JESSIHOVER2's SparkPeople Blog

Life gets Busy!

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:55:23 EST

Mother's Day was awesome! I was waited on all day, I laid out in the sun (for WAY TOO LONG) and ate. It was nice, relaxing and was exactly what I was needing.

(Mother's Day Dress)

I did have to deal with a wicked sunburn all week, thanks to my 2 hours in the sun, and it was horrible putting on my workout clothes, but I did it anyways. I have started my morning runs again, which are like heaven. There is...

Feeling Zen

Wed, 8 May 2013 19:09:50 EST

For the past few weeks I have been out of sorts. Not depressed, not UN-motivated, nothing really specific, just not myself. Bod food choices were a big culprit and of course that special visitor didn't help.

For some reason today, I just feel balanced. I feel at peace with life, my choices and where I am going in life.

As much as I like knowing how much I weigh, it has been such a good feeling to go into the gym and not weigh myself. I have been tempted but have held of...

Sparkpeople vs. MyFitnessPal

Wed, 8 May 2013 00:03:06 EST

For over 2 years now I have loved Sparkpeople. It has helped me so much and in so many ways. However; I have recently started using MyFitnessPal. It is so much more user friendly, way more technologically advanced and focus way less on being "skinny". I don't foresee not using Sparkpeople but I am pretty sure for all things tracking I'm going to have to go with MyFitnessPal.

Trial and Errors

Mon, 6 May 2013 00:17:16 EST

I have been crazy grumpy, moody and making horrible food choices lately. Turns our my "monthly visitor" has decided to come after almost a year hiatus. I would say I'm upset but really I am just happy to have a reason for the way I have been feeling/acting lately. The only bad thing is that it has had some negative effects on my weight.

That being said I am have decided to take part in the "NO WEIGH MAY"

For the rest of May I am not going to weigh myself (normally I wei...

Be your own inspiration.

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:51:16 EST

The other day I read a blog by BEECHNUT13. It was about being bikini ready. The point of it was, you are bikini ready if you are ready to wear a bikini. It was the perfect thing for me to read. My goal at the beginning of the year was to be bikini ready by summer.

What does that even mean?

You says what bodies are "ready" to wear a bikini. We always have an inspiration photo. A picture of our "ideal" body. But really your ideal body should be YOUR BODY. Not someone else'...

New Beginnings

Fri, 5 Apr 2013 02:04:39 EST

On November 9th 2012 we bought a house. It was an amazing accomplishment, something we had been wanting for years. It actually happened really quickly. In September we went and got our oil changed and as we were waiting we looked at cars. My husband kept thinking he wanted to buy a new car, I told him there was no way we were buying a car until after we bought a house. So that started the process. From starting to look until actually moving in was less than two months. It barely gave me enoug...

Guilt

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:25:04 EST

I have noticed that I often feel guilty for being happy. I feel like I am going to become complacent if I am satisfied with my weight. If I am happy weighing 155, it will lead to being happy weighing 160, 170 and then before you know it I am back up to 300 pounds.

But why can't I be happy. Sure I am 20+ pounds heavier than my low weight, sure based on BMI standards I am overweight.

But what about my standards?

I'm not sure that I will ever be "satisfied" wit...

Completing Goals

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 22:40:22 EST

Since September I have been trying to start, and FINISH, a workout program. I started it a few times and each time I would make it about half way through and get scared and give up. The second half of the program is challenging. Now I am always up for a challenge. I love challenging myself in running, I love challenging myself in weight loss, I love challenging myself in just about anything.

The thing is I only like to challenge myself if it's something I am pretty sure I can succe...

The Ever Changing Tides

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:08:27 EST

When I was at the peak of my weight loss and for most of my early maintenance period, I could have never imagined not having a daily calorie deficit. Now I an having a hard time reaching this goal. It is such a crazy thought. I know before I was a little crazy. I had gone a little too far. All my family, friends and doctor were saying it was time to gain some of the weight back. I couldn't even fathom that idea. Gain weight back, but then I did. It was easier than I hoped. I have gained about...

Taking Off the Training Wheels

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 18:19:03 EST

This week has been amazing!! The weather has been absolutely perfect. For the first time since September, I have been running outside. The gym has been amazing, running on the treadmill was far less horrible than I thought it would be. But there is just something about running outside that makes me feel alive.

It's like that feeling of taking your training wheels off for the first time. It is scary, you're not sure what to expect but then all of the sudden you get it. It's there an...

