Sunshine Award

DawnB http://db1119.blogspot.com/ nominated me for this a couple weeks ago and unfortunately I found out as I was leaving to go away for the weekend... then I got sick... then I ate for two weeks straight and didn't come back to my blog and forgot.  :(  I'm ashamed to admit that, but it's true.

I finally started perusing the blogs I follow again and remembered this very kind award by Dawn.  So now I will return the favor!

SUNSHINE AWARD RULES

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogging world.

Once you receive one, then you:

1. Post the logo on your blog.

2. Pass the award on to 12 fellow bloggers.

3. Link the nominees

4. Let nominees know they have won this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to the person you received this award from.

I would like to nominate the following bloggers in no particular order & pass on the happiness :)

1 - Mindy http://skinnyintexas.blogspot.com/

2 - Cara http://carasquest.blogspot.com/

3 - Meredith (she has since moved on from blogging, but she is an inspiration nonetheless)

4 - Lonicera http://lonicera53.blogspot.com/

5 - Julie http://juliesksjourney.blogspot.com/

6 - Catherine http://chroniclesfrombandland.blogspot.com/

7 - Ronda http://thelongroadtothenewme.blogspot.com/

8 - Tracey http://downsizemystomach.blogspot.com/

9 - Sally http://sallyslapbandjourney.blogspot.com/

10 - Lulu http://lmbsjourney.blogspot.com/

11 - SkinnieMinnie http://skinnieminniebrisbane.blogspot.com/

12 - Docsley http://healthierdocsly.blogspot.com/

 

Thanks for all your inspiration, your laughter, your tears, your concern and comments -- everything about you.  I also appreciate all my followers as well.  Good luck to ALL of us on this journey.

I'm sorry, is my band causing you issues?

Omg, foodie friends are driving me nuts.  Not only is it bad enough that they want me to commit to having fun with them this summer (uh, I have CLASSES, remember??), but the other day they wanted me to go with them to a motorcycle dealership for an open house they were having.  The draw?  Free food -- pancakes, sausage, donuts, etc.  Um, REMEMBER MY BAND??  I said thanks but no thanks.  Foodie Friend Husband says, "But, but, it's FREE FOOD!"  I said I can't eat that crap even if I wanted to!  He still didn't seem happy that I wasn't jumping on the free crappy food bandwagon, but whatever.  These people drive me nuts sometimes.

This is just wrong on SO many levels

I haven't been around for over two weeks now -- partly because I was sick, but partly because I was just downright ashamed.  Pitifully ashamed.

We've had major stressors here that have had me eating like there's no tomorrow.  I'm a horrible stress eater, and this last couple weeks has really taken me to the limit.  The week of the 10th through the 16th or so, I was fighting a big cold which means I don't eat right anyway.  From that point forward, though, anything that wasn't nailed down was in big trouble.

How bad could it be, you ask?  Well, pretty damn bad.  Not only has it been bad, I certainly haven't been LOGGING my evil deeds, which almost makes them seem as if they didn't happen, right?  But I decided last night that as of this morning, I was clawing myself back up onto that wagon and getting back with the program. So this morning I decided to be brave and realized I MUST get on the scale to see how bad this last 2 weeks have been. I mean, I KNOW how bad it's been as far as the food, but I needed to be hit between the eyes with the aftermath that the scale would show me.

I step on, and... I went from my low-low of 218.2 to 219.8. That's all I gained, 1.6 pounds!!! I literally stepped on the scale three freaking times and was just gobsmacked.

Now mind you, in the last two weeks, I kid you not, I have eaten FIVE boxes of Hot Tamales (the candy, not the Mexican food), three boxes of Good 'N Plenty, 5/6 of a half-gallon of ice cream (in two days, no less), an entire box of 5 100-calorie bags of Sun chips, an entire box of 5 100-calorie bags of baked Cheetos, an entire box of 5 100-calorie bags of Chex Mix, an entire box of Chewy Protein Bars (I think there's 6 of those), an entire box of Speciak K Fruit Crisps (I think there's five of those), an entire box of reduced calorie rice krispie treats (probably 5 in a box), six peanut butter cups, nearly an entire box of multi-grain Cheerios, six high-calorie drinks this weekend (three Friday and three Saturday --Baileys with vodka and fat-free half-and-half) and a partridge in a pear tree. I am NOT kidding. And that doesn't even include MEALS I ate!! Oh oh OH, and to boot, I'm on my cycle, which usually guarantees me a couple pound weight gain. Couple ALLLLL that damn food with the fact that I haven't worked out in two weeks, and something is terribly... OFF. o_O

Whew, I can't believe I admitted all that. And I KNOW I missed something.

