Give Thanks When Thanks Is Due

Today I would like to give a little, no make that Big thanks to someone vey special in my life. She came into my life a little over three years ago and I knew from the moment that I first met her that she was going to be someone that I would love and cherish for a lifetime.

When she came into my family she brought with her two of the most precious children that I had ever seen. She had a quiet, reserved and often shy way about her. The total opposite of me and the majority of my family. You see my son found this lovely young lady on eHarmony on Christmas Day and began a long distance relationship with her.

Twice and some times three times a month she and her very small children would travel from her small town in the mountains of North Carolina down to our home in the suburbs of Metro Atlanta and stay with us. Yes I said she and her two small children would stay with my husband and I while they dated and we fell in love with all of them as my son was doing the same!

From January to March, three very short months my son told us that he had decided that he wanted to ask her to marry him. We knew he was serious and supported his decision, after all we had fallen in love with not just her but those two precious children also.

On Easter weekend he had everything planned, the ring, the place, and the proposal. She gladly accepted and they began to talk about when the big day would happen. He had given us hints that it would be during the same year but maybe in December. We thought that was reasonable. That would give them about a year to really get to know one another and get some details worked out. Like where they would live, where she would work, as she had to relocate to the Atlanta area. But as all things change, so did the wedding day. The very next day he called and said, like only your son who wants to get a positive answer will do, " Hey Momma! We've decided that we don't want to wait until December. We know we love each other and want to get married and we don't think there is any point in waiting." I held my breath...... What was he going to suggest? Eloping? Running to a justice of the peace? But his next words were "We would like to get married over the Memorial Day weekend". I said, "of this year?". And he said yes!

That was almost two years ago, and I can honestly say that she has been a sweet addition to our family. Not just her but those precious grandchildren of mine too! And today I would like to say "Thank You" to my daughter-in-law who had me start on my blog in the first place. After four weeks on my journey to a new me and me giving her weekly, and some times daily updates, she said you should blog your experience. And thanks to her I have been doing that ever since. I did not begin exactly when she first suggested it because I was a little scared and did not know what it was all about, but now that I am blogging this journey to a new me I am so happy that I did. I give her the highest kuddos for suggesting it and for believing in me. Who knew I could do this? If I can do it, anyone can do it!

I would also like to wish my #1 Daughter-in-law a Very Happy Birthday! And I hope all your wishes come true! have a Happy Happy Birthday sweetheart!

Going, Going, Gone... I'm Down 39 Pounds

As I approached my friend, Mr. Scale today I did so with great confidence. I got on today knowing that I had done the best that I could do. Knowing that I would see results. Knowing that I was well on my way to a healthier me. Well the waiting was over, I stepped on, and looked down and I got to say "Hello 39 Pounds!". I was excited but I had to curb my enthusiasm just a bit because my husband was still asleep. But Wow! Many thoughts went through my mind.

My first thought was in one more pound I would hit my short term goal of 40 pounds and I could treat myself to my favorite breakfast, a Martins steak biscuit.

Next, I thought, this is cool I am only 11 pounds from my goal of losing 50 pounds by Easter! Then my husband and I can go back to Stoney River for an awesome filet steak.

But then I STOPPED and thought for a minute..... What am I doing? Why does every "weight loss goal" have a food as it's reward? This is the very thing that I need to Stop! All the world does not revolve around food? Does it? Well honestly in my world maybe it does!

I need to think of new ways to reward my hard efforts. Maybe I can finally buy a pair of pants that don't slide off my waist and hang on my hips. Or spend a day at the spa getting pampered. Or maybe for every Fifty pounds that i lose I can take a day off work and have a nice three day weekend away with my husband. (anyone want to dog sit my four miniature schnauzers?

I need to focus on the acheivement. The miracle of a pound lost. A pound that I never want to find again. So, with that being said, that's what I will do. I will set up small three or four day weekend events that I can share with my Number One encourager, supporter, and friend, my husband. Oh how I love him so! So, with this new plan set I will gladly reach for my
Goals. And before you know it I will be walking down River Street in Savannah or taking a trolley ride in St. Simons Island, or just escaping to the mountains. But whatever it is and wherever we go FOOD will no longer be my reward. With that being said, no declared!
I better pack some sunscreen because I see some balmy days ahead!

WOW I Did It! I Got My Move On!

