New Year's Eve! Happy 2008!!

Hello!
Well today is New Year's Eve. It's a day to reflect on all the events of 2007 and do some goal setting for 2008. I've been sitting here thinking about what to write, about where I've come from this past year to where I am today. I'm also thinking about where I'll be in a year from now.

Here are some of my accomplishments of 2007
1. Read "You On A Diet" by Dr. Roizen & Dr. Oz--it changed my life!
2. Began a regular exercise routine where I exercise a minimum of 5 times a week.
3. Cleaned out my home of "no no" foods and I no longer buy them.
4. Took responsibility for my own actions and how they affect others (my husband & kids).
5. Stopped being in denial about my weight, obesity and food addiction.
6. Joined a gym (and I use my membership ALL the time).
7. Joined realage.com where I met the most amazing "serious and committed" folks to the YOAD way of life. They have been my support network, my friends and my sounding board almost every day since May.
8. Joined SparkPeople.com in August. I have used that website for motivation, guidance, food and exercising tracking. It also has message boards and an email function. I have a personal web page with photos on it too (ShannoninAZ is my SparkPeople name, feel free to stop by anytime).
9. I have shared my success and my tools with all of those who have asked for my help/guidance. (Friends, Girl Scout leaders, family members, etc.).
10. Started a blog about my journey here on blogspot.
11. Kept track of my weekly weight and measurements since July. This has really helped me on my journey to health!
12. I've lost 67 pounds!!!
13. I can fit into a size 14 pants (although they are still very snug on me) and a ladies large shirt.
14. I have cleaned out my closet and donated all my former clothes. I no longer have a "fall back" wardrobe. I will NEVER be that weight again, NEVER!
15. I have led my family towards a healthier lifestyle, although at times it was kicking and screaming about it. My children and my husband have all lost weight too.
16. I have learned that leading by example is much sweeter than leading by my voice.
17. I've met some amazing friends on this journey (Elizabeth, Jim, Jenny, Rosemarie, Janice, Diana, J Lee, Cindy, Siri, Chris, Mike, Chari, Richard, Connie, Linda and all the rest of the YOAD gang).
18. I have more energy than I ever have had in my adult life.
19. I have become an inspiration to others (that one's pretty cool too!).
20. I've found some amazing quotes and mantra's to help me along my journey; fall 7 times, get up 8, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step and I'd rather life 1 day as a lion then 1,000 days as a lamb. (Good stuff!)

Here are some of my goals for 2008
1. Reach my goal weight (Although I'm not sure what that will really be yet. For the moment I have it listed as 150 pounds, which is a 105 pound loss from when I started. It's also only 38 pounds away from my current weight...YIPEE!!! I'm pretty sure my goal weight will probably drop a bit more, once I get there, but we'll have to see).
2. Continue my exercise regime of a minimum of 5 times a week.
3. Hike into the Grand Canyon and back out.
4. Hike the Rim of the Boulder Mountain.
5. Run a 5K or 10 K.
6. Blog at least 2-3 times a week (more really but I want to at least hit my minimum numbers).
7. Become a more creative chef and try new, more complicated recipes.
8. Take my GS troop to Europe.
9. Help my kids to get to healthy weights (even if I have to drag them there....LOL).
10. Work on becoming a more positive role model. (Avoiding family negativity and gossip).
11. Maintaining a positive daily environment for my kids & my husband. (People blossom when they are surrounded by positive energy. It's my job to "pump their tires" and be the "wind in their sails". They'll get beat down by the daily negativity of others, if I don't be more proactive with this role.).

I think those are pretty good lists. Some of those things will be fairly easy, at this point, while some of the others will be quite a bit harder. I'm game for them though. I know I can do this! I've come so far already. I'm pretty darn proud of that fact too.

It feels good to be me, inside & out! What a blessing this year has been. It's been one heck of a ride so far! :-)

All my best to you and yours! Here's to a healthy, happy and safe New Year to each of us!
*CHEERS*
Shannon

Weekly Weight & Measurements from 12-26-07

Here are this weeks stats:
Weight 188.7 pounds
Abs 38.25"
Sucked In Abs 35"
Chest 42.5"
R arm 12.5" Largest Part 16.5"
L arm 12.25" Largest Part 16.5"
R thigh 23.5"
L thigh 23.25"
Neck 15.5"
Pannus 45.5"

I'm feeling good about these measurements. I'm thinking that next week I will start to see more of a downward shift in them. I'm happy with the weight. I'm OK if I lose this stuff one pound at a time. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE the 3 and 4 pound drops but I know those are rare and really an unrealistic goal to have.
Guess what?? I fit into size 14 pants yesterday!! I tried on the clothes I got for Christmas and they FIT! Well, in a matter of speaking they did. I can zip and button them. I wouldn't wear them out anywhere yet because they are too snug. HOWEVER, by Valentine's Day I will be fitting into them so they are very comfortable. (That's my next short term goal).
Oh, Oh, OH!! I actually have 2 more "guess what's" to share!! 1. I fit into a size 14 formal dress too! Yesterday we were shopping for my oldest DD's winter formal dress and I saw one I liked. I was curious to see what it would look like on and to see what size I would wear. Well.....it's a 14 dress!!! YAHOO!!!!! 2. Both DD and I got on the scale at the gym yesterday and I'm only 8 POUNDS more than she is. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! Heck, I sure couldn't!! (I know she's not too happy about that, but I am thrilled!!!).

It's amazing how much has changed in me over the past 7-8 months. I'm practically a new person, inside and out. It really is wonderful. I am so pleased!! This journey has been a God send, in every sense of the word. *soft and huge smile*

On that amazing note, I'm off to get this day rolling. I've already been to the gym for an hour today. I think it's time to take down the Christmas decorations now.

Have an amazing day!
Shannon

The Eve of Christmas Eve

Hello!
I just got back from working my volunteer shift at the Cardinals Stadium. I'm tired and I feel crappy. I've been steadily getting sicker over the past 3 days. Someone sneezed on me, during one of my shopping escapades, and she got me sick. UGH! What a cruddy time to be sick. I've still got quite a few things to do. I've got a couple more presents to buy and lots to still wrap (although DH and I may still do the wrapping tonight). He's got the day off tomorrow, so we'll tackle any last minute stuff together (which will be really nice).

It really doesn't feel like Christmas to me this year, I'm not sure why. Don't get me wrong, I'm in a great mood and I love this time of year. The air is chilly (for AZ), the people are bustling and the kids are very excited for Christmas and all it brings. It's kind of strange that it doesn't feel like Christmas but I hope that will change in the next day or so. I usually love Christmas. It's my favorite holiday of the year. Hmmmmmmmm.....

I didn't get a chance to exercise at the gym the last few days. I've done LOTS of walking though, while shopping, so I'm not worried about the lack of exercise. I just prefer exercising in the gym at least 4-5 times during the week. If I feel better, I'll get in there tomorrow. If I don't feel better, there's no use at making someone else ill because of me.

I'm eating OK. I haven't done daily tracking but for the most part, I've done well. I had a soy light chocolate smoothy two days in a row, but other than that things are fine. I will get on the scale on Christmas morning, to see what Santa brings me this year ;-) . I'll be sure to post the weight and measurements here. I am a bit excited about that. There's quite a difference in Mr. Scale from last year to this year. That's SWEET!!

I better get going. I'm going to lay down. I may even go to bed early tonight. I sure hope I feel better tomorrow (c'mon Zicam and Vit C, kick in babies!!).
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Measurements on 12-20-07

Prior to today, my last measurements were taken on 12-5-07, so I am comparing today's results with those.

Weight-189.9 lbs on 12-19-07

Measurements today at 2:40 PM
Abs-38.25" (no change)
Abs Sucked In-35.5" (up 1")
Chest-43" (up .25")
Neck-15.5" (no change)
R arm-12.25" (down .25 ") Largest part of arm-16.5" (no change)
L arm-12.25" (down .25") Largest part of arm-16" (down .5")
R thigh-23.25" (down .5")
L thigh-23.5" (no change)
Pannus-45.5" (no change)

I'm fine with today's measurements but am looking forward to seeing next weeks. I'm focusing a bit more to push those numbers downward. I've been stagnating a bit, and I'm ready to move to the next level. I have made the adjustments in the gym to move me in the right direction.

Keep moving forward everyone! Be proud of who you are and what you are doing! I know I AM!!
Hugs,
Shannon

Oh I'm still here.....NO going back to Fat Land for me! LOL!

Hello!!
I hope you haven't been worried about me. Never worry! Just because I don't post on my blog, does not mean that I'm not still chuggin' along on my journey. I am. There is no going back to Fat Land for me. I never want to visit or live there again! I'm still moving forward every day. So remember, don't panic if I forget to write, I am HERE in spirit every day!

Disneyland was nice. Unfortunately my Dad got ill though so I spent much of the time taking care of or worrying about him. He ended up feeling fine by the time we left. I did get a lot of walking in and I also worked out at the gym every day that we were there. I felt good about that.

I'm now 189 pounds, by the way. Did I mention that yet? ;-) Pretty darn exciting if you ask me! I haven't weighed that since my Junior year in high school!! Heck, I didn't even weigh that the day I met my husband. It's so great! I'm feeling really good about myself and that's awesome!

I'm pushing myself a bit harder with exercise and monitoring my intake amount a bit more closely this week. I'd like to see if I can move that scale down a bit farther this week. I'll keep you posted. Speaking of that, I need to measure myself still today. I'll be sure and do that and post them next.

I watched the Biggest Loser finale the other night. Wow, talk about inspirational! It's so cool to see how much those folks changed with their weight loss. You could just see the transformations from the inside out. I'm so happy for all of them! I'm glad they were able to transition the success from the "campus" to home. It made me feel good to watch it. It made me feel good about myself and my progress too. *happy smile*

On that happy note, I'm going to go get the tape measure. Keep on keeping on everyone!! We can do this!!
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

I ran a mile in 12 minutes 13 seconds today!

Guess what?? As you can see by the title of the post, I ran a mile in 12 minutes and 13 seconds today!! That's almost a full MINUTE better than my previous best time of 13 minutes and 10 seconds. Isn't that great?! I was pretty excited about it. In fact, I almost hollered out at the gym but I kept myself restrained to an ear to ear grin instead. :-) I think I have just a tiny bit more room for improvement but we'll see the next time I do a trial. I've been trying to do at least two per month, to see how much I improve, since I started "running". (Which is actually a fast walk and a fast jog, for me. I walk at about 4.1 mph and "run" at about 5.5 mph). I usually alternate between walking 1 minute and then "running" 1-1.5 minutes. I'm working on increasing the "running" and decreasing the walking. I think its going well. I love the cardio aspect of it. It really gets my heart rate up (much better than the elliptical does).

