Memories and pictures

Happy Thanksgiving!
I was looking through our family picture archives last night watching my hair and shape change through the years. LOL! I came across this picture from 4 years ago, that honestly I don't even remember posing for.
As I sit here, and yearn to be thin again, I am thankful for the years of health God has given me.

My children saw some pictures of me, I do not yet know which ones they saw, and they said MOM you were HUGE!!! I laughed because it means that I must not be as HUGE now! I have not regained the weight I have lost in the past couple of months, Praise God.
I have not lost any more either though. LOL.

Kristi and I faithfully weigh ourselves every Sunday, and cringe or cheer depending on the results. I think we had both thought we would be able to shed weight as easily as getting a haircut! I know the class competition is over in February, but this will be a lifetime for me to achieve the goal and to stay with it.
I am so glad that losing weight and living for Christ is very similar... how you ask? There is always a second chance!
I will leave you with the picture that I found, and hope ya'll have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Kristi- It's definitely CHEAT day! LOL

Break Through

Hello to all my weight loss buddies.
I finally reached a very important milestone that I have struggled to get past for 2 months. I am happy to say that I have lost 13 pounds so far!
Two special people took me shopping today for my birthday. I was not sure if this was because I am not at the height of fashion, or if they were just being nice. I was somewhat reluctant to try on a store full of clothes, and parade them to the critical eye. I am very self conscious of my weight, but also of my appearance. It's a great day when I actually feel like I look good.
What was really encouraging was that the size in clothing that I am used to wearing was actually too big on me now! It was nice to pick out smaller sizes, and to see what mixed and matched to make a great outfit.
They proceeded to close the store down around us, as I was trying on all sorts of ensembles.
Amongst the three of us, we picked THE special outfit. I was happy to come home, and model it for my family.
My husband decided that from now on he will give those 2 stylist friends of mine the money, and tell them to take me shopping!
I came home, and started removing from my closet all the clothes that were in that larger size, that I now know do NOT fit me anymore!
I will pack them up and put them in a box for the Philippines(our church's current mission project). Maybe some pregnant women over there would like some large comfy clothes to wear.

Blahggy Blues

Well, as you have noticed the past couple of weeks, Kristi and I have had our weight loss blues. We have Not seen alot of progress, and have just been getting depressed or thinking of giving up. This has been reflected in our lack of blog posting as well.
Today we met for Sunday school, and I prayed and begged God to "puh- lease" let me lose 1 more lb.!
It is my birthday today, and I wanted to see some sort of reward for my hard work these past few months.
I stepped on that scale and guess what?! It said I lost 1.5 lbs!!! Here, I actually believed that scale was broken! Kristi also lost a pound!!!
Three Cheers for us!!
Hip Hip Hoorrray!
Of course, since we have been in a slump, we were both wondering why and how we managed to lose this miracle pound.
Thank you God for answering prayer and giving us hope!
Ya'll have a blessed week, and maybe we will get back into the swing of things now, both in losing weight and posting our progress.

Winners or Losers

I have this short little motivational book called Winners and Losers. I was looking in it the other day for some inspirational thoughts for Kristi. She and I are both having a hard time with this diet. I have lost the same couple pounds now for the past month. They have become faithful friends almost. I see them come, and I see them go, and sometimes they just sit there, and don't move an inch. Yes, I know it sounds as if my pounds are almost human, but when you carry them around all the time they get quite attached ;).
I got to thinking, as I read that book from cover to cover trying to find something that would encourage and inspire us to break through our dietary slump. We are winners if we become losers, well at least in this aspect. I think it's about the only time we can win by losing.
So Kristi and all you poor people trying to ride the roller coaster of weight management right along with us... be a Loser - you'll win in the end!

Feeling Better, Yes, Better Indeed!

When we were on vacation, I gained five pounds. I think most of that was water retention from the packaged foods we ate and also eating out. But still...five pounds!! I had to take it off before I started counting my weight loss again. Before vacation I had lost seven pounds. So that five pound gain was a blow to my spirits.

Thanks to my weight loss buddy, Rebecca, and her encouragement, along with the encouragement of my hubby, I hung in there and lost those five pounds. But the best part about it, is that on top of those five pounds, I've lost two more. Bringing my total weight loss to nine pounds. WOO HOO!

I believe a lot of that is due to my workout routine. Which is a lot of walking on the treadmill. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep that up though. I've decided to just keep it up and let my ankle tell me when it's time to stop. Bruce wrapped it tight the other day and that seemed to help a lot. So I'll keep doing that.

Anyway, stepping on the scale this morning made me want to shout, but I believe I only squealed.

