Busy

I know I know I am always saying how busy I have been but really I have been super busy the past week and a half. I can not wait for a vacation!

So let me catch you up on what all has been going on. First event was attending a surprise retirement party for Shaun's aunt Patti. I think it went really well even though we had to tell her before she got there in order to get her there. She retired from being a principle and the school threw the party (they had her a roast! I have to say it went better than I thought it would!) Here are a few pictures from that night:

The 2 retirees! Patti & Iris                    The whole Family!

Me and Shaun at the Party.

Then I helped my two friends plan their mother (Iris who retired from being a teacher, her and Patti worked at the same school) a surprise retirement party. It was a lot of hard work but it was really fun also. I can't believe how great our decorations turned out. Our theme was the little birdie flying the coop. Here are a ton of pictures from that:

The BEAUTIFUL Cake!

The Sweet Tweets Table!

Me and Devin                              Me and Wendy

The Table Centerpiece.                   The Main Centerpiece.

The Guest of Honor and Her Youngest Grandchild.

The Really Cute Bird Cookies I Made.

Then believe it or not Wendy and myself threw another retirement party the next day for someone we work with. Check out the pictures from it...these decorations also turned out super cute:

The Really Cool Palm Tree we Made!

Beach Theme Cake!

Mickey (the Guest of Honor) and Me

Now do you believe I was busy? This all took place in the same week. I was so tired. So I guess that is my excuse for not posting and not doing my weigh in. So here is my weigh in from this past Friday:

Starting Weight: 280

Weight This Week: 234

Pounds Lost This Week: 5

Total Pounds Lost: 46

WOW! I was so impressed with myself. I have never lost 5 pounds in one week. I hope this trend continues, though I'm sure it won't. Hopefully I will get around to writing another post this Friday.

Weigh In - Broke Through the Plateau

I'm very happy to report that I broke through my plateau! I cut back on how many calories I was eating, I think my body was use to how many I was taking in and was in maintenance mode instead of loss mode. So without any further delays:

Starting Weight: 280

Weight This Week: 239

Pounds Lost This Week: 2

Total Pounds Lost: 41

A picture I took of me this

week in a new dress.

I'm so excited to be in the 230's and out of the 240's! Only 40 more pounds and I will be out of the 200's all together! Since I have lost 20 pounds since my last before pictures I'll take a new set this weekend and post them under by before and after tab, make sure you check it out.

Let me tell ya'll how proud of myself I am for resisting temptation yesterday. I went to one of my favorite restaurants in the world (Carey Hilliards, if you aren't from the Savannah area you probably don't know what that is nor do you understand how good it is). Normally I would drink sweet tea, because they have the BEST sweet tea but I ordered water instead. Then my favorite appetizer (onion rings) was ordered (not by me) and I didn't eat any, not even one little bite!! And after all of that I ordered a grilled chicken salad and split it with someone else at my table. This was a huge accomplishment for me. This is a restaurant that I would normally go to 3 or 4 times a week and have the biggest sweet tea they have with probably 2 or 3 refills, split a large order of onion rings with one other person, and then probably eat a six piece fried chicken fingers with fries! The hardest part of it was having the onion rings within inches of my plate. But I managed really well and now I have my good weigh-in to show for it.

I'm still going to the gym every morning at 5:30. I have been doing at least 30 min of cardio (most of the time on the elliptical) and then I alternate days of doing weight training on my arms and legs. I don't love getting out of my bed at 5am every morning but I do love the feeling I get from working out. Anything worth having is worth working for!

Struggling

So the last week and a half have felt like an eternity when it comes to my weight loss journey. I haven't really posted anything because I have been depressed, which is really all the more reason I should post. Isn't it funny how we forget so quickly the things we are suppose to be proud of when the going gets tough.

I KNOW that I have been doing great and putting in the work.

And I KNOW that I have already done better than I ever have by losing 39lbs.

And I KNOW that weight loss is a process and doesn't come over night.

And I KNOW that I'm probably gaining muscle.

