Santa Claus is Coming to Town....

Can you believe its almost that time for the jolly man to ride into town on his trusted sleigh pulled by those amazing little reindeer?? This year has passed so very quickly and it's hard to believe it is almost over already. It's been a good year though full of wonderful memories and many successes. There have also been the normal family tragedies that all families must endure, but those unfortunately are to be expected. So far I am handling the holidays well. I do partake of the seasonal goodies but within reason! I think I have a handle on the whole weight maintenance and feel more secure in that thought with each passing day. I went to our company Christmas party on Friday night and most of the employee spouses hadn't seen me since last Christmas, about 45 pounds ago. And it felt wonderful to hear all the compliments (I'm not conceited by no means but a girl does enjoy being complimented lol) about how amazing I look. It's great to finally be at a place where I can hear a compliment and mentally agree rather than think to myself "does he/she need glasses" or "are they simply crazy or trying to humor the fat girl". I am still the person who gets on the scale AT LEAST twice a day but I no longer freak out at the number staring back at me. I simply take it for what it is and go about my day. The scale is now a tool to help me stay focused on the end picture, and that is to continue to maintain my weight loss and never find myself overweight and miserable again. In short, the scale is my friend. Never thought I'd say that! lol I hope each of you has a wonderful Christmas full of memories that will last a lifetime. The family and I will be heading out on Christmas afternoon to drive 15 hours north to Michigan for a week with hubby's family. They haven't seen me since I was in the low 200s on my journey to lose weight so I am excited. Let's all remember to enjoy the Christmas goodies without depriving ourselves but at the same time, remember to eat sensibly and make the decisions that you won't regret once the holidays are over. Merry Christmas!!

New Family Pics

Hubby and I recently had a new photo shoot with our lovely girls. I thought that I would share a few of the pics we had taken. This is the whole family and the pic we used for our Christmas card this year.




This one is my dear husband and I. Since I've lost weight I absolutely LOVE to sit on his lap!!

And here is one of my favs of me and my beautiful daughters!

It still feels strange to me to look at all these pics we had taken (nearly 300) and be PROUD of them and to think I look good in them rather than to cringe with embarrassment when I'm forced to look at my size in a picture.

Losing Weight vs. Maintaining Weight Loss

I was really good over the last week and am thrilled to say that I have gotten rid of all those Thanksgiving pounds and am safely back within the lower half of the maintenance range I set for myself months ago. Whereas my range is 125 to 135, I feel more comfortable within the lower half of that range...I guess because I feel that it gives me more of a cushion to fluctuate without going out of it. I have now been officially "maintaning" my weight loss for 6 months and it feels great. I have always heard that losing is hard work but the real test comes with keeping the weight off. I can so easily see how that could be the case. Once you achieve your goal, you feel like you can finally relax and splurge more often on the foods that you tried to stay away from during your weight loss journey. I can definitely see that I have a bit of a different mindset now than I did while actively trying to reach my goal. Back then if I had dessert at a restaurant, it was only the smallest piece, more often I would concentrate on fresh fruit as my dessert. I don't know if I ate more than 4 or 5 chips during my entire 18 month losing process, but now I feel more comfy to partake of a serving with dip at a cookout. And don't get me wrong, I love being able to have that different mindset now and to be able to relax a little bit, but I can see where the same thing could get a person in trouble if they are not careful. I have mentioned before that I am a scale junkie and weigh every single day, truth be known, I weigh more than once each day (I know, I know...but its just me). Where this behavior could sabatoge some people, it helps keep me on track. After Thanksgiving when the scale wasn't so nice to me, I didn't beat myself up over the fact. I just thought, yep, enjoyed the goodies for Thanksgiving and now its time to get back on target. So for the last week I tried to watch closely what I ate and track all of my calories and go to the gym as I was supposed to, even when I didn't WANT to. My thanks is that here I am back to my desired weight and I was able to splurge for the holiday and not worry about calories. 6 months into weight maintenance I see that this will easily be something that I can live the rest of my life doing. You simply HAVE to have that accountability to yourself and realize if you splurge and gain a couple of pounds or so, you are going to work extra hard and eat extra well in order to return to the desired weight. When I lost weight years ago before my life fell apart after the hurricane, my problems started when I no longer had a scale and I couldn't weigh and physically SEE that number, physically SEE that I was gaining weight. Of course as clothes got tighter and I had to buy larger ones I KNEW I was gaining, but because I didn't have to really see the "number", I was in denial. If I'd been forced to put a number to my enlarging size, I don't think I would have gained as much weight back as I did (try ALL of it) and had to start back from scratch. This time around, maintenance is all about the motto: Enjoy the occasional splurge (be that one meal or a couple of days or even an entire vacation) but understand that you have to immediately get back on track when its over and lose any weight that you gained. So far its working!

Going in the Right Direction

The scale that is! I ate perfectly yesterday and was blessed on the scale this morning to be down 3.2 pounds. Knew a lot of it was water. I didn't go to the gym today as I never do on Wednesdays since I take off work early to take the kiddies to church. I have once again been perfectly on target with my meals and snacks today, although in the last hour or so I have definitely felt the munchies. I ate my banana and yogurt with granola for my 2pm snack and regardless of how hungry my body tries to TELL me it is between now and supper, we both know it really isn't hungry and it will be getting no food until meal time. Period! Until then, every time it makes the slightest little peep, I'm going to focus on drinking my water and floating to the bathroom as needed. lol This has been the TOM week so while I have never noticed it before, I am now wondering if the urge to munch on everything in sight happens right before I "start" and during this time. At 35 years old you'd think I'd have paid attention to notice that before, but I havne't. So I'm going to see if it happens again next month. I know that last week right before, I had a day at work where I wanted to eat everything in sight and then some. I could no sooner finish with eating one thing then I was thinking about what to eat next. Thank God those days are few and far between. I had planned to weigh-in at Curves tomorrow but considering my "visitor", I think I'm going to put it off until next week. Hope you all have had a great day as well.

The Scale is NOT My Friend....

