SURPRISE ! SURPRISE!

YESSS! I had to use red again , Why you may ask?

BECAUSE..... I LOST  8.6 POUNDS LAST WEEK!

Now you can not be as surprised as I was. I even made her weigh me twice because I thought I left a foot off the scale. I went in this week thinking of skipping weigh in because of hormonal fluctuations and water weight gain , if  you know what I mean. I just knew it would be a weight gain week. WOW! I am still shocked.

That brings me to 12.2 pounds lost in two weeks. That is only three pounds less than the total I lost during the Biggest Loser 15 week challenge last year at the Y. Of course , since then we have found out that I had a mass growing and some off base hormones which would have affected weight loss. Well the mass is gone and the other problem is being fixed, so yay!

It has not been that hard, really. I have to say the hard part is mindless eating at night. That has ceased but I have stocked up on spinach and eat steamed or spinach salad if I want to munch.

It is hard when I go to the grocery store and pass by my favorite cream filled cupcakes because they are delicious but not worth the points. It is harder when my nephew is with me and walks over to the cupcakes and says, " Becky they have your favorite cupcakes, I will get them for you." I have to tell him no and he does not understand why I can not have them. His young mind does not see me as being fat he sees me for who I truly am from the inside. If only adults could keep that mentality.

On with life, pray for me as I continue down this journey.

 

Tags: life, weight loss

Celebration Day

Celebrations, its ok to celebrate just dont over indulge. Just practice self-control and remember to save those splurges for special occassions ( birthday, weddings , showers, engagement parties,  etc... no, getting out of the bed on the first alarm ring is not reason to splurge but yeah you can celebrate) Ever wonder in America why everything we celebrate we reward ourselves with a party and food. Why not celebrate and buy a new outfit or shoes? Everything is food, food, food. No wonder we are obese.

I had a celebration today. I went to my brother's fiance's church today way out in the boonies. It was the day they were announcing their engagament to her church and having a small reception afterwards. The reception was just ham biscuits, cake and punch. If you are from Virginia though you know that a ham biscuit is not the traditional fat laden breakfast biscuit. A ham biscuit here is ham on a small dinner or yeast roll. So they were not that bad. I did have a piece of cake ( well it was a celebration) but did not know until I got home that piece of cake was 12 points. Yes, 12 points. As much as I love cake with icing, I have to say it was not worth my 12 points.

After the reception we went to her house where she had also prepared lunch, oh my. The rotissiere chicken was not bad but all she had was mayonnaise laden potato salad and broccoli salad. Needless to say by the time I made it home all of my daily points were used plus some. Thank goodness for the weekly bonus points. What I learned. Splurging so early in the day left me very hungry later in the day and no points left to have a decent meal.

I did pull out my George Foreman Walk It Off DVD and exercise for 30 minutes. I much prefer Walk Away the Pounds with Leslie Sansone but I could not find her DVD only her videos and my vcr is broke. The point is I did do something to burn off some of those calories. I am proud. I had a very light dinner too. I steamed spinach and ate a one point snack cake. Go me!

Another proud point today. I came home and prepared tomorrow night's dinner. Now I do not have to worry about where I need to get take out from to stay in my points.I made enough for two nights too. I can come home now after visiting my dad, eat my dinner and then go to the Y. Way to plan ahead. Go me again!

One more thing. I am feeling those stomach muscles that were cut for my surgery as I begin to become more active. Wow, it doesn't hurt but I know they are there now. I don't think carrying my 43 pound nephew today helped either. I can not wait to get back to normal.

Hope you enjoyed me venting and progress report.
Tags: life. weight loss, progress

You can do it eating out..

Had to use red font because you use red when you are in the hole.... I lost 3.6 pounds the first week of Weight Watchers and I did it by eating out.

The last few weeks have been such turmoil that I have had restaurant food at least twice a day. I did eat breakfast at home. I was glad that I bought the dining out guide at the first meeting. I am proud to say I stayed within my points every day. YAYYY!!!!!

