6 months on it

This week I am going to talk about my pictures. Our TOPS group has to have our pictures taken every six months and my goal was to have 50 pounds off. I didn't make it. This is okay, because just looking at the comparison you can see as well as I, that I am making a dent in the process of getting it off. I have lost 48 3/4 pounds and it is okay, I will get to the 50 pound mark soon.

It really is amazing to me that I am looking different. I don't see it when I look in the mirror. My mind has a whole different image of what I look like. However, when you see the pictures well I can't really deny it now can I?

I think that becoming the leader of my group is a big help for me, and I think I am the right person for this job. This will keep me motivated to try and get the weight off so that the members of the group can see that I am serious about this and if I can stay with it, then hopefully they will realize that I am there for them too.

That is a new thing I am going through right now, I feel so much for the members (seeing that they are all mostly family) and I want them to do well, but what can I do when they are having a tough time? What can I say that will help or motivate them? I realize that no one can do it for any of us, but I wish I had the magic words or the right combination to help someone.

While I am thrilled with the weight loss I am experiencing and I do wonder if I will be an effective leader. I guess anyone who takes on this type of responsibility will feel this way, I just hope I can break through to someone and help them as I have been helped. Isn't that what weight loss is about? You need to have a strong support system and while I ma lucky and have that, I want to be able to do that for others.

This is alot for me to think about and I had no clue that this is where I would be heading with this week's post, but it seems lately the my posts kind of take on a life of their own.

This week's weight loss was 1/4 pound. I am pleased, it is still on the down slope. so until next week, I hope to gain nothing but knowledge and lose nothing but weight.

I think I can, I think I can

I have been thinking about what to write about this week. Sometimes it is hard to think about something to write. Well, I am thinking about the little engine that could.

This actually all started this morning when I was talking to one of my co-workers. First off, let me say that I lost 3 1/4 pounds this week making my grand total of 48 1/2 pounds. That is an amazing feat for anyone and I am thrilled but I need to lose 1 1/2 pounds to hit that 50 pound mark. We (the majority of my TOPS group) has to have our pictures taken for our 6 month weight loss. Our chapter takes pictures every six months. My six months was up last week, but because it is easier, the pictures are being taken at the end of April. I want so much to have 50 pounds off by then.

Now back to the co-worker, I was happy that I lost 3 1/4 pounds this week, and she said that I should be able to get this last 1 1/2 pounds off for next week. My response was "Well I hope so, but I have had three weeks of losing so I don't think it is going to happen." Her response back to me was to quit thinking that way, I have to start believing it will happen. After she left I really started thinking about that.

Those of us who struggle with weight loss are so quick to put ourselves down. We don't celebrate the victories, no matter how big or small they are. Even if we lose 1/4 of a pound that is a victory. When we do something that is worthy of recognition we still put ourselves down. Instead of thinking that I will lose the weight I need to reach my goal, I put myself down to an extent. If I cannot be proud of my small steps how can I go on and be successful? I am going to try hard to work on that. The next time I lose 1 pound I am not going to say I only lost 1 pound, it could have been better, I am going to try and be excited about what I did do.

If I didn't have bad eating habits and low self esteem then I wouldn't be where I am at, so I am going to work on trying to get a new self image. It is always one day at a time.

I would also like to add that all the members at TOPS had a weight loss, and I don't think this has happened since the first week of our weigh in. I, of course, seem to think it is because of my amazing ability as the leader, or maybe it was because we all started group prayer twice weekly and maybe God helped us, or maybe we are all trying a little harder. No matter what the case, I am so proud of everyone in my group. We are all going through this and though we all have different struggles and problems, we are hanging in there and making differences in our lives that will make a difference in the long run.

So instead of I think I can, I think I can, like the end of that much loved story from childhood...I know I can, I know I can.

So until next week, I WILL gain nothing but knowledge and lose nothing but weight.

Is it really cheaper to diet?

This week, I was thinking about the costs that are related to dieting. One of the reasons I hear people give for not following a diet is that it is too expensive. I think I have used that excuse a time or two in the past. Until I was ready to lose weight and really focus on getting it off I found all the excuses out there not to follow a healthy eating plan, and believe me whatever excuse has been given, I have used it.

So, is it really more expensive to eat healthy? Here is what I have figured out, yes, you do have to put a little money into eating healthy. Fresh fruits and vegetables are usually affordable if you like what is in season. However, I am a picky eater so I have to spend a little more for what I want. It seems that the food industry makes it so easy for us to be overweight. It costs lees to buy junk food. When eating at restaurants you usually can save money buying the value meals and if you try and purchase a healthy meal you have to separate out and pay individual costs on these items. If you are like me then you need a diet group of some sort to help out with keep you accountable. While I have found that TOPS is the cheapest way to go, there is still a cost factor involved in this. You have to pay a fee to join and then you need to renew your membership every year. There are monthly fees to pay and there are fees to pay if you gain weight or don't do some of the other established rules that the chapter has set up. While these costs are minimal they are still adding up. There are other weight loss groups to join but they cost more money than TOPS. Then there is the exercise factor. If you are serious about losing weight then you look into buying gym equipment or joining a gym. The initial cost to this is expensive. Yes, there are things you can do the don't cost money like walking, but even if you have to go somewhere to walk because of weather conditions or living environment you are still driving to get there. This may sound like it costs alot to do this, but think about the cost if you are not dieting.

