Skiing, Hula Hoops, Yoga and more...

I just received my birthday present yesterday and it’s a Wii Fit! This thing is so freaking fun I must have spent 2 or 3 hours on it today! The great news is that it’s renewing my interest in exercising again! The Wii Fit keeps a record of your BMI, your center of balance and your weight. I haven’t quite decided if it’s a blessing or curse but the weight the Wii Fit tracks me at is about 10 lbs less than what my actual weight is. The cool thing is that it has you set goals, such as a weight loss goal and you can set your own time frame… it will also keep a graph of your progress. Pretty neat. I worked pretty much all of the accessible exercises. I did hula hoops, step aerobics, jogging, ski jumping, ski racing down the hill, yoga, strength training, boxing, and much much more. The more you do the more activities get unlocked and the more advanced the levels get. I found out that my center of balance is pretty dead on, my weight was no surprise except being so much lower (but not really) and my endurance and ability to do pretty much everything was a nice confidence booster. I did struggle with the push-up and planks, but other than that, I’m a freakin super star! WOOT! I’m excited to get back on tomorrow and track my progress… stay posted.

Slow down, ya move to fast...

...you've got to make the moment last, just kickin' down the cobble stone, lookin' for fun and feelin' groovy! So I came to realize that I'm rushing through life lately and I don't really know why. I'm always in a hurry, trying to do things really fast to meet unnecessary deadlines I make for myself, and along the way I'm missing out on, well, life.

Today I took my residents to St. Michael's for Mass followed by lunch and I was sitting in the pew behind my residents, thumbing through my "crack"berry looking at emails that were sent and deciding who I wanted to reply to, all while sitting there waiting for the Mass to be over and certainly ready for the scripture to end. Well, something caught me when most of the church (except me, sad to say) stood up for the reading of the Gospel... "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves."-- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. The priest then went on to talk about marriage and how this verse is often read at marriages for the simple fact that it discusses love. He also went on to say that unfortunately many marriages are falling apart because of one or both becoming selfish, overwhelmingly selfish that they no longer put their spouse before them self.

Why is this important and what does it have to do with rushing through life? Well, first of all, I was so busy checking email that I almost missed the message today, a message that is extremely important considering that tomorrow Greg and I celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. It was a great reminder of why we are together and what we must remind ourselves daily to keep our marriage as strong as it is and strengthen that bond even more as we grow old together.

Secondly... I felt a swift slap across the face when I realized that I'm so busy planning the future, I'm missing the present. Not just in work, but in everything. It's time to stop and smell the roses. Instead of hurrying on my way, it's time to stop and listen to someone's response when I ask how they are. The reality is that each day is a precious gift and it's not to be taken for granted. God willing, I will have a long life ahead of me, and working with the elderly I have to realize that time is not on their side. When I don't have time to hold the door open (for 5 minutes cause it takes some of my residents that long to walk 2 feet), or sit and listen to my their stories, or give myself some quiet time for reflection or relaxation I'm really cheating myself. The excuse of "I don't have time" really is just that... an excuse.

So what does this have to do with Operation Longevity? You ask. Well, a lot goes back to the reason I started this in the first place... Aunt Karen. Her life was tragically cut short. I don't really have any regrets in life and I'll be damn if it's my time to go and I'm lying in bed, looking back on my life and missing all those important, and not so important, opportunities just so that I could hurry up and miss something else. It's hard to imagine being influential on someone cause I look at myself and well... I'm just plain ol' Liz... but I suppose I really have touched people with this blog and I know you all are out there routing for me (even if you're not posting comments, ehhhh hemmmm, wink wink), and if I can inspire someone or touch someone through my blogging... well, I have got to have the time for that.

I fell...

…and it hurts. I’m referring to the proverbial bandwagon. I’ve really been sucking at this Weight Watchers thing for the past 2 months almost – and it’s been showing in my blogs, or lack thereof. It started as just a plateau, but I recognize that I’m really just not sticking to it. I’ve been craving pizza, french fries, ice cream, and a whole lotta garbage and well… I’ve given in to the temptations and it shows. Now, I have to admit that I’ve been making “better” choices, but still not the best choices… such as, if I’m at Chick-Fil-A I’ll get the grilled chicken on wheat bun with a side of green beans instead of a fried chicken sandwich with mayo and a side of waffle fries (but believe me… I miss the hell outta those fries.)

So what’s been going on… well, I still LOVE my job, I more than LOVE my job. I’ve stopped all my freakish exercising that I was doing, I know it’s just an excuse, but it was so damn hot during July I just couldn’t bring myself to go out and walk in 96 degree weather. Just couldn’t do it. So I’m “storing” an elliptical for a friend – free of charge of course, but I can’t get the thing working, dang. I looked up prices for gym memberships and quite frankly, I can’t afford it. $60 whoppin’ dollars to use a treadmill once a day – these people have to be out of their minds!

I went to the library and picked up “The Ultimate Weight Loss, 7 keys to Weight Loss Freedom” by Dr. Phil. I’m not very far through it, but thought it might motivate me some. One key thing that struck me was when he was talking about positive attributes each of us have… such as good sense of humor, being caring or being a great friend, etc… but then he asked how good of a friend I am to myself. Truth is… I would stop everyone in the world from doing something to harm themselves… but then I go and scarf down a frosty from Wendy’s… clearly something that is harming me, that being said… I need to start being my own best friend.

Challenges ahead include the party of the year on Aug. 30th! WOOT! Labor Day Luau at work on Monday – yikes! Dad-O’s B-day, although with him losing weight, it takes a lot of pressure off to eat better, anniversary on the 18th, then we start moving into the holiday season – I suppose if I don’t jump back on that wagon the rest of the year will just be harder and harder.

Mind Over Matter… Matter Wins!

So I’m slowly starting to get into jogging. I think I was channeling Wonder Woman the first time I went running because it has been much harder since and I’m coming to realize that it’s 90% mental and 10% physical, well maybe more like 75% mental and 25% physical, actually, my body is achy after running tonight so maybe it’s more like 50% mental and 50% physical, but regardless… it takes a lot of mental strength to get my ass around that track. Today I made it one full mile, walked a half then attempted to run another… NOPE, only got ¼ of the way through the next mile and had to go back to walking – Mind over Matter… my mind just wasn’t strong enough to keep me going.

