Made 1st goal of 5% and weight-loss picture progression

Wednesday was my 7th Weight Watcher’s weigh-in and I hit my 5% weight loss goal!   I am officially 11.2lbs down from my first weigh in!   This week's loss was the least amount I have lost thus far, but I was still happy because

1.  It was a loss!
2.  I made my first % goal
3.  It is the time of the month so any loss really is amazing!
4.  It was a loss  :)

Here is the sticker I earned at my Weight Watcher's meeting (along with one of my 5lb stickers).

I am going to post my weight tracker!  Love the downward curve!  I am very close to my first personal goal of 224lbs.   Next week!



So, I was also looking through some pictures and while I don't feel up to posting a full body picture yet (I am such a wimp!) I was looking at some close-up face shots and I can see a difference!  What do you think?

December 4th 2014 at 239lbs (before Weight Watchers started)

January 18th 2015 at 234.6lbs

Valentines Day- February 14th 2015

My face looks clearer is one thing for sure.  I can see some thinning of my face too especially between the first and last photo.  I started Weight Watchers at 236lbs but at home the week before I was weighing in at 239.  I officially started my Weight Watcher's journey at 236 though.

I have been doing very well tracking my food every day and staying within a nice range of my daily points.  On days that I exercise I am trying to start to use about half of my Exercise Points because that was recommended to me.  Going to try that so I keep up a good metabolism.   There are a few days that I did go over my daily point goal but if you look the light green at the top is the amount of activity points I earned so I want to go a bit above my daily point goal.  There are a couple of days I did go quite a bit over, but that is ok!







I am just finding myself continually making much better choices.  At night if I am feeling snackey I turn to much healthier snacks like fruit or planned on low-point snacks like graham crackers instead of fatty chips or ice cream.  This past weekend at a baby shower after already having lunch they served pizza and had cupcakes.  I stuck with just a bottle of water.  Before I probably would had 2 pieces of pizza and at least one maybe two cupcakes!  I know I could have had a cupcake, but I just didn't feel like it was worth it.  If they were no-bake cookies or something chocolate that might have been a different story lol.  All of these good choices add up!

On Sunday I was sure that I was going to have a splurge day.  After church Steve and I went to Taco Johns and I wasn't quite sure what to order.  I remember hearing that there was a healthy chicken taco alternative, but that must have been for Taco Bell because I was not seeing it.  I ended up getting a Chicken Quesada.   It was 12 points but I enjoyed every last bite!   That evening we ended up going out for dinner and I made a good choice of getting grilled fish with a baked potato (only half with a bit of sour cream).  I really had no idea and was prepared for dipping into most of my weeklies as I was adding everything up when I got home.  I was very pleased to find that I was right on my 34 points!   I really went through and made sure I entered everything including my coffee creamer.   Felt pretty pleased with myself!

I am still doing very well with exercise.  I am going to post the last month of my fit bit!




So, for one of these days (February 10th) I know for a fact that I had over 10,000 steps but for some reason it did not register.  It recorded that I was 18 steps away from 10,000, but I remember seeing that and I walked around quite a bit and added a good 100 steps.  So I am counting that as a goal made day!  LOL  So, out of the last month I made my step goal 16 times!   For the first week we were all pretty sick and I was lucky the one day when I made it.  My mini goal is on days that I have a rest day and do not work out on the elliptical I want at least 6000 steps.  Not counting the first week, I did that all of the days except for two.

I also want to mention I stepped up my game on some of my workout days!   I started incorporating a workout video after the elliptical.   Two times I did turbo jam 20 minute workout dvd and two other additional days I did elliptical and 40 minute turbo jam exercise dvd.  You can tell the days that I did the 40 minute dvd because I killed my points that day!

 I am surprised I have not mentioned this yet, but something else I started doing towards the beginning of January is seeing Jeff Dye who is a chiropractor on a very regular basis (three times a week for the first 4 weeks and now twice a week).  My back and neck have been messed up for a long time and my nervous system out of whack.  So, that really has been making a BIG difference to my comfort level and just things running smoothly.

