Luvtlee

I didn’t lose any weight at my last weigh in this last Sunday. Does that make me happy? No. Does it upset me? Not really. I mean, it does kinda suck because I want to always be on the losing end. But I am not on the gaining end and that is what would be upsetting. What would be upsetting would be if I stopped doing what I should be doing and fell back into my old lazy habits. That will NEVER happen, so it’s all good!

I do think this subject is important to talk about because we so often focus on the scale and the numbers it shows us. If we aren’t continually going down, we can often get depressed and give up. I’ve chosen not to do so this time around. I’ve chosen to keep fighting the good fight and to never give in. NEVER. This means even when I get to my final goal weight, I won’t stop. There is no “end” to this if it is to be done right. To be determined to win means I will never give in, not even when the scale is my worst enemy.

I’ve been working hard, I’ve done everything the way I should. I even change things up a bit here and there to try and prevent the plateaus from coming. But here was one anyway. So what, big deal. I see the big picture now and no little setback is going to change anything for me.

In a strange way, I am actually thankful for this small setback. It will help to determine my character. It will show me where my dedication lies. This too strengthens me!

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” - Mario Andretti

This last Saturday we went to the dojo for a dojo run. Every two months or so the kids are required to run 1-2 miles depending on what they ran last time. Nick (he is 11) didn’t have to run this time but we figured we should go anyway because the more practice you get, the better.

Last time I went along too and did a fast walk for the 2 miles that Nick was required to run. This time around I prayed that I could run one full lap without stopping, which would be .4 of a mile. I haven’t even been able to come close to that; would just run about .1 of a mile before stopping. But I was determined this time to get that full .4 of a mile in.

My husband, Brice, kept pace with Nick so that Nick could complete his two miles. I ran just behind them with my son Brice (he’s almost 15) to pace me. It was really hard, but before I knew it I completed the first lap and went right on running into the second lap! I managed to stay right behind my husband and Nick until just before the end of the second lap when I started to feel a little dizzy. So, I slowed down and did a fast walk/run for the remainder of the two miles. In the end I ended up running almost the entire two miles with just the few quick walking breaks in between. At one point I even out ran my son Brice because he got tired and stopped before I did.
At the end it was GREAT, I felt so good for what I had accomplished. I was THRILLED with my results, almost two whole laps without stopping once!!! I RAN for just under .8 of a mile!!! Do you have any idea how incredibly cool that is to me? I’ve never been a runner. Even back in high school when I was skinny I didn’t run. Not because I couldn’t, but rather because I was “too cool” to do so. What an idiot I was. Truly.

One VERY cool thing that I must also blog about. During the run, my daughter Britney (she’s almost 17) walked with our younger son Noah (he’s 6), since he is too little to do the run just yet. One of the sempai’s was there to help out at the midway point and he was walking and talking with Britney and Noah until he got to the midpoint. Britney later told me about part of the conversation. It went like this: Sempai said, “Your mom is so awesome running like she is.” Noah replied, “Yeah, she really is. She’s lost one hundred pounds and is getting skinny now.” Sempai then told them, “She’s doing so good, she has even inspired me to eat healthy and exercise more.” Noah says, “Yeah.” Like it’s all within his realm of knowledge.

Noah is so flippin’ AWESOME! That boy makes me so proud, he OWNS my heart!

And, oh yeah, I FINALLY updated my pic!   :smile:

Kicking it up a notch by adding in the pilates and kickboxing classes has really given me a boost! I have now surpassed my mini goal of 336, which was 30% of my total weight lost!!! WOOT!!!! GO ME!!!

I am setting my mini goals to be in 10% increments of my total starting weight, so each time I meet a mini goal I have to lose 38 more pounds to reach my next mini goal. My ultimate goal is to lose 50% total. I am at 30% now, and absolutely THRILLED!!!

Next mini goal then is to get to 198…40% lost….dare I dream it? Dare I think I can do it by November 11th, in time for our next Marine Corps ball? Who knows, but I can dare to try it and do the best I can!

For today though, I am not going to reset my mini goal. I am going to relish where I am at TODAY! Again, WOOT!!! GO ME!!! hehe

Oh yeah, new picture coming soon.  Going to have my daughter take one in just a few minutes here, and I’ll put it up quickly since I am so far overdue.  Don’t know what happened to last month’s picture.   :???:

I’ve been reviewing things from my past blogs, to see how far I’ve come. It’s been quite the journey! While I am by no means close to being done, I have come quite the distance. The way I see it, this is a never ending journey, one which will just shift gears from time to time. For now I am in weight loss mode but I plan to spend the vast majority of my future in maintain mode…always hoping to never again have to get into weight loss mode.

For my fifth post, way back on January 15, 2007, I made a list of the things I would like to be able to do someday. Yeah, I know I am not thin yet, but compared to how big I was when I wrote this list….well….

Right now I’d like to review it and see what all I’ve already accomplished. Here it is pasted directly from that post:

I thought I would start making a list of what I am looking forward to doing when I am thin:

1. Fitting in the booth seats at restaurants without feeling like I couldn’t be crammed in there any tighter.

DONE!!! I already fit comfortably in booth seats, and it THRILLS me! No more FEAR of eating out at restaurants that will stick me into booth seats because I will gladly choose them on my own!

