Friday, August 19, 2011

Stuck in a Rut

Well, as far as the weight loss goes, I am still stuck in a rut. I only have myself to blame and have made some really poor choices the past few weeks. I need to change my focus to me. I need to get to a point in my life where I feel I am good enough. Somewhere along the way, I stop believing that I was worth it and I am working really hard to change my mind. It's an internal battle that goes deep into some issues I have failed to deal with. I know it is the reason that I have not been consistent and also the reason I find it so hard to love myself.

Another thing that is holding me back is the rollercoaster of emotions that I am feeling for a certain man. This has been a rollercoaster that I have been on for 18 years of my life. No, that is not a typo - I have loved the same man (in one way or another) for 18 years. It started as a childhood crush but grew and matured over the years. Now mind you, I have never been with this man but we have been friends for a long time. I have tried many times to "get over it" but I just can't seem to convince my heart that it's time to let go. There are days I swear we will end up together eventually. Then there are others that I wonder if I have wasted 18 years of my life? This emotional battle that I face definitely has an effect on my success. Food has always been my comfort and I turn to it when I am sad, confused, worried, etc. So this does not help me and I wish I knew what the future held and how it would all end up. It would make letting go so much easier!

One thing that has improved greatly in my life is my career. I can tell you that I am happier than ever when it comes to that. I love my job and the company. I feel like I have fit in like I've always been there and I adore my co-workers. It really has brought much happiness into my life in the three short weeks I have been there!

So, onward I push on this rollercoaster of life. I will not give up - EVER! Thanks for all the love and support you've all shown me as I share some of my very personal thoughts and feelings. All advice is welcomed and appreciated - even if it's not the advice I want to hear! :-)

~Heidi

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The "Cursed Number"

Hello all! Life has been going well for me. I am frustrated with my scale and there is this one certain number that has given me problems in the past. I hover around that number for weeks before I am able to break through it. This has happened to me in the past with this exact same number. I am determined to break through before next week. I did lose one pound last week so I am getting closer to pushing past that dreaded number that I hope to never see again on the scale!

I have been taking longer walks. So long in fact that I have to leave the dog at home because she doesn't like to walk that far. She's kind of a princess you know! :-) It has been a really great time for me to put on my iPod and get lost in my thoughts and music. I find myself thinking a lot about happiness and what that looks like to me. I can honestly say I don't know. I am happy for the most part but I feel like something is missing. I have no idea what it is but I can say that whatever it is, I long for it - if that makes any sense at all.

I do love my new job and already feel so comfortable in the office and with my co-workers. That is a great feeling! I had a few requests for an updated picture of me, so here is one from the last weekend in July (with one of my very best friends, Jamie).
I still have a long way to go but I am so much farther than I was just a year ago! I am actually 65 pounds lighter than I was in June of 2010. I hope to do much better in the next year and kick it into higher gear but I will celebrate every victory, every pound and every moment in my life that I feel like I am living! Because I no longer want to watch my life pass me by, I now want to be an active participant!

Thanks for sticking with me! It means so much to have your love and support!!

~Heidi

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Week One of My New Job!

So, I am sad to say that I did not lose any weight last week. It is not a total surprise to me as I made some poor choices at the end of the week and over the weekend. I have been doing better this week but still feel a bit "off". My average is still 3.5 pounds a week and that's nothing to sneeze at! I just wish I could stay strong all the time but I tend to turn to food for comfort and I hate that!

I went for a really long, warm walk on Sunday evening and it felt great! I went without the dog because she is a wimp when it comes to heat! I put my IPod on and just kept walking. I know I walked close to 2 miles and I probably could have kept going except it was so humid that I was literally dripping with sweat!

My first week of work has been going great so far. I am already more comfortable there than I ever was at my previous job. I also haven't cried once at the new job and that is way better than the first week of my former job! The drive is a little longer but I really don't mind it and if the freeqay is really bad, then I just take 101 which is a nice scenic route of sorts!

Well, I just thought I'd do my weekly check in and let you know how it's going.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

So far, so great!

I am happy (and surprised) to report that the dog is panting harder than me after our long, very warm walk tonight! It felt great and I literally could have kept going! I have had so much more energy since I have chosen to make better food and nutrition choices. I am actually looking forward to my walks and using my kettle bell before bed.

This first week has been a great one. I am very happy to report that this past week, the first week that I have really kicked it into gear again, I lost 7.2 pounds!!! I am looking good to hit my year end goal of 60 pounds lost, I may even blow right by that number before the year is over and I'll be okay with that!

It is so hard to be motivated at a job that has made you miserable for the last three months when you know you only have 2 days left! I am trying so hard to keep my head into it and get the temp up to speed but it is so hard. I am so excited to start my new job on Monday and I really feel like this is where I'm meant to be. For the first time in a very long time, I am super excited about my future!! I may never be a Corporate Executive making hunreds of thousands of dollars but I will be making enough and completely happy knowing that the company I work for truly makes a difference in the lives of so many children!

So as my blog title says; So far, so great!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Back on Track

It has been so long since I have updated this blog. I'm not sure anyone still checks it after all this time. I just wanted to let anyone that may check it know that I am back on track. I have a new secret motivation that seems to be working well. I have lost 5.8 pounds since Tuesday! Things seem to be going right for me all of sudden and that scares the crap out of me because my instinct tells me to beware because this good fortune can't last... Then my faith kicks in and tells instinct to shut up and I am faced with an internal battle that 1/2 of me will lose.

I am also very happy to report that on the heels of my new motivation (that I hope to share with you all someday soon but I need to keep it to myself at this point), I have also landed a job that I have wanted for so very long. I have always wanted to work in non-profit. My friend Jen works for the MN Autism Center and it just so happens they were in need of a Controller to take the place of an employee who is moving on and I got the job! I have never been so excited to start a new job in my whole life!

I was absolutely miserable at my current job and giving my notice on Friday felt like a huge weight off my shoulders. Maybe that was the 5.8 pounds I lost this week... LOL!!

Well, if anyone is still reading this, thanks for sticking with me. I lost my way for a bit but I have found a path and the sun is shining brightly all along it!!

~Heidi

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Missed Meeting

Well it's Saturday and I had every intention of walking to my meeting again this morning. Then last night I got a call and the opportunity to have an interview at 9:00am this morning. The meeting was in St. Louis Park so I needed to leave my house a little after 8:00am. So, needless to say, I took the interview and skipped the meeting. I did my own weigh-in at home though and even put on my "weigh-in" outfit (that I wear every week to my meeting). My home scale showed I was down 1.2 pounds and I'm good with that! I struggled a bit with my eating and did not track faithfully as I normally do. I am happy with 1.2 pounds and getting so close to my 25 pound milestone where I will receive my first charm for my key chain! Just thought I'd give a quick update for those who check in each week to see what I've lost! Take care and I will update more later this week!

Have a great weekend and a HEALTHY DAY!!

