Turning 34 August 21, 2010

Today has been a great day!

We awoke at 3:30 and headed over to Fort deSoto for the Publix Family Fitness Weekend triathlon/duathlon. I participated in the triathlon as part of a relay team. Eric did the duathlon. I cycled for our relay team and rode for 10 miles which isn’t that far, but my brake got stuck and rubbed against the rim the entire 10 miles so it felt much longer. It was still great though.

After getting home and relaxing for a bit, we went to Bent’s Cycling shop in downtown Lakeland and Eric got me a new birthday bike. It is so pretty and it’s a GIANT Cypress dx. I love this bike and am very excited about riding it for many miles to come. I think I’ll call it Cypress. It’s a pretty name.

Tonight, we had more of the birthday cake that my friend Natalie brought over for me last night. It was so cool. She and her mother made me a giant cupcake. Very cool! I’m very blessed with her friendship in my life.

I’ve been thinking a lot about turning 34 and what I want my life to look like this year.
1. I want to finish losing weight which means I have about 20 more pounds to lose.
2. I want to get on a regular schedule for walking Pockets instead of doing it sporadically so she isn’t so rambunctious. Boxers require a lot of exercise!
3. I want to be walking/running, swimming, cycling and strength training every week.
4. I want to take a few minutes every evening to do a check of how I’m progressing on my goals.
5. I want to make daily goals each morning and focus on the tasks ahead.
6. I want to quit stressing about things, but know that it’s a big, unspecific goal so I am going to try to write down what I’m stressing about and write something I can do about it.

I will probably add to these as I’m always doing, but this is what’s on my mind right now.

Have a great day!

Words create reality! May 15, 2010

Can’t sleep this morning.  I’ve been pretty sick this week from a sinus infection and it’s been one of those very busy weeks.  I’m dreading going to Weight Watchers on Monday because I haven’t been tracking well this week and I haven’t worked out near as much.  I had a weight gain the week before so I’m frustrated with myself.  When I get down in the dumps like this, sometimes it seems as though things continue in a pattern until I just get depressed because everything seems upside down.  I’m sick – my sciatica is hurting – people are really frustrating – I’m not losing weight – it just goes on and on.  I really empathized with Mike and Ashley this week on Biggest Loser 9 because of their frustrations with feeling like nobody understood them.  They’ve worked so hard, but they still have so far to go.  I was entering my weight loss history on the Weight Watchers site and realized that at my January weigh-in where I got my 75 pound sticker, that was my last large weight loss since October 2006!  2006, people!  It took me 4 years to lose 25 pounds.  That was frustrating and sad.  However, I have got to get past this and move on.

Sometimes I feel like God speaks to my heart best when I’m walking or driving alone or when I have a chance to get up and spend time with him in the morning.  This morning, I decided since I couldn’t sleep, I should read my Bible so I took out a devotional titled “Walking the Walk” that I’ve really loved.  I have read this entry before, but God brought my attention to it today and it is very appropriate.  It’s titled “Speaking Truth to Power” and talks about how our words create realities.  ”If you are expected to fail or expect this yourself, chances are you will.”  The author, Leslie Sansone, says that it’s time for us to start speaking our reality into existence even if we don’t believe it at first.  We must expect to succeed!  It’s time to love our bodies and treat them with respect.  I found a new blog that I just love – it’s called Operation Beautiful and it’s focused on “transforming the way you see yourself one post-it note at a time.  Women all over the world are posting stickie notes on mirrors in gyms, dressing rooms, office restrooms – everywhere and letting other women know that they are beautiful just the way they are.  I think this is the most important step in helping us believe in ourselves.  We need to believe that we are okay.  We need to start saying we’re okay to help us get to our goals – not going on and on about how frustrated we are.  We will just keep getting stuck so I’ve made my own Operation Beautiful sticky note for all of you reading this so you will know that you are beautiful just the way you are – me too.  Let’s believe it and push on towards our goals.  At the end of my devotional for today, Leslie gives some points to ponder…

How can the things we say and do today further our goals?

I am going to speak positively today and try pausing before I speak in general.  I speak in haste way too often and I’m going to try to think before speaking and think positively.

What connections can you draw between the integrity of our words and how you treat your body?

I would say that this is huge for me because I come from a family that tends to be too focused on what we’ve done wrong and on how bad things are.  It’s hard trying to be optimistic around pessimism, but I believe that I can change and so can my family. We’ve been focused on how we all tend to be heavy and it’s just who we are so we’ve eaten whatever whenever and we’ve just gotten heavier – no longer – I want this to stop for my family and I am going to start believing in myself and knowing that I am a strong, beautiful woman.  When I lean towards believing this, I do eat better and make more time for activity in my life.  I am worth it so is my family!

I’ve lost 87 pounds and I can and will get to my goal.  I am a beautiful, strong woman and I’ve made mistakes in the past, but I’m learning and moving on.  I am going to be positive today and think before I speak because I need to realize that what I am speaking becomes reality.  Today, I’m going to go kayaking for one my sister’s birthdays.  It is going to be a lot of fun and I can hardly wait.

