Good morning! What a beautiful morning it is and I am so happy that you stopped by. I hope this past week was good to you and that you see nothing but happiness and success this coming week!

 

Goal: The result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

 

 

 

How many of you made New Year's resolutions? How many of you kept them? Gave up on them? Most people rarely keep them and for this reason, I quit making them. Instead... I try to make "mini-goals" for the week. Last week I made the goals to write everything I ate down and to drink at least 2 bottles of water. I kept neither. When you think about it... If you made a promise to your best friend you'd most likely keep it in hopes of not letting them down. So why, why is it that when we make promises to ourselves... we so rarely keep them? Somehow, we have to make ourselves a priority and I whole-heartedly believe you can do this without becoming obsessively self-absorbed or selfish. YOU should be your first and most best friend. Think about it... YOU are the ONLY person you will see consecutively EVERY day. If you hate yourself or despise yourself... you'll be miserable. If you love yourself and care about yourself then you'll be happier.

 

Believe me when I say I understand how hard it is these days. There's so much pressure on us to be the best and to take on more and more and more... but at some point... for the sake of your own sanity... you have to learn to say NO to others and YES to yourself. I don't mean ignore the kids and leave them fending for themselves (but c'mon.. who hasn't wanted to lock themselves in the bathroom for five minutes peace?) but do you really need to be the classroom helper this month? Do you really have to make perfect bagged lunches every single day? Personally, when my son was born I tried to be Super Mom... I didn't accept a lot of help from others because I didn't want to be seen as someone who couldn't handle motherhood. I paid for it. But then I learned that it was okay to ask Nana to watch the baby so I could go to the Dr's and get my hair cut. I learned it was okay to let Daddy give the baby a bottle so I could just sit and breathe for a few minutes. I learned it was okay to tell Daddy that, even though he works and I stay home that he STILL needed to take the baby a couple nights a week so I could get more sleep than 2 hours a night. IT'S OKAY to get help. It doesn't make you weak. It doesn't make you any less of a superhero. It makes you human. One thing I learned from my counselor (yes... I was in counseling for a year or so...) is that you need to take 15 minutes every day and make them your own. Read a book. Sit in silence. Dance. Cry. Whatever you need to get it out... do it.

 

So what does this have to do with resolutions and goals? If you make a PROMISE to yourself to eat veggies only for a week... Do it. It's for you and it's what you need to do to make yourself a priority. If you don't take care of you... then you can't really take care of anyone else.

 

This week... I have decided to redo my goals from last week. To be more successful I am being pro-active. I picked out a notebook (I have so many blank ones lying around because I tend to buy them a lot...) and have it already open and on a fresh page for today. I washed out my big green water bottle that holds 32oz and filled it to the top. It's already half gone. This, I consider, is a big plus for me.

 

At my TOPS meeting last night we did a quiz on Nutrition. I would like to share with you what I found out.

 

* Regular table sugar is NOT less healthy than brown sugar and honey.

* Meats do NOT contain fiber... it is only found in plants. (I don't know why this shocked me...)

* You should be eating between 20-35 grams of fiber a day. A member mentioned that 30g AT LEAST will help you lose weight.

* Almonds, collard greens, figs and soybeans all give you calcium. I would never have guessed that about figs and collard greens!

* Eggs, fatty fish, milk and mushrooms give you vitamin D... Again.. didn't know that!

* One cup of yogurt has more potassium than a medium banana, cup of broccoli, 3 oz of halibut and a cup of OJ. Mind. Blown. I always thought bananas had the most. Even 1 cup of broccoli has more potassium than a medium banana!

* McDonald's Large Fries contains LESS sodium than BK's large chocolate shake, BK's veggie burger and Dunkin' Donuts corn muffin. Everyone was a little shocked at this one!

 

This week I saw a gain. Not much of one... but still.

