My Journey to Fit! ~ Weight Loss ~

This really has been a journey...one that so many struggle with on a daily basis. Over eight years ago my cousin Traci and I started a blog (which I have now imported all the posts into this blog) to journal our weight loss journey. I went back today and read my very first post (found here). During the beginning of that journey my starting weight was 262 pounds! That was so scary to type! On & off for years she and I worked so hard to try to achieve weight loss and we definitely had our ups and downs. As I imported the old blog posts over to this blog I noticed something...I stopped posting my "starting weight" and instead I just posted the number of pounds I gained or loss. The truth of that is, during the time of trying to lose weight I actually GAINED weight...that folks...put me at my ALL TIME HIGH of 285 pounds! That's right people...I was gaining on that 300 pound mark! I don't even know how or why it happened but it did! I think some of it came from my frustration with my PCOS (which is another post in itself)!

This photo my friends was one of the starting photos from our weight loss blog. I was embarrassed enough about this one but last night I found two more on my computer that were way worse!

Who IS that girl anyway? Are any of you reading this looking at these photos and thinking...that could be me...that could be MY starting photo...could it? Well I am here to tell you...that might be what your starting photo looks like but that does NOT have to be the final photo. 

Starting last January (2013) I finally said enough is enough. Enough of using my PCOS as an excuse. Enough of just not trying. I had tried several times for a few weeks/months at a time but didn't see the progress and finally gave in to temptation again. I remember at some point coming across a blog on pinterest and coming across THIS post (go ahead...go read it...I will be here when you get back). Reading that post by Mama Laughlin was an awakening for me. I could have very easily typed every single word written there. I know EXACTLY how it feels to feel better just by hiding your "rolls", I know what it feels like to put on your "best" outfit and still know you are the biggest girl in the room, I know what it feels like to feel like you look your absolute best & put on the fake smile when you are miserable inside BECAUSE of the way you look on the outside. I KNOW how this feels. I STILL fill this way at times. 

I have come a long way in the past 12 months. I have lost 63 pounds...gained a few back...constantly struggle to stay on track or get BACK on track but the biggest thing I have learned the past year is that it CAN be done. IT CAN. There is no excuse big enough to not live a healthy life. I hope that through my blogging I can encourage someone else out there...DO NOT GIVE UP. 

YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR OWN DESTINY. PERIOD.

HERE ARE BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS TO HELP ENCOURAGE YOU.

THERE WILL BE MORE TO COME!

I HAVE ONLY JUST BEGUN!

:o) T!ff@ny

PCSing: Reserve Style!

For the non-military PCS stands for "Permanent Change of Station"...which is kind of a strange term to me because the change of station is very rarely "permanent" but anywho....

Usually when you hear PCS you think of the active duty side of the military but not always the case. There are different orders that the reserve half can get that makes it very similar to PCSing on the active duty side. They hubby made E7 just a few months ago and now they unit he has been at since 2004 no longer has a spot for him so orders were cut for him to go to another unit in which he was not crazy about.

Now our family is considering taking on an active duty position. Two have been offered up to him over the past two years but it was never the time. The two places were in North Carolina and Jacksonville, FL. Both places were offered before he made E7 so we are not 100% sure how things will work out now that he has advanced. If these don't work out there are others (for instance Charleston, South Carolina - and other places I am not sure if I would be willing to go yet!).

Our family has prayed & decided that we feel a move to Jacksonville, FL would be a good change of pace for us. We have spoken to our family about it and they are being very supportive. We DO NOT want to leave forever but for a few years it would be nice. Money is a huge factor in going but not the only one. It puts us closer to some of our best friends that we don't see often enough. It also puts us closer to my dad and to my sister in law. It is closer to the beach and we have researched the schools & churches and think there are some good options for our family. 

Right now we are in a holding pattern waiting to hear if we can go there or not! It is so annoying to finally have all three of us and our families on board and not know! :/ Anyone in the military will tell you that is the military life. The hubby hasn't spoken to anyone that "calls the shots" at the new unit yet so sending up prayers and keeping fingers crossed that we find out this week something! I would be disappointed if it was a no but at least it could give us the option to start looking at other places. I hate to even research other options until we know it is a "yay" or "nay" in Jacksonville, FL.