Here’s the really cool thing… I’ve started jog/walking at a new park and it’s pretty much surrounded by woods and I got there and started stretching and there wasn’t really anyone around me for some time. I then noticed that a deer walked out of the woods no more than maybe 100 feet from me. The deer just stood there, nibbling on the grass and watching me stretch, I was minding my own business and he his until I started to jog and wouldn’t you know it… that silly deer started running right at me, crossed in front of me maybe 10 feet ahead and then started running besides me on the right side for about 20 yards. Then Mr. Deer ran into the woods and disappeared into oblivion. Pretty neat brush with nature if I do say so myself. Yet another reason why exercising is so cool – or at least that’s what I keep trying to convince myself of. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of Mr. Deer next to me, but this drawing will have to do!

I tried to run at the other park I usually visit to walk and I swear that the park is a giant time vortex. No, really, I feel like time just stops when I’m there, everything takes FOREVER and I couldn’t even jog half way around yesterday. Now tell me how it’s possible that I can’t even get half way around a trail that is only 8/10 of a mile total around and I struggle only towards the end of the cycle at the park where the trail is a full mile… that’s precisely what I mean when I say mind over matter. Exercise is a psychological warfare.

I also think that I wasn’t wearing the right bra. I really wasn’t thinking too much about it when I changed and ran out the door to get to my WW meeting. I have a JogBra that is like wrapping my girls in shrink-wrap cause those babies don’t move and then I have this sports bra which clearly give a little less support. Now, I’m not staying that the girls where close to knocking me out with every bounce, but they were def. moving more than was comfortable. I’ll have to pay closer attention to what upper body support attire I slap on and make sure it’s catered to the type of physical exercise I intend to do.

The other rockin' thing is that there was this little latino who is always at the park running, and boy does he run fast. Well, as I was finishing up my last lap he was coming up behind me and he said... "come on... you can do it!" and I said, "thanks, I'm trying to build up my stamina, this is only my 4th attempt at jogging." and he said... "next time you should follow me and try to catch me." I thanked him for the encouragement and hopefully some day I can keep up with Speedy Gonzales, maybe in 10lbs. Funny how every milestone now circles around my weight. Rightfully so! You figure that in 10lbs, not only will I have been running for probably a month more, but also I'll be that much lighter and it will be easier to drag this ass around the park. Yes?

25lbs down! ROCK ON! Last weeks weigh-in wasn’t the greatest, but I’m very motivated for a successful week ahead and looking forward to many a salad and lots of fruit this week. Back to basics! GO ME!

Happy 4th of July to everyone, I hope your holiday weekend is filled with much health and tons of activity!

I think I can... I think I can... I think I can...

Those are the words that kept going through my mind for the FULL 2 MILES I JUST RAN NON-STOP!!! HOORAY FOR ME! Goals are good. I've been walking and walking and walking for the past 10 weeks and honestly, walking was getting pretty damn boring. Around and Around and Around I go... not really going anywhere. I thought Mary was going to kick my ass into shape this past weekend and get my little tail moving some more because, well, my exercise regime has become a little routine and monotonous. Now, don't get me wrong, I really really REALLY like walking now, but sometimes you need to switch it up in life and NOW is the time. Well, it seemed like Mary was looking for a little more vacation than I was looking to get my butt in gear so we really just walked on Saturday and Sunday (and secretly, I really didn't want her to kick my arss).

Tiff has been pushing me (well actually gently nudging me) to start running and has been talking about doing 5K road races starting in August. Well... the idea of running 3.125 miles sounds really good, that is IF you are somewhat of an experience runner, and that's a big IF. I do have to admit that when I first moved down here to the dirty dirty I was so bored from the lack of friends and work that I was running on a daily basis anywhere from 2 - 5 miles and I was LOVING it, but as soon as I got a J-O-B there suddenly wasn't any time for running (funny how that happens). I know I can do it, but I'm also a ton heavier than I was 6 years ago and it takes a lot more energy and strength to move this body. Well, I was determined to break out of the exercise mold and made up my mind on my way home from work that I would attempt to jog today. I didn't set a goal in terms of length, rather just confirmed to myself that after walking for the last 10 weeks that surely I have built up enough strength and stamina to jog at least a little bit. Now again, I admit that I'm no expert when it comes to jogging, in fact, I'm such an analytical person that I googled the proper way to jog, watched an informative video paying close attention to how the foot should land and the position of the torso while taking strides - NO, I'M NOT JOKING, learned that jogging on a cement sidewalk is terrible for jogging because of the hardness of the ground, and headed off to Boiling Park where I hear there is a gravel path that you can run.

I got to the park and after going over what seemed like an endless amount of speed bumps I came to a parking area where I could only image was the gravel path. Fortunately enough an older couple was getting into their car and I politely asked if this was where the path was. They were kind enough to point me over the small bridge and explained that there are markers along the path for the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1 mile points. I thanked them, headed over the bridge and started to stretch out those rusty muscles. I started out walking for the first 1/8th of the mile and then got my jog on... I started jogging and before I knew it... I was all the way back around to the starting point... the devil in my head said... "YAY, the mile is over, now we can stop and go home" while the angel in my head said... "That was the easiest mile EVER... do another" good prevailed over evil and on I went to circle back around. The second mile was a little harder towards the end, in fact I had slowed down to a snails pace and the two gentlemen who were about a 1/2 mile behind me at the start of the 2nd mile had actually begun to lap me... but who was I racing? Them? NO! Myself? NO! Just the sense of accomplishment was more than a HUGE WIN for me! HOORAY FOR ME! I Rocked it!

Now I'll be super comfortable when I can keep up my running for the rest of July and get all trained an toned for the Road Race (and yes.. there will be a bunch of pictures of me crossing the finish line, if I have to drag my husband’s butt out of bed at 7am on a Saturday morning myself).

Sorry for the long dry spell in posts, been busy with work and my new "Active Lifestyle". Talk to you all later gators!

The World of Liz... (guest post by Mary)

This past weekend I flew down to Atlanta to visit our dearest Liz. See, when she first told me about her blog and her mission I promised her that when she made progress I'd come visit her- as a reward for us both. And there she went and lost 5.4lbs on week 1!! So I bought me a ticket to Hotlanta.....

This was the weekend. I must mention that when she says she's a busy bee she means it. I got to live in the life of Liz from Friday to Sunday and what fun it was!!! First let me start by saying that she looks absolutely fabulous. (She has always looked fab but she looks even more fab now if that is even possible). So after she picked me up at the airport we went and grabbed a quick bite to eat and then went over to her friend's house to enjoy the company of Tiff and her friends. I can see why she loves Tiff so much- she's an amazing gal. It was a high energy night with great company, great food, some cards and a little tequila for me- oops. Here's a couple tequila photos for y'all.

