I just have to say..

Ray and Carole came into town this weekend....and Carole, you look AMAZING. seriously. I wouldnt tell you, you look amazing if you truely didnt. I think one of the biggest motivators are seeing results, and seeing the results around you. Carole is going to be in a bikini this summer, who else is?!?!??!

I am back on the wagon too!

I went to bed last night frustrated with myself once again for not sticking to my diet (I will spare you the details on what I ate because it's way too embarrassing!) So I woke up this morning with a new determination to stick to the weight watchers plan 100% for one week. Then I am going to reevaluate on Sunday night to see if it worked and I should do it for another week, or if I need to change courses. I am trying to set smaller goals for myself so I don't get overwhelmed. I keep thinking, Oh I've got until June so it doesn't matter if I eat an entire bag of candy now, I'll just do better next week! I need to start being accountable NOW!!! I want to be AWESOME too!

need a treat?

Hello ladies and gents! So i am sitting here, reeeealllly wanting a "treat" to satisfy my sweet tooth, so im rumaging through the cabinets and i dont find anything, not a cookie or ice cream, nothing...which is good, right? well...yea cause if i found a box of cookies i would eat the whole thing... but i did find some hot cocoa mix and wallla! It does satisfy your need for something delish, guys. And there are millions of different flavors of hot cocoa, so read the lables, make sure its not too crazy unhealthy and drink away. I like drinking tea and stuff at night, to help wind down, so maybe cocoa will help me satisfy that sweet tooth. Im in the mood to start this back up again. If im ever gonna get my tummy tuck, im going to need to lose this weight! ( and yes im going to get a tummy tuck one day, fam, have you seen my deflated balloon tummy? its gross. You would think since im like really young my skin would have gone back to normal....NOPE! of course not :) anyways, im gonna get back to eating good tomorow. I havent been feeling well lately and i dont know whats wrong (like i feel like im going to throw up), and its pretty consistant, so i guess my only option is to ignore that and move along with the diet? i dont know. Thanks for the update Carole, hows everyone else doin? TAM?!?!?! TRACY?!?! ERIC?!?!? come on guys, lets talk about it!! Ill have cody take some nude pics of me so you can see how sexy i am......JUST KIDDING

Milestones!

OMG (G standing for "goodness" of course)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My original wedding ring fits once again!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited/glad/encouraged to reach that milestone. I have missed wearing that ring for the past 5 years, at least. I'm not sure of my exact weight, but I know I weighed 157 at my wedding, so I am around there now. I have decided to go back to weighing myself only once or twice a month, as I was getting psychologically messed up by seeing the daily rise and fall of the scale. So I have decided to hide the scale until the end of the month. I hope you all are making strides and figuring out what works for you. Emily, I know you were joking when you said that being fat was awesome, but I am not: Getting smaller is AWESOME!!!!!!!

Mo Money!

Mom just said she is adding $50 bucks to the pot! Mom says for everyone to keep going, don't give up, the sacrifice is worth it or should I say the hunger is worth it! Being fat is not awesome---Emily! And nobody better be smoking in this family! We are on a quest for health!
Love,
Mom

OK - Let's pull together!!

Hey all. I agree that heading into month 3, it can get stale. We get into our routines, but they can get old fast if we don't change them up!! We need to be encouraging each other like we have been, and offering our ideas, so we all have plenty of tools in our arsenal. I have reached a plateau, which is a fancy way of saying the scale isn't budging. I am 95% following my diet, and working out at the gym for at least 1 hour 4-5 times a week, and nothing's changing. I'm trying to figure out what I can do that's different!!!
I've re-learned a couple of good lessons about shopping. Obviously we all know not to go shopping hungry, so I have a box of 90 calorie granola bars in the car that I can grab if I forget to eat before I go. This rule will also help you follow the other rule. Regardless of what dear hubby and/or dear children want to eat, if it is a weakness of yours, just drop it and walk away!!! Don't buy chips for your hubby if you will just end up on the couch with the bag in your lap!! If he desperately wants something you can't have, give it to him immediately after returning from the store and tell him to hide it real good!! Ray hides his goodies way up high, because even if I want them, I am too lazy to drag the ladder out from the garage to reach them, lol.
A side note - Ray is doing really well on the diet - this example is from before he started!!!
OK everyone - keep up the good work, and remember, even though we have a sort of a deadline, this is not a race. Think Tortois and Hare - we want to be the tortois and actually cross the finish line, not the Hare and get lost halfway through!!! Good luck all.