I will update once we know more! I hope once we do move (if it is in God's will!) to use this blog to keep our family updated with our little life! :)

I got a J-O-B!

I am so excited! I applied at the VA hospital as a student nurse tech earlier in the year and I got the job! I start tomorrow and have two weeks worth orientation. I am excited and hope that this helps me out in the future of looking for a nursing job! :) I am excited to work with the patients! I will update on how it goes...soon! :)

Cruise Baby Cruise

After all the hype of everyone's stories of cruises we were so excited! All in all, we had a decent time. It was fun but still probably not as "exciting" as we expected. I know A LOT of people LOVE cruises so this is nothing at all against them but to Brian and I we wouldn't list it as one of our top vacations. I just think it is kind of like the difference between people who like the mountains and those that like the beach...nothing personal but just a preference. :) The food was okay...there was not really anything we could just brag about. The entertainment on our cruse was amusing but I wouldn't say it was the highlight of the trip. It felt more like we were being "babysat" while on the boat versus entertained. The port of calls were okay but they shuttle you through these gift shops and when you get through those...and the whole time you are in port...people are constantly trying to get you to buy something. I think we will try it again one day but if we do it will probably be through Royal Caribbean because we saw their boat "Oasis" and it looks amazing! We promised we would take Baylee on a cruise so it will probably be that one...that way we can try it and take her on the same trip in case we don't ever want to cruise again we can knock out two birds with one stone. :) OH...I also heard Disney Cruises are great so I would love to try one of those if the Royal Caribbean one works out. :)

C25K! :)

Well the vacation didn't turn out so well....as in I ended up getting food poisoning that led to colitis! Needless to say, I ended up losing a few pounds while on vacation and the week following! I am finally feeling better but tomorrow I start a new job and not sure how the food thing will play in so my biggest two things this week are water and exercise. I HAVE GOT to get better with drinking water which is an ongoing battle with me. As far as exercise...I have decided to try the C25K (Couch to 5K) route which brings me to the title of this post. :)


Brian and I did a walk/run 5K a little over a year ago and I have always wanted to do more but haven't. I decided I need to be exercising anyway so why not get motivated and take the next 8 weeks of my life before I start back school in August and train with the C25K program. It basically gets you to jog a 5K in 8 weeks by adding in a little bit of jogging each week and less and less walking. We shall she how it goes. I will do it Mon/Wed/Fri starting tomorrow. I will have to try to blog about it each of the nights. I have to do more research to see what kind of exercise I do or don't need to do the days I am not doing the C25K! 

Vacation Game Plan!

The hubby and I have never had a honeymoon so (after almost 12 years of marriage!) we are going on a cruise next week! I am so excited! These next few days I am going to try to do better on my diet....drink tons of water mainly because I feel so swollen! I know that there will be tons of food on the cruise but other than just the usual walking/swimming we will be doing all day everyday I also plan to:

1. Drink diet drinks and not the real stuff
2. Drink un-sweet tea
3. DEPENDING on how the water is I will try to have a few glasses a day
4. Walk a minimum of 1 mile for "exercise" each day (in addition to the walking we will be doing)
5. I am going to try to login to my fitness pal at least two times while I am gone. :)

Here we goooooo......

Don't Change What Works!

It has been so long since I have posted here. I didn't realize I would miss it. I started using my fitness pal which has been great but I feel like I need to write things out here as well! It is like I felt more accountable to put it here on a public journal. So here I am...making no promises as to how often but I am here...so to catch you up!

A few weeks ago my family came in from Arkansas. My cousin Traci and I (You can see some of her older posts on the sidebar) again talked about our journey of losing weight. For the first time in a long time we were able to spend some alone time to talk this out ... this weight loss thing ... and I did...and still do...feel more motivated. I STILL want it. It is constantly in the back of my mind. It is important to both of us and I know it will take some time but as long as week keep working towards the goal I KNOW we will get there!