Today was the day that I broke the cycle. I Excercised! Yes, I worked out on the elliptical and burned 284 calories!!! Can you believe it? It was not as hard as I had pictured in my mind. I got on with idea that maybe I could make it for Five minutes. How hard could that be?

With my left foot bandaged with a "super size" band-aid, and two pair of socks, I climbed on board to see if I could do. And to my great surprise it was easier than I had anticipated. I wasn't trying to run a race but found myself keeping a consistent speed of 2.5 mph sometimes even faster!

I had brought along a secret weapon to help me keep my mind off the task of excercising I brought my iPad. Yes I had already begun watching a chick flick a few days earlier, Sweet Home Alabama" with Reese Witherspoon, and found myself enjoying the movie so much that I stayed on for another five minutes, and then when that was done another five minutes! So after 15 minutes i had burned over 250 calories! This was so much easier than I thought it could be!

So why did I have such a mental block about exercising before now? Because once I had planted the thought in my head that it would be hard the enemy (Satan) wanted me to be in fear about it and to doubt my ability. Well guess what? I ain't afraid no more. My feet did serve me well. I had no pain, and I believe this is something that I can build on. It would be awesome to try to do this twice a day and then build to three times per day!

I am not an exerciser now, but i can, no Will be! Today was just the next step in a new and healthier me! I can't wait to watch the pounds roll off at a quicker pace.

Can't Wait To Get My Walk On

I have been wanting to get started with a regular exercise of moderate walking since I began my journey to a new me. It should be a pretty easy thing to do. I have access to a free gym at my work with two treadmills and I have an elliptical trainer at my house, so what is stopping me? My feet! My left foot to be specific. I have had a sore spot on the bottom of my foot for several weeks. Two weeks ago I had a pedicure to remove the hard callus from the bottom of my feet and heels but my left foot is still not cooperating.

Today I decided to take matters into my own hands or should I say feet. I am going to put a thick bandaid on my sore spot along with two pair of socks and start out on my elliptical to see how that feels and if it is comfortable I believe I will go for a walk. It is supposed to be a nice spring like day with temps in the High 60's. Tomorrow promises to be even nicer with 77 degrees. Shorts weather for all of those who aren't embarrassed to wear shorts and show off their winter white legs.

I will keep you posted with my progress. I know it is going to take more than eating right for me to get healthy and I believe this is my next step ( no pun intended).

Emotional Eating ... What Causes It Any Way?

For as long as I can remember I've heard the expression "I can't help myself, I'm just an emotional eater." What does that mean exactly? Your emotional while your eating? Your eating because your emotional? Or your eating and it makes you emotional?

Well let me put my spin on it. I know from my own personal experience that my times of emotional eating were a direct result of my own failure to address my own problems and disappointments. How could I be successful in so many other areas of my life but when it came to eating healthy and living a healthier lifestyle I coped out. I checked out. I decided it was easier to eat my way to oblivion than to just deal with it.

I would eat because I was sad. I would eat because I was mad. I would eat because I was lonely. I would eat because I was discouraged. I would eat because I had a bad day. I would eat and say "What the hay". I could find any emotion under the rainbow and sit down an have an emotional eating good time. A picnic of sorts filled with all kinds of junk food. You name it, I was eating it. Some times I would find things in my house, in my pantry or in my cabinets that could get me over my feeling of depression. For a moment that is. Then after stuffing my face I would have that "I shouldn't have done that. What was I thinking feeling" But by then it was too late.

I believe for me the emotional eating could have been stopped if I had learned how to better deal with my Emotions. Yes, emotional eating is driven by emotions. Emotions are the fuel that gets the emotional eating engines running, and if you aren't careful you will rev that engine until the fuel of emotion is spent. I beg you, please don't do it. Don't let your emotions get the best of you. Instead of hearing "Gentlemen, start your engines." as the NASCAR drivers do on race day. I say, "People stop your engines of emotional eating, and talk to someone, or journal, or pray, but do something to help you get those emotions and feelings out, instead of fueling your next "Emotional Eating Picnic".

