Prime Time

Tomorrow is officially weigh in day for Don and me and I am not going to have anything positive to report, of this I am sure. I've not had anything I shouldn't have, I've simply had too much of the things I can have, which can be just as bad for us.

I overdid the salted sunflower seeds and fruit and I'm paying for it. Summer was always a bad time to diet for me because of the potato salads and baked beans, and all other assorted carbs. Now that my outlook is totally different and I don't eat things I can't have, I seem to want to overindulge in the few things that are lowest in carbs but become higher when over eaten....Last night for instance, instead of stopping at one spoon full or 1/4 cup of strawberries, I added about 6 large ones to 1/4 cup of blueberries and then had a few chunks of watermelon too! It's just too much sugar for the amount of protein I had....we all know sugar is turned to starch in our bodies and this is the worst thing I can do at this point.

**Deep Breath**.....Sooooooo, What I need to do now is truly get back to basics and stop eating the sugar, period. I've decided to stick with sugar free jello and whipped topping for my desserts, I never tire of it and as long as I don't bring the kinds of fruits I like into the house...I can keep on track with the weight loss.
This is not maintenance afterall, this is the prime weight loss time. I must keep repeating that to myself!!

Wishing everyone a terrific Tuesday!
Happy Real Birthday, Ed!!!

Inspiring ourselves, and inspiring others...

Today was a great day. I had a co-worker today tell me that I have inspired her to start her own weight loss journey. She is doing a different plan, but the point is, she is inspired to change herself for the better.

I think that Sunny and I are examples of what determination and dedication can achieve. We are loosing the weight, have dropped the 'ball and chain' of dependance on food. We have stuck to our guns, in all kinds of 'threatening' situations, and are being successful. Others around us see our new energy, our pride in accomplishment, our physical changes, and they can't help but be inspired. I'm so happy that we are doing this, together, and we can be an example to others.

Today was a great day... I feel inspired.

A Swim Is A Swim

No, that's not my pool, I wish it was, but a swim's a Swim, right? It was the perfect day for it too. I swam across and back again (27 feet around) in my above ground pool for about 20 minutes...with a short break and then began again, etc.....totaling 60 minutes, it felt really good! As an added bonus, I think the flipping of my feet did wonders for stretching my achilles tendon (something the doctor recommends)...2 exercises in one!! :) When I wasn't swimming, I was doing some stationary leg exercises against the side and on the steps. Then walked at a fast pace around the pool to create a whirlpool effect, so Gina and I could board the floats and do just that :)

I can't wait for Friday (praying for good weather) because Don is coming!!
Bar-b-cued steaks and a delicious salad are on the menu, and as Don mentioned in his blog, we'll be exercising in the pool as well!! :)

I had a wonderful weekend on plan, especially since I've given up the sunflower seeds. Thanks, Don for the video links, very informative!

Have a great week, everyone!

Supplements I am taking...

... I have had a lot of people asking me if I am taking supplements while living my low-carb lifestyle, and the answer is yes. I am taking the following supplements daily:

Essential Oils - Omega 3, 6 and 9 all in one caplet

Flax Seed Oil Caplet

Chromium Picolinate Tablet

CoQ 10 Caplet

L-Carnatine Tablet

Magnesium Tablet

Potassium Tablet

Niacin Tablet

Multi-Vitamin/Mineral Tablet

I feel good and have had a good weekend on plan. I exercised today by working in the yard, and boy did I work up a sweat. Next Friday I will be going out to Sunny Girl's house and we are going to have a nice lunch on the grill and then get into her pool and do some water aerobics. That'll be cool!

Video from Kent on Stalls during Atkins

Please Click: Atkins Diet, Why am I not loosing Weight (Part 1)

Please Click: Atkins Diet, What to do about Stalls (Part 2)

I thought I'd post these because Sunny Girl is having some issues lately with stalls. I found Kent's videos on YouTube. He has successfully lost 211 pounds on Atkins and has kept the weight off. He has more than 80 video's on Atkins related topics, recipies and other things.

If you want to see more of his video's on YouTube, search for videos from user bowulf

Ya Gotta Do what WORKS...

... I was at the gym today talking to a guy in the sauna about my weight loss. I shared with him that I was doing low-carb and it was working very successfully. He said, yeah, I heard that was one way to do it... 'what ever works'!

I thought, yeah, there are many ways to loose weight and everyone has an opinion on what is good and what is not. There are many misconceptions about the low-carb lifestyle, and many think it's all about bacon and eggs, but it's not. It is so important to have the veggies, at least 2 cups of salad type greens and veggies, and either a third cup of those, or 1 cup of other 'non-starchy', 'non sugar' related ones. I haven't always kept that in mind, but am trying to now.

Anyhow, the guy was right.. 'what ever works'... and this is WORKIN for Sunny and myself.

And.. OH>> I almost forgot this in my busy day, I had to go buy new pants because even the smaller ones I had are now too big and falling down. I was in 64 inch waist and now I'm in 58. I only bought 2 work and 1 pair of jeans, cause I know in another few months, these too will be too big~!