Frustrated when hard work doesn’t show May 3, 2010

So frustrated this evening at my weigh-in.  I was excited because I had done so well with my calories this week and earned 2300 calories from my activity last week.  That’s amazing.  This morning when I weighed myself I was 172 and when I got home, I was 177.  Five pounds gained while at work?  That just doesn’t seem possible.  My weight watchers leader thinks it could be water weight.  I’m just so frustrated.  However, I will wake up tomorrow and move on.  I will get to my goal weight no matter how long it takes.  Slow and steady is my motto – I will get there.

Please Sign the Petition to help Jamie Oliver Fix School Lunches April 16, 2010

Don’t know if you’ve watched it or not, but Jamie Oliver from the Food Network has a show on Friday nights at 9PM called Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. On the show, he is worked to change the way America eats.  This is something I really believe in because eating nutritious, healthy meals is very important to me now.  I can’t believe how badly I’ve personally eaten in the past.

Jamie Oliver has a petition that he is taking to the White House in about a month.  I have joined the Food Revolution by signing the petition and I believe you should too! Your help is needed to change the way America eats. Every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food.

Sign the petition to save America’s cooking skills and improve school food. http://bit.ly/JOfoodrev I did!

Below is a YouTube video that was published on Mashable’s site yesterday (http://mashable.com/2010/04/16/jamie-oliver-food-revolution/).  In the video, Jamie Oliver explains what is going on.  I wanted to share it with you.

When Things Don’t Go As Planned… April 15, 2010

Today, we went over to West Orange Trail which is one of our favorite places to ride.  However, I don’t think riding was supposed to happen today because it started raining on the way over.  However, we continued on and then the chain come off my bike and got stuck so we had to stop early.  It turned out okay anyways even though I was very upset because I really wanted to get to ride during my spring break and this is the first chance I had.  We drove around Lake County and found some beautiful areas.   Some of the hills were truly amazing.  We did some shopping and took my bike to the Bike Barn to get repaired.  Then we went home and got a nap.  I felt so much better after having my nap.  However, I had wanted to go to the Y for an aerobics/weight training class, but am so sore from kayaking, that I decided against it so we went to pick up my bike and ended up going on a walk around Lake Mirror and had fun taking pictures at Hollis Gardens.  I hope you enjoy the photos.  I had a lot of fun taking them and I enjoyed our nice, peaceful day which ended up being quite different than what I planned, but ended up being exactly what I needed.

Kayaking April 14, 2010

My first kayaking trip

Today, my husband and I went kayaking for the first time.  We had a wonderful time.  We rented kayaks from Siesta Sports Rentals on Siesta Key Island near Sarasota.  We took off from Turtle Beach.  We rented the kayaks that you sit on top of and were scared we would fall in, but we didn’t.  It was a great experience and one we hope to do a lot more of this spring and summer.  It’s a really great workout.  We can tell our upper bodies are going to be pretty sore, but we’re not sure how sore.  We’re hoping to go on a bike ride tomorrow so hopefully, they’re not too bad.

If you know of any great places to kayak in Florida, please let us know so we can check it out.

Don’t Be Afraid to Move April 13, 2010

This evening, I’m headed to the YMCA to go to a water aerobics class with my Dad.  I went to the class last week and really enjoyed it, but I’ve been trying to talk my Dad into going and this is the first chance he’s had.  I’m excited about it because my Dad needs to lose quite a bit of weight, has diabetes and has had three back surgeries so he’s unable to do a lot of activity.  The water class will be much better for him.  My Dad likes the water so it’s a good combination.  I also have a sister who needs to lose a lot of weight and has a hard time believing she can do it.  However, a friend of hers started going to a Zumba class and she’s been attending with her friend.  I’m so proud of her and I’m glad she’s found something that she enjoys doing.

In thinking about my Dad going to his first class at a gym, I was thinking about how nervous I was when I first started thinking about working out.  I was seriously scared to death.  I was scared that at 265 pounds, I might have a heart attack or fall and hurt myself, but I had to get to the point where I said that if I did, at least I did it trying.  If I had not pushed past my fear, I would have had a heart attack or some more serious weight related health issues just by not doing anything.  Several years ago, I picked up a T-shirt at this little store off of the Appalachian Trail that we had stopped at on our way to a campground in northern Georgia.  The T-shirt reads:

You could run out of food and die

You could fall off a cliff and die

You could be attacked by a bear and die

OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND
FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE

This really caught my eye and means a lot to me.  I’m not kidding when I tell you how scared I was of being active and this shirt along with my train of thought at the time led me to see that regardless of what you are doing, you could get hurt – why not work at being healthier.  I put together a video of photographs that I hope showcase our journey from being scared, overweight people to being active, healthy people.  I hope you enjoy it and are encouraged to get off that couch and move for your health and for those you love!  Don’t just stay home and fall off the couch!

