YELP I need HELP!!!

Okay, I've hit a plateau and my motivation has started to simmer.This is not a good situation to be in; the biggest reason being I need to break through this plateau to finish off these last couple of pounds and I'm just sorta feeling lazy, or discouraged, or placid about the whole thing. It doesn't help that it's Sunday night and weekends are very hard for me to stay right on track. AND, I just want a brownie, or M&M, or whatever ya got(life is so rough sometimes). So there ya go. Does anyone else suffer through the weekend? WHat DO YOU DO?!!!

ANy SugGEStions? I'll keep working, but there's gotta be a couple of things I can try to boost the motivation. Anyone?Anyone?

My little RUNNER

How cute is that. As I got out of the shower after one of our runs I saw this. It made me so proud that Lydia's first experience with running shoes were mine! Sorry, Mommy moment. Although it is torture to run with a double, seeing your kids enjoy the run as much as you do somehow makes it all worth it.

Oh, and it is nice to have someone to cheer on on the uphill push. The last five minutes of our run Lydia and I are chanting, "PUSH!". Teamwork folks.

Thus Far

I haven't noticed how big of a change I've made in the last 7 months. I guess I'm so used to myself I haven't really noticed or "saw" the big change. It did come just so gradual. So, yes, a lot was baby weight and the breast feeding helped with that, but I've really worked my buns off. I think my sisters would be the most proud and then maybe... oh geeze I don't know my legs I guess. But I do feel happy that I didn't give in and realizing anyone can do it. It's not as hard or as bad as you think.

Before #1

Before #2

After

AWESOME KATIE E.

SHOUT out to Katie. She told me at church today she tried on her pre-prego pants and they FIT!!! She is so awesome and an inspiration. Actually, you all are. I really appreciate anyone who is, well, themselves. It makes me want to be a better person.

Great job, Katie. you deserve it.

What I'm Doing

Okay world, I have a few minutes since Paul is asleep and Lydia and Tom are gone.
So here's what I've been doing diet wise:

I'm not a morning eater, it just doesn't kick in until somewhere between 8 and 9. I used to be like, "That's so BAD!!" but from all the research I've really delved into, it's not bad to not eat a hearty breakfast. It does depend on what you are doing, how active you are in the morning, when the next time you will have the opportunity to eat. I mean when they say "eat your Wheaties" are you going to be gone from the kitchen for the next four hours? Then yeah, eat your Wheaties. For me, that's just not the case. My kitchen is about five feet from the rest of my morning activities, my Wheaties can wait till I feel like eating.

Truly you need to know your body enough to gauge when you are hungry and when you are cravey. Since I've been practicing this for about five years I know exactly when I'm hungry and exactly when I'm cravey...eating when I'm hungry and not when I'm cravey is a totally different story. Okay, so that brings me to a little detour. I hate when people blame their weight on something ridiculous(I'm not discounting medical reasons)rather than their lack of self will: "Brith Control", "Big Boned", etc. (for the record I researched Birth Control. While it may increase your cravings, it does NOT add more calories to absorbed by your intestinal wall than what you consume or increase cortisol levels in the blood to be affected by weightloss).

I think it is much easier for me to hear some say, "I have no self will" than to hear an excuse...at least I know they are being honest with themselves and that is the first step to truly losing weight. Oh, and I don't want anyone to feel like I'm being self righteous here: I DO struggle with eating too much. Food tastes good, I love to eat. I mean, I wouldn't be trying to loose the weight if I didn't right? But, it is all about being honest and honestly trying. Trying to make Healthy Weight fit into Lifestyle, Family, and Fun.

Wow, what a soap box. But I feel better. I've wanted to say that for a really LONG time, sorry to go off on a tangent like that.

8 or 9 I have fruit because I still don't have much of an appetite, but I don't want to feel ravenously hungry in an hour.
10-11ish I eat a bowl of cereal. Cheerios plain is the best cereal on the planet, I eat them almost every day
1pmish I eat a moderate lunch, salad with oil and vinegar and feta cheese because I'm in love with feta, sometimes a sandwhich, sometimes pasta, maybe a squash, maybe just pita and humus, maybe tortilla and black beans. Then usually a cut up tomato or almonds to take care of that little snitch, sometimes a bite of brownie hits the spot if I have left overs.
4pm apple and yogurt. Cheese and pear, or two of my faaavorite delux wheat crackers...they really go the distance. or a tortilla with applesauce and grated cheese with a sprinkle of cinnamon. or maybe two peaches plain cute up and share them with the kids
6-7 dinner. Stir Fry veggies and brown rice, Pasta w/chicken or sausage and a creative tomato sauce, or white if I really want to celebrate, sweet potato bar.. you should try it, soup and sandwhiches, Casseroles if I'm feeling really hungry or Tom is, Grilled fish if I'm daring, Meat loaf to celebrate life, homemade supremo pizza, you name it really. I pair the main dish with a veggie and a salad. Then 2 out of 7 days we'll have a dessert, and I never skimp with low cal junk. Why make it?
Then I go to bed 10-11. That gives my body time to digest and burn a little before I shut the metab. down a few notches. If I eat light or go to bed later then I feel way hungry so then I'll eat like a mini bowl of cheeries. I love Cheerios.