An Evening With The Biggest Loser 1st Runner Up Season 4

I had the unique opportunity to join my BFF on a Ladies After Five Fellowship at her church last night. They had a very light dinner of sandwiches on some type of bread that I was unfamiliar with, and did not particularly care for, therefore I ate my sparingly spread chicken salad sandwich "topless". The small bag of Lays regular potato chips were 150 calories and the small chocolate chip cookie completed the meal. And yes, I indulged in the cookie because I was way under for my daily calorie intake even with the cookie. (smile)

We,like the other five hundred ladies were not there to enjoy a gourmet meal but to hear the life changing story of a special lady. Her name is Julie Hadden and she was on the Biggest Loser Season Four. As a faithful watcher of the show I remembered both her and the season that she made. She gave all of the inside scoop on the process to becoming a contestant and the open auditions in her hometown of Jacksonville, FLorida. From the time she began the process until the day she was a finalist and picked to be on the reality show, it took one full year.

She shared that during that year she did not even try to lose a pound because that was what she was trying to get on the show for, and she did not want to hurt her chances. She told us that once they made the final cut they had one hour to call whoever they needed to, spouses, employers, family, etc and then they would have no further contact until they left the Biggest Loser Ranch. She immediately called her husband and told him that she had made it and that she did not know when she would see him but hopefully it would be a long time.

Her first day on the ranch she met the host of the show, Allie McSweeney, the soap star, and she said she was star struck. She then saw Bob Harper and she said what first came to her mind, "Your much more handsome in person than on TV." She said that there were 18 contestants and they had a challenge the first day. The first two people to complete the race would be able to choose the teams. It was the hottest part of the day, 105 degrees. In this hot sun they expected these fat people to run! She said at the end of the race the first two people picked the teams. The only catch was each team could only have SIX people on them. She waited for the last person to be picked and to her horror she and five of the other unlucky ones were not picked! She said they all looked like the worst of the bunch, and they felt like losers!

The unlucky six were sent to the last chance diner and told to wait for the shuttle van to take them back to the hotel. But before they could get to where they were going a maniac dressed in all black leather came soaring up on a black motorcycle. She said they were in shock and did not fully understand what was going on. Didn't this crazy person see that they were filming a show here? The two hour show you see on TV is actually take after take. Six and eight hours of doing the same scenes over and over, and these six fat, no obese people were hot, tired and disgusted that they had made it this far but were being sent home after not even losing ONE pound!

The motorcycle maniac swerved around and came to an abrupt halt right in front of them. In almost slow motion, the person stood up and swung their leg over the motorcycle, took their helmet off and swung that beautiful dark brown mane over to one side, and smiled a wicked smile. "Hello My Black Team!". Yes, it was the drill sergeant Jillian. She explained that her plans had changed and instead of taking the season off the show for season four she decided to work off-campus with her Black Team. None of the other players or trainers knew of their existence or that Jillian was back in black, with a vengeance.

I hope I wet your appetite with my story because to the best of my ability this is what was shared in the first five or ten minutes. There is no way I could ever do justice to her testimony / story, but you can now read it for yourself. Julie Hadden has written a book about her journey called Fat Chance and it is available at Lifeway Christian bookstores. Check it out, I know I want to pick up a copy myself.

Change is Good If Change Is What You Need

Have you ever heard the expression "Change is good if change is what you need?". I believe that there is a lot of truth to this statement. Change is good "IF" change is what you need. That little two letter word "if" makes all the difference. In my case, change is what I needed. I needed a change from what I was doing, and what i was eating, and where I was going before starting on My Journey To A New Me.

I don't know why it took me so long to get to that point. It is more than saying "I'm sick and tired of being this way.". What action is there in that? How can you change if all you are doing is admitting to the obvious?

In my way of thinking, otherwise known as "putting the Kathy on it", to change is to do something differently to get a different result. If I always do the same thing, eat the same thing, and continue in the same direction I was headed, I will never change the result to what I was hoping for, no praying for!

If the word "if" is the small piece of the puzzle, then the word "Change" must be the big piece of the equation. Change for me can be summed up very easily.

C = consider that there is a better way
H = have an open heart & mind
A = accept help and encouragement from others
N = never give in to the temptation of going back
G = give yourself a break, if you miss the mark ... try again
E = every day can be an opportunity to bring about a change for the better!

So folks that's all vie got to say about that.

Look Back To Move Forward

It's Amazing What You Can Find In The Bottom Of Your Closet

I started a project yesterday afternoon that I had been putting off for way too long. I began the process of cleaning out my walk in closet. It is actually a shared closet with my husband but all my junk and mess had far exceeded my allotted space and I had basically taken over the majority of the space.