I say that while I know completely well exactly WHY it isn't my friend. While my plan to eat as I chose on Thanksgiving Day without thought to calories was wonderful, the plan also included getting right back ON PLAN the following day. This is where I not only fell off the wagon, but the darn thing backed right up over the top of me. I did not eat myself into some sort of sugar coma on Thanksgiving, not even to the point of feeling horribly miserable. That was a success. We even went to see a movie that night and I avoided all candy and popcorn at the theater. Second success. I ate pretty well all day Friday, until we went to dinner with my parents that night and had a semi-healthy supper, but followed it with dessert AND then my dad, bless his sabotaging heart, bought us all a big milkshake afterwards. Saturday we ate out for breakfast and then had a huge lunch, followed by leftovers for supper (which included more of the desserts). Thankfully they were mostly gone by the time Sat. ended. Sunday I had a banana for breakfast and planned to be on task all day....then hubby stopped and got us doughnuts to have before decorating the tree. To add to the problem, he and I normally share a blueberry cake donut, but he bought us each our own this time. Need to beat him with my stick more often. (just kidding lol) He made burgers for lunch which wasn't too horribly bad, but then my parents took us out for Chinese for supper. I ate my normally healthy choices,,,but then the wagon knocked me down again and I had cherry cobbler with ice cream for dessert. And more dessert at home. Not good! Yesterday I decided I would be 100% on plan until Christmas so I could splurge that day and also enjoy vacation since we are leaving that afternoon to go north for 10 days. Did well all thru supper, then hubby came home from work early, put in a family movie for us to watch with the girls and then made way too much popcorn. After the popcorn, he cut some of my homemade pumpkin bread and I had some of that. Enough is enough! I have way more willpower than I have shown in the last week and its time I pull it out of my closet and dust it out and put it to use. I know its there, hiding, and just waiting to be used again. After all, I did NOT lose 150 pounds in 18 months without the ability to say no to those sweets that keep calling out to me! Time to own up to the evil truth...Thanksgiving set me back about 6 pounds! Ugh! But thats okay, I know it isn't all "real" weight. I say this because in spite of the popcorn and pumpkin bread last nght, I was still down 0.6 pounds this morning. Made me happy but then I wanted to kick myself because I thought "guess how much you'd have been down this morning if you hadn't had that crap last night....or at least had only had a small serving". Today I've been good all day and plan to stay away from sweets (which is my weakness) as much as possible. I went to the gym during lunch and burned 400 calories on the treadmill with some horribly steep inclines that nearly kicked my butt several times. My daughter finished the last piece of Mississippi Mud Cake yesterday which is good. Now to just keep away from the pumpkin bread and I'll be fine. I have weigh-in at Curves late this week or early next week and I already know I'm going to have my first gain since I started Curves 2 years ago. But thats okay...while I don't want to have that gain, I know its all part of a normal lifestyle which is going to be full of ups and downs. The key is to make sure I do what is necessary to go back DOWN which is what I always do. Hope you all are doing what you need to do as well to continue on this journey....

Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe that it will once again be Thanksgiving in just a few days! I have so much to be thankful for this year. I would of course start out with being so blessed to be a Christian woman who has the love of such a wonderful family. I am also thankful for our men and women who will be away from home this year due to their sacrifice for our country (my own nephew being one of the newest). And I am certainly thankful that this will be my first Thanksgiving at my goal weight! That still feels so good to say. My plan is to be really good all week so I can spend Thanksgiving Day NOT thinking about dieting or "being good". One day where I will just eat what I want, however, that is NOT to say that I plan to eat myself into misery. I want to eat all of the goodies but continue to listen to when my body tells me I've had enough. I think that is one of the most important lessons we need to learn on our weight loss journey, the art of listening to our body tell us when to eat and when to stop eating. The body is such a powerful tool and can be a tremendous help if we let it. On my own journey it was hard to get into that habit. I had gotten so used to finishing what was on my plate just because it tasted so good and I didn't want to leave it. I had gotten so used to getting seconds or thirds because I loved the taste of something. Or getting dessert because it sounded or looked good. In all of those instances I wasn't listening to my body. I could feel comfortably full, but I was still going to finish those last 4 or 5 bites on my plate because that was just what I was supposed to do. Where the heck I got that reasoning I am not sure. I could be to the point of really no longer being hungry, but my first helping tasted so good I still wanted more. I could be full from my meal but see the dessert menu and because the picture looked good, I still wanted that cake or pie. And once I got it, I would eat it all even if when I ate the last bite I was already saying I felt stuffed and miserable. Why in the world do we get to the point of ignoring the "full" signal and instead go right on eating more. Its not like I am a poor person who didn't know when I was going to have another meal and had to eat as much as I could. It's not like I couldn't have more of the leftoevers from a meal tomorrow rather than seconds today. It's not like I didn't know I could really and truly take home part of my entree at a restaurant rather than (gasp) let them throw it away. And its not like I couldn't order dessert and share it with my husband rather than having my own at any cost. But I never did any of those things. And in Jan. 2008 I realized the "cost" was the realization that I was on my way to a vast number or health problems and early death if I didn't change my way of thinking. Dieting for me hasn't really been difficult. The hard part was starting to listen to my body tell me I'm full, even when that means I've hardly eaten anything on my plate. As Thanksgiving approaches, let's be thankful for those "full" signals our body tries to help us with, and embrace them as we're surrounded by friends and family on Thursday. The food will be delicious....but it isn't going anywhere. We can have leftovers in the days after. Give yourself permission to splurge and eat whatever you want on that special day. But the next morning, its back on track. Still enjoy the leftovers, but do it within your diet plan. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My Darling Nephew

This week is a bittersweet time for my family. My sweet nephew graduated from high school in May and on Sunday he will be leaving to begin the new chapter of his life as he boards a bus bound for Parris Island Marine boot camp. I am so very proud of him! He is an extremely smart kid (I should say man, but to me he'll always be a little boy) who has the ability to make all of his dreams come true. Leaving home and all the people who love you is a difficult thing to do, unfortunately it is a really bad time for him because not only is he leaving his "security", he will be doing so for the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be very strange not having his smiling face at the table. So while I am extremely proud of him, I will of course be sad to see him go. Definitely bittersweet. But it is certainly what I want for him. I would rather endure the sadness of missing him while knowing he is out there making his dreams come true! We have lots of festivities planned in the coming days. I am making his favorite meal tomorrow for supper, Taco Soup. He said he isn't eating all day so he will have a huge appetite since he knows it will be a long time until he gets it again. lol We also have a cookout/party planned for Saturday night, and will all be going out for breakfast Sunday before accompanying him to the bus station. But thats okay, I will continue to try to make good food choices and go from there. I love you Michael...and I am so very proud of you and the sacrifice you have chosen to make for our country!

Still trudging along....

