The difference a year makes......

Been doing some deep thinking this morning. ;) As I'm half way through the last week of being 34, heading like a bullet train into my (GULP!!!) mid-thirties AND as I'm quickly approaching my one year "anniversary" of starting my weight loss journey, I've been thinking about the huge changes I've made over the last year.

My life is so different, *I* am so different than I was just a year ago. The last two mornings, I've woken up just tired and sort of "blah" feeling. I've done my usual routine of getting the kids up, fed breakfast, ready for school, pack their lunches and sending them out the door, while my bed has been calling to me, "Jodi, come back!!!" And oh how I've wanted to. I think it's the weather. It's cold (again, ugh!), gray sky, rainy, foggy..... The kind of weather that just makes you wanna stay in your PJs all day and curl up under the blankets. But, every morning, I have forced myself past that feeling, pushed it to the side, gotten myself dressed and hauled my booty to the gym. A year ago, I'd have climbed right back into my bed. But, I have a different focus, a drive that I haven't had in so long. I'm doing things for myself that I know are good for me, make me feel better in the end and that are inching me closer and closer to goals I have set for myself. :)

My weight was a culmination of a lot of things going on with me, but I think I threw myself so much into doing things for other people.....mostly my husband and kids....that I neglected myself. I was too tired and exhausted to have anything left for me or really even to care about me. I really lost myself.

But, now, I'm getting glimpses of myself. My true self. The one that I'd forgotten about that was so light-hearted and silly and loved to laugh and make people laugh. The one who was outgoing and unafraid. The girl who felt like she fit in and had a place in this world. I'm not totally there yet, but I'm thrilled that I'm not actually this fuddy duddy person I'd become. :) I've started to think about what I want to do next with "Project Me" once I have reached my weight loss goals. I'm contemplating going back to school. But, I need to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. LOL A year ago, I'd never have thought of that either. :)

Oh and on another note. I haven't been to a doctor in a LONG time. Like since my 6 week post partum check up after having my youngest, who is now 6 1/2 (shameful confession). Yikes!!! Part of it was due to moving. Part of it due to not wanting to discuss my weight with the doctors. Part of it because my Mom got sick and I was afraid of hearing anything bad about myself. And part of it due to the fact my Mom, through her illness had a few things happen to her because of doctor screw ups and ultimately her death caused by medical malpractice. So, I've avoided going to the doctor for myself like the plague. ;) But, I called the practice my boys go to and set myself up an appointment for next week, so I can thoroughly take care of me! :)
When my Mom got sick, she begged me to take care of myself, to lose weight and take control of the things that I have control over. I know she's in Heaven looking down on me and so proud of me. Okay, the end. I've gone and made myself cry. ;)

Water.......the diet wonder

Just thought I'd put a little plug in here for drinking water. Before I started this plan, I was *not* a water drinker. This was, and still is to some point, something I have to be very deliberate about doing. Plain water is not my preferred choice of beverage, but it is soooooooo important. Just to be healthy and keep your body running as it should, a person should consume at least 64 oz of water every single day. But, really, 64 oz isn't a lot and is pretty easy to consume. Something I have tried to do since being on plan and that I recommend to others is to consume *at least* 100 oz every day. When I'm being good, I actually do about double that. I mentioned in my previous blog entry that I was sort of stuck. Well, don't want to jinx anything but the scale is moving again. :) The only thing I have really changed is to up my water consumption and stay on top of it. I have absolutely noticed that when I drink more, I lose more. So, anyone trying to lose weight, no matter what plan if any you are using.....pound the water. You really cannot hurt yourself drinking a lot of water as long as you space it out and give your kidneys time to process it. So, don't go all crazy and drink a gallon in a sitting. But, a gallon or even a little more over a day is okay.

While I'm at it......going to make a little plug for something else. While being conscious of your body and trying to take care of it, remember to take care of our planet and be kind to it. I'm no crazy environmentalist.....but I've noticed in the gym sooooo many people using the kind of water bottles you buy by the case. If you're trying to drink a lot of water, that's a whole lot of waste even if you recycle. Buy a reusable water bottle and refill it. Many refrigerators come with filtered water dispensers and even if you don't have one, you can buy filter attachments for your faucet or buy a filtered pitcher to keep in your fridge. I actually have a favorite water bottle that I like so much I went out and bought a couple more of the same kind. I use one bottle all day long and then wash it. Much more environmentally friendly. :) Also, because I know how many ounces it is....I fill it *at least* once for every meal and am easily able to keep track that way of how much I consume for the day. :)

My favorite water bottle. It's like $4 at Walmart. :)

Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE.

