Believe....

Well the last time I posted was bit over a month ago...  With Thanksgiving fast apporching wanted to give you an update on where I am so far...  When on Oct. 15th I was down 65.2 lbs wow didn't know what a fight I would have ahead of me...

I have had to learn to go with the flow a bit more too...  I was hoping to be way further down my road by now but once again I have had to slow down and listen to God..  I have always wanted to push myself futher then I needed to at times...
To be honest sometimes its hard for me to give up control stop wanting things sooner than what is good for me...  It has also taught me to be more humble toward my weigh loss journey...
I have really had to fight for the number I recieved on the scale but I set my mind too it...

I still have a lot left to lose so I just set small goals for myself, if I look at the big picture it freaks me out a bit..  So when I left last week I wanted to be down 70 lbs by Thanksgiving (really wanted it today) so I have really worked hard this week both in food choices and working out...

So here is a recap since my last blog post:
10-22 down 2.2 lbs
10-29 up 0.4 lbs
11-5 down 0.2 lbs
11-12 down 1.2 lbs

When I first started WW I was scared to death of the holidays and all the eating that came with it...  As I have been on doing WW I have become more confident in my food choices...  We are now 3 days till Thanksgiving and I know I got this one...  No matter how it goes I will be on that scale on Monday after Thanksgiving (no skipping) for me... 

So when I left the house this morning I knew what number I wanted to see on that scale today...  I wanted to see down 1.6 lbs to make that magic 70 lbs....  I step on the scale....

Drum roll..........

WooHoo...  The number I got was down 2.6 lbs for a total loss so far of 71 lbs since January 8, 2012..
I am super excited and proud that I exceeded my goal for Thanksgiving...

Its never to late to get back up again...

The title of my post today is from one of my fav. Toby Mac songs....  I have learned this through my weight loss journey its never to late to get back up again no matter how far you have fallen....

Here is an update of the last few weeks in my journey... 
Weigh in on 9/24 down 1.2 lbs
Weigh in on 10/1 down 2.6 lbs
Weigh in on 10/8 down 2.6 lbs
Weigh in on 10/15 up 1.2 lbs

My total weight loss as of today 10/15 is 65.2 lbs

Wow I had three totally awesome weeks and then this week it slipped but thats ok just have to move forward to working harder this week...  I have way too far to go still to look back on my not so good weeks..  I really believe I have those weeks from time to time to keep my humble in my weight loss and don't start thinking oh this is all my doing....  Without God I would have never gotten as far as I have so far....

For the most part I have done very well taking in the fact that in those few weeks I attened two weddings and the fair and didn't mess up too much...  I have also learned that I am much much stronger than I ever thought I could be, thank you God for giving me the strength everyday to keep on my journey...

My biggest surprise has been my oldest son Alex, he has even started asking me when I weigh in how I have done and when I have had a bad week he is such a great encouragement to me...  Thank you God for the sweet words that come from my son's heart...

Its been a long time...

Yes its been since the start of summer that I have posted in my blog....  That's just way way too long, so I promise to stay up with it now...
I had a really busy summer with two family members graduations, kiddos going to VBS, camp and being out of town for business myself...  Last weekend I attended the first of four weddings for this year...

So since I started my weight loss journey in January of this year 2012, I have every week posted my loss or gain on my facebook page...  Well since that time I have really started to notice something that has started to bother me a great deal...

It seems like to me when I have a big loss for a week there is all kinds of support pouring in from everywhere..  When I have a smaller loss there is still some support but not never as much...  Now here is the big one when I have a week (not many I will add) that I gain a little bit or stay the same there is little support...

Now as I am eight in half months into my journey its really gotten to me and really hurts my feelings...  Whether I am having a great loss that week or a smaller loss that week I really feel like the support should always be the same...
I do still have lot of weight to lose, I know that I will reach my goal there is not doubt about that in my mind..  It just really makes that journey that much easier with the equal support of those around me and in cyber land....

So  the last two weeks I haven't posted on my facebook page about my weight loss to see what happened and not to my surprise I haven't had but a hand full of people ask me how my last two weeks have went, and the funny thing is you don't even have to see me in person to ask either...  With all the technology of today from text message, email and social media its one of the easiest times to keep in touch....

So I  have decided to no longer post on facebook my numbers for weight loss...  I will instead post a blog update each week...   I know it will take a bit more effort to open up this blog but I really feel those who want to support me will take the time to read each week and those that really don't won't take the time...

