"99 Days Until Summer!!!!"

You read the title and you may have one of a few reactions. One being, "YAY!!! I'm soooo ready for summertime!!" Another being, "WHAT?!!! How did that happen?! I really should start my diet and exercise routine!!" I was perusing facebook today and ran across a friend of mine's, Darlene Osborne, facebook status update. This is what it read, "Dang (I did change that first word for my sensitive readers ;)  it! My friend posted today that there are 100 days until summer! I've been skipping going to the gym lately because it's been so busy around here. I was debating going today because I NEED to go and NEED to get back into a solid 4-6 times/week routine. Now I have to go for sure! Crap! 100 days? Really?" I instantly took this as a challenge! I've been being kinda relaxed on my journey I'm on. Letting little things slip here and there. I'm sure this is quite normal, but the reality of it is, if I keep being so relaxed it might take me forever to get to my final goal. I've also been calling it, "My final leg of THIS race" because I know it never really ends. Do you have something you'd like to accomplish by the first day of summer? To be exact it's Thursday, June 21st :) Maybe you're doing great and on your way! Maybe you're behaving like me.. sorta relaxed. Maybe you haven't even started that New Years Resolution yet?! I have decided to take advantage of the next 99 days. I took some time to think about what I'd like to accomplish. Here are some things I'm going to do. And some will be broken up in smaller goals because even 99 days away can seem a bit overwhelming to me. So first off, I WILL meet my final goal within the 99 days. My goal is to meet it within the next 30 days. I'm being reasonable here and even giving myself some cushion. I have a little over 7 pounds to go until I hit the final goal. After that, I need to maintain my weight for 6 weeks to become a lifetime Weight Watcher Member, which means I no longer have to give them my money! I can sit in that seat for free!! So within the next 99 days, I have a goal to become a lifetime member. By the end of the 99 days I want to be able to run 7 miles, non stop. I hope to be running 10 miles by fall. I will probably be a dork and make a chart, but that helps keep me on track and it gives me something to look at everyday so I can see how far I've come and how close I am to the end. What about you? Do you think you can set some goals, big or small, for the next 99 days? June 21st will come no matter what! You have the opportunity to make a difference in your own life between now and then! I hope you take some time, set some goals and refocus on what's ahead of you! You really can do it!!! :)
Thanks for reading!!!! 
Let me know if you set some "99 day goals!" We could all go out and celebrate our accomplishments together!

Check me out!!

You know that feeling you get inside when you do something that makes you feel accomplished? What a great feeling, huh! I've been thinking a lot about those feelings. It's like a little spark, or big spark, that goes off inside of you and makes you feel like, "Hey!! Maybe I really can do this!!" "Maybe this isn't as impossible as I thought it was going to be!" Sometimes it's those sparks that keep us going when we don't necessarily feel like going anymore. It's nice to remind ourselves how far we've come rather than how far we have to go. For me personally, I get so much enjoyment out of seeing someone meet a goal or reach a dream in their life. Actually, I LOVE it! There's a lady that joined my Weight Watcher class about a month ago and she's been doing a great job! But last week she walks into class and she looked different. She had makeup on, dressed up a bit and had her hair fixed.. and she had a big smile on her face! That night when we celebrated what she had lost that week our WW leader asked her what has changed so far? And the lady said, "I have make up on! I can't remember the last time I wore make up!!" I wanted to cry tears of happiness for her! Not because she was wearing make up, but because she felt accomplished and strong! You can tell how she was feeling on the inside because her confidence on the outside was showing it off!! It's those moments, those sparks, that we can hold on to. When you lose those first 9-10 pounds. When you can fit into a pair of jeans that you were working hard to fit in. When you run your first mile! When you can go on vacation and not come back with a weight gain (I just did that!!) When you reach a milestone in your workout that you were pushing yourself to get to! There are so many things that can keep us moving along!! It's not about the BIG goals we reach, yes those happen, but it's those little ones that we can reach each month. Those keep us going! I just want to remind you of those sparks. I don't want you to forget how great reaching a small goal can make you feel! How when you look in the mirror and the smile reflecting back at you is more confident than ever! Be proud of yourself!! I am :)