not doing so well.

everyone is smokin me! i need some inspiration. lets hear from everyone.

Weekends!

Hey fam damily! How are you doing? I had a pretty good week this week and then kind of blew it on the weekend. Two steps forward one step back! Does this ever happen to you guys? I think it is because I don't have the same routine as the rest of the week. I don't know. Anyway, I have almost lost 10 pounds. My clothes are fitting better but I still have so much to lose! How are you doing? Any numbers or are you just going to surprise us at the reunion. :) Anyway, I did something fun and I wanted to share with you. I had Evan take a picture of me front, back, and side in just my undies then I took a permanent black marker and took off all the rolls and unwanted inches off my body. I could actually see my old body hiding in there. It was amazing. Now if only I could coax that body to come out. Anyway, I hung it in my bathroom inside the bathroom mirror so I could look at it everyday but it would be hidden from plain view. Obviously, I am not going to post those pictures here but I wanted to share the idea and see if it helps anyone else. I could actually see the body I wanted to get back. It was very enpowering. Keep up the good work. Eric we haven't heard from you in awhile. Let us know how you are doing! Love you all!

Dont you wanna?!

We gonna be SO sexy!

Did anyone else know that....

Diana has lost 128 lbs?! Amazing isn't it! If she can do it, so can we!

News Flash ~~~~Ray did a workout!.... two workouts!~~~~

I did two early morning workouts in the last three days. monday and wednesday I got up at 4:30 am and did my first workouts in years. Monday was the hardest, I nearly threw up. I started with some stretching then into kettlebell cardo swings. (kettlebell workouts are awsome, look it up if you don't know what they are) after that some pushups and situps. (I will admit I had to do girl pushups......man I am out of shape) then finally some curls and presses with the kettlebell. I felt great all day, I helped me eat right all day and drink my water. I have done real well with my water and have only had 2 sodas in the last 3 days........I would usually have 6 or so by now. I am a little sore all over from my workouts but all around feel pretty good. I have not been super great with the diet though. Something I need to work on. I did eat breakfast the days I worked out, I usually skip breakfast.

Well it is just a start. I want to do 2 more workouts this week, that is my goal. I need to do more before I start seeing results but I have taken the first step.

Ray

Dont buy goodies

Im telling you. Dont buy them. Cause as soon as you do, you will eat them. I dont care if your husband wants them or your kids....that means youll have it too. i dont believe in treating myself anymore! If all you have is salad in the house then all you can eat is salad :)

Confession

Well since we are all confessing....I made brownies yesterday. I don't know why, I wasn't even craving them or anything. I was actually craving Jello pudding with whipped cream but I made brownies instead. Not a good idea! And I had a brownie for breakfast this morning! What the hell is wrong with me?!

