My husband and I took our sweet Sadie girl for a walk when I got home from work. It was great to be able to spend some time outside together before the whole evening routine got going.
We were chatting and laughing as Sadie sniffed about with her jaunty step. Then he told me that he thought of me today while listening to The Peak’s 10@10 radio show. There are so many reasons he’s my guy, and I do love that this song reminded him of us:
There is something wonderful about being spontaneous and for allowing yourself to be in the moment. It’s so easy to get caught up in the little stuff, and it’s certainly easy to get caught up in the big stuff. The busy days, the boring days, the happy days, the anxious days – all of them – are a gift. The more I think about that the more grateful I feel.
Meal Builder Update…
So I’m on day 3 and the Meal Builder has given me a little extra boost. I had planned take pictures of my meals to post, but I only got one of breakfast. I had a late lunch and I was suffering from some very real internal hunger… so I forgot. Although dinner was very good, it didn’t really look picture worthy. That’s ok because,
Thanks for reading and for the recent comments. I appreciate knowing what you think.
Having the right tool for a job is a wonderful thing. I love my spin shoes because they help me make the most of my workout. The support my weight on the pedals and keep my feet locked in the right position. Sure, they are old but they are magnificent! I had such a great class this morning, and these shoes allow me to work at a higher level of fitness. I am definitely getting stronger and felt the benefit of my workout all day today.
So nice to see the morning sun!
Spring is coming…
I just like this.
So this was the first day I came home with a clear plan for dinner where I knew exactly what I was going to make. I have to say, this was (surprisingly) useful. I am in the first whole day of pre-tracked food, and this planner is feeling like a hidden gem. I am all packed up for breakfast and lunch for tomorrow, and knowing what I’m going to be making for dinner takes off some pressure. So far this is a good experience.
The bread was an add-on at 3sp, and the mushrooms 0sp Total dinner: 8sp
If you are feeling like changing old habits to a healthier lifestyle is too hard, I encourage you to pick one new thing to try. Small changes have big impacts over time. If this is something you really, really want for yourself take some time for YOURSELF. Take a class, buy some special foods, try a new recipe, talk with some friends who can help you. You are truly worth the effort and if you make some changes you will see the difference!
It took longer than I thought it would, which is why this post is running so late! However, I don’t regret doing it because it made me more aware of keeping some variety in my meal planning. Food ruts can make me feel like I’m dieting and that is not what I’m trying to learn by being a Weight Watcher. I don’t think this is something I’d make a common practice of, but it could be useful when planning out dinners for the week. I do like the idea of knowing what I’m going to be cooking all week.
Now the tricky part is whether or not I follow through with it. I will have to see how it goes. More tomorrow…
Most of today was spent getting ready to go back to work. I went to the food store early this morning, followed by spin class. Doing the laundry and prepping food for the week, this is how I spent the bulk of my day.
6sp Linguini (my favorite pasta)
Finally fits!
Spin was awesome.
0sp Vegetables
Lunch and Breakfast for tomorrow.
These are awesome.
There is a routine to this and I am trying to be careful not take my good choices for granted. I am so fortunate that I have found a way to be successful, so when I think about losing 64.4 pounds I can’t help but feel humble. I understand how hard it is to be overweight. It’s hard every day, and when you want to change your life it can be very overwhelming to take that first step towards change.
Time is what is making my experience with this process beautiful. It has given me plenty of room to learn about myself and I am truly grateful.This whole journey is being shaped by love, beauty, and kindness. I now know that I have a deep capacity for self-care. I am worth the effort, and so are you.
I weighed in, I lost 2.4 pounds this week. I had great results this month:
Everywhere I go lately people are longing for spring and I am no exception. I went to T.J. Maxx with my sister yesterday and there were all kinds of floral prints and dresses on display. I am happy to report that I can now fit into a size 8 – that feels amazing.
Our topic for this week is about identifying internal or external hunger. This is an important thing to be thinking about. If you belong to Weight Watchers, I do encourage you to read the Weekly that we get at our meetings. When you find yourself feeling hungry ask yourself, When was the last time I ate? If it has been more than four hours you are experiencing internal hunger pains. If you have a slight headache, your stomach is growling, or you’re hungry for anything these are signs of internal hunger. If you smell something like freshly baked cookies and now you’re starving for cookies that’s an example of external hunger. When you want comfort foods like mac and cheese and you’ve eaten a couple of hours ago – external hunger. You might want to check your emotional state, maybe you want to eat to suppress feelings…
The most important thing that is sticking with me is the idea that I can be strategic with my meal planning. My leader suggested that we use the planner found on the website and I thought that was an excellent idea. Here is the planner if you want to try it too: ww_worksheet_1017 So, the next thing to do is to pick out some recipes to make this week, and think about my shopping list. Here is the suggested shopping list on the website: shoppinglist_2017_final I think it’s important to keep interested and to try out the ideas shared during my meeting. This is how I can keep learning, so I’ll keep you posted and let you know how it goes.