Salty Sunflower Seeds...

I just unofficially weighed myself and haven't lost a pound. Not one!

I'm thinking I am holding onto some unwanted water due to sunflower seeds with plenty of salt that I consume at night while reading my Koontz books.

Obviously, I'm not happy today. I knew something was happening because my ankle is hurting again (a sure sign of water-weight gain) and the ring on my finger doesn't fit as it used to, so my unhappiness is my own fault.

I'm backing away from the sunflower seeds...and now we will see if indeed that's the culprit!

I'll keep you posted.

The rollercoaster ride....

I didn't get a chance to blog last night, after work I went directly to the gym and had a great workout, but didn't get home until 8:00pm. I was tired and didn't turn on the computer and was in bed within an hour.

It seems the days are going by so fast. I've been good overall, but I had some periods yesterday when I just felt 'so-damn-fat'. Well, logically I realize I've lost 60 pounds now (I had an unofficial weigh in the other day and that is where I am at, but officially weighin isn't until next tuesday), and my work clothes are literally 'hanging' off of my body, but sometimes I forget to focus on the immediate successes, and look down and see my belly, or my big thighs, and just get a little 'down'. It isn't lasting, and I know I'm doing VERY WELL, it's just 'reality'. We can't always be 'UP UP UP', really it's a rollercoaster ride. We just have to stay focused and realize the next rise up and exhilarating plunge down is just around the corner. But .... OVERALL, I am feeling better and loving life more every day.

The Three "F's"...

The sun is up and so am I!

I am ready for a brand new day, full of hope and joy.

I am going to try my best to make it into the pool today or tomorrow. It's a must! I have got to begin to do some exercise and I've decided that this is the only way to go. Laps, laps and more laps. Being weightless takes the strain off my ankle and I don't have to sweat! Hellloooo, I'm there!! :)

I spoke to a personal trainer, who is a friend of mine, yesterday and he told me some very interesting things...like, you don't burn fat in the first hour of exercise....it takes at least an hour to burn off the sugar and carbs in the body and not until they've been depleted can you actually begin to burn fat!

I never knew this, but now that I do....I'm getting in that pool and doing laps until the fat burns off ;) and when that's finished, I will do some more.

Three more months and I will be fifty.....fifty, fit and fabulous!

:)
p.s. Don?....you've got to share your aerobic pool exercises with me when you have the time, please?

Overcast, With Chance of Rain...

...it seems that's all we've heard for many days this month, but it's beautiful just to be able to breath deep and know that the sun will shine again :)

Things have been pretty uneventful here lately, no parties to plan and none to go to, so aside from the occasional pasta night here at the house, not many temptations. It's a great thing to be on track and stay that way.

Kids are around a lot now that summer is here and of course my son wants to eat all the time, so I am constantly preparing things for him which are not on my plan. I don't even taste what's cookin' anymore ;) Before the Journey began, I'd eat half of what I was preparing before it ever made it to his plate....wow, when I think of all the piled up pounds from that alone!!! It just makes me shake my head!

Well folks, hump day is over and up ahead is the sunny weekend forecast, gotta love that!
In the meantime, Enjoy Today...

New Ideas... Light bulb moment

Hi all...
I probably won't even get a chance to turn on my computer tonight. I have a business dinner (oh boy.. another challenge.. I actually look forward to them now), and probably will not get home until bed time. Very long day, but I was perfect on plan (and will be at dinner as well).

I did something different today. I had a 'salad' for breakfast. At first I thought it would be kind of wierd, but actually, it was not bad at all. I was reading on some other low-carb sites and kept seeing how much stress there is on the '3 cups of greens' a day, and thought maybe I should increase my intake. The pre-made salads from my local Giant store are perfect, I had one for breakfast and another one for lunch.

Last night I woke up at 2:00am with terrible leg cramps. I had read that this can be a common side-effect while on induction and I should consider supplementing my potasium intake. I will look into this over the weekend, because those cramps suck. I have had them in the past but have not really blogged about it, but last night when I was out of bed, I 'Googled' 'Low Carb Leg Cramps' and found many reports similiar.

Overall I feel good today, just feel a little guilty about leaving my dogs home so long unattended. I'm sure there will be little gifts from them awaiting our return tonight.

If I haven't said it lately, thank you all our constant readers / commentors, for all your support. You are our backbone during this journey.

If I were a rich man...

... I couldn't be happier than I was today at work. It seemed everyone that I saw today said 'Damn Don'... 'what have you been doing'... 'you look great'!

I had someone who was gone on vacation for a week say to me.. 'Don'...'Where did your ass go?' how funny was that. It feels SO good to have people around me notice the weight loss. As I said before, it is so affirming...

Today was (of course), a great day. I didn't have a big dinner, but I didn't want to eat anything 'big' after 7:00 pm and I didn't get home from the gym until after that time. I picked at a few things to get a little in me, but really, I wasn't even hungry. I keep telling people how much the protein that I eat satiates me, keeps me satisfied for such long periods of time.

