A small victory is still a victory

I'm going to start posting weekly victories.  Even a small victory is still a victory and they keep us focused on our goals.  They remind us that we got this!  This week's victories include:
Down 4 pounds from my starting weight! :)
The couch to 5k run is getting easier.  I can jog the entire length of my driveway ~1/4 mile without stopping.  When I started I couldn't even run the 1:00 without stopping, huffing and puffing.  You have to stay postitive and these little victories help.

Running Buddies

Recently I've started doing the Couch to 5K program again.

We've been doing run #1 for about a week now :-P so it may take longer than 9 weeks for me to get there.  I want to be able to do run 1 without getting winded before I go any further.  Progress is being made though, today I didn't use the app I just went for a walk/run.  My driveway is a quarter mile long and I did 4 intervals of up and down the driveway.  I would walk up to the road and then run back to my truck.  It felt really good!  I've had several running buddies over the past few days.  My husband and children went with me for several days but today my older child was at grandma's and the baby was sleeping so hubby stayed with him.  Today I was down to my critter running buddies, our cats, kittens, and my dachsund.  They are great running buddies and I am so excited to be getting into this habit!

When life happens

Well, it has been FOREVER since I posted anything here.  What can I say?  Life got in the way.  The last time I posted was in February 2013 and that was during the time I was trying to get pregnant again.  It took a while to get pregnant and through all of it I stopped focusing on my weight loss and was instead focusing on getting pregnant.  I know that the two could and should really go hand in hand but they didn't.  Each month I didn't get pregnant I got more depressed.  We tried for 3 YEARS before I finally got pregnant again.  I worked out some while I was pregnant and then I stopped, pregnancy, work, money, all came down on me and I totally stopped focusing on my weight and my health.  I still ate relatively healthy for the baby but I wasn't active and I don't lose weight when I'm not active.  I became totally focused on my baby and lost track of me.  Well, baby is now over a year old :) life has settled down some, I finally fell secure in pretty much every possible way.  There is no better time to pick up my weightloss journey again.  So, I went back to Curves, back on Curves complete though my Curves no longer has the Curves Smart :( but I still have access to the recipes and of course I can still work out on all the machines.  I started the weekly meal plan on Monday so this is day 5 and so far so good!  I'm back on www.myfitnesspal.com and I'm also working on Couch to 5K.  Later today I'm going to the local YMCA to see about a membership there as well so I have somewhere to go on Sat. and Sun. when Curves is closed.  Plus, they have a pool :)  I know what to do, now I just have to do it and stay on the path!  Last time I did this I lost almost 50 pounds in 8 months so my goal is to do that again, by Feb. of 2017 I'll have lost 50 pounds or more.  Here we go!

265 - June 2016

Ignore Negativity

OMG!  So, yeah, you see that number on the right, the one in RED?  That number sucks!  Like, majorly SUCKS!!  That number is suppose to be green and usually I like to have a triple digit green number.  Well, NOT today!
I have found that one of the hardest things to do on this journey is to ignore all the negativity I come up against.  And, it is not just in weight loss but in EVERY aspect of my life (you like how I'm doing some words all CAPS?  I know you DO!)  It is so easy for me to get caught in that negative thinking.  The thinking that says "Awe, screw it!  Today was bad and tomorrow will be too.  Why not just give up and quit?  It is SO much easier!!"  or, not related to weight loss, "You got a not so perfect eval. that last time.  Why not just give up doing what you love and quit, go find something else to do?"
Every time I have this inner voice I have to fight it and I have to focus on the positive side of things.  Yes, today was bad, I made the wrong choices.  However, giving up and quitting?  That would be the WORST choice I could possibly make.  All I can do is move forward from now and make tomorrow awesome!  The same thing goes for the non weight related things too.  All I can do is move forward from today and make tomorrow awesome!  It has taken a lot to get me where I can say that and not wollow, too long, in self pitty and loathing.
So, let's dust off the past, move on from right now, and make tomorrow, or the next hour, or whatever, AWESOME!!

Help!

Sometimes we all need help.  I know it is very difficult to lose weight without a support system.  Even with a support system it is difficult if you are surrounded by people who have no clue what it is like to be overweight and try to lose it.

Here are some of my favorite things for support:

My Fitness Pal Communities and friends 
(BTW, Myfitnesspal.com is also a GREAT site to track calories!)

Facebook Groups and Pages:

Healthy Weight Loss & Dieting Tips

Fit for Change

Fat Girls Journey to Healthy Divahood

The Biggest Loser (also a rocking TV show on NBC)

Hungry Girl  (also a great TV show on FoodNetwork)

BelieveFit

Zumba Fitness

F.L.A.W.L.E.S.S

Curves of Pooler  I work out here :D (I also admin the page!)


I use all of these to help me stay motivated and moving toward my goal.  With so many pages on fitness my newfeed is FLOODED with healthy lifestyle tips, tricks, and examples!

Gaining while I Lose

Special K has a program known as the Gains Project and thier tag line for that project is "What will you gain when you lose?"  They've been running an ad campaign too that asks the same question.  My favoriate one is the one with the scales and rather than showing a number they show words like Joy, Confidence, Sass, etc...  I tried to find a YouTube clip of said commercial but nothing was cooperating :(

I know, some people may be like "Wait, didn't you just say no to fad diets?  Special K promises dropping 6 pounds in 2 weeks!  Hello, Fad Diet!"  Well, you are right and wrong there.  The Special K Challenge does say that, and yes I think the Special K Challenge is a fad diet and thus will not be participating in said challenge.  However, there are other aspects to Special K such as the Gains Project and they do have lots of yummy "diet" food like Protein Granola Bars (in my pantry), Special K Cracker Chips (SO yummy and I'm out right now dang it!), Special K Pastry Crisps (yummy snack one day last week), and others that I have never tried like Special K Brownie Bites, Cereal Bars, Shakes, and Water Mixes.


Anyway, back to the topic.  Gaining while I Lose:  There are SO many things I have gained while I've been on my journey and I'm not even half way done yet!  So far I have gained strength, courage, confidence, the ability to sit with my knees pulled up to my chest while still being able to breath!  I look forward to so many more gains as I continue to lose all this unnessary weight!  :-D  Now, what will you gain?

Fad Diets

Don't Work!

Welcome to Amercia where we want what we want and we want it NOW!  We want to have our Large Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese Meal and our bikini body too!!  And thus, we have fad diets.  The problem with fad diets is that they are FADS which, by definition, don't last long.  Most of the time once the diet is over individuals gain back all the weight they lost and sometimes more.  Now, we've probably all fallen victium to fad diets at one time or another, 17 Day Diet, Low Fat, Low Carb, Atkins, South Beach, Special K etc...  Part of the reason we like Fad diets is that they offer quick results, which is awesome!, however, the results don't last, which sucks :(  Usually "diets" in general don't work long term because most of them have you eat speical food, limit certian foods, or eliminate certian foods.  When the diet is over and you go back to eating "nomally" again all the weight comes back again.  I have found, for me, the best way to lose weight and keep it away is to completely change the way I think about food, nutrition, and diets.  I have had to have a COMPLETE lifestyle change not go on a diet for a week, a month, or a year.  Lifestyle is the key to weightloss not diets.