Depressed

Well, being on vacation with my family who opted out of dieting during that time was not good for me! I'm not blaming my failure on them. I could have done better. But the temptation was so strong. I did gain weight and I was ready to give up all together Thursday morning. But my sweetie pie encouraged me and I decided that after the wedding and the birthday party I would start over. Now that they're over, I am in full swing again. He gained eight pounds over vacation and lost six his first night back to work. Do you know how long it would take me to lose six pounds? lol I think that's why it was so depressig. I don't think we have anything too tempting for several weeks now. So, that's good.

I was feeling quite depressed but woke up with a good attitude this morning. I keep telling myself, This is not a diet plan. But rather a change of life. There's no time limit of when I have to lose a certain amount of weight. It's just about losing weight. It's hard to remember that sometimes. Just the word diet sends my head into a frenzy.

Of Apples and Veggies

I had several friends that went to the mountains after bus ministry Saturday. They were supposed to bring me back apples from an apple orchard they were picnicing near, but said they couldn't find any good ones. Most were rotten so I was bummed. But right now, Hannah is in the kitchen peeling apples off of my friend, Freida's, apple trees, preparing them to make unsweetened applesauce. Freida picked them from her trees yesterday and brought me two bags FULL of big, beautiful apples. Thank you, Freida!!

I love steamed veggies. I figured out that if I put my serving of veggies in a ziploc baggie with a little water, zipped shut with a small hole for air to escape, it steams them to perfection. A little salt and...mmmm, good!

Big Mac Daddy

Kristi had a lovely post today, which I want to make sure you all read. If you don't, you will end up like this news clip that Br. Ted sent me.

36-Year Big Mac Attack Just call him the Big Mac "Daddy." A 54-year-old Fond du Lac, Wis., man says his obsessive-compulsive disorder drove him to eat 23,000 Big Macs in 36 years. Don Gorske, 54, says he hit the milestone last month, continuing a pleasurable obsession that began May 17, 1972 after he got his first car. So how did Gorske keep a tally of the Big Macs? He kept every receipt in a box. He says he was always fascinated with numbers, and watching McDonald's track its number of customers motivated him to track his own consumption.The only day he skipped a Big Mac was the day his mother died, to respect her request.

Kristi, Ted said he thought of you with your number obssession when he saw this.
Have a blessed Day!

Ten "Way of Life" Rules

This was in our Weight Warriors book and I thought they would be good to share. They're diet food for thought, if you will.
:)

1. I will not starve myself, but practice self control daily.

2. I will never, never, never, go on a fad diet (THOSE POUNDS COME BACK IN TWOS!)

3. When I am hungry between meals, I will remember that a growling stomach is an opportunity to lose a pound.

4. I will pray daily and ask the Lord to help me to lose weight for his glory so that I may be a better vessel for His use.

5. I will make a conscious effort not to eat after 7:30 PM, even if I only ate a little bit for dinner. Those night time snacks only add to my hips.

6. I will make a conscious effort to eat less fat. I will use the guideline: for every 100 calories, try to limit to 3 or less grams of fat.

7. I will make a conscioius effort to eat more high fiber foods. They make everything move faster.

8. I will make a conscious effort to eat less salt. My goal is to keep my sodium intake below 2000. I will remember to look at labels, eat fewer packaged and fast foods, and not add salt while cooking.

9. I will make a conscious effort to eat less refined sugar including honey.

10. When I am feeling week, wobbly, and have the urge to succumb, I will pray and call my partner for encouragement.

"Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand."

Philippians 4:5

YeeHAWWW! Get along little Doggies....

I am SO EXCITED! I feel like riding a horse, well ok NOT really. Horses always run away with me on their back. Anyway, I am so proud of Kristi!! I stepped on that bloomin' scale yesterday, and it said I hadn't lost a single pound! I was nearly upset, except in the hall before class, a sweet woman told me that I looked like I was losing weight in my mid-section! Whoohoo! I think I floated up those stairs to Sunday School.
Then last night, another young woman told me that I looked like I was losing inches or weight!
Wow, so even the little bit I have done is starting to be noticed.
I stepped on my trusty scientific scale this morning and weighed the lowest amount yet, since I have started! I was sooooooo thrilled. I ran and called Kristi first thing!
So as of this morning, by my scale, I have lost 9 pounds total.

Tomorrow is cheat day! LOL!
Ya'll have a blessed day.

It Ain't Broke

We weighed in this morning before Sunday School and !!woohoo!!, another four pounds! That makes seven pounds I've lost now. I was very happy when I stepped on the scale and those numbers were down. As a matter of fact, they were so down, I get to take my caloric intake down by two hundred calories. So, I'll be eating 1600 calories beginning in the morning.

