Finding the Skinny in Me

Discouraged but ready to get back on track

2007-09-11T21:49:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone I have missed meeting with you every week. I let life and myself get in the way of my success and I am very disappointed with that. My baby is 6 months old today and I am the biggest I have ever ever ever been. I am ready to quit dwelling on the past and on the weight and start fresh and new with a new challenge. I am no longer teaching my class and when I lost the support of the group is when I lost all focus on my eating. Today I decided to buy some pants that actually fit and I told my husband what size and he asked me if I had a helium valve in my stomach, then when we got home and I asked him where my pants were he said on the couch you probally thought it was a blanket. He wasn't trying to be ugly he was trying to be funny he is very overweight and that is how he deals with it, he makes jokes. I have never in the entire time we have been together been part of one of his weight jokes and I am ready to make the changes so that I will never ever be a part of one ever again. I am so encouraged to read about so many of you fellow tales from the scalers success and I am cheering for you all!!! Way to go!!!!

Birthday Suit

2007-07-17T20:33:00.000-06:00

Its my birthday
And I'll gain if I want to
Gain if I want to
Gain if I want to.
You would gain to if you eat like I do.

We didn't have a weigh in this week so I don't know how I did but I know I gained I ate everthing and my birthday suit is feeling tight. It was my sons 5th bday *tear* and mine and I didn't do so good. But it is time to get back on track I want to be below 200 I am so close I could taste it or eat it in my case. I am going to get there soon!!!
Thanks for the support everyone!!!

The Mousetrap

2007-07-10T08:27:00.001-06:00

I got this in an email, I thought it was cute and wanted to share. It gets a little silly towards the end but it is a good (silly) reminder to care for others. Love your neighbors as yourself!

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package."What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me.I cannot be bothered by it."The mouse t urned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr.Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.Be assured you are in my prayers."The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house!There is a mousetrap in the house!"The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.
The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.
The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital , and she returned home with a fever.Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's mainingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

July 8th Weigh In

2007-07-09T14:41:00.000-06:00

July 8th weight = 202
Lost 3 pounds!
I am excited to finally start losing again. I got lazy and depressed and let my stress take control of my eating. I am back on track now. I changed my outlook by praising my awesome God. He is so good and he takes care of us in such a cool way. I give him the glory for my weight loss because I would have never had the strength to do it if he didn't convict me that it was time and bring the program into my life that now I get to teach. My classes motto is "Changing for the better" and our mascot is the butterfly and today God sent a butterfly to land in the tree right out side my living room window and that butterfly stayed there in the tree for a very long time it was so beautiful...isn't he cool!!!

Declaring My Independence

2007-07-09T10:10:00.000-06:00

Tales from the Scales challenged us to Declare our Independence today by asking us to blog about:

Have you ever sat down and figured out exactly WHY losing weight is important to you

and HOW you are going to do it and WHAT benefits you'll receive by losing weight?

Losing weight is so important to me: The Lord has convicted me about being different than the world, the world indulges, eats anything and everything and they don't care. My challenge is to eat healthy and natural. Now I try not to go to crazy we do eat McDonald's sometimes but all in moderation and I try to make healthy choices like the apples instead of fries and chicken instead of red meat. I want to learn to be healthy and lose weight for my own health, for my husband maybe one day he will join me because I am very fearful for his health, and so that I can be a good example to my 4 children on how to be healthy.

My Aunt had a heart attack at age 28 that resulted in her needing a heart transplant and at 32 the new heart gave out and she died. I am turning 27 next week and even though my circumstances are different than hers the closer I get to 28 the more motivated I get. I do not have the dangerous cholesterol like she and some in my family do (over 500) and I don't smoke and I don't take birth control pills but I don't want to regret not taking care of the temple I have been given. The Lord has given me the resources to know the right way and I don't want to have to explain to my kids one day that I was given the tools to be healthy but choose not to obey.

I honestly was in denial about my weight, I went from being a cheerleader in a size 3 to weighing over 200 pounds and it seemed to happen over night. I took a picture with my family and I looked at myself and my eyes were opened to how big I really was, I was so embarrassed and horrified I couldn't believe the face that I was looking at. I wanted to burn that picture I still have nightmares about my double (triple) chin bouncing off my knees and my chipmunk cheeks blocking the two peoples faces next to me and I am not even going to talk about what my girls were doing....lets just say they were not perky and firm....yikes....those my be a lost cause after nursing four babies do I even have a chance????!!!!