2. Ride a rollercoaster again!

Sad to say I’ve not had the opportunity yet to test this, but I know without a doubt that I will fit just fine and we’re planning on a Disney trip in October, possibly a Magic Mountain trip too.

3. Shop in the normal sized clothing departments.

Not quite, but almost there! I have gone from a size 4x to a size 18!!!! Some shirts I have are 1x though, hence the not quite but almost there.

4. Have a better sex life.

Oh WOW is it ever! And it’s only going to get better!

5. Fit behind the steering wheel without my belly rubbing against it.

DONE! Not only do I fit now, I no longer have to have the seat all the way back. I leave it where my fit husband uses it and I still have a good 8 inches remaining between my belly and the wheel!!! This THRILLS me beyond belief!

6. Live to see my future grandkids, and be able to play with them.

Obviously I still do not have grandkids because my kids are still just kids. But, I am a HUGE step closer to achieving this someday, and am in the best shape of my life.

7. To live a longer life with my husband.

See the answer to the question above.

8. To be able to comfortably tie my shoes.

DONE! Not even the slightest problem now.

9. Heaven forbid having to be picked up by EMT’s and put into an ambulance this fat….also, would like to be thin when I die…imagine the embarrassment my husband would go through otherwise.

DONE! Granted, I have not had to be picked up by EMT’s (Thank the Lord), but I no longer fear this!

10. To feel good about the way I look.

DONE! Honest to God, I love my body now! Even my husband has noticed…take a look back at the answer to question #4. And, it’s only getting better!!!

11. To not get out of breath while climbing a flight of stairs or two.

DONE! I can climb stairs like you wouldn’t believe! Stairs no longer scare me!

12. To not sweat so much over little things…literally.

DONE! Granted, I still sweat while working hard. But doing the little things, is just that now….little. I gotta work HARD to get a sweat on.

13. To make less messes on my shirt while eating.

DONE! I had forgotten about this problem. I don’t remember the last time this happened to me. Again, THRILLED!

14. To roller skate with my kids.

DONE! I love this activity.

15. To be able to run again!

Getting there. I CAN run now unlike when I wrote this list, and can do so for longer then I dreamed possible by this point. I do want to continue working at this though until I can run at least one mile without slowing down to a fast walk.

….I’m sure the list will continue. I’ll stop with that for now though. It’s a good start.

I am one happy camper! I am so enjoying this journey, every step of the way has been filled with hard work and loads of prayer, but honestly I wouldn’t change a thing. I am glad to be where I am right now. This is the GREATEST thing I’ve ever done.

Throughout my journey here I’ve been placing mini goals to lose 10% of my original body weight at a time. My ultimate goal is to get to 160 and then from there re-evaluate just where I think I want to be. My first really BIG goal though, was to lose 100 lbs. by my 37th birthday on July 31st.

I DID IT!!!

After only seven months, I achieved what I used to think would be impossible!

You may remember that my two youngest boys have been attending karate classes for the past three years, and while they’re in class I walk/run 2-3 miles by going around the empty lot across the street. Nick, my 11 year old is a brown belt and Noah, my just about 6 year old tested for his orange belt this last Saturday, and the neatest thing happened after. At the end of class, Sensei’s wife Wendi came onto the floor and asked everyone to remain seated because she had a couple of announcements to make. The first one was that there are a couple of boys that attend the dojo who’ve had heart problems and they’re going to be in a walk for the American Heart Association in San Diego and they’re in need of donations.

She then proceeded to talk about a “woman who has been so inspiring to her these past few months”, she got emotional and started crying and covered her face with the papers in her hand and said, “I can’t even look at her.” Then she asked me to come onto the mat. She talked about what a blessing me and my family have been to the dojo, how they consider it a pleasure to teach our boys and watching them at functions together, how Nick takes such good care of Noah. She talked about how my husband was in Iraq for so long when we first started attending, and thanked him for his service.

Then she talked about how she remembers when we’d been coming for a few months that I told her I was going to quit smoking after having smoked for 22 years, because I sat there every day with my boys and I knew that I had to do what was right for my family and I wanted to be healthy for them. She admired me for that, the dedication that it took to quit. Then she said this last January I decided to take it up a notch and began to lose weight by doing it the right way, by eating right and exercising. She told everyone how I’m out there every day walking, even when it was 109° outside I’d be out there walking. She said that I have been such an inspiration to her, and in turn an inspiration to the kick boxing and pilates classes that she teaches. She would motivate her classes by telling them about me! She then presented me with a certificate to attend classes free for the next SIX MONTHS! Her and her husband are such good people, they truly are.

I really wish we’d gotten it all on video tape, but we had only brought our camera for Noah’s test. Oh how I wish that I had all the wonderful things she said on tape so that I could listen to them again! I’ve never had my praises sung by another like that, it was such an awesome experience! I do have a couple of pictures and in my heart the words will stay.

So, to make a long story just a little shorter….Kick boxing classes go Mondays & Tuesdays from 7:15-8:15 pm. Pilates go Wednesdays & Thursdays from 7:00-8:00 pm. I have attended two kick boxing classes and the one Pilates class so far this week. I will go to the second Pilates class tonight, too. I had a great time at both of the classes. Both are very difficult, ALOT of work! I was literally dripping sweat by the end of the kick boxing classes. But, both were fun and I am SOOO thankful to Wendi for giving me such a generous gift. Six months FREE! I am so thrilled to have these classes to add to my arsenal!