These past few weeks I haven't done as good as usual but I realized there were several key things I wasn't doing that I did before when I had success. Here they are:

• I have not been getting my water in! I think this has been the number one key thing!
• I have not been journaling regularly. I have been documenting on my fitness pal each day which is great but I need to journal a few times a week here as well...accountability!
• Exercise...I wasn't doing anything but walking...and getting my house cleaner than usual because I was more active but since I have been out of school I have been some kind of lazy! :/ Brian says I just bottomed out and I guess that is okay, too. So back to more moving around!
• Diet Drinks - I had done so good about them but here lately I haven't done good at all! I just kind of drink what I want but gotta get back at not drinking the "real" stuff and make diet drinks be the new"real" stuff. I have to remind myself if I am thirsty enough I will drink what is there.
• The last thing I have done is just not saying "no". For instance, if someone asks me to go out to eat with them I feel obligated. The scale nor the wallet can handle that kind of pressure! Gotta get with it!

So...here we go...back to those things and a reminder to Don't Change What Works!!!!

No News Is Good News

I haven't blogged in awhile but there is still that part of me that likes to hold on to this blog as my online journal even if no one reads it. I could advertise more especially to family & friends but it really isn't about the audience to me as much as it is about just the knowing I can come here to say what is on my mind!

For now, no new "news". I am finishing up my third semester of nursing school, Baylee finishing up middle school and Brian has a few months before he is 100% done with paramedic school! Things have been stressful but thankfully we are going on a cruise in less than three weeks. We didn't really need to spend the money but boy oh boy do we need a break!

Well back to studying! I have my last chapter test tomorrow and my final next week! I will try to do a post about my third semester journey...after I see that final grade! :)

Continuance

Continuance - the act or instance of continuance.

I almost titled this post "starting over" but I decided that doesn't accurately reflect where I am in this journey. I have strayed away for a few months now but today I am "continuing" where I left off. Yes, I have gained a few of the lost pounds back but not all so I will continue to lose weight! Yes, I slipped off the wagon but now I will continue with the same focused mindset that I had before!

Let's do this!!!!!!

Weigh-In: Week 7

No excuses but the last couple of weeks have been crazy and to be honest I really haven't "tried" to do better these last few weeks...not as hard as I should have anyway. I have still stayed away from "regular" sodas & sweet tea which is a biggie for me. I have also done a "little" better about food but not as good as I should have. I can't tell you the last time I had some water & I haven't exercised in weeks. That being said...this week I am mainly focusing on my water intake & getting back on track with my exercise since those are things I have made the smallest effort to do. Next week, I will add in being a little more strict on my diet. I have 18 more pounds I want to lose before our cruise in 69 days so I better get with it! Unfortunately, I am back up 3 pounds from when I started and now after seven weeks I am just at a loss of:

I have two words to say to that...GAME ON!


P.S. I haven't blogged since last Monday....gotta get back on that...makes me feel more motivated!

Weigh-In: Week 6

Well, I guess I am going to keep gaining and losing this one pound if I don't get on top of things. I didn't expect to lose big after the week I had. It was so stressful and I bombed my first test in a year so wasn't real motivated to eat well. This weekend I had to hit the reset button & just chill-out. Brian & I had Longhorn Friday night, Saturday I had a shake & snacked during the day & me and the girls had Bonsai Saturday night. On Sunday, we ate Mexican for lunch, Bop's Custard for afternoon dessert, leftover Mexican for dinner, boiled peanuts & some starbursts chews. Needless to say, I am glad I didn't gain more! So here is my six week total:

I Know What I Want To Be When I Grow Up!

Can you believe it? I actually know what I want to be when I grow up! :-) It has ONLY taken me almost 33 years! As you can see from my other posts, I am in nursing school! I was trying to do a nursing school Vlog and will probably update it eventually but anyone who has been in nursing school will tell you how little time you have to do anything...even if it is something you really enjoy! That is a story for another day!


I may or may not have mentioned it before but I have wanted to do travel nursing for a long time. I also would love to teach...and work with veterans and I have a passion for wanting to work in the mission field! That being said...I want to be a nurse in the medical missionary field.  Yup...that is what I want to do one day.


I would love to work at the VA to work with Veterans. When Baylee graduates I would like to become a travel nurse & perhaps when I get tired of traveling I would like to teach nursing. However, I would LOVE to volunteer in the medical missionary field as often as I can in between travel nursing and/or school semesters if I am teaching!


Feels good to FINALLY "know". 

