karstensmom

So this last week I was really just having an off week.  Don’t know really how to explain it.  I felt like I was getting pulled in all sorts of directions.  I am just going to chalk it up to a speed bump in the road of life.  I learned a few things this week.  I am not the same person I was yesterday.  Each day is an opportunity for me to improve me and just be the best version of myself that I can be.  I learned that I have a really great family who is there for me no matter what.  I learned that I am not truly alone.  With this weight loss journey I am also on a journey to find God again.  I am back on track this week I know what I need to do.  It’s funny how you long for things of your past and when you get them you realize that you are not the same person who wanted those things.  I just need to break out of this shell and find my happiness…especially in the little things because I think that is what is going to get me through my days.  I have happiness surrounding me everyday…I just am blind to it sometimes.

OK so now that I have camping out of the way and I am not planning any other trips until later on in the summer I can get back to my goals.  It is really hard for me to focus on eating really well and exercising when I am on vacation.  Definitely a goal or two I will need to add to my list in the future.

So here are my goals for the week.

1.  Drink 64 oz. of water a day.

2.  WISE late night snacking.  After dinner only have some herbal tea or fruit.

3.  Exercise 5 days this week.

4.  Eat all meals at table.

5.  Keep track of food eaten.

OK I have got my goals written down.  I think that I am going to post them in several spots in my house so that I will see them and keep them fresh and in mind.

Hey all it’s been a long week!  Between the birthday, baby shower, and family get together it all through me off my game.  I am back though.  We started our weight loss challenge at work on Tuesday.  I asked if I could keep the records of the weight.  Partially because I am really good at that, and a lot to do with the fact that I was embarrassed by how much I weigh.  I am the heaviest girl at the store.  It really bummed me out that day.  Today though I just woke up refreshed.  I realized that I don’t have to stay that way.  I don’t have to feel that way.  It was all my insecurities getting to me.  No one at work has ever been mean and made any comments.  I work with a great bunch of people.  My challenge for the week is actually going to be this weekend.  I am going camping with my family for Memorial Day weekend.  We all sat around planning our food for camping.  I do get to bring the fruit.  So I think that I am just going to have to bring myself so healthy snack options and just really watch my portions.  The good thing is their is lots of nature around the cabin so I can go and take some hikes to burn off the calories consumed.  :)  Anybody know of any great healthy food to take camping let me know!

I had such an awesome night at work last night.  A couple of co-workers and I have decided we are going to start our own “Biggest Loser”  type competition.  We are going to keep it simple but basically we will have a buy-in and who ever loses the highest percentage of weight will win!  I am so excited.  This motivation along with the motivation to help my team lose weight is just what I was looking for.  Now I feel like I have some tangible goals to reach for.  Plus I have to start thinking outside of myself.  If I want that prize money I am going to have to work for it!  We are going to make it like a summer challenge.  I feel like this will help me immensely because these people usually work the same shift as me so when I feel like I want to cheat on my diet at work I will see them and be reminded of our challenge.  It is just a win win situation for all of us. 

At the start of the new millennium the Dalai Lama apparently issued eighteen rules for living. Since word travels slowly in the digital age these have only just reached me. Here they are.

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs:
   1. Respect for self
   2. Respect for others
   3. Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

Well I think that I am over the worst of it.  I had Wednesday and Thursday off from work and my goal for those two days was to stay away from caffeine.  I am no longer a slave.  There will still be challenges…especially when I smell coffee, but I don’t need it function and get my day going.  Yes I had completely awful headaches.  Along with being sick….I guess I am glad that it all decided to occur on my days off. :)  It is a small victory but a victory nonetheless.

So I just wanted to let everyone know that I started a new thread under fitness challenges.  It is called Daily Challenge.  Nothing too fancy I won’t be keeping track of people or their goals.  *Many kudos to those who do*.  Just wanted to start a spot where people could post quick 5 minutes like challenges.  I also wanted to have a spot available for people to go if they only have a few and find a quick challenge to do that would be progressive to their weight loss or health goals.  

So today was just a bad for me food wise.  I just had my “don’t give a crap” blinders on…and yeah I helped myself at dinner.  It really frustrates me that I am so weak sometimes.  I feel like some days I could conquer a mountain…and other days I am like a leaf just being blow around by anything that crosses my path.  Time to recommit…and focus.  I guess what would really help is if I posted some goals for myself.  I know that I want to lose weight.  That is a given :)  I think though that if I set some small goals for myself then I might be able to achieve some small victories for myself.  :)  OK so here goes…

1.  Drink 60 oz. of water a day.  (I say utilize those water bottles that I have taking up space in my fridge :)  )

2.   Start an accurate food journal

3.  Plan a weekly menu

4.  Wake up @ 7 a.m. (that is saying a lot for me too because I work nights so some times I am not even home from work until around midnight :)  I can do it! )

5.  Do a daily challenge (I think I am going to start keeping a list of some of the daily challenges that I see and like.)

OK I think this is where I am going to start.  I just want to start with five goals for now.  These are all things that I did back in January when I was a woman on a mission to lose weight.  I did in fact lose about seven pounds that first month, but then I let life get to me.  Plus I find that I treat food as some type of therapy for my brain.  I really like this list from some of the contestants on the biggest loser.

1.  Eat only in the kitchen (I am SOOO bad for that.  It is just my two year old son and I.  So I tend to bend the rules and we sit down in front of the t.v. and eat.  Now that I am sitting here really thinking about it…that is so awful because then I am just mindless eating and not really enjoying the food that I am eating OR paying attention to how much I am eating).

2.  Look for healthy substitutes for favorite foods (I know this is a big key.  Denying myself of foods that I really enjoy will probably just lead me right to the binge factory.  [I hate that place btw.]).

3.  Plan meals & snacks (back when I was doing really well I would have my meals and snacks planned for the week.  I know that I need to do that for myself or I will just graze around the kitchen until I feel just completly horrible).

4.  Eat only in the presence of other people (this one again is a little harder for me because of my living situation…BUT I will need to brainstorm and get back to you all on this one for all us singles out there).

“I CAN EAT IN SECRET OR I CAN CONTINUE TO LOSE WEIGHT, BUT I CANNOT DO BOTH!”

Good luck to all my buddies out there.  Stay strong!  I know that we can achieve our goals if we just keep our eyes on the prize and everynow and then get a loving nudge from a buddy.

So I have been reading all the blogs and posts and news articles about the hydroxycut recall.  I started taking those about 5 days ago on the recommendation of my brother and a co-worker.  Originally the co-worker talked to me about taking them because I feel like I have become so dependent upon caffeine in my life to function.  I hate it!  So now with this new scare I am going to have to quit the pills.  I know there is no miracle pill that you can take to lose weight.  I just want people to know that originally that was not my intention.  I think I am just going to have to do a caffeine withdrawl day.  I need to cut it out of my life.  I know that it is not healthy for me.  I know that it is just a substance that I am abusing.  I figure if I can leave a drug life behind me…and the alcohol…and quit smoking.  I can do this too.  I just need to find the motivation that is going to work for me.  I guess that today was God’s way of telling me that what I was doing is not healthy for me nor is it going to work for me.  Wish me luck!