Restart ... Refocus ... here we go!

Monday, May 20, 2013

For the past month I have been just coasting along. Kind of eating right, kind of exercising, kind of thinking of my health.

I need to stop doing things:



Maybe I needed a break? Maybe I am weak? Maybe I am lazy?




I could give you lots of "excuses" and "reasons" ...



I am looking forward to "Back to basics" and preparing for the start of BLC22!

Restarting today

Spark on ~ Cookie

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Happy Mother's Day to ALL you Moms out there!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

I hope you ALL have a beautiful day

Spark on ~ Cookie

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One year with Spark!

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Today I am celebrating my



Today is also my "weigh in" day and I lost 3.5 pounds this week. In total I have lost 38.5 since I started "sparking"!!

I didn't start sparking a year ago though, I tried ... had a little success and then I ran into some health issues and lost my "spark"

For me it has always been about the mindset ... getting to that place where I know I can do it and I am ready to DO IT!

That day came on January 2, 2013 as that is my son's birthday and he and I made a "pact" that we were going to lose weight and get healthy. He joined a Crossfit place where he goes to college and I saw the BLC21 and signed up for that (officially started January 16, 2013). To date I have dropped 38.5 and he has lost a bit more!

So here's to Year #2 ... let's toast to that!

Spark on ~ Cookie

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A trip to the dark side ...

Friday, April 26, 2013

When I first started on Sparkpeople I was trying to find an "image" that I felt would best represent me and where I was with my health for my profile picture.

For a long time I chose:

An image that was truly me ... someone who always battled with the input of the little devil and angel on my shoulder. I was able to block out the "devil" (negative) and even changed my profile picture to one of strength, originally done from part of a challenge for the BLC21 but I liked it ... and I felt it!

The BLC21 finished and we went right into a "No break" challenge ... however that negative voice got a bit stronger again and said ... oh you need a break, you "deserve" a break. I succumbed to that voice and ate some things I had been avoiding. One of the things we worked on this week in the Camo No break challenge was trial and error. Well I sure confirmed to myself that I don't do sugar very well.

It started with a java chiller from Sonic (only the small size mind you and no whip cream)

I thought I could handle this ... hmm. Let me "rewind" a bit and tell you about my love of coffee. I know I drink too much and I am currently weaning myself down to a reasonable amount per day. So this "treat" was at the end of the day and I didn't eat any dinner to make up for the calories that were in it.

So next day ... I have my usual coffee, I head off to a meeting with a person to discuss blueprints for a project I am working on. A project that was started many months ago and has been stressful. So now I have more stress because of what we still have to do on the project to get the necessary approval.

My coworker invites me to lunch ... I do okay at lunch (take some of it home and avoid dessert). On the way home ... the "deserving" devil thinks that one donut will be okay ... as I drive right by a little donut shop on the way home. I dredge up $1.00 from my car and go in to get my donut.

So I am thinking ... I just won't eat dinner again to make up for the donut when I get home. I also think "I will just finish this lunch that I brought home" ... then I really won't be hungry. So I head off to pick up my DS15 and other kids that I take to swimming ... drive my 90 mile round trip and as I am heading back home I am thinking I really "deserve" some dinner and I think I can handle a java chiller (again) and some popcorn chicken too.


So my mind is looking for a solution to this stress and emotional mess ... maybe some chocolate chips and Cracklin' Oat Bran (love this combination) I used to eat it and I felt okay ...



Well, that wasn't the case. All that caffeine and sugar played havoc with my emotions and I was really down and totally overwhelmed with everything that was/is going on with my life. I am sure that hormones played a part in this mess also. I looked up sugar and depression and guess what ... sugar and caffeine are #1 and #2 on this article's list on anxiety and panic attacks:

voices.yahoo.com/three-foods-shown-t
rigger-anxiety-panic-attacks-466762.ht
ml?cat=70

I posted a status update the other day regarding my overwhelmed feelings and I REALLY appreciate all the positive support that I got. I am climbing out of the hole (dark side) and muzzling the voice.

One really good thing is that this week for our Camo "No Break" challenge one of the areas to work on is sugar avoidance ... how timely for me! You can bet I will be all over that.

Here is another great article regarding sugar and carbs and how they can affect you. www.maximizedliving.com/Home/Maximiz
edLivingBlog/tabid/772/Article/762/ref
ined-sugars-carbohydrates-can-cause-de
pression.aspx

My spark is back and I am taking the steps to make sure that I don't go back down that black hole again. Thankfully even though I ate so poorly this past week my weight stayed the same probably due to all the intense yard work I have been doing. I am trying to look at this as a positive and not that I wasted 2 weeks. It is all part of the journey of discovery, right?

Spark on ~ Cookie

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Results from BLC21: Final Weigh In

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Today was our final WI for the BLC21. We took our final measurements and overall I lost 12 inches.

The challenge didn't officially start until the 16th of January but after I saw this picture taken at a Christmas brunch ... I had to do something!


This picture was truly eye opening and my friend had posted it on my Facebook page. I about cried when I saw it. I knew I had reached a new all time high but OMG this was the reality that I needed ... a visual of what others saw.

So on January 2nd I committed to a healthier lifestyle and made a goal to lose 120 pounds by my 54th birthday which is 7-1-2014. I have been able to get rid of 35 pounds since that date!

Here are some Before & After minus 35 pound pictures




They say a picture is worth a thousand words ... so not much more to say about them

I have learned a lot so far and I have learned that I CAN do this. I still have a long way to go and lots of areas to work on. One important thing I learned was that I couldn't have done this without Sparkpeople ... which to me is all you wonderful 's out there who just seem to know when I need a little encouragement or I need to be "brought back" into the fold of health.



I look forward to BLC 22 which starts June 5th! But in the meantime there is plenty of "work" to be done ...

Spark on ~ Cookie

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