I did it!

I can't believe it but in 4 weeks i was able to get back down to the weight I was before I started to gain!! I lost about 12.5 pounds in the last 4 weeks and 4.8 of those were this week alone!! Now, I can start losing again and feel like every pound counts because I don't feel like I am starting all over again. It's a good feeling to be back on track. Unfortunately it is a crazy time of year to be dieting. Halloween candy, Thanksgiving, making Christmas goodies and going to Christmas parties... oh my. this is gonna be hard, but I started Weight Watcher's last year in October right before Halloween. I did well too. I lost consistently for about 3.5 months straight without one gain. So, if I could do it then, I can do it now. I will be strong. I fit better in my clothes again and that feels great! I have 12 pounds until I get to my Weight Watcher's lifetime goal! Yay, then it's FREE! I will continue on to lose another 10-20 after that but I will be happy with even 10 more after my lifetime goal. I was that weight when I got married and I was thin. I am 5' 11" and I think a size 6 is good for my height. I do want to get lower but if my body won't go that low I will be ok with it. I can't wait until I can start walking again. My stroller got a flat tire and we are having a terrible time finding an inner tube to fit. I would love to start running again but my neck and back still ache when I try. .(car accident again...grrr.) I will have to walk on my treadmill or do some Fios exercise programs or my Wii. I have some dvd's but I still have to be careful of my injuries from the accident. anyway, I am so excited to share about my weight loss and I hope to have inspired someone out there to not quit! I wanted to. I saw my weight creeping back up and I just couldn't track my food every week. I kept giving in to the candy and the cookies. (my weaknesses!) I made excuses, but when I saw the scale one day and a number popped up that I had not seen in just under a year, I panicked and knew I needed to get back on track NOW, not next week, NOW. before it was too late and I was back where I first started. That would have been discouraging to me and I know my husband who pays for my meetings every week, would have been mad. Well, it is late and I need to get to sleep. Sleep is important in weight loss too. So goodnight everyone. :)

Saving money and losing weight again!

I will start off by saying that I Bought $7.86 worth of nail polish and lip balm and got it all (tax included ) for $2.64 BUT, I got $2 back in Walgreens RR. Yay! I paid $.64 for all of it!!Not bad at all. I was struggling on Weight Watcher's for a few months now. I had a major stressor come about and I just about lost it completely. I wasn't able to eat right at all. I got so out of control on eating (or not eating) that I found it super hard to get back on track with Weight Watcher's. Well... for the last 2.5 weeks i have been counting and measuring and losing!! Lost 4.5 of the 15 I had gained. I am so happy. It feels good to be in control again. I am hoping to loose again this week. that will be 3 weeks in a row, this Tuesday. I have not exercised at all because my neck and back injury form the car accident a year and a half ago are really bothering me. But, I know that once I can start moving again it will be even greater!! Here is a photo of what I got tonight at Walgreen's for $.64!! Have a great night. xxoo.

From Drop Box

Still doing well in my weight loss!

I stayed on track with my food and tracked every point i ate last week. I even went to Red Lobster with my hubby and 2 of our kids and It was fabulous! I had a lobster tail and a couple stuffed mushrooms. I ate some salad with a vinaigrette and had about 5 Cheddar Bay biscuits!I was stuffed! But I tracked it all and exercised to gain more activity points and by Monday I still had a few points left over that I just couldn't eat (weekly points) because I had had enough food for the day. I went to my weigh-in on Tuesday night and lost 3.6 pounds! Woohoo! I was thrilled! See, tracking works. If I had not tracked my meals (including the Red Lobster gorge) I would not have worked a bit harder in exercise. I am determined to make this wok and lose the 12 I gained and then lose more til I get to goal. I felt empowered that i did it last week. It made things easier this week. This week I have stayed on track again. Today i had a nice large ice coffee with extra cream. (Usually I get the small with skim). I wanted to have that splurge because I know that I CAN. As long as I track it and work it off, I can have it. there is nothing I can't have! it's great! I used a few of my weekly points but that is OK because with all the activity points I have gained so far this week, I had not used any WP's (weekly points) at all. We are not planning on going out to eat this weekend so I am golden. I feel more fit and I feel more in control. I feel great! I will let oyu all know how it goes for Tuesdays Weigh-in. I also wanted to note that I have been taking the Relora still. I do really feel that it helps calm me. With less stress, it means less cortisol and less belly fat storage. I do not know if the Relora is helping me lose weight because I am losing just as I was before when I made sure I exercised and tracked my points, but, I do think it helps to calm me and that keeps me more focused, for sure. Thanks for reading!

