WIZKEY's SparkPeople Blog

The Spark Solution Book Review

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:44:04 EST

I decided to buy the Spark Solution book because I saw a post on Sparkpeople that offered a few incentives for buying early. I also received two Coach Nicole DVDs and 3 months free membership in Spark Coach.
The other reason I bought the book was because I had been stuck at roughly the same weight for over a year. I'd go 2 or 3 pounds up, then back down, a half a pound at a time, but really nothing was budging. I knew I was not making enough of a commitment.
At the end of my fir...

Salad Bar At Home

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:36:10 EST

As part of our quest for a healthier lifestyle, Art and I have been trying to eat more salads. When he got back from his trip to Oregon, Art complained that grocery store salad bars are way more expensive in California. We have very different tastes in veggies (Art is way more picky) so making a big tossed salad is out of the question.

After trying the salad "kits", we realized we could put our own salads together for less money and that way we would both get exactly what we want...

My Motivation

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:47:28 EST

Lately I have had plenty of motivation to maintain the weight I've lost so far, but not a lot of motivation to keep going in the process. I guess I've gotten a little too comfortable at this weight; been at this destination a little too long. It's starting to feel like home. I need to remind myself that my ultimate destination is so much prettier and healthier than where I am now.
So here are some motivational quotes I found to keep me going.
When I get up in the morning:
...

Ripples and Aftershocks

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:19:41 EST

So after my Very Bad Night, I was a little fragile yesterday. Hubby talked me into taking an anti-anxiety pill in the afternoon, which helped. Then I took a two hour nap, followed by a walk with hubby. Had a good night's sleep last night and feeling more myself today.
Throughout yesterday, though, I found myself reacting more strongly than usual to every little problem. Youngest wants to move back home. I told him we could discuss later today, but all day yesterday hubby and I were...

Very Bad Night

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 14:39:38 EST

This is very personal, but I am lucky that none of my relatives are on Spark, so I know they won't see this.
Last night started out okay. I was very tired after a full work week (10 hours more than normal) and the stress of hubby not being able to make up his mind about life decisions. I crashed out pretty fast once I went to bed.
Hubby woke me up at 1 am asking for the bank login. I asked him why and he said our youngest (who moved out in a huff 6 weeks ago) had called from Hawa...

Pink Pants and Yoga

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 23:44:53 EST

Had two major NSVs (Non Scale Victories) today:
First, I wore a pair of pink skinny jeans to work in a size 8 and people said I looked cute and nobody looked at me like "why did you stuff your middle aged body into those?" Even my family said I looked good!!
Second, I made it all the way through a yoga DVD that I had given up on last year because I could never make it through more than 7 minutes of it. 40 minutes of yoga with only one modified pose!!

Pink Pants and Yoga

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 23:44:53 EST

Comfortable in My Own Skin

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:50:22 EST

This is me, circa 1975. This is the picture of me I probably hate the most in this world. Love the outfit, mind you. Handmade by a friend of the family. But everything else from my hair to my teeth to my glasses is just ugh!!! I don't think I was even very happy with my look back then because that's not my normal happy smile.
Read more...

teressamorris.com/2013/03/comfortabl
e-in-my-...

What I Learned From Being Sick

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:09:39 EST

Thank God for last week's blogging challenge!! I set my new habit as exercising every morning, so I was already well under way with that. Then, when I got sick, the new challenge was intentional stretching. So I switched to all yoga and stretching for my morning exercise and I was able to do it all the way through my illness. It was awesome!! I can't get my heart rate up when I'm sick, but the stretching felt so good and it was nice to feel like I could still contribute to my future good...

Anything Else About This Week's Challenge

Fri, 8 Mar 2013 22:27:15 EST

Well, I got off to a really good start, but then yesterday I got laid out with a cold. I was able to do the 10 minute video 6 out of the 7 days and I could have walked 5 of the 7 if not for this cold. Will be starting over from scratch, stamina-wise, thanks to my asthma, but I am planning on sticking with this new habit because it works very well for me!!

What Motivation or Advice Do I Need?

Thu, 7 Mar 2013 14:45:36 EST

Need some great 10 minute exercise ideas.

What Can I Improve on For My New Habit?

Wed, 6 Mar 2013 19:35:21 EST

I can choose videos that are challenging, not just ones I am familiar with. I can also go a little bit farther on each walk.

How Am I Doing Day to Day with My New Habit?

Tue, 5 Mar 2013 14:21:37 EST

I am very happy with the change in my morning schedule. I did a pilates video right after my devotions and now I am stretched out, feeling good and not stressing that I might not get any exercise today. I already have some walking planned for this afternoon, but if it falls through I can still feel good that I did my pilates this morning.