When you opened the door the clothes, hand bags, shoes, socks and other misc items were sort of just piled in the center of the closet. Well not sort of, they were piled up into a nice mountain. (just ask my husband - he had to take up mountain climbing just to get to his side). LoL

After the first twenty minutes I quickly realized why I had been putting off tackling this project. It was going to be hard work! And who wants to work hard all week and come home on the weekend to do more work? Not me but let's face it folks my only other choice was to buy all new clothes, and handbags and call in a dump truck to haul off this mess.

After all the sorting, I had several nice smaller piles (mountains) to deal with. I hung up everything on the correct type of hanger, pants on pants hangers, blouses on the correct hanger so as not to "slid" off onto the floor as had previously happened. The handbags all found a new home on one of my built-in shelves, and the shoes all found their mates, a rather large bag of clothes that I will never wear again was bagged for charity, and all my jackets, coats and other bulky outer weat was moved to a coat closet. I even found two belts that will assist me in holding up my way too baggy pants!

I am not completely done with this project, but at least I dealt with that mountain! Now how does this all relate to my journey to a new me? Well I thought you would never ask! I learned a valuable lesson. It would have been a lot less work for me to deal with the stuff if I had taken a little time at the end of each day to put my clothes, handbags, shoes etc in their place at the end of each day. Like wise, if I take time every day to do what I know I need to do, keep up with my calories, drinking my water and exercising, I can keep the pounds from piling up on me! And if a pound should creep up on me unexpectedly I can deal with it right then before it becomes a mountain!

I Am Watching The Scale Move In A Great Direction... DOWN!

Starting every day with a trip on Mr. Scale to see if all my hard work is still paying off can be as exciting as watching paint dry. For days and some times weeks there is no change, but in the past week I have watched it slide from from 32 to 34 without lingering on 33. Then i was pleasantly surprised to see 35 pop out of nowhere. But I was in for an even bigger surprise! This morning during my ritual, Mr. Scale reported 36 pounds. That's 36 pounds gone since December 11,2010.

I was a little surprised, but I'll take it! Saturday was full of interesting food choices for me. My husband and I began our day with taking our two puppies to the vet for shots. It was 10:20 before we ate breakfast. We wanted to try a new restaurant and I ordered something that sounds worse than it is. Two egss scrambled with spray not oil, and a light dusting of shredded cheese, two slices of crispy bacon, two homemade "cat-head" biscuits and a side of country gravy. In the old days I would have let the cook use grease instead of spray for my eggs, two slices of cheese in my eggs, and they would have served those biscuits and gravy sloppy on a plate. The biscuits would have been sliced and served open-faced and floating in as much gravy as they would give me. And don't forget the bowl of cheese grits please.

But I now know a better way. I wrapped one of the biscuits in a to-go box so the temptation would not much of a temptation. I them enjoyed my eggs and bacon and took my time breaking off a small piece of biscuit at a time and barely dipping it into the bowl of white sausage gravy. By the time I had completed my meal, I was not only satisfied, I was full. It looked like I had not even touched the bowl of gravy, but I promise you because I had not added any butter or jelly to that biscuit, every bite was bearing a scant dab of gravy.

I will admit it was a little daring, but not as premeditated as my plan to "jolt" my system a couple of weeks ago. This just goes to show that in moderation you can eat anything that you desire if you do it sparingly.

Oh, and later that evening I had dinner with my husband and my folks at the same place. Before bringing us our checks the waitress asked if we would like to try their homemade desserts. My husband ordered the blackberry cobbler with ice cream and I opted for a small red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing. It was only a dollar so what did I have to lose?

Now before you go thinking I blew it, let me explain what I did when that cupcake arrived. First of all it was one of the most petite cupcakes I had ever seen, and there was not very much frosting on it either. But I took the cupcake out of the wrapper and cut it in half, then I cut it in half again. There were now four extremely small bites of red velvet cupcake morsels. I ate the first one and really tasted the texture and the sweetness. It was good but not great. What I liked more than the cake was the cream cheese frosting ( but remember it was not piled on there like I would have made it, it was a very thin layer of icing). I then took my second bite, but of the icing only. The rest of that piece and the other half of the cupcake were left on the plate.