~Heidi

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Weigh-In Walk

Sorry about my lack of posts. School is over and for some reason, I seem busier than ever! I guess it’s probably the constant job search that I am now a prisoner to. I have been sending out resumes like mad and have yet to hear back from any of them! I am hoping that my unique combination of accounting, human resources, payroll and transportation will work to my advantage eventually. My graduation ceremony was really nice and I was one of two of us that was graduating with a Bachelors degree. I had my own little cheering section that consisted of my mom, my sister Heather and her husband Chris, my nephew and niece (Gunnar and Grace), and my dear friend Jen. All of these people were also at my first ceremony ten years ago when I graduated with my Associates degree. We went to dinner afterward to celebrate and it turned out to be a very nice night!



Yesterday was a very stressful day as my beloved Bella (dog) had three seizures in a row. It was very scary and heart-breaking to watch. I just held her in my lap and pet her as it happened. She kept looking to make sure I was there. Just as I thought she was done, another would start. Finally after the third, she jumped up and started running around and wanting to go outside. I had a vet appointment that morning because Bella needed a few shots but I called and told them what was going on and they said to bring her in as soon as she could walk or I could get her into the car. We spent an hour and a half at the vet and the only thing she could find was low phosphorus levels. So we are treating with a multi-vitamin that has phosphorus in it and see if that works. If she experiences more seizures, we may need to treat with Phenobarbital. Cluster seizures (more than one in a row) are not a good thing and may be a sign that we will need to treat with medication. We’re going to try to the vitamin and see if that works otherwise we will be looking to other treatment methods. I cannot tell you how happy I am that I have a great pet insurance policy for Bella! It has saved me THOUSANDS of dollars this year alone!! She seems to be doing okay for now but I dread having to see her go through anymore seizures!!



This morning, I woke up at 6:45am (on a Saturday – UGH!). I got dressed, brushed my hair and teeth and took the dog out to go potty. Brought the dog back into the house and proceeded to walk to my Weight Watchers meeting! It is just over a mile and I thought it was nice enough that I wouldn’t get too cold. It was a nice brisk walk and I took my time arriving at my meeting early at 7:20am. Weigh-in starts at 7:30am and the actual meeting starts at 8:00am. I am happy to report that I lost another two pounds. Now keep in mind – this is over two weeks because I missed last weeks meeting. I am okay with his number though for two reasons. 1. I have now lost a total of 21.8 pounds since joining WW! 2. I did not track my points last week and know that I made some not so good choices because of it.

After the meeting I walked home. I am not feeling so hot and really hurting. It isn’t the walk that did me in though; it is the residual pain from my Thursday night mishap. On Thursday night, I tool the dog outside to go potty before bed. It was raining pretty hard so I had my umbrella in one hand and the leash in the other. As we were walking across the lawn back to the parking lot, I stepped on a small patch of snow. Well this snow was covered in rain which made it extremely slippery. I could feel my foot lose control and both feet went up in the air and I came down hard on my right side. I heard a crunch and felt some pain although I couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. My first thought was to pop up and make sure no one saw! I got up and was happy that everything seemed to be working. I went to bed and woke up with a horrible strained neck, a sore shoulder and sore ankle. Here’s the kicker though – the pain is on my left side but I fell on my right side. So I must have jarred things across my body or something. So after the walk home from the meeting, my neck, shoulder and ankle are very sore.

Today, I am going to help my nephew with his health class project which consists of him making a meal and figuring out the nutrition information and then presenting it in a creative way. So I will be taking pictures and helping him and then we are going to put a PowerPoint together for him to present his project with! It should be a lot of fun. He is going to make white chicken chili in bread bowls and we are going to have strawberry shortcake for dessert! Tomorrow is another awards show so I will be heading to my sister Heather’s house for that! It’s kind of a tradition that we get together for any/all awards shows that are on! So I have a fun, relaxing weekend ahead and looking forward to it!

Have a great weekend and a HEALTHY DAY!!

~Heidi

Monday, March 21, 2011

Graduation!

Well, I am very happy and excited to report that I am officially finished with all of my schoolwork and finals! I will be graduating on Thursday evening with honors!! I can’t believe I am done already and finally have my Bachelors degree! Now comes the hard part – finding a job in my chosen field. I have already applied for multiple Human Resource positions. Now I just have to keep looking and hope that someone can see what I have to offer.

I have been taking advantage of the nice weather we’ve been having. Bella and I have been exploring our neighborhood by walking as much as we can. Every time we go out, I take a different path and change up the walk a bit to keep it interesting. Our walks have each been right around a mile and there are days that we’ve gone out twice! I love walking and sure hope this short cold front/snow that is coming is as short as they are predicting. I really need spring to stick around so I can feel as great as I have this past week!

Now that I am finished with school, I am looking forward to reading more! I have a book that I have been reading for a few weeks. I only read one chapter or less a night and it is taking me forever to finish. It’s a great book and now I can devote a little more time to getting it read! I then have a book that my friend Jen loaned to me and she says it’s a great one so I am looking forward to reading that as well.

My journey is going great and I can honestly say that I have not been this happy and content with my life in a very long time. It’s funny how everything had to go wrong in my life for me to get on the right track. I am so excited about my future and can’t wait to see what God has in store for me! I really feel like good things are brewing.

Have a Healthy Day!!
Heidi

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Not Quite...

I did not make my 20 pound milestone as I'd hoped. I came close - losing 1.6 pounds this past week but missed it by 0.4 pounds! No sweat though because I know I will likely make it next week! I am simply happy that the scale continues to go in the right direction - DOWN! I can't be disappointed with that!

Have a Healthy Day and a great weekend!
~Heidi

Friday, March 18, 2011

My Newest Goal

I have been looking forward to certain milestones - 5%, 25 pound, 10% and so on until of course I reach my ultimate goal. Along the way, Weight Watchers says to give yourself small goals in which you will allow yourself non-food rewards. I finally picked a goal and reward that is feasible and will make me work hard to reach it. I have decided that when I am out of the 300's - I am going to get myself a bike! I have not been on a bike in ages and I miss it. I have found that many bikes are able to withstand about 300 pounds max so that is my next goal and I have less than 20 pounds to go to get there!! I have already found a few that I am considering. Here is one that I think is cute and it has Ipod speakers on it!!

Tomorrow is weigh-in and I am really hoping for 2 pounds so I can officially have lost 20 pounds since starting WW. I will be happy with any loss though. Especially since I have allowed myself to use most of my extra weekly "indulgence" points this week!

Until tomorrow - Have a Healthy Day!
~Heidi 

Saturday, March 12, 2011

5% Goal!!

Today I am proud to report that I have reached my initial 5% goal! I have lost a total of 18 pounds since starting Weight Watchers. I am choosing to set small goals along the way in order to make my journey seem a little more attainable. My next goal will be my 10% goal and I am only 15 pounds away from that goal!! My ultimate goal is 150 pounds and it is getting closer every day!