Sunny Girl.. hang in there and tell that slimy pasta to get-thee-away-from-me.. demon. Keep chanting your mantra.. 'Nothing tastes as good as thin feels' until it slithers back into it's pretty little box. Do what ever it takes. Nothing is going to get in our way or spoil our progress.

I just thought this was the most adorable picture I've ever seen on the internet also....it's true!!

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's Pasta Niiiiiiiight....

...so after I cooked spaghetti with crab meat and for those who don't like that there is also pasta with tomato sauce and beans....I had my salad and decided I should come into my safe zone, which is right here at the Journey Blog.

Cooking and serving pasta hasn't bothered me all that much through the Journey, until tonight that is.

I want it. I want it bad.

I was always a carboholic but even more so, a pasta junkie!! Just a taste has never been possible with me....and even now, when I was thinking I had complete control, I don't think I can do it, in fact, I am beginning to wonder if just a taste will ever be possible. :(

This just goes to show, that there will always be temptations...no matter how in control we think we are. And I have to remember.....

Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!!!

I know, you've heard that before....trust me, it won't be the last time either.

Increments....

Sunny's 'Stars' blog really got me thinking about where we are on our journey and what we can do to remain focused and successful (as we are now)!

We need to set our goals and measure our success in increments. This means setting realistic goals for both the long and short term. We both have mentioned in many of our blogs how it seems like it will take forever to reach our goals, but really, we have already reached our goal. As Sunny expressed in her WONDERFUL blog 'Stars', we have already changed, we are learning and growing.

We should set 5 pound achievements, 10 pound successes, 50 pound milestones and finally the ultimate final goal weight. So, at last weigh-in, if we use this 'success measurement' standard the following achievements have already been met:

Sunny Girl at 41 pounds lost has lost 5 pound increments 8 times, 10 pound increments 4 times and is almost to her first 50 POUND MILESTONE!!

Myself, at 52 pounds lost have lost 5 pound increments 10 times, 10 pound increments 5 times and successfully reached my first 50 POUND MILESTONE!!!

When we look at what we have accomplished in this manner we can stay encouraged, realize we are doing VERY WELL, and can see that we are well on our way.

It's all about increments and perspectives. I am so proud of both of us!

Check out the VIDEO BLOG page. I did a new VB today!

Stars

I'm not reaching for the stars, I'm touching them. Realizing dreams and having new ones is all part of moving forward and changing as I go. Changing the shape of my mind as well as my body and learning how to keep it all steady in the process....I've come a long way, but I've a long way to go. How exciting this is....how invigorating each day is now! Learning and growing are two things that I hope I never stop doing...actions speak louder than words, then listen to me move and you'll hear success! :)

Have a great week, friends!!

A good time with good friends...

So we had a very busy day today. We drove to Absecon NJ to meet with our friends Peggy (in this photo with me) and Ray, Jane and Ed. It was about a 2 hour drive to meet them, in the rain (as Sunny said in her blog... please go away, rain). We all met and Ed and Jane's 'vacation condo', which was absolutely lovely. We haven't seen Ed and Jane since we cruised with them through the Mediterranean a few years ago.

We were greeted immediately with smiles and warmth. We have a special 'bond' with these two couples, all cruise lovers, all disney lovers, all dynamic couples, and it seemed like we were just together a few days ago and not time had passed. It was great. I shared my new journey and they listened, shared thoughts and lent their support. They will be visiting the blog as soon as they have time after their return from Florida!

Peggy and Ray gave me this recipe book for my 'Ron Popeil' Rotisserie grill which I have mentioned several times here in this blog. It's full of all kinds of ideas on how to use the rotisserie. I can't wait to use it.

So, I shared a lot about my journey. I was touched when my friend, Ed said to me, 'Don, if you feel you're going to slip, just give me a call!' and he also said, 'Don, maybe you'll inspire me to take off the weight I need to loose'. I can't even begin to tell you how much those statements meant to me. I feel blessed that I have people around me that are so willing to embrace what Sunny and I are doing here, and so proud that I can actually inspire hope and action in others.

Is there anything down there....

Not a simulation - it's really me!!

I was getting ready for my day today and I put on my jeans which I haven't worn in about 2 months, and look.... they were SOOO BIG I couldn't wear them.

Instead, I looked in the closet and found a pair I haven't been able to get into in about 3 years, and put them on, and low-and-behold, they fit, and were actually a little big. I FELT SO GREAT. Seeing these kind of changes is really inspiring.

Now, I hope you didn't get the wrong idea from the picture, I was really trying to show off the new real-estate in my pants, and nothing else!!

TODAY is going to be a great day. We are going to get to see Peggy (who comments here regularly), her husband Ray and two of our friends (and cruise buddies), who are up from Florida. It'll be so great to see them!

Rain, Rain...