It takes a lot for me to step out of that box of comfort and be that honest about how this has bothered me...  Thank you to God for giving me the strength each day that I need....

So the weight update...  As of Monday the 17th I am down 60 pounds....

40 pound marker and photos...

Just a little post to give you an update on my weight loss journey...  Well I was super excited I was in Minnesota for a whole week and didn't gain a pound the whole time...  That was an awesome extra in my journey down this weigh loss road...
On June 11th  I hit the 40 pound marker on my journey and it was just exciting for me...Wow I have been on this journey for five months now and am officially down 41.4 lbs and looking forward to more coming off in the coming months...
I have had several people ask to show photos of myself as I am losing the weight and so I have my first set of weight loss photos to show...  I have a hard time seeing it on myself since I do see me everyday...  I can tell from the two photos that I am losing the weight...
Looking forward to posting more photos as my journey to the healthy me continues..

The first photo is the starting picture for my weight loss and the second picture is me down the first 41.4 lbs....

New Milestones

Its been about a month since my last post so I wanted to blog about a few new milestones...
On April 23rd  I got my 16 week hands for attending 16 WW meetings..  So far I have made every meeting since I joined WW on January 8th...  I love my WW meetings they are such an awesome support and encouragement each week...  My WW leader Julie is a great leader and very supportive... Its awesome to be around people who are on the same journey you its so awesome to be able to get ideas from my WW buddies..
I had a week when I did gain a pound I didn't like to see that gain on the scale but I was bound not to let it get me down...  Any other time I was losing weight then had a gain it would always get to me and I would binge on food...  This time I just put it behind me and moved forward to the next week and did I ever get over it the next week I lost 5.2 lbs (WooHoo..)...

Yesterday (May 21st) I finally hit my 10% goal, since January 8th I have lost 10% of my total body weight and let me tell you it feels awesome...  I was checking my Curves Smart on Monday after my workout since my progress has been good so far it will be moving me up a fitness level, so far in the 30 minutes I workout with Curves Smart I am burning between 350-457 calories for that 30 minute time..
I am excited Wednesday to being my next level with Curves and to keep increasing all that I can do from today on....

After I hit my 10% goal, I was asked what I was working toward next...  I still have a lot of weight to lose so I think I will break my goal into lots of little goals...  I am going toward the next 5% which is about 15 pounds I believe if I make little goals for myself it will keep me from looking at the big picture all the time...

I am sure everyone knows that I have a lot of weight to lose and I am going to make my goal... At this point I haven't set my ultimate goal of what I want to weigh, I have the range of what is a healthy weight which is between 101-135pounds...  Right now I still have about 185 pounds left to lose, I still have a long journey ahead of me but with God, family and friends I WILL make this goal....

WooHoo... First out of town challenge

This last weekend I went out of town to Branson for the Women Of Joy conference.... This was the first time I had been out of town since I have joined WW and been losing weight..  I knew every place we went to eat I would not be able to track all my food as easy as I can while I am in town...  Before I left town I prayed about my trip and any food challenges that would come my way....  Because trust me if I was going on my strength alone I would just have what I wanted...
Any other time I have been trying to lose weight and go out of town I totally blow it... It wasn't going to happen this time though...


I was determined that my time out of town would not reflect on negative on the scale..  I was really careful while I was eating to eat foods that I knew would be good for me...  One big challenge I was proud to over come was that our hotel had ice cream and cobbler every evening...  Trust me I really wanted that ice cream and cobbler but not bad enough to eat it...  So I had my snack instead and that's a big thing for me...

I came back home on Sunday evening and had to weigh in Monday morning..  As I stepped on that scale I was glad to see a negative...  WooHoo having being out of town for the weekend I was able to lose .2 lbs
Another small battle won...

So very proud of myself...  Thank you God for giving me the strength I need every moment through my weight loss journey...

First Three Months..

Well I am getting close to my 3 month mark since joining Weight Watchers...  I have been losing a steady and healthy pace...  I am always proud and excited when I step on that scale each week to weigh in and see those numbers continue to go down...  Don't get me wrong Satan knows one of my weak places to get me is my self esteem and confidence...  So there are times when I think "I probably didn't lose" at those times I pray and remember that none of this is done on my own strength..

