Splash day!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

I wrote this blog today and on the original at my actual blog, there are some photos. The blog I wrote yesterday is also there, and it's photos of me in my old clothes to show how large they are on me now. It was just too many to upload here and copying it over without the photos is kind of pointless, since the whole point of the blog is the photos. I've been really busy the last couple days, but if you want to check out my other blog, feel free. I can't post the link because of the rules here, but you can find it on my facebook page. I need to do more catching up tomorrow on my e-mails and everything.

Today was Splash Day at my daughter's school. She's in kindergarten, and it's a special day near the end of the year for all of the kindergarten classes (the other grades do field day in May). Jeff and I signed up to help out, so we got there a little after 8 this morning and went to the classroom. There were a lot of parents there helping out. That is one thing I love about my kids' school-most of the parents are involved and willing to help out.

Jeff and I had a group of 11 kids, and our job was to take them from station to station. There were 12 stations set up which were manned by different parents. They are all numbered and every 15 minutes the kids switch to a different station. They were all really fun, and included things like hot potato, hula hoops, getting to wash a truck, relays with water, splashing in pools and "fishing" for the sea animals, a treasure hunt, sidewalk chalk, and then every couple of ones was a snack station with water or an icee pop. A mom in our daughter's class does fake tattoos, and she had a station, which all the kids loved. I even got one as well. :)

It was a lot of fun and the kids were having a blast. We had a some issues with a couple kids not listening, but nothing major. It was super hot out, and by the end of it I had a big headache and was ready to come home. They have a picnic afterward, and you can choose to bring your child home early, so we did. I had to take a shower once we got home because I was so sweaty and gross. I have to douse myself in sunscreen so I don't burn, but then later I can't wait to wash it all off.

Once my son got home from school, we took the kids to Sweet Frog, which is a local frozen yogurt shop. We had enough punches on our card to get a free one, so that was awesome! Then we had to go to the store and get a couple things I forgot the other day, and by the time we got back home I felt SO tired. Being out in the heat for over 4 hours takes a lot out of you.

We'd made plans to eat out, and I was so glad because it was so hot today and I was in no mood to cook. We went to Q bbq and I love that place. The food is so good.

By the time we got the kids in bed I was ready to crash on the couch, but I wanted to wash all the dirty towels from today and do a few other things around the house. Tomorrow is a half day for the kids, and so is Friday, which is their last day of school. We go on vacation next week, and I can't wait.

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Just some thinking

Monday, June 10, 2013

I was doing a lot of thinking last night about stuff, and I just want to let you all know a few things.

1. I am not going anywhere. I value this site and the people here too much to leave. Unknowingly, I broke the rules (which in reading them I'm still confused a bit, but whatever, I removed my links to my personal blog).
2. I will still post my blogs (copy them over from my personal blog) but I won't always be including the photos if there are a lot of them. It's just too time consuming to upload and copy individual photos (which are mostly taken from my phone) here.
3. If you want to find me on facebook, just search for From Fat to Fit. Quite a few members from here have followed me there and liked my page. I try to post motivational things daily, I will post photos of meal ideas, or just anything else I think is helpful. It's a positive place for the most part and I enjoy having my "fans" to talk to each day.
4. I am also on Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram if anyone wants to follow me. I'm singingbird80 there.
5. There is a part of me that wants to be really angry that people are constantly trying to find things to pick at me about (I've been e-mailed that my diet is not healthy enough, that my pictures are fake, that I've had plastic surgery, etc), or to get me in trouble, but I am not that kind of person. I get upset for a bit, and I get over it. I have been through a lot in my life, and the reason I have made it through is because I have an unbreakable spirit. You can't beat a person down who refuses to give up.
6. My main concern in life is my family, specifically, my husband and 2 kids. They are the reason I do everything I do. So, if I am not able to be online sometimes, I haven't left, I am just busy. Writing blogs isn't that time consuming unless it's a long one with tons of photos, but it does take time to answer people individually, and lately it's averaging more than 100 messages a week that I'm getting. I don't want to leave anyone hanging, but I'm only human, so if I forget to answer your question, please let me know. You can e mail me at birdnerd80 at gmail dot com.
7. Thank you all for being my friends. I don't always have support in my "real life" so I have depended on all of you more than you know.

Have a wonderful day. I'm spending mine with my husband. I'm feeling a bit better, still coughing, but well enough to run a few errands. We are volunteering at my daughter's school party on Wednesday, so we've got to go out today and pick up the treats and things we are bringing.

I'm working a little project I plan on blogging about sometime in the near future. It's something pretty simple that I think anyone can do/make to help them on their "journey."

Thanks for reading and supporting me.

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Please read

Sunday, June 02, 2013

I just want to tell you all I have gotten so many positive and supportive e-mails, messages, and comments from many of you, and I truly appreciate it and have read every single one.

It was my intention to reply to everyone, but that is proving impossible. I have gotten more than 1,000 comments, e-mails and messages just on Sparkpeople, not to mention my on my facebook page, blog and regular e-mail.

If you had a specific question I didn't answer, feel free to send me a sparkmail. I tried to respond to anyone who had a particular question, but I know I probably missed a lot of them. It's been hard to keep up with since in the last week and a half I've gotten 3 popular blog posts. :)

I copy the link from my blogger blog, The Singing Bird, over here when I have a blog with more than 1 or 2 pictures, because it's just less time consuming and the pictures posted here don't come up with the same quality.

Again, thank you. I have read every single message or comment, and I am so grateful to see such kindness. I am so glad if even in some small way I can help or inspire you. You guys taking the time to comment here keeps me going in more ways than you know. There are definitely times I still struggle, and we all need all the support we can get.