Things are much the same from my last post, I feel better, though nothing has really changed...just my reaction to it I suppose. I know and understand that I simply have to take things one day at a time. My eating has continued to be very good this week in spite of "it", so that is huge positive. As I said before, as a previously very overweight woman, it is important to me to make sure I don't resort to food at times of stress. After the weekend Halloween party and subsequent pizza/chips/cookies/candy I helped myself to, I am now comfortably back into the lower half of my maintenance range. This is good...though I want to drop another couple of pounds before I weigh in at Curves so I won't show a gain for the first time ever. Just as I had hoped, knowledge of that monthly weigh-in is a HUGE motivating tool for me to behave and maintain my weight. I may go overboard sometimes during the month, but I make sure as that weigh-in draws near I am doing what I'm supposed to do. Definitely a lifestyle I can live with for the rest of my life, because for months now I see that I can splurge and get right back on the wagon and take those few pounds off. For me, the slight up and down on the scale is well worth it because this way, I am allowing myself to eat those foods that I had stopped eating for so long. Though at times I can honestly say there have been nights that I have wanted to eat nearly everything sweet in the house and did eat much of it. Why? No clue. Thankfully those days do not happen often and when they do, I just dust myself off and climb back on the wagon. I hope this day finds you all doing well and enjoying the gorgeous fall weather. I have the Walk for Diabetes event to attend on Saturday with the family and I am looking forward to it. Not a long walk, only 3 miles, but its great to be out there with family/friends/co-workers knowing that I have helped in the fight against a disease that effects so many Americans. It is something I encourage each of you to get involved with if you aren't already. I am not a diabetic, though both my parents are and my grandfather and his mother were both taking insulin until they passed away. I see firsthand the effects of diabetes, this is one of the many things that gave me a firm kick in the pants to lose weight. I was very fortunate to weigh nearly 280 pounds and NOT have any sort of health problems. Thank GOD I got smart and took the steps needed to lose the weight and hopefully prevent health issues in the future. I know that as a 129 pound woman I am WAY less likely than I was 150 pounds ago. Enjoy your weekend....get out...get moving...enjoy the weather and enjoy your life!!!

Life is going haywire....

There is an issue in my personal life that is upsetting me quite a bit today. Something I found out last night but don't want to do an in-depth discussion for all the world to see. Suffice it to say that I feel that the rug has been pulled out from under my feet, numb, lost. I am proud to say that thoughts of food did not even enter into my mind when everything occurred and I have continued to feel that way today. Have eaten nothing different than my usual meals and snacks with no thoughts of any sort of eating to forget or to numb the hurt, no mindless snacking just because it is something I can control in a situation where I feel so out of control. That's good. That's what I want to happen at times of stress, no tendency to turn to food for consolation. I never saw myself as one who did that and this has pretty much backed up that idea. On the flip side, I HAVE had thoughts of going in the total opposite direction and NOT eating as much as I should. Why I'm not sure. Again, maybe it is something about the control issue just working in reverse. Because I had those thoughts last night, I am making sure that I do eat as I should today, right on schedule. I can honestly say that the idea of sweets or snacking is just a huge turnoff to me right now, never thought I would say that! I love sweets! On a positive note, at least the leftoever Halloween candy holds no temptation at all for me so that'll help me get back into the lower half of my acceptable range as i prefer to be but haven't stayed at for a couple of weeks. lol Thats about the ONLY positive I can find right now, but its something to hold on to. I was supposed to weigh-in at Curves this week but with all thats going on, I simply don't feel like going to the gym. Can't go tomorrow, won't go Thursday. But I have made a personal promise that I'll get up on Friday and go for a 5 mile walk, its been way too long since I did that. It'll give me some time to be alone and clear my head which is what I really need right now. Have a great day, and if you have a moment, send a prayer my way.

Those good intentions crashed and burned....

Halloween started off well, did all the last minute party shopping and bought my sweet dumpling squash for supper. But we got way too busy doing all the decorating and I waited too late to start cooking the cake and cookie cake and had no time to bake my squash. Instead, I fell into the pizza trap, and chips, and cookie cake (though I didn't go NEAR the kitty litter cake...yuck) and chocolate candy. Ugh! Oh well, doesn't happen often and we had a blast. There were about 20 kids that came to the party and the girls had a blast. Mom and dad enjoyed ourselves too! The temps weren't too horribly cold until the last 30 minutes or so before the party ended which worked out well. I did get aggravated at the end when the party was to end at 10pm and the last kid didn't get picked up until after 11pm!! What the heck are these parents thinking???!! Saturday I was bad too....all the leftover pizza and cookie cake staring at me...hubby saw me eating a piece of the cake at one point and laughed and asked what I was doing. Told him I was eating an apple. That became our weekend joke, when he cut a piece, he said it was a banana. Boy it would be nice if it really worked that way. Thankfully now it is gone, as is the pizza. Back on track today. I was up a few pounds this morning, but thats okay. Still comfortably within my acceptable range. How did ya'll do on Halloween?

So far....no Halloween Candy!!

It is Oct. 30th and so far, not a single piece of Halloween candy has made its way across my lips. Considering how much I love chocolate, that is no small feat. A week ago hubby and I bought way too much candy for the Halloween party my kids are having tomorrow night, but it was put up along with the decorations and has not been opened and will not be opened until tomorrow. My parents bought each of the girls a bag of candy of their choice for Halloween and gave it to them on Tuesday, Jessica got York Peppermint Patties which I can easily stay away from since mint isn't my fav candy. Kayla got Kit Kats...yum. Still not my favorites but I do like the little boogers anyway. Both bags have been in the kitchen open since that evening, something I see every time I walk into the kitchen, but so far, haven't had any of it. Tomorrow night could be a different story. Way too much junk food is planned...pizza, chips, lots of candy, coffin full of gummy body parts, cookie cake with gummy severed feet and eyeballs, kitty litter cake, and a skull with rice krispy "brains" inside. The teens will love it, not so sure how my diet will enjoy it. I have weigh-in next week so while I would normally splurge on the occasion, I know I must watch my step very carefully as I don't want to post a gain. I love pizza, but considering how nutritionally horrible it can be, partaking of it right before weigh-in is probably not such a good idea. I may make myself a sweet dumpling squash and eat before the party starts...the more I think of it, thats probably a really good idea. It'll fill me up but yet is so low calorie that if I have a little dessert at the party, I'm still on track. Maybe I'll take some baby carrots to the party as well to nibble on instead of those darn chips that seem to call out to me. Hopefully all the activity of cooking and decorating and running around buying last minute stuff tomorrow will give me plenty of exercise to help as well. My oldest daughter and I have already planned a 5 mile walk for Saturday morning so that'll help too. Now we just have to make hubby and my youngest daughter get up to join us. Hope ya'll have a wonderful Halloween and remember, enjoy the Halloween treats but do so in moderation!