On Saturday we got up and walked our little butts off in the park, did a few errands and hopped back to Tiff's house and hung at the poolside (oh what a gorgeous pool). Then we went to the food store where Liz can look at just about any item and know the WW point value. We were walking and all I hear are random shouts of 3! 7! only 1 point- can you believe that?! 2! 2 again! What a waste of 3 points! So we headed back to the house, ate our salads and fruit and played some Wii (my arms are still sore). Then we relaxed and watched a movie.

On Sunday we walked again and then headed to the airport. It was a great weekend for the both of us and we both left with a warm and fuzzy feeling. Love you Liz!!!!!!

Summertime and the livin' is easy...

15 down 45 more to go! I’m beginning to learn the importance of goals. Goals keep you on track, give you success markers and eventually give you something to celebrate once you reach those goals. I know it sounds like a HUGE number, but my goal is 60lbs by the end of the year and it feels very like a very daunting task. But when you break that number down, it’s not so bad. For instance: I’m already ¼ of the way to my December goal; it only took me 7 weeks to complete ¼ of my goal so if I keep it up, I should be able to complete the other ¾ in 21 weeks… that puts me at mid October ! Likewise, I look at this summer and staying on goal, there are 15 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day, if I keep up dropping 2lbs a week I will lose 30 lbs just over the summer – Pretty crazy when you think about it that way.

The past few weeks have been difficult when it comes to writing down my meals. I’ve been keeping a mental tally, but it really isn’t the same. I use the same excuse as to why I haven’t been updating my blog so often, but the reality is that it’s just an excuse. I do want you all to have a little insight into my work day and maybe you’ll understand. I only sit at my desk for about 1 – 2 hours total a day (if I’m lucky) and it’s usually broken into 15 – 20 minute blocks. I need to utilize that time to take care of any computer work that I have while I can. I know that I can then come home and blog, but I was talking to Sandi a week or so ago and she was telling me that she tries her darndest to stay as busy as she can after work so she’s not just sitting on her behind, and so I’ve tried to adapt that lifestyle. I’ve been walking, having dinner, or shopping (although not really spending money) so that I’m not home and eating.

Tiff and I always talk about adapting the “Active Lifestyle” which includes a lot of what I’ve been doing lately, such as going and whacking golf balls with Greg, walking a lot, “shopping”, and finding other activities. Mom is coming to town this Thursday and on Saturday afternoon we are going to do Salsa lessons. How fun does that sound?!?!?

I went walking yesterday morning with Tiff and I learned a valuable lesson... we met up around 10am at the park and began our walk. We were yakking and yakking away and just kept going around and around in a circle for an hour and a half. Well, before I left the house I washed my face and put on my lotion, but didn't even think about sun screen - OUCH! I went over to her place after to hang out at the pool and and lubed up with about an inch of SPF40 before being in the sun, but it was too late. You can see the burn marks around where my tank-top was for our walk and it's burning pretty bad. We usually don't walk for more than an hour at most and I didn't even think that I would get burnt, but here I am. Lesson Learned. I do have to admit that it's nice sitting by the pool and relaxing after an hour and a half walk. Ahhhhh... Summer!

Good news is that I’ve been getting a lot of comments lately; people that I’ve only worked with for 3 weeks have started to ask if I’m losing weight and I’m actually beginning to see and feel the results. It’s a great feeling getting compliments and encouragement from those who don’t really know you and there are a few people that I work with that look forward to Friday mornings and finding out how my weigh-in went the night before. It’s nice to be held accountable from so many people.

These are the days of my life

I was listening to the radio this AM on the way to work and they got onto the topic of blogging and they were right on target when they started to say that a blog is like watching a soap opera each day… you want to follow up and read each day and then when the blogger doesn’t post one day (or in my case, one week) you feel like you’re stuck watching re-runs. So sorry for my short little writers strike, but I guess life does imitate art sometimes. But onto the goods, I’ve got ton’s to update everyone on.

First of all… MARY IS ALIVE… how she managed to avoid, let alone survive TWO natural disasters in her two week trip to China is a MIRACLE! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!! SO GLAD YOU’RE HOME!!!! So sad for all those families who lost loved ones.

OK, about me… my new job ROCKS! I L-O-V-E it! I am so incredibly busy all day every day. In fact, I’m lucky if I get to sit down for a total of an hour each day. Way different than my other jobs where I was on my ass for 8+ straight hours. I did finally go out and buy a “pita-meter” and wore it last Friday and I walked 5.54 miles during my day at work, plus I do fitness with my ladies every morning at 10 am for a half hour. It’s not super strenuous but it does get the blood flowing. The Senior Living Community I work at is called Terrace at Woodstock and I’m starting a walking group in June called the Terrace Trekkers and I’ve worked it out with the mega church, Greg calls it the Georgia Dome of Baptist Churches, across the street that we can go over there on Wednesday mornings and we can walk and walk and walk to our hearts content. They have measured that it is exactly ¼ mile around the perimeter of the sanctuary. YAY

I’m trying so hard to get Greg to be a little more active outside of work. I don’t blame him for not wanting to walk when he’s on his feet all day at work. In fact he wore the “pita-meter” one night and he walked a total of 11 miles. WOW. So thanks to Karen I came up with the idea of going to the batting cages… he wasn’t into that so much, so instead we’ve been going to the driving range at least once a week and whacking balls. It’s fun and it’s not sitting on the couch.

I went walking with Tiff on Sunday AM and a tragedy happened…

But some good came out of the tragedy...
I’ve worn New Balance Sneakers (or “Tennis shoes” if you’re from Maryland) for the last 10 years, but I switched it up this time. I was encouraged to try on a pair of RYKA and I’ve got to say - I’m a believer. They are crazy comfortable and I took them out for a test walk this evening and they are great. No blisters, no rubbing through the heel of my kicks and no numbness of the feet, which sometimes happens when you’re breaking in shoes for the first time.

I was at Wally World the other day and they had Capri work-out pants on the clearance rack for $5. So NO MORE CHUB RUB FOR ME!!! I also got a couple of tang-tops cause I’m determined to avoid the really bad farmers tan I had last summer (that I still have markings of) and I figure I’m out in the sun so much now that I’m bound to get a little color – and Yes mom, I’m putting on sun screen, in fact it’s the sun screen that I got in my welcome bag from Ms. McKeon for Mary’s wedding that I didn’t make it to - Stupid Natural Disasters.