...go away, Sunny wants to come out and play!!! I miss my pool!! I need the damn exercise too...but here i am in the house again. Think the sun will ever shine for more than 20 mins. a day?
Let's all hope it happens soon.

I am doing well on our journey and things are still looking up. As Don said, "It's like being on auto-pilot."

Our frienships and our support system is what gets us through now. I also think we've finally stopped thinking about what got us here, just being pleased that we're here and doing what we need to do to maintain our good health and positive outlook in general.

Dad is home and mom is taking good care of him along with the home health care professionals...so all is well for now and that's a good thing....Father's day will be extra special this year :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ED!

Decompressing...

Hi all....

Finally a day to just put my feet up and relax. I knew that my work schedule would be pretty hectic this summer, but woooh.. I didn't realize it would take this much out of me. Today, Ed had to work and I was at home and awaiting the arrival of his birthday present (the new iPhone 3Gs) which was going to be delivered. Since I couldn't leave, I decided to have breakfast and just relax and pamper myself a bit.

I started by watching the movie 'The curious life of Benjamin Button', which was great. After that I played some 'American Idol' and 'Guitar Hero' on the Wii, which was so fun and took me far away from all the hectic things I've been dealing with. The phone came around noon. I took an afternoon nap (really on of my most favorite things to do, which I don't do much anymore), and then Ed and I went out to diner. We've been watching TV since we got back. All in all.. just a really stress-free, decompressing, relaxing day.

Tomorrow we are going to meet Peggy and her husband and get together with some friends of ours who are up from Florida and then go from there to a Birthday celebration for one of Ed's aunts. Sunday, I plan to go to the gym, shop for food and grill up some chicken so that I have some to eat during next week.

I find I am thinking more and more about what to eat and how to plan for my busy weeks, to allow me to say the course and stay on plan. I feel great, can't wait to see my friends, and plan to enjoy every bit of this weekend.

And, by the way.. SUNNY GIRL... you look great. I checked out your new picture tonight... you are beautiful!

Marley and Me ;)

We weighed Marley (our year old cat) today because we needed to figure out how much medicine he'd require for upcoming surgery, and he now weighs 9 lbs!

Gina tells me, "Mom, imagine 5 Marley's falling flying out of your body!" We laughed about it and then when I thought about it later on, I realized that Marley is really big and very heavy when I hold him now......it's finally sinking in that I have lost a LOT of weight! 25 % of the weight to my goal, as pointed out to me by our friend, Peggy! And Five Marley's....wow!

I am Posting a picture tomorrow in the picture section of the blog, so click on my pic and you can definitely see a newer me. Don looks amazing too, check out his video blogs and pix...what a difference low carb makes for both of us!!!

Quick Note ....

Hi all...

I'm doing this blog from work, so no picture, for now. I will add it when I get home.

I have been a little lite on the blogging the past few days because of my terrible work schedule. I've been tasked to work 12 hours a day (from 6:00am - 6:00pm) and as you all know by now, it takes me an hour each way to drive to work, so...by the time I get home, at least the past couple of days, I've been SO FRICKIN TIRED.

I have been on plan 100 percent (it's totally thoughtless now, like I'm on auto-pilot). I feel good and full of energy. Life is good, just busy. I'm off starting tomorrow, until Tuesday, so I'll be able to get back to the gym, and back to a somewhat normal life. Blog at ya later!!

Goodbye Indentations!

I love being here, I love reading comments and looking for inspiration and ways to appreciate my weight loss thus far instead of wishing it would come off at a quicker pace. That's what it's about for me. Staying focused and moving forward and never again looking back or reverting to old eating habits.

There was never a time when food was just a means of sustaining myself. It was a pass time...a never ending cycle of the thought: "What can I have next?" I am so glad those days are gone for me (and yes, they are gone for good) not just because of this blog, though it does sustain me now. It's because as Don said, we just got fed up with being fat. Not fitting into chairs, was the worst....and then there was steering wheel indentation, sock indentation, pants, bras!!....come to think of it, ALL indentations!! I was so sick of it!!!

We are worthy of our success. We are worthy of a healthy life.

I am getting smaller, but I am growing in so many other ways. Things that were important, were lost on me because I was always too exhausted and bogged down with food to want to enjoy anything else. I feel free and alive for the first time in years and I am soaring in ways I never imagined I could. Life is sweet, and time is on my side.

All I want tonight...

...is a nice warm, soft bed. I had such a long day today ( I worked 12 hours plus my hour commute each way). It was a good day, plan wise. I was too busy to even think about food. They did have a celebration lunch with about 25 pizzas delivered for 40 people.. I didn't have a slice! I brought left-overs from dinner last night, and had tat for lunch.

So, more tomorrow, I'm fine, just tired, and I need some rest.

Out of the closet.. and Damn Proud!

...ok, we all know that I'm gay (and if you didn't, it's true), but this is not what I'm talking about tonight.