Life Happens

This post is for Emily or anyone else who has ever pigged out while trying to loose weight. It's okay. It's over. Life happens. I have found for me that I can't go to the grocery store on an empty stomach. I buy way too much food and it's usually the food that is not good for me. I have "Red Flag" foods like pizza, chips, cookies, and chocolate. If they are in the house. I will eat them. It is so much harder when you see food that tempts you. You think to yourself I'll just eat 1/2 a cookie and then you see the other half and you say to yourself I'll just finish that up. And then another cookie stares you down and pretty soon you are popping cookies and you say to yourself, "I don't care". But afterwards you feel awful. Emily, we have all been there. We have all done it. You need to forgive yourself and just move forward. Don't worry about yesterday. We are all going to take this one day at a time. We are all trying to change our eating habits which is a really difficult thing to do. Sometimes I say to myself, I used to be able to eat a candy bar, I should be able to eat a candy bar now. The difference is I would eat a candy bar maybe once every three months and now I want a candy bar every day! You need to find a good balance in your life. We are all in it for the long run. Yes, we are all striving to lose 25 pounds by June but for the majority of us we have a lot more weight to lose. We are going to have to work on this for the rest of our lives. So for now. Hide the cookies in the freezer, give them Cody to bring to work, or throw them away. You are doing great Emily. We believe in you and we all know you can do this. It's going to be hard, but we are all in it together. We love you!

BAD day...really, it was bad.

MAN! i was doing so well! ive never, EVER been so dedicated and self controlling, until today... :( I messed up big time today and didnt follow my diet at all. I didnt eat breakfast cause I wanted to get to the grocery store before the girls nap time, then at the store i dont know what i was thinking but i bought a BIG thing of cookies for valentines day but i ate just about all of them for lunch.....and dinner... :( haha Ok so ive figured out, you cant let yourself slip or have a "treat" every now and then or else you will end up eating all the treats in sight! I have learned something new today. Now im going to have to make cody eat all of those cookies so i have no temptation, cause i seriously cannot control myself around them. Dang. So no more having treats for me. Back to the diet tomorow. i hope. i need some motivation, guys. help me!

a fresh start

ok, guys, the truth is, I took December off of my diet so I could enjoy the holiday without totally stressing out over calories. I didn't pig out, but I didn't weigh and measure, and if I wanted a cookie, I ate it.

Well, January rolled around, and I kept going to the gym, but couldn't get myself back on the food track. I would eat good and then pig out after the kids went to bed (that has always been my weak period). So this past couple of days I have really been giving myself the pep talk to get back into it. I am over halfway to my goal, and it would be devastating to have to start all over again. I think I jinxed myself when I went public with my diet!! I honestly did great until I started telling people that I was on a diet!! so I am going to keep my mouth shut and get back to work! (I'll still keep the blog page updated though). So, for those of you keeping score, I am back to 165, my January 1 starting weight.

On a positive note, I did something pretty cool this weekend. I participated in a 5k run on Saturday. Considering that at this time last year I had plantar faciitis in both feet and could only do cardio on the bike, I am thrilled to be able to do it! My PF is mostly gone, but it does flare up if I don't treat my feet nicely, so I have to be careful to run with good form, and with good shoes, and also to wear shoes with inserts most of the day, but that is a small price to pay considering the runner's high. I completed the 5k in 33:46, which is about 3 minutes faster than the last 5k I ran (pre-kids), but still not as fast as I think I can go - I was taking it pretty easy at first, to get a feel for the road. My goal is to compete in another 5k, and run my heart out to see how fast I can do it, and then to compete in a 10k before our family deadline.

OK, I've filled up the blog page, so that's it for now. Keep up the good work everyone - I know we can all do it!!! Wouldn't it be cool if we could all participate together in some sort of athletic event? Maybe we can take a poll and see what everyone would be interested in, and find an event. Let me know what you think, and Tracy - maybe you could put a poll up on the blog?

update:week one

Alright guys. Just wanted to give an update on me my first week! It was tough....It feels like this was a month instead of a week, BUT i did it! I did cheat a time or two (eating a piece of bacon when i wasnt supposed to, and eating a salad for dinner instead of a meal bar) But i only cheated those two times. So I lost 6 pounds this week. I now weigh 204 instead of 210. ouch. i said it! ewwww. So it was supposed to be lose 6 pounds in two weeks but i did it in one week...does that mean i wont lose any weight next week? hmmmm...

