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Monday, June 10, 2013

I have a Real Mouthful Today.......

I met with my coach on Sunday morning to go over some details of how I can keep losing weight and reach my goal by August 30th. I knew the answer. I had thought about it, but I hadn't yet really talked about it, or completely accepted the fact that it was really the answer. I had done it before, but not for this long of a period. It's a big commitment. It's a HUGE commitment. It's longer than LENT!!!!

After discussing things with my coach, and deciding to make the commitment, I told her I didn't think I wanted to blog about it, but I wasn't sure why, because I blog about everything, screw ups and all. She said that one of the reasons for me not wanting to blog about my 12 week commitment could be.......I am afraid that if I screw up, everyone that reads my blog and spends time with me, will see my failures. I don't remember exactly how she worded it, but somewhere along those lines.

She was right.

So I am writing this blog, to hold myself accountable, and to prove to myself, that I CAN do this.

She also reminded me that this 12 week commitment was just that. A 12 week commitment, not a lifetime commitment. If I can make this commitment for 12 short weeks (BASICALLY THE ENTIRE SUMMER) then I will be at goal, and then I will be able to enjoy ALL things, in moderation, and live a healthy life at a healthy weight, and never have to worry about LOSING weight again, just maintaining, which I seem to be pretty darn good at.

Setting a timeline goal has made a huge difference in the fact that I can now see the finish line.

I want to cross the finish line.

In order for me to do that on time, and I will reach my goal by August 30th, I will give up ALCOHOL for the next 12 weeks.

If I OVER think this, it's a HUGE deal, but if I simply do it, it's really not that big of a deal.

Like I said, I have done it before and been successful at it, but not for this long. So, if you and I spend time together enjoying beverages, please still invite me along, to your driveway, to your deck, to your patio, to your Girls Night at the bar, or out for dinner and drinks. I'll sip on a Vodka Soda with just the Soda, or drink my Bloodymary "virgin" style, I'll pass on the beer and opt for water, I'll be your designated driver, but please don't think I don't want to join you, and don't be worried about putting me in a position I can't handle. I promise to not be boring. Heck! Maybe I'll be the next one to flash everybody at a party! Okay, wait. If that happens, I should seek outside counsel, because really, no one should do that sober, and, I could hurt someone.

Okay, now that I've got that off my chest..........(pun totally intended)

Remember my daughter Tess? Remember how she got this Kick Ass job with Southwest Airlines and moved to Dallas? Well, she is doing great and is super happy and super busy getting adjusted to her life far, far away. I do miss her, but we talk pretty much every day, so it still doesn't feel like she really doesn't live here. Each week, she finds out more amazing things about working for Southwest. After the tornado's hit in Oklahoma, an email was sent out to Southwest employees offering them an opportunity to sign up to volunteer to go to Oklahoma for a day to help with clean up efforts. On Saturday, Tess boarded a Southwest flight with several other employees and headed to Oklahoma where FOUR bus loads of Southwest Employees went to a family farm in a rural part of Oklahoma and chipped in to clean up debris from the fields so they could harvest their crops.

These are a few of the photos she sent to me.

The home of the (very gracious) family they went to help.








Tess and her friend (also an intern this summer, now an employee), Elly.





Cleaning up the wheat fields.




These puppies, miraculously survived the tornado!




Tess wants one. I had to remind her that apartment living with a dog, would be a LOT of work, and dogs can be expensive!!!!




So happy she met Elly!



At the end of a long, manual Labor day, she was a bit delirious!!






I walked a little over three miles with a couple of friends in the neighborhood on Sunday, then I took the pooches for a mile hike! It was GORGEOUS outside yesterday! I call it a hike because it was about 1/4 mile downhill, then 1/4 uphill, then back again, all in thick deep grass! Mishka was a real trooper!!





Mike and I ended our day at my brothers for a family BBQ to celebrate my nieces High School Graduation.





My brother and niece, Jessie.




Jessie and her boyfriend, Dylan.





Here are the days eats.......

Breakfast......




Snack





So Refreshing!



Lunch




Snack.....
(I ate some veggies with a cheese wedge and an egg before going to the BBQ. We were having ribs and cheesy potatoes, so I didn't want to go super hungry and overdue on those things.)





Dinner

Forgot pictures!!!!! I did end up eating more than I wanted to, but I am still within my weekly points. :) My brother made some delicious "fall off the bone!" ribs!!

Refresh...I can eat 26 points a day.
I can earn Activity Points by doing exercise.
I have an allowance of 49 points that I can dip into if I chose.
I should drink a minimum of 6 (8 oz) glasses of water each day.