I mentioned in a blog earlier on that it was finally time that we came out of the diet closet. For years and years, I yo-yo-dieted, going down a little, up a lot, down a little more, up a lot more.. and the cycle continued until a man who was 235 pounds 10 years ago, ended up at 465 pounds in March 2009.

Well, that's all over.. I have bounded out of the closet. I speak about what I'm doing and how I'm doing it to anyone who is interested. More and more now, people are stopping me and asking me about my weight loss, and I am PROUD to speak of my accomplishments (and OUR accomplishments, Sunny, because I always include I am doing this with a great partner who is experiencing the same success I am), my methods, my philosophy, my epiphany which changed my entire outlook on life.

I had the opportunity to share with a coworker at lunch today and she sat there amazed. Three of us were all eating around a table (I had my pre-made cobb salad), and the guy came in and said.. is he talking about his weight loss ..... again.... And I just laughed and said, she asked.. so I'm sharing. Ultimately he got involved in the conversation. He was approaching me from a very 'analytical' perspective.. the one question that really got me going was.. 'if you are so dedicated now, so driven to succeed, why couldn't you have been 'at this point' years ago, and maybe never gotten this way to begin with....

BOY OH BOY.. at first I was almost offended, but I didn't let that show, and I said, 'you'll have to give me a minute to formulate an answer for that'... (this skinny man sitting across from me who never had to worry a day in his life about being FAT...), I wanted to be sure that I told him how I truly felt about my transition.

Finally, I said:

'Well, you know, there are about as many reasons why someone lives with 'destructive' behavior, as there are people in this world. I lived for years not having to worry about what I ate, or why I ate it, then suddenly, my metabolism just changed. Unfortunately, at that point I was like an alcoholic, the more food I could get, the better I felt. I got to the point where I was so hampered by the weight that I wanted to die, literally. That was when I had the knew I had to change my life forever, and I have. I don't try to analyze why it took so long, I just give thanks that I finally 'saw the light' and have changed. I'll never go back to my old behaviors, NEVER'.

It was an interesting conversation, and I couldn't wait until I got a chance to blog about it tonight. Night all!

It Feels So Good...

...to feel so good!!!

I'm on my way to Philly to help my mom 'cause dad is coming home today. This isn't going to be easy on her so I want to be there to lighten her load from now on....I'll be making a lot of these trips but I will write my blogs every day and I will stay true to myself on this journey.

Feeling good truly never felt so good!!!

Pix soon, I promise ;)

Insights and Support Continue...

...and we thank you all!!

I spoke to Don today about our blogs and the pages attached to our blog....weight tracking specifically and he taught me how to do some editing which I like doing! His weight loss for today is pretty impressive, check it out and you'll see for yourselves :) I didn't do too bad myself :) We're feeling great about it, we're charged up and ready to face another 2 weeks of sheer success!!

I recently became a follower of Fat free me 's blog...she is insightful and very honest, which is what I need on this journey and Don's suggestion that you read up on some of our follower's blogs is right on...the support and suggestions have been so valuable to both of us.

It is time to get into gear...not sure if the pool will be done today (it's still so cold and yes, Butterflies are Free, I am a wimp!!! ;)

Have an excellent Sunday!!

Broadening our horizons...

We've had some new visitors to the site, and some new commenters, Thanks for coming and please visit often. Support is so vital to what we are all doing, both with the change of lifestyle, and the blogging itself.

It's nice to see other perspectives and other paths to the goal we all seek. From a comment here I found Jim, the Guacamole Guy's site, and from his another site which I enjoyed, Low Carb Jane's site, as well as Ms Chubby Chick's blog.

There is a lot of good information out there in 'cyber-space', and sometimes it is difficult to find it because there is so much 'crap' to filter through.

We can tend to get too focused on our own 'road' and not look-up and see what's going on around us. I plan to continue posting interesting sites I have come across on this trip. If you feel like it, take to time to check them out. Our village is growing, and our ability to support others who share our destiny, limitless!

Fun Day!!

I went shopping today with a friend. We had planned to be poolside, but thanks to the rain, I got some exercise.

I'm off to a family party tonight. I feel good that tomorrow is weigh-in day :) Confident that my loss of a few days ago remained the same, I can't wait to post it!

I am not sure what's on the menu tonight, but I'm sure I can handle whatever there is....it's just about choices and making the right ones now.

See you all tomorrow...enjoy the evening!

Summertime

Summertime is a great time to feel good...and I do. I can't wait to feel even better next year however. To be able to fit into smaller clothes, look better in a bathing suit...etc. But I am concentrating on the here and now and life is good...of course it can be better, but it's good.

Sunday will be my first day in the pool, cold or not, it's time to get in and scrub it!! I love doing it actually, and I then every day that follows is just one great swim day after another...I'm wearing a suit that Gina bought for me about 2 or 3 years ago and I couldn't wear it because it didn't fit....well now it does, finally, it may not look all that great, but it fits !!
:)

Don, Ed....pooltime!!!!

All the dough in the world ....