Previous Weight: 352.8

Current Weight: 353.2

(Gain of 0.4)

 

 

Some food for thought:

 

**Don't watch the Clock... Do what it does and KEEP GOING!!**

 

Good luck this week! :-) I'm thinking of you and hoping the best!

If You Change Nothing... Nothing Will Change

Well... Hello there! I'm glad you are reading this! I think you are beautiful and priceless!

 

It's been a while... a long while... since I've even opened up my blog and wrote. I tried, once or twice, but I felt like I couldn't get anywhere and everything I felt like I was saying wasn't worth reading. In other words... it was just a bunch of babble.

 

But I am trying and I am making a fresh start.

 

I had my first baby this past September. I weighed a whopping 378 pounds by the time I delivered and my son was a ginormous 10lbs 12oz. I was tested for gestational diabetes but I did not have it.. however they feel that at the end it had reared it's ugly head. It felt like every week I weighed in I would always gain. THAT was frustrating. My back ached and I was pretty miserable. It hurt to walk into the kitchen or do dishes. I wanted to sucker punch my brother for constantly telling me to walk and get his nephew out. I ended up having a C-Section after three days of trying to jumpstart labor. My boy was just too comfortable... and stubborn. When I went in for the surgery, they had to give me an epidural... obviously... and it took three times. Three times! Three times being stabbed in the back! It was awful and even several days afterwards, I could feel the needle prick. OUCH! I was unable to see my son for almost 24 hours but it was so worth it! He was HUGE! Anyway... Moving along (Before I get all misty eyed and stuffy nosed...) at my 6 week check in... I had lost over 30lbs! No kidding! I was back to my pre-baby weight! If only taking off the rest of it would be that easy!

 

I am still a member of my local TOPS group and I still enjoy it. We have a competition going right now... We each wrote down how much we wanted to lose by the first week of April and I fear I may have been a little too ambitious. Instead of writing down something small.. like 10 lbs or even 5... I chose 20! TWENTY POUNDS! I am down almost 4 so far...

 

At first, it was easy not to eat. Still recovering from surgery, I tried to rest as much as possible. Plus I was breast-feeding. Now that I am no longer breast-feeding and my son is becoming more tolerant of being left alone for a few moments... I am left to my own devices. Most days, I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich... or maybe a mini-pot pie for lunch. I don't drink nearly enough water and probably too much milk (2%).

 

I am hoping that by posting here and leaving it for the world to see then I will hold myself accountable. I mean... who wants to post for all the world to see that they are over 300lbs?? I don't... but I am going to.

 

I currently weigh 352.8lbs.

 

There... I said it.

 

Am I ashamed? You better believe it! But honestly, it's all I've ever known. I've always been big and I've gotten used to it. Actually comfortable. One of my fears is that... if I lose a ton of weight and look good... and people notice... I'm afraid I won't be able to handle their compliments or attention. I've always been the one to fade into the back and I've been okay with that. But now it's not just for me. It's for my son. I want to be healthy for him so I can chase him around the yard and not get winded at the park. I want to be able to walk up and down the road pushing his stroller and having fun with him.

 

This isn't going to be easy and I expect there will be a few setbacks here and there, but if I give it my all and really try then I will have nothing to be ashamed of.

 

All that being said... here are my goals for this week:

 

1. Drink THREE bottles of water a day! Can be more but definitely no less!

2. Write down EVERY THING I consume.

 

I hope that by next week I will have a good report for anyone who reads this. Encouraging comments are always welcome (No negativity please).

 

NO MORE negative body thoughts

NO MORE "I'll do it tomorrow"

NO MORE sitting and wishing for a thinner me

NO MORE eating when I am not hungry

NO MORE waiting for this to get easier

NO MORE muffin tops

NO MORE wobbly thighs

NO MORE soft round stomach

NO MORE "buts...."

NO MORE "I can't....."

NO MORE "it's too hard!"

NO MORE "I'm too tired."

NO MORE EXCUSES!