I'm right around the corner from my Wednesday weigh in. I am hoping to be in the magical 180's. I'm really pushing with the exercise, so I hope it brings me down the 2 pounds I need. We'll see Wednesday. :-)

My DH left for Chicago today. He's there on business for two days. He's actually flying from Chicago to meet us in Disneyland on Wednesday night. I miss him already. He's a pretty good guy! I just got off the phone with him and he got into his hotel safe & sound. He said it's COLD in Chicago and he's glad he brought his big coat. I tell ya, we Arizonans don't like that sub 40 degree weather much. It's hard for us to adjust. We are more used to the 110 + weather instead.

We're all getting ready for Disneyland here at my house. We leave Wednesday and we'll get back Sunday night. We go every year and everyone is VERY excited, to say the least. I'm not worried about food at all. I know what I need to eat and I plan to eat it. I will not be derailed by the mouse and his friends. ;-) No churros for me this year but I will take advantage of the numerous fruit stands in the park. Lucky for me, Disneyland is jumping on the healthy bandwagon. YIPEE! I also plan on using the fitness center while I'm there, in addition to the oodles of walking I'll be doing during the time at the park. I think my DH and DD's will work out with me, if not, I'll work out alone or with one of my sisters. Fear not, I WILL work out either way. :-)

Today I became a "Community Team Member" on the SparkPeople web site. That's pretty cool! I'm excited that I get to be an "official" motivator there. It's been a crucial piece of my success, thus far. Between the YOAD message board, the SparkPeople web site and the gym I have found my success story and it is WONDERFUL! :-) Feel free to look me up on SparkPeople, I'm ShannoninAZ. It's a great site and has been SO helpful to me. I have used the motivational tools, the calorie counter, the exercise tracker and message boards. (I have to thank my friend Elizabeth for showing me that site. THANKS!!!).

OK folks, that's about it for now. I'll be sure and post again by Wednesday (sooner if I have some thoughts I want/need to share).

Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Weekly Measurements on 11/28/07

Hi!
I accidentally took my measurements & weight today, thinking it was Thursday. OOPS! Oh well, I wrote them down anyway, and I'll just start taking them Wednesdays, I guess! LOL!
I am back on track and ready to rock!! I've lost 2 pounds this week and I'm very pleased with the measurements too.

Weight-191 pounds (OMG--2 pounds from the 180's!!!)
Abs-38.5"
Sucked In Abs-34.5"
Chest-42.75"
R arm-12.5" R arm heaviest part-16.5"
L arm-12.75" L arm heaviest part-16.5"
Neck-15.5"
Pannus-45.5"

I can't believe that I'm only 2 pounds from the 180's. I am SOOOOOOOOOOO happy about that!! I am hoping that I can lose those 2 pounds this week. It'd be pretty awesome to go to Disneyland next week in the 180's!! YAHOO!!!!!

I'm going to really work towards that goal this week. I'm really, really excited about it!!
I'm glad today is an "up day" and one full of energy. I've already done my 45 minute work out at the gym (that's where I weighed myself, because I haven't gotten a new scale yet). I'm feeling great!

Tonight we're going to see the Rockette's Christmas Spectacular. It should be a blast!! I better get going. Lots of stuff to get done before then.
Hugs from AZ & keep moving forward!
Shannon

Dang, I'm COLD!

Ok--here it is. I AM COLD! Why am I cold? Well, winter is sneaking up on us here in AZ. It's been in the 40's at night and in the 60's as our high temp in the daytime. I know that many of you, in the truly cold areas of the country, are thinking "OMG, it'd be wonderful to be in the 40's-60's!! That's wonderful weather!". OK, normally I would agree with you. Normally, I love the chilly air, the cold, the snow, etc. Well guess what? This 62 pound weight loss is wreaking havoc on my internal thermometer!! I just can't seem to get warm without lots of blankets, warm socks and pants! It's crazy!!

Before, I was always the girl that didn't even need a jacket. I didn't even OWN a jacket/coat until my cruise to Alaska!! Guess who's been wearing that giant coat the last two mornings?!! My kids are calling me "the little eskimo". LOL!!

So....I guess the bottom line is, I am very happy that I've lost the weight BUT I've found the ONE downside of it! LOL!! I guess I'm actually going to have to go buy some "winter clothes". I no longer have any sweaters, jackets or long sleeved shirts that fit me (I gave my former wardrobe to Goodwill after cleaning out my closet about a month ago).

Now wait, I guess I've found that the cold is the SECOND downside of weight loss. The first one, is that it's expensive. This buying all new clothes every few sizes, is a BEAR!! But, I'd rather do that then be the size I was. :-) It is hard on the wallet though.

Now that I'm done "venting", I suppose I can get going. I'm going to have some sugar free hot chocolate! LOL!
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Tipping Points and Revelations

This morning I posted this on my YOAD message board and I thought it was pretty profound. I think it's a revelation, if you will. I think it's important enough to post here too. I hope it makes as much sense to you as it does to me.

Isn't it wonderful how we are all so different, yet so much alike? I was reading a friends post thinking, isn't it great that we all have peaks and valleys with folks to support us through both of them? There are some days/weeks we feel up and we can shoot for the stars and other days/weeks we feel so low/tired/stressed/overwhelmed that we don't think we can move forward, and of course we have all the emotions in between too! Fortunately for each of us though, we have a wonderful, supportive, YOAD message board family to help us through the tough times and validate us through the great times. :-) What a wonderful group!! :-)

It's so hard for us to retrain our minds and bodies to the YOAD way of life, in some ways. The way we've always dealt with "dieting" in the past is so different than with YOAD, it was so much harder, so many mind games, so much deprivation. It's really quite a shift to see how "easy" it is, if you do your walking/exercise and eat the YOAD way. I think part of that is why it can be hard for people. It just seems that the solution to so many of our painful dieting days can be this "simple". Certainly if we'd have known this information in the weeks/years/months past, we'd have all been on the weight loss bandwagon and been at our ideal weight. Right? Oh, if it were only that easy and that simple of a solution.

Here are my thoughts on that. Each of us deals with so many different things in our lives. We have so many different stressors (although we have many of the same ones too). Each of us has to have that "thing", that final jumping off point, that "tipping point" (excellent book, btw, if you haven't read it) that makes us ready, willing and able to change our lifestyle. It really is a major shift. There are lots of times in our lives that we "want" to lose weight or "try" to lose weight and we do. A few pounds here, a few pounds there, hence the yo-yo cycle. I truly believe that each individual will eventually find that "thing", that final push or motivation that brings them to their own "tipping point". THAT is the time that they are ready to make the life altering change and are ready for permanent life changes. I think that's why so many people struggle and don't have permanent success (hence the 90% failure rate). I truly think that only about 10% of people that want to lose weight are at their "tipping point". I really do believe that you have to have something. Some "straw that breaks the camels back" that will push us. Something that makes us finally say, "OK. This IS it. I'm ready and I'm not stopping until I get there".

Each of us are in varying stages of weight loss. Some of us are near our goal, some of us are at our goal, some of us are in the middle of our journey and some of us are just beginning. I don't think all of us have had that true revelation about their weight loss. I do, however, think that every single one of us has had a revelation of some sort in here. Whether it's in self confidence, the way you face your job, how you handle your daily life, your weight loss journey, improving your self esteem or just plain learning to like/love yourself. Each of us has had some amazing revelation, thanks to the support and encouragement of our online support family. That is a WONDERFUL thing. No matter what everyone's true journey is, we all support each other. It is in that support, that we find ourselves, our path and our goal.

Whatever your path, I am with you.
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon:-)

Catching UP & Weekly Measurements

Wow! Has time gone by and life been busy! It's time to reprioritize the blog. I haven't written in almost two weeks! No worries though, I'm still posting on my YOAD message board, so I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I just temporarily fell off the face of the blog. :-)

I did my measurements today and I weighed myself yesterday. Here are the results:
Weight-193 pounds
Abs-38.5 inches
Sucked In Abs-35 inches
Chest-43.23 inches
Neck-15.75 inches
R arm-12.25 inches & 17 inches at the largest part
L arm-12.75 inchest & 17 inches at the largest part
R thigh-24.25 inches
L thigh-24 inches
Pannus-45.5 inches

I'm glad I did the weight and measurements as I haven't measured since 11/8/07! I forgot to measure last week, although I did weigh myself at the gym. I was 193 pounds last week too. No movement up or down on the scale and I'm OK with that. I haven't earned a decrease, so I shouldn't get one. I've been a bit lax on the exercise and I think consuming a bit too many calories (although they are still all YOAD approved foods). Over the past week I have reeled it in though. I've been to the gym twice and the other two days, I did some good walking. Today my middle DD and I went on a 4.5 mile hike in the mountains AND we played DDR for about an hour. We had a blast! I think I've gotten my second wind....REALLY....and I'm ready to push forward into the 180's. I will definitely be there by Christmas!

Thanksgiving went well. I ate all YOAD foods and in moderation!! It was the first thanksgiving I've ever not had seconds (or thirds). I also only had A piece of pumpkin pie (YOAD approved, sugar free). I made it the day before. It was my very first attempt at pie making and it went well. It was yummy! I actually had another piece after lunch today. YUMMY!

I hope everything is going well with all of you. Keep moving forward!! Don't forget, if you fall down 7 times, GET UP 8!! :-)

Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

I'm still here.........

Hello!
It's pretty late on Saturday night but I wanted to let you and myself know that I'm still here! I've been to Vegas and back this week. I saw the musical "Love" at the Mirage and it was very good. DH and I had a lovely overnight stay and really re-kindled some "love" of our own. It was nice! We had such a good time that we've committed to having a "date night" at least once a month, every month. I'm glad because we really do have fun together!

I took my measurements on Thursday, I'll be sure to post them tomorrow or Monday (I'm working the concession stand tomorrow, so I'm not sure I'll have a change to get online). Our scale broke, so I didn't have a weight. The scale was saying 126, 154, 163 and although I'd love to be any of those numbers....I know I'm not yet. I'm not sure if its the battery or I need a new scale. I'll try the battery first, then go for the new scale if that fails.

Had a great day with the girls (once I got all my GS paperwork done...which unfortunately took most of the day because I'm planning a large event next weekend). We jumped on the trampoline, we played Dance Dance Revolution, I let them read Shel Silverstein books to me and we watched Ratatoillie (sp). What a nice day!

They are all in our bedroom now watching TV with pops. I think I'll go join them as it's getting late. I'll write more tomorrow or Monday.
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Here is another one that I found. It's also lovely. What a mantra to live by. St. Francis was an amazing man. May I even come close to becoming as humble and as loving as he was.