.... won't make me loose a single pound, unless I ignore every bit of it. I went to dinner tonight with Ed at Bertucci's (a local Italian Restaurant) and what I used to love most about the place was the hot bread 'balls' they bring to the table with lots of butter. We were deciding where to go to dinner and Ed said, 'nah.. let's not go there.. the bread there would be too much of a temptation', and at first I agreed with him, and we had decided to go to Charlie Brown's instead. Both places are in the same parking lot, and as we were pulling in and were in front of Charlie Browns, Ed saw Berticci's and said in a desperately hungry voice 'mmmmmm... Bertucci's'... so I just drove right past Charlie Browns.

It was a good exercise in commitment and control for me. They brought the bread to the table... I smelled it, felt it (it was cold, so I asked the waitress to bring some hot out of the oven), and then watched Ed eat it. I didn't drop dead, I didn't faint cold away, I just endured, thought about why I shouldn't be eating it, and focused on my salad. I love when I can put into practice some of the things I've been writing about in this BLOG!

Don't focus on the rain...

....focus on the rainbows.... I know it's a bit cliche, but, the weather can really effect our moods. Rainy days can lead to depression, I know I hate to be stuck out in the rain. I wish it would stop, I have to get into my yard and cut before the grass is up to my knees! Plus, I actually look forward to the exercise of mowing (I wouldn't have believed this a year ago!). The rainbow here is that I am actually WANTING to get out and do the yard!! The moral is, always try to find a positive in any situation.

I'm feeling good. I have kept to my commitment of going to the gym every other day for 2 weeks now... it's starting to just become 'part of the routine', which is a good thing.

I weighed myself the other day and have lost more, but will not publish how much until the next official weigh in date (Monday 15 June), it's just very inspiring to see the progress, for both myself, and Sunny (psssst.. she's lost too! and is very happy!!!). I know we wrote early in the blog about weight only being a number, and that is soooo true, but really, at the same time, it is a mark of progress, and we like seeing that needle go down, whether a little or a lot!

I plan to do a video blog later today.. so stay tuned.

Movin' Along

I went to a friend's house this past Sunday and we had a lovely time. Good food, wonderful people and desserts to die for....seriously! I'm talking home made cookies of many varieties, but there's one and only one kind that I can't even get out of my mind!!!....and that's Aunt Paula's Macaroons...PEOPLE!!! If you like coconut, you'd think you literally died and gone to heaven! I tried to find a pic that was comparable to Aunt Paula's, but these still don't do them justice. Paula's macaroons are moist and sweet and chewy, with that pretty little cherry peeking out from it's valley right in the center of all that coconut goodness!! I know, I know....I get carried away when I talk about them, sorry.

*clears throat* ....Anyway, I mentioned to my friends that when I got to my goal weight, I'd want these cookies. Then tonight while I was getting the family's dinner of pasta and mozzerella cheese heated up, (Yes, I was still thinking about these damn cookies) I thought of sitting there and eating a whole bunch of them, then I thought to myself, nah, why would I do THAT??
Ok, Maybe I could just have 2 or 3 of them
...then I thought
...nah, just one would be good.

Thinking about this made me realize, that I will never truly be able to gorge myself on anything again, not even Paula's macaroons!!!
I wouldn't want to. The thought of it was incomprehensible!

It would be breaking my commitment to myself to be whole and not settle for anything less than to live as I am capable of living...and that's free of any worry about excess fat and stress on my limbs and back. To be what I need to be for me. This is a change that has already taken place. It's not going to happen by magic when I reach a goal weight....it's already happened! I know I've written about having control before, but I am really ready for the long haul....I'm still motivated, still feeling great without even trying.

This life change absolutely IS a lifetime of change! Thinking thin, the mind working together with the body to make me more healthy has already happened. But it has to continue to happen for as long as I live and breathe, I will never be unhealthy again.

And someday, I will have 1 macaroon and maybe one of my mom's chocolate crinklies, but rest assured, I will not let myself be ruled by food.

Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels. :)

Reconnecting...

... I got a great surprise tonight, when I got home. I walked up to my front door and when I opened the screen, a business card fell to my feet. It landed face-up and I saw the Toyota logo and immediately knew it was from my friend Paul who I had worked with for several years until he accepted a job in Ohio and moved away.

Paul and I had kept in contact somewhat via email in the 4 plus years since he moved, but, let me tell you, there is nothing like reconnecting face to face. We met for dinner (low carb meal on my part) and had a great time catching up. It really makes me think about what is important.. connections to people!~

Thanks for the call, Paul, the meal and the conversation was GREAT.

My day was great. No problems with staying on plan. I feel good, I feel lighter and more energetic and very positive!

Begin...

Making an Effort!

It seems that every other day, I am driving to the city and when I get there, food choices are so limited. I am in the car a lot, driving to and from the facility that my dad is in and then to mom's house or to another family member or friend's home.....I have to plan better, leave when it isn't meal time or eat before I leave. Just because I am not hungry when I leave the house, doesn't mean that I will not become hungry en route or later on. It's always too late when I realize that I haven't eaten or prepared anything for myself.