ANYWAYS... I have found that i get full now just by eating 3 small meals and the two snacks a day. I have NEVER gotten full off of one of those tiny snack bars, but now I do. I think my body is getting used to eating smaller portions....dont get me wrong, It was torture going to bed hungry everynight, not having larger snacks and stuff. But i just kinda made myself do it and i didnt think about it and it worked. I cant believe i accually am doing this. I have never been able to have this self control before, and i like it!

I have exersized a TINY bit...but not much. I know i need to. You guys are lucky, you all have exersize equipment in your homes, we dont. If we had a treadmill, id be on it every chance i got. But oh well, I think this week im going to do some pilates. Its easy.

So how are you guys doing? keep me updated on how much weight you guys are losing?? Also, i wanna tell you guys to TRY THE PROTEIN WATER....it really helps me. Im out of it now and having withdrawls! I love the kiwi strawberri and the pink lemonade flavors! so good and filling.

One more thing...I know some of you have been saying that you dont ever feel full even when youve just eaten. DONT GIVE UP. I know the feeling trust me! Just make sure to get in a couple healthy small snacks in each day and you may still be hungry, but your body is going to get used to not eating plate after plate of food, guys. I cant believe how little im eating now and feeling satisfied, not full, but satisfied. And in a couple hours when i start to get a hunger pain, i have a snack (some fruit or protein water) and then im good until the next meal.
I went the first couple of days on this diet feeling STARVING the whole time, but i just stuck it out eating smaller portions, and by now im used to it, just after one week. And trust me, im not starving myself, I really am just eating normal portions. I cant believe how much i ate before... I wanna hear updates from you guys, cause you guys motivate me to keep going!

It is me

Hey Fam - it's Ray!

I finally got on here. I have been thinking about this for a while but have not started yet. After all these years of being overweight getting started is pretty hard to do. I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out when I am going find the time to work out. The only time I have found that I may be able to do it is 4:30 am. That means I am going to have to sacrifice the little sleep I get. As for a starting weight I flux between 290 and 310......ouch! 3 bills, I never thought I would have to say that.

My plan is to do 30 mins of cardo/weight training 4-5 days a week and cut back dramaticly on my sugar intake. I plan to cut soda completely and replace my beverage intake with water (I don't drink enough). In addition I have to stop overeating. I overeat at every meal and am constantly snacking. I know it is in my head and I overeat due to stress, boredom, and whatever else that is not going my way in my life.

I have never been much of a diet person so I need to increase my activity level. well that is all for now...

wish me luck! Our computer got fried this week, so I don't have any photos on the computer to download right now, but I'll get one on here soon.

Scale Woes....

So whose scale do you go by? Yours or the doctors? The doctor's scale says I am three pounds lighter than my home scale, obviously I'd love to believe that scale, but I am not going back to the doctor just to get weighed. (BTW, I am a human again...6 week check up went good! And I got the official go ahead to....start weight watchers, thought I was going to say something else, didn't you!) Any who....I did start WW on Monday and I have had a heck of a time staying on it! I am so frustrated! I hate dieting! I am constantly hungry as soon as the words dieting enter my head, I know it's just a mental tactic to sabotage myself but I don't know how to get past it. Literally I can't stop thinking about food. Every morning I think, okay I am going to try this again today, but by lunch I've blown it and am frustrated and STILL starving! How is this possible? I think I am going to go duct tape my mouth closed...I'll let you know if it works!

Need a snack?

Thanks for sharing some of the snack ideas. I am snacking on the special k challenge, cause you have to. I LOVE their protein water. It totally fills me up when its like 3pm and i need something to make it to dinner. You can buy the stuff you mix in with bottled water or you can buy the bottles already mixed. The mix i have has 30 cal. per serving and the bottles have 50. and they DONT have aspirtame in them (i thought they did)...which is good. But they seriously help curb hunger until its meal time. It is a little expensive, but i think its worth the money, so i stock up. But they have protein and fiber in them. I also love the special k snack bars, cause they do the same filling with only 90 calories.