Exercise is my Savior

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:10:15 EST

I swear exercise is the only thing that keeps me sane. Exercise is the only thing that keeps me energized and after last weeks horrible eating exercise was the only thing that kept me fit. I did gain a little weight this week but I can't imagine what would have happened if I hadn't exercised all week on top of the bad eating.
I know I go a little crazy with my exercise sometimes, and for some people it might seem excessive. But seriously I would be such a hag if I didn't workout. I have...

Shame or Accountability

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 12:34:51 EST

Last night I removed my shared food tracker off of my Spark page. I was embarrassed of what I ate yesterday, which seriously I'm not sure HOW I ate so much. I mean not figuratively but literally I'm not sure how it all fit. LOL.

When I woke up this morning I realized that the thing that I love the most about Sparkpeople is the fact that there is extra accountability. I mean it's not that I think there are people out there policing my food tracker, or really people that care about ...

12 Months of Lessons

Fri, 8 Feb 2013 20:48:48 EST

To celebrate my 1 year of maintenance I decided to share some lessons I've learned over the past year.

1. It is possible to lose TOO MUCH WEIGHT:
To me this concept seemed unbelievable. I mean if I was still losing weight it was because I needed to. Turns out losing too much weight can be unhealthy too. This was a hard lesson for m. I felt like the less I weighed the better I was doing, that is not always true.

2. Working on mental health is important also.

1 Year!!

Wed, 6 Feb 2013 19:57:05 EST

Friday will mark my 1 year anniversary of being at, or below, my goal weight of 160 pounds, better known as 1 YEAR OF MAINTENANCE!!! This past year has been one of the hardest years I have ever experienced. Don't get me wrong life has been great. I feel amazing! However; maintenance is HARD! For me losing the weight was a crazy, fun, trying experience, and although physically hard it didn't take nearly the toll that maintenance has on my mind and soul.

Yet here I am one yea...

Life.

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 21:36:11 EST

It's amazing to me how an amazing workout can make me feel. I love that after an awesome run everything about life just seems right.

I may not be at my lowest weight (not sure that I want to be there again), I may not like every inch of my body, I may not always make good eating choices and I may not be perfect.

I may not be a lot of things I wish I was, but what I am is dedicated. I have worked hard to achieve what I am today. I made myself what I wanted to be, I made...

Never a Failure

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 19:14:16 EST

I have been making bad choices, mostly food wise. I know that I shouldn't eat excessively, I know I should eat fresher, non processed food. I know that my food choices are directly effecting my goals. I know that I would like to be more fit and I know that the way I'm eating isn't going to do that.

I do know I am too hard on myself, but I feel like it's the only way to keep myself real. I have to hate myself. I also know that's not true. I know that I need to be real with myself b...

I want to be a brave girl.

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:56:26 EST

I'm not much of an emotional eater, that being said, it does happen occasionally. Last night was one of those night. My husband is a plumber and with the freezing temperatures he has been working super late every night for the past 2 weeks, plus I've had a bit of a cold and to top it off I'm on my period (for the first time in over 6 months).

Don't get me wrong, I've been a bit on and off on the whole healthy eating for the past few months. Buying a house, moving, holidays and life...

Maintaining.

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 20:37:40 EST

The goal weight I set- 160 lbs. I set it at the beginning of 2012 hoping to get there by August of 2012. Well on February 8th 2012 I reached my "goal weight". I wasn't sure just where I wanted to be. I had thought that 160 would be perfect.

(Goal Weight)

I still had curves and I looked good, but why not lose more. So I did. I ended losing another 28 lbs before I bottomed out at 132 lbs. I was beyond happ...

New Year. New Goals

Tue, 1 Jan 2013 15:08:11 EST

I have decided to start the new year off with some new goals. I have also decided it is time for me to gain back some of my self control, once you relax it's hard to reign it in by yourself. So I think it is time for me to start tracking and start holding myself more accountable, it is so much harder to eat like crap when you know other people are seeing it. One of the many reasons I love Sparkpeople, I have to be held accountable for what I'm eating and doing.

Today is my day ZER...

Forgetting.

Tue, 4 Dec 2012 18:04:24 EST

It's so funny how time can make you forget. I forget how far I've come, I forget how much work I've done and I forget what life used to be like.
It is nice that I'm able to put the past in the past. It feels good to not think of myself as the fat girl, or the former fat girl. It feels good to just live in the now. But then there are the times that I eat like crap, gain a little weight and feel like the world is falling apart. I forget that I am no longer 300 pounds.
It is funny ho...