I weighed again after racquetball, I liked that weight better. 3.6 pound loss for the week 27.7 total loss so far. It’s a small difference, but I’ll take it just the same!
My endurance has gone down dramatically with racquetball after not playing for over a month. I was only able to “play” for 45 minutes instead of the usual hour. It was still a good work out and I got a good sweat going. I’m looking forward to getting back into it twice a week! Thanks Dad!!
I’ve lost 3.2 pounds this week for a total loss of 27.3. So I just need to lose 2.7 pounds to be at my Christmas goal. Time to go play racquetball (for the first time in a month or so) and give that 2.7 pounds a boost! 
Lately I’ve noticed some changes that have been a result of my ongoing weight loss. A couple of days ago it hit me that I seem to have more energy. You wouldn’t think that would have surprised me, but it was so gradual I didn’t realize it for awhile.
An even bigger change, and one that I like even more, is that food is no longer on my mind all the time. Before this weight loss journey I thought about food almost constantly. As soon as I woke up I couldn’t wait to eat breakfast, the first twinge of hunger I would stop everything to eat, if food was out I would eat because it was there, whether I was hungry or not, a snack before bed was a must, etc. I had a whole laundry list of reasons to eat.
But now, food isn’t the most important thing. It’s not the first thing I turn to. If I’m in a situation that I would have normally gone straight to a snack, I may think about eating, but then I realize it’s not really what I want or need. Food that use to be a must have now seems too expensive.
Let me explain that better. Zale and I are both doing the point system through Weight Watchers. You have a number of daily points that you’re allowed to eat in a day. It varies for everyone based on gender, age, level of activity, and weight. I currently have a daily point allowence of 22, Zale’s is 29, your points change as you lose weight and your life style changes. If you think of the points as if they were money, some food is cheep or even free, while other food is more expensive or just not worth it. For example, peanut butter is one of my favorite foods, one tablespoon is 2 points. I LOVE peanut butter on Nilla Wafers. 8 low fat Nilla Wafers is 2 points. So I can have them both for 4 points. My routine before Weight Watchers would have been to sit down with the jar of peanut butter and the box of Nilla Wafers and work my way though a third of the box. This journey has truly been a life style change, and one that I can easily live with.
Tomorrow morning will be my 12th weigh in, I’m actually looking forward to it and should still be on track to be at a total weight loss of 30 pounds by Christmas. Here’s the great thing about this program, you can literally have anything you want to eat, just figure out the points (which is easy to do) and keep a daily log. Within a couple of weeks it becomes second nature.
Examples of foods you wouldn’t normally be able to eat on a diet:
fudge – one piece = 3 points
small fast food hamburger = 6 points
small fast food fries = 6 points
fast food taco = 3 points
real cookies – 2 = 3 points
real brownies – 1 = 3 points
So if anyone is thinking about making a life change, I’m here to tell you it can be done. Relatively pain free too! It’s pretty exciting to think that if I keep it up I’ll be back at my comfortable weight by April!
I just have to blog about this. After picking Anthony up from work last night he was trying to fanagle a trip to McDonalds. He was complaining that he hadn’t had a Big Mac or a double cheeseburger in “forever”. As I pulled up to the light to turn towards home instead of McDonalds I hear him mutter, “If I was Chuck Norris I’d be getting a Big Mac”. Through my laughter I told him that I doubted Chuck Norris eats any fast food, I figure he sticks to a healthy diet. Anthony’s reply was this, “Chuck Norris doesn’t have a metablisim, metablisim has a Chuck Norris”. Now this may not be as funny to those who haven’t heard all the Chuck Norris sayings, but I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. I’m loving the sense of humor my son is developing. He’s so quick about it too! I’m so proud to be his Mom!
My Mom and step Dad come over Sunday to distract the girls while we put up the Christmas tree. While Mom was here she told a story of when I was a baby, or maybe a toddler, I didn’t ask the exact age. She said that there was a 48 hour period when the only sleep I got was a 35 minute nap one day and a 3 hour nap the next day. She even took me to the doctor to make sure I wasn’t broken. I immediately apologized for doing that to her.
These days I can relate to this story very well and the term “pay back” comes to mind. For a short period of time Reagan was asleep by 10:3o or 11:00, I was getting a couple of hours of “me time” before going to sleep myself, and still getting a decent nights sleep. Everyone was happy. But these days, Reagan is showing just how much of a night owl she is. I’m beginning to think she’s part vampire. Not only because she likes to bite, but because of the late hours she’s keeping.