The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hated, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
and it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born into eternal life.

Amen

Don't Quit

I found this poem in an old box of letters this morning. I sent it to my husband when he was in Desert Storm back in 1991. I hope you enjoy it too. I'm not sure who wrote it but it's timeless and applies to so many things in our lives, especially in our weight loss journey. I shared it with my YOAD group and thought I'd post it here too.

Don't Quit!
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
You want to smile but you have to sigh
Whenever care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but DON'T YOU QUIT!

Life is queer with its twists and turns
as every one of us sometimes learns
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won, if he'd stuck it out
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds is doubt
You never can tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that YOU MUST NOT QUIT!

Weekly Measurements 11/1/07

It's that time again, Thursday morning and time for my weekly measurements.
Wt-194 (down 1 pound from last week)
Abs-38.75" (up 1/2" from last week)
Abs Sucked In-34.75" (down 1/4" from last week)
Chest-42.75" (no change)
R arm-12.5" (no change) 16.5" at the largest part of the arm (no change)
L arm-12.25" (down 1/2" from last week) 16.5" at the largest part (no change)
R thigh-24" (no change)
L thigh-23.5" (down 1/2" from last week)
Neck-15.75" (down 1/2" from last week)
Pannus-45.5" (no change)

Well I wasn't too surprised by the numbers today. I haven't quite gotten back to the full swing of exercise, post cyst. I've been a bit leary to get full force, I'm not sure why. I am planning on hitting the gym today, while the kids are at school and hubby's at work. I want to be sure to get it in. It really makes me feel good about myself.

We had our Halloween Haunted House last night. It turned out great! We had lots of adults and kids that enjoyed it. The girls had a blast. Unfortunately I don't have any pics because I couldn't get the flash on the camera to work. I took two that came out black, because it was so dark with the black light, so I didn't bother to take anymore. I was a little disappointed about that because I really wanted to take pics of it.

We realized that this was our last Halloween, most likely with our oldest daughter home. Next year she'll be in college and over 2 hours away. She won't be able to drive home on a week night for it and will probably be involved with a party on campus. It was a little sad but exciting too!

I better run for now. Have a super day! If I have a chance to post after the gym, I will.
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Happy Halloween!! Progress is WONDERFUL!!

Happy Halloween!
No candy for me today. I was so tempted the other day at our GS troop's Halloween party to eat a Reese's but I didn't. I was so proud of myself. You know what? As good as that Reese's would have tasted, it wouldn't have come close to how good I felt by NOT eating it. I was proud of myself, my will power and my committment to health/my future. It was great! Yea me! LOL!

I don't plan on eating any candy tonight. I'll be buying yucky kinds, so I won't be tempted at all (no Reese's in this house). I'll buy suckers and raisins to give out. Heck, kids eat too much junk anyway. Maybe I'll even buy some popcorn balls. I'll be the only one on the block giving away food that isn't completely bad for you. The kids will hate it! LOL! jk jk!

Our family will be hosting our 2nd annual Haunted House tonight. We set it up in our carport/garage. We worked on it for about 4 hours last night and have about another 2 to go until it's finished. We're going to finish it when the kids & hubby get home today. It'll be fun! I'll post some pics of it on the blog, just for fun.

Well...it's Halloween. I was part of a "Halloween Challenge" on Spark People. The goal was to lose 31 pounds by October 31st. I lost 29. I was very pleased with that!! My main goal was to be under 200 pounds by Halloween and I did it! I'm proud of myself!!

I'm looking at my notebook of measurements (I keep a notebook of weekly weights and measurements that I check every Thursday) and am so pleased with my progress. I started a complete set of measurements and a weekly weight on July 12th. I wanted to keep track of where I've been and my progress. I knew there was no better way to do that then to write it down. I'm SOOOOOOO glad I did!!

Here are the numbers since 7/12/07 these are my loss totals:
Pounds-40 pounds gone
Abs-6.25 inches gone
Sucked In Abs-7 1/8 inches gone
Chest-5.5 inches gone
R arm-5 inches gone
L arm-5 inches gone
Neck-1.5 inches gone
R thigh-3.5 inches gone
L thigh-3 inches gone
Pannus-5.25 inches gone

WOW!!! That's so awesome!! That's the first time I've totalled those numbers (and those aren't even numbers from the start of my journey in May, those are only from JULY!!).

I've lost 42 1/8" of FAT! OMG!! That's amazing!! I'm so glad I totalled those today. Talk about motivating!! Who would want to eat candy after that?!?! I'm on cloud 9! WOW...I really can't believe that. I've got to let that sink in . How cool!

Well.....on that wonderful note. I think I'm going to go exercise. I want to be sure to get it in before tonight's activities start. I think I'll go for a nice brisk walk.

Have a fun Halloween everyone!! Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

The closet is quite literally bare!

Hello!
Well I did it, I finally broke down and did the major cleaning out of the closet. I removed all the 24's, 22's and 20's from my closets and my drawers. It's so funny because now I hardly have a thing in my closet. All of my business suits...gone. All of my dresses....gone. All of my skirts.....gone. My husband said "Now you won't have anything to wear. There's nothing in the closet". I told him that I couldn't fit into it anymore anyway so why bother keeping it in there. He agreed. In fact, he agreed so much he cleaned out his side of the closet too. Gone are all his 44's, 42's and 40's. He also is left with very few pants to wear.

We both decided that we needed to shed the past. We are both truly committed to moving forward and will not be the weight we were before EVER!

Now, the next step is figuring out what to do with all that stuff! We were going to give it to Goodwill or a shelter but there are just so many really nice things we aren't sure if we want to have a gargage sale or something first. Heck, I've got $80-$90 outfits with the tags still on them. We've probably got $2500 worth of clothes folded and inventoried, just waiting for our decision to dispense them somewhere. Hmmmm..........what to do. We're going to make a decision soon, so we can get all that stuff out of our bedroom and out of our lives. Time to DE-clutter and simplify!

Got back into the gym over the weekend (post cyst rupture). It was wonderful! I felt great and didn't have an ounce of pain! I did some jogging and elliptical training.

The weather is still very warm here. We've had heat records broken all week. Two days ago it was 98 degrees! UGH!! The evenings cool down though and it's lovely then. We've been taking advantage of that and walking a lot. I think that when we start to have cooler nights consistantly we'll be switching up walking/jogging outside and working out in the gym. The weather will just be too nice to pass up. Heck, once the days get consistantly cooler I want to get back out and hike our local mountains more. We've got wonderful mountains within 15 minutes of our house. I'm so excited about it getting cooler!!

I better run for now. I have a dd home from school today. She's got a bit of vertigo and a rough allergy flare. I'm going to go sit out with her awhile. Later on today, I'll be tackling cleaning out the garage (UGH). We're going to have a haunted house in there tomorrow night so I've got to get it cleaned up so we can set up stuff tonight and tomorrow.

Talk soon! Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Weekly Measurements x2 (10/18/07 & 10/25/07)

Hello!
I was planning to add today's measurements to the blog and noticed that I didn't input last weeks. I will put both of them below. The first ones are last week's the next ones are today's.

10/18/07
Wt-198 lbs
Abs-38.5"
Sucked In Abs-35"
Chest-43.25"
R arm-13" Largest Part R arm-16.5"
L arm-12.5" Largest Part L arm-16"
R thigh-24"
L thigh-23.25"
Neck-15.5"
Pannus-46"

10/25/07
Wt-195 lbs
Abs-38.25"
Sucked In Abs-35"
Chest-42.75"
R arm-12.5" Largest Part R arm-16.5"
L arm-12.75" Largest Part L arm-16.5"
R thigh-24"
L thigh-24"
Neck-16"
Pannus-45.5"

Today I've hit the 60 pounds lost mark. It's a little surreal. I'm very happy about it! I can't believe that there's finally more weight gone than I have left to go. I almost wonder if it will be sad when this journey ends. (Don't get me wrong, I'll be estatic and I'll handle it if I'm sad....but I'm just curious).

I am hoping to get back into the gym today. I have just been walking for exercise the past week because I've still had some lingering discomfort in my left lower abdomen (lingering from the cyst). It's been nice to get out in the lovely evening air. At night, it's finally cooled down here in the Phoenix area. Unfortunately we're still in the 90's during the day but at night we're in the 60's and it's lovely weather for walking in.

I'm feeling good. I think I'm looking pretty good too. I'm getting to the point where even the "new clothes" I bought 2 months ago are getting pretty baggy. Ugh, what a waste that was to buy $500 worth of clothes. Next time, I think I'll head to the Salvation Army and save some $$ on temporary stuff instead of getting an interim wardrobe. It's almost time to go through my clothes again and donate more stuff to them anyway. I can't even wear 20's or more because the just literally sag and fall off when I walk. It feels great weight wise but I'm so cheap, it bums me out too. LOL! My husband said, "You're not going to stop losing weight because of that are you?". ROFL! What a goofball! Like I'd stop losing weight because I have to buy more clothes. Now that's man logic for ya! ;-) LOL! He's actually been very supportive. He's doing pretty good too and he's looking great. I'm very happy for him. Heck, I'm very happy for both of us.

Well, I better run. It's time to check the message board and post my daily thoughts over on realage. I may try and spend a bit more time on Spark People today too. I really haven't had much opportunity to be on that for the past two weeks. I've missed it, in a way. I've also felt good that I can still progress without being so dependent on it too. Hey, I think I'm making progress! YIPEE!!

Have a super day! Keep on, keeping on! YOU can do this!! WE can do this!! I BELIVE IN YOU!!!
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Hello!
I'm finally back! Wow, it's been a wild week. I'm sorry for not posting sooner. Last Thursday evening we decided to go on a weekend trip to Prescott, AZ. (It's lovely up there and about 30 degrees cooler than the Phoenix area). Well that night I started having abdominal pains, they got a bit better and then worsened again Friday night. By Saturday they were so bad we decided to come home so I could go to urgent care. (I was so uncomfortable!!).

Long story short, I was diagnosed with a "very large, rupturing ovarian cyst". Oh boy, lucky me! Well I can tell you that those hurt. I think the "very large" part made it hurt even more. I'm finally on the mend though and hope to get back to the gym by this weekend. (I've pretty much been bed and house ridden since Saturday). The good news is I had little to no appetite, so I don't have to worry about lots of intake with no exercise. I'm sure I'll be around the same or even a pound or two less tomorrow than I was last week. UGH, not the way to lose weight at all. I would have much rather lost a pound by hiking through the Prescott mountains! Now that sounds WAY more fun than laying around....for sure!

