skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I have been BAD!!! I wanted to keep this blog updated once each week! It has now been a month! It has been a busy time here!!
I started out strong this summer at the gym. Then, harvest started. I am hoping by the end of the week (after ground working is over) I will get back to the gym, at least three times per week!
I had a milestone happen during harvest. Since I have posted my weight on here already, it is no biggie to mention it again! I am now below 200 pounds for the first time in six and half years! I am weighing in at 198! In a year's time I have lost 34 pounds! It has been a hard fought battle, but I am glad to see the "1" on the scale instead of a "2." I know that this isn't lightning quick weight loss that you see on The Biggest Loser, or on those TV informercials. But it is a journey that I have done myself! I can't imagine where I would be today if I hadn't decided to do something last summer when I saw 232 on the scale. My guess is that instead of being close to a size 12 I would be entering the 20s of sizes for the first time in my life!
Since starting this journey I have lost 7 inches off my waist. Anyone who has followed my story for very long and knows all of the illness, injuries and stress I have had in my life over the last year, knows that is huge!!!
Is it hard to get on here and make myself vulnerable to millions of people? Absolutely! But I want to have a record of this journey! It has been a long hard one that I have dealt with most of my adult life. I don't share any of this with people to toot my own horn. Anyone can loose 30 pounds in three months, let alone a year!
My purpose for doing this is so that people can see that even though it has been hard, I haven't given up! I am still fighting the fight. Yes, some days are easier than others! Some days, I get up and love the numbers on the scale, while other days I hate them! But, I still journey on. It would have been easy to give up and let the numbers go the other way! It would be easy to go back to doing nothing for physical fitness, and eating all that I want!
But, I wouldn't have the feeling that I have when I stand in front of mirror and put on clothes that used to be so tight I could zip them to now when I put them on, they fall off of me. I wouldn't have the joy of being able to workout and feel enegerize the rest of the day! I wouldn't be able to look at clothes now and not worry if the XL is going to be too small...I wear a large comfortably now!
The journey isn't over. It will be a lifelong one that will require my dilligence from here on out. And I still have more weight that I want to loose. I read a article the other day though that put this into perspective. It is great to have the big 70+ weight loss goal or whatever it may be, but you have to be willing to set the smaller goals! You have to set the goals of ten pounds lost! And then you have to celebrate them! Waiting to reward yourself only when you reach the big goal can be detrimental to your success!
I have learned a couple of things in the last couple of days and I want to share!
1. BlackBerrys don't belong in your back pocket. Buy the clip and put them on your pants not in them. The reason: They can fall out of your pocket and into the toilet quicker than all get out! Then you get to explain that to your phone company...Can't wait to do that!
2. A chore chart is good for keeping your kids on task. It gives them a visualization of what they have accomplished in the day. It is also productive to put fun things on there like riding their bike or reading books. It encourages them to do those things more.
3. Listing "taking a nap" on your chore chart doesn't make it anymore fun for a six year old to do!
4. Trying to loose weight and actually doing it are two very different things! I have worked at this journey for 10 months now. I am going to include my doctor in the process with a visit tomorrow.
5. Hormones have everything to do with your thyroid function, with your metabolism, and with every function of your body. What a find Biggest Loser trainer Jillian's new book Master Your Metabolism has been!
6. Drinking water is a great thing until you drink to much, wind up in the bathroom every five minutes and loose your BB down the toilet (haven't I already mentioned that...hmmmm)...
7. Summer break is a great time to get the family started on new rituals that will last a lifetime. Having the kids at home is a great time to encourage them to eat healthier, be physically active, and spend time together as a family!
8. If you look hard enough, even in this rough economic time, you can find great things to keep your kids active all summer long...My boys are doing summer story time at the local library (it's free and most libraries offer it), swim team (only $50 for the entire summer, check out your local pool or YMCA), bicycle riding (they got those as birthday gifts), family membership at our local pool for FUN swim time ($225 for a family with up to six people for a whole year at the pool in Kingfisher), and much much more!
9. You can't put a price tag on your health! There is nothing like sitting on your front porch in the cool of the evening watching your boys have a sword fight, while your daughter pushes around a trike that her brothers used to ride. Those moments are truly priceless.
These lessons are why I am living. They are why I continue to exercise daily. They are why I want to be the healthiest Lesley that I can be. I don't want to miss out on living because I didn't take the time to take control of me. Even with the BB in the toilet, it is still a priceless moment in my life because it is mine, and it worth living everyday that we have on this earth to the absolute fullest and healthiest that we can be!
Well, it was bound to happen. Eventually, you have to shake things up! I have worked out at Paula's Elite Fitness Studio for 10 months. Even through illness, injury, and the regular ups and downs of life, I managed to stay consistent. I knew eventually there would come a time when I would have to spread my wings and fly on my own. I had actually been thinking about it for a couple of months now: Cutting back there and joining the gym in town. My friend that I work out with and I had even developed a plan: we were going to workout together at the school this summer while the kids played on the playground.
I had good intentions, but I didn't know how to completely follow through with them. You know how it goes, you feel like doing something, but you don't know how to go about it!
This week Paula gave notice that she could no longer allow children to come with their Moms while they worked out. She is making some fabulous changes in her business and needed to make that change. Kinsley has always went with me. She even has provided extra weight while I do lunges or sit ups, and she exercises with me. Have you ever seen a one-year-old do wall push ups? It is comical!!
This presented a dilemma and a fabulous opportunity for me: I would have to discontinue going to Paula's because I don't have a babysitter, and I would face one of my biggest obstacles in this journey which is doing this on my own! Thankfully, with this challenge, my previous plans were starting to become reality, and everything I had been contemplating fell into place. Don't you just love it when that happens? It is awesome seeing a situation just work its self out, especially when it is best for both parties!
My friend and I decided we had to have some way to stay committed to our fitness goals. She had been a member of our local gym years ago, so we decided we would go and sign up together. We went tonight and did it together. I am so EXCITED! I loved going to Paula's and will miss it! However, this is the next best thing! The gym is open 24/7. It has everything I could possibly need in order to workout. I can get up early before everyone is awake or I can go after everyone is out for the evening. I can go on the weekends. I can go everyday (probably won't be doing that lol) if I choose. And I get to still do it with my workout buddy and dear friend! We get to be accountable to each other and have fun together.
We even joked tonight with their family plans, maybe we could convince the husbands to join. Of course, we would have to get a sitter then so we could watch them do that!!!LOL!!!
I really feel like my life is starting to come together. I am getting to the point of when you have a goal and you can see the finish line. I am starting to see the next step in this process and how the pieces all can fall into place!
I don't know if I mentioned this in the other blog post, but I had something exciting happen this weekend. I wore a pair of pants that I had bought last summer. They were the biggest pants I had ever wore in my life at a size 18 (YUCK!) They were even at the point where I was starting to get scared if I would have to keep going up in sizes. I put them on Sunday not even really thinking about it. They were huge on me, but I went ahead and wore them to church. I had a wedding shower that afternoon, and I had to come home before hand and changed. Those slacks were almost as miserable being too large as they were when they were too tight. I spent all morning pulling them up and wrestling with them. They have since went into the bag to give to goodwill! I am going to have to start doing a lot more of that soon! I can't wait!!!