I am learning to lead a healthy life style by following the food pyramid using exchanges. The program I teach is called First Place and I love it, it focuses on a relationship with Christ while at the same time teaches you how to eat healthy. We do a daily bible study that helps you get into your bible and we meet together every week to talk about what we are learning, pray together, weigh together, and encourage one another.

I struggle with Fibromyalgia and Hypo thyroid and I am really hoping that as I lose weight that some of the pain and discomfort will start to ease some. I sing on my praise band at church but I do hold back because of my weight. I am learning how to be myself no matter what I look like and I am learning to accept myself as I am. I am tired of hiding behind my weight, I want to run and jump and not worry about people being turned off with all my bouncing fat. I am tired of living on the sidelines, I want to coach soccer, play softball, play games with the youth, and let go of my insecurities. I want to be around for my kids and have the energy to go outside and jump on the trampoline with them, roller blade and just be a fun mom. I will get to shop in the regular size clothing again.

I took my before picture and one day I will take my after picture.....I can not wait to be an after!!!!! (I stole that from a WW commercial I think)

July 1st Weigh In

2007-07-02T08:05:00.000-06:00

This is not a trend...I have stopped it yesterday.
I gained 1.2 pounds which put me back at 205; I have lost 14 pounds now and I WILL be losing next week!!

Bad week

2007-06-26T11:45:00.000-06:00

Oops I did it again, I ate the wrong food, I probably gained. Oh my belly belly...I'm not that innocent.
This week after a trip to the ER with my two year old I decided to eat something fried and then I never did get back to eating good again. We were out of groceries so I just ate anything and didn't care if I should be or not. I didn't have a weigh in this week since we have vacation bible school going on at church right now my class did not meet. But I can tell I gained some weight, I let stress get the best of me this week. My two year old was at grandma's and she is a monkey and climbs on everything....she had a very hard face to face with the floor and lost three of her front teeth and the fourth in pushed up into the gum. She swallowed two of her teeth so I was diggin up teeth and let me tell you that is lots of fun to go through nasty stinky diapers to find these tiny tiny baby teeth...but we retrieved the teeth and she is relearning to eat and how to drink out of her sippy cups again. I am getting back on track today!!! I will have a loss next week!!

June 17th--Weigh In

2007-06-18T11:56:00.000-06:00

Weight= 200.8

Lost 3.8 lbs

Total Weight Loss since April 22nd = 19.7 lbs
Total Weight Loss for Challenge is 11 lbs (half way there!!!! whoo hoo!!!!)

June 10 th Weigh In

2007-06-11T22:09:00.000-06:00

Lost 2 lbs
Weight = 204.6 (can't seem to lose those 6 ounces...lol)
Lost 15.9 lbs total since April (grrrrr one ounce to 16 pounds)
Challege Weight Loss = 7.2

I got a hair cut this week, I have gone from hair down the middle of my back to now sitting on top of my shoulders and she razored a lot of the thickness out also. So I think a few ounces of the loss was hair because I had a lot of it. Put whoo hoo I am excited about 2 pounds. I am so excited to get below 200 again, I can't hardly wait!!!! I am changing for the better and I am loving it!!!!

Low fat recipes that are oh so good!!

2007-06-06T07:50:00.000-06:00

I am not doing weight watchers so I don't know the point value of the recipes but they are good!!! Yum!

Sticky Buns
This recipes came from butter buns website
http://www.butterbuds.com/recipes/recipe.php?
1 packet Butter Buds Mix, ligquid
1/4 cups chopped nuts
1/4 cup flasked coconut
3 tablespoons firmly packed splenda light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 package (10 1/2 oz) refrigerator biscuits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In round pan or baking disk, combine all ingredients except biscuits. Seperate biscuits and roll in syrup mixture to coat. Arrange in single layer on sprayed pan and drizzel left over syrup on top. Bake 15 to 20 minute or until bus are well browned.