I lost one pound last week and Shelley said it’s time to add a new picture to my blog so you can start to see the little progress I’m making. My clothes are getting lose on me, but I’m too stubborn to buy new clothes this soon.

Oh… HA… this is funny: I like to watch my shadow while I’m walking, I always look tall and thin, but then I realized this evening that if you look at my thighs you can see my fat ripple when I step down… it’s like a shock wave going through my legs, so then I started to stomp down harder to see if it would ripple more and then I started to squeeze my butt and leg muscles as I stomp down to see if I can stop the ripple… no luck. But it was a fun experiment. WHAT?!?!? I’ve got to keep myself entertained somehow while I’m walking.

I think that’s about it for now. Again, sorry for the lack of blog lately, I’ve been crazy busy with the new job and crazy sleepy from working my bootie off. I’ll get better, especially since Mary is home and will “kick my cute butt” if I don’t update my post.

If y’all don’t mind, I’m going to start posting stories about my residents cause they make my day. Real quick… there’s one resident there, Walter, and he reminds me of G’pa and I smile every time I see him cause he's just like "Grump-pa". The other day it was a little windy and Walter was outside on the terrace sitting in a rocking chair taking a nap while a nice breeze kept him cool. It made me smile.

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU!!!

A week ago I was informed by Mary that Cassie had put together a care package for me and I should be anticipating a box in the mail in the near future. Well my box came today and it totally ROCKS! Thank You So So So So Much Cassie. You're amazing and I can't tell you how touched I am that you thought of me to put this together.

THANK YOU

Here are some pictures of the package Cassie sent...

This says: Walk Around The Block

1. Place block in the middle of floor.

2. Walk around it two times.

3. Rest, you have just walked around the block 2 times!

4. Repeat.

This says:

"Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there." - Will Rogers

"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind... let it be something good."

"Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can."

"Success is not measured by what you accomplish but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds." - Orson Swett Marden

Ooooooh Noooo!!!

So this weeks weigh-in didn't go so well. I had a lot of challenges and I guess it showed.

Not to make any excuses, but Thursday was also a hard day in terms of food. I started my new job on Thursday and it's always hard to figure out what to do for meals on your first day of work. Should I brown bag it? Should I anticipate that they will take me out to lunch? Should I just plan on running out to grab lunch if I have the time? All questions that are difficult to answer on the first day of work. I know that once I get into my normal routine I'll be able to plan better but it's always hard the first day or two. So on Thursday I had my usual 1/2 bagel with cream cheese at around 9:00 am and then followed by a banana at 10:30.Then I didn't have an opportunity to eat until 4:30. Now I try not to eat or drink much before my weigh-in each week, but I was famished, so I had dinner before my weigh-in and I'm fairly certain that it contributed to my weight gain.

BUT I did head over to Tiff's to use her treadmill since it was raining and I couldn't walk at the park. After my 4 miles on the treadmill I then stopped at Ingles to get some WW deserts and boy did I go crazy...

FREEDOM!

A lot of you have said that I’ve inspired or motivated you to start exercising or eating better, but this is a reciprocal process here. Case in point: Cassie and I had agreed via email yesterday to each walk 4 miles. In fact she said, “Since Mary’s in China and can’t kick your butt, I WILL!” Well, halfway through that first lap (only .5 mile into it) I was channeling ALL of Cassie’s energy to get me around the park three and a half more times. Actually it was Cassie and George Michael singing in my ear… “FREEDOM, I won’t let you down, I will not give you up…” You get the point. I guess it’s all of you reading my blog (and George Michael) getting me through this. Then I was listening to Justin Timberlake singing with Madonna and pretending that he was singing with me – he’s so yummie.

Tiffany had said to me on Tuesday that if there are days that I don’t feel like exercising to just plan on walking 20 minutes and I’d be surprised about 5 minutes into my walk that I want to keep going. It’s just the initial first step. I also decided I need to get a Pedometer (or Pita-meter according to mom – that one’s for you Karen) so that I can know fo’ sho' how long around the park it is. My basis has always been according to the time it takes me. On average I can get around the park in 12 – 13 minutes and if I do all my curvy twists and turns and circle 8’s and stuff, it’s closer to 15 minutes. That just sounds like a good amount of time to walk a mile. Yes?!?!?

I think part of my problem yesterday was my attire. I know, I already blogged about exercise attire but this time the issue was me… I dug out a sports bra from way-back- when, and it didn’t fit all that well a few years ago cause the straps were too long, but I figure, maybe it’ll fit me now. No such luck and unfortunately I didn’t discover this until I was at the park and walking my circles. The straps are only suitable if you’re 6’5” OR if your breasts hang down at your knees – neither of which are my problems. My GOD this thing sucks. I need to throw it out now and not be tempted to try it again. Secondly, my t-shirt! I felt like I was being strangled the entire time I was walking because the neck kept moving back. I personally feel like this was a residual effect of the evil sports bra. I know I’ve said it before, but I just need to BUCK UP and buy some new work-out clothes, maybe a couple of Tang-tops and a few pairs of pants where the crotch is where it should be.

Weigh-in today! Wish me luck!

Back by popular demand!

I know, I know. You don't have to say it. I've been slightly slack when it comes to my posts the past week. Let me tell ya, I've got a lot to catch you all up on.

First of all... Last week's weigh in... HOLY CRAP (in a good way)!!! I can't believe I've lost close to 12lbs in 3 weeks, pretty kick ass. The WW leader asked if I regret not starting this 3 weeks sooner and my response was no, I wish I had started 3 MONTH earlier. Go Me!

Secondly is my weekend of temptation. Well, I actually used great restraint and control when it came to food. I didn't sacrifice, but I was very good at eating slowly, making good choices and watching my portions. I do have to admit that I did have a small piece of cake, a chocolate dipped cream puff (small one), and 1/2 of a yummie cookie, but that's as bad as I got all weekend! GO ME. I did come to realize that the food I put in my body wasn't the healthiest and I think I'm paying for it now. No really, I've been very lethargic and lazy the past two days and I've needed a swift kick in the ass to go walking and I whole heartedly blame it on the food I put into my body over the weekend. But I think I’m back on track again and hopefully at my weigh-in on Thursday my restraint shows with a little loss or I’d even be happy as long as there is no gain.