Avoid a Meltdown During the Holidays

I found an interesting article in my Mom's Weight Watchers Nov/Dec 2008 magazine(article by Gabrielle Gayagoy) about things that can trigger us to eat. It may be:
Guilt - This is your trigger if you are a person who tends to overeat at holiday parties & things,
then beat yourself up over it later
Sadness - this is your trigger if things haven't been going well for you or you recently lost a loved
one and all the holiday stuff only makes you feel worse
Anger - This is your trigger if you see red when you head home for the holidays...maybe you and
a loved one argue every year or family members tend to pry into your personal affairs and
set you off
Anxiety - This is your trigger if you are a person who can't say no and all the endless events
leave your life in chaos

Now, the cheat sheets for overcoming your triggers:
Guilt Cheat Sheet - whether you overate at a party or just ate too many goodies before bed,
start the next day back on track with a healthy menu full of fresh fruits and veggies and all
those other good things we already know we should be eating!

Sadness Cheat Sheet - Try a 10 minute fitness routine to get your endorphins going and help
ease your blues. Do each for one minute without a break: Walk in place, step from side to side
raising one arm overhead each time, walk in place swinging arms, do knee lifts and press both
arms overhead, walk in place pressing both arms overhead with each step, do squats, walk in
place raising one arm overhead each time, throw punches, walk in place swinging arms, stand
with feet hip width apart and raise arms out to sides and overhead as you exhale bringing
your arms down as you exhale.

Anger Cheat Sheet - Before you eat anything, ask yourself 4 questions: 1) Why do I want to eat
this? Am I hungry or is it because I'm mad? 2) If I don't eat this now, will I regreat not eating
it later? 3) If I do eat it, how will I feel later? 4) Is there a healthier option? Your answers
will help you figure out when you are eating because of anger rather than true hunger. If its
due to anger, have a list of things ready you can do instead of soothing yourself with food, such
as write Christmas cards, wrap some gifts, or call a friend to catch up.

Anxiety Cheat Sheet - Instead of launching into Cookie Monster mode when you are stressed,
calm down with some sort of meditation exercise. Or one of my favorite things to do it run a
warm bubble bath, grab a book and a glass of ice water and go relax for an hour or so.

I really liked the anger cheat sheet. I don't eat out of anger, but I am occasionally guilty of the refrigerator hover...that being standing at the frig with the door open just looking for "something" to eat but not knowing what I want. Most of the time it isn't because I'm hungry. I am hopeful that I can use this cheat to stop and ask myself these questions and then move away from the frig and on to something more constructive. Though I am at goal, I still have those mindless munching days when I later ask myself why the heck I did it. But then its on to the Guilt Cheat Sheet and back on track the next day, or the next meal dependent upon when I had the little "snafu". lol

Have a great night!

Maintenance - The "Right" Way or the "Wrong" Way?

Thus far, I have been at a weight maintenance level for 4 months. So far, it is going quite well. Am I doing it "right" or "wrong"...who the heck knows. I simply know that each month when I weigh in at Curves, I am within a pound or two of the same weight. Works for me! I had originally thought once I reached my goal, my weight would just stay around the same thing every day. In a perfect world, that might actually be the case. However, with me, that isn't the case. My weight during the month can fluctuate as much as 8 pounds or so....always staying within the 10 pounds "window" I set for myself, but still, the fluctuations up and down are there. This allows me the flexibility to go to cookouts and eat things I wouldn't have dared touch 6 months ago when I was still trying to lose weight, or to go to restaurants and splurge on dishes that aren't always the best, or to enjoy some after dinner dessert (in moderation). Most of the time I'm still pretty good...but then there are those days where you just want to eat everything but the sink or I indulge a little too much in the yummy goodies...then I see a higher number on the scale. But I don't freak out. I just make sure I work my butt off to get back to where I'm supposed to be by the 4th of each month so I won't post a gain at Curves. No big deal if at some point this month I was up 7 or 8 pounds...its that Curves weigh-in that matters. lol Is this the right way to be in maintenance? Some might say I'm doing it all wrong. Some might say whatever works for me. I say, it works, I'm staying on track, this allows me to be flexible and enjoy the goodies each month but STILL keep the mindset of not straying too much. I believe this is the plan for me, one that I can live the rest of my life with or never risk gaining all the weight back. It allows me to be "bad" when I want to, but after a day or two of that behavior, I am back on track and working on getting back to where I'm supposed to be. Granted some days I am a heck of a lot worse than I should be but thank GOD those days don't happen often. But when they do, I accept them for what they are, pull my skinny jeans up (boy I love saying that lol), give myself a "you know better" talk, and get back on track. I think that's all we can ask of ourselves in the long run.

Another Year Older

Today is my birthday,,,,35 years old. It has always been strange to me to hear how people have such emotional issues tied to getting another year older. Birthdays don't faze me in the least. I mean, seriously, today I am one day older than I was yesterday...this is the exact same thing that happens every day of every year, so why should the fact that I am now 35 instead of 34 mean anything. I can however, look at myself today and smile at the fact that I am now so much healthier than I was at 30 years old, heck, healthier than I was even at 25 years old. My weight maintenance continues on pretty much uneventfully. I had another weigh-in at Curves last week and maintained on both my weight and my inches. Now that certainly isn't to say that I didn't gain when I went away to the beach for the weekend or the trip to Nashville, but as I've said before, thats fine with me as long as I get back on track when I return home. Over the weekend I splurged with all the birthday celebrations, but again, thats acceptable to me now. Once today is over with, I'll be back on my game plan. It is nice to occasionally just order what I want off a restaurant menu without focusing strictly on what I "need" to eat rather than what I might "want" to eat. While I rarely ever go out to dinner with that mindset, I think it's important to occasionally do that and its something I haven't done. One thing I need to pay close attention to is my weekness over a pumpkin bread that I make. I baked 9 loaves yesterday and ate way too much of it. But it was the first time I've made it since I started my journey is Jan. 2007, so that's okay. Karyn shared with me on the comments about the Curves weight loss "mantra" which I'd never heard before. I guess I do something loosely similiar to that by watching the scale and staying within my range that I set for myself, but I might try the three pound thing. Have a wonderful Monday everyone!

