A year ago this coming Wednesday I decided it was time to take care of myself and lose weight. On January 4, 2016, I joined Weight Watchers and on January 5th I went to my first meeting. I started my Weight Watchers journey not as a New Year's resolution, but as a gift to myself. Because back in October of 2015 my world turned upside down and I needed to find my happiness. Not a lot has actually changed over this past year but I have learned more about myself than I thought I would. That "I have learned" link? Click on it. Everything I realized in my first month and a half with Weight Watchers still holds true today. I am proud to say that I have maintained my Lifetime membership since I received it 5 months ago. It was this photo taken in September 2015 that gave me a harsh dose of reality. I knew I had gained weight over the years, but I never admitted to myself how much I gained or how much it showed. My daughter was so proud that she took this picture and I didn't … [Read more...]
A Year Ago This Week – Finding My Happiness
A year ago this week, my world and that of my family's turned upside down when I was told they were eliminating my position at work. For six years I had been working in what was called a Baylor position. I worked 24 hours a week (every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 8 hour shifts) in exchange for getting paid what I would be making if I worked 36 hours a week. I gave up my weekends, but we didn't have to pay for child care, I made enough money to support my family (because my husband's income is unpredictable) and I could participate in school activities with my girls. It was perfect for my family. A year ago this week, I unintentionally started a journey to finding my happiness. You see, I thought I was happy. After all, I was, for the most part, a stay-at-home-mom but I also had a great job that supported my family. I had the best of both worlds. Who wouldn't want that? A year ago this week, I started learning that sometimes you need to let go. I cried. I cried a lot. I … [Read more...]
Pixies Boudoir Photography (Because I Could)
A few weeks ago I saw a posting in my blogging community asking for bloggers to do a boudoir mini-shoot for a local company. I've always been intrigued by boudoir photography but it's a bit out of my price range for something only my husband and close girl friends will see. The opportunity for a free mini-shoot with Pixies Boudoir Photography, in exchange for me sharing my experience, was something I could not pass up! So...one evening I met up with 4 other female bloggers for one of the most fun photo shoots I've done in a long time! Seriously, so much fun! Despite all my talk lately about weight loss, I really am comfortable in my own skin. Plus, I'm a pretty open person. Some of the other girls, not so much. Doing the mini-shoot at Pixies Boudoir Photography was way out of their comfort zone and they did it to test the boundaries of their zone. None of us regretted the choice to do the shoot. We were all excited by how we looked after our make-overs. If you want to … [Read more...]
Weight Loss – What I’ve Learned
It's been a month and a half since I made the decision to take care of myself and join Weight Watchers. I thought I'd give an update in the form of "weight loss - what I've learned". Believe me, I've learned more about myself in the past 1.5 months than I ever have in my past efforts at weight loss! 1) Weight loss is a mental challenge I can't emphasize that enough. Weight loss is a mental challenge. The mental part is, in my opinion, the hardest part of losing weight. Learning to CHOOSE to be healthy is hard. Let's face it, it's a CHOICE to eat donuts and candy instead of fruits and vegetables. Keeping up with the program and not beating yourself up when you have a bad day or even a bad week is hard too. It's easy to say "screw it" when you don't lose as much as you had hoped, or God forbid, you gain that week. Pick yourself up, tell yourself it's ok (because it really is ok), and get back on track. Learning doesn't happen without some failures. 2) Lose weight for … [Read more...]
Taking Care of Me
This post may seem a bit cliché...a new year and a resolution to be more healthy and lose weight. It seems like everyone makes the same resolution. But this is not a New Year's Resolution. I have long ago given up on those. This post has been in the making since October. It's not about losing weight, it's about taking care of me. This is me a year-and-a-half ago. I was 10 pounds lighter than I am now. I was on a mission to change. It worked for a few months. I lost some weight and gained some happiness. Then it got boring and became a chore to keep myself in check. I quit. Over the past year-and-a-half I simply lived life. I wasn't extremely happy but I wasn't depressed either. I went off of my Celexa (anti-depressant) because I thought it made me feel muted. Overall, I thought life was ok. In October I had a bit of a wake-up call. It started when I was told that they were eliminating my position at my job. I stressed and stressed some more over what my future held for … [Read more...]
Finding More Of Myself
Many people have been asking me how I am doing on the journey to find myself since I posted my first post almost three weeks ago. I thought it was about time for an update. My attitude has improved. I guess I really did just need to "suck it up" as my Hubby says. Ok, maybe other things played into my attitude change too. I've been diligently taking my vitamin D as my doctor recommended, I've been making a conscious effort to be more positive, and I've been making a conscious effort to be more active. It's amazing how much better you feel when you just get up and do something. I haven't lost any weight yet. In fact, I think I gained a pound or two while I was camping last week. Am I disappointed? A little. Am I beating myself up over it. No. Change takes time and I know that. My Fitbit remains on my arm at all times and I am learning a ton from it. In combination with MyFitnessPal I am gaining insight into my bad habits affecting my weight. Ugh, I REALLY need to work on my … [Read more...]