I know all these things but it doesn't stop me from going to a bad mental place when I try so hard and see no results. But regardless of me being discouraged I have pushed on in the hopes that I will see results soon. (Normally I would have given up at this point.) I feel like I have been stuck at the same weight for like 3 weeks but it really has only been a week and a half.

So since I didn't post my weigh in this past Friday like I was suppose to here it is:

Starting Weight: 280

Weight This Week: 241

Pounds Lost This Week: 0

Total Pounds Lost: 39

On a happier note I have been loving the gym! I have been almost every day since my membership started. Most days I have been getting up early to go before work and that seems to be helping me have energy and be in a better mood....Who Knew?

How have you dealt with a plateau? How long did it last for you?

Mother's Day Weekend

Real quick let's get this weeks weigh in out of the way so I can talk about Mother's Day:

Starting Weight: 280

Weight This Week: 241

Pounds Lost This Week: 2

Total Pounds Lost: 39

I'm still so proud of myself! It is slow going but at least I'm headed in the right direction. Oh, yeah I have some exciting news I almost forgot to mention, my job is giving employees a free gym membership as part of our wellness program!! Now the real fun is about to begin!

As everyone knows, Sunday is Mother's Day. So I wanted to share a little bit about my mama.

My Beautiful Mama!

My mama's name is Haroldene Davis. She is a kind, loving, emotional, sweet-hearted, giving, thoughtful woman! If someone needed the shirt off her back and she knew it she would give it to them. She has made me into the woman I am today, and most people say I act just like her.

My mama is my biggest supporter. She believes in me more than I could ever believe in myself. It doesn't matter what my goals are she will be there to be my cheerleader. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a parent that goes above and beyond to make you feel special and loved (the truth is that not everyone does). When I am finally blessed enough to have a child of my own, I pray that I'm at least half the mama that she is.

I know on Sunday that my mama will be missing her mama, as well as, I will. My mema was another fine woman that can not be replaced. So for everyone that still has your mama here with you, don't forget to show her how much she means to you.

So mama, if you are reading this I just want to say that I know I don't always tell you or show you, and I know that I sometimes give you a hard time but I LOVE YOU from the bottom of my heart and you mean the world to me!!

I hope all the mother's out there have a great Mother's Day!

My First Ever 5K, But NOT My Last

So I know ya'll have been waiting on this post, and I know I have been promising it, well it is finally here! I want to tell you about the whole day of my first ever 5K.

I got up and out of the bed at about 5:30 am. Everyone that was riding with us was meeting at my house at 6:30. I got ready and I fixed me and Shaun scrambled eggs for breakfast (we were told you should eat eggs the morning of a run so we did). We were both really nervous since we had never participated in a race before, Shaun even wanted to back out but I wouldn't let him.

After everyone arrived (Rita, Marie, and Wendy) we all loaded up and headed out. We all chatted about how nervous we were. I'm not sure what our fear was...maybe coming in last or falling down or not being able to finish or just the fear of the unknown.

We arrived at about 7:30 and the race wasn't going to start till 8:15. We got everything squared away at the registration table and I got my first ever race number (I was super excited over it, sometimes the simplest things make me happy).

Pre-Race Photo!

From left to right: Rita, Marie, Myself, and Shaun.

 

 

We all went to the bathroom like three times trying to make sure we wouldn't need to go during the race, sure didn't want any excuse to stop. We were all still really nervous and being there and seeing all the thin fit people sure didn't help. I just tried to remember that I was there to do my very best not there to compete with anyone else.

 

As everyone lined up near the starting line we were kind of in the middle. We knew we wouldn't be the fastest but we didn't think we were going to be the slowest either. And before we knew it the race had begun and my nerves went away, it was just me running just like any other day. Even though I had my RunKeeper App on I really wasn't paying to much attention to my time. Shaun was a good bit ahead of me from the very beginning but was always within site.

 

Like all my other runs it was a run then walk pace. I just wanted to finish. Before I got to the half way mark there was a girl that passed out (later I found out she had an asthma attack) and was laying by an officers car waiting on an ambulance. You don't really want to see this on your very first run. It was a little scary.