I'm going to walk around the block tonight, depending on how I feel later. I want to slowly get started again, without pushing too hard. I don't want to get everything stirred up and in pain again. No thanks on that. I don't like taking pain pills anyway. The Advil was lots of help though. I did have to take a few prescription pain meds but only when I absolutely HAD to--I hate feeling loopy. (I think I get that from my Dad).

My oldest daughter came in 5th during her regional b-minton tourney. She gets to go to the State Tourney this weekend. Her doubles partner may end up crapping out on the team, so my middle daughter may get to go to state too (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her. She wants to go SO bad and she's worked so hard this year. She's #1 on the JV team, so she should be the next one to move up to the Varsity level). I'll keep you posted.

So....I hope this past week has been good for all of you! If not, be sure to YOU turn and get headed in the right direction. YOU can do this!! WE all can DO it! We just need to work together towards that common goal. Don't give up---NEVER give UP! NEVER surrender!!

Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

ONE-derland has ARRIVED!!! (Weekly measurements 10-11-07)

YIPEE!!! ONE-derland has ARRIVED!!! I did it! I did it!

Here are this week's measurements......
Weight-199.5 lbs (down 3.5 lbs)
Abs-39.25" (down 1/4")
Sucked In Abs-35" (down 1/2")
Chest-42.75" (down 1/4")
R arm-12.25" (down 3/4") Largest part of R arm-16.75" (down 1/4")
L arm-12.75" (no change) Largest part of L arm-16.75" (no change)
R thigh-24" (down 1/2")
L thigh-24" (down 1/4")
Neck-15.5" (down 1/4")
Pannus-46" (no change)

I'm feeling great and working to keep those numbers dropping! I'll write more later about this because I'm very happy and very excited!! I have to run to my DD's regional badminton tourney. TTFN!!
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Quote Correction

It's better to live one day as a LION, than one thousand days as a lamb.

Personal Quotes & Motivation

Hi!
I've been reading on Spark People this morning about motivation and overcoming obstacles/set-backs. I'm really glad I did! I've had a week of slowly slipping backwards and although my weight didn't go up, some of those old habits of over eating tried to creep their way back into my life. Well guess what? It's not going to happen!! This girl is bouncing back BIG TIME and I'm not going to go backwards. I'm buckling down and moving FORWARD and it started today! I've already done much better in my calorie intake, so far today than I have in the last few days. I also did great at the gym this morning and stayed until I burned 700 calories. I am riding a new wave of focus and determination!!

I found a few quotes that I think will help me along my journey. I want to post them here so they can motivate all of us. I'm also going to print them out and post them at home. I am FIRED up!!

"It is better to live one day as a lamb, than one thousand days as a lamb". (Roman Proverb)

"Fall seven times. Stand up eight." (Japanese Proverb)

"If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain". (Dolly Parton)

I think those are great!! I think I'm going to make a collage of motivational quotes. I want to surround myself with positive words and positive energy as I make the surge to ONE-derland!! My goal was to get under 200 BEFORE Halloween! I WILL DO IT!

Have a super day!
Shannon

Weekly Measurements 10/4/07

Hello! Wow, I didn't realize it'd be almost a week since I posted on my blog. (No worries, I'm still posting on my YOAD message board). It's been a very busy week at our house. It's homecoming week for all the girls and we've been running around ALOT to get to everyone's games, get their outfits for Spirit week, etc. I'm committed to myself though and to this weight loss, so even if I'm not posting in here everyday, I'm still out here doing my YOAD thing. ;-)

OK--here's the measurements......dead even on the weight loss but I did have some measurement changes. I was a little disappointed with the scale but I know it's time to step it up more at the gym and I didn't this week. I kind of did the same ol', same ol'. 45-60 minutes of exercise, at my current intensity, is no longer enough to move those numbers down. It's time to kick myself in the pants and get below 200 now! I'm going to make sure that it moves next week! :-)

Weight-203 lbs (no change)
Abs-39.5
Sucked In Abs-35.5 (down 1") (Yipee for me!)
Right Arm-13 (no change) 17 at largest part of arm (no change)
Left Arm-12.75 (down 1/4") 16.75/17 at largest part (no change)
Right Thigh-24.5 (down 1/4")
Left Thigh-24.25 (down 1/2")
Pannus-46 (no change)
Neck-15.75 (up 1/4")

I'll write my official blog entry a bit later.
Have a super day! BELIEVE in yourself, I believe in YOU!
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Feel Good Friday!

Hello!
OK--now for the nitty gritty, now that the measurements are posted. :-)

Last night my oldest daughter and I went to have her Senior photos taken. We had such a nice time. (I can't believe I'm old enough to have a Senior in high school!! I'm in shock part of the time, really happy part of the time and very sad part of the time too....if you've had high school aged kids, I bet you can relate to that too). We go in to check her proofs tomorrow morning. I'm really excited to see them. I think they're going to be terrific!! I'll let you know. :-)

My middle daughter played her first Varsity badminton game yesterday and WON! She was so excited!! She won both her single and doubles match. They had to fight hard to come back to win the doubles game as they lost the first game. They came back and won both the second and third games to win the series. She was so proud of herself--her Dad & I were pretty dang proud too!

The youngest is enjoying cheerleading. She didn't have a game this week but will have one next Wednesday AND be cheering the Varsity game on Friday too (it's homecoming for them). I think she's starting to blossom a bit--it's too early to tell though. I'll keep you posted.

My DH and I are doing a-ok. We're just chugging along YOAD style. We're eating right in the evenings and on weekends. I think he's eating well during the day when he's at work but he has always had portion issues. He's lost about 18 pounds--I'm sure it'd be double that but I think he eats A LOT at work, even if it is a healthier choice of food than he used to make. It's still a lot of food. He'd get mad if he read that, but you know what, he's a man. He should be running circles around my weight loss. He's still really motivated though and at the point where he's getting lots of compliments at work. That's really keeping his fire burning. He's also down to a 38 waist in pants too---that's so great!! He's pretty happy about that too!

I'm hanging in there. As I said in my measurement post--I'm a bit disappointed with this week BUT at the same time, I'm kind of relieved. I went kind of crazy eating YOAD cookies, had a few days of 1800 calories and low water intake--so it's not really a surprize that the scale didn't really move much. I think I went between happiness and disappointment a couple of times, but recalling my intake I think I am actually ultimately releaved that I didn't GAIN! That would have stunk! I haven't done that yet--and don't plan to!

I went to the gym this morning and did 45 minutes on the elliptical (the old fashioned LifeFitness one) and 11 minutes on the stairmaster. I burned 655 calories. I felt good and was nice and sweaty. :-) I missed the gym because I hadn't gone 2 days prior--DH asked me to "wait for him" to go and then the night whizzed by attending high school or GS functions. Then he wouldn't go because it "was too late to go". I told him I can't wait for him to go if he's going to do that. I NEED to go to the gym everyday. It makes me feel good and I need to burn those calories. He said he wouldn't do that to me again. (I'll make sure too---because next time I'll go anyway, even if it's midnight--but preferably it won't be midnight-it makes it too hard to go to sleep).

Last night was my Dad's birthday. I didn't have any cake, ice cream or lasagne! YIPEE for me! I felt good about that too (as I love all three of those things). My Mom had German Chocolate cake, which is my favorite, too. I just resisted and didn't even want it. My Aunt & Uncle were there and they both were so sweet! My Uncle said "keep it up kiddo, you're looking great". :-) That was really cool! I had seen my Aunt earlier in the day, we had lunch with my Dad, and she actually applauded me when I got to the table. She was laughing saying "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh". I smiled and said, "It must have been a while since we've seen each other". She said "Yes, you look fabulous!! How wonderful for you!". It was great!! They both really put the wind in my sails! (Speaking of that, I bumped into an old grade school/high school acquaintence today at the gym and she said "Hey, you look great!". I told her I'd lost 53 pounds and she was like "Oh my God! That's fabulous". That was pretty cool too).

On that happy note, I think I better wrap it up. I hope all of you have a fabulous weekend! Just remember YOU can DO this!! WE can do this!! Don't give up! Every day is a new day!!

Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Weekly Measurements from 9-27-07

Hi all! Well it's that time again, time to post my weekly measurements. I took them yesterday (Thursday), just as I do every Thursday. Nothing too exciting to report but at least I'm down another pound. I'm SLOWLY inching my way towards "ONE-derland"! I'll get there....eventually! LOL!!

Wt-203 (down 1 pound)
Abs-39.5 (no change)
Sucked In Abs-36.5 (no change)
Chest-43.75 (no change)
R arm-13 (no change)
L arm-13 (down .25")
Neck-15.5 (down .5")
Pannus-46 (no change)

I'm just chuggin' along here. :-)

Tuesday, Tuesday

Hi!
It's been a few days since I've blogged. No worries though, I'm still here and still just chuggin' along. It's been a busy couple of days.
Saturday-My middle daughter hosted a Community Safety Fair for her GS Silver Award Project. It was fun. She had a booth on ATV Safety and Helmet use. She also invited the County Sheriff's Office and the local Fire Department to participate. They each had a table full of information and freebies for everyone that attended. I think she did a pretty good job. She submitted her paperwork yesterday so hopefully we'll know within the next week or so, if it was approved. I went to the gym for 45 minutes. It was my oldest niece's 20th birthday and the whole family went to dinner at a new Greek restaurant. It was really good! I had a chicken pita, which was delicious and YOAD ok (but I'm not sure if there was refined flour in the PITA). Our table got a greek dip appetizer-we tried hummus, babaganoush (sp), some kind of caviar dip (I didn't try it), tzatziki (sp) and one other yogurt based dip. They were YUMMY and totally YOAD. After dinner, we went over to my sisters briefly to see the new puppies (that one of my wiener dogs fathered---*sigh*). They are adorable! I can't remember if I already talked about them or not. There's 2 dapples (one male, one female), 1 brown female and 1 black/brown brindle female.
Sunday-I went to the "Strictly Strengthening" class for an hour at the gym. It was tough but great. The teacher was like "Hey, how are you! I haven't seen you in a while". I told her that just because she doesn't see me in class, doesn't mean I'm not at the gym. I told her that I am down 51 pounds and work, work, working to keep going down. She was really excited and said that she wouldn't worry about me then, because I've got things under control. After the gym, I helped my daughter finish her award summary/evaluation. She needed to reflect on what she had done and write about what she learned. That evening we went to church. It was nice, we haven't been to church in a while. The family's Sunday schedule has been so out of whack that we've missed church like the last 6 weeks or so. We're finally back on track now though.
Monday-It was my day off work. I got some GS stuff done at home. Did some housework. Went to the doctor--he was VERY pleased with my weight loss. I've got some fasting bloodwork to do this week--I'll share my results next week (as soon as I get them). Hubby & I went to the gym for a 45 minute workout on the Cybex. I told him we need to start mixing it up a bit. We've been working on the Cybex machines for quite a while now and I think we're starting to get too comfortable. He agreed and said "next week we'll change". LOL--next week. That's my dh for ya, everything is "next week".