Another proud moment for myself tonight. I have been wanting eggplant parmesan but did not want all the fat and points to go with it. This evening I came home and sauteed eggplant, onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Tossed it with italian bread crumbs and then baked it with spaghetti sauce for 15 minutes. I cooked only 2 ounces of whole wheat pasta. It was so delicious and healthy and low fat. UMMMH!

My favorite saying lately.... WAY TO GO ME!

Tags: life, diet

I Feel Great....

I feel great. I made time for me and went back to the Y tonight for the first time since before my surgery. I walked 35 minutes at a slow to moderate pace on the treadmill and did a little weight training. I want to keep this feeling.

I know I have a hard schedule with my dad being in the rehabilitation center after his fall. I try to go see him every night after work to encourage him. I have to remember I need "me time" to get fit and be healthy. I will not be able to help him in the future with his needs if I do not do something about my needs now.

I am so proud. Go me!

 Oh and I have kept to my Weight Watchers points for five days. Go me again!

 

 

Tags: life, exercise

When I cry for help...

When I cry for help Lord , I feel you are not there.

When I look back at the the turmoil, I know you were not only there but you are the one sustaining me, Lord.

It has been a tough few weeks and everyday I think things are getting better but some things seem to get worse. I have been asked how I have made it through the last few weeks. My phrase... You have to smile and walk on or sit and cry. I don't have time to sit and cry. 

 It is the Lord that has made me smile and face all the turmoil. Thank you Lord for being there, protecting me and providing strength. You are the reason I can smile and continue down the walk of life.

 

Back to weight loss. I am starting WW tomorrow despite all the things going on around me. I can not allow the circumstances around me to be excuses or a crutch not to do what I need to do. Tomorrow I will go to the meeting and on Monday I will work the Y back into my schedule somehow. Despite all my stops on the way home from work I will make time for me and exercise.  I have to get my physical body back into shape so that I can be a reflection of God.

Aside from Saturday night, I have not given in to stress eating. In fact, I have done the opposite by not eating at all to avoid stress eating. I need a happy balance.

Lord, I am still crying out, I still need your help and guidance. I know you will not leave me. You are my strength that keeps me together. I just need reminders along the way to stay focused on you. Thank you for your never ending love.

Tags: life, turmoil, spirituality

I changed my mind

I changed my mind. I am going to post about what I was proud of myself about. Last night I went to see The Bucket List ( great movie but a real tear jerker) at the local theater. My childhood best friend from my pool was in town so we went together.

When were younger she was on Jenny Craig and was always the one eating healthy while I got whatever I wanted. Last night was the opposite. She convinced me to get a large popcorn like her even though I was only getting the medium. I know, I know I should have been getting the small. Her winning argument was , it is only 75 cents more for the large. She also bought a large soda, 44 ounce. I am glad she was in front of me because I looked at her 44 ounce soda and was astonished at how much soda that was. Diet or regular soda that's a lot of carbonated soda. I just stared at it for a few moments thinking , "WOW". I decided on the medium soda and did not finish all of that by the end of the movie. Way to go me.

Why is this so exciting for me? Because at one time I could have drank a Super Big Gulp Pepsi without giving it a second thought. Now, no way no how. Furthermore I did not come anywhere close to finishing the popcorn either. Go me again. There was a time I could have eaten all of the large popcorn and the entire large soda. Now, no way no how.

I am so proud of myself but too bad I fell today with the nachos.

Tags: life, diet, pride

I really do try...

I was all excited to post about how my thoughts and choices about food were changing. Unfortunately I had a stressful situation today come up to add to all the things I have already been going through. I needed comfort food, cheese and crunch. So I went to the mexican restaurant and bought beef nachos and they were delicious. One problem though they did not take my stress away and were unnecessary calories to boot. It was the first fried food I have had in about two weeks , oops minus the fried chicken when we went through Lancaster in PA last week. I never eat fried chicken at home but it is so good at The Family Cupboard in Lancaster. I could not resist. That was a treat where the nachos were an emotional issue.

So I am not going to let this ruin my lifestyle changes. I will move on and succeed. We all fall but we have to get back up , brush off and keep going. That is what I am going to do. I need to learn how to manage stress without the help of food. Food does not make any emotion go away.