The food I ate and it's PPV

Breakfast = Greek Yogurt, Berries, Coffee with Skim Milk (4)
Snack = WW Smoothie, 1/2 C frozen Pineapple, 1/2 Frozen Banana (2)
Lunch = Chicken Sausage, Cheese, Mustard (5)
Snack = Veggies, Cheese wedge, Egg (3)
Dinner = Ribs, Potatoes, Fruit, Raw Veggies (18)

Total = 32

Activity Points Earned Today = 5
Remaining points from my 49 Points Allowance = 36
How many glasses of water I drank today = 12






"love the life you live, live the life you love"





"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Bark N' Blues

The Destination for Saturday?





First? Breakfast......





....then Tucker and I prepared to head out to the Second Annual
"Bark N' Blues" Festival for the afternoon with my dad.

"Bark N' Blues" is an event in a neighborhood park in Prairie Village, Kansas, organized to help unwanted pets and financially support area animal rescue organizations. We headed out to participate in some of the fun, play with other dogs, and listen to some good music! (Mishka would not be attending.)

Look! A Doggie Food Truck! The owner said he is the only one in K.C. and I believe he said there only three Doggie Food Trucks in the nation!!





Super Cute! And apparently tasty too! Tucker gobbled up his treat and I bought treats to take home to Mishka. She was pleased as well.





Complimentary Water!!




Tucker even made their Facebook Page with this photo!!

Check out their Facebook Page, HERE




Tucker was all OVER this Hot Mess! He is such a flirt with the ladies.......




Then I saw THIS guy......

The dog is wearing sunglasses, a watch, a bracelet, a purse, a dress AND a hat. Odd? Uh.....yeah, kinda. Oh, and the dog looked sedated. Maybe she was just old. My dad thinks her jewelry was so tight, it cut off her circulation. Lets just hope she was napping.




Lunch...




Snack.....





After my lunch settled, it was time to get my walk in. I did just over 6 miles and increased my pace from yesterday. Must of been my Pandora station!





I came home and did all of my scheduled fitness activities, including 150 crunches and 6 planks! Just a reminder, my new fitness goals include 25 crunches/ab exercise for each mile walked, and 6 plank/core exercises. My shoulder wasn't quite ready to hold those for 30 seconds, but I did get six of them in!!

Then I rode my bike to a friends. I had planned to drive over after my workout for just a short visit, but while walking I saw so many people on bikes, I remembered I had one too and should ride it!! So I pumped up the tires and hopped on! Going to her house??? All downhill. Home?? THAT was a workout!!

Then I made dinner.....

Appetizer.....




Dinner.....





Refresh...I can eat 26 points a day.
I can earn Activity Points by doing exercise.
I have an allowance of 49 points that I can dip into if I chose.
I should drink a minimum of 6 (8 oz) glasses of water each day.


The food I ate and it's PPV

Breakfast = Egg Whites, Cheese, Fruit, Coffee with Skim Milk (3)
Lunch = Leftover BBQ Chicken Salad with Black Beans, Corn, Bell Pepper and Light Ranch (10)
Snack = apple cinnamon sticks, banana (3)
Appetizer = Shrimp Cocktail (3)
Dinner = Chicken Sausage, Wheat Bun, Corn, Fries (10)

Total = 29

Activity Points Earned Today = 8
Remaining points from my 49 Points Allowance = 42
How many glasses of water I drank today = 12





"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Saturday, June 8, 2013

First Friday.....of Twelve

This is day one of my Twelve Weeks to Goal!

14 pounds to go!

I had a super busy and accomplished Friday starting with.....

Weight Watchers meeting,
followed by a trip to Starbucks for some Oatmeal and blogging time,
followed with a visit to the Physical Therapist,
then grocery shopping,
and THEN.....my first attempt at mowing since surgery. Success.

After that, I finally decided to get started painting my grandma's vintage sewing machine. I bought the paint months and months ago, and after spending lots of time sanding and debating what colors to paint it, I simply never got started painting.......until now. I'll work more on it this afternoon. Now it needs some sanding for that nice distressed look. This is a learning process, so I really have no idea what to expect.





This is a picture of the same machine that someone else did, using different colors.....

So cute!!!!





Today was my first day of taking pictures of my food again, so I kept forgetting, but I did get in a picture of a new favorite snack.

Better N Peanut Butter .......in CHOCOLATE!!!




Then I remembered to take a picture of dinner, after I took a couple bites!!
BBQ Chicken, Corn and Baked Sweet Potato Fries!!!
DELISH!







Refresh...I can eat 26 points a day.
I can earn Activity Points by doing exercise.
I have an allowance of 49 points that I can dip into if I chose.
I should drink a minimum of 6 (8 oz) glasses of water each day.


The food I ate and it's PPV

Breakfast = Oatmeal, Dried Fruit, Nonfat Latte, Apple (7)
Snack = Nonfat Latte, Banana, Chocolate Better N Peanut Butter (3)
Lunch = Grocery Store Salad Bar (5)
Snack = crackers (2)
Dinner = Chicken Thigh, Corn on the Cob, Baked Sweet Potato Fries, olive oil, parmesan Cheese (13)

Total = 30

Activity Points Earned Today = 3 (45 minutes mowing)

Remaining points from my 49 Points Allowance = 46
How many glasses of water I drank today = 9





(Well, at least for a little while.)