This is what I keep telling myself any way...and I believe it. But, I'm having a hard time being patient. And I know it's ridiculous. What am I being impatient about? Losing this last darn 25 pounds that at this point are feeling eternally glued to my body. ;) I *know* that this is how it goes. The less you have to lose, the slower it comes off. It's the truth that I tell to my clients. Especially those looking to lose less weight than I started with needing to lose. The more you have to lose, the faster it comes off. The less you have to lose, the slower. I mean, I lost 125 pounds in 11 months. That is UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLY AMAZING!!! I *know* that. But, this last 25 isn't coming off anywhere near as fast as that first 25. Ugh. However, I am thrilled to be at this end of my journey. :)
A friend that I have made through Facebook who is on this plan too, hit her goal on Sunday. I am ECSTATIC for her as I have watched her journey since I started my own. She made a video of her journey that had me in such happy tears last night as I watched it. I related so much to her journey and it made me so excited that there really IS a light at the end of the tunnel for me. She had about the same amount to lose as I did and it took her 58 weeks. So, a little over a year and I'm quickly approaching my "anniversary" too.....so hopefully that's somewhere near the time frame I have to look at as well. So, if your reading, another shout out of CONGRATULATIONS!!!! to Margene!!!! You're awesome, girl!!! :)
So, I will keep putting one foot in front of the other, keep doing what I'm doing and reminding myself that PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE!!! :)

A couple of visuals......

Since it hit 80* here today, I decided that I needed some new "springy" things to wear on my bottom half. ;) So, I went shopping today and bought me a couple pairs of capris. I was hanging the new items up in my closet and my "big" pants folded and sitting in the top of my closet caught my eye. So, I pulled them down and laid my new capris atop my old pants. The old pants are a size 20. The biggest size bottom I ever bought. They were tight and truthfully, I could have fit nicely in *at least* a 22, if not a 24. The capris are size 8 and fit me perfectly. :) I can still hardly wrap my mind around the idea that I actually fit into a size EIGHT!!! :) I hold them up and they seem so small and I doubt they will fit me, but then they do. My mind has just not caught up to my body yet. It's really kind of funny. :)

The old and the new.......



My youngest, Connor, and I goofing off IN my "big" pants. He is my youngest and smallest...but, I have lost MORE than my 5'6" 12 year old (tomorrow!) weighs. :)
Oh and pardon how scary I look, it's the end of the day and I'd already undressed for the day and am in my lounge wear (under neath the pants). ;)

Me.......size 8??????

Oh YES I am!!!! :) I'm going to a Church women's conference this coming weekend. My Mother in Law bought us tickets and gave me mine as part of my Christmas gifts from her and Father in Law. So, I was thinking about what I'm going to wear. The dress for the occasion is "Sunday Best" which for us, is a skirt or dress. So, I'm thinking that I only own one skirt. It's a black skirt and I could get away with just wearing that with a different top each day. But, what fun is that? ;) So, I went shopping to see what I could find....initially thinking that I would buy another skirt in a different color. So, I was at Kohl's and wasn't really seeing any skirts I liked. They had a really cute dress that was in the "Simply Vera" Vera Wang Collection.....but alas not the right size. BUMMER!!! So, I grabbed a bunch of dresses off the racks and started trying them on. Imagine my shock when a size EIGHT (that I had grabbed just to see how far off I was) actually FIT me!!! Being silly, I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture of the moment! ;) Oh, that was NOT me who trashed the dressing room.....it was a mess already when I went in.



However, I was not in love with any of them, so I didn't buy anything there. I came home and was looking at a few stores online to see what they had. So, I was looking at Belk and saw a dress that I LOVE.....and was very excited to find that the store a few miles from my house had it in the store. So, off I went to see if they had it in the right size and if I liked it on me. They did and I did!!! :) Was so happy to find that the 8 in this dress fit me too! :) So, now I have a new pretty dress for the conference and to take me through the spring. :)