ANNE TAYLOR LOFT outlet store

PEopLE!

I fell in love with ANNE TAYLOR LOFT today. Their clothes are the best. I think I was in there for a good 2 hours. Anyway, the really great news is that I'm down a size, mind you their clothes run bigger than average sizes, but after doing the math I really was at least a size smaller. These jeans are the ones I stuck with in the end ("curvy boot leg" just in case you wanted to know). AND they were cheap..AND they don't bag off my backside...AND they are wonderfully comfortable AND...AND..LIKE ZONKS SCOOBS! Totally happy. ANd I didn't have Lydia with me. Totally stress free. Happy and Stress free, but okay, I did miss Lydia and was super excited to get back to her.

Ummm, shout out to Lori who ran a marathon today. Whew, what a great run.

Who's Carol?

I don't know her, my friend, Lori who lives in Washington, knows her. I came across their blog from Lori's. So here's some details to make it easy to understand what a big deal it is to me.

Carol was pregnant with her second child. She started going into labor early. They utlimately had to take the baby by c-section. After that her blood pressure dropped so severely they had to give her medication, then her temp went through the roof. They diagnosed her with a Streptococcal Pnuemoniae infection, the worst as it is a septic one. She's had many burns and more. I copied a portion of the blog so you can read yourself without looking really long and hard like I did. Just as an update she is back from the hospital now, but still very difficult for her still.

Carol is at Swedish Hospital in Seattle in their Pediatri Intensive Care unit. She is unconscious due to a combination of pain med and another drug. This way, she isn't feeling pain nor wanting to tear out her ventilator or feed tube. She was admitted there on Tuesday the 9th in the afternoon. The doctor's did an emergency C-section around 4:45 pm or so because Carol and the and nurses that work with her are always welcome.
Since all this Carol has had both her leg's below the knees amputated, her left arm below the elbow amputated, her right ring finger amputated; and is now blind. All of that is due to ischemia from vasopressive drugs used to keep her blood pressure high enought to survive.

RUNNING FOR CAROL

My friend from high school is running a marathon to help raise money for her friend, Carol, who has had severe medical problems (. I think this is such a noble and needed cause. I stayed up until 1am one night just reading on her blog about what she's been through and how her recovery is going. SO PLEASE, check out Lori's fundraising blog: http://running4carol.weebly.com/

If you would like to go to Carol's recovery blog to read more go to: http://www.sccsdecker.blogspot.com/

Even if you can't donate, I'm sure they'd love your prayers.

Let's Get Physical

What do you think about me teaching Aerobics? I'd just volunteer one day a week, so nothing too spac-tac. I think it would be a blast, but I'm super nervous because I took a teaching class at BYU-i and all but killed it. Okay, maybe I killed it. Then again, I've always wanted to do it. So, what, try it again, make a fool out of myself..totally humiliate myself in front of people who think I'm a some what competent person; OR be comfortable being comfortable. Hmm, I'll have to get back to that. But, I think I'm gonna anyway....

Today I did SpINniNg. The first time in a year. IT WAS GREAT. I totally owe Paige for swapping the kids. It's such a good workout. I wish I could go every week, but I do have kids and I DO love waking up and working out BEFORE they wake up. It just helps me start the day feeling on top of it instead of trying to catch up.

Oh hey, I forgot to mention that I got a tinsey membership at a medical school (in their fitness facility) here about a mile down the road. So it's super close, super cheap, and super secluded. It is small, but I really don't like big gyms or the hype that comes with it. So that's where I got the aerobics idea.

The Price is Worth the Prize

Okay, so I thought maybe some of my family or local friends keep up on my weightloss blog. Lately, I've been getting a lot of feed back. I'm kind of embarrased, but also really impressed that so many people are cheering me on. THANKS YOU GUYS!!! I guess I should start taking pictures after my make up is on.

So, I've lost five more pounds and I finally, let me say that again, FINALLY, found my groove. I've found a few treasures that really left a lasting impression. Maybe sometime when it's not midnight, I'll go into that more.

Alright, so I made cookies tonight for some friends and family and I can honestly say I ate a small portion and stopped. Not because I felt guilty, but because I was truly done eating. What an amazing feeling of peace and just happiness to have my cake (cookie) and eat it too. So this is why I haven't given up yet. Losing the weight has been more than just pounds, it's been entirely exhausting and has really stretched my determination and tested my desire. But I found something out these past months: I really truly want to be healthy. I want to be in inpecable shape not because it looks good, but because it feels good. It feels good to feel your heart beating. It feels good to know you are nourishing your body with good food. It feels good to run up and down the field, or around the block. It feels good to feel good. This is something I did not understand 10 years ago when I was suffering from an eating disorder. Let me tell you something: there is a right way to do things and there is a wrong way to do things. Do it the right way, even if it's hard. Even if it takes a LLLLLLLOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGG time. Look at me, ten years. But that's ten years behind me and yeah, I still have more to work on, but that's ten years done the right way, never needs to be worked through again. And now I have the rest of my life to live as full as I can live. But I guess it's more than that, it's eternity I can build upon. That's pretty cool. My sister sent me this quote that I think is awesome: "the price is worth the prize".