time, Weight Watchers is much more forgiving. I am back to following Weight Watchers since 9/4/16. It works. It’s all about portion control. I weighed in on 9/9/16 kinda nervous since it had been online 5 days but I was at 192.2!!!

I just know that this is where I need to be at this point in my journey and am excited to be back at it. I was feeling really blah! Next stop 190!!! See y'all there!

The Basics of Weight Loss In Plain English

Although the five things below may seem super simple, they can be challenging to complete everyday; day in and day out. They all work together to make a healthier you. Of course there are going to be days that you stumble and even fall flat on your face. But remember…fall down seven times, stand up eight. This is my new mantra. I have embraced it wholeheartedly. I have also been reciting the Serenity Prayer like crazy! 

1.     Drink water! This one is super easy for me. I LOVE water! When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do…okay the second thing I do is drink water. I will drink 8-16 oz. Some may think that sounds hideous but I really feel like it helps get me going in the morning.

2.       Track everything you eat. EVERYTHING. This one is so important but I sometimes I will avoid my journal when I make bad choices. Like not writing it down will cancel out the calories. Let me tell you, it most definitely does not. I do keep a food journal with me at all times. It’s really just a small notebook J I use an old version of Weight Watchers. I had joined meetings back in 2007. It’s what I know and it’s what I am comfortable with. As crazy as it sounds, it’s easier for me to track my points than to track calories. Since it’s an older version I follow it fo’ freeee. (I will do a separate post on that later).

3.       Get moving! It doesn’t matter what you enjoy doing, JUST MOVE! I really enjoy walking, Zumba, Tae BO, HIIT workouts and more recently racquetball with my kiddos. I actually talked the kiddos into doing a Tae Bo workout with me when I got off work the other day. Of course it was more of them just randomly kicking and punching around but it wasn’t horrible. It kept them distracted long enough for me to get in an effective 30 minute workout without feeling like I was taking time away from them.

4.       Get enough sleep. This is so crucial to everything. If I am tired I make really poor food choices and I am super grumpy. I function best on 7-8 hours of sleep. Preferably 8 if I have a say in it. Of course with the demands of children and life it doesn’t always happen that way. I literally have a bedtime and try to adhere to it regularly.  

5.       Positive self-talk. We become the voices in our head. It isn’t something you do once or twice. You have to do it consistently. I went through Lou Tice’s course, “Thought Patterns for Success”. I loved how much it helped me. Over time I fell back into old habits of negative self-talk. I would never say these things to others so why do I say them to myself? Currently working on getting back on track with this. Saying daily affirmations will play a big role in your success. Keep them positive and don’t use words that can be heard as negative like can’t, won’t and don’t. The "Thought Patterns" course teaches you to do them right before you fall to sleep. Just repeat them over and over again. I have also done them looking at myself in mirror. It was super uncomfortable at first and I didn't even want to make eye contact with myself. Over time it did become easier and I became more confident. Here are a few things you can tell yourself:

a.       I make healthy food choices.

b.      I enjoy exercising.

c.       I am strong in mind and body and spirit.

d.      I am losing weight.

e.      I am beautiful and loved.

Small steps to get you started on the right track. They may take some practice to make them a habit but your efforts will pay off.