"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Friday, June 7, 2013

Charts, Graphs, Facts........

So, Nashville and Memorial Weekend at the lake caught up with me, and again I complain about the same thing, over and over and over again. And honestly, one of my GREATEST pet peeves is someone who complains over and over again about the same thing, and then doesn't make the necessary changes to fix the problem. Drives me CRAZY!!! So here I am, doing EXACTLY what drives me crazy in other people.

Today's weight......164.0.





When I brought in Roberta, my "coach" and "sponsor", we made charts.

I had 26 weeks to lose 23 pounds.

I now have 12 weeks to lose 14 pounds, so I have lost weight, but not as rapidly as I need to in order to make my time line.

Roberta had initially suggested, that in order to reach my goal, I should schedule only two times a month that I allow myself to drink "adult" beverages. I didn't like that idea. Too many restrictions. But in all actuality, I know my party habits that I thoroughly enjoy, are slowing down my weight loss. So I have decided to go along with her plan for the next 12 weeks. We have a scheduled meeting for Sunday morning so she can slap some sense into me.

Last night I made a new fitness chart that will not only include walking 300 miles over the next 12 weeks, but will also include 25 crunches/abdominal exercise for every mile walked that day, and 1 plank/core exercise for every mile walked that day. I still plan to exercise 6 days a week with Friday being my scheduled day off. I will continue my Physical Therapy at home every day, and put a check mark in the box for the next 84 days!

(I still have two weeks left of going to the physical therapist, with my final follow up with the surgeon at the end of next week. I still can't put my right hand behind my back, and I am limited on some things, but apparently, this is normal. Full recovery expected at 6 to 12 months post surgery.)

Here is my chart that I completed at the end of May that included walking just over 200 miles.




My new chart.........





I walked on Thursday.....forever!!!!

Just over two hours......




At an average pace of 3.5 MPH, lots of hills along Nall Avenue.




Over 12,000 steps!!!




For a distance of just over 7.3 miles!!!!!
(Then I came home and walked the mutts for a half of mile.)




Tomorrow my blog will again include my daily detailed menu with a few food photos added in. I kinda miss that part of the blogging process, and I am hoping it will be helpful to those wanting to lose weight, maintain their weight loss, or just help out a few people with meal ideas.

TWELVE WEEKS TO GOAL!!!!!!







"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Nashville!

I haven't posted a blog for almost a full week!! I decided not to blog while on this trip, and I just focused on relaxing and having a good long weekend with Mike and our friends.

Um......we had a BLAST!





As usual, lots of clowning around.

We saw "Silver Man" every day!!! I wonder what his skin must look like after putting that silver paint on it daily???

Eeekkkkkkk.




We did a little sight seeing........





And then a little more..........




We saw Elvis!! (Not the real one, just to be clear.)




Laura and Lissa bought matching boots!!! Um...... where there's a sale, they'll find it!!



And as usual, vacation prop pictures!!




The gang......




We didn't miss a photo op, but I would really hate to bore you if I posted all 300 ridiculous pictures.

Your welcome.





We hadn't been to Nashville before, but we are going back for certain! Too much to see and do to get it all in, even on a long weekend.







Okay, It was my goal to be at 160 by May 31st.

I weighed 163.

While in Nashville, I ate well and chose vodka/soda's over beer on Friday and Saturday. Then on Sunday, a mysterious spirit took over my body and I drank beer.....a lot of beer......possibly too many beers. I'd really like to blame somebody, but there is no one to blame, so I'll accept responsibility and also tell you that I had a REALLY good time on Sunday and we were up until 5:00 am in the lobby of the hotel playing telephone, and I believe there was a pizza delivery at 4:00 am, which I not only participated in, but might possibly have initiated. Playing telephone (whisper a sentence into your neighbors ear, they pass it on, then see if the sentence has changed at the end of the circle, all while acting like you are five years old) after too many beers is a highly recommended activity, especially at 4:00 to 5:00 am in a hotel lobby. You too, will laugh so hard, you will pee your pants. I did. Twice.

Now? It's crunch time. My chart is holding me accountable, and in order to continue with my weight loss and reach my goal, I can not lose my motivation, and I certainly took a break from my healthier choices for a few days. Back to seriousness!

Since completing my 200 miles of walking, I have decided that I need to come up with some new fitness goals for myself. I will post my chart tomorrow, as I am making it tonight. I am making a three month plan, which will end on August 30th, when I will be at my goal weight!

I have also decided to go back to taking pictures of my food and giving a few extra details about what I am eating.

It is extremely important for me to not lose my focus as I reach 160 and move into the 150's!





It is going to be a great month!!!


"love the life you live, live the life you love"