 

Tags: life, diet, stress

Fruit of the Spirit....Self Control

Self control...hmmh. OK Lord I am listening. This morning in one of our product presentations, the fruit if the spirit was mentioned. Self control was an emphasis for kids to behave and act right. It really made me ponder self control in my life in regards to food. Every time I overeat I am not using self-control and that is a sin. Think about it the very thing that I am trying to overcome causes me to be farther from God.

I wanted to post this before the devil helps me to forget. I will try to use God's word as a means to eat and do as I should. Use self-control ( not easy right now in chocolate world though) in all that I do. In my eating habits I can become closer to God by remembering his word...... Self Control

Tags: life, diet, self control

100TH POST ANNIVERSARY

HAPPY 100TH POST! Here is my 100 things about me list.

 

1. I am a Christian.

2. I am a preschool Sunday School Teacher.

3. I drive a Ford Focus.

4. I have dated three guys named Mike.

5. I am the youngest child.

6. I am my parent's favorite. HAHAH! Favorite youngest child, anyway.

7. I work in a Christian Bookstore.

8. I love my nephew.

9. I love my cat even more since we found him.

10. I am single, hopefully not forever.

11. I am an aunt.

12. I am a sister.

13. I am a daughter.

14. I am a granddaughter.

15. I am a niece.

16. I am a sister-in-law.

17. I am a great friend, is that bragging?

18. I twist my ankles when I am mad.

19. I am brunette by birth.

20. I am champagne blonde by Loreal.

21. I drive fast.

22. I drive fast in a red car.

23. I have earned two speeding tickets driving fast in my red car.

24. I love prime rib.

25. I love chocolate.

26. I love Stauffer's lasagne.

27. I love rice.

28. I love potatoes.

29. I love pasta.

30. I need to lose weight because of my love of the above items.

31. I stress eat which is another reason I need to lose weight.

32. I love my family.

33. I love my friends.

34. My mother is my friend.

35. My spiritual best friend is Jennifer.

37. We have been friends for 17 years.

38. My secular best friend is Kim.

39. We have been friends off and on for 19 years.

40. My childhood best friend from the pool is Aimee.

41. We have been friends for 27 years.

42. My childhood best friend from the neighborhood is Angela.

43. We have been friends for 34 years.

44. All of these friends called and contacted me during my recent surgery.

45. I will meet my middle school and college best friend, Melissa again in heaven one day.

46. I am an advocate for adoption.

47. I love "I Love Lucy".

48. I own all the I Love Lucy collector Barbie's.

49. I am working on owning the entire DVD series of I Love Lucy.

50. I own the whole collection of Little House on the Prairie Dvds.

51. I have been to the Bahamas twice on two cruises.

52. I have been to Mexico on a cruise.

53. I have been to New York at Christmas.

54. I have been to a Broadway show.

55. I have seen the Rockettes.

56. I have been the show after the show at the Rockettes, arguing with my crazy aunt.

57. I have been on the ferris wheel at the Toys R Us in New York.

58. I have been a mentor.

59. I have only lived in Virginia.

60. I suffer from migraine headaches.

61. I am a child of God.

62. I do not like talking on the phone.

63. I prefer to see the person I am talking to.

64. I can read a book upside down.

65. I am very sarcastic.

66. I like to people watch.

67. My all-time favorite movie is Dirty Dancing.

68. I graduated from Warwick High School.

69. I graduated from Thomas Nelson Community College.

70. I graduated from Christopher Newport University.

71. I love to watch airplanes take off.

72. I love to watch airplanes land.

73. I used to be a lifeguard.

74. I was a bookkeeper at Roses for five years.

75. I was a bookkeeper at HQ for almost five years.

76. I wear a size 12 women's shoe.

77. My favorite fruit is a banana.

78. I like them when they are still light green.

79. I ate so many as a child my cousin thought I was going to be a banana.

80. I am from Scottish heritage.

81. I have Canadian heritage too. 

82. I have visited over 20 states.

83. My childhood babysitter, Bev is not only my friend but she is like a second mom.

84. My dad and I have the same initials.

85. My grandfather has a nickname for me that only he can say.

86. I have a nickname for some family members but am not allowed to say them at all. :)

