Sometimes it's hard to hang on to the pendulum

I started this post last September.  Funny, it's still an issue today.  Maybe not haha funny.  Ok, maybe funny is the wrong word. I'm laughing on the inside....maybe.  If I say maybe one more time.... ;)

I have ongoing issues with my knee, hip, and lower back that are in part caused by the extra weight and in part due to a specific injury.  Knee started 18 months ago, hip about 6 and lower back....well that's been a while.  Turns out having pooch out front puts pressure on your back.  

I did 4 months of aggressive PT for my knee and it made a huge difference!  Then I slowed my workout routine until it was pretty much non-existent.  Winter.  Bleh.  So last month I started back up again and guess what?!  I made the same mistake I always make.  OMG I'M SO HEALED AND MOTIVATED I'M GOING TO WORKOUT FOR AN HOUR.  I think you know where this is going.  Why?!  

Why does the pendulum have to swing so far to the extremes?  Can't we meet in the middle?  It's just less fun to start slow.  The beginning is so exciting, so motivating it's easy to get caught up in being excited for where I'll be in a couple months and skip all the progression needed to actually make it there.  

So I went back to injury mode and started feeling sorry for myself again.  Poor little me.  As a side note, it is really difficult to exercise with a knee injury.  Name one workout that doesn't involve the knee andddd GO.

I had the same feelings back after shoulder surgery.  I was big into running at the time and I was benched for 6 months.  It was rough.  I ate a lot which of course didn't help at all. But I digress.

We have a treadmill in the living room.  I literally have 0 excuses to not put on my brace and do 15 minutes.  I probably won't even sweat! Hey maybe I'm on to something there ;)

At work we have a wellness program that different activities earn points and points come together to become tiers and each tier is a certain amount of money I get.  I can redeem the money as Amazon gift cards (among a ton of other things) so it's basically cash.  So I need to get my butt on the treadmill and get my points!  I'll just keep reminding myself it's for the Amazon monies.  :)

Until next time,

:)

Time flies when you're....having fun?

Well well well.  It's been almost 2 years since my last post.  Funny how things work out.  

Let's do a quick recap: the last post my (now) H and I had just gotten engaged, we were about a year out from the wedding and I was excited about #sheddingforthewedding.

SO:
We ended up getting married May 8, 2015.  About 5 months later.  In premarital counseling, our officiant recommended moving it up because we were already behaving as a married couple so why wait?!  (NO WE WERE/ARE NOT PREGNANT). 

That ended up being awesome because the date we chose in January '16 we ended up being covered in 12" of ice and snow.  We're in the south, so as you can imagine we were under a state of emergency and bread and milk were nowhere to be found.

I managed to maintain my weight to fit in my wedding dress, but *BARELY*. You know those commercials where they show women doing every kind of acrobatics to fit into a pair of skinny jeans?  That's what I felt like.  NO BREATHING FOR YOU.

After we got married, I gained almost 20 pounds.  Ya know being happy (YAY we're married NO MORE WEDDING PLANNING) and all that.  :)

Pretty much maintained that for a few months.  Not trying, just so happened the number of calories I was eating was the maintenance calories for that weight.  Around 2500/day if I remember correctly, which I probably don't. ;)

It's easy to get caught up in the weeds and think that in over 18 months, literally nothing got accomplished.   But when I stop and think, a lot did happen, and most of it good, it just wasn't weight related.  

I'm now on a new journey and I will post more specific updates with all the new stuff coming soon.  

OH and did I mention we got a second cat?!?!?!  Coco (the original baby) on the right, Sebastian (the new baby) on the left.  They get along like they're out of the same litter. <3

Until next time,
:)

Another new year

Short version: School, stress, school, graduation, gained weight.  Okay, we're all caught up on the last year.  Cool beans.

Now that my fiancee and I are engaged (WHEEEEE!), a little motivation switch flipped and I thought, good grief, I don't want to look like this in wedding pictures!!! (Vein, but whatever works I guess).  

We're looking at about a year engagement so that leaves me about 6 months (or 4 if I really push it) before wedding dress shopping to get moving.

