Motivation...

I am participating in a blog hop with Shortmama as she continues her Muffin Top journey!  She picks a subject each week to blog about and this time it is motivation!  What is it that motivates you?  This is kind of funny because a friend of mine from church was asking me what it was that got me motivated to do it.  Well it started with three simple things.

1. Vanity.  I am a vain person.  
2.  Last year my doctor warned me about my weight and told me she didn't want to end up treating me for diabetes in 3 months time.
3. And lastly....well this person....

That is me last year and 30 pounds ago.  I really don't want to be her again.

 

I like her much better this way.

But this did not come easy.  It's been a year of hard work and lots of changes.  So what is it that keeps me motivated?  My family.  My friends.  Seeing myself in clothes that actually fit me for a change.  (all my clothes are now drowning me!)

Another thing that motivates is doing this with my mom and my sister and seeing their progress as well.  The three of us have almost lost a total of 100 pounds!!  And now even more amazing is the three of us are exercising together!  We make a great team.  I also go to my Weight Watchers meetings each week.  My leader is out of this world.  And I have made friends there too.  And they help with the motivation too.  Sometimes I get frustrated.  I get whiny.  I want to give up.    Then I think of all my hard work.  And I look at these pictures and I realize as hard as it gets, I do not want to give it up.  So I keep going!  I have to push harder some days, but the reward is great.

What motivates you?

In 2011 I Want To...

New Year's Resolutions?  Okay, if you want to call them that.  I think I will go with the Weight Watchers term:  Winning Outcomes!  So here are my winning outcomes for 2011.

• Continue with the Weight Watchers program.  How:  By attending my weekly meetings and applying the things I learn along with trying new recipes.
• Reach my personal goal...almost there.  How:  keeping track of what I eat.  Being careful of what I bring into the house.
• Maintain my personal goal.  How:  Sticking with WW and attending my meetings.
• Exercise at least one time a week.  Friday's...ZUMBA!  With exercise we need to be realistic.  We also need it to fit into our lifestyle.  I am not going to announce that I am going to take up running 5 times a week because I don't run.  And 5 times a week?  Really?  I admire those of you who do!!  Boy do I!  But for me...one time a week is one time a week more than I am doing right now!  I will increase this goal as I go on.

My other "winning outcomes" are not weight related, but I will still share them here. 

• Decluttering my house.  This is not going to happen in one day or even 10.  I am giving myself 365!  On January 3. 2012 I hope to be able to see a marked difference.  I did it with my body, why not with my house!
• Learning something new.  I haven't decided yet what that will be.  But I am going to learn something new this year.

Come back Wednesday for the first installment in 2011 of my continued weight loss journey.  I will be sharing new ideas and reminding us of some old tricks that still work!
What are your winning outcomes for 2011?

What's Your Favorite?

I have been a bad multi-blogger lately.  I have been in  a funk as of late and feeling uninspired, but with Thanksgiving breathing down our necks, I decided now was the time to kick it back into high gear!! 

My first question is....do you know the calorie count in a typical Thanksgiving dinner?  No?  Let me break it down for you:

Turkey white or dark  6 ounces 450 calories
1 cup (about the size of a tennis ball) homemade stuffing 400 calories
1 cup of giblet gravy 300 calories
1 cup of mashed potatoes  350 calories
1 cup of candied sweet potatoes 400 calories
1/2 cup cranberry sauce 200 calories
2 rolls with butter 300 calories
1 slice (1/8 of 8inch) pumpkin pie  with whip topping 450 calories
1 slice of pecan pie 650 calories
Grand Total:   3500 which incidentally is equivalent to a pound.  So are you really going eat that much of everything?  Can you have smaller amounts of everything?  I mean do we really need an entire of cup of gravy?  What do you want the most? 

Do you have food police or food pushers you will be dealing with?  Tell the police to remove their badges.  You are in charge of what goes in your mouth.  Tell the food pushers firmly you have had plenty. 

Here are some Thanksgiving strategies for you:

• Eat a good breakfast
• eat lunch too...or a nice snack if you are eating earlier
• go for a walk after dinner.  There is a cool site here where you can map a walk in your own neighborhood!
• use portion control
• what is it that you want the most?
• what can you put on your plate that is low cal?
• Nothing?  Bring something to the table that is.  Start a new tradition!

Have a wonderful holiday! 