 

I thought I was never going to make it to the half way mark. In this particular race he had to go to a point and turn and around and go back to where we had come from. So I kept seeing all these people that were in front of me coming back so I kept thinking I was almost to the half way point but it was much further than I realized. It was at this point in the race that I realized just how great the running community can be. Now don't get me wrong I don't know that I consider myself part of this community yet but they sure made me feel like I was part of it. Everyone that was headed back the other way was encouraging me and telling me how good of a job that I was doing. I'm not sure why this shocked me so but I didn't expect people to take such an interest in my success.

 

I kept trying to catch up with Shaun but I didn't until we were almost 3/4th finished. For the rest of the race we pretty much stayed together. I looked at my phone to check our time and we seemed ahead of our normal time which surprised me. I was excited at the prospect of beating my own personal best time.

 

The closer we got to the finish line the more exciting it became. We could hear the crowd cheering for people as they crossed the finish line. We kept pushing ourselves harder and harder wanting to finish in the best possible time. When we rounded the last corner we could see the clock at the finish line. I couldn't believe what it said: 43:20. My fastest time running a 5K at home was like 54 min, here I was about to cut 10 mins off of that. We began our sprint to the finish...and my finial time was 44:03!! I couldn't believe I had done it so quickly. (I know many of you reading this are probably thinking that isn't quick at all, but for a 240+lbs person who has never done one it was like I was the fastest runner ever!)

 

 

Me and My Love!

I was so glad we did this together!!

 

 

Shaun finished right behind me and we were over joyed! We had just accomplished something we never thought we could do. Of course we weren't able to run the whole thing, but none the less we were proud.

 

 

Post-Race Picture!

 

                      

 Me, Shaun, and Wendy



 

All of us at the finish line!

 

 

So that was my first ever 5K experiences, not a bad start I have to say. On the way home we discussed all the races to come!!

 

Since I missed my last weigh in lets get that out of the way real quick:

 

Starting Weight: 280

Weight This Week: 243

Pounds Lost This Week: 1

Total Pounds Lost: 37

 

Another week of only losing one pound but I'll take one pound over none or gaining any ole day of the week.

 

I swear I'm going to start posting more, but between work and my workouts it is really hard to find the time. Thanks for hanging in there with me and for taking the time to read this. Talk to you again soon.

Two Week Weigh In

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. Sorry I haven't posted anything and really sorry I didn't do a weigh in last week, but I'll just combine it into one weigh in.

I have been a little depressed the last couple of days, really wanting to eat bad and feeling like the weight isn't coming off fast enough. I know that it takes time and I shouldn't be in a hurry but some days I just don't feel like that should be the case. When I'm outside jogging/walking and all out of breath I feel like the weight should be melting off of me like ice cream in the hot Georgia sun! None the less my walking buddies helped encourage me not to give up and to look at how far I had come already. (Thanks Rita and Marie!) So with their help I didn't do bad...now for the results:

Starting Weight: 280

Weight This Week: 244

Pounds Lost In Last 2 Week: 4

Total Pounds Lost: 36

I'm almost 40 pounds down! EEEKKK!! That means only a little over 40 more and I will be in WONDER LAND! I can not wait to get out of the 200's. Persistence's does pay off!

I also have really exciting news......I'm running my very first 5K TOMORROW! Ok let's be real, I'm probably not going to be "running" it but I'm going to jog and walk. This is kind of going to be my practice 5K. Wish me lots of luck. I'll post pictures and my time sometime over the weekend or next week.

Me weighing 244!

Positive Thinking Really Does Help

So I have still been trying to train for my very first 5K but it has been slow going. I am by no means a runner but maybe I will be one day. Not sure if I even want to be a runner but I decided a 5K was going to be one of my goals so for now I'm going to run.

So what does positive thinking have to do with training for a 5K? Well, positive thinking gets me through each and every one of my runs. I'm 100 pounds over weight so training for a 5K is NOT easy! When I'm out side doing my interval training with C25K (the app I have been using to get me ready for a the 5K) I literally have to coach myself through each run. I have mentioned this in an earlier post, you can see it here.