I was reading my devotion this evening and that point was there too...  Jesus is the vine and we are the branches... Our only job is holding on to Jesus, the vine.. By doing so we will fulfill our solitary purpose to bear fruit..  Literally all of the other work that takes place in the vineyard will be done by the gardener.  Thats God.. Not me. Not you. Our job is allowing him to work through us by staying connected to the vine...

God has a plan for everyone's  life already and I believe my weight loss journey I am on now will take me closer to Gods plan for my life...  I will be honest I am not one to give up control on things and that has a long story with it..  I believe for my weight loss journey to be a success I have to give it all over to God...  Only he truly knows what is best for me....

During my first 3 months of WW I have officially  lost a total of 25 lbs and about 19 inches..  I also hit my 5% goal and am about 9 lbs away from my 10% goal...
In February I started at Curves to help with weight loss and to tone up as I go along..  About mid February I started the Curves smart which is personalized coaching system set up with circuit machines...  Now let me tell you I worked out the first two weeks without it and really thought I was working it hard...  After my first workout with Curves Smart, I knew then I was working to my highest potential...  I LOVE MY CURVES SMART.....

I look forward to every Monday WW meeting and my three days a week at Curves...  Looking forward to the journey ahead....

Biggest Challenge...

So my biggest challenge I knew I really would have to work on with my weight loss would be my eating late at night...  My eating at night could range from several different foods from a bowl of cereal, cookies, ice cream and even a meal....
A lot of this eating at night would be around midnight, so I would have myself a snack and then straight to bed...  This is a horrible habit I have had way to long and I know has been one thing that has caused me to gain so much weight...
So when I decided to start my weight loss journey I knew that was one issue I would have to address and overcome if I wanted to have success in losing the weight...
One rule I have made myself is that all my eating stops at 10pm don't get me wrong it hasn't been easy there have been several times I have been up late gotten bored and really wanted to go into the kitchen to eat...  But one thing I really never did before was to stop and think before I went into the kitchen... 
Now I think to myself am I really hunger or am I just bored??? 

Of course the answer is I am really not hunger just bored so when I have stopped to think about it I can really keep myself out of the kitchen...
I feel so much better when I go to bed now not having that huge dark cloud hanging over my head saying "why did you eat that again"....

I believe Satan finds things in our life that make us stumble and then he works on wearing us down with that part of our life...  Well of course when we give into that part of our life we feel horrible ....

So I know even if I do stumble and fall then God will pick me back up to put me back on the path he has before me.

Love this song....

Thank you God for giving me the strength I need to face this challenge...

First Weight Watchers Meeting...

January 8, 2012

Yes, I do have to admit the morning I was going to join Weight Watchers I was so very nervous: Thoughts running through my head:
1) Will I be the biggest person there
2) Do I really want people to know how much I weigh
3) Can I stick to it...

I pulled into the parking lot, paused a moment prayed for my nerves to be calmed....
As I walked into the meeting I was so very calm and ready to get started...  From the first moment I got there I felt so very welcomed and it was awesome...
I filled out my registration form and got ready to step on that scale for the first time for a stranger...  The number that came up was the most I have ever weighted and I never never want to see that number again....   I WON'T SEE THAT NUMBER AGAIN.....
I stepped off the scale and took my place on the second row waiting on the meeting to start...  A few minutes later our meeting started and I got to meet our leader for the first time Julie...  She was so very nice and made me feel so very welcome...  I knew I had choose the right meeting to be in and was pumped up....

Before I left I picked up some WW snacks and supplies then headed home to get started.....

Why.....

I have decieded to blog on my weight loss journey that started on January 8th 2012...


I have always had an issue with my weight my whole life so far...  I seem to eat when I am happy, sad, stressed and bored... 
I have always been that FAT friend trying to fit with others so maybe I have hid behind my weight this whole time...  But not anymore I am ready to lose this weight and finally get healthy for myself and my family...  I want to be around a long time for my family...  As my boys get older I don't to be that FAT mom and put it on my children to defend me to others...
My husband is totally awesome and I know loves me no matter what and I want to get healthy so we can grow old together...  Plus on a side note: I want to be his bombshell....

So why has the weight loss worked for a bit times before and why will it work out now...   First and foremost when I have lost weight before I have done it on my own strength and to be honest it didn't last long...   This time is totally different when I finally made the choice to begin this journey I prayed and asked God for his strength...

So this is my year to get healthy and to lose this weight for good.....

Thank you for joining me on this life changing journey....