If I don't see any weight loss this month, it will be my own fault, and that hurts.
I have the best intentions, never have I cheated on this plan, nor do I intend to...having said that, I do go without meals. NOT a good thing!! My body feels it's being starved and holds onto every pound! I believe this, because I can feel it happening. Today I had nothing but slim jims....slim jims = salt, salt, salt!

I am going to make a conscious effort to prepare my meals and NOT leave the house without having had anything to eat. I am suffering for no reason.

Here's to a better tomorrow!

My two enemies... Time and Gravity

... every day when I wake up, time seems to pass twice as fast and everywhere I stand gravity is three times as strong. Or, at least that's the way it seems to me.

I can't believe how fast time seems to be passing by me. It's already almost half way through June, by God.. it was just christmas yesterday, wasn't it?

I had a great day today. It was very busy... as you will see if you look at my video blog for the day. I documented little snippets from my entire day. I couldn't film inside work, or inside the gym, but you will enjoy the post!

I feel so good. I have lots of energy, my outlook on life is great, I don't even have to think about how to stay on plan, and there are really no temptations that even come close to effecting me anymore! I love this.

Space and Time can do what they want, I will enjoy EVERY minute I have on this earth, and I will not be weighed down by my body or my past!

Tightie-Whities...

Simulated Me.. In my minds eye...

So, what do you do when your underwear is to large? Squirm and squirm as they creep and crawl into places you didn't know exist (EVER)! This is how I experience my weight loss changes today... I could have lived without this discovery, and learned, I should not dress in the dark anymore. I need to go through my drawers (figuratively speaking) and get some smaller sizes. This is exciting!

Today was a great day. I'm working longer hours for a while (11.5 hour days plus 2 hour commute total) but I have still saved my fridays off. It's worth it. It'll be interesting to see how I feel after tomorrow, though, with a plan to work, then go to the gym. I'll get home an hour before bedtime!!

Sunny Girl.. Hope you feel better.

Just Plain Ol' Sleepy...

I want to be back in my bed today. Not feeling well at all. I think the stress and work finally caught up to me. I had a party to go to yesterday at a restaurant and basically it was very relaxing for me, so I don't really understand it, but I am tired and my stomach seems to be on the blink. That's all I will say about that!

I am so glad Don has decided to video blog, he looks so amazing, so different, so good. He looks even more amazing in person, but you can really see the loss when he speaks, because his face and neck are so much thinner, it's just nothing short of astonishing!! Me?...I don't like the way I speak on camera, my voice, facial expressions...etc., so I don't think I will be doing much of that, but great idea, Don!!

I'm getting a little frustrated at the length of time it's taking to get this weight off, but there is nothing and no one that is going to stop this girl from succeeding. I just feel like my body doesn't match my mind set, ya know?.......I think like a thin person, want to move like a thin person...etc. but I'm still so far from my goal.

10 at a time......right? Yes....let's take it slow and savor every loss.

I think I will put myself to bed early tonight and hope I feel better in the morning. G'night all.

Innovative changes in the air...

I love when we are able to change, both in life, and in this blog. I'm so excited about the video blog addition. I did 2 video blogs just today. Doing this will really 'bring you in' to some of the things I do on a daily basis, things I don't write about. I know you may think you've already learned way more than you ever thought you'd like to know about me/us, but, hey.. it's all about sharing! It's healthy and I LOVE IT! Besides just downright dedication to the journey, the sharing is what keeps me up and going from day to day.

I hope everyone will view / comment on the videos.

Today was a great day. I got a lot done and I'm tired and ready to get to bed. I am going to start working longer hours (11 hour days) starting tomorrow. I'm on a project that just requires more time than I can give, so I have to give more... and I WILL NOT give up my fridays.

If I haven't said it lately, thank you so much for all your ongoing support... we love our growing village.

Two Cousin's become 'Media Rich'

Well, welcome to the 21st century. Note the new ICON in the left side bar for 'Video Blogs'. Click there to see recorded video blogs that I'm sure I will add several times a week. There are 2 there already for today!

I bought a FlipVideo camera today so that I could start putting some video on our blog. I went to Sunny's for a party today for her daughter's graduation from college. It was so great to see her ... and she looks WONDERFUL.. it's so apparent that she has lost weight!

It was so nice being at a party arranged by a fellow lo-carber.. she had some great choices. Roast pork and beef, peppers and sausage, provolone cheese, and of course, she made the shrimp slaw from the recipe portion of our site! And what a nice mix of berries for desert.

Of course there were the regular foods, potato salad, baked ziti, Wings (breaded and then sauced :( ) and all the deserts you can think of. Because she planned for us, there was no suffering, only enjoying.

Anyhow, I asked Ed to film us so we could do a video introduction to the site (which is now in place). LOOK AT US!.. Then compare us now to the first pictures we posted early on in the photo section of our blog! WOW !!!