It's. ON.  #SheddingForTheWedding

Until next time,
:)  

I'm too excited to come up with a title :)

Well I had my Weight Watchers meeting tonight, and I LOST 3 POUNDS this week!!!

I had an inkling too.  I can tell when I feel smaller and I feel pretty good.  I *might* even be close to a size down.  Close.  I'm happy with the results of my hard work this week and can't wait to see what next week holds!  Hopefully more baked potatoes! :)  Um, now that I know how to cook them hehe.  mmmmmmmmm

Until next time,
:)

Having an accountability partner makes everything so much easier

My first time in Weight Watchers I remember there being a lot of discussions about things your spouse or accountability partner can help you with.  And I remember always being a little wallowy about it. At the time I lived at home, and while my Mom was kind of my accountability, it's hard to have that kind of relationship with a parent.  There's always that dynamic that Mom's telling me what to do...with that said, I do deeply appreciate what my Mom did to help me.  

This time around my boyfriend, Leigh (yes, same name :), and I are getting healthy together.  We're each other's accountability.  And it is SO helpful!  We usually share what we ate that day and I'm more likely to make better choices so I can brag on myself.  Just sayin'.  :) I've come to figure out that with a couple of staples, it can really be simple to eat healthy.  We joke because my boyfriend is the chef of the relationship.  I'm more fly by the seat of my pants.  He'll make some really awesome fancy dish that's SUPER yummy but my cooking skills can't touch.  My approach?  Put olive oil, salt, pepper on potato.  Put potato in aluminum foil.  Put potato in oven.  Take out 1 hour later.  Put stuff on it.  Eat.  

I've realized that while I can't make the fancy dishes (um, that's what I have him for!) I DO have legit cooking ability.  I can make yummy things.  So THERE.  OK, I'll admit, I totally had to google how to bake a potato, and the first one came out awful.  BUT that's ok because the second...and third were SOOOO yummy!  Even Mr. Chef thought so (high compliment thank you so much)

I've also figured out I'm a GREAT accountability partner.  So much so that if I'm not careful I can be annoying.  I'm that person that will point out if you're doing something you explicitly said you weren't going to do.  I'll do it politely and in private, but I'm gonna tell you!  And I'd appreciate you to do the same :)

Until next time,
:)

You have to be okay with going against the norm

We went to a Chinese buffet, which is a minor trigger for me.  I LOVE Chinese food.  And all you can eat??  Aw yeah.  But I made game changing moves that helped keep me on track:

1.  I only got one plate of food.  Total.
2.  Half of my first plate was salad.  
3.  The other half was a couple things I cannot live without at a Chinese buffet: sesame chicken and an egg roll.  

I was full but not stuffed, and I was able to enjoy the buffet while staying on track.

BAM

Until next time,
:)

Hope and a safe place go a long way

I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting last night.  When I walked in the group leader made me feel welcome, and didn't beat me up about rejoining (like I was in my head).  She welcomed me back and got me everything I need to get started.  

I forgot how safe I feel in Weight Watchers meetings.  How OK I am.  No one is there to judge me.  We're all in the same boat, and we're all there to support each other.  And boy what a difference that support makes.  You face a challenge, more than likely someone else has too and can offer guidance.  

The main thing I got from the meeting was hope.  I hit rock bottom, but I will reocver.  I am strong.  I will overcome the weight.  It will not end me.  

After the meeting I sat with the leader and went through the intro materials.  Even though she was busy and it was the end of her day, I got the impression she would have sat there all night with me if it would have helped.  

This morning I had scrambled cheesy eggs on top of low calorie toast with low fat cream cheese and a tomato.  Surprisingly YUMMY.  For lunch I had a morningstar farms sundried tomato basil hamburger patty on the sandwich thins.  And a tomato. Minimal effort for both meals, healthy and yummy.  I'm thinking baked potato for diner yummmmm.  Now I wish the weather would warm up so I can get back to my free outdoors exercise!  (RUNNING)

I can do this.

I will do this.  

I will overcome this.

And I will stop typing one sentence per paragraph.

Or maybe not. :)

Until next time,

:)