Enjoy-- Dietary Exchange 1 1/2 starches and 1 fat
Nutrients Per Serving = 1 bun
Calories 165 protein 3 g Carbs 25 g Fat 5g

Baked French Fries

4- 1 lb baking potatoes cut them into 8 wedges. Put them in a ziploc bag add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and shake till all are coated. In the ziploc add any spices that you like to the potatos. I usually add onions, garlic, paprika, and ground pepper; some people add ranch spices and parmesaen cheese, just add enough spice to taste and till all are coated. Pour the potatos onto a sprayed cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees check them in about 30 minutes to decide if they are done enough for you. I cook mine for almost an hour because I like them really really cooked and brown.
Dietary exchanges for 1 serving 16 wedges (that is two potatos) (this is alot of potatos add some chicken and some low fat chili and make a meal, or some sour cream for a snack.
1 1/2 starches and 1/2 fat

June 3 Weigh In

2007-06-05T10:11:00.000-06:00

Weigh In
Weight = 206.6
Lost = -1 lb
Total Challenge Weight loss = -5.2
Total weight Loss = -13.9

A smile on my workout

2007-06-05T09:56:00.000-06:00

I wanted to share this I read it in my daily devotional and I thought it was good.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Galatians 5:22-23

As children of the living God, we should strive to show active evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives every day and in every way. Now here's a new flash: This also applies to our exercise routine.
As a recovering lazy person, I found that in the beginning, as I went out to walk each day, it was much easier to complain about how bad it hurt- how my back hurt, how my feet hurt, how much I hates to "have" to exercise. The more I complained, the worse it became to fit in my workout and the easier it was to make excuses not to do it at all.
Then I asked Jesus to change my heart toward my exercise. I began to have an excitement and anticipation for my workout every day, because I had a new walking partner , His name is Jesus. I walked with Him and talked with Him. He began to rub off on me. Before long, I like exercise so much that I began to think of my walks as having a smile on them. I was filled with the Spirit, and the fruit was evident in my workout.
People would say to me, "You really enjoy walking, don't you?" The weight began to come off as I found a new love for moving.
So how about it? Is there a smile on your workout? Try it- you'll like it!!
Prayer
Father, give me a love and a joy for my exercise routine. I desire to be a walking example of the fruit of Your Spirit.

This was from my daily devotional I thought it was good and I wanted to share it with you. Beverly Henson wrote this days devotional it is in the devotional from First Place called Today is the First Day a different person write each days devotional.

May 27th Weigh In

2007-05-29T07:44:00.000-06:00

I actually lost 2 oz. I was really worried I gained. I am pleased to stay the same for this week, I didn't go crazy and eat bad stuff, I continued to do grilled stuff instead of fried but a lot of mornings I didn't eat breakfast and I wasn't drinking my water so the craving to eat got the best of me. And of course the 3 birthdays didn't help but I didn't eat the cakes except for the one that was for my husband and sat in my house calling my name. So on the positive side I did better than I would have in the past. I am out of maternity clothing...whooo hoooooo!!! I am ready to excersice this week (since I didn't at all last week) and get back on track!

May 20- Weigh In

2007-05-21T13:09:00.000-06:00

Weight = 207.8
Lost- 2 lbs 2 oz
Weight Loss for Challenge= 4 pounds
Total Weight lose since April 22nd - 12 lbs 7 oz
Goal for next week 2 pounds

Daily Devotional

2007-05-21T13:02:00.000-06:00

I wanted to share this it is from a daily devotional I do called Today is the First Day by Carole Lewis. Carole is the director of a Christian weight loss program called First Place and this is the devotional she put out to help to "encourage on the journey to weight loss and a balanced life."

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
I had spent a lifetime trying to be "good enough to be loved." The measure of my worth was based on my appearance and body size. I believed that if only I were thin, I would be lovable. This was such a lie.
In Romans 5:8 Paul speaks about God's unconditional love, which the ministry of First Place helped me to discover. Jesus Christ died for my sins, and that is the measure of my worth. I am already good enough-even with all my imperfections-based on the immeasurable price that was paid for me at Calvary. This same God who gave His life for me created me to have a relationship with Him.
Through journaling my prayers and reading God' Word each day, I finally connected with the God of the universe. Jesus Christ not only died for my sins, but He also helped me to achieve victory in the area of my weight. More and more of my time is spent on developing my relationship with God, rather than focusing on my weight problems.
When I lost weight, I gained far more that I could imagine. I gained a precious relationship with my Savior and Lord. That's the way God does things, it seems. He blessed us beyond measure.

Prayer:Lord, Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank you for showing me the true measure of my worth. Thank you for unconditional love.

Impossible!!