I'll be posting much more video in the future.. until then, I'm psyched-up and excited!

Busy Cooking...

So the party is tomorrow, almost 100 people to cook for! :) I love this, I always have. I talked to Don yesterday as I was making 10 lbs of potato salad and we laughed about it. No one on this plan should have to touch a potato, let alone prepare 10 lbs of it!! Not one morsel made it to my lips by the way and it didn't bother me a bit. Well, maybe a tiny bit, but I am looking forward to the shrimp slaw I prepared as well, it's in our recipe section and I can tell you, it's worth it to look it up and make it....it is amazing!! Plenty of meats to choose from and other low carb sides as choices too.

I am about to make 8 lbs of baked ziti as well, and then off to my pedi/mani appointment! I need a little pampering after spending all this time in the kitchen, don'tcha think?.... ;)

Enjoy this rainy Friday and have a wonderful Saturday, see you all on Sunday!!

Life gets crazy...

Hi all! Sorry for no posts the last couple of days. Life has been crazy... I've been working so hard that at night all I want to do is vegetate (not couch potato'ishly) and go to bed. I know Sunny has been nuts too, preparing for her daughters college graduation party this weekend. Anyhow...

I've been 100 percent on plan, both with food and exercise (I went to the gym Wednesday night and I'll be going again today!). It has been so easy to stay focused! I read somewhere it takes two months of change to rid yourself of old habits and develop new ones. I've already made a habit of how and what to eat, now I'm working on developing the habit of going to the gym.

This weekend includes 2 parties in a row on Saturday. One is Sunny's party, so I'm so excited about that, can't wait to see her and I know there'll be plenty of low-carb choices, the other.. em.. I'm not so sure, but really, It doesn't matter.. because I'm under control! Crazy, but controlled life, it's a good thing!

My momma always told me...

"Life is like a box of chocolates...' except, I CAN'T EAT NO STINKIN CHOCOLATES~! No, really, I choose not to have chocolate. I LOVE chocolate, but it's not in the picture for me, at least not in the short term.

Now, taking that phrase a little bit further, yes, life is full of choices, and you don't know what choice will work for you until you bit into it, own it, live it.

Sunny and I have been going along on this journey for a few months now, and for us, it is WORKING. There are a lot of misconceptions about low-carb dieting, but, there is a safe, correct way to do it. We are both very educated on the steps because we did it before. We're not eating tons of fat and bacon, not eating tons of eggs, we're making protein choices and low-impact carbohydrate choices to keep us going to our destination.

So, even though I can't eat chocolate right now, I'm happy with my choice of plan. I'm conscious of the pitfalls and proceeding purposefully. Today was a great day!

Today's Thoughts...

I've been doing well on our journey, staying the course and losing more weight (yes, I've weighed myself) and feeling physically fine. I haven't thought about it much though, to be honest. I just sort of do what I know I have to do to succeed in finally losing all this fat....I haven't even had the time to blog about my meals because sometimes I can't even recall what I ate that day. And this is because I have my dad to think about a lot of the time. Lately, it's been he who permeates my thoughts, and this is something I wrote while thinking about what's going on right now in my life, my mind and soul. Sometimes it helps to write down what I am feeling and I thought it would be OK to share it.

Saying good-bye to my dad has been very very hard.....But I thought about it and I see now that I can actually feel good about being witness to the process of his death. I feel as though I have been privileged to be a part of this process, as it was my privilege to be a part of his incredible life!!

Right now I am being thankful for the times we shared, the love we shared and the laughs, I will always he thankful for the laughs. He's not gone yet in body, but I believe his spirit left us already, he's teetering between earth and heaven and I am coming to terms with the fact that I will miss him with all my heart. And I will love him, ALWAYS.

Floating on dreams of the future me....

Simulated me.. (I wish)...

Today, when I was working out in the pool (isn't that cool, that I can actually form a sentence which includes... working out!!!), I had a 'reality' moment. I've thought of this before, but not really quite in this way. As I was walking in the water, I realized, hey, this is what it's going to be like when I reach my goal... easy to move around, light on my feet, not weighed down by the fat... IT WAS WONDERFUL... I floated on my back for a while just thinking about that!

Of course, reality had to rush back in, as I was walking up the steps out of the pool, the 'weight of the world' landed directly back on my poor two little feet! My body is grateful that I'm on this journey, and so am I!~

Glad I Got That Out...

...of my system! I am back to normal. No, I didn't touch a piece of chocolate. I'm a lot more dedicated than that. But I must admit, I was tempted to make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich of all things...Ha! Of course, I decided the weigh-in on the 15th would be much worse than it is now if I actually did it, so no deviation from me. Besides, I really have no desire for anything that will hamper my success.

It is back to basics for me though. No veggies besides lettuce for a week at least. And then only those that are suggested in the Atkins plan. Maybe Mr. A knew what he was talking about after all?!! ;)

I am thankful for,
My children
My perseverance
Music
Friends
Life!!!!