TUESDAY-TODAY
Well--now we're all caught up. I gave the cliff notes version of my weekend and we're finally here to today. It's a lovely Tuesday in AZ. The morning weather was super! We were in the mid-60's when I went to the gym this morning. I spent 45 minutes on the Cybex and 10 minutes on the stairmaster (yes I am mixing it up a bit). I burned 626 and 100 calories, respectively. I was happy with the workout.
I got home and had some lunch--Progresso Light SW Veggie Soup (the whole can--honestly who has only 1/2 can of soup, especially when it's only 120 calories for the can??), 1 c. non-fat milk and 3 home made YOAD chocolate/peanut butter chip cookies. DANG those are good! (I made them last night---I got a thumbs up from the entire family on them).
After lunch I went to work, where I am now. I'm here at the office until 5pm today. It's super quiet, so I have lots of time to work on GS stuff, post on my YOAD board and input my stuff onto SparkPeople. It works out very nice.
I just called to make my oldest daughter's appointment for her SR pictures. WOW--I can't believe this day is finally here. It just seems like yesterday *I* was getting *MY* SR pictures. WEIRD! It's pretty cool though too. I'm not sure how ready she is to be an adult yet, but I'm trying to help mentor her more that way this year. She needs to spread her wings a bit more---enjoying her successes and experiencing/creating her own failures. I hope I can let go enough to let her do this stuff---I know it's the only way she can grow and learn. I can't shield and protect her forever, I know that only hurts her in the long run.

Well---I guess I'm going to wrap things up (on that deep note). I'm still moving in the right direction here--exercising, eating right and drinking my water. I'm still on my way to a healthier me in AZ!!
Hugs,
Shannon

Friday---YIPEE!

Hello!
Well it's Friday....YIPEE! I'm glad this week is coming to a close. Boy was yesterday wacky. All the sudden I kind of went on an eating frenzy. No worries, it was all YOAD food but it was just too much of it. I ended up about 500 calories over yesterday. I'm not sure why but I just couldn't get full. Ever have days like that?? I made some Pumpkin-Banana bread and just couldn't get enough of it. I had two large slices along with a cup of nonfat milk with each piece.
Fact is, it really wasn't even all that good! LOL! Go figure! It's OK--I'm right back up on that horse today and my eating is fine.

I was thinking about making the bread again this weekend, after tweaking the recipe a bit (it was too dry & tasted alot like baking powder). I may not though, why have the temptation of having it there? Who knows what I'll end up doing. I do like the fact the girls liked it, they munched on it instead of some other choice (that may not have been as healthy).

My sister's dog had puppies today--one of my dogs is the Daddy. They are adorable--there's 4 of them (3 girls, 1 boy). Two of them look just like both of my male dogs (maybe they are both the Daddy, who knows). Next stop? Neuter-ville! I don't want anymore puppies around--I am a much more responsible pet owner than that. I just didn't realize that 8 month old dogs could father a litter. DANG!

I'm exercising well. I have already been to the gym today. I went this morning, so I could be sure and get it in today (I went before work, before my daughter's MD appt too). I did 50 minutes on the stationary armed elliptical. I burned 502 calories. It was a good workout but I really need to work on pushing myself harder and getting my heart rate up a bit more when I exercise. I know I'm in the "Fat Burning" zone, but I'd like to push it into the "Cardio" zone more often than I do. (That will be one of my goals this month---to step it up a notch on a regular basis).

Tomorrow is my middle daughter's Safety Fair. She's hosting it at a local school. It's her Silver Award Project for GS. I'm curious to see how it's going to go. She's really procrastinated on it and now is really sorry she did. It's stressing her out and it's going to be super small. She originally wanted it to be a much bigger thing. Oh well, lesson learned for her. (Boy she is stubborn....hmmmm I wonder where she gets THAT!?!) LOL!

I better get--I've got to close up the office and get home. We've got to go to WM to get some display boards for her project. It'll be a busy night tonight-FOR SURE!
Hugs everyone!
Shannon

Weekly Measurements 9-20-07

Hi!
Well it's that time again, time to report my weekly weight and measurement. Here it goes...
Weight-204 (down 1 pound)
Abs-39.5" (down 1/4")
Abs Sucked In-36.5" (down 1")
Chest-43.75" (down 1/4")
R arm-13.25" (up 1/4")
R arm largest part-16.75" (no change)
L arm-13" (no change)
L arm largest part-16.25 (down 3/4")
Neck-16" (no change)
Pannus-46" (no change)

I was a little disappointed at the 1 pound weight loss. Then I started thinking that my body is probably just recovering a bit from the 4 pound loss last week. I just want to try and keep that 2 pound/week average going without hitting a plateau.

I'm going to try and step it up a bit more at the gym this week--I relaxed a bit this past week. I didn't push myself as hard as the week before, not even close. Although I was still doing the same amount of time, I wasn't giving 100% every minute--sometimes only about 70 -80%.

I'm only 4 pounds to ONE-derland! I had two short term goals for Halloween. The first was to be under 200 pounds and the second was to lose 31 pounds by October 31st. I set that goal on August 7th. The first goal I will hit in the next week or two. The second, I need to lose 10 more pounds in the next 5-6 weeks to hit. I'm pretty sure I'll hit that one too.

OK---time to get to the gym! I'll post more later on today, if I get the chance. I know I'm not burning calories sitting her typing! LOL!
Have a super day!
Shannon

Tuesday--Happy & Focused

Hi!
Well here we are, it's Tuesday. ;-)
It's been a really nice day. The weather in Phoenix is beautiful! It was in the 70's this morning when I took the girls to school. I had the windows down and it was lovely. I decided to go to the gym this morning and take a 50/50 class (strengthening and cardio). It was a great class. The instructor was a kickboxing teacher---whew! She kicked my butt! It was great! I'll definitely go to that again. It's an hour long class and we're constantly moving.

Sunday-We did the Cardinal's Concession stand gig. We didn't make near as much as we were hoping but had a good time. The Cards even won the game!! WOO HOO! They kicked a field goal with 1 second left on the clock to beat the Seahawks. I sure enjoy the parents of the girls in our troop. They are a fun group! (No gym today--10 hours on our feet at the concession stand. It was my day of "rest". LOL!)

Saturday-Our GS troop volunteered for Relay for Life. We made luminarias and surrounded the walking track with them. It was wonderful. Once the sun went down, we lit them all. They were glowing and beautiful. What an amazing event. I/we were touched and honored to be a part of it. (No worries, I went to the gym that morning prior to the event. I did 40 minutes on the Cybex and burned around 650 calories).

I'm still inputting my daily dietary intake and exercise on Spark People. I LOVE that site! It's been an amazing tool. It's one of the keys to my success, thus far, I have no doubt! It really keeps me on task, especially on the days when I'm actually below on calories. It helps me to add another piece of fruit or a salad onto my day, before it's too late.

My GS troop decided upon their trip destination last night. Now we'll be in a flurry to raise funds for the next 8 or so months. Between that and my lifestyle focus, I will be a busy bee! I sure hope we can do it! I'd love to take these girls to Europe. They will learn and grow SO much! I would have LOVED to have the opportunity to be a global citizen in high school. Who knows---maybe even one of them will find a new life path because of it? Hmmmm...that'd be so great!

I was looking at the photo I posted a few minutes ago. I can't believe the difference from my August photo (see my sparkpeople site for both photos). My face is SO much thinner! You can see my eyes SO much better! My double chin is smaller and you can actually SEE my neck. That's so cool! I wonder what my photo will look like in another 6-8 weeks. I'll be sure to post it...so we can both check it out. :-)

I better run, for now. I have to do some more things at work, prior to going home. Thanks for reading. Have a great day! NEVER give up, NEVER surrender! YOU CAN DO THIS and YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

My pic....heeeeeeeeeeeeere's SHANNON! LOL

Here's me....50 pounds gone forever!!

YIPEE!!

Happy..happy!

Hello!
I'm still just on cloud 9 today! I'm so happy. I'm sitting here at work in a new shirt (size 14-16---YIPEE) and feeling great! I worked out for about an hour this morning at the gym. I didn't want the Friday night flurry to prevent me from putting my health first. You know? This weight loss is a HUGE priority in my life so I make sure that I get my exercise in, no matter what. I try and plan my day around it, instead of trying to cram it in after my day is planned.
It's a great strategy and it's worked very well for me (about 99% of the time).

That being said...LOL, we didn't get to the gym yesterday. By the time we got home from work, the kids' sports games, going out to dinner, checking on a patient, etc. it was after 9:30 PM. Hubby wouldn't go to the gym that late (he has to get up at 4:30 AM). Instead, we walked/jogged around the neighborhood for about 45 minutes (Why we couldn't do that much time at the gym, who knows! My hubby is funny sometimes. I didn't argue about it, at least he got his butt out there with me). It felt nice to walk, especially when we went around the local pond and the school. Hubby chased the geese into the pond like a 2nd grader. It was cute. I told him the geese would get him back for it too! ;-)

I feel so good about myself! Have I said that already?! LOL! I did some strength training on my legs today (in addition to 45 minutes on the Cybex--Weight loss level 8). I spoke to the aerobics instructor on Wednesday about the "saggy skin" on my thighs and what I could do to firm up my inner thighs the best I can. She suggested doing 3 reps of 15 on the following machines (I was doing 3 reps of 10 before): leg press, adductor, abductor and also doing an additional full set on the leg press with my feet out in a plie (aka Mary Poppins style). WOW--did that make a difference. I did 130 pounds on all but the plie--I started out on 100 pounds. I didn't want to be overly sore for "Relay for Life" tomorrow night. The instructor also suggested kicking up the strength training from twice a week to three times a week. Okie dokie, I will do it!

I'm going to make sure and take new photos of me this weekend for my YOAD message board family and my Spark People profile. My last photo was 30 pounds ago. It's time to see what I look like on film again. I'm excited...a little scared, because I want the picture to look like what I see in the mirror. No matter what it is, I am PROUD though. Heck, I may even post my pic in here too.