For example, it’s 11:54 PM, Monday night. I’m supposed to be enjoying my “me time”, but instead I’m getting marble coasters dumped on my feet and the dog is very distressed by the pinging noise the coasters are making as Reagan bangs them together. Why am I not taking them away from her before she wakes everyone in the house? Because she’s not crying or screaming or crawling all over me like I’m a set of monkey bars.
Here’s hoping (and praying a little) she’ll wear herself out very soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
from BibleGateway.com:
“Excuse me, Are you Jesus?”
A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago . They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night’s dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding. ALL BUT ONE !!! He paused, took a deep breath, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.
He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did.
The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.
When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, “Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?” She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, “I hope we didn’t spoil your day too badly.”
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, “Mister….” He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, “Are you Jesus?”
He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: “Are you Jesus?” Do people mistake you for Jesus?
That’s our Destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.
If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It’s actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.
You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.
I got this story in an e mail, no clue who wrote it or where it originated, but I wanted to share it… Sometimes we just take things for granted, when we really need to be sharing what we know. I hope this story blesses you as it did me.
Zelda in the Christmas tree
Zelda on the prowl
You can see she’s gotten quite a bit bigger. We’ve also discovered she’s a little crazy. This fits in quite well with the rest of our animals.
When we put the Christmas tree up I was a bit concerned that she was going to bring it back down. I noticed the tree shaking slightly and then realized she was in the tree. Yugie and Schezi are content to lay under the tree, Zelda has other plans. She even likes to sleep in the tree. I thought about spraying her with water to keep her out of it, but figured that wouldn’t mix well with the lights. I had a flashback of a Griswald Christmas where the cat chewed up the extension cord and blew itself up.
Anyway, Zelda has made herself at home, is getting along with the other animals, even our Boxer Gracie. I think we’ll keep her.
Thankfully I haven’t had to blog about any pee adventures for some time, until today. Reagan woke up from her late afternoon nap pretty fussy and wanting to nurse. So as I sat down to feed her and make her stop fussing I realized she was very wet. As soon as she stopped nursing I took off her pants and diaper.
She loves running around naked and will run from me when she sees me coming at her with clothes. But very rarely is she without a diaper. Today she was only without a diaper long enough for me to walk to her room to get a new diaper and come back to the living room. Just as I was reaching for her to put her diaper on (She was standing in between our couch and recliner), she looked at me, had the biggest possible grin on her face, and proceeded to pee on the carpet. Then she tried to reach down and play in it, smiling the whole time!
Thank goodness for OxyClean, no stains!
Last night after church I took the kids (Anthony, Paige – his girlfriend, Jake – his best friend, Hannah & Reagan) to Taco Bell while Zale was talking and helping out with the second service. Hannah had a snack and drink from church so I didn’t order her anything. Reagan didn’t seem interested in food at church either, so I figured she’d hold out til we got home. I’m not sure what I could have ordered for her from Taco Bell anyway, it’s not like they have fries.
I pull up to the window and Hannah says, “I want a Sprite”. I figured I could put her off until we got home, forgetting that the Taco Bell we were at is the slowest “fast food” restaurant in the country. We finally get our food and drinks (except for the Sprite I didn’t order), Hannah and Reagan go crazy for a drink. None of the drinks in the car were caffeine free. But to keep our ear drums in tact I shared my Diet Pepsi with Reagan and Anthony shared his Dr Pepper with Hannah (He’s such a good big brother!).
Fast forward to MANY hours later when Reagan and Hannah would normally be sleeping. They were going strong until the wee hours of the morning. At first I forgot about the drinks, but around 1:30 or 2:00 this morning it hit me that they were full of caffeine. Next time I’ll make sure to get them Sprite, even if it means parking the car and going in the slowest “fast food” restaruant in the country!
Okay, I have to say, Weight Watchers ROCKS! Even with all the yummy food I ate over Thanksgiving and pretty much being off of the diet for 4 days, since my early weigh in last week I’ve lost another 3.5 pounds for a total loss of 24.1 pounds. AND, that’s without doing ANY exercise in the past two or three weeks. Either Dad has been sick or I’ve been sick, or my schedule hasn’t allowed it, so unfortunately we haven’t been able to play. I’m hoping I’ll be recovered enough to get back on the court next week.
I’ve got 19 days and 5.9 pounds left to meet my next goal of losing 30 by Christmas. I should say 18 days, we do most of our celebrating and eating on Christmas Eve, and I’m quite sure I’ll have an off day for that!
I should also mention that I haven’t done this alone, God has definitely given me the extra kick in the butt I need to keep motivated. Dad has given wonderful support, and competing with Zale doesn’t hurt either. Why is it that dieting is usually easier for men? I keep telling Zale he’s not allowed to lose too much more weight, he keeps going anyway. He needs to at least stop for a week and let me catch him! Happy Dieting!