Getting Back to the Basics

I can't even tell you how many times I've had to "go back to the basics" with this weight loss journey. I will be going along on my happy way, losing weight, working out, eating right.. and slowly it starts to slip. Not all at once, maybe I'll get really busy with the kids and ease up on my workouts. Maybe I'll eat more than I should've or spent a few days just celebrating with cake for no other reason just to celebrate :)! In the past, I will admit I've blamed it on that I must be at a plateau! But the fact was it was really me and my choices. Sometimes we just have to go back to the beginning. I'll ask myself what am I doing now that I wouldn't have done in the first few weeks? What was my purpose in doing this whole "losing weight/getting healthy" thing? I have those times when I make myself go back to being a "weight loss newbie." Remember when you just started? The drive you had? I do! And there are times that I go back there to remind myself what it was and become a newbie all over again. It's not because we are slackers, but because it is a lifestyle. There is no real big prize at the end, we earn prizes as soon as we start and we get prizes throughout the whole journey! I recently spoke with a friend that walked through a very sad experience and she said that she got off track a bit and wants to get back on. I find that so inspiring. She isn't giving up! She's going back to the basics and jumping back on. I find there is no one that can do anything for your health, there's no one that can make you lose weight.. besides yourself. So what if you've totally blown it, this isn't a race we're on it's a lifestyle. I've said it before... life happens. I'm sure there will be MANY times I will have to go back and get back to the basics. We can't give up just because we've fallen off track and maybe even gained some weight back. I guess in my mind there's never a reason to give up. We always have the choice to get back up again. I really want to encourage those that need some encouraging, get back up today. Look at some of your choices and see if there are different ones that need to be made. Go back to the basics. Remind yourself why you started this journey. And just don't quit!

I'm always here if you need some encouraging!!

A pet peeve of mine..

Not sure if any of you have noticed the pictures going around, comparing skinny women to curvy women. These have got to be some of the most annoying pictures to me. I understand the emotion behind it, showing that being really skinny isn't considered sexy. To show young and older women to not strive for the skinny look of what we are supposedly being taught is sexy. In all my days of being overweight, I never once felt pressured to be skinny, but I do believe that comes from a confidence inside. I personally don't believe it's a body type that anyone should shoot for but it's about being healthy and happy. Feeling confident in who you are and not chasing after something that the media would say is "sexy". I don't think these pictures do anyone any good. So we pretty much slam a skinny girl in order to say curvy is way better?! Can you imagine posting pics of curvy girls vs. very overweight women?! Oh man, the criticism those pics would get! I don't want my daughter growing up, striving to be curvy, skinny or overweight. I want Kennedy to grow up being strong and healthy, confident in herself. And when she's older, much much older, I want her to feel sexy because of the woman she is on the inside and not because she looks a certain way. Women can be ruthless sometimes, tearing each other down and always comparing ourselves to each other. It's absolutely ridiculous. I've never once seen a post about muscular men compared to super skinny men.. because men don't do stuff like that. I hope you're hearing my heart in this. This has been something that's been frustrating to me and I wanted to hop on my soap box for a few minutes :) I was searching for an article about Marilyn Monroe and I found this and thought it was very interesting.

Marilyn Monroe WAS NOT A SIZE 14!!!! Clothes are sized differently today than they were in the 1950's. A 50's size 8 is a modern day size 4, a 50's 12 is a modern day six. To contrast, today's size 12 would have been a 50s size 20! Marilyn at her heaviest was in 1957 and 1959, both times following pregnancies that ended in miscarriages, and even then she was only 140 at her highest weight. She was usually around 120 lbs, and the time of her death was 117 lbs, 5'5, and had a waist of 22 inches. She wore a size 12 dress and size 8 pants, which in modern day would be a 6 and a 4.

5'5, 117 lbs, 22 inch waist. That's not ''fat'' by anyone's standards.

Source(s):

Marilyn Monroe historian. Studied her for 18 years. Own nearly 90 books about her. Gets annoyed when people perpetuate the Size 14 lie.

Marilyn Monroe, today, would be considered smaller than the average woman, which is about a 14. In my mind she was much bigger than her actual size. For me, it just goes to show that we shouldn't strive to be a size or shape, but rather who we are. I can't say it enough.. strive to be healthy & strive to be active. After that comes the confidence and then sexiness is just there! I think women are beautiful, no matter what shape or size, but the true beauty comes from within. 

Thanks for reading :) I hope no one hates me after this blog! 

Ready for a Challenge?

So here we are, almost at the end of the first month of 2012! How are you doing with your goals? Are you still focused on meeting the goals that you set for this year? It's so easy to get caught up in "life" and forget the things we need to do for ourselves to improve our lives. So I've been thinking, what if I (and we!!!) set a small term goal for February! This year is a leap year so Feb. has 29 days. What can you do for 29 days straight? Recently one of my closest friends, who is an artist, decided that he would do a tribute to some of his favorite guitarist and draw a different guitarist for 30 days straight. He did it and it was very cool! He really had a beautiful set of art work by the end of the 30 days. I have no doubt that I can make the same commitment to do something straight for 29 days. I believe you can too! When I set goals, I set them to see if I can really do it. I do it to challenge myself and prove how strong I really am. I believe and know for myself personally, that when you start overcoming those "impossible" things.. the journey gets easier. So what is something you'd like to prove to yourself that you CAN DO? Here's some ideas that I had. Journal everything I eat for 29 days straight, don't miss one day or one meal. Workout for 29 days straight, now I'm not talking hardcore sweat your face off workout, but get some sort of activity for at least 30 minutes a day for 29 days straight. Maybe a scale goal, be down a certain amount by the end of Feb. How about, not have any candy or chocolate (or your favorite indulgence) for 29 days straight. I would love to see us challenge ourselves and prove to ourselves that we can do it. Do you know how strong you will feel by proving to yourself that you are stronger than the obstacle you're facing. So my challenge is to take the next week and figure out what goal you'd like to accomplish by the end of Feb. and start that small goal journey on Feb. 1st. If you'd like, you're more than welcome to share that goal with me for accountability and so I can cheer you on :) Here's a little quote I read recently that I really love... "It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward." Let's make small steps and eventually we'll hit our goals!!!

