EARLY SPRING

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Punxsutawney Phil~~Official word from Phil, "Enough is enough. Spring is just around the corner"

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February 2~~Groundhog Day

Monday, January 31, 2011

I was born, raised and lived in Punxsutawney PA for 39 years. The legend and the excitement of Groundhog Day was a REALLY big deal for the town. Literally thousands of people journey there to see and hear what Phil has to say on February 2.

This year I am saying, "PLEASE, Phil, enough is enough." It is going to be a cloudy, snowy day, DON'T see your shadow and offer us hopes of an early spring.

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Is it really true??

Friday, January 28, 2011

Last year in January I weighed 304 pounds. The picture of me with my beautiful granddaughter on her wedding day was the June before but I weighed even a little bit more at that time.

The other picture is in October and I had lost about 80 pounds. As I look at these two pictures I am amazed. I have read so many success stories and seen testimonials of people who lose 100+ pounds and thought "Why can't I do that?" I would try and fail and try and fail and it seemed with each failure it seemed more and more that it was something I would never do.

Even my first year with Sparks was up and down. But last year in January I started a Bible study that was to do while working to lose weight and everything started to click for me. I have said this before, that God has been my source of strength but I do not try to push my beliefs on anyone. But I feel that I do need to give Him the glory in my case.

The other source of strength and encouragement has been my Spark Friends. They NEVER let me give up and when month after month I would post with no real progress, the love and friendship was always there. I started counting my days like the Sparkbook friend of Chris did. I went back to tracking food and week after week I started to see the pounds drop. NOT fast but consistantly. Then I started to exercise. Five minutes, then ten minutes and finally up to 45 minutes a day~~sometimes even an hour. I joined the gym and started water aerobics and working with a trainer. (I still don't LOVE exercise) But it is just as important as the food planning for me to live a healthy new life. And then I started joining some challenge teams~~WOW! They not only became great motivations for me but I met some fabulous new friends.

Today I have been looking back over this year and I keep saying, "Is it really true?", am I going to be one of those success stories? And my answer is YES!! Thirty nine pounds to go and with God and my Spark friends it IS going to happen.

So this is one big thank you to God, Sparkfriends, and my family. And what is coming true for me can come true for you too!! Believe it!!

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Victory

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

I have really taken some time to look back and see where I was last year at this time and where I am today.

I have learned a lot about myself this year. I am an emotional eater and also when I am tired I tend to "graze". Losing weight is a full time job. It takes lots of planning and dedication. There are always choices to make and we are the only one that can make those choices good ones.

In my many years of starting Jan 1 to lose the weight "this year' I have always focused on the food. But exercise is just as important for me. I had tons of excellent resources but never applied them for any length of time. I had a ton of excuses as to why I couldn't stay on my program this one time. But those all turned into next week, next month, and back to Jan. 1~~next year.

When I finally realized there is no "good" excuse for putting off getting healthy I started counting my days of success like Sparkguy's friend in the book did. Each added day was exciting. And I found that I didn't want to stop counting those good days~~unhealthy habits were suddenly not that interesting any more. And then my small clothes started fitting, I actually started to like exercising, and I felt SO good.

We are fast approaching another Jan 1~~this time I am almost 90 pounds lighter. I still have 40 pounds to reach my goal weight of 175 but I have no doubt that I will do it.

I do have to confess that from Thanksgiving through Christmas I let some of those old mind games creep in and have been up and down and back up three pounds again. So I am not waiting until Jan 1. Yesterday I planned my menu for the week, back to tracking food every day, back to the gym for water aerobics and strength training AND started my Days of Success once again.

Today is Day #2 and all I see ahead is~~VICTORY!! Sparkpeople has given me the tools and the Lord has given me the strength. What a great year it is going to be!!

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WHY I WANT TO LOSE MY WEIGHT

Thursday, December 02, 2010

I wrote this blog a while back for another team challenge stating five things that motivate me. I read it over this morning and they are still the reasons I want to keep going. I have now lost 86 pounds and will keep going until I reach my goal weight of 175. I am looking forward to being a part of the winter challenge and learning some new ways to keep motivated for the last part of my journey!!

The following five things are what keep me motivated for each and every day and are also my reasons for wanting to reach my goal weight:

1) Spiritual~~I start each day with prayer and since realizing I have a real lifetime journey ahead of me to get fit and stay fit I am trusting God to help me with each and every facet of my daily life. When I am spiritually at peace my whole world is at peace.

2)Emotional~~I am an emotional person. For the good, bad and the ugly. I wear my heart on my sleeve and try very hard to believe there is good in everyone. I am often hurt and disappointed and then all kinds of emotions take over and can make a disaster out of my healthy living plans. But food does NOT heal emotions. We may feel better for a while with all those wonderful comfort foods but then the guilt and "not again" starts the cycle all over again. I want to be healthy emotionally too. Fill my mind with good thoughts and positive things. Try to live my life in a way that I can show integrity, love, and joy. Again it is a daily committment.

3)Physical~~We have been given one body at birth and what we do to that body is our choice. I have been very bad to my body for many years by eating all the wrong foods and not exercising it. Each day I am learning how good it is to eat the right foods and to keep getting stronger and stronger. I don't think exercise will ever make my Top 5 Pleasures in Life but as I am seeing results in my apperance and energy levels it is something I will continue to do and increase for the rest of my life.

4)Family~~I raised my four children alone after losing my husband in a car accident and I saw the worry, pain, and sadness in their faces as I had allowed myself to creep over that 300 pound mark. I cannot tell you the joy it brings me to hear their excitement, love, and encouragement as they check on me each week to see how things are going. My dh is so proud of me too and even though I always felt loved it is nice to feel respected for the choices I am making.

5)Friends~~I could not keep going without the love and support of my friends. Especially those I have made on Sparks. For over 7 months I did nothing but lose and gain the same pounds. But I kept posting each day to my teams and always got encouragement and love. Sparks is a real gift to me and I tell everyone I meet that it is the best of all online groups!

So these are my five motivations. I am sure the same that many of you have as well. I am choosing each morning to make this" one day" a great day and no matter what happens around me I can choose to be good to my body.

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