Next, stress... Last Monday I sat down with my boss and he has decided to transition me into a new position within the company... good news is that I still have a job, bad news is that the job requires me to work out of the office 45 miles away. That's a 90 mile commute each day; in rush hour traffic; in Atlanta. The idea of sitting in my car 3 - 4 hours a day in traffic makes me feel physically ill. On Tuesday I saw an ad on Craigslist for a Life Engagement Coordinator (a.k.a Activities Director) at an Assisted Living Home about 15 minutes from me. The ad stated that those interested should show up on person to apply. So Tuesday afternoon I squeezed into my dress suit and headed on down there to turn in my resume and fill out an application. Just out of pure happenstance, when I arrived their Technology system was down, their phones were down and they were sitting around twiddling their thumbs looking for something to do, so after I filled out the application they asked if I had some time to sit for an impromptu interview and I was more than happy to oblige. Two days later they offered me the position and I head in on Thursday for orientation. I find it no odd coincidence that the exact time I showed up they had time to meet with me. I think this opportunity is a perfect one for me and I'm super excited to start this new career. I realize that there will be a ton of temptations there and I will have to use great restraint given that my office has a full kitchen with fridge, sink, stove AND an Otis Spunkmeyer cookie oven! But I'm sure I'll make it all right.

I have also set some crazy, but do-able goals. I've realized this week that I turn 30 in just over a year, my absolute goal weight is 130lbs and I think it's kinda neat that my b-day is on Aug. 30th... so it will be 130 and 30 on 30. Go figure!

What was she thinking?!?!?

I'm fascinated by the attire that people wear to go exercise. Now, I'm not talking about the parents who decided to take their kids to the park after going out to eat or something, I'm talking about the adult female who wears long jean shorts (ya know, the kind that are tight through the thigh and stop right above the knee) with a belt and their ipod strapped to their arm and do laps around the park - WHAT THE?!?!? Even better is the older couple where the wife is wearing her matching 2 piece, fuchsia, velour sweat suit she's had since 1982 complete with the gaudy gold bangle bracelets and charm necklace and her husband is wearing khaki dress pants with a button down shirt and sneakers to walk in. I just don't get it. Then there's also always one or two in the group of guys playing soccer who are in nice jeans and a nice top and are chasing after a ball and getting grass stains on their nice clothes - WHY?

Now, I'm no fashionista, you can typically find me in a dingy pair of sweatpants where the crotch is halfway to my knees and smattered with paint from household project accompanied by an equally distressed t-shirt I got for free by participating in some event... but at least it's worthy of sweat. I have realized that I do need to get some more work-out clothes, the low crotch sweatpants aren't flying with the chub-rub... I don't want to break out in a rash between my legs from sweat and friction. The struggle comes into play because I know I'll be losing weight and I'd hate to buy some gym clothes that are falling off me in a couple of months... part of me would rather take the risk of getting the chub-rub-rash.

None the less... come to Heritage park in Canton and you'll see my fashionably challenged ass walking the paths over and over again and if you come often you'll start to see less of me. Ha Ha!

mmmmm... Yogurt!

I miss exercising… no, really, I miss exercising. Mary suggested resting on Saturday and Sunday. I actually took off Friday because I think I over-did-it a little on Thursday and my back was hurting. So Saturday AM I got up and went to the park to make up for my skipped day on Friday. Yesterday was yucky and rainy all day and unfortunately I never made it to the park to walk. Well I was going crazy ALL DAY not being active. Isn’t that nuts?!?!? Me… sitting around, being lazy on the couch was making me nuts.

I came to the realization that I need to buy a Yoga (aka Yogurt) DVD or something for days when it’s raining and I can’t get my cardio in – hopefully that would be a good substitution. Then I came to the conclusion that once I hit a specific goal (short term, like 20lbs) I should either buck up and join the YMCA (even though it’s a million dollars a month) or possibly join one of those kick boxing classes or something fun and energetic – not Yogurt, I know Yogurt works, take a look at my sissy-pooh Karen, she looks phenomenal from doing it and I think yogurt is fine for icky rainy days, but I need something that gets me moving and makes me all gross and sweaty and want to go home and shower immediately. I know it’s all psychological but I don’t feel like I get a good work-out without that sweat.

What was I doing to occupy my time on the couch all day yesterday you ask? Well, I was actually watching TLC and they had the “National Body Challenge – Twins” on last night and it was pretty nuts to watch these siblings get their health in line and actually see the results. I came to a lot of conclusions while watching it…

1. You really have to want the results to be successful. Two sisters really weren’t into making a change. They were working out, but eating the same quantities and qualities of food as before, and surprise surprise… they didn’t lose any weight for the first 2 weeks – SHOCKER! They were very resistant to portion sizes and an overall change in diet and finally they figured it out and in the end the each lost about 25lbs over 15 weeks. I think that’s great.

2. Bodies come in all different shapes and sizes. There was one girl that was 1” shorter than me and weighed 22lbs less than me (at the start of my journey), but her measurements were much bigger than mine, which possibly backs up my first post about having a skewed perspective of my size. Her waist was 4 more inches around than mine AND she weighed 20lbs less… how’s that possible? I did notice that she had skinny little legs and that clearly she carried most of her extra weight in her core while I think mine is pretty evenly distributed.

3. There is NO EXCUSE for failure. There were two brothers on the show that each lost over 60lbs. That’s nuts. They co-own an Italian restaurant and had every possible reason for being obese due to the food that they were surrounded by. These guys were able to not only lose a ton of weight but they were able to do it with ALL the temptations of everyday life – I can stop buying frozen pizzas and stock my fridge with veggies… they go to work where there is fat, fat, and more fat and were still able to take off an entire person between the two of them.

and…

4. There are healthy alternatives to common, every day recipes if you are willing to make substitutions like all egg whites instead of the entire egg, applesauce for oil when baking, whole wheat flour, whole grains instead of processed grains, etc. There was a great recipe for a whole wheat crust pizza with low fat mozz cheese and chicken sausage instead of pork… cut the calories in half and the total fat from something like 23g to 4. Yummmm…

So far this journey has been fairly easy because I've stayed pretty much within the confines of my own house when it comes to food, I haven't exposed myself to any external temptations. I'm getting a little anxious for this coming weekend. Shelley is graduating!!! YAY Shelley! Well, a ton of family is coming into town and there's dinner on Friday night at a Japanese Steak House type place and then we are all BBQing on Saturday after Graduation. I'm sure temptation will be lurking around every corner... I'm planning on keeping my Klean Kanteen close at hand so I'm drinking water to keep my tummy full. I'm also thinking that I'll be chewing gum most of the time because if I already have something in my mouth I won't be tempted to put something else in there - makes sense to me! Karen arrives on Friday and she's bringing her walking shoes so if I am a little bad at least I'll have a walking partner on Saturday and Sunday to walk off those extra calories - Can't wait!