New beginnings April 7, 2010

Wednesday morning and I’m on my way to work. I’m very excited that there are only three more days until Spring Break.

I got great news Monday night about my weight loss. I lost another 2.4 pounds so I have lost 86 pounds now and weigh 178.2!! I’m so excited.

I enjoy this time of year because Easter is symbolic of new beginnings. Jesus’ resurrection gave us all a hope of a new beginning if only we take it. That’s really the way I see things lately. I have a hope of being healthy if only I grasp it. I’ve decided that this is important – God gave us this body as His temple and I am responsible for what I do with it. We really need to think about that.

Recently, I picked up Rocco Dispirito’s new book, “Now eat this!,” and I love it so far. We’ve cooked the whole wheat fettucine Alfredo which was very creamy and yummy. It is amazingly only 336 calories. We’ve also cooked the Meatloaf with Portobello Mushrooms (212 calories) which Eric decided was the best meatloaf he ever had. Last night, we made Almost General Tso’s Chicken (310 calories) which was really good! You could taste all the flavors especially the ginger which I loved.

This week I’ve started a new workout regimen with three days of strength training, one water workout class and three days of cardio. I am enjoying going to the gym in the mornings again. Feels great!

exhausted… April 2, 2010

This week, I have been just exhausted!  I don’t exactly know why.  I had a great Monday with my husband surprising me with my autographed Amy Grant CD plus photos of her and my husband.

Work was pretty crazy today due to a student at our school getting shot in a neighborhood fight last night – It makes things much more emotional and trying at work.

We took Dulce and Pockets to the vet on Saturday for their annual exams and shots.  We were excited because for once we weren’t taking them for something that was wrong.  However, the vet was quite concerned about how Pockets throws up after eating or drinking water.  She took two XRays and they had given her barium.  They discovered that the food hadn’t gone anywhere in the 15-20 minutes between X-Rays.  This wasn’t good so she’s on a medication now to help her GI track.  We are tracking her eating/throwing up patterns to see if the medication helps.  Please pray it’s nothing bad.   We’ve also been watching my parent’s dogs this week in addition to our two dogs.  Pockets has really enjoyed having them here – she just loves having someone to play with since our bulldog would rather be left alone.  My parents have Glen of Imaal terriers.  They’re very cute and loving.

My weigh-in wasn’t great this week with a gain of .8, but I’m really sure that it was just me holding water or that it was due to the change in my Cytomel that my doctor ordered.  I’m now taking 10MCG per day instead of 5.  I was doing really well the first few days and had so much more energy.

I think the range of emotions this week from being so flattered and excited about my husband’s gift on Monday to being concerned for our kids at school has just worn me out.  I’m praying that with my nap tonight and some prayer that God will help me get back to normal.

I was supposed to go to the YMCA tonight with my Dad for a water aerobics class.  I think it sounds like so much fun, but my Dad was unable to make it and due to my exhaustion this week, I fell asleep when I got home and slept for two hours.  I then woke up and my husband made Jennie-O Applewood Turkey Breast Tenderloin, Broccoli and Cous Cous for us for dinner.  It was wonderful.  I will get to the gym tomorrow evening.  I enjoy going to the gym on Friday evenings as there aren’t many people there.

I’m trying to decide how to change my blog up a bit.  I really like playing with it.

I’m so excited that the weather is nice enough to start riding my bike – I really want to get out and ride this year.  I’m a good cyclist and I need to ride more.  It’s the one activity that I’ve always enjoyed which is hard for me to say.  I remember as a little girl riding my bike around the neighborhood pretending as if I was driving – such great memories.

Somewhere Down the Road March 30, 2010

Amy Grant and Eric

My amazing husband surprised me today by going to the Lifeway store in Brandon for me and getting an autographed copy of her new album for me.  I could not leave work and she was only going to be there from 12-1:30.  I have been an Amy Grant fan for a very long time – her music is very soothing to my soul and she’s been an inspiration since I was a little girl.

Didn’t get great news at Weight Watchers today – I had gained .8 pounds since last week which means only a 2 pound loss in four weeks.  I’m not very happy about that and I worked really hard this past week.  Was under my calorie limit by 1500 calories for the week.  However, I’m going to be positive and believe that my hard work is going to show up next week.  I think part of it could be that my bariatric doctor changed my Cytomel dosage to 10mcg a day instead of 5.  This too shall pass, right?  I mean I have lost over 83 pounds AND I have photos of Amy Grant with my own Eric PLUS a CD with a note from Amy Grant “To Sundi <3 Amy Grant”   It’s awesome and I will continue to lose weight.  As Amy Grant’s new CD title states “Somewhere down the road” I will be within a healthy weight range.

Tomorrow’s Healthy Living Goals:

• Consume less than 1700 calories

• Earn 250 calories through activity

• Only drink one diet coke – I really want to try and get myself off of diet coke.  However. I’m addicted!