The plan is so easy it seems crazy that I haven't been able to do this sooner. I guess it's true what people say - you can't achieve anything until you want to and believe you can. That is the difference this time. I am not only ready for the change, I also believe with all my heart that I can do it! I will work for however long it takes to reach my goal. After reaching my goal, I will then have to work for the rest of my life to maintain it. It is a life long choice, not a diet.

Yesterday was my nephew Gunnar's 7th birthday. Today is his party and our parties always include lots of food! I will go to the party prepared. I will bring my own baked chips and have only one sloppy joe. I also plan on bringing some fruit with me and Weight Watchers snack in case I am hungry or tempted by all the good food. I will allow myself a small piece of cake and I will enjoy every bite of it! That is the part of Weight Watchers that makes it easy - there is no food that is off limits. In fact in my meetings, the leader encourages each of us to "treat" ourselves every week by having something that we enjoy and use our extra points to have it. When no food is "off limits" you find that you don't want the bad stuff as much.

So my life continues down this path, slow and steady. But you know what they say, "slow and steady wins the race!" My graduation is approaching and I will soon (I hope) be re-entering the working world. It feels like I was given a fresh start. I've been given a chance to wipe my slate clean and my life is whatever I chose to make it. What a refreshing feeling! I look forward to my future, whatever it may bring.

Have a Healthy Day!
~Heidi

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Rebounding Nicely

So far this has been a good week. According to my scale at home, I have achieved my 5% goal! By the time I make weigh-in on Saturday, I may even hit my 20 pounds lost mark! I feel great this week and can see the correlation between eating and how I feel. I think that my change in habits is really making me better overall.

I had been having horrible nightmares and awful, violent dreams. My sleep suffered for a few weeks and I started to think about things I was doing that may have affected my sleep and dreams. I realized that the vampire books I was reading had a lot to do with my nightmares. I stopped reading them and the violence was gone from my dreams immediately. I decided to start reading Christian based books and they have helped to lift my soul and lighten my dreams. I am feeling good mentally and physically and that feels great!

Today is Ash Wednesday and I will be attending service with my nephew. It is a part of his confirmation program and he has chosen me as his mentor again this year. I will attend services with him every Wednesday through Lent and after services, we talk about the sermon and how it affects our lives. I have done this for my older nephew and it’s been a really great experience.

I am so happy that today’s snow storm missed us and I loved seeing the sun yesterday. I am enjoying the warmer temps and sure hoping that it keeps up. I am actually looking forward to getting out, walking the dog and being physically active. That is definitely a first for me and again – it feels good.

I am started to job hunt and that is one of the only stressers in my life at the moment. School is done in two weeks and I will have my Bachelors degree! I still can’t believe that. It was always on my list of things I’d like to do but never thought I’d get around to. That is why I have to believe that my life will work out just the way it is meant to. It has so far and God hasn’t let me done yet. That is why I am choosing to trust him and believe that there is something out there for me. I just have to pray for the patience it will take to wait for that something to come along!

Well, back to Hot in Cleveland. Thank you Netflix for turning me onto this hilarious sitcom. I can’t believe I haven’t seen it until now. It is pretty funny and makes me laugh!

Have a Healthy Day!

~Heidi

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Quick update...

Didn't make my 5% this week but I know I will hit it next week! I did lose so that is great! I lost 0.2 pounds! I only needed to lose 0.5 so I was really close but hey, it's a loss and I'll take it!! My mom's party was awesome and I was able to see and chat with a lot of family and friends (some I haven't seen in quite a while)! I did great with the food around and after putting everything I ate in my tracker (even the cake that I allowed myself to have), I still have 17 points left to use today! So I guess I did better than okay - I did great! Now I've got to get to work on my schoold papers!

Have a Healthy Day!!
~Heidi

Friday, March 4, 2011

Weigh-In Tomorrow....

So tomorrow is weigh-in and I have no idea what to expect. As of last week, I was still up from vacation. As I said in my last post, I had a pretty bad weekend so I am not expecting a huge number. I would be thrilled with a ½ pound! That is because it would put me at my 5% goal  If I am a ½ lighter than I was at my last official weigh-in (right before my vacation), I will have lost 5% of my body weight!! That would be awesome! So here’s hoping…

This has been a busy week! I have been getting ready for my mom’s 70th birthday party tomorrow! I have also been getting some school work done as I only have 3 weeks left!! I also have 4 papers to write in those 3 weeks! Actually, make that 3 because I finished one today!

I don’t have a whole lot to say today. Just thought I’d check in and let you know I am on track and have stayed with in my points since Monday! I haven’t been very good about exercise and I really need to get on that but I am on track with my eating and feeling better about life in general!

I will post tomorrow after weigh-in but it will probably be pretty short because I have a party to set up for!!

Have a Healthy Day!

Monday, February 28, 2011

Weekend Woes

Well it seems that “getting back on the horse” is not as easy as I’d hoped it would be. I woke up early on Saturday morning for weigh-in and had a slight head-ache. Instead of shaking it off and getting dressed for my meeting, I chose to go back to bed and skip it. I knew I had gained weight on vacation and that I was not back to where I was before it. I allowed this reality to weigh me down (no pun intended) and it set my weekend off on the wrong foot. I completely disregarded tracking my food for the weekend and found myself eating way more than I should have. I went out to eat and even to Cold Stone afterward. It was as if the old me was creeping back in. I even said (out loud), “if I’m going to blow it – I might as well blow it big!” So that is what I did. I of course felt like crap about it later but I chose to let go of the weekend and start fresh this morning. I am well within my points and my body seems to be thanking me for reverting back to healthier choices. The weight on my shoulders seems a little lighter and I feel like I have more energy.

As of yesterday, I decided to start and end my day with devotion. I have a book that is based on the Left Behind series. A series of books that I read a few years ago and that really changed my life. It has been very good for my soul and has reminded me that my faith will never fail me – as long as I don’t fail it. There is a song on KTIS and the first verse is:

Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you're stronger, stronger than you know
Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining

This song seems to come on my radio every time I need to hear it, including this weekend. It was the song that I “adopted” as my anthem after being laid off from my job over a year ago. Every time I listen to it, I realize that it really applies to my life in general. And it is the inspiration that has allowed me to let go of my past hurts and failures and move on. Today I forgive myself for losing my way this past weekend and I accept my mistake and will move forward and strive to do better. It is all I can do because dwelling on my mistakes will only drag me down and enable me to give up.

So onward and upward I go. I will attend my meeting on Saturday come hell or high water. I will weigh in whether the scale shows a loss or a gain. I will accept accountability for every part of my journey and I will use my failures and mistakes to rise from the ashes and become stronger than I knew.

My mom’s 70th birthday party is on Saturday which will prove to be a challenge with all of the good food I know will be there. I will allow myself to eat some of it but I will carefully track every morsel that goes into my mouth so I know exactly where I stand at the end of the day. I am excited to celebrate my mom and have family and friends together in her honor.