What Am I Doing to Encourage Myself and Stay on Track?

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 23:36:50 EST

Got in the walk with hubby (I actually had to encourage him today!!) but did not get in the video. I think I need to start doing the videos as soon as I get up (after my devotions). That way, I don't have the excuse of being too tired, too busy or whatever.

Winter 2013 5% Challenge - How I Will Do Work My New Habit

Sun, 3 Mar 2013 22:52:16 EST

I will do a Spark video or other video every day and say yes to a walk with hubby whenever he asks. Even if I don't feel like it. 342

Winter 2013 5% Challenge - A Habit I Would Like To Start

Sun, 3 Mar 2013 01:34:22 EST

The habit I would like to work on is exercising daily. I can get in a rut and talk myself out of it and I don't want to do that anymore.

Winter 2013 5% Challenge - Reasons I have struggled in the past

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:17:48 EST

Here are 3 reasons I have had a hard time losing weight in the past:
1) I have not had a support system.
- my husband is now into eating salads and trying to eat more healthy so we will try to do this together!!
2) Emotional and.or late night eating.
- I will not eat after 10 p.m at night
3) I get comfortable with where I'm at.
-I need to remind myself of the reasons I want to lose more weight.

Winter 2013 5% Challenge - Why I Want to Lose Weight

Sat, 9 Feb 2013 15:16:23 EST

The winter 5% Challenge is starting soon and it's time for me to reflect on the reasons I want to lose weight. With each new milestone it seems that the reasons change a bit. My current reasons are:
Look better in summer clothes (shorts, tank tops, swimsuit)
Eliminate my last blood pressure pill.
Finishing the goal I have set for myself.

A Fun NSV!!

Thu, 7 Feb 2013 23:27:00 EST

So I've been gone for a few days with hubby celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and I had to tell you all I had a major NSV (non-scale victory)!! I can't tell you exactly what it was, but let's just say, all those squats sure came in handy 18

My Successes for 1/30/13

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:30:12 EST

1) Had a healthy breakfast
2) Did an abs video
3) Took a walk with hubby.

My Successes for 1/23/13

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 13:47:50 EST

1) Had a salad with lunch.
2) Had a big salad with dinner.

My Back Stretches

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 23:55:15 EST

One of the commenters on my Spark Blog asked what stretches I do to help my back. Here are the ones I am doing at the moment (and they seem to be working). I am constantly adding or changing them up as I find another one, especially if I find one that works particularly well. I've also found that if my lower back is particularly tight, a heating pad on low for about 2o minutes will really help it loosen up. Anyway, here are my back exercises:
1) www.sparkpeople.com/resource/e...

My Successes for 1/22/13

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 02:49:08 EST

1) Had a healthy breakfast and a healthy lunch.
2) Went for a walk with hubby.
3) Did all my stretches and my back doesn't hurt tonight!!

My Successes for 1/21/13

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:09:36 EST

1)Ate a healthy breakfast and a healthy lunch
2) Did an stretchy band video
3) Worked on new relaxation techniques during stressful situations.

My Successes for 1/20/13

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 02:39:06 EST

1) Had a healthy breakfast
2) Had a salad for lunch
3) Did a yoga video

My Successes for 1/19/13

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 03:18:31 EST

1) Ate a healthy breakfast and lunch
Wish I had more to say, but at least I've got that.

My Successes for 1/18/13

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:53:58 EST

1) Had a healthy breakfast
2) Had a salad for lunch
3) Went to bed before midnight.

My Successes for 1/17/13

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 03:24:47 EST

1)Ate a healthy breakfast and a healthy lunch.
2) Scheduled my mammorgram.
3) Weighed 153.4 with all my clothes on at the doctor's office. What does that equal to naked? I think I've lost weight!!

My Successes for 1/16/13

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 02:13:29 EST

1) Ate a healthy breakfast
2) Did an upper body workout video
3) Had a banana for a snack.

My Successes for 1/15/13

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 02:32:58 EST

1) Ate 3 healthy meals
2) Did 2o minutes of Pilates (twice what I've ever done before)
3) Walked the dogs with hubby.

My Successes for 1/14/13

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 02:00:52 EST

1) Had a healthy breakfast and a healthy lunch.
2) Did my Pilates video.
3) Took a walk with hubby.

What I learned last week 1/6-1/13/13

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:49:28 EST

1) Don't buy popcorn at the movie theater. It didn't taste as good as I remembered and even a tiny bag has way too many calories. Plus the sodium!! I was bloated almost the whole week.
2) I am very good at breakfast and lunch, but not so good at dinner. Breakfast and lunch are usually measured meals, but with dinner I am cooking for more than just me so I usually end up with leftovers. Trying to stay away from "seconds".
3) Need to think of healthy evening snacks, if and only if...