Back on track!

I decided to stop taking the raspberry keytones. I took them for a few weeks now and...nothing. I think I used them as a crutch of sorts. I ate junk and thought that as long as I was taking these I would be OK. I stopped being conscious of what I was putting into my mouth and how much. I have, however, started taking another Dr. Oz recommended supplement called Relora. I do have to say I love this! It is NOT a magic diet pill. It has been said to help to reduce belly fat. It does this by reducing stress with natural herbs (green tea and stuff)and in turn with less stress you will have less of the cortisol. (stress hormone that causes us to gain belly fat and hold onto it) I have been taking 1 pill 3 times a day for a few days now and I do feel calmer. That is huge for me. I am a typical type A personality and I am always on edge but this really does make me able to sit and think and be calm. It is nice to feel calm. lol I have also started (last Friday) to workout regularly again. I have been doing a few miles a day for walking. I go about a 4.0 or 4.2 mph outside with a jogging stroller and my sweet little man in tow for about an hour. Some days I get in only 30 minutes but I have also been doing my EA Active fitness program for the Wii. That takes about 23-30 minutes and I get in a good cardio and weights workout in that to add to my 30 minutes of walking. My jeans that recently got really tight on me (depressing!) are starting to fit better again after only a week. I know I only gained back about 10 pounds of the weight I lost but you would be amazed at how much 10 pounds really is. And, when you stop working out your muscles get lazy and that makes a huge difference. In only a week I have seen a great improvement. That is motivating to me. I really feel like I can do this again. I was starting to feel defeated but, I think I am back! I still have to get those pics of that Pinterest project up for all to see. I have them on my phone and not in the computer and that is why it is taking so long. lol I have another project I am going to start soon. I can't wait for you all to see what I did. It was so fun and I felt so accomplished after doing it because it looked so good! Off to take the kids to the park. I got in my Wii stuff already and maybe we will do some Wii sports later. Time to chill at the park. :)

Tuesday weigh-in..

I was a little anxious about yesterdays weigh-in. Partly because I thought I gained weight and partly because my leader wanted to see my food journal.

I had not been doing the food journal as I had been doing it online with the e-tools and not on the paper journal. I am not home a lot so I forgot a lot to record things online. Well, on Sunday when the leader said in an email that she wanted to see my journal I decided to start doing it on paper that day. I did it Sunday through Tuesday. I found it to be better too. I can carry ti with me all day and I keep much better track of my food when I am out all day. I really think I like it better than logging in on the computer. I like the other e-tools and the recipe builder and activity points calculator and such but i think I will track points on paper from now on.

OK, I stayed on point for those 3 days afraid I would get scolded by my leader. I was about 3 pounds above last weeks weigh-in on Saturday. Well, exercising and staying on point (no weeklies) and I lost weight at Tues weigh-in!! I was only down 1.2 pounds but hey I was down! Now I am below what I started again. It says that in 5 weeks I have only lost .8 but hey I am on my way again and I am going to try much harder this week. I have been tracking everything I put in my mouth on my paper tracker. I was also told by my leader to make sure to get ALL the HG's in too. They are the oils, liquids, protein, grains...etc. I was told by my leader that my journal was all junk food. She said that I am not eating fruits and veggies and that all my points I use are junk. That is why even though I stayed on points I only lost a tiny bit. She said to try eating fruits and veggies for my points and not cheese-its and Starbucks. (even thought the cheese-its were 3 points (25 crackers) and the Starbucks was only 2 for the non-fat capp with pumpkin spice, she said that I could have had a huge amount of fat free popcorn with those powdered flavorings for only 2 points or 1/2 a cantaloupe for 2 points. That would fare me much better. I think I will try it this week and also try to get in more exercise. I did 5 days but only 30 minutes a day. The baby screams when I am on the treadmill or doing any other form of exercise. It seems he knows. No matter when I try to do it he knows and is no longer napping and just creams. it is very difficult to exercise when you have a baby screaming for you. he is so precious to me it breaks my heart. I even had my daughter babysit him in his room (right next to mine and I had the door open) and he still screamed. My daughter was at a loss. Poor girl. She tried. :)

anyway, My week was hectic and I ate poorly but I did lose. I think if I stay on track with my eating this week. (the whole week) and exercise consistently I think I should do OK. I really want that bookmark and my 5 pound sticker!! I saw a girl get her 10% key chain yesterday and it is a cute gold keyring. I can't wait to reach my 10%. I have not been there for a few years now.