So why you may say did I do this? Why after selling my boxes of Girl Scout Cookies just the day before would I give in to the cupcake? I'll tell you why. Because I could. I knew I was finally able to control the sweets instead of them controlling me. You see yesterday I did not believe I could make it all day at work with those five boxes of Girl Scout Cookies starring at me, so I got rid of them like a bad habit. But this experiment showed me that I am way more determined than I originally gave myself credit for. I can trust myself with my number one enemy, Sweets, and still WIN!

"Hello Girl Scout Cookies"

Just when I thought it was safe to go to work on a Friday and not have to contend with the dreaded Snack Day, a bad decision from my past comes to visit.

Way back, several weeks ago, before I really knew I could conquer my journey to a new me, I was approached by a very nice guy in my sales department and he asked me if I wanted to once again support his daughter with her Girl Scout Cookie sales. He explained that last year she was the top performer in her troop. He was so proud of her, as well as he should be. As he and I are both in sales and we know first hand how competitive sales of any type can be.

Alright, back to my story. I pulled my car into the parking lot at work and I see this nice gentleman pulling boxes, no I should say cases of Girl Scout Cookies from the trunk of his car and the back seat. My heart skipped a beat with excitement because I remembered that I had ordered my favorites from him!

It was only after stepping out of my car that the thoughts hit me, "How many boxes did I order? Are they all Thin Mints, or did I also order Tagalongs and Dosidos and Samoas?"

It would not take me long to figure out the answer to these questions. After hitting the time clock I approached my desk and there they were, in all of their glory! FIVE BOXES!!!!!
Two boxes of the Thin Mints, and one each of the Tagalongs, Dosidos and Samoas.

I wasn't so excited any more. I have worked so hard to lose 35 pounds, and there were five boxes of Girl Scout Cookies that were calling my name. "Kathy, we're here! You've been waiting for us! It won't hurt to eat just a few from each box. Come on, you work hard, you deserve it. No one will ever know...."

But I am happy to report that I did not even entertain those thoughts. I sent them straight back to the pit that they had come from! My first thought was to sit the boxes under my desk so that I could not see them. I could then take them home to my hubby. But after a few minutes I remembered he doesn't eat but one or two types that I had ordered. I then got a better idea! Why don't I ask the people sitting around me if they would like to buy a box from me. I didn't try to make a profit, I just wanted to get my money back. And guess what?The first person who heard me bought Both boxes of the Thin Mints ( my very favorite, the one that could cause me to stumble if I let it). Then I sold the box of Dosidos, and I now only have two boxes left!

I feel Great! I can do this! I believe in myself! If I can pass on the Girl Scout Cookies so can you. Right?

Well It Finally Happened ... People Are Noticing

I was not sure when I started on my journey to a new me how long it would take, but as of this week I have had three people comment about my weight loss. My clothes have been baggy and close to falling off for several weeks but I refuse to go buy more Big clothes when I can still wear these. Yes, I admit, I probably need to invest in a good belt if this is my plan. I don't currently have such a fashion accessory in my arsenal because belts and fat people don't go together. Let me explain this thinking.

Why would you wear a belt when your clothes are already so tight they are screaming at you,
"Hey you up there with that third Krispy Kreme don't do it, there's no more room down here". But before I started this journey to a new me I didn't listen to these subtle clues, and I ate the third one and the fourth one and after a few hours I could eat up to the half dozen mark. Now it was on those particular days that I couldn't find my diabetes tester. (Did I ever mention that I am a diabetic Type II?)

That is the reasoning that goes on inside my head. Even now after over eight weeks of traveling down this road to a healthier me, there are days that I still think, "I wonder how many calories are in a Chick-fila biscuit. sure I can go onto myfitnesspal.com and look the calories and nutritional values of this and many other fast food items, but the point is why is it still a temptation? Yes, I know, I can eat the biscuit, but how many calories would I have to sacrifice for that one indulgence? Too many I say! I think if I decide to do the biscuit for breakfast one morning I will drive down to my favorite biscuit place in Norcross (Martins) and have a steak biscuit and savor every bite! When I hit 40 lbs. That will. Be my splurge. Who cares if I eat lettuce the rest of the day? Not me!

Don't Lose Heart It Will Happen!