Justin went out with a friend last night and bought a large stuffed crust pizza, bringing home most of that large pizza, believe it or not. Who would have thought two sixteen year old boys would have brought home one slice of pizza, much less four slices and two breadsticks? So today after church we each ate a slice of pizza with our veggies and fruit. You know I LOVE stuffed crust pizza. It's the best ever. So I ate my fruit and veggies first to, well, you know...get them out of the way...before slowly sinking my teeth into that wonderful slice of pizza. Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm, it sure was a nice treat for today. And I can honestly say that I have no guilt associated with it. lol

I'll admit that earlier in the week I was seriously considering Brother Ted's Snicker diet mentioned in Rebecca's post below. But I guess I'll stick with the current plan. After all, if it ain't broke...don't fix it.

A DAy to REmembeR

Kristi reported to me that she had lost a pound. Congrats Kristi! for giving me your pound.
I think I am finally figuring this weight loss thing out.
1. you have to follow the guidelines
2. you have to exercise
3. you have to be patient and persevere


I think the weirdest thing about this whole routine is that now I feel guilty if I eat ANYTHING!
My husband told me tonight that if he ate 9 snickers bars as a diet he would still equal the amount of calories he is supposed to have a day.
Anyone for the Snickers Diet?
OK I am so not recommending that, I just thought it was funny.
I tried to post a picture of something sweet, but I guess blogger thought that would make me want to eat it, so it decided not to show my photo selection.
If yall do see a picture of a dessert let me know.
I think it is probably best left to be a figment of our imagination.

I'm Hungry, Mother! Really I Am!

I feel like Rolly from 101 Dalmatians. Remember when he would look at his mother and say, "I'm hungry, Mother, really I am." I've been hungry all day. I guess that's what I get for worrying about not being hungry last week. But I can say that I've been good.

Sunday night I had nursery and was feeling really weird. Kind of weak in my thighs and having a cold sweat. I had eaten great that day, keeping to my plan. But I could tell my body was needing something. So since I was in the nursery and the ankle biters had eaten all the gold fish that morning (hehe) I ate several animal crackers. I felt like I was cheating and was beating myself up on the inside for it until I read in my Weight Warriors exchanges that I could have animal crackers. I was very happy and don't you think they aren't on my grocery list! Of course, since I can only have eight at a time, those big containers from Wal Mart should last a good while.

What kind of snacks do you keep on hand for those "moments?

An Observation

Those of you that know me well, know that I eat ice constantly. Since starting this new plan, I don't crave ice. Just an observation there.

The good news is that I've lost three pounds this week. YAY! I admit I was hoping for more, this being the first week and all, but I am pleased. Any weight loss is a loss and a loss is always good.

Congratulations to my hubby, who lost nine stinking pounds, even though he's eating more than I am!

And congratulations to my weight loss buddy, Rebecca, for losing seven! WOO HOO!

My Trusty Kitchen Tools

There are two items that have been my trusty companions in the kitchen since we started eating better. My Pampered Chef Measure-All cup is one of those companions. On one side you can measure your liquids. Flip it over and you can measure your dry ingredients. I LOVE it. I've always loved it, but since I started this measuring portions thing, it's been my best friend. It's $9.50 at Pampered Chef. If you're from here, order from Tammy C! If not, click on the pic and order it straight from Pampered Chef.


The other companion has been my food scale. If I were going by the palm of my hand to measure my meats, (cause y'all know I'm a meat and tater gal), I would be stacking it on top of each other....several times. It's funny how what you think is a decent portion is actually three or four times larger than what the correct portion SHOULD be! *bummer*

So those are my favorite kitchen tools to aide me in this weight loss process. What are yours?

Shot in the Dark

Well, today was pretty rough for me. I suffer from chronic fatigue most of the time, but today was really bad. I got up this morning for 20 minutes and crashed back into bed. I did not get up until noon! I was still pretty tired all day.
I almost didn't eat supper, I spent alot of time fixing everything my husband wanted and by the time I was done stir frying and grilling I was sick of looking at food.
This is a good thing, except that I had not ate much all day, so my husband fixed me a plate and told me to eat.
I felt like he had given me too much! I think this means that although I gained back a pound this morning( somehow) that my stomach is shrinking.
I think Kristi is going through this as well. I did notice that my hips seem just a tad slimmer then they were. Maybe I am imagining it.
Tonight, well let me tell you about tonight!
We set out to do our nightly walk of 1.2 miles. This consists of a steep hill that feels like you are climbing Mount Everest and cant breathe. Well at least to us fat people it does. Then you walked to the end of the road turn around walk all the way back and down the hill. At the bottom of the hill you turn around and walk back up it the second time and then return home.
Well tonight, we got halfway to the hill and heard one of our crazy cats behind us.
He was following us like a dog and meowing because we were getting to far ahead of him. Scared that he would turn into road pizza , we turned around and I grabbed him just as a car came whizzing by!. We made him follow us all the way back to the house to close him inside for his own safety.
We then set out again to walk up that dreaded hill.
Halfway up the hill we hear a gunshot! It was very close by, and boy, did our hearts and minds start jumping. We figured it came from the goat farm at the top of the hill. Well, we proceeded cautiously to the top of the hill and flashed our flashlight around searching for the cause of the commotion.
We saw the goat farmer come out of the goat shed. Hubby decided to speak to him. I am thinking -here we are in the middle of the country- it's pitch dark outside - we are strangers, and HE has a gun! Now tell me again Why we had to talk to him?
LOL, ok so we were checking to make sure everything was ok.
The rest of our walk was uneventful after that, but whoever thinks that weight loss is boring just doesnt know Kristi and I LOL!
Kristi, will you save me some of your applesauce?