I will keep y'all posted!!

I did it again!

I got on the treadmill! That makes 2 days in a row! I know, I know. You might be thinking that 2 days in a row is not a lot but like I said in a previous post, Mini goals.., I am trying to accomplish things in mini goals. I am happy that I did it 2 days in a row. Usually I would say, "Well, I did it yesterday so skipping just one day will not hurt. After all, I can do it every other day and still get 4 days a week in." Then I would never get it in the third day and so on. I have to stop making excuses for my laziness sometimes.

There was a time I worked out at the Gym 2 hours a day 5 days a week. I felt great. There were days when I think I worked out too much. I gave myself headaches but at least I was consistent and I did it. I need to make a new mini goal now. I have accomplished getting on the treadmill 2 days in a row so now my new goal is to finish up the week. I need to get on the treadmill everyday for the rest of the week. (Wed, Thur, Fri).

My little bear got upset while I was on the treadmill and that made my heart rate a bit high but I will try to figure out how I can workout without little bear getting upset. He seems to know. That is the one time he will not nap. No matter what time I choose. He just knows. :) He loves his mum and I think the treadmill scares him. He is only 2 months old after all. :)

OK I have a weigh in tonight so I will post about that later. Now, I am off to prepare 4 chicken pot pies for the freezer. (Not WW friendly but my husband loves them)I feel that if I eat a small portion then I can enjoy it without the guilt. Plus as long as I am exercising then I will have those activity points to count. :)

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Update. I weighed in and had a slight disappointment but next week will be better. I gained but only 1.2 pounds. I was told it could be water weight or even muscle mass since I started to exercise again. I am betting on the water weight. (water retention) I should have a better week next week. I will not give up because of something like this. :) I will keep pushing forward. :)

New week..

It is a new week. I know my weigh-in's are Tuesdays but it is Monday and it is a new week for me. I got on the treadmill and was able to finish my workout before the baby got too upset. I am now off to do errands. I feel great and have no desire to eat candy because that would ruin my workout that I had done. I love working out in the morning as it seems that once the day starts and you are part way through it , you just seem to get too busy to exercise. I told myself "No excuses." Not today. I dropped the older bears off at school and drove home. I did my devotions and then learned some moved for turbo jam. I them jumped onto the treadmill for 20 minutes. I have a heart rate monitor and saw that I burned 540 calories!! I have not eaten yet but I will. I have a protein shake I will drink. It is from Arbonne (I sell it if interested) and I will drink the fiber drink and the the NRG tablets as well this am. It is all natural stuff and I am feeling good about staying out of the candy and getting my workout in. I think i may have gained this week but we will see. I have my weigh-in at 6pm tomorrow afternoon. I will let you all know how I did!!

On our way to the park...

I have not gotten on the treadmill all week. I keep telling myself I will. I keep telling myself every time I eat a candy bar from the freezer that I will get on the treadmill and burn the calories off and yet... I never do. I need to get motivated. I know that if I gain at this coming Tuesday's weigh in I will be motivated but at the same time discouraged. I don't want to get discouraged. I can't wait for this candy fundraiser to be over. Ever since the kids brought home the candy i have been tempted to go to the freezer in the garage and grab 2 at a time. (2 because each kid has a box to sell. I tell myself this will be the last time I grab some Candy so I have to be fair to both kids and take one from each box) I am seriously sabotaging myself. I need to stop this.

I have some friends that meet at the park for a home school group thing for a couple hours on Fridays. I think I will head over there and maybe get some walking in. I have a jogger stroller but I can't jog yet because the baby is only 2 months old and his head is not strong enough for me to be running with the jogger.

Maybe i could convince one of my friends to make a date every day (weekdays) to meet me at the park and we can go power walking. I need someone around me to help me.

I used to exercise everyday. I loved it. I was strong and thin and felt powerful. I felt great when I exercised. So...what happened to me? I need to start to make this a habit again. I have read that if you do something 15 times in a row then it becomes a formed habit. I need to do this. I need to make it a habit to exercise again. I need to stop eating candy. I feel guilt every time I do it but I keep doing it.

I hope to have a better rest of the day (already had 2 candy bars today.) I ate oatmeal this morning hoping that would stop me from eating the candy and it did not. I also owe about $28 for all the candy I have eaten. You would think that was a motivator to stay out of it. Right?

OK, have to get a shower and then off to the park. I will let you all know how things went and if I will get a partner in exercise. :)

I can't beleive I lost..

