Dear Self

Dear Self,
Let me start off by saying, I hope you are feeling fantastic!
I'm writing a letter to you because sometimes, you just need to hear it like it is, and sometimes that "how it is" is easier to hear if it comes from someone who loves you. That's right. I love you, self! You have been a good self, and for that I thank you! I hope I can return the favor and be good to you too!
Remember, FEAR has 2 meanings. Forget Everything And Run, or Face Everything And Rise. Girl... you should NEVER be afraid to rise! Remember how you felt on August 27, 2015 when you decided to put your brave pants on and go for a run? A RUN!!!! Turning that corner and seeing your finish line, and knowing you didn't quit felt pretty amazing, right? Fear will stop you from doing many things. But you go ahead and kick fear in the butt, and you be fearless! You have already proven that you can overcome things with flying colors. Hard? HECK YA! Worth it? EVERY. SINGLE. MINUTE!
Believe in yourself. You can achieve anything that you set your mind to. That lifetime goal you are working toward in your weight watcher meeting...you will get it by the end of the year. YOU JUST WAIT! And in the process, you will continue to learn, teach, inspiring, help, love, and cheer on others around you, because others are doing the exact same for you!  
Don't fear the scale. In fact, don't even let the scale determine what kind of person you are. The scale can only give you a numerical reflection on your relationship with gravity. It cannot measure beauty, talent, purpose, possibility  strength or love. I promise...you'll be ok. .
Be who you are. Be proud of the crazy, clumsy, fun, sarcastic, person that you are. Love yourself; appreciate who you were made to be. There is no one quite as crazy as you. Enjoy your flaws instead of blaming them, become one with every cell in your body. It is this body that will thank you  because you loved it enough to be healthy and took care of it. (I would limit your Marshmallows though)
It's ok to be proud of yourself. Heaven knows, I sure am.
All my love,
Me

Weighing in
August 27, 2015    -2.6
Total loss to date   -52.6

Copper is the new Gold and I feel like a winner!

I didn't have a chance to sit down and blog last week, but I want you all to know that I did weigh in and I lost .8 pounds. I then went up to the mountains and SHOCKER...didn't take the internet with me, so I couldn't blog about my week. I was a teeny tiny bit bummed about my loss last week, but then I realized that I almost lost a full pound AAAAAAAAND, I weighed in an entire day plus a few hours (30 hours but who's counting) early. This put my total to 47.4. I went camping, I had a birthday, we started school, yada yada. Fast Forward to this week! Today to be exact.

Usually I put my weight loss at the end of the blog, but why make you wait?  I mean, who reads this anyway? Ya'll probably just scan down at the bottom to see what the scale said.

Weighing in: -2.6

 Do the math folks. School is back in session and it's fairly easy addition. This makes my total loss to date 50.0 EVEN!!!! I received my 50 lb. charm for my keychain tonight, and between my Sea Hawks keychain and the charms I'm earning, I have the prettiest keychain in allllllll the land!

The more I live this way, the more I love it! I love feeling better in general. I love having the energy and desire to get out of bed at 4 something in the morning and go to the gym. I love that I have lost 3 pant sizes and can wear a size medium t shirt. I love that my family cheers me on, and lets me budget my weight watcher fee into our monthly budget. I love that you all cheer me on, and even if you roll your eyes, I love that you roll your eyes.  I'm on such a high tonight by making this milestone, that eye rolls are ADORABLE!!!!!

I was asked tonight when I received my charm, what keeps me on track? What is working for me? I answered with, "My scale. Not my body scale, but my food scale." I LOVE IT!!!!! It's my favorite thing ever!!!!! If you are thinking about changing how you eat, buy a good food scale, and then don't let it get dusty. USE IT!  But I also attribute my success to a few other things.

Tracking what I eat is one of the biggest changes I have made. I have said it before and I'll say it again. If I bite it, I write it! And it's AMAZING how one bite here, and another bite there, adds up! Writing it not only helps me stay on target of my daily points allowance, but it also shows me that, HEY!!! I'm not deprived. I can look back and see that I had a cookie, or roasted marshmallows over the campfire, or REAL (not that reduced fat garbage) cheese on my sandwich, so I can 'quit yer bellyachin'! 

I eat a banana almost every morning before I workout. Bananas are known as "nature’s powerbar." They are loaded with digestible carbs aka fuel and are packed with potassium, great for nerve and muscle function.The body doesn’t store potassium for very long, so a medium banana before a workout will help keep nutrient levels high, and give you the carbs you need to get through an hour workout. AND...they are a zero point food! BAZINGA!