So, I'm really doing this!   I am hitting my health from many angles!  From healthy eating and tracking using Weight Watchers, from exercise with fitbit and Turbo Jam, from mental and spiritual from my Made to Crave series, and from health going to Life Chiropractic.

Thanks for reading!

Made for More

So, it is officially week 7 of Weight Watchers and I am still going strong!  I am on chapter five of my Made to Crave series and this is titled Made for More. Again, very appropriate for what has been going on.   Lysa states that we were made for more than this.   “We were made for victory.  Sometimes we just have to find our way to that truth!”    I actually found myself repeating, “I was made for more than this” multiple times this week.   There were a couple of evenings where some sugar cravings hit me hard and I resisted and stated this several times.  Yesterday at a baby shower I really wanted a cup cake but I kept repeating that statement.   A few evenings I found myself really wanting sweets but settled for fruit instead.  

The author has us focus on a passage from Ephesians 1:17-19.  “I keep asking that God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”

 I am going to summarize some of the key points that she wanted us to take away from this passage.  The first thing is be persistent.  Keep asking God for help in this journey!  This is something that I really struggled with in the beginning of this journey.  There is so much hurt and problems out there.  Do I really have a right to ask God to intervene in the simple choices of my life!?  The answer I was able to come to (and I don’t think it happened until I read and reread the chapter and keep rereferencing the quoted biblical chapters is YES!  We are made to honor God in all ways!   We need to remember that our bodies are a gift and need to treat them as such!   So, while I probably have more growth to do in this area I do find myself praying and pleading to my Father more than ever before!  I have also been praising and thanking Him for my successes!

The second point that Lysa waned us to take away from that passage is embrace a true identity.  “We are made for more because we are children of God.”  It is easy to identify yourself not by the relationship with your God, but by circumstances.  Some examples that Lysa Terkeurst used was, “I was….Lysa, the broken girl from a broken home.   Lysa, the girl who walked away from God after the death of her sister…”  We need to find our true identity that we can only find through Him!  

….the forgiven child of God.
….the accepted child of God
….The close child of God.
….the confident child of God.

So, this section really got me choked up!   Having a hard time even writing about it.  It is easy to identify oneself with circumstances or bad choices.  

A very emphasized point that the author revealed was the whole reason we are doing this.  Are we making these healthier choices to lose weight?  Fit into smaller jean sizes?  Gain more energy?  Those are all great reasons but the real reason is to grow closer to Him!   So that we may know Him better!

The last point point Lysa wanted us to take away from the chapter is discover a Hope and Power Like No Other.  Oftentimes when we are trying to change our lives on our own and it does not take long for us to fail.  We need help that is beyond ourselves!  We have that power available to us and all we need to do is ask for it and accept it.

These last few months feel so different for me and it is because of that reason!  I can truly feel the change taking over myself and not just the weight I am losing or the energy I am gaining.  It really does make all the difference to reach that place and beg for help.  It really is one thing to ask for it and another is to accept it!

I want to end this blog with some honestly.  I am struggling this week.  Not with my eating or exercise.  I am right on track with that and that is not by my own power.  Continuing with this journey is honestly beyond me at this point and it surprises me that I am still on track.  Having a bit of a hang up this week and having trouble getting out of this funk.  I started this blog about three days ago and while my reflection for the chapter is finished it was almost painful to do that.  I have a hard time sitting down with reflection when having a hard time without completely breaking down and while I have not gotten to that point I found myself needing to stop multiple times.

I am going to ask for prayers and good thoughts to be sent my way.   Hope to get my happy face back soon!

Tessa

Almost two Bags of Potatoes, GONE!

Had my weight in yesterday and I lost my biggest number yet!   3.4lbs gone!  That puts me at 9lbs lost so far.   Here is my progress so far.   