I really can't. I had a bad cold all week. I was off plan all week. I got so off plan that I decided to see how my Tue weigh went and just start all over on plan this week. I ate probably 20 candy bars (My kids are selling them for school so there are tons of them in the chest freezer and oh so tempting) and I had nearly a gallon of cider this week. I just did not focus on diet or exercise all week. I thought for sure I was gonna weigh at least 2 pounds heavier and yet I was down .6 pounds today!!I know it is not a lot but it is still down. Yay!! So imagine if I had actually been on plan and gotten onto the treadmill or went for a walk a few times this week!! I am down a total of 1 pound for 2 weeks. I am thinking i want my 5 pound sticker since that is to be our first goal. I will try for 4 pounds this week. If it does not happen fine but I will try anyway. The goals are: 1) 5 pounds
2) 5% (of what you started at) and 3) 10%. Then after you lose 10% the leader at the meeting will help you make a goal.

I had never done i this way before. They used to ask us what our goal was and I would always come up with a number a few pounds lighter than I was before I got married. (pre-babies) I think people were planning unrealistic goals and that is why WW is doing things this way now. They find a more attainable goal that is healthy and doable. I know I can get to pre-baby weight someday but my focus and goal should be just a healthy weight and when I get there I Can then get to pre-baby.

I used to be very, very thin. I am really not far from a healthy weight now but I am not where I want to be. I have read the WW booklet and a (high end) healthy weight for me would be 179. I am almost there! I like making smaller, more attainable goals. It it less frustrating of a process when you have mini goals and can accomplish them faster. Maybe that is why I failed so many times before. My goal was too big and it took too long to get there and I gave up before reaching it. Not this time!!

Tue weigh-in

I went to the meeting on Tue. I was late. I thought it started at 7 and realized it started at 6pm and ran out the door. I got there as everyone was leaving but I did get to weigh-in. I stepped on the scale and the woman wrote down the weight loss. I took the book and looked at what she had written and it said .4. I was shocked! point four!!!??? You have got to be kidding. I was disappointed and thought I needed to change my points profile. I took the quiz again and realized I need 5 less a day than I had originally thought.

I was happy about one thing. I had taken my measurements the week before just because I had never done that and I was curious how many I could lose. I also know that when you lose you sometimes lose inches and not pounds.

I re-took my measurements on Tue night after the weigh-in and I lost 6 inches all around!!! 2" on each thigh. 1" on the bust and 1" on the hips!! Yay! Ok, now I am encouraged again. I even had someone tell me in church yesterday that I was looking skinny. I don't think this but that was great to hear!

I have not had anything to eat yet today and it is already 9:30am. I do need to go eat my oatmeal and FF milk before I gorge myself on the kids candy for the school fundraiser. That is a bad habit I have always had that I need to break. I love chocolate and candy and sweet stuff in the morning. I would gorge on it and before I had children I could do it without gaining a Pound on my svelte figure but now I can not do that.
Ya know I was thinking, if i had a chef come over and cook me egg white omelets every morning and some whole grain veggie wraps with Quiona and tilapia for dinner... I think I would do ok!!! It is the preparation that kills me. I just feel like I don't have time and I need something fast. I would love to eat healthy all the time and have it ready on the table when it is time for it. I need an easy button. *smiling*

Started Weight Watchers again.

I am embarking on the Weight Watchers journey again! I started it about 12 months ago and then a couple months later found out I was expecting!! I am now ready to lose those baby pounds that crept on and continue to my goal weight! I am 5' 11" and my goal is 145! I was 193 (Yikes!) at the WW weigh in last week. I weigh in again tonight. I will let you knwo what it says. I did the waist to hip ration thing today and found out it is 7.8 and that is actually high normal for a female. (Jillian Michael's said this on the TODAY show this morning) I want to be lower than that and I want to be the weight I was when I got married. I know that with discipline and motivation and some cheerleaders on my side I can do it!! (I can hear Tony Little ringing in my ear "You can do it!!")

Please encourage me on this journey.

This is my 100Th post by the way. I am still waiting for my followers so I can get sponsorship and some great prizes for contests!! Maybe I will make it my 125Th post will be a cool contest! I have written to some companies and got no response. I think I will try Etsy companies but I do want to encourage these sponsors that I do have people that Read my blog and they will get some good advertisement from the contest. So please, if you will for me... tell all your friends to read my blog and follow my journey through life, Weight loss and even view some of my Fave things! I have lots of those. :)

Thanks all!!
Ciao!