Mooovin' in the right direction

Well, I didn't have the huge, grand weight loss this week that I had the week prior. Only 1.2lbs down this week, but I realized going into this that it was a marathon, not a sprint. I didn't get to my current weight overnight, so I'd be crazy to think that I'll drop all my extra weight overnight.

I know a lot of people out there are doing WW online and I think that something is better than nothing, but I'm really loving the accountability of having to go to the meeting each week, have someone else weigh me and the underlying desire to "impress them". The other great thing is that I can have some questions answered... such as...

1. Do I have to use all my daily allotted points?

Answer: Yes, if you're not consuming enough calories each day your body goes into starvation mode and stores more than it needs to, so it is definitely important to get as close as you can to consuming your daily point value.

2. I'm addicted to Moe's burritos (part of the reason I'm in this mess), the other night after walking 4 miles (yes, I said 4 miles) I wanted a damn freakin' burrito and I still had 12 points left + 4 activity points from walking, only problem is... Moe's is not listed on the WW website so how do I know how many points I'm consuming?

Answer: http://www.dwlz.com/ There is a lady named Dotty and she's lost a bagillion pounds on WW and throughout her journey she started compiling a list of point values for restaurants she would visit simply by looking up their nutritional information on their website. She also has some brand name food items as well and if there is something missing, she's more than happy to add it to the list if you email her. Taco Mac is even on the list pretty freakin’ cool!

Now, my Moo Moo Mr. Cow burrito wasn't on the list because it's a kids meal, but I was able to look at the adult size, see that it's 17 points and cut that down to 10 because my burrito was 1/2 the size and I feel like it's an adequate representation of the points I used. I also kept an eye on the amount of ingredients they put into my Moo Moo and put it into the recipe builder and came up with the same point value - PRETTY FREAKING COOL!!!

WANTED: Encouragement

Ugh... not even 2 weeks into this and I'm already over it. Don't get me wrong, I'm 100% committed to this journey and I'm still staying within my daily points, etc., but I'd love to not have to worry about how many freakin' points a piece of damn cheese is. AND, the idea that I'll be counting points for at least the next year, if not the rest of my life, is not very appealing to me.

What I find so incredibly weird is that there are some days where I'm at or even above my daily points and there's others where I'm left with 1/3 or even 1/2 of my points left. I guess it's all about choices.

I do have a new love affair with fruit. Not that I didn't love fruit before, but I would always grab a cookie or chocolate before an apple. I do have to admit that I like strawberries, pineapple and cantaloupe more than the apples but I L-O-V-E the crunch of an apple. I was at the store the other night replenishing my fruits and veggies and bought a couple of pears. As I was choosing my pears I was thinking to myself, "Self, you don't eat enough pears. You like them, why don't you eat more of them?!?!?" I mean, honestly, ask yourself if you can remember the last time you ate a pear... tricky one huh? I bet you like them too! I think they are just a highly under-rated fruit.

Shitty thing is that I've been clipping a lot of coupons lately and there are rarely coupons for fruit and veggies - totally sucks! It's all for crappy, over sodiumized (is that a word?), processed food. But at least some of the coupons can get used. No joke, I saved a total of $63 one week at the grocery store, it was 41% of the entire bill... that was a nice chunk of change in my pocket - paid for 2 months of WW, but none of the food was healthy stuff.

Headed out soon to walk with Tiff and team Trellie! Got my second WW meeting tomorrow and while I'm optimistic that I'll be down some, I'm not anticipating 5lbs like last week - the first week is always the easiest, and hardest for that matter - huh.

Weekend Woes

This weekend didn't go quite as well as last weekend when it comes to the point system. Now, don't get me wrong... it's not like I ate an entire pizza by myself followed by a Big Mac and washed down by a milk shake, but, I did have a struggle with chillin' with friends. So I went a few points over on Friday and Saturday, but not a million points over.

Although a light beer is only 2 points - if you want to have more than one, well, you're looking at 4 or 6 points. And let's face it, I'm not hanging out on the patio with friends for 4 hours and just having one beer. Thus the struggle begins. It's pretty easy to plan for having a beer when you're working your daily points, but when you've had your one beer and you're still sitting around for another 3 hours, well, sometimes you want another. I suppose that it's only over the weekend and not every day, so it won't kill me to be a few points over and technically, I have that weekly "pool" of 35 points that I did have to dip into this weekend, so I'm still staying within the rules. I guess I just want to be somewhat aggressive with this plan and try to keep my point consumption to what my daily allotment is.

I've also come to realize that it's super nice outside to be walking and exercising and being active, but it's also HELL. The pollen is terrible and I feel like ASS the next morning - there's really no way to avoid it, I'm not going to stop going outside, so I might was well just bitch about it - maybe that'll make me feel better. Mary gave me Saturday and Sunday off from exercising and it felt good to rest some. I'm sure I won't do it every weekend, but going from complete in-activity to walking (on that big ass hill none-the-less) 5 straight days is a bit of an attack on my body. My shins are feeling much better not walking the last two days. I was also able to look up some ways to stretch my shins before and after walks (and as needed) and I'm ready to hit the pavement again.

I did step on the scale this am and the points are still dropping off and it's an amazing feeling. I'm not seeing a huge impact on my clothes yet, but I'm sure that'll come

No Excuses!!!

One week down! My second WW meeting was last night and the official weigh-in came back and I'm 5.4 pounds lighter! Pretty exciting seeing results for all the work this past week. I got a gold star, literally, they give you a gold star for every 5lbs you lose - kinda cheesy. The biggest bummer is that the weigh-in is at 6pm and I sure wish it was at 6am right after I wake up and pee because when I got up this morning and stepped on the scale I was down 7.8lbs. I suppose the actual pounds really don't matter as long as that number keeps going down and I keep seeing results.

Last night at the meeting we discussed excuses. Excuses why we never lost this weight before and excuses why we don't exercise. The crazy thing is that every excuse on the list was one of mine at some point. It's nuts how one single event can change your perspective on that list. Before, all the items on the list were top priority and now I realize that losing weight and getting healthy is way more important than the list.

Exercise was actually fun last night. I didn't get to use my 5lb weights that I bought for my exercise Mary recommended, but Tiff and I went to the park and walked for about 45 minutes with Team Trellie (Trey and Ellie) and then we chased them up the hills for another half hour. I was gross and sweaty and thirsty afterwards, but LOVED every second of it. Who knew that exercising could be such a thrill... if it was like that everyday this would be a piece of cake!