Some times it takes longer to get where your going than what you had originally calculated. Whether your trying to drive to an appointment, your using google maps, or my favorite good old GPS. Some times even when you can see how far the distance is and the estimated time of arrival (ETA) you just can't get there in the time specified.

That is very similar to weight loss. When I began this journey on Dec 11,2010 I had a long term goal in mind. lose 100 pounds in one year. And much to my surprise, the pounds just seemed to melt off of my body, for the first 4-6 weeks that is. But then I hit the infamous "plateau" and sat at 32 pounds of weight loss for two weeks! Then I took matters into my own hands and tried to "jolt" my system, and we saw what good that dis me. I gained one pound and had to work a full week to lose it, just to get back to my original "plateau".

Well today I am happy to report that I went skipping right past 33 and landed on 34 pounds of weight loss, yesterday! Which was something to celebrate for sure. But just for fun I got on my trusted friend, Mr. scale, and he had more great news! I am now down one more pound! hello 35!!! Where have you been all my life?

This is a great feeling, to be able to look at two months of hard work and to see these types of results! I am excited and can't wait until I reach my next goal. I want to lose 50 by Easter. I hereby challenge myself. It's only 14 pounds. How hard can it be. Stay tuned and I guess we'll see.

In A Hurry? Take Time To Do The Right Thing!

Sunday mornings are always a day that I am rushing rushing rushing. It's not that I over sleep or anything, I just have so much to do to get my day started. This morning was like every other Sunday except I was awoken by a yelping alarm clock. Her name is Allie. she is our 17 week old chocolate miniature schnauzer. After Christmas we got two puppies, both ere miniature schnauzers. The other pup is also female and her name is Harley. She is 13 weeks old, and although she is hyper she is not as noisy as my yelping alarm clock, Allie.

I got up an hour earlier than my alarm was set for and took all four of our dogs outside. Oh did I forget to mention my two older miniature schnauzers, Anastasia "Annie" and Minnie Pearl?
Just so that you don't think we are a dog rescue, or anything, we got the puppies after Christmas because we were told that our oldest (Annie) had cancer, which later we found out she didn't but she has a bad "ticker" ( heart )

Any way by the time I took the dogs outside, fed them ( separately so they don't steal each others food ) gave them fresh water, got my shower, and got myself ready for church, I was running behind. I had a decision to make. A. I leave quickly and go through a drive through. And get a quick fast food biscuit or B. Do I skip breakfast ( not a good choice as I am a diabetic) or C. Take a little time to toast my bagel thin with low fat cream cheese.

It was a hard choice but I decided to take a little time and go with option "C". After all I was worth it, right? But let tell you, just like a warted pot never boils, a toaster never toasts as quickly as you want / need it to. When forever was over, I quickly applied the low fat strawberry cream cheese and rushed out the door. After resetting the alarm, locking the door and hitting the buttons to raise the garages doors. When it happened! I was walking around my husbands truck and in slow motion I saw my bagel thins with low fat cream cheese that I had taken a little bit of time to prepare so I could stay on my plan, go tumbling out of the paper towel that I was carrying them to the car in. I just stood there for one brief moment before I picked them up. I wanted to check out the damage. Both pieces had landed cream cheese side down on the cement and as I bent over to pick them up I prayed a small prayer that the five second rule would apply here. And I was somewhat amazed to find that about half of the cream cheese remained on the ground but the bagel things still had a light coating on them and nothing else. So guess what I did next? I carried my breakfast to my car and had a warm bagel thins with a lightly spread low fat cream cheese on them.

Do I recommend this to everyone? No of course not! But do we often tell our children and now I tell my grandchildren when they drop something on the ground "hurry, pick it up. Five second rule.". I don't know about you, but I still do.

Are Salad Bars A Great Food Choice?

You hear stories of people who live off of salad bars. Well although I like salad and I eat salad quite often, I don't believe it is always the best choice when trying to reduce your calorie intake.

We had dinner this evening with my son, daughter-in-law and our two precious grandchildren at Sonnys BBQ. In days long past I had my regular order of a Big Deal with fries and sweet tea, but I did not have three days worth of calories to "spend" on this one single meal. So, after doing some menu scanning I decided on the salad bar and a side order of smoked turkey.

When I ordered the salad bar I did so knowing in advance that this particular salad bar has a couple different soups, chocolate and vanilla pudding, and the extra tempting banana pudding!