As far as school, I was surprised to realize I will be graduating with my bachelor’s degree in 3 ½ weeks!! I cannot believe everything happened so quickly. I am excited and scared all at the same time. I am ready to be done with school but it also means that I will need to work harder than ever to find a job and re-enter the “working world”! I have had a hard time finding any HR jobs in my area but of course there seems to be an over abundance of accounting jobs. So I may find myself back in accounting depending how the job market goes. I like accounting and I am good at it, I just hoped to find a position that allowed me to interact more with people (which is why my degree emphasizes human resources). I will leave it in God’s hands and believe that the right position will find me and that it will be exactly what I need!

Well, I’d better get back to my Monday and at least look at my school work for the week.

Have a Healthy Day!
~Heidi

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Set Backs

Well, I can say that vacation was a major set back for me. I had the best of intentions to track my food and even to weigh in while I was in Savannah. Neither of these things happened and my body definitely paid the price! When I started this blog I promised that I would share everything, not just the success stories. I can tell you that according to my home scale, I gained 7 pounds on vacation. This number has taught me 7 things.

  1. Tracking your food is crucial to your success.
  2. It is much easier to gain weight than it is to lose weight.
  3. I need to be held accountable (i.e. weigh-in every week) in order to be successful.
  4. Gaining weight is not failure, it is a set back. It is only failure if I chose to quit.
  5. I need to work really hard in the next few weeks to get back to where I was.
  6. The only person that was hurt by my set back is me.
  7. I felt like crap when I ate like crap.

So it is with this knowledge that I happily continue my journey with Weight Watchers and a total lifestyle change. Sometimes we need to encounter set backs in order to understand how to change future behaviors.

I will tell you that I did a lot of physical activity while on vacation. I am so proud to report that I made it to the top of the Tybee Island Lighthouse. This was 178 stairs and it was brutal! I made it up much quicker than I thought I would and the views from the top were amazing! Coming down the steps seemed to actually be harder than going up. My legs literally ached for three days afterwards. My quads have never worked so hard in their lives and they let me know it. It was so amazing though and I am so happy I pushed myself not to quit and make it to the top.




The other activity I did was walking around downtown, historic Savannah. We went on an on/off trolley tour and spent most of the time off the trolley walking around and shopping. I would say that I walked a good five hours that day. It was an amazing experience and I did more activity than I knew I could.

This week has started off well and I have already dropped 2 of the 7 pounds that I gained on vacation. My body is thanking me for getting back on track and I physically feel much better. Now if I could just figure out the emotional and mental feelings that have been plaguing me, I’d be all set. I think that I have some kind of post-vacation blues. It was like I had something to look forward to for so long and now it’s over. Also going from beautiful 70 degree weather to 12 inches of snow is enough to damper a mood. I do have graduation to look forward to but I think that scares me as well because then I need to focus on finding a job and that stresses me out and scares me all at once!

I will say that I have total faith that I am where I’m supposed to be and whatever happens is what is meant to happen in my life. I know God has a plan for me and I trust that with all my heart.



Have a Healthy Day!
~Heidi

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Vacation!!

I am so sorry it has taken me this long to post on my blog. This has been an amazing vacation and the most fun I’ve had in a long time! I did not make it to the weigh-in this morning in Savannah. I was too tired to pull myself out of bed that early! I am almost positive that I have gained a little weight but that just means I’ll have to work harder this week so that I at least hit my 5% goal a week from Saturday!!

We have done so much here in Georgia that I don’t even know where to begin… I guess I will start at the beginning. I will skip the drive here and jump to Sunday when we drove from Paducah, KY to Atlanta, GA. In Atlanta we dropped Bella off at a doggie daycare for a few hours. We visited the Jimmy Carter museum and had lunch at a really cute little pub. Then we were onto Savannah where we settled into our hotel for the week.

Monday we took a 90 minute trolley tour of downtown Savannah and then went off to explore Tybee Island. I think that was my favorite part of my vacation. We rented an open-air electric car (looked like a golf cart) and tooled around the island for about 6 hours. We walked on the beach and had lunch overlooking the ocean. It was about 71° and sunny – a perfect day to enjoy an island!!



Tuesday was our Paula Deen tour. We were supposed to have lunch at Uncle Bubba’s (Paula Deen’s brother’s restaurant) but they were closed for renovations so we got to eat at The Lady and Sons instead (which is Paula Deen’s restaurant)! I was happy about that but the food was definitely NOT Weight Watchers friendly!! J After the tour, we picked up Bella and went to Fort Pulaski (dogs are welcome there). We then drove to South Carolina so I could say I’ve been and get a spoon for my collection!



Wednesday, we drove to Middleburg, Florida (about a 2.5 hour drive). We got to visit my cousin Brett’s wife and their adorable little boy. Brett is deployed right now so we weren’t able to see him but glad we could visit with Meghan and Andrew and see their beautiful home!


Today we took an on/off trolley tour that allowed us to explore as much of Historic Downtown Savannah that we wanted to! I shopped and we had lunch at a little Irish pub that had GREAT food!


 

Although I am sad to be leaving tomorrow, I think I am ready to go home. It’ll be nice to sleep in my own bed and get back into my routine! Weigh-in will be a week from Saturday and I hope that I am able to report that I have achieved my 5% goal by that day! Although I have not been counting points and I have enjoyed many goodies, I have been getting a lot of exercise and trying to be semi-conscious of what I am consuming! I think I may have gained a little weight but I am not worried about it begin a set-back in any way!

For those of you who don’t have Facebook – I have taken a TON of pictures that I’d be happy to share with you when I get home.

Have a Healthy Day!!
~Heidi

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Georgia - Here I Come!!!

Sorry about the lack of updates. I’ve been busy getting ready for my road trip. I did all of my homework for this week and next so that I won’t have much to do while I’m on vacation. I will still have a few things to do so I am bringing my books and computer with me. I’ve been looking at the forecast and Sunday is supposed to be 65° and sunny and Monday is 67° and sunny! That sounds perfect to me!!

Because I have so much still to do, I decided to go and weigh in today. I am thrilled to say that I am down another FIVE pounds. That is awesome seeing it hasn’t been a full week since my last weigh in. I have the address of a Weight Watchers in Savannah and will weigh in again next week on Thursday. I am not expecting to lose next week but I would at least like to see where I’m at and make sure I don’t get too far off track. I won’t be discouraged no matter what though. I am only a half pound away from hitting my first goal of 5% of my starting weight!!

So, we are so excited to get on the road that we decided to leave tomorrow instead of Saturday. Bella is being groomed at 11am and my mom and I will do some last minute shopping and have lunch during that. Than we will pick her up and head out! We are going to drive to Madison tomorrow and stay there for the night. Then on to Paducah, KY and stay there Saturday night. Then onto Savannah on Sunday with a stop in Atlanta for the Jimmy Carter museum and lunch! I have Bella set up for daycare for a few hours in Atlanta. We hope to be in Savannah by 8pm at the latest!