There will always be naysayers who will are perfectly happy to tell you what you can’t do. Nay-nays say things like, “It’s too hard after a certain age to lose the weight.” (I love that one) They might say something along the lines of, “I just can’t live that way, I don’t like the food on the ‘diet’ it’s not realistic.” Or the coup dah grace, “Sometimes you just have to settle for what you’ve got.”
Feeling strong! Boo ya!
I tell you, don’t listen to the nay-nays! It doesn’t matter how old you are, it is never too late to change your life for the better. I say, “Yes, you can do this!” I will tell you, “If someone else can do it – so can you.” Let me be the one telling you yeswhen others say, no way. Don’t listen to anyone who might be even remotely discouraging or who may try to drag you down. I believe you can do this. I know you can because I am doing it and if I can, so can you.
Dream so big that you feel as if your heart may burst with joy. Take those feelings out with you and keep them close because they are the armor that protects you from self-doubt. You are beautiful and you are powerful – and of course, you can do this. I am not saying that it will always be easy, but it also won’t always be difficult. You can handle anything that comes your way. If you ever doubt that, reach out and find someone to talk with, there are so many people who are rooting for you to succeed. Find your tribe and remember you get what you give – so give with abandon it will come back to you. Say yes. Close your eyes, imagine what you want. Open them and go after it because you got this!
Tomorrow is weigh-in day, and I noticed that my countdown clock slipped down to three months. I couldn’t have imagined that this is where I’d be when I began the journey in September. We have gone through two transitions from summer to fall, from fall to winter together. Before any of us realizes it, the earth will turn again and it will be springtime. Time goes on, and it’s pointless to wait for the right moment to begin the journey – so just start. If you’ve begun keep on moving because this is a marathon, not a sprint, it doesn’t matter how fast you are – what matter is that you JUST KEEP MOVING!
I hope this post finds you well and that you are feeling the full force of your personal power. You can light up the room, you can change your life. I promise.
It was rainy all day today, but I felt pretty sunny inside. You see, I had a NSV I fit into that pair of jeans that didn’t fit a couple of weeks ago…
Hello, size 8 jeans the last time we were together was when I was in my mid 30’s. I missed you.
I’m not saying that my journey is only about fitting into my jeans. It is just something that makes me happy, so it is worth celebrating. Yay! My jeans fit! Another thing to celebrate is that every recipe I’ve made over this winter break has turned out awesome. I’ve cooked all of my recipes that I shared on Day One Hundred Sixty-Eight plus I made Bird Balls, and Spice Cake Cupcakes and more:
Pork Lo Mein 8sp per serving. It was very yummy and worth the effort.
0 pt mixed berries
0 pt vegetable soup
These are spice cake cupcakes I made them with pumpkin. they were very good, 6sp a piece.
Bird Balls 2sp
Brisket
Spice Cake Cupcakes
Bean Chili (thank you Virginia!)
All of this food was amazing! I truly enjoyed every bite. I think it’s crazy but I like food more now than I did when I wasn’t so mindful of my choices. If you made something great, please share with me. I’m always looking to try something new.
Whether it’s cooking a good meal, buying a special bottle of shampoo, donating a box of dog food to our local shelter, or having an awesome spin class there are so many reasons to be grateful.
Words of Wisdom!
I felt so good donating this box of food.
I made trail mix with David but this is not a WW friendly mix!
Activity is really a good thing.
Taking time to appreciate the things that make me happy is time well spent. I hope you get a chance to reflect on your week and consider everything you did that brought you happiness.
Something special happened yesterday. A friend sent me a picture of something beautiful. Her husband, who is a talented photographer, had taken a picture of the radicchio you now see in today’s featured image. When she saw it she thought it was beautiful and then she thought of me. I am touched she thought to send it my way so I could share it here.
If we look for beuaty we will find it, it is in the smallest things and it is larger than life:
beauty…
beauty…
Running an errand yesterday I was so inspired.
It is all around us!
Beauty…
Seeing the beauty around us and within us is just so important, and once I realized that everything else became more clear. It is always there to inspire me and to fill me with hope. Hope is the thing that keeps me optimistic and when I feel optimistic I am more likely to be successful. Understanding this has changed my journey for the better because beauty inspires beauty and it just keeps growing.