Week One:  Weight in

Week Two: 1.4lbs Lost

Week Three: 1.8lbs Gone

Week Four: 2.4lbs Out of Here!

Week Five:  3.4lbs 

Somewhere between week two and week three I had my Mirina IUD taken out and looking at the past weeks I am certain it was messing with my slow progress until that point! I had tried eating healthy and working out for weeks before Weight Watchers and was seeing very little progress.  So, I feel like now my body has caught up and gotten rid of all the weird hormones so my weight loss will probably start falling between 1 and 2 pounds a week now.   I will be happy with that because now finally I have a few bigger weight drops!  

Yesterday I found myself in a McDonald's Parking lot.  But it was to pull out my ipad and look for the closest Weight Watcher's meeting in the town I was in!  I also used the opportunity to pull out my packed lunch.  I had realized that I have written down a time for an appointment wrong and that I would possibly be missing my weight watcher's meeting that night!  Luckily there was one not too far away starting at 12:15pm.  It was like 12:10pm.  Yeah, I should have made it in time but of course got confused and ending up getting in there closer to 12:30pm.  It felt pretty funny walking into a new Weight Watcher's meeting, late.  This group was really nice though and I weighed in and joined them for the rest of that meeting.  

Part of me was concerned that the weight registered was off because it was at a different time than usually.  I normally don't weight in until 5pm.  I actually ended up making it just a little late for my weight watcher's meeting.  Just out of curiosity (we have to take the first) I checked my weight and it was only 2oz more than it was that afternoon, so I don't think the time difference will affect me too much.

Well, you think after such a great weight-in yesterday I would feel on top of the world today.  It is more of an 'eh' kind of day though.  I didn't even get out of my pj's until 3:30pm.  Having a hard time today with food cravings and some real temptations.   I ate 2 1/3 cups of Apple Jacks cereal this morning!  I remember at the time thinking, I'm not even hungry but just going to eat this.  I was so tired!  I did clean up the floors and tried to pick up the kitchen but I kept walking to the pantry multiple times.  I wanted the Sour Cream and Onion chips so bad!   

Then...oh this was bad.  Someone in our house (not saying who...BRIAN!) made Pizza Rolls!   This was right after lunch time and they smelled so good!  Then he left some out on the stove.  I practically had one in my hand, but I didn't.  I didn't eat a single one.  I did not go for the Sour Cream chips.  I did eat too much cereal this morning, one Red Velvet Weight Watcher's desert piece (and this was right after breakfast) and a hand full of almonds!  Not bad all around but this was really not planned and not that well thought out.  Then...after I put my daughter down for a nap (and this was when the pizza rolls were out) when I usually have used the time to work out I laid down for a nap!  I think I was either going to have pizza rolls or lay down for a nap so I think I picked the lesser of the two evils.   But.....grrr!

And on top of all of that I am having trouble with the internet and the Weight Watcher's App so I can't calculate my points!  I kind of did it in my head and I am close to 22 points so I have plenty for supper, but just did not feel good about my choices.

After our naps (and I will admit I felt better so I probably needed it) I put on the movie Frozen and DID get on my elliptical machine for 35 minutes.  This is the second time I have done it with her up, the first time did not go so well...this time was better.  She spent most of the time not watching the movie and sitting in the doorway of the office and watched and distracted me, but it worked!  lol  

Then after that I chugged a good four glasses of water (because had only had maybe one so far today...bad, bad, bad!) and I jumped in the shower and got cleaned up and dressed.   We ate yogurt as a snack.  Then I came here and wrote about it.  

Friends Don't Let Friends Eat before Thinking

So...last week I was down 2.4lbs down!  So, a total 5.6 pounds outta here!  It was also my forth Weight Watchers meeting so I received my first charm.  They have different charms for different milestones like 4th week, 5% lost, 10%...  I am excited and hope to have more of these little beauties on the key chain of my purse.