I have gotten SO much done in the past week – it’s amazing! I am so ready to go and glad that we are taking our time with the driving since I am the only driver…

Well, I will do my best to blog on vacation and not let too much time go between posts! I know some of you check everyday and are disappointed when I haven’t updated (sorry Val)!! Have a great week everyone and the next time you hear from me – I will be on the road to Savannah!!

Have a Healthy Day!!
~Heidi

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Weigh-In #4

I went to weigh-in today with a number in my head that I wanted to lose. Three pounds. Three pounds would get me to a total of ten pounds since I started. That would be ten pounds in one month or an average of 2.5 pounds a week. I thought that sounded good and I knew it would make me feel good. But I did not lose three pounds this week – I lost FOUR!!! Woo-Hoo!!! And I was right – it felt great! I knew I had done pretty well this week because I could feel a difference. I did not do as much “structured” exercise like the treadmill, but I did do little things that made a difference. I would park at the back of the lot at the grocery store. Or when I took Bella out to go potty, I would walk her a little farther even if it was cold (as long as she had her Mutt Luks on to protect her paw pads)! Whatever I did, it worked and I’m going to keep doing it!!

I had planned on not counting points on my vacation but I think I may have changed my mind about that… I think that I will write down everything I eat while on vacation and then at night in the hotel, plunk the food into my online tracker to see where I’m at. I will happily use my activity points and my indulge points for the week and even if I go over, I think it will be important to track so I can see where I’m at. I also thought I wouldn’t be going to weigh-in for two weeks but I think I have found a solution to that as well… I am going to weigh-in Friday morning at the WW in Maple Grove this week. Then, while I am in Savannah, I am going to weigh-in Thursday or Friday morning at a meeting in Savannah! I will not be discouraged if I gain weight on vacation but I think knowing I am going to weigh-in will keep me accountable and more mindful of my choices while on vacation!

I had a very nice end to a fairly stressful week. I had some maintenance done on my car in order to get it ready for the road trip. A friend of mine from high school is married to a guy that manages Discount Brake & Auto Repair in Blaine (http://www.dicountbrake.net/). I was very happy with the service! I had quite a few things done and I know I got a great price. They even told me my car was in pretty good shape and everything looked good for a road trip. If I had taken it to Tires Plus as I have in the past, I know there would have been a list of things that needed to be fixed before they would tell me it was ready for a road trip!

While the work on my car was being done, my friend Val picked me up and we went to lunch with some of the Home Valu “loser group”. Those would be those who lost their jobs at Home Valu and are still unemployed! LOL I had a great time catching up with them and eating some Subway. I even passed up Dairy Queen when two of them decided to get a treat. It wasn’t that I felt I couldn’t have it, I just didn’t want to waste points on it so I could have a good dinner.

After I picked my car up, I headed to Bob’s Produce Ranch in Fridley for their annual meat sale and stocked up on meat for the freezer. Now we just have the freezer that is part of our refrigerator so we don’t have much room but we got a lot packed in there! I got ground beef (5 lbs), a pork roast, bone-in pork spare ribs (4), thick cut pork chops (2), smoked pork chops (4), a sirloin tip roast, a whole beef tenderloin, boneless bottom steaks (4) and beef stew meat (2lbs) along with some onions, green peppers and Snickerpoodles dog treats for $92.47 – for a total savings of $40.90!! I thought that was a great deal and Bob’s has really good quality meat!! Then I went to Cub where I bought a few staples we needed and I also bought myself some WW ice cream treats as a reward for passing up the Dairy Queen earlier. I am proud to say that I am starting to make good choices!

This weekend is going to be a homework weekend again. I have to watch a documentary and create a presentation on its persuasion techniques. I have chosen to watch Super Size Me and I think that is fitting for my current situation and new change of lifestyle. Then I have a few minor assignments to do and turn in by tomorrow evening. I also need to get a start on next week and the following week’s work so I am read for vacation! We are having our annual city inspection here at the apartment on Wednesday so I want to clean my room and bathroom. They aren’t too bad so it won’t take long but it needs to be done anyway so it’s a good excuse to get it done.

This week is going to be busy getting everything ready for our road trip! I have so many things I want to get done before we go. I will have to make a few lists. I am one of those people who like to make lists so I can check things off and see my accomplishments on paper! So I will make a list of what needs o be done, what needs to be purchased and what needs to be packed. Then by the end of the week, I will hope to have everything checked off and ready!

So, I am off to start my weekend (and maybe catch a few more winks of sleep)! Have a wonderful weekend and a Healthy Day!!

~Heidi

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Hectic Life

Sorry it has been a few days since I posted. Some probably thought I gave up after my weight gain but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I am on track and feeling pretty good! The last few days have been crazy hectic and I sure hope that stress doesn’t hinder weight loss or I may gain 50 pounds this week alone!

Yesterday I was so frustrated because my computer cord was not working. I apparently had a bad power source. I really had to work on some homework so I went to Office Max. Nope, they don’t carry power cords for laptops. WHAT? REALLY? So they sent me to Radio Shack. I purchased a $100 cord and got it home to find out it didn’t fit my Toshiba! Went back to Radio Shack where the salesman was baffled because he’s never had that happen. Got my refund and went to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart tried to sell me the identical one I had just returned to Radio Shack. When I told them it didn’t fit, he too was baffled. Then he asked me to get my computer so he could try the other cord they had. I went back out into the frigid air (I had forgotten my coat because I was so frustrated when I left) and got my laptop. Hauled it back in and finally found a cord that fit! Walked out the door and the alarms went off. Apparently, they forgot to deactivate the security tag. He had to call back to electronics because the thing was out of the b x from when we tested the cord. Finally he deactivated the tag and I was able to leave.

Now fast forward to this morning. I get a call from my mom saying that my dog can’t walk! She is dragging her back end and shaking and breathing funny. I put my niece in the car and off I go back home. I called the vet in town and they said, hmm – that’s weird. We can see her at 10am. Now mind you it is currently 8:25am and they want me to wait until 10am. I called her regular vet in Coon Rapids and they said bring her in and we will get her right in. I got home and she met me at the door. My mom said that was the first time she was able to get up. She still seemed a little off kilter but she was at least walking. I decided since she was walking I would take her to Coon Rapids. We saw my favorite vet, Dr. Elton (who loves Goldens) so I felt good about my decision to bring her there. He checked her over and did a neurological exam and found nothing out of the ordinary. He then suggested a heartworm test and blood work which I immediately agreed to. All tests were fine with the exception of low phosphorous levels. He said this could mean she may have had a seizure or it could just be low because she hadn’t eaten yet today. He was very nice and answered all my questions. He said to keep an eye on her and be comforted by the fact that all the tests showed she is in good health. He gave me his card and said to call him if we had any problems now or even on the road in a few weeks for our trip. Bella seems to be doing fine now and we are hoping it was a one time thing. I was a mess because this dog is my world. She really is like my child and I adore her!