I loaded my plate with a huge pile of lettuce and anchored the side of the plate with grape tomatoes. I sprinkled the top lightly with shredded cheese and topped my lettuce with yellow cling peaches drained of juice. I put a tablespoon of thousand island dressing on the side and gave myself a little treat of 1/4 cup of tuna salad and another 1/4 cup of potato salad.

By the time my smoked turkey slices arrived I had already eaten about half of my salad creation and realized that it was easier than I thought to stay on my plan. I skipped both soups and the crackers and croutons and opted for a second plate of lettuce with peaches (drained) and no extra dressing. Why did I skip the dressing? I realized that I did not need it. It's weird but if you pay attention to what you can actually "taste" when your chewing you can take note of what is enjoyable. I found I can cut out butter the same way when I order toast because I always spread a little strawberry jam on my toast. With the sweetness of the jam it hides the taste of the butter.

Do I think salad bars are a safe place to hang out when your are watching what you are eating and trying to eat healthier? I don't think that they are for everyone. I knew going into it what was on that salad bar and if I didn't trust myself enough to make good food choices when I was browsing through the line, I would have just ordered straight off the menu. After all I could have ordered a Big Deal with turkey and a baked potato or baked sweet potato but I didn't want to eat heavy and the bread and potatoes would have been just that.

I am proud of myself. And I am even prouder that I am paying more attention to the food and temptations around me. I can do this. I can eat at the salad bar and not stuff myself and have a guilty conscience later. Do I want to live on salad every day? No. Do I want to learn how to make wise choices when eating out? Yes! I can do this and I am well on my journey to a new me!

It Took a Week But I Did It!

how could you forget my experiment to "jolt" my system last week? It was all about getting off the 32 pound plateau that I found myself on. That plateau was not a lovely sight to behold. There was nothing going on and it was very boring there. Enter my idea of jolting my body and mind into thinking that I had gone back to my old way of thinking and eating. Mindlessly putting food, any and all types of food into my pie hole to see what the end result would be.

What kind of experiment was it when I knew what the end result would be to begin with? Well I am happy to say, no I should say, Report! I am happy to report that this morning as I approached my "some times friend" that I call the scale, I did so with a little fear and trembling. What was going to be the good news? Was it going to be favorable? Had I accomplished anything during the last week of effort? I kept thinking of the dessert that I had passed on, and the candy that was right in front of me last night as I stepped up to the plate. Like a big league batter steps up on the plate at home base and waits for the perfect pitch to come his way.... I stepped on, and I gave it a few seconds and then I looked down.....

Do you know what happened next? My friend, my Friend!!! 32 pounds was Back!! I had never been so happy to see 32 pounds again in my whole life.... That one little aggravating pound that came back after a weekend of careless food intake (ok mindless eating) had finally found it's way off of my body and onto some other mindless eater out there.

I wIll forever welcome my friend, 32 pounds, into my life! I never want to be without him. And I want to meet some of his friends, 33, 34, and 35 real soon! Just keeping it real....

Wednesday Is More Than "Hump Day"

Whoever came up with the slang for the day that falls in the center of the work week, "Hump Day"? Why couldn't Wednesday be called "Center Day" or "Half Way Day"? I guess for the same reason why fat and obese people aren't called "pleasantly plump" or "fuller figured".


What does a stereo-type name have to do with anything? Who gets pleasure out of coming up with these things? In all my years of living I can't remember a time when someone said "Hey Skinny". Or "hey you, the bean pole"! Or anything else other than words used for being big in size.

You know I think it might actually be nice to be called skinny or too thin or one of those other slang names, but that is all that it is, a slang name. It is not who I am, or what I am, or who I want to be. I want to be the Best Me that I can be. So how do I get there? How do I go from where I am right now to where I want to be? And where exactly is that place?

I believe that is what the Journey To A new Me is all about. My Journey. My time to figure it out. To see how healthy I can get. To see if a healthier me is the same as a happier me? I know that once I lose more weight I can become more active and with more activity comes more opportunities to do more fun and exciting things. I'm ready! I'm willing! And I am ABLE!
So from today forward, I commit to myself to not look back but to look forward to my future because it is a brighter road ahead. Better get out my sunglasses now!

Eat Fast Food If You Must... Just be smart about it!