2007-05-15T23:11:00.000-06:00

Okay so I am reading an article about putting your muscles to the test to see how strong they are....hmm I knew better I should have just ran far far away!! Put no I thought sure I can do these things no problem. First test push ups- how many push-ups can you do in one minute. My thought-one minute no problem I can knock that out with no trouble I used to do push ups all the time yeah sure that was what 12 years ago and 80 lbs lighter but whats the difference right??? So I got ready got my watch I am in position and one, okay that was tough but I can totally do this and two...go go go I can do this wait I am supposed to be able to push back up right....push....are my arms supposed to be shaking like this? Okay now go for three, four....oh I really need a break but the paper said don't stop...how long has it been surely my minute it up...what only 12 seconds have gone by...surely that was 1 minute and 12 seconds right??? So I push myself 5, 6 now I really need a break my arms hurt so bad. You know some people do push ups with their baby under them so they can talk to them while they are doing their push ups.....I would have crushed my little one. Still 30 seconds left so I have to keep going because the thing said ONE MINUTE...this is the longest minute of my entire life, this must be a trick!!! Can't I just add what I did for the first 30 seconds and come up with the total for what I would have done had I gone the entire minute??? Okay so I didn't do that, I did complete the minute and I did 10 push ups. Put I can hardly push myself back up to get of the floor does that one count to? You know that was yesterday and my arms still hurt. The article said 10 - 15 push ups your doing good 15-20 you are great. Hey I am so happy to be in a good range, I felt so good about that its on to the next test. Curl ups--okay so when I was a size three cheerleader I couldn't even do one complete curl up but why don't I punish myself and see what I can do many sizes bigger and four kids later. I get all set in the "correct" position I get my watch and get ready to start my minute (what was I thinking????) and GO.....grrrrr and I didn't move, so I tried again and still I am not going any where. Okay the article said touch elbows to the knee but my head is barely coming off the ground and now my neck hurts and only 5 seconds have gone by...what to do what to do. I looked around made sure no one was watching and got myself off the floor and pretended that the last 5 seconds never happened. The third test checks the muscles flexibility but now I am very gun shy I am not sure that I want to know what this one says since I got a big zero on the last one. The article gives all these instructions...with a yard stick or measuring tape sit with your feet 12 inches apart legs straight out in front of you put the yard stick with the 0 closet to the body and 15 inches at the heel. Interlock your thumbs breathe in and exhale as you stretch to see how far down the yard stick you can reach and hold for 10 seconds. 12 -16 is in the healthy range. I could reach and hold at the 19 so I thought wow on flexibility if the other is in the healthy my muscles must be super healthy right?? So I kept reading and it said there are no health benefits for being able to reach farther than that. Now that my bubble has busted, and I now know that I am a Super stretchy freak that can't do any curl up (not even one) and lets not even talk about push ups I think it is time for bed.

Sunday May 13th Weigh In...Mother's Day

2007-05-13T16:33:00.000-06:00

Weigh In Weight - 210
Lost - 1.8 lbs

We didn't have class today so I brought my scale home today from church and I weighed at the same time that I would have if we did have class.
Please pray for me this week! I started the day wrong, I didn't eat breakfast, then for lunch I ate a salad and picked at the kids macaroni but I didn't blow it. I made a dessert that was mostly fat free and sugar free, but when dinner time rolled around I was so hungry we had pizza (my weakness) and totally blew it. Plus I was emotionally eating. I wasn't upset but I got a stress headache after my four year old son lost his temper and totally made a scene, then my husband left for work which I was fine with but Sundays are usually my busiest day but since it was mothers day the Church is closed and I had nothing to do....so I ate. I even had figured up how much I could have and stay in my limits but I went way over board. So now I am going to be playing make up all week to not gain or keep over doing this week. My plan is to start fresh tomorrow and not worry about today but also not let my bad decisions today ruin my week and my success.

Did everyone have a good mother's day? I got a slow cooker recipe book with exchanges for every recipe. I am excited, it looks like there are some really good recipes to try. And I know I am a real dork but all I truly want for mother's day is all of my kids to draw a picture and to dip their hand in some paint and make a print of their hands so I can see from year to year the growth and will be able to keep that always. So I made myself a card....lol...I know I know I am pretty sad...lol!!! So I gave each kids a sheet of cardstock paper and got a print of their hands (the baby's foot) and then I gave them some paper and I told them to draw a pretty picture for me to file away and to keep always. Then I put it all together in a little book and wrote Mother's Day 2007 on it and filed away in a folder marked Mother's Day so now every year that will be something the kids and I do, we will make me a Mother's Day packet together. I know I am a dork and I really have no reason to write all of this but the kids are playing and I need a distraction from the kitchen.
Isn't funny (not funny ha ha funny AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH) how when you over eat even though you feel full you crave more food that isn't healthy.......weird!!!