I'm very negative to myself normally, always calling myself fat and ugly, out loud and in my head. I know this isn't healthy but it is how I see myself and how I feel. I'm really trying to move toward being more positive. I truly believe that positive thinking can help you accomplish your goals. While I'm running I will tell myself over and over "you got this" or "this is nothing." I think my mind is holding me back way more than my body is. I had a poster on my last post that reads "Your legs are not giving out. Your head is giving up. Keep going." This seems to ring so true for me.

It is really hard for me to understand the mind game you have to play with yourself to run. I guess I have been telling myself for so long that I CAN'T do something instead of that I CAN...some how I have to get out of that mind frame.

Are you a positive or a negative thinker when it comes to yourself? What has helped you think more positive?

Me working out on the Bowflex after a run.

Feeling Better/Weigh-In

I have started noticing a difference in the way I feel lately. My husband and I both have started feeling better, having more energy, and having less cravings. I have heard people say a million times that if you stop eating sugar or drinking coke that eventually you will stop wanting it, and I have always thought that this was a bold face lie...but it's true. I use to crave sweets really bad at night. I mean I was constantly saying "I want a big fat brownie and a glass of milk" or "I would die for a piece of cake or a cookie right now." Literally this was an every night occurrence, but for the last two weeks I haven't even found the thoughts in my mind. It really blows me away, that a self proclaimed sugar addict like me, hasn't even been thinking about desserts. Now don't get me wrong if I see or smell a desert I still want it but I can pretty easily resit it.

I also feel so much better when I put on clothes. It is kind of hard to explain but it is like I feel lighter, that is until I'm in the middle of one of my jogs and then I feel extremely heavy. This sounds funny or crazy to me but I really do. Maybe it is because things aren't as tight on me as they use to be. I'm still wearing the majority of what I have always worn because I haven't bought very many new clothes yet. I want to be down at least another size before I buy new ones.

I'm so proud of myself for putting all these good and healthy things in my body instead of the normal fatty foods that I was use to eating. This is finally starting to feel like a lifestyle change. Which is what I intended for this to be the whole time but I'm glad it is finally starting to "feel" that way.

Now for my weigh-in for this week:

Starting Weight: 280

Weight This Week: 248

Pounds Lost This Week: 1

Total Pounds Lost: 32

A little disappointed with a one pound weight loss for the week but I guess it is to be expected after the whopping six pounds lost last week. I really just want to have a consistent two to three pound weight loss every week. At least I did loss and not gain! So I'm just going to keep working hard and I know that I will reach my goal!

Late On My Weigh In...I Know

So it is already Monday, where did the weekend go? It was great for me but way to short. I know I was suppose to put my weigh in on here Friday but I was really busy Friday and then I just never got around to it over the weekend (was to busy having fun).

So here we go (drum roll please):

Starting Weight: 280

Weight This Past Friday: 249

Pounds Lost This Week:  6

Total Pounds Lost: 31

And the crowd burst into cheers!!! I'm finally back on track and finally out of the 250's! I will write a longer post this week, but for now I have to go. Thanks for stopping by!

Trying to get my water in!

Inspiration...We All Need Some

I have recently started reading a blog that has greatly inspired me in many ways. The lady that writes this blog has lost 133 pounds (I can't wait till I can say the same one day)! And of course she has inspired me to be able to accomplish what she has in losing the weight but she has done so much more than that. She has inspired me to keep sharing my story, to take more pictures during the journey, to really think about the food I am putting in my body (think nutrition instead of just calories), and to have a closer walk with God! She is a wonderful person and her blog is amazing, so please check her out.

One of the things I did due to reading her blog is try out some new products...and I LOVED them. So here is the first that I didn't think I was really going to like because I know how I am about healthy food but this was surprisingly delicious.