If you have to eat fast food it can be done for under 400 calories, if you pay attention to what you are doing. In fact, today I did just that!

I have been super busy at work, not only with my calls and customers but I am helping out with a friends desk while they are out of the office this week. Today I felt rushed all day and it was 1:10pm and I had not stopped for lunch. My bagel thin & low fat cream cheese at 8am this morning were a distant memory.

I had a can of soup but I wanted to get out of the office. I could go to Cracker Barrel for my grilled chicken and veggies but I wanted to "save" that for my once a week lunch with my BFF. So what to do & where to go?

I used my www.myfitnesspal.com to look up fast food that was close by my office and found Mcdonalds Hamburger Happy Meal with no cheese on the burger, and instead of fries I subbed the apple slices and low fat Carmel dip. My lunch with a large un-sweet tea was only 355 calories!!!! Wow! It was tasty, filling, and low calorie too! It sort of felt like a "cheat" minus the guilt.

So if you have to eat on the run, do it for less calories than you think. Take a few minutes Before ordering to see how many calories are in some of those quick $1.00 value menu items and you might decide to stick with the Happy Meal without the fries as I did.

Getting Off The Mark

First dear Blog I apologize for the ten day absence from blogging. I know it is not acceptable but I have been so busy and just didn't make the time. I know, I remember that famous saying from my good friend Eddie Echols, "you do what you want to do.". And I guess I just didn't want to do it at the time, but hey, here I am. I am back. Now let me catch up for a while.

Wow! Ten days it a long time. Where do I start? I think I will fill you in on my busyness. Last time I wrote I told you all about my date night with my good friend and our movie. The next day I went to Waffle House with my hubby and ordered my special. Three eggs, hold the yolks on two (my pups love this special treat in their food later) add one slice of cheese, and two slices of dry wheat toast, and no grits. Yes, I said no grits, I need that 200 calories for something later that day.

We had to be at our church to set up for a ministry fair where we are teaching a small group class. We are leading a small group using the book "The Five Love Languages.". It is an awesome book and after teaching a very successful class of fourteen last year we knew that we wanted to do it again.

After all that we decided not to waste another minute of the beautiful weather that we had been blesses with, high 60's to 70. We got out the Motorcycle and my trike and we hit the road. We road for about an hour and a half. It was glorious! I love the feel of the open road and it is so relaxing to me.

I can't remember what we did for dinner, but I think it was Mexican, not a great choice, but I had not eaten lunch so it would be ok, if I was careful.

At this point the scale still had not budged from my 32 pound weight loss, but I weighed every day in anticipation that I could finally break the pattern.

The week to follow was a blur of activity and finally the next weekend was upon us. Friday evening I had a surprise 60th Birthday for a girlfriend at church to attend at The Diner at Sugar Hill and I decided to try to "jolt" my system by eating fried food, country fried steak to be exact. It was super delicious and very filling. When I left I had that "I'm stuffed" feeling... Not good.

The next day we had a dinner engagement with some good friends and we had decided to eat at Pappadeaux Seafood. We had not dined there in several years and of course in the spirit of "jolting" my system I ordered the fried seafood platter with red beans and rice. It again was delicious but way too much food!

Sunday I began my day like always with a bagel thin with light cream chesse (180 total calories) and had decided we could journey to he Mexican restaurant for lunch to continue with my "jolt" experiment. I enjoyed a taco loco / taco salad and ate half of the fried tortilla bowl. It was yummy in my tummy and I preceded to go home and take a two and a half hour nap. That evening we went to the Cracker Barrel where I could have been good and ate grilled chicken and veggies but my stomach said "Pancakes, I want Pancakes!". So still telling myself that I was "jolting" my system, I ate two pancakes with Sugar-Free syrup (like that would make a huge difference!). But I enjoyed every bite and went home to enjoy some time with my husband and parents.

This morning to my horror my experiment to "jolt" my system actually worked!! Instead of being down 32 pounds like it had read for almost two weeks, I was now up a pound, and feeling pretty down on myself!!!

Why is it so easy to put the weight back on, but so hard to get it off to begin with? This experiment in "jolting" my system taught me a very valuable lesson. "Don't try to do it myself. Allow God to do it in His timing." I know I have other valuable lessons to be learned and learning to eat to be healthy is only one of them!"