Tomorrow night our GS troop will be volunteering to help at the Relay for Life event here in AZ. I'm excited. I'm sad though too. I lost an Aunt to lung cancer in May and it has been devestating. She was an amazing woman. She was very supportive to me in my lifelong battle with my weight. She was always proud of me, always my friend and I miss her dearly. She was one of the most amazing women I have ever known. I think of her every day and I know her spirit is with me and in those she loved. (This is making me sad---it's so hard having her gone).
She wasn't a big fan of "mushy stuff" so I better snap out of this! :-) At any rate, I know she's with me and I will be thinking of her during the event tomorrow. If I can do anything to help find a cure for cancers, of any type, I'm going to do IT.

Sunday we will be volunteering at the Cardinals game, selling concessions again. (Raising money for our troop trip). I hope it goes well and we have LOTS of customers (as we earn a % of the stand's sales). It should be busy but it is fun! I enjoy all the people watching there. I don't eat the junk we sell though....it's ice cream, rice krispy treats, caramel apples and soda. Simple, sweet and bad for you. No worries, I've been there twice already and I'm not even tempted by it. ICK! I'm looking HOT man, I'm not messing that up for any rice crispy treat! ;-)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I'll try and post again on Saturday or maybe Sunday night. Make good choices and GET MOVING!
Hugs,
Shannon

I did it!!

Here's today's measurements
205 pounds (down 4 pounds this week--YIPEE!)
I worked HARD for it too--really stepped it up at the gym.

Abs 39.75 (down 3/4")
Sucked In Abs 37.5 (no change)
Chest 44 (up 1/2")
R arm 13.5 (down 1/4")
L arm 13 (down 1/4")
R thigh 24.25 (up 3/4")
L thigh 24.5 (down 3/4")
Neck 16Pannus 46 (down 1.75")

I also started measuring the largest part on my arm (the saggy underside--you know the place). I'm going to keep track of that measurement from now on too.
R arm 16.75
L arm 17

I am VERY happy with my progress! I can't believe I'm about halfway to my ultimate goal. I'm just almost in disbelief. My YOAD message board family has been so instrumental in my success, I can't even tell you! THANKS you guys! Your daily support, nuturing and kind words have really helped me on my journey.

I was telling them this morning that I called my Aunt to tell her that I hit the 50 pound mark and she said "That's terrific! We should celebrate! Let's go out to lunch". LMAO! She burst out laughing after she said it. I did too. It's not like I don't eat! LOL!

However, I actually don't use food to celebrate anymore. I am working very hard to keep food and emotions separate. Food is fuel....PERIOD. I'm trying to break the cycle of emotional eating. Most of the time, I'm very good at it. I still fall off the wagon every now and then but I'm getting better at it every day.

Last night I did the 50/50 class with my dh (and my oldest sister came too). It kicked our butts! Holy cow did she work us hard on our abs and butts. I can definitely feel the butt/hips today--suprisingly enough, the abs aren't sore. My arms are a bit sore though as I bumped up my dumbell weight from 5 to 8 (I know, it was about time...LOL).

After the class was over I talked to the instructor about the saggy shar-pei skin that I'm forming on my inner thighs. I wanted to know if there were anymore exercises I could be doing to help firm that up and make my inner thighs stronger. She gave me a few more ideas and wants me to increase my strengthening exercises to three times a week instead of twice. OK--I guess it's time to step it up!

We had a couple of friends come into the classroom after us and they asked if we wanted to join them for the Fitness Yoga class that was starting next. I wasn't sure. I was tired. I was sweaty. I was sore. "OK. I'll give it a shot". LOL! DH drove home and my sister and I stayed for the class. It was great! There was a bit of it that got tedious (lots of planks to downward dogs in the middle) but other than that, it was wonderful. It was really relaxing too. I think I'll do that class regularly on Wednesday. I've only done Yoga once, prior to that. Remember that DVD I told you I had at home. (I was glad I had done that before, at least most of those poses I knew what the heck we were supposed to do).

You know what else? I put in my workouts on sparkpeople.com and it said that Yoga burns a ton of calories! How is that?! That'd be an added BONUS! I know that I could use the flexibility though. I need to work on making my muscles more pliable. I really think Yoga can help me there. I'll give it a try.

OK---I better get going. I need to take the kids to the orthodontist. My oldest one is getting her retainer mold. She's the last one to get her braces off (next week). YIPEE! She's excited.

Have a super day! YOU can do this!! Just get up, get moving and be proud of who you ARE!
Hugs,
Shannon

Keepin' ON, Keepin' ON

Hello!
Things are much better since my last post! My few days of sweet cravings and munchies have long gone. I'm doing well and feeling great!
I actually submitted a very brief post last night but I clicked the "publish post" button just as the site maintenance started......it erased the post. It wasn't all that exciting, so I didn't bother to re-enter it once the site came back up. That was at 11PM, I'm not sure how long it takes for them to update the site but I didn't hang around to find out! LOL!

Well, tomorrow is "measurement day". I really am wondering if I hit that big "5-0" mark. I'm excited to find out! I sure hope I did! If so, I'm going to email all my friends and family AND shout it from the rooftops! LOL! We'll know in about 18 hours...no worries, I'll post the numbers in the morning.

I was watching the end of a show called "Fat March" the other day with my daughter. It's not a show I've seen before and we only caught the last 10-15 minutes of the show. The "reveal" part where they show the folks now and what they stared at. It was great! The folks lost between like 45-90 pounds. They had walked over 500 miles in a specified period of time (I don't know what it was as I didn't see that part of the show...I'm assuming a few months though). Anyway,
I was talking to my daughter saying "Wow! I can't believe how much different they look with a 45 pound weight loss. I sure wish there was that kind of difference in me, and I've lost 48 pounds". She looked at me very seriously and said "Mom, there is! I don't know how you can't see it, you look terrific!". How cool is that?! I was so touched I got a bit misty.

The one weird thing about that story and me is...I honestly can't really see it. I mean I know that I've lost weight because of the way my clothes fit (actually the old ones don't fit at ALL anymore), I can see it in my face a bit, I am starting to have saggy skin on my legs (EWWW) and stuff but I can't see a BIG difference. I was sharing this with my friends on my YOAD message board the other day. Is that a common thing? Will I ever see myself thinner? Did I ever truly SEE myself for my actual weight, when I was at my heaviest? It really got me thinking A LOT! I know there has to be a pretty big difference because friends and family are commenting all the time about how great I look and stuff. (It's nice). Hmmmm....I wonder.

Hey, funny story! I was over at my Mom's the other night, briefly as she was trying to get me to take home a peach pie she made---UGH, my mother, when will she learn (that's a whole other story)---and I was walking to my car when she said "You don't have a butt anymore". LOL! She was like "What happened to your butt? I can't believe how much weight you've lost. You've never lost this much weight before. I haven't seen you at this weight in years (her way of a compliment by the way...sigh). I told her "Nope, 15 years to be exact". I haven't weighed what I weigh now in 15 years! (And even then it was only VERY briefly, because I got pregnant when my hubby came back from Desert Storm). Here's the funny part of the story....later that night she called my oldest sister and said "You don't think we have to worry about Shannon do you? Have you seen how much weight she's lost? You don't think she's anorexic do you?". OMG--is that HILARIOUS!?! Am I anorexic...not a chance! ROFLMAO!! I love food, it's just now I'm not LIVING to eat, I eat to live. My mother....she's a kick. Am I anorexic?! I'm actually smiling ear to ear just typing this story again.

Still kickin' butt at the gym. Hubby and I found a new Cybex machine there last night. It's one where the arms don't move. I think I liked it better than the arm one, I think I got a better work out (I made the settings much harder, since I didn't have my arms going back & forth). I burned 683 calories in 40 minutes--it was a keeper. Tonight we have an aerobics class called 50/50. I love it! Hubby goes to that one with me, it's fun!

You know, I was looking at myself in the mirror last night and noticed that my skin is starting to sag on my inner thighs. That SUCKS! All this work and I'm going to be a bag of excess skin (I hope not)!! I'm going to really work on strengthening exercises for my inner thighs, to see if that will help. The rest of the muscles in my legs are rock hard though, so I must be doing something right. I really hope I can firm up some of the skin, I'm hoping I'm young enough (38) that some of it is still elastic. It really would be a bummer to be a saggy bag of skin. I don't want to think about that too much though, I will NOT let it discourage me from my goal.

Well heck, I better get going. I'm in a chatty mood today! LOL!
Have a wonderful day! YOU can do THIS! We are making permanent lifestyle changes that are making us healthier! YIPEE!!
Hugs,
Shannon

Lazy Day.....Frustrations Abound

Well today was a lazy day. I sat at the computer for the majority of it checking emails, doing GS paperwork and trying to get little girls into troops. Basically a long day doing nothing but sitting....ugh! No worries, I'll still get to the gym tonight though for at least 1 hour.

I'm a bit discouraged about yesterday's weight still. I've had a real defeatist attitude today, I don't know why though because I haven't really had that since beginning my journey in May. I even had a couple of YOAD cookies today (I made them last night when a sweet tooth hit). No, they aren't completely off the wagon as they are made with steel cut oats, raisins, splenda white & brown sugar, applesauce, canola oil butter and 1 tbsp of peanut butter (organic of course). They are yummy and definitely satisfy the craving (I'm glad I didn't have the fixings for a cake or brownies to tempt me even farther of the course). All in all, not too bad as far as "off course" goes but eating 6 small cookies isn't all that "on course" either. *sigh* That's OK--it's YOU turn time. I think I'll still be fine calorie wise, or pretty close to it. I'll make sure I burn enough at the gym tonight to be OK.

Ever get days like that? It's weird. What do "skinny people" do on days like this? Since they are massive eaters, what is their vice on a blah day? Hmmmm.....I wonder.

I think we're going to rent movies tonight and just have a family "veg" night. We rarely get to do that anymore with all the girls in high school. Everyone is usually going their own way on a Friday night. Lucky for us only one of the girls will be gone and we'll get to have the other two. Our youngest is kind of bummed today, she had a bad day at school, so we'll hopefully cheer her up. I thought she was going to blossom in high school but so far she doesn't like it very much. It's hard on her (and me). I'll try and keep her up and positive the best I can. I hope that will change.

Raising three girls is a challenge, it's such a rarity that these pubescent girls are all happy at the same time. I hope I can help her "YOU turn" her attitude and show her that high school is a blast!

Guess I better go for now.....time to read Rich & Elizabeth's blogs too.
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

I did it!! I hiked the RIM!!

Guess what?! I did it! I "hiked the rim"! I accomplished something that I've wanted to do my entire life, but have never been in good enough shape to do it. It was SO exciting! I did take a few pictures that I will post after they're developed (if the rain didn't ruin the film). I brought along a disposible camera to record the scenery.