I hope you all have a great day, and just remember no matter how much you feel like you're struggling, you can do it. Just don't give up and try to stay positive.

ETA: I was told that I have to remove the link to my blog, because I recently monetized it, and it's against the terms of service to have the link here, which I didn't realize. Thanks for understanding.

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The 160s!!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Yesterday I got into the 160s! I wrote a blog about it, complete with photos. Please check it out. :)


ETA: I was told that I have to remove the link to my blogger blog, because I recently monetized it, and it's against the terms of service to have the link here, which I didn't realize. Thanks for understanding. Feel free to follow me on facebook. I'm From Fat to Fit.

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Don't feel bad!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

I've been getting a tremendous amount of e-mails/comments lately from people. Most of them are so wonderful, so thank you! A lot of them say something along the lines of, "I wish I could be like you. You make me feel like a failure because I can't get myself in gear and lose this weight. I feel bad I don't eat as well as you. I don't know how to make the food you eat. I can't do the exercise you do. There is no one that can help me."

First of all, stop being so hard on yourself. I was once in a place where I had no idea what or how much I should be eating. I ate way too much (and a lot of unhealthy stuff), and that is why I was morbidly obese. I grew up in a family where we ate a lot of junk, so I've been overweight my whole life, so I know exactly how you feel, and I know that it's overwhelming, especially in the beginning.

You have to start where you are. You can't fast forward through this. There are no shortcuts or secrets. It's a learning process, and it takes time and patience. I'm not posting my meals to make anyone feel bad, so don't feel bad if you don't eat exactly how I eat, because I don't eat perfectly either. Every single one of my meals isn't perfectly balanced. Sometimes when we're running out of things, I try to make due with the food we have. I only started posting my meals on From Fat to Fit because I got so many people asking me what I ate, so I thought it would be the easiest way to show everyone, and that maybe it would give people ideas.

Most of the food I make isn't too complicated or time consuming. If something feels incredibly difficult and you're spending forever to make each meal, you aren't likely to stick with it, are you? So, over the last 3 years I've just gotten practice at putting meals together, so now I have certain staples I always buy at the store. Think of things you like to eat, and make a shopping list based on that. Now that I've been doing this a while, I know the amount of produce to buy that will feed us, so I rarely have stuff go bad. Spend some time when you have it looking up healthy recipes on Sparkpeople or Pinterest, and then take your time at the grocery store and see what meals you can come up with. You don't have to eat what I (or anyone else) eat if you don't like it. Just eat what you want, eat as healthy as you can, and count the calories for it. You can use Sparkpeople, do Weight Watchers or a manual food journal. But, you have to be accountable for what you eat. People don't get overweight unless over time they are consuming more calories than their body needs.

I've read it on numerous weight loss blogs I visit, and it's a notion I completely agree with myself, and it's that you have to make changes that you are willing to do forever. It really does have to be a lifestyle change. You can't eat salad and grilled chicken and vegetables all week and binge eat and drink every weekend and lose weight. You need to find balance, and it is not going to happen overnight.

As far as exercise goes...

I realize that not everyone can run. They might be too out of shape, or have a knee or back issue, or whatever. So, don't run if you don't want to. It's just what I do. It's ok to do exercise that you are comfortable with. I started out walking, because that's about all I could do at the time. I didn't belong to a gym or own a treadmill. So, I walked. And as you do it, you get faster and are able to walk for longer periods of time. Again, fitness can't be rushed. It's a process, and your body has to adjust and you have to keep doing it. People ask me all the time, "How can you run like that?" The answer is, because I run. I started off small, worked my way up to it, and kept doing it.

With all that said, you do need to push yourself. If you are walking and it's too easy, walk faster. You should be a little out of breath and sweating. It's supposed to be challenging to do a workout. Pushing past your comfort zone is what changes you and makes your body stronger. However, you don't need to kill yourself and spend hours a day working out.

Before I started losing this weight 3 years ago, I tried lots of ways to lose weight. I'd lose some weight, but I'd always give up and gain it back. The reason I gave up is because I was trying to do things that were not balanced. I was trying to eat extremely low calories, exercise like crazy, and never allowed myself any junk at all. When you feel deprived, it makes it hard to stay on track. Now that I'm more balanced, I've gradually lost weight, and kept it off.

Losing weight is a mental battle, and it's one you've got to fight every single day. I still struggle all the time, but I don't give up. Just know that you do have it in you. I never believed I did, but when I started telling myself that I would not give up, and I'd keep trying, it made me realize that I did have it there all along.

Stop telling yourself you can't do it. If you repeatedly tell yourself you can't do something, you never will. Start saying, "I will." Even if you can't do certain things yet, keep working toward them. No one just goes out and runs a marathon, they train--for a long time--to be able to do it. And, try not to compare yourself to other people. I know it's hard, because I still find myself doing it from time to time. We all have our own lives and difficulties, and are fighting our own battles. The truth is that some people do have to work harder to lose weight. It's unfair, but it's how it is. It doesn't mean it can't be done though.

Do this for yourself. You can't lose weight to please anyone but yourself. The truth is that you're the only one with the power to change you. You may not have someone to work out with, but you've got people (like me) who will try to help you, and you can't use other people as an excuse to do, or not to do something. Once you start eating better and exercising, you will feel better. You will have energy, and it will transform your whole life. I know, because it happened to me. I am just an ordinary wife and mother who decided she wanted to be healthy. Now that I am, I would not trade it for anything.

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