Life Can Be Hard

Yesterday was a difficult day for my family. It was the 12 year anniversary of the day our son died of SIDS. In many ways it seems like longer, in many ways it seems like it all happened yesterday. I can still so easily picture the events of that morning, the day that my entire world came crashing down around me and I joined the parents club that no one wants to be a part of, the day I became a mother who had to bury her child. Its always amazing to me, however, the way that God gives us exactly what we need when we need it. We went to church yesterday and in our Sunday school class, the lesson was about God and how although we don't often understand, He always does what is best for us and His outcome is the right one in a situation. The teacher stressed how that is difficult to understand sometimes when we lose a loved one to death or when other bad things happen, but he said that one day we will understand. When we stand before the Lord, we can ask him all of the "why's" that we have lived for years with. That is a comforting thought to me to think that one day, not only will I be able to hold my precious baby once more, but I will be able to look at my Heavenly Father and ask him to help me understand why Cody was taken from us. Except for the somberness of yesterday, we had a good weekend. We went to see "Fireproof" at movies on Friday night, and it is a movie that I highly recommend! It made me laugh alot but it also made me cry. If you, or anyone you know, is experiencing marital problems, go!!! My hubby and I aren't, but it was still a movie that you can't help but see and question how you can strive to be a better spouse. I have weigh-in at Curves on Thursday so this will be a week to make sure to stay on track and not splurge. My mom is trying some new recipes and has invited us to eat tonight so I'll have to watch my calories today in order to account for that. Also only plan to have small portions of the new dishes. So far, this weight maintenance is going quite well. I wish I could say that I stay the same weight every day, but that isn't the case. I tend to gain over the weekend, or when we go away for mini-trips, and then get back on track during the weekdays to get back to my base weight. BUT I stay within the weight range I set for myself (125-135). While I'm sure it would be better to be 127 all the time without fail...I figure if I slip up closer to 135 but then get back on track and back to the lower weight soon after, then I'm doing great. I just know that I will NEVER again be overweight!!! I will never again let myself go!! I love the way I feel, the way I look, the energy that I have, and while many people HATE their scales, I see mine as one of my best friends. It is a little box that will be honest with me and keep me on track with my maintenance...I can step on it and know if I can afford to splurge a little or if I need to stick tightly to my calorie allowance. The numbers don't lie. I got in trouble last time I'd lost weight because when life fell apart after the hurricane, and I no longer had the scale to be accountable to, I gained it all back. Now I make myself weigh every morning that I am home so I physically see those numbers and cannot be in denial. If I splurge over the weekend or on a trip, I know that the scale will not be so kind on Monday morning. But seeing those numbers gives me the incentive to get back on track and back to the lower part of my "range". Accountability...I htink its what we all need in our journey!

Seeing Myself with Blinders On

Strange title, isn't it? But I say that because at least for me, it is often so true. When I was at my heaviest weight (277), I KNEW that I was overweight. I KNEW that I was really overweight. But I could for some reason look in the mirror and not THINK that I looked as big as I did. And then I would see one of those rare pictures that I tried to avoid being taken and reality would slap me in the face with a 2X4. I would immediately start thinking how I couldn't believe I really looked like that. My mirror didn't seem to reflect it, but those darn photos sure did. And now I find myself at the opposite end of the spectrum, at my goal weight. I look in the mirror now and I like what I see much better, but I don't see the really skinny woman that everyone else SAYS that I am. While I saw myself as smaller when I was overweight, I now see myself as bigger now that I'm at a healthy weight. Not to the point of how you read that some people still see themselves as fat. No, I certainly don't see that. Heck, maybe I should chalk it up to my mind being in denial. Yes, that makes sense. Before I was in denial that I was almost 300 pounds, that I was one person taking up more space that TWO normal weight women would use. Now maybe my mind is still in denial that I have finally reached my goal and am finally at a healthy weight. Who knows. As I said, I look in the mirror and I like what I see now. I enjoy having photos taken now. Gasp at the mere thought! lol But sometimes it still catches me off guard when people show appreciation for how I look again. I spent so much time being overweight, being used to avoiding attention, that it takes me by surprise when someone goes out of their way to whistle or yell at me when I'm out walking on the trail or when I go out to get the mail. Heck, one day I was stopped at a stoplight and the guy next to me honked his horn and got me to roll down the window so his male passenger could tell me I was beautiful. While I am happily married and only have eyes for my loving husband, it does add a little spring to my step when these sorts of things happen. I tell my husband that it shocks me when it happens and he just smiles and tells me I better get used to it. lol Have you noticed that as you lose weight, you are enjoying the attention and appreciation of others rather than trying to avoid it at all costs like you used to? Do you have magic mirrors in your home like I do that make it difficult to see yourself as others do?

Squash Pizza

When I first found the idea for making the "pizza" with pattypan squash, I was thrilled. I love pizza and was beside myself with the idea of being able to eat a really healthy, low calorie one. Hubby and I made them for lunch today...the first time I've ever used the broiler feature on my oven. The recipe had said to put the shelf on the highest level which I have now realized is not accurate...they started to burn and also by the end had set off my smoke alarm. A fact which cracked my 11 year old up. But not to be swayed, we scraped the burnt part off the top to give them a try. My hubby took a bite and looked as if he wanted to gag...literally. Have to give him credit, he did end up eating two of them before throwing in the towel and making himself something else. He said its a recipe he'd never ask me to make. I thought they tasted okay, while certainly not fantastic. I ended up eating all 3 of my small ones and a couple of bites of a fourth one. Even with that, the calories I consumed are extremely low. Anyway, I ate them and thought okay, I probably won't ever do it again but at least I know I don't really care for them now. However, now about 30 minutes later, I KNOW that I won't make them again. My stomach is rebelling and just feels yucky! Not to the point of being sick to my stomach but just feel miserable. I guess its just the mixture of all the stuff, but whatever it was, it won't happen again. lol Tonight I'll be making a recipe hubby and I have tried to re-create from a delicious lunch we had last weekend in Nashville...seafood stuffed baked potatoes. They are amazing! Shrimp, crab meat, mushrooms, and sauce mixture put over baked potatoes. Yum! This will definitely make up for the crash & burn of lunch. After enjoying that meal, the family will be going on our weekly 5 mile walk together which I am looking forward to doing. Also bought some tennis balls when I went shopping earlier and we're going to start teaching the girls to play tennis. I'm sure that will be interesting! I hope each of you have weekend and I continue to pray for the safety of the people in Texas!