Thanks for reading!!! :)

Are you on the Offense?

To be on the offense means to make an attack, having or showing determination and energetic pursuit of your ends. 


How many times have we made excuses for why we CAN'T do what we need to do to reach our goals? I have been guilty of this. Ugh.. I can't exercise because of the kids, I can't eat healthy because of all the food around me at parties or work, impossible for me to do this healthy thing because I am the ONLY one trying in my house (insert your own excuses here ;) EXCUSES EXCUSES EXCUSES!! At some point we have to take responsibility for ourselves and let go of the excuses. This last week I hit a milestone in my weight loss, I am finally now in my healthy weight range!!! A little over 18 months later and it doesn't even feel real that I am no longer, according to the healthy guidelines, am considered "overweight"... it feels amazing! I am still working on hitting my final goal weight and looking forward to that as well!! I do a lot of thinking and hitting that milestone got me doing some more thinking... I started thinking about all the times in the past I would make an excuse why I couldn't lose weight, I mean it was IMPOSSIBLE because of my circumstances around me (Yeah right.. this was just what I told myself!!) We allow things to just be as they are, not because we can't do anything about it but because we choose not too. I used to say, "Well it was just my time, that's why I lost weight at the time I did.." but really it's because I made it my time. I just as easily could have made up yet another excuse as to why I just couldn't do it. Thankfully I didn't. There is no better time than right now to get on the offense and stop making excuses. It really is amazing the goals we can reach if we put aside the excuses. I just want to challenge you in that, time will fly by and you don't want to be saying to yourself, "Well, I guess I'll do it in 2013" do it now! Just make the choice and start attacking those goals!!!
Thanks for reading my bossy post!! ;) 
It's only because I know it's not impossible to do!!!

"Put down the fork and step away from the cake!"

So here's my history with cake, I've pretty much been in love with it since I first met it! I mean, we go way back! And I don't discriminate against any kind of cake, I love them all!! So when it comes to a party, I'm all about the cake! It's my favorite part of the event! I'd rather skip dinner and have cake than skip the cake, but that's just me!! Well, I was at this sweet baby shower the other day and before I went I had decided that I was going to SKIP the cake (Whaaaat????) You see, I assist my sister as a wedding photographer and I have about 20 weddings or so this year and I cannot have cake at every wedding, that's just overboard! I wanted to see how easy it would be for me to pass the cake up for no good reason, other than just to pass it up. My friend is the cake cutter and here it comes.. the cake! Big delicious slices of cake, covered in what looked to be whipped cream frosting (yum) and she brings it to our table and asks, "Would you like a piece of cake?" I say, with some hesitation of course, "Ummm, no thanks" and she says, "Oh I can cut you a smaller piece" I say, with more hesitation because you know she's going to go out of her way to help me, "Oh, no really.. I'm ok" and then one more time "Are you sure, Mel?" and once again "NOOOOOO!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" well that's what my inside was saying ;) So I sat at the table, ladies around me were enjoying their cake (and they should!) and I seriously considered asking one of the ladies if I could have just a taste of her cake but I resisted because that might've have been weird and my feelings would've been hurt if she had said no! I seriously put the fork down and walked away from the cake that day!! I could've had it, I definitely had the points, but I wanted to see if I could do it based on myself, based on just the fact that I was choosing not to have the cake. I think many times while we're on a diet or a weight loss program, we do things "just because those are the rules" I think it's good to start challenging yourself and see how strong and determined YOU can be because that's what YOU have decided. Now, I know not everyone is as passionate about cake as I am, but maybe there's something else you simply love! Switching out pop for water for a meal, order a side of fruit or vegetables instead of fries to go with your burger, skip the bread or rolls at a restaurant, you get the drift ;) I think it says something for us when we make a choice based on what we think is best for us, it says we are strong! I am a die hard Weight Watchers girl, and they have helped me change my life, but I know that there comes a point that I can no longer do what I'm told to do and follow all these rules, I have to do some things just because I know it's best for me. When I walked away from that piece of cake I felt so proud! I thought, you know what.. I did that and I didn't HAVE to, I did that because I WANTED to :) I want to challenge you, if you're not already, to make this a lifestyle. Don't allow it to just be a set of rules that you follow until you reach your goal.. because then how will you keep up with it? I am encouraged by so many of you and I continue to cheer you on! See if you can pass up something you absolutely LOVE to eat!
*sidenote... I will continue to eat cake, just sayin' :)