Humor in Weight-Loss

I started out this week sooooo well! Then on Tuesday I was rushing to clinical and didn't have time to grab breakfast. I grabbed a 90 calorie fiber bar and some water. I was soooo hungry by the time I got home and Brian had made lunch (I was supposed to shake for lunch). It was red beans & rice made with deer sausage & brown rice. I felt I had eaten "too much" rice...it was a BIG bowl and said we would just shake for dinner and I would fix Baylee something since I needed to be studying for my test. Well as dinner time got closer & since Brian was coming home from school early I broke down & ordered a pizza and I am not even a "pizza" person! So I had two slices of pizza and 3 or 4 buffalo wings. I did at least drink water (with "Mio") both times. I thought...okay...tomorrow I have to get on it!


Woke up yesterday morning...started out with TWO pop tarts. LOL Not good I know but only had three hours of sleep because of studying for a test. Went to school...was miserable after I took my test since I am pretty sure I bombed it...and went through McDonald's and got a fish sandwich (observing lent), medium fries and a diet coke. My "pouting" got worse and I started feeling bad through the day. Didn't really want anything I had here and wasn't going to church because I was so sleepy and my head hurt (on top of pouting about my test!). So I decided I needed to order something else "meat free" and ultimately decided on load fries (without bacon) from Steak Escape. Ordered that and a diet coke. LOL WAIT...there is more...so sitting in line I look over and see Zaxby's and think...mmm....they have great milkshakes. SOOO got my fries/drink and went to Zaxby's and got a shake & fried mushrooms! After I ate that stuff I said to myself..."Self, you know you are going to have to confess all this tomorrow."


Fast forward to this morning, I woke up and decided okay let me weigh and see what the damage is to get me motivated...well I weighed...and not by much but I am less now than I have been since I have started this diet. Seriously?! How is it I can work so hard and barely lose a thing and eat horribly and lose! Makes no sense! Maybe I was at a plateau and didn't realize it and eating so bad jeered me right back on track. Either way, I will take it...onward & upward and looking forward to a better day today!!!!

Weigh In: Week 5

I am much a happier about this weeks weigh-in. I am still off about .2 pounds of where I originally was a few weeks ago but I will take it! I had a total loss this week of -3.8! I just hate I had to lose that weight TWICE so going to try really hard not to have a week that I gain so bad again! So that brings me to my 5 week total of:

It's JUST A Number! :)

Love This!

Blog Slacker!!!

I know no one reads this but me but I feel bad when I slack! For two reasons, one it makes me accountable even if it is just to myself and two on the off chance I would hate for someone to stumble across this blog that might need a little encouragement and think well she just quit too so why should I even try! So here we go...

As you know from my last weigh-in I ate horribly the week before last. This week hasn't been too much better but all in all MOST days I stayed under my calorie intake so we will see if I am back down to at least the -15.2 tomorrow. I am ready to get to at least -16 and stay there (and lose more of course) and not be stuck at this dreaded weight anymore.

We took my little brother out for his birthday last night and the pictures of me were HORRIBLE. Bad thing is I have lost a little weight but that being said you can't even tell in the photos...I look like Mrs. Potato Head! That does NOT work for me! I REFUSE to stay looking like that!

So I told Brian this morning...I am still sticking to the 1200 calories but I think what I am going to try to do now is shakes during the day and for the next week mainly do chicken, brown rice & veggies. I know I keep changing up my plan but the way I feel about it as long as I keep sticking to something (mainly the 1200 calories) and keep trying day after day that is all that matters! 

So my NEW plan is each Sunday or Monday to just set a goal for the WEEK. So that is what I am doing today...shakes morning/lunch, drink water! (definitely have slacked the past few weeks!) and try to walk a minimum of 1 1/2 miles even if I can't make or don't have time for my whole 3 miles 5-6 nights this week. I will "allow" myself so I don't feel like I am cheating...a fiber one bar or some kind of 100 calorie snack if I "have" to have one and some chicken broth soup in the afternoon if I have to have it!

So that is my game plan for now....off to fix a BIG glass of water! Will see ya in the morning or the week 5 weigh in!