I have stayed on points this week but my activity has not been as much as it has been in the past few weeks. I really need to get back in the habit of heading over to the fitness center on a regular basis and quit making excuses! I stepped on the scale this morning and was encouraged. I hope the trend continues to Saturday. Saturday will be my last weigh in for two whole weeks because of vacation. Here’s hoping for a great number to keep me encouraged all through vacation!

Sorry about the lack of updates, but know that I am on track and not giving up!

Have a Healthy Day!
~Heidi

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Darn Scale!

Well, I am disappointed to report that I gained weight this week. It was only 0.6 pounds but it was still a gain. I am a little frustrated because I stuck to the plan and didn’t really do anything different than I did last week. I knew it wasn’t a good week though because I just didn’t feel right. I’m not sure how to explain it; it was just the way I felt. I’m sure the unemployment stress didn’t help! I will not let this discourage me however because I understand that there are going to be “down” weeks and that I will not always lose weight every week. This is a life change and it is going to take work and time and I am in it for the long haul. This just means I need to work a little harder this week so I can hit my 10 pound mark in my 4th week. If I could lose 10 pounds a month, that’d be awesome!

I bought a Punch workout today with weighted boxing gloves and a DVD workout. It is a Weight Watchers product and I have heard good things about it. I have always wanted to do boxing or kick-boxing so I think this will be a good start. It will give me a little variety so I don’t get bored with the treadmill.

I had a wonderful day today with my dear friend Jamie. We shopped and went to lunch and just talked like we always do. It is so very easy to talk to Jamie about any and everything which makes getting together so much fun and relaxing.

I have a bunch of homework to do because I procrastinated this week and didn’t do much at all. So I am off to get a start on some of it and I will finish up tomorrow.

Have a Healthy Day!
~Heidi

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Keeping Busy

I have got a busy weekend ahead of me! Tonight is my mandatory graduation meeting. They are offering one online meeting and it is tonight from 6-7. If I don’t “attend” this meeting, then I must go to the Richfield campus sometime next week and I definitely don’t want to do that so I will log in to tonight’s meeting and figure out what I need to do in order to graduate in March!

Tomorrow I am taking Bella to get an updated Bordatella shot. She will need it in order to attend doggie daycare in Georgia. She usually only gets it once a year but the place I am taking her to requests it be within 6 months. It doesn’t matter to me because her Banfield care plan covers two shots a year. Then tomorrow night I am going with my mom and some family/friends to dinner at Sarna’s in Columbia Heights. I hate to eat out the night before weigh in but I will just find something on that menu that falls within my points and I should be fine.

Saturday morning is of course weigh-in and then I am heading to St. Cloud to meet my dear friend Jamie for some shopping and lunch. We have been trying to get together for awhile now and I think we’re finally going to make it happen! I am looking forward to it!!

Then I need to use the rest of my weekend to get some homework done! I have been putting it off this week and that means it piles up and has to be done on the weekend. I want to get back on track and get things turned in early so I can get ahead of the game before vacation!

Sometimes I think keeping busy helps keep me on track. I guess if I am out and about and doing things, I don’t think about hunger or cravings. I have become a little obsessed with a game on Facebook called Baking Life. It is similar to Farm Ville but instead of running a farm, you run a bakery. Of course I have wanted to run my own bakery so I had to try it out. Now I am slightly addicted and check on my “ovens” regularly. It is pretty pathetic but like I said, if I’m busy, I don’t think about food.

Speaking of cake, I ordered my mom’s birthday cake from a bakery in Savannah. I found them on the internet and read good reviews. I ordered the Hummingbird cake that has banana and pineapple in it. The lady said it is one of their most popular flavors. They put a cream cheese frosting on it! I’m not gonna lie – I am looking forward to a piece of that! I asked them to decorate it however they want but asked that they incorporate yellow because it’s my mom’s favorite color. My mom will be surprised and very happy I’m sure! I’ve scheduled to pick it up after our carriage ride through historic Savannah on her actual birthday.

I went to the fitness center with my mom last night. We walked on the treadmills for a half hour. She is up to 1.5 MPH. I went down and walked at a 2.5 because my heels are still bothering me a bit. I hope to get over there tonight and do some of the weight machines. I want to get as much activity in as I can because I think I need the extra help this week for weigh-in.

Well, I am off to check my “ovens”! J

Have a Healthy Day!!
~Heidi

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Unemployed for a Year!

01/26/11 @ 4:30pm
Elk River, MN Current Temp: 26°
Savannah, GA Current Temp: 54°
Hollywood, CA Current Temp: 72°

So much has happened to me this past year. Today is the one year anniversary of me losing my job. I never dreamed I would be unemployed for a year. With unemployment paying only about half of what I made, I was unable to keep up with my mortgage and lost my home. It was the home I grew up in and the only place I have ever lived my entire life. At first I was worried about what people would think of me for losing my home. Then I realized, I didn’t care what anyone thought because they aren’t me and the circumstances were pretty much out of my control. Now, I could throw myself a pity party today to “celebrate” my lay-off anniversary but instead I chose to look at all the positive things that have happened to me.

I moved into an apartment in June. I absolutely LOVE it! I love not having to mow or shovel. I love that when something is broken, I pick up the phone and they come and fix it. I love that I have a pool in the summer. I love that I have a very nice fitness center at my disposal 24 hours a day. I love that my garage is attached to my building (my home for 32 years had a detached garage). The only thing I don’t love about the apartment is the Trex family that lives upstairs. Apparently they have lead feet or are dinosaurs (hence the Trex; T-Rex)! I have gotten used to it for the most part but sometimes it gets on my nerves.

Then there is the fact that I am back in school. I always wanted to earn my Bachelors degree but I never had the money to do it. Because of a state grant for Home Valu employees I was able to go back. I was able to change my focus from accounting (which I have an Associates degree in) to Human Resources. It was an amazing opportunity that I never dreamed I would get.

All of that leads me to today and to my desire to be the best me I can be. I have abused my body for too long. I am ready to be happy, healthy and not overweight. It is a long road but I have time. If this past year has taught me anything, it has taught me that nothing comes easy and nothing comes fast. It will take work and it will take time and I am okay with that.

Today I have been craving pizza. A delivery pizza like Godfather’s or Dominos sounds wonderful. Instead I will go to the store sometime this week and get a crust to make my own at home. I will be able to eat more than I could if I did delivery and I can load it with good things to get some of my vegetable servings in for the day! This is really the first specific craving I’ve had since starting Weight Watchers. I guess that’s not bad and I am handling better than I would have in the past. This week I have stayed in my point range and have used very little of my weekly splurge points. I have earned 8 activity points and have not used any of those either. With that being said, I am not feeling great about weight loss this week. Hopefully it will be like last week and I will be way off and have a great number on the scale but I am not expecting much. I would be thrilled with 2.4 because that would put me at 10 pounds total since starting WW!