After Picture As Some Have Requested =D

As requested, here is a larger "after" picture.

Good Week

It's been a very good week of being back on target with my meals after splurging all weekend in Nashville. I have managed to stay away from those yummy pralines we brought back other than taking one bite of hubby's last night after dinner. I have a little over 1 pound left to lose and I'll be back to pre-weekend weight, so not too shabby. I am looking forward to a new dish tomorrow night for supper. We're having our family night where we play games with the kiddies and we're going to make homemade pizzas. The kids will do their own but then hubby and I are going to try something I saw in a magazine. You use the patty pan squash and slice them to about 1/4 inch thick. Broil them for about 5-10 minutes. Put your desired toppings on them and broil another 5 to 10 minutes. We're going to try to make taco pizza with them. Sounds very strange but who knows, it may be delicious. At worst, we'll throw them in the trash and find something else to eat. Hopefully we'll love them as this will be such a low calorie "pizza" choice for us. I'll let you know how that creation goes. Hubby has lost all of the weight that he gained over our trip so he was a happy little camper. He is back at his lowest point in about 10 years now (217) so I reminded him to be really good this weekend and maybe he'll see the scale creep even lower. I am so proud of him! My prayers go out to any of you in the path of Hurricane Ike this weekend. Please be careful and take precautions to protect yourself and your family. Possessions can be replaced (as I well know) but your family cannot.

Anniversary Thoughts

Today is my 15th wedding anniversary! So much has happened in that time and its amazing how much I have changed over the years. When Gary and I married, I was 19 years old (almost 20) and immediately changed from the role of living at home with mom & dad and having no financial responsibilities at all, to the role of Navy wife with a husband who was stationed on a ship that spent more time at sea than at home. When we married, I weighed about 132 pounds if I recall correctly and was in wonderful shape. But I think I fell into a vicious cycle of being home alone so often and eating while watching tv, or going out to eat too often with friends. Then came baby #1 and the associated pregnancy weight gain. After we had Jessica, her brother Cody came along just 15 months later. No real time to lose all the baby weight before being pregnant again. After Cody was born, we also got out of the Navy and relocated to Florida which brought more life changes. But then perhaps the biggest life changing experience happened just 2 1/2 months after his birth, when we lost our precious son to SIDS. My entire world was shattered. Having Jessica helped us to get thru the days because we knew that we HAD to do it for her. I got pregnant with our daughter Kayla immediately (not planned but most definitely a blessing) and she was born 1 year and 4 days after her brother. Obviously having 3 children back to back was a recipe for disaster with my weight. I never had time to let my body bounce back from a pregnancy before another blessing was on the way. lol Then came falling into the habit of eating horribly and having those late night "second suppers" is what I have lovingly come to call them. Gary and I both kept gaining weight. While I wasn't happy with how I looked, I obviously didn't seem to mind it enough to do anything about it. In 2003 I did get motivated and started a diet and exercise routine. I lost down to 162 pounds and felt great. But then life fell apart again when our area took a horrible hit in Sept. 2004 from Hurricane Ivan. We lost our home and most everything in it, everything that was outside in sheds, yard, and also both vehicles. We moved in with my parents for nearly 2 years along with my grandfather who also lost all he had. There were 7 people and 9 dogs living in a 1500 SF home. Again healthy eating went out the window and we found ourselves turning to those comfort foods (making brownies or cookies or cinnamon rolls every night, high calorie meals). While I could eat healthy in my own home, I felt pushed into eating at their home. For instance, if they wanted a snack at night but I said I didn't, they would say they wouldn't eat one either. So I would relent and go eat something I never really wanted. Now I am strong enough to say oh well, that is your choice and let it go. Back then, I caved to the pressure. And that, ladies and gentlemen is what allowed my weight to go right back to 277 as it was when I had started. At least I didn't go higher but heck, 277 is plenty! Once were back in our own home, 4 months later I got back on track and decided enough was enough. I was thrilled that my husband and my parents all got on board with me for our own "Biggest Loser" competition. We all put $50 into a pot and set a 6 month challenge, whoever lost the biggest % of weight at the end, got the $200 to spend as they chose. I won the money but we all won because we all lost weight. I am at goal now, Gary has lost 70 pounds, mom has lost about 70 pounds, and Dad has lost about 12 pounds (he lost more but gained back). Dad has struggled because he loves to eat and doesn't have much will power. But on a positive note, his blood sugar is more under control than it used to be when it stayed at DANGEROUS levels. In looking back over the years, its amazing how life has changed and I have changed with it. I am proud to say that I am so much stronger now than I was before, both emotionally and physically. I weigh less now than when I got married! Love that idea! Do you see those changes in yourself since you began your weight loss journey? Can you look back at your life and see where you went wrong and your weight problems began? I think its important to recognize those things so we can ensure that they never happen again. And I think its important to have some sort of accountability too. Although I am at goal now, I will continue to go to Curves for the rest of my life (God willing I can do so). I say this because I KNOW every month I will be getting on a scale and getting measured by my trainer. I do NOT want to be in a position to have them look at me and ask WHAT HAPPENED this month?? That monthly weigh-in gives me extra encouragement to stay on track with my weight maintenance. When I gained the weight back before, I think it was easier because I no longer had a scale and could not physically SEE the numbers creeping back up. I don't believe I would have let it go so far if I had weighed and had to face those numbers...instead I had the mentality that it wasn't really happening because I didn't know how much I was gaining. Never mind the idea that I kept having to buy larger clothes again. Do you have some sort of accountability set up to help you? Is it a monthly gym weigh-in or WW weigh-ins or do you have a friend that helps you with your goals?