The hike lasted 10 hours and at the peak we were at about a 12,000 ft. elevation. I can tell you that the air was mighty thin when you were going up a 50 degree angle. WHEW! It was tough work in spots, especially climbing up and down a few of the rock (giant boulders really) slides. One of the slides took 2 HOURS to climb down. It was massive and quite difficult to manuever.

Guess what else? My hubby and two of my girls went with me. SO not only did I accomplish something wonderful, they did too!! It was really cool! I kept telling the girls how proud I was of them.

Next year I hope to hike the more southern rim, the one that's closest to the cabin, as we hiked the farthest northern rim. (Actually we went way farther North than we were supposed to have gone). It was beautiful up there though and the view was amazing!! (I can't wait to show you the pictures).

I have no idea how many calories I burned but I'm sure it was in the thousands. I forgot to put on my pedometer before we started out (darn it). I have no way of knowing the actual mileage or number of calories burned. Oh well, that's not as important as the climb itself...not even CLOSE. :-)

For the next two days my muscles were pretty sore so I only walked about 15 minutes on the second day. We got home Tuesday night and I resumed going to the gym on Wednesday. It felt good to be in there and I wasn't sore at all. (I did 30 minutes on the Cybex on "Weight Loss Level 10" and 25 minutes on the treadmill. I'm intermingling jogging at 4.5 mph with my fast walk 3.5 mph--remember I have short legs....LOL). Hubby and I, hopefully the kids, will be going to the gym tonight too. Boy, it feels pretty great to be in shape! I know that it's only going to get better too! How exciting!!
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Weekly Measurements 9/6/07

Hello! I'm back from the wonderful camping trip (I will share more about that in the next post). I have my weekly measurements completed and ready to post.

Weight 209 lbs (down 1.5 lbs from last week, 46 lbs total)
Abs 40.5" (down 0.5" from last week) Sucked In Abs 37.5" (down 1.5" from last week)
Chest 43.5" (down 1.25" from last week)
R arm 13 7/8" (down 1/8" from last week) L arm 13.25" (down 0.25" from last week)
R thigh 23.5" (down 0.5" from last week) L thigh 24.75" (up 0.25" from last week)
Neck 16" (no change)
Pannus 47.75" (down 0.75" from last week)

I was hoping for more of a weight loss, especially with the massive amount of hiking I did while we were camping HOWEVER, I am very happy with the tape measure's results. I'm only 4 pounds from a 50 pound weight loss (overall) and 10 pounds from 199 pounds (ONE-derland)!! YIPEE!! I'm gettin' there!

My plan is to stay on track, continue to eat smart and make healthy YOAD choices AND to exercise daily. We'll see what next week's measurements bring.
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Measurements from 8/30/07

OK--here's the full Monty of measurements from yesterday (sorry I didn't post them Thursday but it was a CRAZY day and I didn't have a chance).

Weight 210.5 pounds (down 2.5 pounds from last week and 44.5 total)
YAHOO!! 11 pounds from "ONE-derland"!!

Abs 41 (no change) Sucked In Abs 39
Chest 44.75 (up 1/2 inch)
R arm 14 (no change) L arm 13.5 (no change)
R thigh 24 (d0wn) L thigh 24.5 (down)
Pannus 48.5 (up 1/4 inch)
Neck 16 (down 1/2 inch)

I was happy with the weight, a tad disappointed at the measurements but I knew it was going to start to level off a bit. I'm sure I'll have a decent sized change in the next week or so.

I am proud of myself for sticking to this. I can't believe that 50 pounds is almost gone. WOW! 5.5 pounds to 50 pounds gone....whew. That's A LOT of weight. I think about carrying a 50 pound bag of dog food (for my Great Dane) and I think "DAMN--50 pounds, holy COW!".

This afternoon we leave for Boulder, so I won't be writing again until Wednesday. I'm geared to "hike the rim". I hope it happens. I'm going to do everything in MY power to MAKE it happen. I'm SO excited!!

I better run, I have 30 more minutes until I close the office and I still have a few more things to do. I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend!
Hugs,
Shannon

Winners!

Well, Bec won her badminton match! She's the only one out of ALL the JV & Varisty girls to win a match! HOW COOL is that?! Needless to say she was pretty happy and me & her pops were pretty proud of her. It's unbelievable what a 360 she has done in the past year. She has really grown and matured. She has a much better outlook and I can't help but think that it's partially due to her weight loss (even though it's only about 25 pounds...it has made a difference).

Sarah didn't win hers but she went down fighting. She was happy for her sister though and said they'd probably make a big deal about it on the announcements at school. That's so cool!

Hubby & I went to the gym alone last night, the girls were spent from the badminton games and cheerleading (my Freshman). We spent 30 minutes on the Cybex Gazelle, 35 minutes on the stationary bike and 15 minutes doing strength training on our biceps & triceps. Hubby griped ALOT about the strength training but did it anyway. It was amusing!

Weekly weights & measurements are tomorrow. I'm curious to see how I've done this week. I am thinking, as I shared with my YOAD message board group, that I'm going to start to level out to a 2-3 pound loss weekly vs. the larger losses that I've had in the past. I know that the more fit I'm getting, the harder it is going to be to lose the weight. It's going to get tough but I'll have to push through it (even on the days that I don't want to). The rest of the family is going to have to weigh & measure too--all of them but hubby skipped it last week. I think they were feeling bad and knowing that it wasn't going to be good. Hubby is still hanging in there but the girls waiver a bit at school. (They don't have any junk food at home so I know it has to be coming from school---I sure don't buy it). We'll see. I hope they'll get a bit more focused about weight loss. It's one thing to complain about losing weight BUT if you don't want to do something about it, DON'T complain.....ya know?!

I guess that's about it for now. I'll be going to the gym after dinner tonight, as usual. I think I'll do a class tonight though, instead of 60 minutes on the machines. It's time to mix it up a bit. I get bored with the machines sometimes, especially lately and I don't want my body to get into a rut or routine. I think tonight is 50/50--I'll have to check the schedule. If it is, I like that class and so does hubby.

Have a super day! Believe in yourself! YOU can do this! I CAN and AM doing it too!
Hugs,
Shannon

Monday Munchies hit HARD

Hello!
Wow! I was hit hard by the "Monday Munchies" and a sweet tooth yesterday. It was crazy! I usually have Monday's off so I was just wandering around the house (between cleaning and stuff) munching on stuff (it was all YOAD but it was just constant). I had a CRAZY sweet tooth so I made some YOAD ok oatmeal bars (vs. oatmeal cookies because I was afraid I would eat too many cookies). They were good but I ended up eating two of them *sigh*. Which in some ways is good because the "old me" would have eaten the entire pan OR gone to the store for brownie mix and made a pan of brownies (I was TOTALLY tempted to do that too). So I guess....after all that....I am kind of proud of myself for not totally going off the rails. I ended up with about 400 calories more than I was supposed to have for the day (I self corrected in the evening somewhat to manage what I had munched and eaten during the day). Needless to say, I was hungry at bedtime! LOL!

I didn't get to the gym yesterday either, so that almost started a "guilt spiral" (but I didn't let it). On Sunday, we had done lots of yardwork and we also went to the gym for about an hour, and then on Monday my muscles were screaming at me. My hamstrings were SOOOO tight, I just couldn't go to the gym. I was worried that I was going to pull one and be sidelined for awhile, so I let them have a day off. They feel much better today but I am still a bit sore in my lower back. I'll definitely be at the gym today for my usual hour.

I have to run shortly. Two of the girls have a badminton game today, it's the first of the season. I can't miss that! They are really excited for it. They've been practicing hard and getting lots of extra workouts because of it. I'm glad it's a way for them to build confidence AND exercise at the same time.

I'm getting pretty excited about this weekend. We'll be going to Boulder Friday after school (on our annual Labor Day camping trip). I have been preparing to "hike the rim" this trip. It's something I've ALWAYS wanted to do but have NEVER been in good enough shape to do it. Well....I'm doing it! I'm excited! I'm a little scared but more excited. I'm definitely going to take pictures of this monumental occasion.

I better run, before I'm late for the game! I still have to close up the office and get to the school.
Hugs,
Shannon

Early, Early Sunday AM

Hi!
Just a quickie post as it's 1:26 AM on Sunday here. I'm getting pretty tired and plan to head to bed. The entire house, even all the teenagers, have beaten me to it.

Busy day today! I ate fine, actually almost a little too low on calories, but it worked out OK. I didn't go to the gym today because I had a travel seminar this morning and worked at the Cardinal's concession stand all afternoon until about 11:30 PM tonight! (Working on earning funds for our GS troop trip to Europe this summer). I'm sure I burned LOTS of calories running around trying to get everyone their drinks and snacks during the game. If the way my feet feel is any indication....WOW, I must have burned a TON of calories! LOL!!

Had a nice day yesterday and a good evening. I went to the gym with my two oldest daughters. We worked out for about an hour. Bec and I tried the stationary bike, as I'm getting bored with some of the other equipment in the gym. We had a BLAST! We'll definitely do that again...TOGETHER! We were laughing and joking together. It was really nice!

I'm feeling confident and happy. I bought some new make up and hair stuff at Walgreens yesterday. I think I'm subconsciously feeling more self confident. I'm getting ready to put myself out there a bit more and show off this HOT BOD! LOL! (Ok, not quite hot yet but it's getting LUKE warm...LOL!!).

*Yawn* Goodness, I'm going to run. I'm super tired now. I'll write more during the DAY on Sunday or on Monday.
Biggest hugs from AZ,
Shannon

Today's Thoughts

Hello!
Today is a wonderful day? Why? Well there are so many reasons. I am happy, I am healthy, my kids & my husband are (well as happy as they can be...I think! LOL), I feel good, I'm losing weight, my clothes are smaller, I have more energy, I get complimented almost daily on my weight loss, I'm following my eating plan, I'm recording my daily intake on Spark People, I'm exercising daily, I'm recording that exercise on Spark People, I'm posting regularly on my YOAD message board, I've started posted on Spark People boards.....sigh. Life is good! :-)

Last night I saw Mamma Mia with my daughters, niece's, sisters (2 of the 3), my Mom and my Aunt. It was fun. We had a girls night out, went to dinner (yes, I ate very sensibly!!) then went to the show. It was nice! The girls enjoyed it too, especially the older ones! It's a cute musical. It's silly but fun.