Friday night I am going to dinner and hope I can find a good meal on the menu so I can stay within my daily points. If I use extra points, I like to use them early in the week and not the night before weigh in!! I have looked at the menu online but haven’t decided what to have yet. I figure if I plan ahead, I will know exactly how many points I will use for dinner. Planning ahead is a huge thing with Weight Watchers. It really makes life so much easier!

So, there are my thoughts for the day. Take care, thanks for following and Have a Healthy Day!

~Heidi

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Sleep (or lack of)

I am starting to think that sleep plays a role in weight loss. Last week, I had the best night’s sleep. I slept better than I have in a long time and had so much energy that next day. Ever since that night though, my sleep has been more restless. My nights seem to be plagued by nightmares. I don’t have nightmares very often so it’s really weird that I have had them every night for the last four nights! My dreams have ranged from a faceless man that comes after me when I am alone to driving my car onto a partially frozen pond that I break through and start to sink. Each time, I wake up in fear or having felt like I was screaming. I know when I actually make a noise because Bella will get annoyed with me if I do. Anyway, I haven’t had a full night of sleep in almost a week and I just don’t feel 100% because of it. I hope it doesn’t affect the weight loss but it sure affects my energy level, that’s for sure!

Today is the first time since starting Weight Watchers that I have felt hungry during the day. I looked at my points tracker and realize that it’s because I did not eat as many points today. I had a normal breakfast of 9 points but my lunch was only 8 and normally my lunch runs around 15. I ate a Smart One microwave meal but apparently I need to have something else with it to keep from getting hungry right away. So even after dinner (which includes some pasta) I will still have a lot of points to use up. If dinner fills me up, then I just will not hit my points target today. Now I know though and will think about it the next time I eat a Smart One for lunch.

Not much else to report today. Have a Healthy Day!

~Heidi

Monday, January 24, 2011

STRESS!

I just received a call from my sister, Heather and apparently she has been waiting all day for a new blog entry. Funny because I see her almost every day but hey – good to know people look forward to my blog. Sometimes I just feel like I don’t have anything witty or interesting to say but I really try to think of things that I can write.

Well today was a bit stressful. I applied for my weekly unemployment and it told me I needed to reapply in order to be eligible for the next tier of benefits. I filled out the reapplication form and boom! My account was wiped and it said I had $0 available. I panicked but I didn’t have time to do that because I had to get my niece to pre-school. After dropping my niece off, I talked with my career counselor and friend (shout out to Kathy because I know she reads this blog) and she told me not to panic until it was needed. Well of course I did anyway and called the unemployment office and spoke to a very nice lady who was able to explain things for me. She was very kind and told me that the Unemployment system was not built to deal with extensions so it will not show a balance anymore but that I am approved for an additional 13 weeks if I need it. So, I will apply as normal next Monday and hopefully everything will go smoothly.

I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop or for something to happen that prevents me from going on my trip. I have been looking so forward to it and I don’t want anything to affect it. I guess it’s the old me that always waited for the negative things to happen rather than bask in the positive. I am getting better though and trying my hardest to focus on the positive things in my life.

Now six months ago if this had happened to me, I would have gone to McDonalds for lunch. I would have ordered 2 McDoubles and a McChicken because I couldn’t decide if I wanted chicken or a burger. And as if one double cheeseburger wasn’t enough, I got two because that way I could have a burger, the chicken and finish with a burger because I always liked to end my meal with a burger. Then I would order a large diet Coke because of course that made my binge better than if I had ordered a regular pop. I would also order a shake or some kind of dessert because what is a binge without something sweet?

Instead, I went grocery shopping. I went grocery shopping twice. The first time was for my sister who was home sick and needed me to pick her up a few things. The other was for a few things I needed at home. Both times I stuck to the list and did not even think twice about buying things that I normally would have in the past. Then when I got home, I went to the fitness center and did some weight lifting and then 15 minutes on the treadmill. It felt good and was much better for me than a binge ever was. I have found ways to refocus my stress and not turn to food for comfort. This is a huge step for me and one that tells me that I am ready for this. I am SO ready for this!

So, there is my blog today for those of you who were waiting for it (Heather)!

Have a Healthy Day!
~Heidi

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Professional Dreams

My fast approaching graduation has caused me to reflect on my professional dreams. My bachelor’s degree will be in Business Management with an emphasis in Human Resources. I love people and I love to help people realize their potential and plan for their futures so I think Human Resources is a great choice for me. I hope to get into a medical or hospitality setting because they are both of interest to me. So I am looking forward to the next phase in my professional career and hope that when the time comes, I am able to find the kind of job I am looking for.

So even though I am passionate about Human Resources and looking forward to a career in the field, is it my dream job? I can definitely say no to that. Until a few years ago my career dreams were still in the medical field. I had always thought I would be a doctor. My two top choices would have been Pediatric Oncology or Veterinary Medicine. Now these two are very different from each other but both reflect passions in my life; helping children and pets. As I grow older, I have let go of those dreams and accepted the fact that those careers were not in the blueprints of my life.

In the past few years my professional dreams have changed and I have new aspirations. I am very interested in owning my own bakery. Now this dream seems a little out of line with my current journey but I have a twist that makes it not only innovative but also desirable in today’s world. I would like to own a traditional bakery that also offers healthy options. I would provide nutritional information and even Weight Watcher points for each item. I would make traditional bakery goods but also have the healthy options for people to chose from. In addition, I would have a second bakery case, a little lower to the ground in it's own part of the bakery that would be filled with homemade, healthy dog treats! It is a way for me to combine my baking passion with my healthy lifestyle and incorporate my intense love of dogs!

My final paper in my Business class is to be a strategy paper for a company of my choosing. I emailed the instructor and told him of my “pipe dream” and asked if the paper could be about that. He encouraged me to do this and said that he too wrote a paper similar to this about one of his dreams a few years back and he is now only months away from making it a reality. It gave me a glimmer of hope that maybe someday I will see my vision turn into a reality. Not unlike the visions I have of a healthier me in the very near future!

The weekend has been good! I ate a little more than I planned at the restaurant yesterday but I was pleased with my choices and stayed within my plan. I ordered a bowl of steamed broccoli as an appetizer. It was a great way to fill up before my meal and eat less of the main meal. I ordered a grilled chicken wrap that was fairly low in points and I allowed myself to eat some of the waffle fries that came with it. I ate only half and was proud of that! Oh yeah and I had a piece of the bread that is served at the table. But I only had one piece!! I used to eat the entire basket by myself because I am a bread lover!

Today I had a bigger breakfast and it was good! I had two pancakes. One pancake I had with light syrup and fresh strawberries. The other with a smear of Nutella and banana slices. I also had four sausage links and a glass of light orange juice (Trop50 which is pretty good). The whole meal was a little high in points but I just had a much smaller lunch and still had enough points left for a great dinner. Dinner was a slice of ham, stuffed baked potato and baked asparagus! It was very delicious and I still have 4 points left for an evening snack.

