110 Pound Pics!!!

Somehow, I missed posting these? Weird! Took these pics on January 15th and I was actually 111.2 pounds down, but didn't take pics right on the 110 mark. ;) I can hardly believe this is me! :)

I'm OVERWEIGHT!!!!!!!!!

WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!! I'm no longer obese, I'm now OVERWEIGHT!!!!! Doing a happy dance!!! :) I just figured out that I have lost the combined weights of my younger two boys exactly and I'm 4 lbs away from losing my 5'5" almost 12 year old son in weight!!! Another GREAT way to start the day!!! :) Next stop NORMAL BMI RANGE!!!! :)

One Hundred Ten Pounds Lost!!!!

And.......GOODBYE 170s!!! HELLOOOOOOOO 160s!!!!!

Having an AWESOME morning. First, I broke 110 pounds lost, 110.4 to be exact.....before I hit the 9 month mark in my journey on Sunday! I was really hoping for that milestone by then. :) But, I've also left the 170s and entered the 160s. :) What a FABULOUS way to start the weekend!!! :) I am really excited especially because I'm a pound away from going from obese to being "just" overweight!!! :D Maybe I'll become overweight this weekend???? LOL That sounds really funny to hope to be overweight, but when you're going in reverse it's an AMAZING thing!!! :)

I'm going "home" to Southern Utah sometime in the next few weeks. It will be so much fun to see everyone and show off the improved me! :)

Owning it......or not

A couple of days ago, I realized that once again, I weigh LESS than what my driver's license says. GO ME!!! LOL After losing a lot of weight and no longer looking like my old license (not to mention, I was way overdue for changing state licenses from moving here!) I decided it was time that I get a new license. I put my weight as 27 pounds less than I was at that point. LOL It just sounded better and I obviously wasn't going to get away with putting my goal weight down. ;) So, now I'm 29 pounds down from what I was that day. I'll go in and have my license redone when I get to my goal. :)

So.....that realization got me to thinking about how most people "fudge" the numbers on their license and don't really own what they are. Now, two licenses ago I really was what I said. It was the lightest I'd been in years and it didn't bother me too badly to own it then, so I put it down. When we moved from WA to NM and I got my license there, they didn't even ask and just transferred the number. LOL At my heaviest, I was 65 pounds heavier than what that number read. Yikes!! But, still, when I got my "new" license a few months ago.....I didn't. Mainly because I knew I wasn't going to stay there and even by the next day, I could be less.
I've also noticed recently, especially in this world of technology and social networking (like Facebook) where people put their stats, that people fudge the numbers there too. I remember years ago, my one brother in law had himself listed on Myspace as 8 feet tall and African American....which he was neither and it was so silly it just made me laugh. Obviously, those who know him knew it was a joke too. :) But, I've noticed, some people I know that are shall we say.....height challenged ;) (no offense, I'm 5' 2 1/2"....I'm right there with them! lol) fudge the numbers with their height too. Not by silly large amounts like mentioned above. But, it's funny to see people claim a number that is the same height that you know that you really are or even more than that.....when you know they are shorter than you....by a few inches. I guess it's a common thing that most of us want to be taller and thinner than we really are. LOL For the record....my driver's license says I'm 5'3" but that is because you can't put fractions of inches....so I rounded up instead of down. LOL

Then, I got to thinking about how this relates to weight loss and body image, etc. Being honest with yourself and what you are is such a HUGE part of it. I lived in denial a looooooooonnnnnnngggggggg time about my weight. I knew I was overweight, but I didn't step on a scale in literally years because if I did, I'd have no choice but to face it. Ignorance is bliss, right? ;) Even when this journey began, I *knew* what I was and Erik knew what I was.....but it took me a ways into the journey before I could admit it "out loud" to other people, on my blog, etc. I was embarrassed and ashamed and didn't want people to know that I was 280.2 pounds at my all time high. That I had let it get so bad. But, really, who was I kidding?????? Truth be told, only myself. Other people could see what I was, even if I denied it to myself. Now, I don't think I have ever verbally told anyone that I weighed less than I did.....I just simply didn't discuss numbers. But, I am quite sure that though people may have not known exact numbers....they knew it was up there. Even if I'd said 250...they'd probably be thinking "Yeah right!" in their heads. ;)
So, why do we all do it? Do we really think that other people are stupid or blind (not that it's really anyone else's business)? When you lose weight, people notice and when you gain......people also notice. Are we really trying to fool ourselves and make ourselves feel better? Hoping that our denial or fudging numbers to people will change what they see before them? Because really, it makes no difference to anyone else what height we are or what we weigh. We are what we are. But, that honesty or LACK of....can be a road block to success in becoming what we WANT to be and what we want other people to see us as. So, OWN IT PEOPLE!!! Own it and then move forward!!! :)

I am soooooooo behind here.......