I hope you are having a beautifulday. My wish for you is to find something you think is beautiful (after all beauty is in the eye of the beholder) and take a moment to really look at it, let it fill your heart and you will be changed for having really seen it. More tomorrow…
Even though I am off for the week, I still went to 5:15 am spin I figured I’d get a jump on the day. It’s rainy and foggy but definitely much warmer than it’s been in the morning.
I need gas lol
People getting ready to begin.
If you look you can see me all bundled up.
I am thinking about what it means to give 100% of myself to a goal. Does it set me up for a yes I made it, or no I didn’t mindset? I wonder, is that all it’s supposed to be? I don’t think so, I think that would be a very one dimensional takeaway from this experience. I am allowing myself to dream big, and sometimes I even imagine meeting Oprah,“You did it Jenn-i-fer!” Then there would be the 3-minute synopsis of my journey shared on #memberspotlight. It’s fun to imagine, and I would love getting the makeover they must do for the members they highlight.
Really, if that was all there was to my journey, I don’t think I could maintain this lifestyle. The truth is, I am learning that I can be more than I was yesterday. It’s not all physical, although the physical benefits are striking. I went to the doctor’s office over the weekend and my blood pressure was 114/74 and that’s much lower than it has been in the past. I feel braver and more confident about myself. I feel stronger and more relaxed. I now believe that I am capable of transforming myself in every sense and so are you.
This is like making this whole thing about numbers on a scale. Once you open yourself up to this experience, you learn it is so much more.
We all have power. I read a lot about empowerment but I’m pushing back on that word because the power has always been there for us, we don’t need some authority to give it to us. We have to find it within ourselves. Think of it as a well of strength that is just waiting for you to lower the chain, tip the bucket, and let that lifeforce in. You don’t have to worry about the well running dry. So long as your living it won’t, the springs to our existence runs deeper than we can fathom. Discovering our power begins when we believe in ourselves. I believe in you, but that’s not enough, you have to believe in you.
Make today a great day. My wish for you is that you do something that makes you happy.
Pork Lo Mein 8sp per serving. It was very yummy and worth the effort.
These are spice cake cupcakes I made them with pumpkin. they were very good, 6sp a piece.
Facing downward, legs working left, right, left, right, left… Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Keep going, think about your foot skating across the floor. Neon light electrified the room in predictable patterns, blue, green, orange, red, “Turn it three FULL turns to the right!” I reached down and turned the knob, one (my wrist swiveled all the way around) two (again) three (again). Then the force of the weight and resistance hit my legs it was like trying to ride through quicksand. My legs were obedient and kept moving, but now the center of my core kicked in because it had to. The tension rose like fire through my entire body.
I looked through the big windows out into the hallway hoping to see Jimmy or Eddie – friendly faces to give me encouragement, but they were not there. I looked at the instructor and loud music filled my ears and then I looked back down, Keep moving find the rhythm match the beat. My mind began to wander a look for some refuge, You come from deeply competitive, sharply intellectual, hard-working people you can do this Jenn. That’s who you are. I looked up into the mirror and saw the muscles bulging on the sides of my legs, I felt my core tucked in and my whole body engaged. I made myself loosen my grip on the handlebars and put the energy back into my core and my legs. Shoulders down, my form was correct. Then the music changed…
“COME ON! Sing it!” She shouted with so much force and energy, her movements kept almost mechanical timing that her level of fitness afforded her and others like her. Sing it? I read that if you can sing you’re not working hard enough. My brain babbled back. Then something amazing happened. The whole right side of the room, men and women joined the chorus, “I WANT TO KNOW HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN!” Their voices thundered through the spin studio and I was awestruck by a feeling of pure joy. A smile spread across my face, and tears welled in my eyes at the generosity and love I felt this moment. When I let in the love the journey changed from a challenge to a celebration of life. I felt truly grateful and humbled to be with them.
I’m the kind of person who regards herself as an uphill kind of girl I seek out the challenge and lean into it and don’t doubt I can make it. I feel in control and strong and just keep moving. It’s when I reach the top that trouble begins. When things begin to speed up I feel afraid. Maybe this is my next lesson – maybe if I let in the joy and embrace the love the challenge will ebb and the celebration will begin. Maybe success is not only defined by struggle, maybe it can be something more. Could it be that others have always known this, and I am just realizing that now? This is what I’m thinking about, and I think it may be something important I have to learn.
Getting to Goal 