I put my pride aside and started telling people that I was following the weight watcher program. Now I DIDN'T do that because I want a gazilliion eyes watching every bite I take, or every step I take, because honestly that's sometimes what it feels like and it kinda pisses me off... but I wanted people to be aware that I was changing my lifestyle and that maybe, dangling that Jonny O's glazed donut in front of my face, or inviting me to Pie Wednesday might not be the best thing to do. I'm all for a girls night, but how about over a spicy shrimp taco at Cafe Sabor, or a walk and fro yo after. Winner winner taco dinner!




 

Confession of my vacation weight gain

Weight gain is almost always inevitable on a vacation. If not from indulging a little at dinner or enjoying some of the unique treats from the places you are visiting, than for sure just by sitting around and chillaxin'. That's what vacation is for, yes? To relax and enjoy? Well Dixon and I did just that.
For 10 days we ventured around Kingston/ Seattle, WA and Victoria, Canada. A grand time was had by us both!

On the Ferry To Canada

 Parliament Building, Victoria

Empress Hotel, Victoria

Butchart Gardens, Canada

 Butchart Gardens, Canada

The Pier and the Gardens, Canada

 

We play a game in our family called, "best and worst." There are categories. Best and worst meal, best and worst activity, best and worst moment in general, etc. Even my worst of all these categories, was still pretty good. But because this is a blog about my WW journey, I wanted to talk about my food probs. It all looked and sounded so good, but I knew if I ate everything that remotely sounded or looked good, I'd be mistaken for a whale during the whale watching tours.  

The game: Best and Worst

Category: Meal

 Best: I had the BEST bowl of French onion soup in the history of french onion soups in Canada. I'm telling you... I probably embarrassed everyone by slurping out every last drop from my mug. Honestly as I type this, my jaw is tingly. The broth was a rich brown broth, the onions were sweet, the bread was just enough crusty to make it not soggy when dipped into the mug of soup, and the cheese on top. HELLO GORGEOUS!!!!!

Worst: The worst I had on vacation wasn't even a meal, so we'll just call it the worst thing I wasted calories on. There was the cutest little lemon shaped kiosk that was selling, well...none other than lemonade. WORST lemonade EVER! I've had water at the Sizzler with a wedge of lemon that tasted better. Needless to say, it went in the trash.

Another yummy "Best" was Poutine. Poutine is fresh cut fries, thick brown gravy, and fresh cheese curds all in one bite. I told myself before even leaving on vacation that I would for sure allow myself to eat Poutine. I didn't want it from a restaurant. I wanted it from a food truck. Why? Because food trucks are the bomb dot com when it comes to things like Poutine. On the night before we left Canada, Dixon and I went exploring on the pier and what to my wandering eyes did appear? A Poutine food truck! Of course I ordered.  I nibbled a fry by itself, then a fry with gravy, then a fork of 3 fries, gravy and a cheese curd, to get the PERFECT bite. So so so yummy! And then I was done. So satisfied. I've realized that a small is enough. And a taste is enough. But to go without all together is not happening! Dixon and Uncle Chad polished off the rest of the poutine. YUM!

And speaking of going without, we had the nummiest of nummy mini coconut cream tart things. I wasn't hungry or in the mood for a treat when they were offered, but decided to take mine to go, and take it back to my hotel with me. Well, I ended up taking a taste of it an hour or so later, and I was soooooo glad I didn't pass that little morsel by. I ate that tart and loved it!!! Mmmmm. I was looking back on my food journal today, reminiscing the days of vacation and realized, I was NEVER deprived. I ate exactly what I wanted, when I wanted it. I also walked a lot. We didn't sit around our hotel. We were out and about, looking and doing. My feet got swollen, but I think that's to be expected when traveling. Or so I'm telling myself anyway.

We had a FANTASTIC time. We missed Dustin, who couldn't join us because of work, but we are already planning for next year.

I gained a lot from vacation, but what I gained was a bigger love and appreciation for my family, for God's creations, and then of course, my home. So very happy to be home!

I also gained some poundage. Well...sorta. My suitcase did. PSYCH!!! I left the SLC international airport on July 27th with my checked luggage weighing in at 34 pounds. I left the SeaTac airport with my suitcase weighing in at 43 pounds. NINE pounds gained. All in my suitcase. All of memorabilia. As for myself...well, just read for yourself.

 

Weighing in: August 6th -5.0

One more time, in case you didn't catch that...MINUS 5.0 and just a tiny bit ExCiTeD!!!!!!

Total loss to date:- 46.6

 

So, do I want to replay the Best and worst game? The worst is still that dang $4 lemonade, but the BEST? A loss at the scale. BA-BAM!!!!