Feelin' the love again

I think I heart Denise and Jillian again.  Memba those size 16 pants I got into a few weeks ago? Well, I meant to post that I put them on last weekend and they fit BETTER than when I first put them on! Like, NOTICEABLY. When I initially put them on, they weren't so tight as to make it hard to breathe or sit down, but I felt subconscious about the tightness across my bum. However, I went to a funeral last week and wore those same pants again and they were definitely looser!  Utterly amazing.

RUN, FORREST, RUUUUN!

That's how I felt the other day when I went to take the dogs for a walk.  It was a beautiful day -- and after the winter we've had, it was VERY welcome -- and I decided to head out to the trails and the park to walk the dogs.  It was odd, but once I hit the trail, I actually had an URGE to run!  Now, I was always one that said if Godzilla himself was chasing after me, I couldn't run to the mailbox at the end of my driveway.  However, this overwhelming urge came over me and I ran.  I didn't time it, but I would guess I went non-stop for about 3 to 3 1/2 minutes -- and I really think if I had pushed it, I could have gone longer.  I then did week two of the couch-to-5k (I haven't been doing it consistently), which was very difficult for me to complete when I did it last.

It's amazing what our bodies not only CAN do but WANT to do when they're feeling healthy.  I've been fighting a cold the last couple of days or I would have gone out and done it again.  Maybe this weekend.  :)

I no heart Jillian now, too

Holy hell, I've done her Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism two days in a row (Wednesday and yesterday) and I can hardly MOVE now.  She's BRUTAL!!  Imagine 55 minutes of constant movement with hops, jumps, twists, BURPEES, and other horribly ugly things, all set to psycho music.  And with Jillian telling you not to "call it in."  I cursed her.  I cursed her a lot.  And when I can hardly get out of my car or out of bed, I curse her even more.  o_O

New lowest number!

This was actually yesterday, but I wasn't able to post, but... 219!  I have now lost 71 pounds, officially the most I've ever lost!  Previous to this, I had lost 70 pounds on a diet I did some years ago.  So the way I look at it, anything from here on out is a new record for me.  :)

A friend of mine who lives in the neighborhood and I got to meet a fellow bandster (and prior LBTer) who we've been talking to for about a year.  She and her hubby were nearby for a conference he was attending, so she came with him and we all met up for dinner and DANCING last night.  I can't tell you the last time I've danced, but it was so much fun!  We even all got hit on by a young man-whore, and that just made my day.  LOL  How sad is it that you get excited by getting hit on by a guy who I think made the rounds to every woman there?  But still, he was harmless, and it made US all feel good.

Over seven feet -- GONE

I'm going to try to take measurements around the first of each month this year.  It's one of the promises I made myself (along with working out and logging meals, which I have been doing religiously).  I finally pushed over the seven+ foot loss at 86.5 inches!!

And though I was pretty disappointed in late January's measurements, I'm VERY happy with this month's!

KEE-RASHHHH!!

That's the sound of my plateau breaking this morning!  Omg, I haven't been able to get below 221.5 to save my life -- and hit THAT four freakin' months ago -- but this morning I did it!  I hit 220.5!!!  Did you hear me screaming this morning??  Now I'm ready to see this scale start moving again.  DOWN.

The one thing I started doing differently -- and which I always touted as a huge weightloss tool -- is logging my meals.  I have this GoWear Fit and have only been paying attention to the calories I expend and not paying any attention to logging my meals.  BIG mistake.  Ever since I started doing that eight days ago I've lost 2 1/2 pounds!  It's really jump started my exercise routine too.  I've been working out every day since last Monday (except for yesterday).  I've decided that because Mondays are my heavy school day, that will be my day off -- but until further notice, I need to get in an hour every day six days a week.  I NEED to make the time for it.  And now I'm seeing the benefit from it!