And here it is......

  30 pounds gone!   In 9 months, I achieved 250% of my original goal for one year.   12 pounds seemed doable.  After years of failure and defeat, I really wanted something doable.  But then the weight came off faster!  Praise God.  Now it has slowed, and I am really Ok with that.

  The sad part is that I am still really overweight, and so my journey continues.  I figure that, without paying any attention to my eating, I gained 5 pounds per year over several years.  There are some of you that are really blessed and your weight does not go up or down. Good for you, but that is not my case.  If I do not stay somewhat focused, I will slowly regain the weight.  So, I am either losing slowly or gaining slowly.  That is the fact that I cannot ignore.  My choice.  Gain or lose.

  New goal-same goal.  1 pound loss per month.  In five years I will be so different!

A quick update

Got on the scale, like I do every morning.  Yay!  I am back to 29 pounds.  8 days of not doing very well have been neutralized.   It really does pay to get back on track just as soon as possible.
  I did go to the gym yesterday, like I said.   After that, I took the car to change the oil.  The guy told me that it would take at least two hours.  I had to get home but Ronnie had the other car in Oro Valley and  Neil had the motorcycle at church.  So I walked home.  In the sun.  Took me 35 minutes.    I guess God knew that I needed a second workout yesterday!   I didn't walk back though, Neil took me on the motorcycle.  Yikes!  I am not quite ready for that.

Post-conference weight and thoughts

It's been a long, wacky week.  I went to California to visit family, and we ate.  Unfortunately, it was Wienerschnitzel, and, well, enough said. At least the company was good!  We did make up for it the next day at The Point at WCBC with my Mom and my daughters.   Then we came home to Missions Conference at Church.  What an amazing, wonderful week.  Got to meet some awesome missionaries and we had a blast.   And we ate!  Plenty of fellowship around the table. We managed to eat at all my favorite places.  I defiantly stayed off the scale until today, fully expecting  2-3 pounds of "fellowship".   PTL, only 1!   I can handle that.   I am back on track today.   We went to the gym. All is well.  I have about 17 days to drop 2-3 pounds before Israel.

I am motivated to continue this process that I hope will be with me for the rest of my life.

Very, very true

Work out!

Can I get an Amen?

     Down 29 pounds!!!    I cannot be happier considering this was a really busy weekend with lots of

eating activities.   I was afraid to step on the scale this morning, but I did anyway, 

and I am so glad I did.  Especially considering that I ate a nice piece of red velvet cake 

and we shared some  Panda Express and by Panda Express I mean Orange chicken.  

I don't go there for the healthy stuff. 

     I am one pound away from my end-of-the-year goal.   Part of me says to rethink my goal.  

The other part of me understands that I have a big trip coming up, and I do not intend to diet in Israel.

Also, Missions Conference starts in less than a week. Oh yeah, and Christmas in two months. 

It will be all can do to reach 30 and hover around 30 until year's end. 

 
So sorry about the spacing.  Something is up with Blogger today.

The Case for slow weight loss

Sometimes when I see or hear about folks who have lost a lot of weight pretty quickly, I get a little jealous and a little frustrated with myself.  I have to remind myself of my original plan; 12 pounds in 12 months.   I know that it seems insignificant but it's not.  Truth is, I have lost more than twice that amount.  I sure am not complaining!  But I am still convinced that slow and steady wins the race.

My reasoning has to do with weight maintenance.  If I go on a strict diet for 6 months, I may lose a lot of weight, but I won't have changed my lifestyle permanently.   You can do anything for 6 months, but after the deprivation and strict control, you just might revert to your old habits.   If you steadily change your habits over a 2 or 3 year period,  it is very likely that you have established the permanent habits that you need to not regain the weight.

That being said, do whatever works for you!  I encourage anyone who is making an effort to become more healthy and fit.    #fittoservehim

Body shaming vs Body Positive

It is not easy being a fat person.  I mean, it's easy to become a fat person, but once you are there, it is no joke.   Clothes are hard to find, ugly, and ill-fitting.  Seats are snug.  Entire stores don't carry your size.  Some people actively make fun of fat people.  I had a relative who, when he saw a fat lady walk by in a restaurant, said loud enough for all to hear, "I hope she orders a salad!"  Even those who don't say things like that out loud, may be thinking them.

   In recent years, there has been a movement toward acceptance of fat and people of larger sizes.  At first, it's a relief.   There are more stores that carry more options.  Nice.  But at what cost?  It would be so much easier if I just gave up, if I just learned to love my curves!   This sounds good and is very politically correct, but would not be good for me or my health.  No one really enjoys being fat and no amount of "acceptance" is going to change that.

  Honestly, though, we need both acceptance of what we are and encouragement to change.   I don't need anyone to tell me that I am OK the way I am, nor do I need anyone to tell me that I am fat.   If you know someone who needs help with their health, pray for them.  If you see them making positive changes, encourage them. Never sabotage their efforts, nor police them, either.

  Of course, Jesus said it perfectly so many years ago:  Do to others as you would have them do to you.   Accept them for who and what they are, and encourage them when they change for the better!