Wow.....it's been more than a month since my last blog. I am *really* behind!!! I have still not gotten out of the holiday craziness. My kids started Christmas vacation on December 18th. A few days later we picked my Dad up at the airport in Nashville and then spent the next 5 days there with my inlaws. Then we came back home and spent the next 10 days here with the kids still on vacation and my Dad with us as well. They went back to school on the 4th, Dad went home on the 5th. Then......this crazy weather has been blowing through the south and my kids are on their 3rd snow day since!!! So, we have still not gotten back into a routine and regular life completely and I've now got two very unsightly cold sores to prove it! LOL My body is saying "ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!" I need a vacation from "Christmas Vacation." ;) So, needless to explain further, my blogging has been neglected.

In the weight loss department......
I did pretty darn good through the holidays. Halloween candy didn't phase me one little bit. Hopped off the wagon for one meal on Thanksgiving. Stayed strong clear up until Christmas Eve.....and have taken a bit of a detour since. Now, let me say, that I have NOT gone all crazy. I had some holiday food, Christmas Evening and Christmas Day. I was back 100% on plan the next day. Stayed 100% on plan till New Years Eve and had a NYE meal. Then I was about 90% on plan for a few other days. It just got really crazy especially when I had my Dad, two of Erik's siblings and their kids in the house and I was the ONLY person who is doing this. Erik is almost completely on maintenance now, so is eating mostly normal foods now. Now, the stuff I'm eating is not "bad" foods.....just not really on plan. For example, having a small soup and chili another meal which have beans in them....with a salad. So, for normal eating circumstances, this is actually a pretty good and healthy meal. Then, Aidan's birthday was on the 9th and I did allow myself to have cake. GASP!!! LOL
So.....it hasn't really been too terrible. I've not gained, but I've definitely not lost as much as other months either. I'm sitting at a 107 pound loss. So, basically 7 pounds lost over the last month with all the craziness and being off and on the wagon.
But........All that behind me now, I am back on plan 100% and moving forward. The holidays are past, the company is gone and there's nothing to even consider going off plan for, for a while. I have between 40 and 50 pounds I'd still like to and am GOING to lose!!! :)

**FIRE OFF THE CONFETTI CANNONS!!!****

I DID IT!!!!! Well, actually it happened yesterday.....but I was way too busy to blog about it yesterday. But, here I am 100.6 pounds down!!!! WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Such a HUGE and exciting accomplishment and I can still hardly believe it! I still want to lose about 50 more pounds.....but having the hundred down already is absolutely AMAZING!!!! The only piece missing, is being able to share it with my Mom. But, I know that she is so happy and beaming down on me!!! :)

Here's my 100 pound pic collage.....and then a pic of me I took today to show of my new 'do! :)

It's been a MONTH???????

Holy crow!!! Can't believe it's been a month since I last blogged. It's been partly due to the craziness of the season and partly because I've been hoping to come here with a big announcement. But, alas, the scale is playing games with me again. It never fails, when I am this close >< to a milestone that it happens. Actually, the last month has gone so s-l-o-w-l-y for me with weight loss. Except for Thanksgiving, I've been entirely on plan.
Yes, I had a planned "cheat" day and enjoyed Thanksgiving. :) I figure that I'd been entirely on plan for 7 1/2 months with ZERO cheating and deserved it. :) It actually ended up being a very good thing. As I said, the entire month went very slowly. BEFORE Thanksgiving. I think that taking myself out of ketosis shook things up a bit and between the day before T'giving and this past Saturday, I lost 5 pounds! :) I've maintained the same weight for the past two days. Going off plan made me very nervous. But, I've done so well and I think that's because it was actually planned out. I knew I was going to do it. I knew that I was going to be in control, that I would have a little bit of the things I wanted and not over indulge and be right back on plan 100% the next day and that's exactly what I did. :) It's very empowering to know that I really AM in control and can make and stick to decisions. :)
So......I'm at 98 lbs. I'm hoping (and my HAIR! is hoping) that I hit the big 1-0-0 this week. :) I'm rewarding myself with getting my hair highlighted, cut....the works when I hit 100. It's needing it desperately, so it better happen SOON!! LOL

Erik is doing fantastic. Several weeks ago he started transition and moved into the maintenance phase of the diet. When he started transition, he actually dropped 6 more pounds than planned on. But, that's okay, because in transition you tend to gain a few pounds back and he did. 4 to be exact. But, he has maintained that weight for several weeks now and it's right where he wants to be. So, he dropped 116 and with the gain is now sitting at a steady 112 pound loss from what he started at. :)

The best part of losing the weight is truly changing our lives. We are doing things that we haven't done in YEARS....literally since we were teenagers....and never would have dreamed of doing 8 months ago. This past weekend, we went ROLLER SKATING with our Cub Scout District. :) Yes, we actually put skates on and skated with our boys! It was SO MUCH FUN!!!!!! We're now planning a skating party for one of our boys' birthday party next month and I'm looking forward to doing it again! :) Gonna post some pics from Saturday. They are cell phone pics, so the quality isn't the best. ;)

Hope to be on later this week with some BIG NEWS!!!! :)