Time to Get Back on Track

My anniversary getaway to Nashville was wonderful just as I'd hoped it would be. While we did do a lot of walking over the course of the trip, we also enjoyed some wonderful meals and desserts. We spent about 6 hours Friday in Opry Mills which is a huge mall that built on the site of what used to be Opryland theme park. Spent way too much money on goodies for the kids but we enjoy spoiling them so thats okay. We ate at a mall buffet for lunch and then my dear husband cooked dinner at the hotel that night. We also were able to get tickets to the Grand Old Opry for Sat. night featuring Loretta Lynn, Jessica Simpson, and Patti Loveless among others. Saturday was spent in downtown Nashville walking around for hours touring the sites. It was such a neat experience to see the Ryman Auditorium (old site of the Grand Old Opry) and we also got to hang out at the Wildhorse Saloon and Coyote Ugly. I am now the proud owner of a "I danced on the bar at Coyote Ugly Saloon in Nashville" t-shirt! My kids keep asking if I did it and I just smile and tell them "what happened in Nashville, stays in Nashville". My 13 year old says she does NOT want to know! 2 years ago I never would have even considered the idea of doing such a thing! What a difference the time has made! We also stumbled on a farmers market downtown that left me full of jealousy wishing we had one close to where we live. The foods were amazing and we bought some but of course I'd love the ability to visit there on a regular basis. We also visited a candy store that specializes in pralines...amaretto, bourbon, and jack daniels, as well as chocolate turtles. We each had one as a little snack and then bought a tin to bring home to share. I plan to freeze most of them to enjoy occasionally as they are very tempting sitting on the counter. I weighed this morning and it showed I was up 5 pounds! Thank goodness I know it wasn't "real"...I mean, the numbers were real but I know that while I did splurge, I didn't eat THAT much. I'm guessing most of it is due to eating saltier foods that usual plus not drinking anywhere near as much water as I normally do on a daily basis. I am hopeful that most of it will be gone within the week, so we'll see. Hubby also showed he was up 5 pounds. Neither of us is concerned and just have the attitude of how much we enjoyed the trip and one another and now its bad to get back on track. How do you handle those steps backward? Do you think its okay and just time to focus back on the path to your goal, or do you get overwhelmed and frustrated and find yourself eating more and making a bad situation even worse? I have always believed how we handle the setbacks is more important that how we handle the positive things. I hope that today each of you will focus on how well you are doing with your own weight loss in spite of an occasional setback, and give yourself permission to enjoy that occasional splurge. It's what will keep you sane and focused on the "long haul".

Curves Weigh-in/Anniversary Getaway

Today was weigh-in day at Curves...I already knew I'd lost weight since last time (3 pounds) but I was happy to see I also lost another 2 inches which brought me to 113 inches that I have lost since January 2007. My body was was down to about 19.6% which was a happy moment too. Hard to believe when I started this my body fat was 47.00%!! Almost HALF of me was nothing more than fat. Sad and so scary at the same time! My mom also lost 3 pounds and 2 inches this month so I'm totally proud of her and the efforts she puts in (though she quickly says she hates to exercise and it will never get better lol). Tonight after my dear husband gets home from work, we'll sleep a couple of hours and then head off for our long weekend anniversary getaway without the kiddies to Nashville (about 6 hours from here). I am excited but as always, hesitant about getting into a situation where there will be so much eating out. I will try to do my usual and find a hotel with a kitchenette so we can have some healthy meals in the room. If not, I'll try to focus on portions and making healthy choices on the menu. I already know that I'll come home with at least a small gain, and that's okay. I have come to realize that the ups and downs on the scale are a part of life, and while I never like seeing the numbers higher than they were the day before, I find it empowering to look at the numbers and say "Yes I gained, but I enjoyed the splurge and now its time to get back to my normal way of eating". Normal...thats an interesting word. The other day I thought about a typical daily menu now and then compared it to "before"...I was shocked at the result. With the food eduation I now possess, there is no wonder at all that I weighed nearly 300 pounds!

Before Jan. 2007 Sample Menu:
Breakfast: One can of soda; 2 poptarts OR a Sausage, egg, cheese McGriddle, hashbrown, and large coke
Snack: Bag of chips or cookies and a soda
Lunch: Ramen noodles OR whole frozen pizza (about the size of a dinner plate) OR Big Mac, large fries, large coke
Snack: 2 Krispy Kreme donuts OR cookies OR someone at the office might go to the store and get Klondike bars and a soda
Supper: 2 cups of hamburger helper, corn with butter, 2 biscuits with butter & jelly, at least 2 large glasses of coke
Snack: 1 or 2 Little Debbie snack cakes OR hubby and I might order a pizza sub OR we might share 5 or 6 large sausage with BBQ sauce, coke

Now Sample Menu:
Breakfast: 1 serving of instant sugar free maple & brown sugar oatmeal, large banana, water
Snack: 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese, large peach, water
Lunch: 3 cups steamed cabbage, 2 fat free hot dogs, 24 baby carrots, water
Snack: apple, light yogurt, and 1 Tbs. granola, water
Dinner: 4 oz. grilled chicken, 3 cups steamed veggies, water
Snack: Sugar free pudding cup or fresh fruit, water

As you can see, a huge change is that I no longer drink coke. When I look back at a day and see how many calories I wasted on sodas! I see now that a large portion of my weight gain was most likely due to that, then you factor in all the crap I was eating and I was a walking recipe for disaster. We used to eat Hamburger Helper quite often simply because we liked it. When I really started looking at labels, I checked the things that were in my pantry. I nearly choked when I read the label for HH. One of our fav kinds had over 300 calories for one serving, then when I saw a serving was HALF A CUP!! Geez...I know I'd eat at least 2 cups at supper and that alone was over 1200 calories! Throw in some biscuits and those huge glasses of coke and I was having more than a whole day of calories in a 30 minute meal. When Gary and I started making a habit of what we called a snack but let's be realistic, it was another supper, AND it was usually around 10 or 11 at night! What were we thinking! Sometimes I go grocery shopping and I still laugh when I look in my buggy at the checkout, bag after bag of fresh fruit and veggies, fat free dairy products, granola bars, etc. Before it was packed with everything processed, and tons of junk food. I never bought fruit or veggies. I wish I could have seen the problems years ago but back then, my buggy looked "normal". Isn't it amazing how "normal" can vary so much in a couple years time? Has your normal changed? Better go get packed, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'll post on Sunday with how eating on the trip went. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we'll be able to get a lot of walking in to offset any splurges.

