Diet Bet: Complete!

Whew!  That was a close one!  I finally weighed in this morning and I was verified as losing 8.8 pounds in the 4 weeks!  Made it by a measly .3 pounds.  But I made it!  I earned it.  I am always a little cautious when I have to weigh on a day other than Sunday since midweek weigh-ins aren't usually a good thing for me.

I look forward to the next one.  I am going to do a 6 month one now so I can keep it going.  If you haven't already joined a diet bet, I HIGHLY recommend it.  Chris & Heidi Powell are doing another one starting March 11th called Spring Fling.  In addition, the 6 month one is The Transformer - I think that's the next one that I am doing.  The camaraderie is awesome.  Just that extra motivation - that person saying good job is enough to make you push forward.  I am a sucker for positive reinforcement!

I also like to be recognized and make money.  I think that's the other major draw.  I can be motivated to accomplish my goals and if I succeed I am rewarded.  Not just by my smaller size but monetarily as well.  It's a win win!

Hopefully, you are accomplishing your goals.  If you need a hand, let me know and I will do my best to help!

Reward Grid

I found this idea on a fellow member of the "Weight Loss Journey" club's site.  I liked it so well that I had to make my own.  I put it in a clear sleeve so I can just check them off as I go!

As you can see, I just hit my first goal!  New jewelry coming my way!  What a great visual to keep you motivated!

Weigh Clean

So it's been a week since I last posted.  I promise I haven't been wasting that time - as always I am committed to helping people reach their goals (especially me).  One of the things that I have been working on is a new creation.  I am a numbers person.  For that reason, I weigh and measure EVERYTHING I eat.  There's only one problem with that.  I HATE DISHES!  Shocking confession I know - does anyone actually like doing dishes?  To that end, I have been working on a new product - Weigh Clean.  This came about for a number of reasons.
#1 - Again, I hate dishes and weighing food tends to produce A LOT of them.
#2 - As I was weighing out some meat for dinner the other night, my boyfriend said, "Is that clean?".  Of course, I said yes and that I had just wiped it off.  But I did have to think about whether or not it was clean clean.
#3 - It is quite a process to weigh your food.  Think about the amount of time involved in weighing, measuring and cleaning.

What if there were a way to have disposable, yet sturdy covers for your scale?  You just pull them out of a box as needed, place it on the scale, measure the food and then dump it into whatever container and throw away the mess?  How easy is that?  Very.  Clearly, the more food you have to weigh, the more sheets you will use.  At least with a product that is disposable, you know that your scale surface is clean every time.

If you like this idea, please vote for it on Quirky!  Thanks for listening!  Remember - Weigh Clean - Eat Healthy!

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is of course a commercial holiday designed to sell jewelry, chocolate and flowers.  I can get behind that from a business perspective; however,  I feel that you should have Valentine's Day every day with your partner.  You shouldn't have to wait until February 14th to show you care.  This year - I am taking a different approach.  I am saying Happy Valentine's Day to me.  This year is about making myself a better person.  A healthier person.  A person that makes time to help other people.  A person that loves...deeply.  And that love should include me.  I had a nice surprise this morning.  A sweater that when I initially bought it over a year ago was button popping tight.  Clearly, that is not my style -so, into the tote it went.  Today, I took out that nice cranberry colored perfect for Valentine's Day sweater and guess what?  It fit - perfectly.  What nice Valentine's Day gift to myself.  Can't wait 'til I see what I give myself for my birthday! 


What is your favorite gift to yourself?  What was the greatest surprise you've received on your journey?  Let's talk about it.  Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Looking Back at my Journey

I was thinking about my journey today.  I have been heavy my entire adult life.  I have never had an adult relationship where I didn't have a significant amount of extra weight to bring to it.  At my highest I was 167 pounds more than I should be.  It took me a few years of ups and downs before my family decided to join me in a "Biggest Loser" Challenge.  That was January of 2012 and I was still 146 pounds heavier than I wanted to be.  I lost 50 pounds in 2012.  I managed to maintained that weight and lost about 3 pounds in 2013.  It was a year of ups and downs and I recommitted myself toward the end of the year.  2014 is the year of my "double golden birthday" and I have to be healthy!  It is my mission to FINALLY get rid of the remaining 93 pounds.  I am down 14.6 so far after 5 weeks (15.7%).  I have a ways to go but I know that I can do it.  I have all the right systems in place - Healthy eating, working out, accountability and motivation teams and an overall desire to make it happen.  I can do this!  So can you! 


I often wonder what is going to happen when I hit my goal weight.  I anticipate that I will have a lifelong journey with my weight.  I may not need to be actively trying to lose it but I suspect that it will be just as much work to maintain my accomplishment.  I just hope that I know what healthy looks like and I won't fall back into old routines.  I have awhile to think about that so need to stress myself out with what could be.  I will worry about that when the time comes.  Just like what I'm going to wear when I am fit.  What a nice problem to have!

30 Day Challenge Complete!

I DID IT!! I finished the 30 Day Keaira LaShae New Year, New You Challenge!  Not only did I finish - I finished well!  I am officially down 13.4 pounds and 14 inches!!!!  What a great accomplishment.  There are days that I didn't want to.  There was a day I missed so I did two days worth in one (don't recommend that).  But I didn't give up.  Keaira LaShae is an incredible motivator and I am thankful every day that I found her.  Next week I am going to start on her Summertime Fine Challenge.  That will take me through February.  In the meantime, I will keep active with Daily Burn.  Hope February is finding you accomplishing your goals as well.  Shoot me a line!  Let me know how your journey is going! 

Making Choices

Every single day - we make choices.  Would I rather wear the red shirt or the blue one?  Should I stop at the store before work or after work?  Would I rather eat everything I think I want or have a healthy, fit body?  That's the bottom line.  It's a choice.  I choose what I put in my body.  I choose if I want to be active or if I want to be a couch potato.  I choose to love myself for who I am.  I choose to take action to get the results I want.  So can you!  Yesterday was Superbowl.  That is a holiday in my house.  I LOVE SUPERBOWL!!!  I don't watch football the rest of the year but I do take the time to watch the "best of the best" (even if they don't act like it).  With that, comes potlucks with the ooey gooey "goodness" that is cheese dips and chips and little smokies and beer.  Massive quantities of beer.  That's usually what my Superbowl looks like.  Not this year.  I am on a mission.  A mission to change my life no matter what the cost.  Sure, I had beer.  2 of them.  That was more than plenty when I don't typically drink beer anymore.  My snack?  A serving (yes I counted) of Garden Herb Triscuits with an AMAZING pico de gallo type fresh dip (1/2 cup).  It was a "free" day for me.  I ended the day around 1,700 calories.  WOW!  I made a choice.  I decided it was in my best interest to enjoy the game without the hangover of insane quantities of fatty foods and lethargy inducing beer.  My methods won't work for everyone.  I just know that for me to be able to feel confident in my plan I need to stick to it.  I am proud of what I have accomplished so far and need to continue to make choices that fit this new lifestyle.  I won't say never - about anything.  It's unrealistic.  But for right now - my choice is healthy.