Just a thought!

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Just something I found and wanted to share with you guys! This is so true! We might not be where we want to yet, but that shouldn't stop us from loving our bodies, flaws and all!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

LIZBIZ9 4/4/2012 8:34AM

this is definitely true! Sometimes hard, but necessary! Report Inappropriate Comment

IUHRYTR 4/3/2012 6:48PM

WHQPHQ's reply hit it on the head. Thanks for the reminder. -- Lou Report Inappropriate Comment

LIZ1147 4/3/2012 5:10PM

Thanks for sharing that! It is so true! Report Inappropriate Comment

WHQPHQ 4/3/2012 3:08PM

I think we are harsher to ourselves than we would ever be about a friend who looked the same. Love love love! Report Inappropriate Comment

My day in pictures :)

Monday, April 02, 2012

When I woke up, I made myself a healthy breakfast. Low-fat vanilla yogurt, fruit muesli and 10 (I counted!) seedless grapes. Delicious!



For lunch, I had a tomato and cheese sandwich with a hard boiled egg and half a banana for dessert :)



I then got ready to go to my sister's art school's gallery opening, and ended up choosing this outfit:



It was great seeing my sister and her beautiful paintings. One of them is in the background of this picture:



I even found a couple of pictures of myself at the gallery! I modeled for my sister's photography project last fall, and she ended up choosing two pictures for the art show.



By the time we got back home it was getting late and it had started to rain. I really didn't feel like going for a walk but - AS PROMISED! - my fiancé Tommi and I went for a short walk before dinner. No workout clothes but at least I got some walking done :)



I forgot to take a picture of my dinner! :( I had some dark spaghetti with some delicious tomato sauce & fresh mushrooms and zucchini. I had a tangerine for dessert!

All in all, a fun and healthy day!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

FIERCE_FABULOUS 4/11/2012 1:01PM

you wear the cutest outfits!! and the food you eat sounds so delicious and different. you look so pretty, wtg! Report Inappropriate Comment

MAGGIEX3UK 4/4/2012 10:50AM

I really enjoyed reading this blog and looking at all the pictures. Your food looks delicious and your sister is an amazing artist Report Inappropriate Comment

ZIGZAG123CC 4/3/2012 3:47PM

I wish I could dress myself as fashionably as you do! Report Inappropriate Comment

WHQPHQ 4/3/2012 11:39AM

I love food blogs! =) Your outfits are amazing, I love wearing skirts and yours are really cute! Report Inappropriate Comment

IUHRYTR 4/2/2012 8:57PM

This was a fun read, Annie. Makes me feel a part of your day. Thanks. -- Lou Report Inappropriate Comment

LIZ1147 4/2/2012 6:01PM

That tomato and cheese sandwich looks tasty...I'm definitely going to have to try that sometime, considering I love both. Love your outfits in the pictures! Super cute! Report Inappropriate Comment

LUCYGODDESS 4/2/2012 3:58PM

Enjoyed seeing your day "in pictures." You did fantastic today!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

ONUTHIN125 4/2/2012 3:53PM

Spark On! Report Inappropriate Comment

Week 6 recap and goals for April!

Sunday, April 01, 2012

This past week will go down in history as the week I finally got my act together, regrouped, and refocused.

I felt discouraged a week ago on Sunday night after a weekend of lots of unhealthy eating and very little exercise. I made a conscious decision to not let it get to me but make the most of the many weeks ahead of me. I stopped my downward spiral and turned it into an upwards spiral (just read about this in The Spark, by the way!) and I'm so glad I did because I now feel amazing.

I am more confident now that I can turn my life around than ever before. I know that taking those small steps will eventually lead me into a whole new place, a place I've never been to before. I'm not in a rush. I want to take my time on this path, take in the scenery and make new discoveries. And then, when I eventually reach my destination, I won't be burned out or stressed. I'll be happy, healthy and ready to enjoy my new life.

I can't believe it's April already!! Spring is here and it makes me so happy. My goals for April are:

- Keep tracking my meals and exercise at least six times per week, preferably every day.
- Take a walk every day. No matter how short, just go outside and move!
- Keep drinking that water!
- Do at least 10 minutes of strength training three times per week.
- Eat at least 5 servings of fruit and veggies a day.
- Finish reading The Spark.
- Try at least 4 new recipes in the SparkPeople Cookbook.
- Lose 7-8 pounds

I am so motivated! I added some 'before pictures' on my SparkPage yesterday and as I went through them, all I could think about eventually being able to make one of those before/after compilations!!! I already have one in mind.

I hope you all had a relaxing weekend! I'm ready for a new, healthy week! Are you with me??

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

WHQPHQ 4/2/2012 2:48PM

Excellent goals, you can do it! Report Inappropriate Comment

IUHRYTR 4/1/2012 11:17PM

Goo going for not letting one or two off days in all the rest of the days in your life get you down. Your goal of a walk every ay is admirable. -- Lou Report Inappropriate Comment

CANES4EVER63 4/1/2012 4:57PM

Congrats on making all of those awesome goals (and not getting discouraged after last weekend!)! I'm sure you'll be able to stick with them!! And I'm also looking forward to making a before and after! I can't wait for it! For me, it's quite motivational to think about being able to do that and being a success story! Good luck with April!! Report Inappropriate Comment

SADIQAH 4/1/2012 4:29PM

Congratulations! Your post is inspiring & encouraging. Report Inappropriate Comment

The Curve Appeal!