Juicers

2007-05-12T12:40:00.000-06:00

My mother in law (I'm lucky...shes great!!) got me a Juicer and I am so excited about it!!! I made orange juice today..yum, but I don't know what to do with that pulp. I know it can be used in recipes for something but I have no clue what kind of recipes and how to use them. Does anyone have any ideas? I also need some veggie juice recipes that is where I am lacking. I really like to eat fruit but I don't get enough veggies unless it is green beans. Any thoughts?

Slow and Steady

2007-05-10T11:09:00.000-06:00

Well it is the 4th day of week 2 and things are still going great. I have acutally been doing the program since April 15th, and I don't plan on stopping. My plan is for a lifestyle change. To eat healthy and lead a very active lifestyle. I know that I won't be able to exercise everyday like I am but I do plan to stay very active and to keep losing. I have 80 lbs that I need to lose so slow and steady is the plan. My dad has recently lost over 60 lbs and that is such an awesome motivation to see him looking so good.

I am new to this blogging things but I am loving it!!! I am so thankful that Beth started this May Challenge and that so many dieters have signed up and are sharing their success stories with all of us. If you need inspiration check out http://talesfromthescales.net/ and read others stories. There are so many ideas for exercising, diet, to getting started and many other fun things....I have never heard of "hooping" using a hula hoop for exercise but I am searching for the material and I am going to make my own and have my kids make their own for a home school project and then we are going to "hoop" together. Sounds like a fun way to get the kids motivated to exercise to. But my kids are crazy...they love to exercise they beg me to put in the DVD Walk away the pounds so we can all exercise...and I have to admit I like it to. My plan for exercise is to Walk away the pounds, Hoop, and dance revolution. I love playing Dance Dance Revolution as my workout, its fun and easy and the time flies by without me noticing.
I can't wait till Sunday comes so I can weigh and see what I have lost. I teach a weight loss class called First Place the bibles way to weight loss so I leave my scale at the church (so I don't weigh every 10 mins) and I weigh only once a week.

I have bumped up my calorie level because all last week I felt so bad, I am feeling better this week still tired but not so fatigued and dizzy. Hopefully it slowed the weight loss down some but I really hope I am still losing. I am nursing a newborn so I don't want to lose to fast but I would like to keep a steady weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week but no more than 3.

We can all do this together!!!!

May 6th Weigh in

2007-05-06T21:24:00.000-06:00

Sunday night May 6th weigh in.
Weight loss goal 2 lbs
Actual Weight lost= 5 lbs
Weight loss to date= 8 lbs
I am going to have to bump up my calorie level, I felt weak and fatigued all week. After weighing I realized I must not have been eating enough calories to nurish my body and nurse a baby.

Finding the Skinny in Me

2007-04-29T00:16:00.000-06:00

May Challenge 2007

I just had my fourth baby and I am bigger than ever, I am 26 years old and I am ready to have energy again and feel good about how I look. I like to sing and I am on the praise band at church but I am embarrased by the way I look when I sing that my confidence is very low. So I am accepting the May thru September Challenge to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week from http://www.talesfromthescales.net ; which will put me losing any where between 18-36 pounds total. I am doing the diet program First Place at my Church and have already lost 3 pounds. I started at 220.5 and I am now at 217.2. I will be following the exhange program that goes along with the Food Pyramid. I am eating 1800 calories a day since I am still nursing and I am working out about 4 times a week with Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds. I am also drinking over 68 ounces of water a day and I have cut out Cokes from my diet every once in a while I will get a Coke Zero.

The program doesn't start till May 8th on a Tuesday but I weigh every Sunday night at my first place class so I will be posting my weight loss from Sunday.
Starting weight and measurments:
April 22nd - 220.5
Neck- 16 3/4
Arm- 15 1/4
Chest- 49
Waist- 47 1/2
Hips- 49
Thighs- 25

April 29th Weigh In
217.2--- lost 3 lbs!!!!!

Below is my before pictures taken on April 22, 2007

Before Pics