My Successes for 1/13/13

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 02:57:59 EST

1) Had a healthy breakfast
2) Had a salad with dinner
3) Started putting together leaders for Casual Travellers.

My Successes for 1/12/13

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 02:33:30 EST

1) Had 3 healthy meals.
2) Did my pilates video (my hips and knees are feeling better already)
3) Did not have any sweets today.

My Successes for 1/11/13

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 01:44:15 EST

1) Had a healthy breakfast and a salad for lunch.
2) Did a pilates video.
3) Took a nice walk with hubby.

My Successes for 1/10/13

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 02:56:01 EST

1) Had a big salad for lunch.
2) Did a Pilates video.
3) Took a long walk with hubby.

My First Podcast Interview!!

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:53:01 EST

Check out my very first podcast interview. Joel Boggess from Finding Your Voice, interviewed me for his blog. We talked about my vision board, my weight loss journey and building my blog. You can listen to the podcast here:
www.joelandpei.com/fyv-183/

My Successes for 1/9/13

Wed, 9 Jan 2013 22:29:04 EST

1) Ate a healthy breakfast and a healthy lunch
2) Did my upper body workout video
3) Walked the dogs with hubby.

My Successes for 1/8/13

Wed, 9 Jan 2013 02:04:40 EST

1) Had a healthy breakfast
2) Did a lower body workout video
3) Took a much needed nap.

My Successes for 1/7/13

Tue, 8 Jan 2013 00:01:27 EST

Following the advice of my dear friend NancyAnne55, I have decided to only vlog once in awhile as a recap, but I will still post my success journal every day.
1) Did not get fries with my dollar chicken sandwich.
2) Did my ab workout.
3) Had a big salad with dinner.

My Successes for 1/6/13

Mon, 7 Jan 2013 01:58:22 EST

Not feeling up to a vlog today, but here are my successes:
1) Had a healthy breakfast and a healthy lunch.
2) Did a Pilates video
3) Did not oversalt my dinner.

Successes for 1/5/13

Sun, 6 Jan 2013 01:01:57 EST

A list of my fitness and health successes for the day.

My Successes for 1/4/13

Sat, 5 Jan 2013 00:28:40 EST

A list of my physical and health successes for the day.

Successes for 1-3-13

Thu, 3 Jan 2013 23:41:37 EST

My fitness and health successes for the day.

My Successes for 1/2/13

Thu, 3 Jan 2013 00:49:33 EST

A description of my fitness and health successes for the day.

2012 in Review plus Looking Forward

Wed, 2 Jan 2013 23:02:38 EST

So I set way too many goals for 2o12 and they bit me in the butt, so to speak. I overplanned what I should do every week and got so overwhelmed that I quit doing most of it.
My successes for 2012 were having a 2-3 pound net loss (hey, it's not a gain!!) and coming within .5 miles of completing a virtual 5k.

For 2013 I have just one goal - to lose 20 pounds by the end of this year. In order to accomplish this goal I will record my food at least 3 days a week and exercise at l...

Discouraged and Disappointed

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:02:11 EST

I came home from visiting DH in Oregon and got hit hard by my home life. Youngest had not slept well while I was gone and was not stable, oldest thinks I'm a heinous B- because I won't let her have casual sex in my house.
So, last week I didn't eat that great, but managed to get in a little bit of exercise and maintained.
This week I'm hormonal, had to drive way more than I'm used to (usually just an in-town kind of gal), plus yesterday was youngest's 18th birthday and we went to...

A Much Needed Update

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 13:34:18 EST

Thanks to the prodding of one of my teammates (Oliver), I am finally writing a new blog after almost 6 weeks. I apologize that I am not very good about keeping this blog up to date. I write a professional blog www.teressamorris.com 3-5 days a week and sometimes I am brain dead when I get to this page. However, I do not talk about my weight loss very much on my other blog, so here we go!!
If this is your first time reading about me, let me catch you up. In June 2009 t...

Why I am in the Fall 5% Challenge

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 01:56:07 EST

1. Want to finally break 150.
2. Break my desire to snack when I am stressed.
3. Tone up my upper arms.
4. Lose the last blood pressure pill (down to a half a pill now)

Catching up with My Sparkfriends

Fri, 7 Sep 2012 13:12:14 EST

Haven't made a blog entry in a while and wanted to let you all know how things are going.
Our house sold in a short sell on June 1st and we were able to get into a nice little house that takes Section 8. Hopefully we'll only need the assistance for the first year.
Hubby finally got a part-time job which greatly improved his mood.
I got a raise!!
Hubby is moving to Oregon in a week to attend school for the next two years. I may be moving up there with him after the first ...