First of all the O. Community Weigh Loss Challenge. Today was my weigh in day for it and I was excited and nervous. I walked in and immediately the receptionist said, "I know you and you look slimmer! All that hard work is paying off." The took my after picture and I went to the scale. On the scale I didn't like what I saw because on my scale it said 262. Of course with my scale I had just my birthday suite on. Their scale said 265. Boo!!! Really it makes sense, my shoes weigh two pounds add the clothes and there you go, three pounds. Oh well. So, from their Challenge I started out at 281 and went to 265. A loss of 5.41%. This puts me in the running for money. I knew I was going to get money. This is awesome! The lady that was weighing me said I did wonderful and asked me what I did. I told her that I use Sparkpeople, the Kinect games, and WATP. On the 6th we have an Award Assembly at the Hospital. I'm going to get money!!!

I asked the lady that was in charge of the scale, if many people have made it to 5%. She said yes, a lot of people have. So now that I know that I know I didn't make the $500 but that's okay. This was to get me started on the right path of my weight loss and health plan. I figured since I'm doing a health plan I might as well sign up for this to encourage me to lose weight. It has! It has served its purpose. I'm very excited about it. It was funny because when I was doing the scale and measurements all eyes were on me. I don't know why but it was kind of exciting and fun.

Next I went in to get myself measured. These are the results:
1/6/12:....................3
/31/12
Chest 53.75...............Chest 50.5
Waist 53.5.................Waist 48.5
Hips 60......................Hips 56.75
Arm 15.5...................Arm 14
Thigh 30....................Thigh 28

That is a loss of 18.5 inches off of my body! This has been extremely successful!

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Medium Term Reflection:

Okay, a quarter of the year is over. Can you believe it? I can't. It really has gone by quickly. It's now time to see how far I've come. Since the beginning of my journey this year I started out on Jan. 1, 2012. It wasn't a new years resolution, I just figured it was the beginning of a month and I'm ready to start, especially since my progress with the Physical Therapist happened. It was a turning point for me and an amazing start to my journey. I started out at the highest most horrible weight I've ever had, 287. A quarter of a year later and I'm 25 pounds lighter, at 262. This is a huge accomplishment and I'm very pleased with the results. That's 25 pounds in three months.

My Medium term goal was:

~~MEDIUM TERM GOALS:~~
1. I will lost 29 pounds by March 31st 2012.

I didn't make it but I was very close and honestly, that goal was really kind of a high expectation. I just was hoping to make that for the weight loss challenge I was doing. I knew if I met my 10% goal that I'd win the $500. Really I'm only 4 pounds away from my 10% goal and Medium Term Goal. This is amazing. Looking back I've lost 8.3 pounds month on average. That is about 1.9 pounds a week I've lost in these 13 weeks. So even though I didn't make my Medium Term Goal I still count this as a major accomplishment.

Now it's time to make my Medium Term Goal.

~~MEDIUM TERM GOALS:~~
1. I will lost 25 pounds by June 30st 2012.

That is a loss of 2 pounds a week. I think it is possible and I'm going to give it my best. I came up with it because at this rate 25 pounds every three months will help me with my goals of losing 70 pounds this year. At this rate I'll be losing 100 pounds by the end of the year.

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Short Term Reflection:

March is soon to be over. My third month on my health plan. I made short term goal for the month and now it's time to reflect upon them.

~~SHORT TERM GOALS:~~
1. I will lose 8 pounds from Mar. 1st to Mar 31st, 2012.

Reflection: I didn't lose 8 pounds this month. I've lost 7 pounds. I was very close to my goal but this month I had a week where I didn't lose anything and maintained. I think that might have affected my outcome this month. Still a lost of 7 pounds this month is good.

2. I will eat slowly. Put down my fork or spoon between bites.

Reflection: I've been making sure to eat slower and take my time. i haven't been able to some of the time but most of the time I have. I've been aware of my food and what I'm putting into my body.

3. I will go on neighborhood walks at least 3 x wk.

Reflection: The weather is very interesting. I didn't go for as many walks as I'd like but I have been out walking. I wish the weather was better so I can go on more walks. I'm for sure going to have this as my goal again. It is something that needs to be worked on, both for the weather and for me to get out.

4. I will exercise 45 minutes, 5 days a week.

Reflection: I've totally accomplished this goal. I am putting in two hours 5 to 6 days a week. I've totally out did myself. It's nice to see me accomplish this.

So looking over my Short Term Goals now is the time to make short term goals for April. My fourth month in my health plan, my 91st day of my health plan.

~~SHORT TERM GOALS:~~
1. I will lose 8 pounds from Apr. 1st to Apr. 30st, 2012.
2. I will increase my strength training by being more focused and heavier weights.
3. Exercising early in the morning.
4. I will go on neighborhood walks at least 3 x wk.
5. I will exercise 2 hours, 5 to 6 days a week.

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Reflection for Week Thirteen:

It seems like there is a lot of reflection going on today but that is only because I'm at the end of my Medium term goal and short term goal. Normally this is the regular routine part of my reflection.

Goal 1: Eat between 1710 and 2060 calories per day. I’m really aiming for 1800 to 1900 calories a day. I will measure and track all my foods be in the range of 1800 to 1900.

Reflection: I've been doing very well with staying in range and I'm sticking with this for the next three months. I'm very please with this and it's been working well.

Goal 2: Make a new healthy recipe this week. I will plan a few recipes that my son and I haven't had and make three of them this week.

Reflection: I've made a healthy recipe with fish. My son really liked it a lot. I think I will make that part of our weekly menu.

Goal 3: Walk the dog each day. I will take Cura Bean out on a walk on days that the weather will be kind.

Reflection: I need to work on this more but the weather has a lot to do with this. So I'm hoping that things will work out soon.

Goal 4: Lose 2 pounds by the end of this week. I will exercise, track calorie in-take, and make healthy choices to meet my goal of 2 pounds.

Reflection: This week I've lost three pounds. This is good because last week was a maintain. Yippy! I just need to keep this up!

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Five things I'm grateful for:

1. Possibilities.
2. Good Vibes.
3. Mistakes. We learn from them.
4. Change. It's scary and exiting.
5. Moving Forward.