If you're inspired, raise your hand ...er... commment!!!!!- guest post by mary

I know I'm inspired by Liz's endeavor. When she first told me she was doing it I was sooo incredibly excited. Of course we all know that I am easily excitable... BUT... it doesn't lesson how thrilled I am to the core. I've known Liz for so long that when she goes through something I feel as though it's me going through it as well, just like we all do with our close friends. So every morning since last Thursday I have been obsessively (borderline stalker-like) checking her blog with any updates, etc. I have always loved her strength (and lean on her often- thanks Liz...) and admire her goals and views. This is one more to add to the list.

Cheers to you, Liz, for successfully completing your first week. You're a superstar. We love you and are so inspired by you !!!!!

No Pain, No Gain (or loss in my situation)

I'm a little sore today throughout my legs, butt and torso. I still can't believe how hard that hill is to climb, but I think it's a good analogy for my journey, and I'm sure the more I do it, the easier it will be.

Yesterday was a big struggle with food, I was so hungry ALL day and couldn't feel satisfied. I have to admit that I went 1.5 points over my daily allotment. I was telling Mary, I was already .5 over and then I went to the grocery store (mostly for Greg who was bitching that there's only healthy food in the house) and while walking down the frozen food isle I stumbled, actually I was determined to find, WW ice cream bars. Well, my will power failed me last night. When I got home I opened up one of those suckers and I've got to tell ya... it was the best 1 point I've ever had, and I really don't feel guilty for it - at all.

I suppose that since I've started exercising (even if it has only been 2 days) my body is burning some energy and looking for the nutrition to supplement it, and since I've cut the number of calories in my diet, I probably couldn't satisfy my need for nourishment... I'm no biologist so I don't really know if that's right... but it sounds pretty damn good to me!

I also took some time to do the beginner exercises on my Blue Ball. Balance is not my forte'. I can't really say I did them successfully, rather I attempted to do them, mostly rolling to the ground trying to find my center of gravity on this rolling contraption. It is fun, and it's amazing how much of a work out you can get with just resistance on a ball and your body weight.

Up Hill Battle

Not too much to report today. I started walking yesterday. I made it very easy on myself and decided to walk to the entrance to my Sub-Division and back, which is 1.4 miles, so not to strenuous... or so I thought! The first part of the walk is a piece of cake, but the 2nd half is HELL... the hill entering into my sub-division is so steep that it uses every ounce of strength in me to make it all the way up - BUT I DID IT!

Tiff met me this morning at 7:30 and we walked the hill together and it wasn't any easier today... in fact it was a little harder. But it was good to have some companionship rather than just my ipod and good conversation (during the times we could actually talk through trying to breathe) and even a little support to push me to "lift those knees" to get up that hill.

Speaking of ipod... I could use some ideas as to songs to add to keep me moving... so far my "Get Movin'" list includes:
Stronger - Kanye West
A Little Less Conversation - Elvis
Freedom - George Michael
Survivor - Destiny's Child
Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
Footloose - Kenny Loggins
Love and Memories - OAR
If - Janet Jackson
Stronger - Ms. Britney Spears
Suddenly I see - KT Tunstall
(It's only 42 minutes of music, so I need a few more song suggestions to bring it up to an hour!)

It's amazing how exercise is "mind over matter"... it's a total and complete mind frame to get your ass off the couch. I used to sit on my bootie for a couple hours each night watching the idiot box so the excuse that I didn't have enough time wasn't appropriate for me. I guess I've just never been a very physical person and exercise was never a lifestyle for me... so in addition to re-training myself to eat, I'm having to re-train myself to exercise, and so far - it feels pretty good!

Done Deal!!!

I signed my contract with Mary... No turning back now!

Here are pics of my new Klean Kanteen as well as BIG ASS BALL and Blue Ball... my soon to be new best friends.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do...

I've had this 28 year relationship with food and I'm beginning to learn that the relationship is an abusive one and unfortunately I have to break-up with food as I know it, and start a newer healthier relationship. It's hard, I'm an emotional eater and food has been my comfort in sadness, my joy in times of celebration, my entertainment in times of boredom and my companion in times of loneliness. Saying goodbye is not an easy task.

The past 3 days on WW has been an experience to re-train myself about food and it is like starting a new relationship. I do find that I'm obsessing about food, I'm constantly thinking about what I will eat next, how many points it will be, if I eat celery as a snack instead of almonds then I'll have an extra 4 points and therefore can treat myself with 1/2 a chocolate bar (a sacrifice this choco-holic is willing to make), and so on. Luckily, I'm finding that I don't even need my total point allotment each day, in fact on Friday and Saturday I was 3 and 9 points below my daily goal. Today - not so much, thanks to my good ol' friend Mr. Chocolate. What?!?!? Just because I broke up my relationship with bad food doesn't mean we can't stay friends.

Greg-O has been supportive in his own quirky way... funny thing is that he was making himself one of his favorite Tostino's frozen pizza supreme for lunch the other day and we looked up how many points the pizza was... 28! 28 Freakin' points... that would be my entire day's point consumption. I say good for him to be so stinkin' skinny and not have to worry about scarfing down a pizza that contains my daily allotment of food. What's nuts about it all is that I used to polish one of those suckers away on my own as well... no wonder I'm sitting her writing this blog now! In fact... I used to eat as much food as Greg (sometimes more) at meals. Who was I kidding to think that "if he can do it, why can't I?!?!?" Silly me - the poor guy runs around for 8+ hours a day... I'm pretty sure he burns more calories in one shift than he consumes in one day.

I went out and bought a scale... eek! Actually, much to my surprise, I have already lost 4lbs since the weigh-in on Thursday at WW. Much to my dismay, I started playing around with the scale and learned that my favorite hoodie sweatshirt weighs 1.8lbs (note to self - don't wear the hoodie to weigh-ins'), and after dinner, I went up one pound. I do realize that it's mostly food and water weight so I'm not sweating the small stuff.

Under the direction of Mary I went out and bought a Klean Kanteen - very exciting. She recommended it since recent discoveries are showing that many of the plastic water bottles are leaching chemicals into your water. The fun part is that I could pick out different insulators for my Klean Kanteen, the one I got is dark brown with fun dots. I also bought another BIG ASS BALL... this one is for my desk. You see, many people in my office sit on the BIG ASS BALLS instead of desk chairs, the purpose is to strengthen core muscles and improve posture. Now, why did I have to buy another BIG ASS BALL you ask... well, I had to buy another BIG ASS BALL cause my Blue Ball is too small for my desk, but is perfect for exercising with - pertaining to my height. Tomorrow is the day I officially start my fitness routine... Mary put together an entire envelope of fun goodies to get me going... there's a contract, there's a calendar with exercise ideas, there's lists of good foods for each dietary category, there's a list of portion sizes in relate-able terms and there's also other fun notes and books and goodies... she's the best.