Saturday, March 31, 2012

There was a time in my life when I honestly believed I needed to be a size 0 to be considered beautiful or ‘perfect’. I was so obsessed with changing my entire body and morphing it into what I assumed was expected of me that I eventually lost sight of what was real and important. I became obsessed with being thin when I was only 11 years old. I was a cute, normal weight child and there was no reason for me to feel fat at all. But I did. I felt like I wasn’t good enough. I saw pictures of skinny models in glossy magazines or on billboards and grew up thinking that was what I should look like. This went on for years and when I turned 14, I was so caught up in becoming ‘perfect’ that I resorted to unhealthy methods. I ate way too little and worked out too much, and then binged for days and felt so bad for being ‘just me’. I dreamed of looking like those models on the pages of my fashion magazines. Ignoring the fact that I was short and curvy, I had endless day dreams about suddenly turning into a tall, skinny, giraffe-like creature with flawless skin and glossy hair.

Looking back, I feel bad for that girl now. I wish I could go back in time and tell her that she is perfect just the way she is. Because she was! I was. I’m so happy that I no longer hate my body or the way I am built and instead have found ways to embrace it! I am now very happy to say that I love my body. I love its countless amazing functions and I’m so grateful for my health. Instead of looking at my thighs and thinking they look fat (like I used to) I now think they look strong and that I’m so lucky to have two healthy legs that carry me where ever I want to go. I love my curves and no longer dream of thighs that don’t touch or visible rib bones like I once used to. My goals used to be so unhealthy and so very unrealistic. These days, my main goals are health and happiness in all aspects of life. It’s not a certain number or a certain size, it’s more of a state of mind. Confidence, happiness, health, strength. I do want to get fitter and lose some weight by living a healthy lifestyle, but I’m no longer obsessed with being ‘perfect’. As if there was such a thing as perfection! We are all perfect. All healthy bodies are perfect bodies. We need to take care of ourselves and love our bodies and nurture them instead of hoping every second of every day that they were different.

My goals are definitely different from what they were a few years ago. I love my curves and never want to lose them even if I lose weight. I remember hating my body so much that I avoided mirrors everywhere I went – and this was even when I was thin! I remember weighing 110 pounds and feeling miserable because I thought every single thing about my body and my face was wrong. And now, at 178 pounds, I feel beautiful, confident and sexy. I look in the mirror and see a strong, beautiful body instead of those countless flaws I used to pick on. It took me more than ten years and a 80-pound weight gain to realize that there is actually nothing wrong with my body. How ironic!

Just goes to show that beauty definitely is not a number. It’s a state of mind! :) And we are all beautiful in our own, unique way! No matter what weight or what size. We just need to love ourselves and treat our bodies with care and respect, and all else will eventually fall into place.







I'm so happy that plus size models are becoming more and more popular these days and super skinny models are slowly becoming a thing of the past. I wish that there had been more women like the beautiful, curvy ladies in the pictures above (Mariesther Venegas, Denise Bidot and Kris Yeo) gracing magazine covers back when I was 13. Maybe things would have turned out a little differently, who knows!

NOTE: I think it's ridiculous that those models are considered to be 'plus sized' by the fashion industry when they clearly are not. It's just so distorted! Sigh.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

BOVEY63 3/31/2012 7:44PM

Awesome blog - you are obviously beautiful on the inside as well as outside! Report Inappropriate Comment

TKDEAL76 3/31/2012 6:58PM

You echo my feelings and thoughts exactly. I will never understand just WHY it took so long to love me and accept me for me, but I am certainly cherishing the feeling now. Great blog post! Amazing job! Tam Report Inappropriate Comment

IUHRYTR 3/31/2012 5:54PM

Self-acceptance is a goal many people never reach so it is to your credit that you have changed your attitude about what you want to be and who you are. This is something I am struggling with and received strength from reading your story. Stay focused and keep reaching for the new person you now envision. You can do this Annie. You have come so far already. -- Lou Report Inappropriate Comment

PCOLAGATOR 3/31/2012 11:14AM

I love this. There are too many women who have "perfect" bodies that are still so unhappy with what they have. I love my curves and wouldn't want to have a thin very straight body. If only plus sized models were actually a little closer to plus sized. I'm sorry but a 5'11 size 8 woman is not plus sized. Report Inappropriate Comment

Lost 1 pound this week!!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Yay for me! I started this week with such determination to do better, AND I HAVE! Last weekend was so unhealthy and made me feel really bad physically and emotionally. I promised myself to do better this weekend, and so far, I'm doing great :)

I stayed within my calorie range today, which is very rare for me. Usually, when Friday rolls around I get in a completely different mindset. I get cravings because I'm so used to getting my weekend fix, but today I decided: NOT THIS TIME! I made a conscious decision to skip the usual Friday night chocolate/ice cream/pizza while watching a movie, and I felt so good about myself afterwards!! Because I felt like I was in complete control of my actions and that it was MY decision whether or not I would eat the chocolate bar I had right there in front of me, it didn't even feel difficult to say 'No thank you'!

I thought about how it would look like on my tracker. I would go over my calorie limit and probably feel bad for doing so. I weighed my options carefully and honestly, and much to my surprise, it was very easy to say no. And such a confidence boost as well!

I weighed myself this morning and I have now lost another pound :) I'm now down to 180 pounds and have lost a total of 13 pounds! I'm determined to stay on the right track all weekend so I can get out of the 180's for my next weigh in.

I hope you're all having a great day!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

WHQPHQ 3/31/2012 6:46AM

Well done! I'm 1lb down this week too, those 1lbs all add up! Report Inappropriate Comment

WALKINGRED 3/30/2012 5:38PM

Keep up the GREAT work!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

ONUTHIN125 3/30/2012 5:12PM

Spark On! Report Inappropriate Comment

MAKI34 3/30/2012 4:45PM

Hurray! Keep it up, the more you do it the easier it'll get! Report Inappropriate Comment