Ah ha moment

Yesterday, I realized having my weights in a closet in my workout room wasn't helping me in the least, especially with no TV in there. Last night, I moved them and my Shake Weight into my bedroom. And, I actually lifted some weights!!!

This morning, as I fought getting out of bed, I looked around my room and noted that my bedroom furniture was all wrong. There's a small bookcase, which is currently only holding junk, that needs to be moved out of my room. I'll move the Nordic Track into my room in its place. Then I could ski while I watch TV in my room. I'd still have room for my weights in a corner, and I might even work out more.

Once I got out of bed, I was rewarded with a .8 pound loss, and I did some Shake Weight work.

I have my moments of genius - sometimes they are few and far between - but I celebrate each of them!

I won't have time to move the furniture until Saturday, so I'll have to remind myself somehow. I'll send an email to myself!!!

Progress . . .

I managed to weigh 188.8 this morning, which means I lost 2.4 pounds! Yea! Now, to duplicate my efforts and lose again tomorrow.

I had the same breakfast this morning and the same lunch along with a package of peanuts. Instead of 2 small oranges, I split a can of unsweetened pears for morning and afternoon snacks. Then, for dinner this evening, I had a chicken salad sandwich with lots of mustard on Ezekiel bread. Then I followed it with a slice of bread with reduced fat peanut butter and unsweetened cherry preserves.

I'll have 2 pieces of the intense dark chocolate in an hour or so. Then I'll call it a night.

Rereading this, I realized that I didn't have nearly as much vegetables as yesterday. I'll probably have a salad instead of the chocolate (or mabe with).

I don't have anything inspiring to say.

I'm definitely putting the weight loss in my happy jar. This evening, I'll continue going through magazines to find photos for my vision board.

I might even dance for a few minutes. Got to get the ole' blood moving.

It was 1:00 and I was starving

Over the past month, I've tried to eat what I wanted and still lose weight. I kept telling myself that I'd just follow the plan that I lost 3 pounds on once before, and if I did that at least once a week, I'd be back. Well, the plan isn't easy to follow, and I failed all 3 attempts.

So, it dawned on me . . . there's no easy way out! I have to follow THE plan and stop trying to cheat. You know the old saying - Cheaters never win! Well, it's soooo true. All through 2013, I was trying to follow my own plan, and the results speak for themselves - 15 pounds down until Christmas, when I gained 7, so I actually only lost 8 pounds :-(

In an earlier blog, I mention that I'm tired of being halfway there. The solution really isn't going to less than halfway!!!

Today, I started with my usual breakfast of Slim Styles vanilla, which really keeps me feeling full until about 10:30, a large salad with fat-free mozarella cheese and balsamic vinegar for lunch and 2 oranges for snacks. Shortly after lunch, I was very hungry, and it was only 1:00! How was I going to get through the afternoon? At about 1:30, I broke down and bought a package of peanuts, which kept me satisfied until my 3:00 orange snack. After work, I ran by the bank and high-tailed it home so I could eat. I had 2 salads with fat-free cheese for dinner (so far), and a cup of coffee with hot chocolate added.

If I feel lilke I have to eat something else, I'll have a glass of almond milk or/and carrot slices. One bad habit I developed over the past 1-1/2 months is eating all the time. For such a long time, I only ate 5 times a day. Now I want to eat all the time, especially at night. I told myself the past 2 nights that I wouldn't eat past 8:30. This evening, it's 9:45, and I just ate a slice of Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel bread after eating half a bag of carrot slices and 2 pieces of really dark chocolate.

The good thing is I decided to get busy, so I took in the wreath and poinsettia garland from the front porch, I boxed the table decorations and all but the actual ornaments off the tree. I just have to get into the garage and find the ornament boxes so I can finish undoing the tree. I'll finish tomorrow night.

I've been so blessed with you, my friends, who read my blogs and then talk to me about them. You say I'm inspiring because of my honesty and in some cases, I'm saying what you're thinking. This is why I continue to blog. I do feel weird, though, letting you know when I post something because I don't want to be pushy. (I guess this is why my Avon business never really got off the ground.)

For my personal development blog, I figured out how to send an email to let friends know when I posted something. Still, I feel I'm intruding. I've been trying to figure out how to follow my blog so when I post something, it'll automatically let me know, so I can suggest you do the same. Maybe it's because I'm doing this on my Kindle, but when I try to subscribe to it, I get a page of code - disappointing.

I'll have to try again on my PC.

New Year - New Start

I'm a statistic. As much as I hate it, I'm one of those people who gained 7 pounds over the holidays!

When I last weighed in Dec. 19, I weighed 185 or so. As I was walking out the door, I found out Perfect Solutions was going to be closed until after New Year! I knew I was in trouble. I've really struggled these past 2 weeks, with another week to go.

Although I was getting motivational emails from Perfect Solutions, which reminded me that it was a holi"day", not a holi"month", I still celebrated more than the day.

My biggest problem has been chocolate. Another struggle has been eating nonstop. For Christmas, I got an awesome basket of snacks and candy, which I ate. A friend brought a plate of cookies, which I ate. I bought Christmas candy, which I ate. Then, I had a moment of genius, I took it to a party and abandoned it there. All the good habits I've worked on these past 15 months were slipping away.

Donovan suggested I weigh every morning and record the weights -
184.8 - Dec. 21 - dinner with friends
185.4 - Dec. 22
186.4 - Dec. 23
186.8 - Dec. 24 - heavy hors d'oeuvres
189.4 - Dec. 26
187.8 - Dec. 27
187.4 - Dec. 28 - party at a friend's
190.0 - Dec. 29
189.0 - Dec. 31 - went crazy at a New Year's Eve party
192.4 - Jan 1
189.2 - Jan 3 - took kids to dinner at Applebee's
190.6 - Jan 4

My next weigh in will be Jan. 9, and I plan to be back to 185 by then - God willing.

In November, I limited my caloric intake to 1,000 for a few days and lost 3 pounds, so I'll do that again - starting today. Of course, it was 5:00 pm before I decided on this plan, and I'm at about 890 calories, so it'll be tough today. But, I have to do something - and quick!

I've even introduced exercise and drinking water.

I was to have blood work done Tuesday morning for my doctor appointment this Monday. I drank a gallon of water, and still I left the clinic with 3 holes, no blood work, but with an appointment to go back Thursday. My veins are practically invisible. Those that they can see blow. I drank lots of water Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday, and Thursday morning. Thursday, we were a little more successful - after a failed attempt, the nurse was able to draw blood! Yea! I'm pretty bruised, but that's typical of blood work. I've been a problem since age 19. Luckily, I'm not afraid of needles.

The nurse told me to lift weights. I also noticed that around 10:00 am, my veins are much more visible than they are at 8:00, so I'm going to wait as long as possible before going next time. They expect me at the clinic early because I'm fasting. But I'd rather be a little hungry with bigger veins.

I'm still waiting on the results . . .

I found some exercises to get rid of arm jiggle and other loose skin, and I actually did them once. I have to develop better habits.

I woke up this morning at 8:00 to a Diagnosis Murder marathon. The TV has been on all day while I puttered around the house. I went through the clothes in my closets and packed up 2 large bags to give away. It's funny - I didn't plan to do it - it just happened. I was trying to hang clean clothes in my closet, but it was too full. That's why I decided to get rid of clothes that were too big. I was shocked at how many I was holding on to. Some were my former "go-to" clothes, some were just forgotten. A couple tops were my favorites. I hated to get rid of them, but out they must go. I've worn them fairly recently because they were my favorites, but they just don't look good anymore. It's time for someone else to enjoy them.