Moderation vs. Deprivation

Over the years I have read so many articles and posts about overweight people trying to figure out exactly WHY they are overweight. Many have found they overeat as a coping mechanism, as a reaction to stress, as a result of some sort of childhood abuse....my problem was that I simply enjoyed eating! And unfortunately, the things I enjoyed eating were the horrible things that caused me to one day wake up and find that I was knocking on the door of 300 pounds. I was a major pasta lover...and bread...and don't even get me started on sweets. I have a sweet tooth that could tempt me to eat a chocolate fence post. lol Notice I say that I HAVE a sweet tooth, not HAD. This is something that I still have to watch daily and know I will continue to have to do so for life. When I started my weight loss journey, I quickly knew that I wanted no part of a diet that said what I could and could not eat. To me, that was just a recipe for disaster. Figured if I couldn't eat something, that would just make me want it even more. I'm still a 3 year old stuck in a 34 year olds body I suppose. And the idea of low carb and induction and all those other words that gave me a headache trying to figure out was just more than I wanted to handle. Though about Weight Watchers as I had a friend in high school who did great on it, but honestly, as my husband says, I'm cheap and didn't want to have to pay someone to help me lose weight if I could in any way do it on my own. Thus began my plan to eat whatever I wanted, just in moderation. I decided to try to limit my calories to 1300 each day and see how that went. My plan was easy, after all I can read labels and add numbers like the best of them. For me, the calorie watching worked well...I quickly realized that I was able to eat MORE if I went with lower calorie options and if I wanted a high calorie meal or a high calorie dessert...I could have it but I knew I'd have to eat like a starving rabbit the rest of the day. Needless to say, that wasn't a tempting idea and therefore, I would steer away from the stuff I shouldn't have been eating in the first place. I think that education about food is our best defense against being overweight. The internet has given us the tools to shape our bodies....literally! I began checking out restaurant websites before I went in order to decide the best meal I could order (great idea because what we often THINK is a good choice, actually is not). I also invested in a book called Eat This, Not That which is an amazing tool. It has tons of restaurants and gives you 3 or 4 good choices and then 3 or 4 to stay away from. It also breaks down Mexican, Italian, Indian, Chinese, etc. menus and gives you good ideas to order. One hint I loved was when I go to eat Mexican and I always order fajitas. The book said to ask for corn tortillas instead of the typical flour ones that come with the fajitas...you save about 100 calories per tortilla. Wow! Now this is my routine. I also realized how important being educated was when I read about the Ruby Tuesday menu. Many people who go in wanting a "healthy" burger would go for the Turkey Burger....you think its a good choice for your diet. Well, this turkey burger is over 1000 calories!!!! Can you believe that? I don't know what the heck they do to a darn turkey burger to make it that many calories but as a dieter I'd be in shock if I ate that thing and THEN realized the damage I'd done! So educate yourself and understand that the seemingly healthy choice isn't always the healthy choice! I also used to love fried shrimp, until I realized they may have about 4 times the calories of boiled or grilled shrimp. Now, I may occasionally eat a couple of fried shrimp, but in general, all of my seafood is now ordered grilled, the extra calories just aren't worth it to me. I think one of the things that has many my lifestyle change something that I know I can do forever is the fact that I still allow myself to have dessert when I want it. I just make sure I account for it in my calories for the day. When I go to a buffet, I focus on a huge salad with fat free dressing, some sort of grilled or baked meat, lots of veggies, and I stay away from anything with sauces or pastas and potatoes, knowing at the end of my meal I'll enjoy a reasonable serving of carrot cake or a little ice cream and one cookie. I do not deprive myself and that makes it easier for me to eat healthy the majority of the time. Take care and have a wonderful day!

My Introduction to Blog World

In January 2007, I decided it was time for a change. And not just a small change...but a HUGE one! We were in the process of dealing with the horrible downhill path of my grandfather's battle with cancer and it was just a very emotional time. To witness firsthand the horror of what he was going thru and the pain his poor body was in was beyond words. Finally it struck me, what the heck am I doing? Do I want to one day be in that position with my family tearfully watching me struggle to the end of my life in so much pain? It could so easily be me...being overweight is a major contributing factor to the odds to getting cancer. In a world where so many healthy people are diagnosed with cancer every single day, do I really want to keep living a life that will increase those already scary odds? Heck no! Add to this the fact that being overweight is the obvious contributing factor to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems...all issues that are prevalent in my family. It was certainly time to wake up! And aside from the health issues I was quickly heading for (by the grace of God I was healthy and showed no signs of medical problems in spite of my weight), there were other things to consider. I was tired of not being able to be the type of wife and mother I wanted to be, the type my family deserved. At 276.6 pounds, I obviously couldn't join my kids on the amusement park rides they asked me to do. I didn't have th energy to play with them at the playground or go on long walks with them. I was exhausted alot of the time too. On weekends when I could be spending time with the family, I could easily sleep until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. And then with my marriage. I have always been blessed to have a husband who loved me and told me how gorgeous I was no matter how much I weighed, but I certainly couldn't look in the mirror and see that same beauty. I was also tired of seeing all those cute clothes in the stores and buying them certainly wasn't an option because the biggest they sold was an XL when I needed a size 24 or so. I had a lot of reasons to lose weight, and it was time to get off my butt and do it. I started a low calorie diet and began charting everything that I ate. I cut out all sodas which I loved because obviously they would use up a huge allotment of my calories each day. Water became one of my best friends and I drank tons of it. I began walking every day during my lunch time at work and I also joined Curves. 18 months later, I am so proud to say that I am at my goal weight...a range that I set between 125 and 135 pounds. I have lost MORE than HALF OF ME!!! That is just unreal! I try to make sure to stay below 130 but on vacations I do sometimes creep above that...but quickly get myself back on track to make sure I do not go above 135 pounds. I am one of those daily weighers and have decided that I always will be. This helps keep me motivated and lets me know if I'm low in my range...I can splurge a little today. If I'm higher for some reason, I focus on what I eat and make sure I'm within my calories, because yep...I STILL monitor what I eat each day. So thats me in a nutshell...while I have reached my goal weight, my journey is far from over. Weight issues run in my family and I have come to realize this is something that I will have to be mindful of for the rest of my life. Since I am at goal, I do allow splurges now, but I always stay focused on remaining within my range. I am also proud to say that as a result of the healthy changes in my life, my husband has also lost over 70 pounds and is only about 30 pounds from his goal. My mother has also lost about 70 pounds and is only about 10 pounds from her goal. Awesome job family!!! I had to laugh over the weekend when we had a little getaway to Biloxi. While my 13 year old daughter was putting her contacts in the next morning at the hotel, I put her jeans on...AND THEY FIT!! Now mind you, she has a gorgeous figure....I couldn't believe it. Of course she didn't appreciate it a bit and said "please take my pants off". lol Then my 11 year old asked me to put hers on...and they fit too. lol Granted they had a little stretch in them, but it felt amazing! Is there something you have done lately that made you feel amazing? I hope so...we all need that!