Here is a perfect example. I ordered a shirt and jacket from my job with my job's logo on the clothes. While I personally thought the cost was a little high for me, I went ahead and did it because I really wanted them. The order form said to add $2 for any size over XL. No problem, I usually have to pay more for clothes so I added the money to my total. Well it came to my attention that I had not paid enough money that I had to pay $2 per size over XL. Wow, I am paying more money for this stuff. It got me thinking as to how much I was paying for not being healthy and being overweight. Obviously, there is the cost of clothes, it does make sense because they are using more material to make it so it should cost more. Now, I am thinking about the food. Before I started dieting, I could eat a large pizza in one setting. I could do this two to three times a week. When I would buy potato chips I would eat the whole bag in one setting. I could go through a 12 pack of soda in a day's time and sometimes I did. But now because of portion control, I buy a 24 pack of water for $3.99 (that is a deal in itself) but this will last me about three or four days. If I buy a bag of Baked Lay's it may cost me like $4.29 for a bag but it will last me a week or more. I don't buy large pizzas anymore, even when I am binging, I will buy 7 inch or if I am feeling really "piggy" 13 inch, but that is happening less and less.

Then there is the health costs, bring unhealthy and overweight will cause me to go to the doctor's more often, the medicines will be more forthcoming and hospital visits are much more common. While I am shedding this unwanted weight, I am still going to the doctor's more than I would like but I am starting to get healthier (or at least I hope I am), the doctor's visits I hope will come less often as I become "less" of a woman.

This week's weigh in went rather well, I lost 4 1/2 pounds. That puts my total to 45 1/4 pounds. Less than 5 pounds to go to hit the big 50.

So until next time I hope to lose nothing but weight (4 3/4 would be nice) and gain nothing but knowledge.

The Battle of the Bulge

Well I have my ups and my downs, but I think that this is what it is all about. Actually if you think about it that is the way life is. Nothing ever stays the same and it is true with losing weight.
What can I say? Did I have a good week or a bad week? Do I base what kind of week I will have on how I do at the scales? Okay, yeah, I kinda do, but this past week was different. I did well at the scales this week. 4 3/4 pounds off this week. That is good. I had my first program as leader for TOPS this week, that is good. It was an Easter based program and I thought it was cute and interesting. Go check out the 8 worst Easter candy for you to eat in a Newsweek article. I found that to be very interesting since I love, love, love peeps but found that they are not that good for you; however they are the best in the list that is given.
All in all it should have been a good week, but I am sick which seems to be at this time a recurring theme in my life. So, being sick makes it a bad week for me. I have not been able to exercise as much as I would have liked-- that's bad. I have found that a part of being successful in weight loss one should have activities to fall back on and people they can turn to or hangout with. I haven't been able to do anything except work and then I am home, exhausted. That is bad. I actually had to ask my son to spend time with me because I just didn't feel well enough to be home alone. With my son being a typical driving teenager you can only imagine what a hardship that was for him, so that was bad.
Where am I going with all this? I guess what I am trying to get at is that it was neither a great or bad week but I lost weight. I attribute part of this to being sick, I wish I could get to the point that I can stay completely on program without all the struggles, the temptations. But if I could do that then I probably wouldn't be overweight in the first place.
So, until next week I hope to gain nothing but knowledge and LOSE nothing but weight.

Vacation is over and it is time to take it up a notch

While being on vacation last week, I thought I had done pretty well. I went to gym several times and got in about 4 hours of exercising. I had thought I had done okay with eating, but then I went in to get weighed on Monday and I gained 4 1/2 pounds.

I could have been upset but I wasn't. I did realize that after my 9 pound gain I went on an eating binge that lasted a week and then when I sat down and looked at my week last week, I really didn't do so great. There were two days (guess which two) where I wrote down what I ate but I didn't figure out the calories or points for these items and there were three days in which I didn't get all of my water in. One of those days I didn't drink any water at all.

I know what mistakes I made and I need to step up to the plate and take responsibility for my actions. It is time for me to start getting my act together and try harder.

If I am supposed to be leading my TOPS group then I have to at least live by the same rules and standards that I am trying to pass off onto them. If I can't do that, then what kind of leader does that make me? I know that I am not responsible for anyone else's weight loss but my own, however if I can be an inspiration to anyone then I need to be trying harder.

I am a little off track, this is Wednesday and even though I am still on the plan, I have used quite a few of my weekly points allotted to me and the week has just begun. I am certain that this new month will be a better one for me than the last couple of months.

I will triumph and I will beat this no matter how long it takes.

So until next week, I hope to gain nothing but knowledge and lose nothing but weight.