I've got 4 more days before my second weigh-in at WW and so far so good. Thanks again to everyone and their amazing words of encouragement and support!

Last Supper Syndrome

I'm sure anyone who has ever decided to start eating healthy or gone on a "diet" can relate to what I like to call LSS or Last Supper Syndrome. This is the mental attitude that the foods you LOVE and know are bad for you are the ones you want to consume before that final deadline of having to start your new healthier lifestyle.

I came to this actualization when I was driving home around 1:30pm on Thursday afternoon, knowing that I had the Weight Watchers meeting that night and thinking to myself... alright, what do you want more... Burger King Whopper or Arby's french fries? (Let me add, that I haven't had any fast food in 4 weeks, but not having it on Thursday was not an option.) Having some concept of the WW system I knew that french fries would not be entirely out of my diet if that was how I chose to use my points, but I could pretty much guarantee that the Whopper with Cheese, would not be an option and would consume my points not only for the day, but also include the pool of points I would get for the week. Next thing I know... "Yes, I'd like to get a #1 w/ cheese and a diet coke." "Your total is $5.08, please pull around to the second window."

This WW thing is pretty crazy at getting you to be more conscious of what you put in your body... on the flip side, I feel like food is consuming my life, I can't stop thinking about it, I can't stop trying to figure out how many points an item will be and if I'll be able to eat for the rest of the day if I have scrambled eggs for b'fast instead of a banana. Don't get me wrong, I understand that it's all about balance, eating a balanced diet, and making good decisions - but I didn't get into this position by making good decisions, especially when it comes to food, so it's a little harder for me than it would be for others. None the less, I'm optimistic that all of this will get easier and will become routine, which is what I hope for. Like I said, I'm looking for a lifestyle change, not a "diet" that will have me back in this position 2 years after the "diet" is over.

HOLY SHIT!!!

Alright, I had my first Weight Watchers meeting last night and my fear came true... I'm a lot fatter than I thought I was. Now I can totally relate to an anorexic or bulimic, but on an opposite scale. I think it's called Body Dysmorphic Disorder only most people think they're fatter than they are... not me... I see myself skinnier than I actually am. I mean, I always knew I was heavy, but not this heavy, in fact I think I technically fall into the category of Obese - a word I never wanted to describe me. All this means is that I have an even greater challenge ahead of me and the results will be that much sweeter.

Now the decision comes between counting "points" or just eating foods on the approved list... only, looking at the "approved list" there's a TON of stuff on there that I do eat already, so what's the change?!?!? I'm thinking that I'll do the "points" system since I'm already going to be doing a food journal, what's the difference figuring out the "point" that goes with it, right?

Mary, as usual was amazing last night, when I left the WW meeting and wanted to just cry and cheer at the same time, cry because of the shock of my size and Cheer because I'm actually doing this... no excuses. She reminded me that the current number doesn't matter anymore and the result is what matters... so we need to keep our eye on the prize and look forward, not back. We also decided that when we hit our "Goal" we are going to go away, just the two of us. We're thinking Vegas! but on second thought... maybe we should go to Mexico or the Caribbean so that I can wear a bathing suit and for the first time, feel good about myself in it.

The response to this blog from friends has been astounding... a few have even offered to start walking with me during the week and it seems as though I'm starting to motivate others... it's a movement. I know it seems pretty severe to put all this out there for the whole world to see, but we all have different ways to motivate ourselves and this is my way of doing it. I've tried to lose weight on my own, and well, clearly it didn't work, so now I'm trying to do it with the support of the world and I just know that this will work - this has to work.

To all those who are checking in on me I do want to send out the message that I am ok... I have never, nor will I ever judge my self-worth based upon my weight... I do know that I'm an incredible person and I have no intentions of changing who I am on the inside... but let's get real here folks... my exterior needs a make-over, BIG TIME. So I do appreciate ALL the encouragement and support and I just want you all to know that I'm not "beating-up" on myself, I'm just being real, and I'm still me.

In the beginning...

Well, I'm getting set to start my journey. I wonder if I'll begin looking at this as a second birthday, much like an organ transplant recipient looks at the day they received their new kidney or heart or lung.

This is how all this craziness will all go down...

I'm super blessed to have amazing people in my life, one of the most amazing persons is my bestest friend Mary. Mary will be my coach, my support, my encouragement, and also my whip ass during this process. She will be checking in on me... reading all my emails with my daily food journal of all the healthy (and hopefully not crap) that I consume each and every day. She will also be kicking my ass if I don't exercise, even if slightest bit, at a minimum of 5 days a week. Mary is a huge inspiration to me and I hope to be running next to her in a marathon in the next coming years.

Mary is putting together a fitness regime and a dietary plan for me and we both discussed that we need to start easy on me. I'm hoping for success, not utter frustration and failure. I don't want to start out running 2 miles when I can barely chase my dog Chloe down the street one block without getting winded. We're also trying to come up with a plan for a "negative reinforcement" each week I don't keep to my end of the bargain. My thought was to pay her $20/week that I eff-up and it's two fold - 1. because as nice as it is to get an extra $20 once in a while, Mary would HATE to take my money which will encourage her to encourage me (and to prove that she would hate getting the money, she suggested I send her a card or a had written letter - HA - love you Mar!) and 2. well, I'd HATE to lose $20/week because I couldn't get my lazy ass off the couch and walk around the block for 20 minutes. Any other ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm headed to a Weight Watchers meeting tomorrow night at 6pm. I've never been and I'm slightly nervous about the process, actually terrified. In fact I haven't weighed myself in probably 2 years and I wouldn't be shocked if I was pushing 200+ lbs at this point in my life, a number I am ashamed to share. I'm also in a size 16 pants and my tops are pushing 1X, although with hesitation, I'm sharing this with you so you can get an idea of just how big I am and have a comparison to where I'll be in a year. Mary and I agreed that we will do weigh-in's on Monday mornings and this will be a recording for my weekly progress. Oh... that reminds me, I have to buy a scale.

This is Mary and I back in November... not trying to flash you any cleavage or anything... but it's hard not too when your bazzoombas are as big as mine are. Most would hate to lose some boobage if they lost weight... I'm looking forward to it.