Mom and I went to the fitness center today. I walked for a half hour at a 3.0 but turned up the intensity during commercials breaks. I would walk at a 3.3 during commercials while watching the end of the movie Enchanted. I felt like I worked harder today and it felt great. I was working up a good sweat and challenging myself to go longer and harder than I thought I could at the higher speeds.

All in all, I feel it was a great weekend. I am looking forward to the week ahead because every week I get through is another closer to vacation! It seems to be going so slow and I am getting so excited. I will be taking my computer with so that I can keep up with my school work while I am gone (and my blog too). It’s only a week but I need to make sure my work gets done and turned in by the due dates. I am going to do as much ahead of time that I can but will need to do a little bit of it during the week.

Well, it’s Sunday night and I have a line up of cooking shows to watch so I’ll say good night for now.

Have a Healthy Day!
~Heidi

PS – Thank you so much for the nice comments and encouragement! It really is the glue that is holding this journey together. I could not do this alone and it means the world to me to have support from so many people. Feel free to share this blog with any and everyone you think might enjoy it. I am at peace with where I am at in life and excited about my future. I will share my thoughts, successes and even failures with anyone that wants to listen!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Weigh-In Happy Dance!!!

I'M DOING THE WEIGH-IN HAPPY DANCE!!!


HOLY CRAP!! I stood on the scale this morning at my meeting and was crossing my fingers for at least a 1.8 pound loss. This would bring me to my first five pound mark and one that I would feel good about. Well, the lady was writing my numbers down and calculating and said, “Great job this week Heidi.” I looked at her and she said, “You lost 4.4 pounds!” I think I almost fell off the scale! I couldn’t help but be excited! I wasn’t expecting that number and it felt great!!

We talked about weekly allowance points today at the meeting. I have not really been using mine because I was afraid I wouldn’t lose as much if I did. I did use a few last week and lost more than I did in week one. The lifetime members that were at the meeting (all have met their goal and are maintaining) said that they use all their extra points each week and they enjoy every one of them! So, I will not feel guilty about using them now and again but I am still going to try to not use them all. I have been doing well without them but at least now I won’t be afraid to use them if I need to.

I came home and did my measurements and I have lost another 1.7 inches in my waist and .5 inch in my hips. So apparently, it’s working and I’m doing something right!!

Off to make a healthy breakfast and get the rest of my homework done!

Have a wonderful weekend and a Healthy Day!!
~Heidi

Friday, January 21, 2011

Nerves Before Weigh-In

So it never fails, the night before weigh-in I panic that I gained at least five pounds! I know it is highly unlikely but I can’t help it. I know I had a little bit tougher week but I was still on plan and stayed well within my points. I wonder if that feeling will ever go away? I really have to learn to not allow the scale to be a measurement of my success. It sounds easy but it really isn’t!

I got back to work today fitness wise and went to the gym and walked 30 minutes at a 3.0 on the treadmill. I worked in sprints at 3.5 for a minute at a time. I think I might need better shoes because I am starting to get some pain in my left heel. It’s almost like the shoe is not giving me enough support around the heel/ankle. I do have a pair of Sketcher’s Shape-Ups that I haven’t worn yet. I didn’t want to wear them on the snow so I was saving them for spring/summer. I think I might try wearing them around the house to see if I can get used to them. If I can and feel comfortable in them, I might try to use them on the treadmill.

I am frustrated with restaurants! I am going to Granite City to have dinner for a friend’s birthday tomorrow and they do not list any nutritional information on their menu! A lot of restaurants will list the information on their websites and it makes it much easier to figure out weight watcher points. Instead, I have found what I will order on the menu and use the description to approximate the points. After dinner, we’re going to BINGO!! I love bingo and haven’t played in a very long time.

Thanks for checking in on me, I will post my results (weight and measurements) after my meeting tomorrow morning!

Have a Healthy Day!
~Heidi

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Thursday

9:00 PM, Central time

Elk River, MN Current Temp: -8.1° with -24° wind-chill
Savannah, GA Current Temp: 51°
Hollywood, CA Current Temp 51° (Can never start planning too early for my “goal” trip!!)

It’s been a rough week. I have done pretty good eating wise and stayed in my points, I just feel a little off. I am not expecting huge numbers on the scale this week and will be happy with any loss. I think I am off because I have not done the amount of exercise that I did last week. I could make excuses but I won’t. Instead I will try harder going forward to fit exercise into everyday.

This week I will not be alone in my WW meeting. Both of my sisters will be joining me! They of course do not have as big of a goal as mine (because they weigh much less than me) but I know they want to be happy and healthy so that means we are all on the same journey. It really is much easier when you have people that are doing it with you so I am looking forward to having them there!

Well, I don’t have any of my usual deep thoughts to share tonight so I will simply say good night, until tomorrow.

Have Healthy Day!!
~Heidi

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Vacation Thoughts

Elk River, MN Current Temp: 16°
Savannah, GA Current Temp: 57°

Can you tell I am looking forward to my upcoming vacation! I am so excited to make my mom’s 70th birthday one she’ll always remember. I am searching right now for a bakery that will make a small cake for her. I didn’t think it would be this hard but not a lot of the little places have websites so I may have to make phone calls to find the right place. There is a cake called Hummingbird cake that is popular in the south. My mom has made one before and it’s pretty good. It has pineapple, banana and nuts. It seems healthier too but I’m probably fooling myself with that!! I have been thinking a lot about my vacation and how I am going to handle it. I have decided that I will not count points while I am gone but really watch and be mindful of what I’m eating. We have a hotel that has continental breakfast and then we have decided to have only one main meal (a late lunch/early dinner) and then just have small snacks in between and at night in the hotel. I am going to pack healthy, low point snacks so that when I do have a piece of cake or an ice cream cone, I won’t feel guilty. I am also planning a lot of activities that include walking and other activity to keep us moving. This lifestyle I am creating has to be one I can live with or it will never stick.

Food has been harder for me to resist this week. I am having no problem using all my daily points unlike last week. And that damn Hardees keeps taunting me. I drove my nephew to school this morning so they were advertising breakfast. I’m driving by and up pops a picture of the most delicious looking Caramel Crumb Biscuit! I think I might have even drooled! J I am a huge carb fan and any kind of bread or biscuit is like heaven to me. But I just kept driving. Then of course I had to go by it again on my way back to the house. But I again drove right by.

I improvised on exercise yesterday. I knew I didn’t have a lot of time as I would be getting home late. So I asked my niece to stand on my feet and I lifted my legs while she was standing on my feet. I could definitely feel the burn and she thought it was fun! I also had her stand in front of me and keep her legs planted straight. Then I took her hands and pushed her away from me and pulled her back. I could really feel it in my upper arms and again she thought it was a blast. So it was kind of fun to do something different and work on specific muscles in such a fun way!

That’s about it for today. Have Healthy Day!!
~Heidi