Weigh-In: Week 4

I wasn't going to weigh-in at all this week because of how bad I did but I remembered accountability! Needless to say, I have done HORRIBLE since the Super Bowl. I went against my better judgment and let it be a cheat day. I started out the first two weeks of this diets as shakes only and lots of water. On week three I still did lots of water, some shakes, still did my walking and ate a few meals but kept it under my calories. I had weighed in the morning of the Super Bowl (a day early) and had lost a total of -15.2 for the first three weeks. The day after the Super Bowl I weighed and I had gained 3 lbs! I could tell I was "swollen" from the sodium of everything and just felt blah. I took a few days to get over that & was doing pretty good for the most part...through the week I weighed and had lost 2 of the 3 lbs. Fast forward to this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I was around the house other than running Baylee around all three days. There were teenagers here from Friday night until Sunday and I just didn't feel up to grocery shopping. Instead, I ate all the "not so good" for me food all weekend. Last night, we ended up eating Mexican when Brian came home from drill because I knew I blew it anyway. Since Monday or Tuesday of this week (even though through Thursday I ate pretty good) I had not had any water or exercised. Soooo....brings me to this morning...I feel bloated & constipated (yes TMI but just being truthful). I have gained +4 of my -15.2 lbs back. Yikes! I knew it would be bad but at least not as bad as I was thinking. So my game plan is to "mainly" shake this week, bring my water & exercise in. Next week on weigh-in day I will decide my plan for that week. So my four week total loss:

Not happy about that but at least the -11.2 was real loss and I didn't gain it all back. Just gives me insight on if I want it I have to dedicate!

He's Back...

This is the little guy that Traci created way back when we first starting blogging. He represents just an okay day. Just as Traci said in that post...there is hardly ever just black and white...sometimes we have some grey. That is definitely what today has been for me. I haven't had any "official" exercise but spent the whole day running around cleaning. I haven't eaten great but for the first time probably ever (on purpose anyway) I made un-sweet tea to drink and plan on using Sweet & Low. It actually has tasted pretty good. We put A LOT of sugar in our gallon of tea. Almost 2 cups! So I put about 3/4 cup in the pitcher and then when I fixed my glass it wasn't sweet enough for me so I added the sweetener and "voila!" it was perfect. So that is going to be my good. So as you see I had both positive and negatives today but I am going to keep on keeping on! Have a blessed weekend! 

Say What?!

So this week I haven't done so well! I haven't exercised the past two days...even though I started Monday off hardcore! I have GOT to get back on it today. We have been so busy this week but that is no excuse to stop all together. We did take a "casual' walk through a local botanical garden yesterday but hardly the same as the 30 day shred I am supposed to be doing or the 3-mile-a-day walk!

I started off the week bad on Sunday not eating so good at the Super Bowl party. Then I did fairly good both Monday & Tuesday with food. Yesterday, was a good friend's birthday and where they picked to go was definitely not on the diet and a type of place you can't order anything healthy. Everything is fried or made with fat and they only have about 6 things on the menu and that doesn't include a salad! So this morning my stomach is definitely not liking me!

It makes me want to blow the diet the rest of the week because I did weigh more this morning than I did on my weigh-in last Sunday when I weighed a day early. Then I thought...okay...even if I don't LOSE this week if I could AT LEAST get back to where I was on Sunday then I would be a happy girl during my weigh-in Monday! So I have four days to "get back on the train"...starting now...and prove to myself I CAN and WILL do this. So this week...the goal is simply just to be back at that -15.2 pounds. If I lose more than that great but if not I will take the -15.2 any day over gaining!

30 Day Shred!!!

What can I say...I love punishment! Okay so not so much! :-) So this morning I started my first day of Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred! You know she totally scares me but she looks awesome so how could I argue with her as just summoned me off the couch into 20 minutes of intense workout! Her DVD breaks it up into 3 levels and she says move on to the next level once you are comfortable with the first. PERSONALLY I will be on level 1 for at least the first 30 days! Heck I might be on it longer! :-) I am "trying" to do level 1 this month, level 2 next month and then level 3 the third month but not going to push myself if I can't get past level 1 for awhile. I had to do a modified version of the "easy" version on level 1 as it is! (They have two other ladies on the DVD and one does an "easy" version and the other does a more "intense" version of level 1 exercises.) I was barely keeping up and realized how out of shape I am and how much my muscles need to be built but I know it will happen! In addition to this I am still going to continue to do my 3 miles a day for 6 days a week and see how it goes! :-)