You know, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I'm wondering if I will see myself differently when I continue to lose weight. I was talking to my husband the other night and I honestly think that I see myself differently than what I am. I see my weight, myself, in the mirror and pretty much see the same person that I've always seen in there. I don't seem to look much different (although I FEEL way different--more energy, happier, etc.) than I did before, to myself. Now others, they are complimenting me all the time, telling me how great I look, etc.
What I'm wondering is....will that change? Will I still see myself as a 200+ lb. woman when I weigh 180, 160, 150, 135?? I am really curious about that. Perhaps my mind just sees what it wants to see and just didn't let me "see" what I was at my heaviest. Could that be? Hmmmm....I KNOW that there are changes--my old clothes don't fit anymore, I'm in stuff that's 4 sizes smaller than I used to be, so I KNOW there is a difference. I'm trying to figure out why I can't see it in myself though...it's strange. Is it a defense mechanism?? I'm kind of excited to see if that's going to change over the next few weeks and months. I'll be sure and keep you posted on it. :-)

You know what? Last night while trying to get ready for the evening, I wanted to find something great to wear. I wanted to "show off" the weight loss a little bit, so I went in my closet to find an outfit I hadn't worn in a long time. A nice one that would look nice on me. Guess what? I COULDN'T FIND ONE! LOL! They were all HUGE! One of my former favorites, I only wore a couple of times, and I could pull the waist out farther than my fist (without sucking in). I took a few steps in the pants and they slipped down to under my hips. I laughed but I was kind of sad too. All those clothes, expensive clothes, going to waste. Now I will have to get ALL new clothes for nice occasions too. (As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I got some new clothes for my b-day, but really only about 5 or 6 outfits. Enough to tide me over but not too many so that I didn't have to ditch them all in another 2 or 3 months). Even my SHOES fit loosely. I love the weight loss, I TRULY DO, but it's an expensive proposition!! LOL!
Well, I finally found the best of the "clown pants" (as my sister calls them) and put on my best jewelry, did my hair & make up and put on some grapefruit essence perfume and AWAY I went.
It was fun! Next time I go out though, I will definitely have a new outfit that will fit me! I want to look as GREAT as I feel!!
Biggest Hugs,
Shannon

P.S. Don't give up on yourself!! YOU can do this!! I can do this!! One bite at a time, one meal at a time, one day at a time, one step at a time!!

Weekly Measurements

Hello! It's Thursday so it's time to post the weekly measurements for 8/23/07.
Weight 213 (down 2.5 lbs from last week)
Abs 41" (no change from last week)
Abs Sucked In 38.25" (down 1.25" from last week)
Right Arm 14" (no change from last week)
Left Arm 13.5" (down 1.25" from last week)
Right Thigh 24.5" (down 1" from last week)
Neck 16.25" (down .5" from last week)
Pannus/Hips 48.25" (down .75" from last week)
Chest 44.25" (no change from last week)

I'm happy with that progress. I was a little disappointed with the 2.5 lb. weight loss until I realized that a 2.5 lb weight loss is a very HEALTHY loss. I'm eating right, exercising and feeling great!! The fat is melting away and I'm toning up every day! I AM PROUD! I AM INVINCIBLE! I AM WOMAN! LOL!!! (jk, jk) OK---well I am proud!

I'm off to the gym right now, after I post my results on my weekly YOAD results board (pick & stick). I'll share the results with my message board family after the gym.

Tonight I'm going with my Mom, sisters, kids and nieces to see Mamma Mia. I'm excited! We're going out to dinner and then to the show. I'll be sure to make a healthy choice, no matter where we go!
:-)
YIPEE for me!!
Hugs,
Shannon

Late....tired but hanging in there!

Hello!
I thought I'd pop in for a quickie on the blog. It's almost 11 pm and I'm tired. It's been a nice evening tonight. Hubby and I spent just over an hour at the gym tonight. We did 33 minutes on the elliptical (burned 400 calories) and then did about 30 minutes with weights. I did about 10 different machines focusing on my legs and chest today. On each machine I did 3 sets of 10 reps--all the chest stuff was with 70 lbs worth of weight. All the leg stuff, with the exception of the hamstring and leg raises, I did 140 lbs (I did 70 lbs worth on the two exceptions). After the work out, I spent about 5-10 minutes stretching too. It was so funny, when hubby and I walked up the stairs one of the trainers gave us both a "high 5". He said that he loves to see us there all the time and said "Now, that's what I'm talking about! We gonna be burning some calories now!". He's a really nice guy. It was a good feeling too!
Guess what? I can now touch the floor when I bend over to stretch. That's SO cool!
My eating was good today, it's actually pretty good most days. I'm trying to focus on bringing in more veggies and protein daily. I stepped it up today and I was OK in both areas.
I'm drinking plenty of water, a minimum of 8 glasses a day.
None of the kids went to the gym today. I'm going to start enforcing the minimum of 3x a week rule as of tomorrow. The girls begged and begged for me to join the "expensive gym" and cancel our "Y" membership. They promised they'd go to the gym a minimum of 3x a week, if we did. Well...it's been about 3 weeks of not going that often. They've only gone once or twice a week since school started. That's going to change....everyone needs to get fit at our house AND needs to follow through on their promises.
Well.....I think that's about it for today. Pretty quiet and boring. I worked, went to the gym, made dinner, played cards with hubby, helped youngest with Math homework (and encouraged her to start using the tutor at school), did some GS stuff and was on the computer a bit (not in that order).
I'm pretty tired now though, so I'm going to bed.
I hope everyone is doing well! Keep up the awesome work! Two days until my weekly weigh in and measurements!!
:-)
Hugs,
Shannon

BTW---Measurements started on 7/12/07

By the way----I started the weekly measuring on July 12th, 2007. I have lost significantly more than that, but I hadn't started to take measurements until then. The only numbers I have a true baseline for are my weight and my abdomen, as those were both taken at the gym on May 1st.
:-)
Just thought I'd clarify that.....
Shannon

Measurements from 8/17/07 & Total Losses to Date

8/17/2007 (decrease from last week/decrease since beginning measurements)
Weight 215.5 (-3.5 lbs/-39. 5 lbs total since 5/1/07-start of YOAD)
Abs 41.5" (-0.5"/-4.5" total since 5/1/07-start of YOAD)
Sucked In Abs 39.5" (-0.5"/3.25" total)
Chest 44.25" (-1.25"/-4" total)
Right Arm 14" (-0.75"/-3.5" total)
Left Arm 14.75" (-0.25"/-3" total)
Neck 16.75" (+0.25"/-0.75 total)
Right Thigh 25.5" (-1"/-2" total)
Left Thigh 25.75" (-0.25"/-1.25" total)
Pannus 49" (-1.25"/-1.75" total)

I'm going DOWN!! Whether by millimeter, centimeter, inch or pound...it's going, going, GONE FOREVER!!

Busy, busy, BUSY!

Hi everyone!
Wow, it's been a busy few days. On Friday, I went to the gym in the AM because my Dad had to have a cardiac cath at 2pm. I did 40 minutes on the treadmill (from 5-12 elevation and from 3-4 mph) then did 20 minutes on the Cybex. It was a good workout and I was glad I made time to do it.

After the gym, I came home and showered so I could meet my Dad up at the hospital.
Everything went great for him! He didn't have to have any more stents! It was wonderful! He even got to go home that night, vs. both of us spending the night in the hospital. (I'm an RN, so whenever he has to stay the night at a hospital, I always stay with him. It gives him extra security so he doesn't worry as much).

On Saturday, I (and many of the parents from our troop) worked/volunteered to sell concessions at the AZ Cardinals game. My GS troop is working to earn enough money to go to Europe this summer, so we've committed to sell concessions every game. We're hoping it will gain us about $10K towards the trip. WOW, were my feet tired. It I spent about 11 hours on them and they were ready for a break. We won't know how much we earned until next week. I hope we did OK. I know the tips were bad...LOL! We only made $18.50 in tips.

On Sunday, we spent about 1.5 hours at the gym (I did 35 minutes on the treadmill and 31 minutes on the Cybex. I also did some stretching). We hung around the house some and played cards. We went to church and just really enjoyed the day.

Today has been pretty good. I've just been doing some housework (dishes, laundry, basic cleaning up) and reading posts on my YOAD message board. (I'm off on Mondays, so I like to catch up on everything) I am hoping to have my sister come with me to the gym this afternoon. We'll see if she'll come. We have a GS meeting tonight, so I'll be doing some prep work for that AND we have "Meet the Teacher Night" at the high school. It'll be prety busy later on, so I have to fit the gym in today instead of tonight.

I made some YOAD oatmeal cookies yesterday. They were yummy! I had 5 small cookies (they were about the size of a 50 cent piece) and some non fat milk. YUM!! That's the first time I've had cookies since beginning on YOAD. It also is the first YOAD cookie I've ever had. It really was delicious! I used the Splenda brown sugar for the first time too.....it was good.

That's about it for now. I'm going to input some measurements from last week shortly. I'm going to create a more organized format so I can see a week by week change at a glance.
Keep an eye out for it.
:-)
Shannon

3.5 lbs down---39.5 lbs gone FOREVER!!

Well Mr. Scale was friendly to me again this morning for my weekly Thursday weigh in. I've lost another 3.5 pounds. That makes me down 39.5 pounds since starting YOAD in mid-May.
How cool is that?! Almost 40 pounds....GONE FOREVER!! YIPEE!! (I did my weekly measurements too but I forgot to bring them to work. I'll have to post them later on.).

I came into work today and told my sister that I had a 14-16 sized shirt on. She said, "Oh my God, when is the last time you wore a shirt that size?". You know what? I had to really think about that. Guess when it was? It was in high school. Holy cow, I have not worn the size I'm wearing, right this very minute, since high school. That kind of took me back a little bit. It's pretty exciting....a little bit scary too. I'm really happy about this weight loss, really, really happy!

I truly understand the old saying "nothing tastes as good as thin feels". Although I'm not "thin" yet, I'm getting there and I can totally relate to how much better I feel. I have more energy, I'm not tired all the time, I'm not crabby all the time and I'm enjoying & experiencing LIFE! It's AWESOME!

Hubby and I did a new class last night at LF called 50/50. It was a good one. We both enjoyed it and got a good workout. We even did a little extra at the end, since we were about 5 minutes late to class. We did 10 minutes on the Stair Master too. I tell you, we are in such better shape than we were 3 months ago, I can't even express it in words.

Tonight I have a GS Parent Meeting so I'm not sure if I'll get to the gym. If not, I'll be sure to walk at least 30 minutes in the Neighborhood (I am thinking I'll get to the gym though, after the meeting). I'm excited to get the troop going again this year. We've got some AMAZING things planned!

I better run! Keep on keeping on! Drink your water, get moving and believe in yourself! YOU can do this!! WE can do this!
Hugs from AZ,
Shannon