Kashi GOLEAN Crisp Ceral with Toasted Berry Crumble

only 180 Calories and 9g of Protein in 3/4 cup

This ceral really is GREAT! It is not something I would normally eat but after I tried it I'm hooked (and I'm not being paid to say this)

Last night I fixed a really yummy and healthy supper. We had tilapia filets cooked on my griddle pan with some old bay seasoning on it and uncle bens whole grain rice with hunt's diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano in it. It was really good and only had 365 calories.

Please excuse my lovely paper plate!

Tomorrow is weigh in day and I'm super excited to get on the scales and see how I have done this week (I feel like I have done great and I hope the scale reflects that). So check back in tomorrow to see if I have made progress.

I'm Back...not an April Fool's Day Joke

So, I know I have been MIA again but I'm back for real this time. What better day to come back on than April Fool's Day right? I have let myself down, as well as, all of you down by being gone so long, and the lack of weight loss in the last two months that I have not been blogging is more proof that I need to be on here so that y'all can hold me accountable. No more excuses!

So let me catch you up on what has been going on since my last post ages ago. I am still training for my very first 5K, but I started over with that training since I missed so many days of running. Another reason I started over is because I have two of my cousins joining me to train for their first 5K as well! (I'm super excited to have people training with me! Shout out to Marie and Rita!! We Got This!) We bought a bowflex and I recently started working out on it as well, trying to tone a little. And as you should already know from some of my last few post, I was sick for a little while, as well as, changed to a new job.

Now as far as my weight loss since my last weigh in on here it hasn't been great.

Starting Weight: 280

Current Weight: 255

Total Pounds Lost: 25

This is a great accomplishment for me but it also means I have only lost 4 pounds in the last two months this is not so great. But I'm back on the road to success, and losing 4 pounds is better than gaining any.

Anyway, I'm back and I'm back to stay.

Where In the World Have You Been

So, y'all may have been wondering where in the world I have been at the last few days. I missed my weigh in for yesterday and I haven't posted anything in days. Well, sorry, I have been really busy planning a bridal shower for my cousin (Hi, Marie). Which by the way it is really hard to try to eat healthy when you are throwing a shower with really yummy food!

Even though I'm late here are the results from my weekly Friday weigh in:

Starting Weight:  280

Weight this Week: 259

Pounds lost this week: 2

Total pounds lost: 21

Yay, Go Me! Most weight I have ever lost and I'm only just getting started. I hope this next week doesn't tell on me to much next Friday. Not only did I just eat really bad at the bridal shower but I know I'm going to do bad at the super bowl party tomorrow too. Guess we all have to have a cheat day here and there, the important thing is that we get right back on the next day. I'm famous for having a bad day and then giving up saying what is the use, but not this time. This time I know ahead of time I'm going to have a bad day or two and then it is right back to work!

I'm still training for my first 5K. Been doing my C25K every day that I'm suppose to. Even got up early and did it in the freezing cold (living in Georgia, freezing cold to me is like 35). I'm proud of myself for sticking to this program. I'm normally really negative to myself in my head but while I'm running I just keep repeating how good I'm doing and that I CAN do it!

I also want to give a shout out to a few people that I think I have somewhat inspired to start trying to get a little healthier. My friend Devin (even though she doesn't need to lose any) and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law Penny and Sarah, I'm proud of all of you for the changes you are making and I'm so glad that me of all people could inspire y'all to make these changes. Who would have ever thought in a million years that I would inspire someone to loss weight?! Surely not me.

Well I guess I have gotten everyone caught up on where in the world I have been these past few days. I hope everyone has a good time watching the super bowl tomorrow, I am only interested in the commercials, and the food of course.

When One Door Closes Another One Opens

My last post was about the end of a journey, so it only seems fitting for today's to be about a new door that has opened for me. Today was my first day at my new job as a Juvenile Diversion Case Manager. Really excited to be working with a great group of people, especially because one of them is a close friend of mine. I can't wait to start making a difference in my community.