Almost Unsweetened Applesauce

I believe Rebecca and I, both, are feeling a little down right now. We're not sure if it's our bodies trying to get used to the changes we're making or what.

Speaking for myself, I don't feel anything happening. Of course, technically, we didn't officially start until Tuesday. I know...I know...it's just the beginning of my third day. I should cut myself some slack. But truthfully, I have not been hungry. I'm doing my correct servings and I know I'm eating less, but I just haven't been hungry.

I'm sure some of you are thinking, Well, be thankful for that! I am. Believe me. I'm just wondering if I'm eating too many servings. Even though I'm following my plan. I haven't weighed myself since Sunday either, choosing rather to give myself an entire week before doing that. Maybe that is contributing to how I'm feeling. On top of the fact, I'm pretty sure my husband has already lost four pounds. So if I get on that scale Sunday and I've lost nothing, I'll be devastated. Maybe I'm worrying too much.

I can't explain it, maybe you regular dieters out there will understand, when I say I'm not "feelin' it."

Well anyway, I made my first batch of applesauce, which turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. The plan that Bruce and I are using allows for 1/2 c of unsweetened applesauce as a serving of fruit. With this recipe I did use a very small amount of sugar. I doubled the recipe below, except where the sugar comes in. I only used the amount of sugar for a single batch, which was only 2 to 3 TBS. Honestly, though, these apples were so good, I think I could have gone with no sugar at all, and I'll be doing exactly that with my next batch. The children have enjoyed heating this up and eating it with their lunch.

Again, this recipe is for a single serving. You can omit the sugar all together if you like.


8 apples, peeled, cored & sliced
1 cup water
2-3 tablespoons sugar (to taste)



1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves (optional)



1Put apples and water in saucepan.
2Cover and bring to boil.
3lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.
4Stir in sugar, cinnamon and cloves (if using).
5Cook until all sugar is dissolved.


6Serve warm or let cool.

Holiday Eating and Recipe

I think I did OK today, considering we had a holiday get together at my mother in law's home. I didn't eat breakfast this morning and I only ate one plate of food at Marie's. I did have dessert, but I made sure it was a thin slice.

I drank my water and that helped to fill me up a lot. I do think I could have done better, but I'm not being too hard on myself. Tuesday is my actual starting date anyway. But I must say, I was completely aware of the food around me. I chose to focus more on family today and not the food.

I found a recipe in my Weight Watcher's cookbook I thought you might like to try.

For those of you counting POINTS, this is 4 points. Each serving provides 2 Proteins; 1/2 bread; 65 optional calories.

Per Serving: 213 calories, 13 g Protein, 9 g fat, 20 g Carbohydrate, 239 mg Calcium, 525 mg Sodium, 22 mg Cholesterol, 1 g Dietary Fiber.

Breakfast Pie:

1 refrigerated 9 in pie crust
6 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
4 oz cooked, crumbled turkey sausage
1/4 c chopped mushrooms
1 TBS chopped onion
1 TBS chopped green bell peppers
4 large eggs
3/4 c low fat (2%) milk
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425. Prick crust several times with fork; line with aluminum foil and fill with dry beans or pie weights. Bake until lightly browned, 10 to 12 min. Place crust on rack to cool completely. Reduce oven heat to 375. (To be honest, I don't understand this method. Do you?)

2. Place half the cheese in baked pie shell; top evenly with sausage, mushrooms, onion, and bell peppers. Sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese.

3. In medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt, and pepper; pour over filled pie crust. Bake 45 min, until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 8 servings

Wow what a first day! I went through a gamut of emotions about this whole weight loss ordeal.
I am excited, but it will take alot of WORK!
I was concerned about the water intake, but had no problems with it today at all. PTL!
So now I just have to start exercising.......
I keep thinking of that verse from the Apostle Paul:.. I buffet my body daily.... or the other one- ... bodily exercise profiteth little....
Don't worry, I will not let my flesh use Scripture to give me excuses for not working on this.
Kristi, what will your hardest thing be to work on?

Welcome

Welcome to our weight loss blog! This blog is for me and my weight loss buddy, Rebecca, to journal our thoughts, our good days, our bad days, and whatever else we need to get out during this battle of the bulge!

Pray for us! We're gonna need it!