Melting

What do we do around here to survive/celebrate a heat wave?

Have cones after school!

Sure, they melted all over the place, but that's what baby wipes and laundry detergent are for!

 I don't know what melted more: the ice cream under the sun or my heart for my son.

WW Wednesday

"Come on!  Where are all the Mediums?" I said to myself as I sorted through colorful cotton tanks at Wal-Mart.  "I need something smaller to work-out in."

Whoa.  Did I really just think that?

Yesterday I re-hit the 70-pounds lost mark in my weight loss joooourney.  Buh-bye 1X0's!  It was a fun educational year!  Yep, 11 months in and around that set of numbers.  I would say I'm not proud but I am.  I learned a lot in those months.

I learned that I can be happy with myself and my body even when I am still overweight.

I learned that I can maintain significant weight loss.

I learned that I can handle lots of little gains and even a 10-pounder.

I learned that mistakes don't define you and instead how you react to them matters the most.

I learned that I can enjoy an hour-long exercise class -- something that previously scared me too much to step foot in.

I learned that my struggles can be a blessing to others.

I learned that my support network will help keep me afloat when I think I might sink... if I reach out for them.

I learned that if you haven't achieved your goal yet, you aren't a "failure" waiting to become a "success."

I learned that if don't stay alert, I give doubt and fear way too much power.  Way, WAY too much power.  


Last but not least I learned that you never know it all!
Just like in all aspects of life, what works at one time doesn't work forever.

I think in the weight-loss arena especially, people tend to think there is one way to your goal and if you deviate you fail.  They pick a plan and if /when it gets too hard for too long, they quit.  I get it!  Believe me!  Been there, done that!
For me, constantly changing my outlook, attitude, and actions to fit my current life and needs has been the only way I haven't let go of my weight-loss and health goals.
At times that has meant food choices and exercise weren't the top priority.  It was what I could handle at the time, though.

So yeah, 70 down, 10 to go.  I can't wait to see what I learn next!

I hope the lesson involves chocolate. :) 

WW Wednesday

Yeah yeah, it's Saturday.  Moving on...

For the last few months I've been participating in a mailing list for my WW group.  We can share recipes, non-scale victories, etc.  I took it upon myself to start writing up a little about our meetings each week and email it to the group.  Usually I include the "awards" that were handed out that week (An additional 5 pounds lost, etc.), but I think that would be inappropriate for me to share here.

Today, in lieu of me reflecting on my own week in a weight loss jooouuurney, I'm going to share part of that email with the hopes that someone else might find the information helpful. 

I will return next week with a normal WW Wednesday post.

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This week we talked about how to handle setbacks on our weight-loss journey.  Slip-ups and struggle don't have to be roadblocks and WW has some suggested ways to regain your footing and get back on track.

(My own path to success has basically been a slip-n-slide!)

-Review your Goals and Progress

Remind yourself of the changes you've already made and also of what caused you to make them in the first place.  It's amazing how much progress can be made when we are focused and putting in the effort.

Have you made unrealistic goals? Consider switching to non-scale goals like always attending your meeting or always getting in your exercise instead of losing a certain amount of weight by a certain date.  

-Get back into Fitness

Forgive yourself for slacking in this department, then start slow and choose something you love.  If you don't enjoy it at least a little bit then you won't do it.  Set a small fitness goal that you know you can achieve and then stick with it.  The only person keeping score is you.  

-Practice Positive Self-Talk

The past is the past and you don't live there anymore!  

Whatever your mistakes might have been, there's no time like the present to resolve to do better and mean it.  Contrary to what we often believe, there is no limit to how many times we can do this.  I think it is when we stop resolving to do better that we should be concerned. 

(I personally think that prolonged complacency atrophies the spirit.)

I see my meeting as a reset button for my week.  For better or for worse, what's done is done.  I shouldn't coast on a great week any more than I should drown by the guilt of a bad one.

If you've been slipping a lot on your own, remember that it is a lot easier to regain your footing when you take the hand of another.  

Until next week I leave you with the words by Michael Jordan that closed our meeting this week:

"I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed." 

Floats for the Fourth

For the Fourth, I thought I'd share a fun summer treat that I enjoy.

Coke Zero Floats!  

(Image from here)

Up to half a cup of lowfat vanilla ice cream and a glass of Coke Zero is only 3 pp (half the value of a Dove bar), and you can easily use less ice cream in the float for even fewer points!

Coke Zero floats: a fun Summer treat for a fun Summer day!

Happy Independence Day!

Red, White, and Blueberries

This Independence Day Eve, before the temperature reached its current 98 degrees, the kids and I went to a local farm to pick some berries and visit with friends in from California.

This was the first time picking blueberries for my children.

Maybe I should have clarified that they should only pick the BLUEberries, but I was too busy talking and snapping photos.

Besides, they were proud of their unblueberries.

Obviously our friends had more experience. :)

Emily and her boys were some of my first friends here in NC.  We met in a support group for moms with newborns.  Several of us were new to the area and didn't know many people, either.

At a time when I was getting little sleep, little human interaction outside the hubs and baby, and little commiseration from other moms, Emily was there to help validate my feelings, encourage me in my decisions, and laugh with me at the absurdity of some of our daily scenarios.

I hope when my own little flower has children of her own, she finds women besides her mother that she can look to for advise.  A sense of humor in that friend would be a plus, too.

Come to think of it, my "flower" has thorns, so I think it may be a necessity!