So, the next chapter in the Made to Crave series is Friends Don't Let Friends Eat before Thinking."  Pretty appropriate for super bowl week!   This chapter talked a LOT about accountability.  Well, yup I have that!

I have accountability of my ladies at my Weight Watchers meetings. 

I have accountability from people on facebook because I really put things out there!

I have lots of accountability and support from family and friends as they encourage, support, and cheer for me along this journey!

The verse of this chapter really stuck out to me.  Quote from the book, "how the devil prowls about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour-- is tucked right at the end of a passage that says, "Cast all of your anxieties on him because he cares for you.   Be self-controlled and alert" (1 Peter 5: 7-8)."   

Well, I definitely had some anxieties come up last week.  After four weeks of rocking Weight Watchers I was concerned when illness (an awful cold) struck my family last week.  Additionally, midweek I had a doctor's appointment where I had a pap-smear and my Mirena IUD removed.  The combination of those and some other things caused me to have two large panic attack episodes and general anxiety issues most of the week.

I could have caved into emotional eating multiple times.  It might have been easier to not worry about 'counting points' or watching what I was eating.  It might have been permissible but not beneficial.

That is one of the bible quotes from Chapter 1 of the Made to Crave series!  I have returned to that quote and previous chapters many times!

Well, one of the things that Lysa said is friends are there to help us with this journey!  They will help us get what we want in the long term.  

That reminds me of one of my other favorite quotes that was not in the book (at least not yet).  It is "Don't trade what you want most for what you want that moment."  I am not sure where it is from.

I had one of those moments last week.  Last Monday I really wanted something fatty, sweet...like a big hunk of peanut butter!  Instead of going for that I went for this...

It was fruit with a few dollops of lite cool whip!  It hit my sugar cravings.  I had almost been in tears in my quest for wanting to go for something with a LOT more points and when I sat down with this I did break down a little.  The tears only lasted for a few minutes.  I think it was a combination of being tired, overwhelmed, relieved with a my choice, and the realization that I was changing.   Mostly happy tears.  :)

The next evening was my appointment and my first panic attack.   I had felt it building all day.  I had taken some medication to calm myself and when I started feeling myself starting to lose it I did something that I have not tried before.  I got on my elliptical and 'rode' through it.  Wow!  I have known that exercise was definitely something I could turn to but had not had the availability of cardio equipment right in my home before.  The relief of the physical exercise (and probably my medication taking affect also) was almost instantaneous.  It was a hard 40 minutes workout too at about 10:00pm at night.   Do you know that feeling that you get at the end of a workout after the cool down, feeling your chest relax and really feeling like you can breath?  Well, I felt this during the workout.  It was awesome.  It had been the first time I had worked out since the previous Friday because of being sick.   

This chapter also really emphasized on finding an accountability partner.  With this person you should be able to pray for each other, hold each other accountable, and report in to each other.  I spent some time thinking of this specific person.  I have some amazing people in my life that cound do this for me but one that really struck out is my friend Amber.  First of all, I already pretty much check in with her daily.  She has been such a great encouragement and support.  I also know that she is trying to eat healthy and lose some weight.  So I asked her.  She said yes.  :)

To continue with my week.  Something else that happened last week was going to visit my mother for two nights.  We really had a wonderful time and the time flew, but it made it difficult to get my workout routine in.  I had taken along some exercise videos but had not gotten to those because we had stayed pretty busy.   It is difficult staying on plan at someone else's home and eating out multiple times...but I did!

While staying with my mom who was aware of my being on Weight Watchers and was very supportive and additionally bringing some Weight Watcher friendly food items with me, I stayed at or under my points the entire visit!

While taking care of my sick daughter and being sick myself, I stayed within my points!  

When going to a good friends house and eating frozen pizza, I stayed within my points!

On the days of two large panic attacks and having general anxiety issues the entire week, I stayed on plan!  

I am surprised and proud of myself.  I am getting even more hopeful that I am finally on a path to health and better fitness.  

Thanks for reading!