As for my weight loss journey, I struggled this weekend. I ate food that I know I shouldn't have. I'm still addicted to food but I'm trying hard to overcome it. I didn't exercise like I should have either, however I did get up and complete day 1 of week 2 of C25K this morning before I got ready to go to work. It was really nice having time to do that, at my old job I had to get up at 4am just to get ready to go to work there was no way I could have gotten up even earlier to get my exercise in. I'm also glad to say that my husband joined me in doing my exercise this morning, it was a delight having him along side me.

I will be posting pictures on my before and after tab this week (hopefully tonight), so make sure to check that out. Will talk to you all again soon, thanks for reading.

First Weigh In

So as promised I will weigh in on Friday's and post it on here.

Starting Weight: 280

Weight this week: 261

Pounds lost this week: 4

Total Pounds lost: 19

Yay! I have almost lost 20 lbs., which would probably be the most I have ever lost. So excited to get some more weight off.

On another note I think I forgot to mention that I finished Day 2 of Week 1 on C25K on Wednesday night and then I did Day 3 of Week 1 this morning. It was hard but it seems to be getting easier. And I'm sure this exercise is what helped me shed the 4 lbs. this week.

Sorry for the short post but I've been busy today and I still have things to do. Will talk to y'all again soon (probably not till Monday). Have a great weekend and get up and get moving!

The End of a Journey

Today marks the last day of a job I have had for nearly 9 years. For the past 8 1/2 years I have been a 911 dispatcher. I started dispatching when I was 19, and it has been the only real job I have known since I have been an adult.

There are things I will miss and many things I won't. I'm so over the 12 hour shifts and having to get up at 4am to be at work by 5:30ish. I won't miss the non-stop drama that is the world of dispatching. I won't miss entering warrants! But I will miss some of the people I work with. I will miss the rush you get from a 10-80 or a 10-50 needing lifestar. I will miss the days that I have laughed so hard I cried.

Even in the last few years of working here I already missed the way things use to be. Missed the people I use to work with, missed the office I use to work in (even though we have a great new building now), just miss the way things use to be done.

Me at our old dispatch office.

 



I have made so many wonderful memories, but there have been sad times too. We lost two deputies since I have been here: RIP Michael Larson and Robert "Bobby" Crapse you are greatly missed! Definitely won't miss that call in the middle of the night letting me know that a co-worker has passed away.

I have seen lots of people come and go and then sometimes come and go again. I have made life long friendships with some of my co-workers. I can't believe this journey is about to come to an end.

As far as my weight loss journey I think changing to a new job is going to help. I won't be sitting still at a desk for 12 hours, I won't be scarfing down food while I have time, and instead I will be on normal working hours where I can get a set routine with my workouts. I'm excited for the new journey I'm about to take on. Wish me luck!

P.S. Some pics of good times at work!

 

Maria on her birthday!

 

 

 

 

Mickey trying on the ear warmer I made. LOL!

 

 

 

 

April Fools Day...we TPed Mickey's vehicle.

 

Training for a 5K

 

So I have decided that since I'm doing C25K anyway that I was going to pick a 5K in my area that is coming up to train for. Pooler Elementary is putting on a 5K on March 24th, which is 9 weeks out. Since my C25K is 8 weeks long I figured that would be perfect. If anyone wants to join me that would be great. I already have a few friends that have said they are going to do it with me and I'm very excited about that.

 

Don't know if any of you watch The Biggest Loser but on this weeks episode the contestants ran a 5K, so I figure if they can do it then I can do it! Why not right? I really want to encourage everyone to come out and do it with me. It isn't about racing anyone there (for me anyway) it is about doing your personal best and making it across the finish line. I know I won't care if I finish dead last as long as I finish!

 

Here is some information on it: Pride of Pooler 5K

 

On another note I will be posting what I hope to be my before pictures this weekend. I seen someone's blog about weight loss and she would post a picture of herself every month and I thought that was a good idea. It is motivating when you can see the change in the pictures!

 

By the way can anyone tell me how your create tabs at the top of my blog for example: home  recipes  before and after, I see other people with tabs but I haven't figured out how to do it, any help would be great.

Change and Commitment

 

Got this poster from Dave Ramsey's facebook page. LOVE Dave Ramsey!

