Weekly Weigh-In Wednesday!

After going through a few days where I was dealing with having a bad attitude (feeling angry about "having" to eat healthy instead of feeling empowered, etc) I had a great week! I worked through those crappy few days and learned a lot about myself and what I want and what it takes to get what I want. Most of all, I need to constantly re-affirm to myself that I am NOT A WIMP if I don't want to be! :)

This little growth adventure helped spur some awesome workouts (well, my awesome trainer, Ami, helped with a few of those too!) and I've done some things I never really thought I could. Ami has me jumping rope and doing all sorts of cool and different things with weights and I have pushed myself with running/jogging on the treadmill and it feels good! :) I've also snuck in some extra cardio here and there which has been really nice and energizing!

So I lost 4 pounds this week! I am now in the fabulous 140's at 148 pounds!!! :) It's pretty darn exciting to only be 13 pounds away from my goal weight! I am planning on being to my goal weight of 135 around New Years. :) WOW....not one more year will be spent being obese or even over-weight! My body will not be anywhere near perfect, but I am so much healthier and happy than I was 5 months ago! It is so amazing how much can change in just 5 short months!

If you haven't started on your journey to better health, don't wait another day! Start NOW!! You have nothing to lose, and everything (and more) to gain!!! :)

Weekly Weigh-In Wednesday!!

So I lost the 3 pounds I needed to this week to reach my next goal weight!! That makes for a total of 50 pounds lost so far!! :) I figure I have about 15 or so more to loose, and then of course keep working out to continue to tone and build muscle!! It feels so good to be so close to my goal weight!! :)

Anti-depressants anyone?

I have struggled with depression pretty much my entire life. It's a frustrating phenomenon that has, at times, controlled my life. I have felt helpless as it descended upon me with no warning and no clear departure date, to bring me down and squash my spirit without my permission. Over the years, I have worked hard to learn good coping techniques to minimize depressions affects and damage on my life. Really, struggling with depression has been the catalyst for lots of great personal growth and wonderful learning opportunities. At the same time, I have felt so frustrated that no matter how hard I tried, I still fell prey to it's power over me. Recently and joyfully, I have noticed that depression has not been a very large part of my life at all these past 3-4 months.

Everyone has heard or read that exercise and healthy eating are wonderful tools to combat depression. Like most people who have heard this, I have only given these anti-depressants a "try" for short periods of time...then feel justified in using the excuse "well, exercise and healthy eating didn't work for MY depression" when I lost my steam and stopped trying. This time, however, has been much different. I committed at the beginning of this journey to NEVER GIVE UP until I reached my goal! I gave myself permission to trust myself to actually follow-through....and I've followed through knowing I could not let myself down.

I was so happy to come to the realization that my healthy lifestyle has kept my depression at bay! I have always been wary of pharmaceutical anti-depressants and so have never taken any, while wondering in the back of my head if I was making the wrong choice and furthering my suffering. Now, however, I know that I have the power to create my own anti-depressant lifestyle by exercising religiously (i.e. regularly) and heating healthfully with minimal junk.

I know and accept I will still have "downs" and that, like an alcoholic, I will always have depression looming over me in some way. I also know that I will always have the tools necessary to minimize and quicken any episodes that creep in. That knowledge gives me plenty of another one of the best non-pharmaceutical anti-depressants out there: HOPE.

If you struggle with depression, I challenge you to take control of your happiness by changing your lifestyle to include more daily exercise, lots of fresh healthy foods and minimal junk. Change the way you live, don't just "try"!

A healthy lifestyle truly is the very best anti-depressant there is!!

Weekly Weigh-In Wednesday

Using the self-timer and/or my 6 year old on roller skates, I tried (again...I've taken a lot that I wasn't pleased with) to get a few pictures that I felt showed my weight-loss. I know we are our own worst critic, so it goes without saying that I am not totally pleased with the pictures, but I think you can see some progress. I have to admit, I have been disappointed all day since weighing myself this morning. To be fair, I started being in a less than stellar mood last night, but I was actually really looking forward to weighing in this week and expected more than I got.

In spite of Halloween and my husband being out of town (I tend to eat more when he's gone...) I still thought I did okay. And I suppose I did, but I am not that thrilled with my meager 1/2 pound loss since last week. Oh well. It seems I loose a bunch one week, then sometimes the following week I barely loose.

A loss is still a loss, though, and I know I'm still making good progress. I am officially a size 10 now! :) That feels so good! My 12's were falling off, and the 10's are snug, but not unbearably so. And my "new" (as in second-hand) shirts are size medium!!!

I have exactly 20 pounds left to loose. I am looking forward to getting on with maintaining (i.e. exercising a little less and eating a tiny bit more!) but need to stay on course until I get there. I think, too, that it's time to re-vamp my exercise a bit and work even harder. I am going to try running a mile a few times a week after my regular workout and add a few walks/hikes with the family a week. I am also going to try to shave off 100 calories a day....which I am NOT excited about. I have to admit that I just LOVE to eat...I think about my meals and snacks all day long. I look forward to going to bed because it means when I wake up, I get to eat breakfast! :) I was going to shave that 100 calories off my afternoon snack (my only snack of the day since I now workout in the morning)...but my snack is only 200 calories to begin with and I REALLY need that 200 calories every afternoon!! So I think I am going to shave 50 off of breakfast and quit the small amount of grazing I have allowed myself to pick back up again. Grazing is such a hard habit to break!!! A few handfuls of dry cereal here and there (dry cereal is soooooo one of my big weaknesses!) or a few chocolate chips or a small bite every once in a while of my kid's food seems to add up to more calories than I estimate! So no more. We'll see if that helps!! :) I am hoping to be down to my next goal of 152 next week! That will put me at an even 50 pounds lost!!! I really, really hope to see that number, so I am going to work hard!