Bloating

At the risk of over sharing, I am bloating.  It's an awful feeling.  Your pants are tight and you feel like you are carrying around and extra ten pounds.  And to make it worse, you didn't even do anything to cause that!   I chose not to weigh in yesterday because it was that bad.  Still is.  But it got me thinking.  First question was, why does this happen in the first place?  And the second, how do I fix it?

Let's address the first one.  Hormones!  Hormones! Hormones!  The higher levels of hormones cause this to happen.  And while medicines like Ibuproferen helps with cramping and other noxious pains, it can contribute to water retention.  So how do we fix it?

• Water!  Believe it or not.  Water and lots of it.  Stay away from carbonated drinks.  The air will make you gassy.  I can do the water thing, but I am not giving up or staying away from my Diet Coke.
•  Eat foods that are water based.  Melons, berries, celery, lettuce.  The good for you stuff...not the comfort food.
• Avoid caffeine.  No matter how tired you are.  Caffeine will aggravate the symptoms and make you more irritable.  I'm ALWAYS irritable.  
• Avoid foods high in sodium.  I do this the night before each weigh in.  I don't want that to be reflected on the scale.  Even popcorn, which is a fantastic filling and good choice can show a gain.
• Avoid gas promoting foods. 
• Exercise   I have a hard enough time with this one under normal circumstances.
• Ask your doctor for a diuretic prescription.

All kidding aside, these are some great tips to help cure that bloat.  We don't have to be miserable.  And the best part about these tips sans the last, is we can do them all on our own and without taking a pill.  I like that.  What do you do to beat the bloat?

How Does It Feel?

How does it feel to lose a pound?  Well, go into your pantry and grab something, anything that weighs a pound.  Go ahead I will wait.

Pretty amazing huh?  Were you as surprised as me when you lifted it?  How about if you have lost 5 pounds?  Go grab that 5 pound bag of flour.  That would be five of those bad boys for me.  Not happy about a smaller loss...grab a stick of butter and imagine that extra bit of poundage on your arms, face or thighs. 

Does that get you excited to lose more, even when it is a smaller amount?  How about this:  For the next 8 weeks, Weight Watchers is donating a pound of food for every pound lost by its members.  Isn't that cool?  Not a member of Weight Watchers?  Not a problem.  For the next 8 weeks do your own pound for pound and donate it to a homeless shelter, or to the food drive that your kids school sponsors.  I am excited about this, and I want to donate!  So I want to lose...a lot!

There are 800 million underfed people, and at the same time there are 1.6 BILLION overweight people. 

So how about it?  Are you up for the challenge?

The only place achievement comes before work is in the dictionary.

Beautiful Me

Did you all make it?  Is everyone settled?  Now the reason I brought you all here is last week on this blog, I asked a question.  I asked What is beautiful? Did you miss it?  Go ahead and check it out, we'll wait.

...

Okay now that everyone is caught up, I would like to show you what my definition of beautiful is....

Beautiful is a mother and daughter

Beautiful is:  Sisters

Beautiful is:  Grandmother and her Granddaughters

Beautiful is you when you smile and stand tall!

I am no airbrushed pencil thin model.  She is not real.  She isn't perfect.  She is turned into the ideal.  Well I think the ideal is wrong.  I think we are the ideal.  Women who share, love, work, cry, laugh and give.  We are all beautiful.  And we are all real.  So the next time you see the "ideal" on the cover of a magazine looking airbrushed and perfect, remember you are the beautiful one.  Because you are real.  You don't need airbrushing because you are so beautiful.  I have one more definition of beautiful to share.

 

Being beautiful means not being afraid of who you really are.

What is beautiful to you?

What Is Beautiful?

Like most of us, I follow many blogs.  And every time I gain a follower, I return the favor and stalk follow them.  One of my newer followers is Tennessee Mom from Days on the Creek.  She wrote a post that really got me thinking.  What is beautiful? 

Is it her with her bones and lack of shape?

Here are the FEW models that I found in the PLUS sizes....

These models are found at the top of the page.  The rest of the clothing is either displayed on a "fat" mannequin or a model.....

Hmmmm....she's a plus?

She's a little better.  But again she and the strip above were the only plus women featured.  So it begs the question, "What is beautiful?"

Okay, now I want to issue you all a challenge.  I will be playing right along.  Take a deep breath now...I want you all to post a picture of...YOURSELF.  Full length, close up, waist up, whichever you prefer.  Show your beauty, and link up here with me next Monday.  Answer my question with your lovely faces.  I'm going to.  And I am truly a vein woman.  So this will be hard for me.  Will you play along?