87. I love pedicures.

88. I am buried in debt.

89. I used to be a good bowler.

90. I used to be a good swimmer.

91. I played Varsity basketball ( at least pretended I could)

92. I hate to speak in public.

93. I collect Christmas ornaments from all the places I have been either on vacation or business.

94. I love a good shopping bargain.

95. I listen to country music and praise and worship.

96. My favorite verse is Jeremiah 29:11

97. I add, subtract and multiply the license plate numbers on cars when I am traveling.

98. I have a Marketing Degree.

99. One of my favorite colors is purple.

100. My pet peeve is wearing dark pants, dark shoes, dark shirt and white socks. AHHH, it drives me crazy.

 

 

WOW! This wasn't this hard. I will probably have more things come to mind that I did not post.

 

Anyway, I am off to Hershey, PA for a business trip for two days. WOOHOO! I am excited. NOT!

 

Tags: life, 100 things about me, 100th post

Much Anticipated 2

MUCH ANTICIPATED PICTURES 2

Central Park carriage ride. See there is my finger again. Out in the distance is the ice skating rink.

My mom, our carriage and our carriage driver.

The carousel at Central Park, out in the distance. Next time I will walk to some of these places. I can't use surgery as an excuse next time, I hope.

We took a tour of the United Nations building. This was a mosaic given to the United Nations from the USA. It is a Norman Rockwell print. Across it is printed, Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You. ( sorry I did not rotate it before saving it, just twist your head, hehehe)

Macy's windows. They were story boards in their windows. All I can say is the pictures do not do them justice. If you are from our area, these windows are Coleman's nursery nostalgia but better. I just needed the hot chocolate and the doughnuts to really get the atmosphere.

I am ready to go again next year. So many things to do. Anybody want to join me?

 

Tags: life, New York

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Much Anticipated......

MUCH ANTICIPATED NEW YORK PICTURES!

Bad Picture of the Rockefeller Tree. I forgot my good digital camera at home and had to buy a disposable camera in New York. I hope to get some from my cousin's digital camera that are better.

A few of the window displays at Sax Fifth Avenue.

Little Italy. Sorry about the finger in the picture. I am a beginner picture taker. What was so neat about New York is that they still have the local grocer, the local meat market and etc. You still walk everywhere and buy your goods from the family owned businesses. They don't have a Wal-Mart and don't want one. You buy only the groceries you can carry comfortably to your apartment. Most true Manhattaners do not own vehicles. It can cost up to 2 grand a month to park a car there. They just rent cars when they want to travel. Other than that they rely on the famous New York cabs and subway. We did take the Subway to Macy's. It was quite an experience. I had a pervert looking at me the whole way , licking his lips at me. I tried not to look at him but he was sitting right next to my mom and she kept talking to me.

My mom gave us all the best laugh of the trip. We decided to go to Macy's but were also hungry. Half of us were talking about transportation to Macy's and the other half were talking about food. My aunt's friend blurts out, "the subway is only two dollars." My mom responds, " I don't want to eat at Subway. I can eat there at home for $2.49." My cousins and I were laughing and snorting. She was thinking eating at Subway and we were talking about taking the subway to Macy's. By the way we went to Macy's and mom and I went to get New York Pizza afterwards. It was delicious.

Chinatown. This is where you haggle for bargains. I don't like to haggle just give me a fair price and I will pay it. I bought one postcard. Those vendors did try to sell me some cheap pocketbooks. I am not a name-brand person so personally I did not know what a Gucci looked like to begin with.

WTC site. I am speechless.

The American Express Tear Memorial. I posted about this a few posts ago.

The Toys R Us Ferris wheel. My cousin and I are on the Cabbage Patch car. Yes we fit that car. The two chubbies with the chubby cabbage patch car.

The M & Ms store at Times Square. Yes that is a gigantic M & M showing on the gigantic television screen.

 

 

Tags: life, New York trip