I also appreciate what carole said about slim fast. Guys....its pretty cheap...its good for you (as long as you drink lots of water)....AND it fills you up. I had an old boss at target who lost 60lbs on the slimfast diet. And they changed it. Its not just sub 2 shakes for 2 meals anymore, you get to eat more now on it (thats also true for the special k challenge, they allow more food so its healthier). As long as you stick to it and dont overeat.

Im doing good so far in the 3 days that ive been on the special k challenge. I havent cheated yet eventhough ive felt like going to mcdonalds and getting a big mac! I have found that i am hungry sometimes when i cant eat yet, but i know its because im used to eating sooooooo much at every meal. Im really determined to do this now. Im going to start making time to exersize. Ill put another update up when im done with my first week. :) Good job everyone!

helpful hints - knowledge is power :)

Hey, Emily - thanks for sharing how you are doing it! I think we have all tried and failed to lose weight with various methods. I have tried and failed, and tried and been successful to a degree many times! The weight I have lost so far has been the most I have ever lost, by using the classic "eat right and exercise" method, and I am shocked that I am still following the plan. I have many tools that I mix and match to the occasion. Here are a few that have worked for me.

I started out on Slim-Fast, using their meal and snack bars, and following their online diet plan to the tee (measuring and timing everything). I am not so meticulous now about measuring and weighing, as I have a better idea of how much I am eating on sight, but every once in a while I break out the food scale just to keep myself in check, and I keep their meal bars on hand in case I am too busy with the kids to fix myself a good lunch.

My second trick is to always keep healthy snacks on hand. That is my downfall - I get hungry between meals, and I want to grab something quickly, and it's usually chips, peanut butter, and other bad stuff, so I keep a good stock of apples, string cheese, and snack bars (my favorites are the quaker oatmeal bars, 90 calories each, and filling). the last tip I'll share today is peppermint! I have a stock of peppermint candies, and if I get the munchies, and I know I'm just bored, I pop one of those in my mouth, and I forget about eating until the urge to do so passes. I hope these can be helpful to you all, and please share more tips!!!

Pigged Out This Weekend

I had a pretty sucky weekend with my eating. I always have a harder time on the weekends. We had two dinner parties and I lost my focus. Today is Monday though and I am back on track. My plan for weightloss is eating 6 small protein packed meals, cutting out salt as best I can and cutting out dairy. (Dairy upsets Ryan's tummy anyway!) I am adding more fruits and veggies into my diet also. I am also trying to excercise 5 days a week. I have an elliptical machine in my house and 2 days a week I go walking on a track for 40 minutes. I know this works for me as long as I stick to the program. I weight myself once a week and I take measurements so if I don't see the scale move at least I might see a reduction somewhere else. I am so excited for everyone. How was your weekend eating?

Ask and ye shall recieve...

Well here is my "before" picture. I am just hoping my "after" picture doesn't look exactly the same! So my plan is to start Weight Watcher again. My good friend Donna has a friend that just lost 50 lbs in 5 months on Weight Watchers (she is nursing too) and I got really inspired by her before and after pictures. I don't even know this girl but I felt really excited for her and it also gave me hope and determination! I am starting this competition as the heaviest girl (I feel like I am on the Biggest Loser). I was laughing this afternoon because Emily told me her weight and she was sad but I was like "I wish I only weighed that much!" Oh well! But I have lost a whopping 2 lbs since Jan. 1 so...watch out everyone!

Gonna give you guys a real good look here...

And no post would be complete without pictures of my babies!



Ha ha! Here is a good one of Dad!

late start...i know

So today ive officially started. I know...im a little late. But i thought cody and i were going to get a gym membership, but we ended up having to wait until next paycheck. Bummer. So we just went grocery shopping yesterday and got some healthy stuff. So today i start. Im going to kick it off by doing the special k challenge, cause ive heard it helps you jumpstart your weightloss...and its really easy. I also got a scale and found out just how much i weigh but im not telling :) i told tammy. im too embarassed to put it up here. maybe if you ask me ill tell you. :) hows everyone else doing?