 

 

 

Change has to happen for me because I don't want what I have been getting, which is fatter. Change is hard for everyone but anything worth having is hard. Dave Ramsey was referring to your finances in the above statement but it can apply to every area of our lives. Why do we fight change so much, probably the fear of the unknown even though what we do know isn't that great. While I might think eating whatever I want whenever I want is pretty great the consequences aren't so great, change can solve that. I won't like the work I have to put into it but I will like the consequences of that work. And eventually the change will become habit and I will be living a better, healthier, and happier life.

 

As I have already mentioned in a pervious post I am hoping that this blog will help hold me accountable to my goals, so therefore let me express my commitment to everyone reading this and to myself.

1. I will weigh in every Friday and post my current weight.
2. I will eat healthier food and eat smaller amounts of it.
3. I will exercise at least 3 times a week (hopefully more) and I will blog about it.
4. I will run a 5K this year.

I think that is enough for now, maybe after I get these under my belt (a smaller one preferably) I will add more. If at anytime I don't do one of these 4 things please hold me accountable for them. I need everyone's help to stay focused and on track. Again say a prayer for me that I will win this battle!

 

P.S. I completed week 1 day 1 of C25K today. YAY!

What I'm Doing So Far

So as I stated in my previous post I started this life change this past November. Let me tell you what I have been doing so far to try to lose weight.

I started off by cutting my portions in half, I have known for quite some time that I over eat all the time. It all goes back to me loving food. When I eat something that is really good (most of the time everything is really good to me) I could tell that my body was full but my brain just wanted to keep eating. I literally felt like I couldn't stop. The best way for me to describe it would be that I subconsciously feel like I'm never going to get to eat whatever it is I'm having again even though realistically I know I could have it the next day if I wanted to. So I have been working toward breaking this cycle and that has been going well. As long as I make a conscience effort to remind myself that this isn't the last time I will get to have this food I can stop myself from eating everything on my plate.

Secondly I have stopped drinking anything but water. Not drinking soft drinks is a piece of cake (haha) for me but not drinking sweet tea is a killer. I LOVE sweet tea as much as I LOVE food! I have had a few slip ups on this one but for the most part it hasn't been that difficult, thanks in part to me liking to drink water. I have been trying to drink at least 64oz of water a day.

Thirdly is exercise. This has been the area that I'm having the most difficulty with. I started off walking some but not really pushing myself. And then when the holidays moved in I didn't do anything. But I'm ready to really buckle down in this area. Tomorrow I'm going to start doing C25K! I want to run a 5K this year, hopefully in a few months. Who wants to join me?

 

My new running shoes I bought from Fleet Feet in Savannah.

 

 

In closing, I want to say thanks to everyone that has viewed my blog so far. The support and encouragement has meant a lot to me. Please keep praying for me to win this battle!



My story

My story is like so many others that are overweight, I have been this way my whole life. For as long as I can remember I have been overweight and even the time before I can remember I have pictures to prove that I was overweight then as well. I don't know what has caused it other than the fact that I LOVE food. I know some people contribute their weight to some deep underlying issue such as a bad childhood or some unresolved sadness but I really just LOVE food. Now don't get me wrong I have had my fair share of hard times but I don't believe they are the main reason for my weight, I have been fat even before I had rough times in my life.

I have said it a million times before, but I'm saying it now (hopefully for the last time ever), that I'm ready to lose this weight. You may ask what is different this time. Well I can't so much as tell you in words but I feel different about it this time. I feel ready finally. This shift in my feelings started this past October. I went to the fair with my husband and a friend of mine and when I tried to get on a ride that I had rode many times before, I didn't fit. How EMBARRASSING! I wanted to die right then and there, but more than that I wanted to cry. So at the beginning of November I started a life change, not a diet.

My starting weight was 280 and I am now 265. My hope is that through this blog others will hold me accountable to what I have said I have set out to do (lose 100lbs.). I also hope to inspire others as others have inspired me. One such person that has inspired me to write this blog is mamalaughlin  blog, please check out her story.