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