Posts from — January 2008

This list has been circulating on several weight loss blogs since it was posted on the Healthy You Challenge blog. The orginial idea came from the awesome blogger Krissie. I think it is a great idea because usually emotional eating is the cause of those unwanted extra pounds. It is important to notice the good things about our bodies and lives, instead of always pointing out the negatives. Here is my list. :)  

The “I LOVE ME” List

1. What do you absolutely love about your body? My face! I have a great face that conjures up the most animated expressions. I can make most people laugh without even saying anything.

2. When did you surprise yourself with your physical strength? When I worked out with a friend and realized I was lifting twice the amount of weight she was on everything.

3. When were you braver than you ever thought you could be? Leaving home to live in Europe for four months. Since I didn’t know the language (German) it was an adventure!

4. When did your self-control blow you away? My self-control blows me away every time it shows itself. Every time I chose a salad over a sandwich and fries, or eat less than I want at a party, I am amazed that I did it.

5. What is your proudest moment ever? It is a tie between snowboarding in the Alps (because of the fact that I could snowboard and I was in the freakin Alps) and being published in the newspaper for the first time (because it really is fun to see your name in print).

6. When was the last time you felt absolutely beautiful? When I was at my lowest weight and all my clothes were too big. I looked like I needed to go shopping but I felt absolutely gorgeous.

7. Why do you deserve to meet your goals? Because I will work hard to meet them. I will log in the time and effort and stop treating myself poorly. I can see the kind of life I want and I am going to get it.

I am so excited about the Healthy You Challenge, especially because of all the supportive people involved. We will all achieve our goals, I can feel it.

For my first weigh in, I am at 227. Technically that is down a pound. I will only weigh myself on Tuesdays from now on so I have a better idea of my weight loss. The every day fluctuations are hard to rely on. But for today I will take it:

I lost a pound!! One down, 70 or so to go.

When I work out later today I will use that as a little motivation. Hopefully I will also be able to use that as motivation with my eating. The problem is, I am home ALL DAY these days and I have nothing to do. So I turn to eating. Munchy, munchy, munchy me.

It must stop.

Even so, I am progressing just by being more aware of the things I am doing and not doing. Posting my story yesterday, acknowledging my weight, was a HUGE step for me. At least that is the right way to lose weight - one step at a time.

I don’t normally talk about my weight, but I want to be open and finally reveal my weight - currently only known by me, my doctor, and God.

First a little about my story. For me, this is weight loss starting line number 2 and this time there is no specific finish line.

Weight Loss: My first major weight loss occurred the year after I graduated high school. I suffered through high school as an obese but smart and witty kid (personality counts for something, right?). I always had friends and was very involved, but never felt comfortable with my appearance or tried to change it. I knew I was fat, but never knew how big I really was.

After graduation I began working at the local YMCA as a receptionist. Being one of the fattest people working at a fitness center is not fun, but it did have its advantages. Everyone was willing to help once I showed interest in a more healthy lifestyle, so I took advantage of the free resources around me. I started working out and soon lost weight and started eating healthier.

I continued working and working out at the YMCA and dropped 50 pounds my freshman year of college. Beat that freshman 15!

After that initial large weight drop I got stuck and stayed at that weigh (around 200) for 2 years. My junior year of college I studied in Europe and lost another 10 pounds from snowboarding, hiking, and walking through every major European city on the weekends.

Weight Gain (Again): When I came home I was depressed because I was stuck in Memphis for the summer and missed the life I had in Europe. All of the activities I had enjoyed in Europe to stay healthy were impossible in Memphis, so my activity level took a sharp drop. Combined with my eating habits (a return to Southern comfort food) I packed on 20 pounds.

Since then I have added another 9 pounds or so because of the stress and sadness of things happening with my family. That brings the story to today and my desire to lose more weight and keep it off for good. I want to be healthy and fit from this day forward.

The Weight Stats: I have never told people my weight before without lying about it. Well, here are all the stats in their heavy glory.

Highest Weight: 255

Lowest Weight: 190

Current Weight: 228 (yikes!)

Goal Weight: 150

The Goal: The plan is to stick with Weight Watchers and keep training to run 5ks and triathlons. I need to weigh 40 pounds less than I have ever weighed, which seems like a huge goal. Even that is still on the heavy side for me since I am only 5′2″ tall. However, I feel like I can do this. I will do this!

Check out Roni’s new contest! I can win a Nutrition Smart Scale from Eat Smart and so can you! Click here for details!

I think that is a great blog contest. I am finding so many awesome bloggers out there! It is exciting to find a whole world of people online that are doing/have done what I am trying to do.

I have been looking around the web for websites/blogs to read for encouragement, tips, and inspiration. I stumbled across Jamar Nicholas’s blog of Big Beautiful Wonder Woman cartoons. I have to admit, I am sometime turned off by other fat people. Fat acceptance has never been my thing since I have always wanted to lose weight and be thinner myself. These cartoons are amazing though! Here were my favorites, click on them to visit the artist’s website.

I love the last one. So great! Check out the BBWW blog for more of Fat Wonder Woman.

Sometimes I wake up and think… this is me? In my twenties, living at home (just for winter break which is just long enough to make me feel weird about it), still over 200 pounds - definitely not where I thought my life would be.

Usually I wake up thinking about these things, quickly followed by “Oh well, at least have some fun today.”

And usually I do. But wouldn’t there be so much more fun in my life if I changed it?

Enter the “lifestyle change” king (or perhaps queen).

Hello, Weight Watchers.

Today I am starting weight watchers in an attempt to follow in the footsteps of many others who were once where I am and are now happily lighter and healthier. My aunt and uncle greatly influenced this decision because of their amazing success with the weight watchers program.

My goal, of course. is to lose weight. Remember that pesky new years resolution? But more importantly, I want to wake up every day and think, “I feel amazing and strong. Today is going to be so much fun!”

Not that anyone will ever be reading this blog, but it will be ranked on Technorati now. :)

Technorati Profile

Hurray social media and blogging and all such internet jazz!

Last night a friend and I wanted sushi for dinner. We went to our favorite place, Mikasa Japan, to find out it was closed. As I stood outside the door in freezing (it felt like it was freezing) temperatures my heart cracked into a million pieces.

Since the only other sushi restaurant I knew of was in Midtown I didn’t know where to go. I called a friend who looked up the closest sushi place to where we were. So we went to that restaurant and guess what? It was closed!

Most people at that point would just give up and get something else for dinner. Well, I am not most people. We remembered hearing about a sushi place somewhere in Collierville so we headed that direction. Driving without a plan, hoping we would see a place with sushi somewhere along the road.

I remembered something about Saddlecreek having a sushi restaurant so we drove around one side of the stores, then the other… and what did I find? SAKURA! After an hour of driving and waiting and frustration we hit the jackpot! Not that Sakura is the best, but they definitely have some good sushi. I always get the rolls specific to that restaurant, and I must say Greg created a pretty nice roll.

I love sushi.

Today I have been working on creating a media guide for Jackson, TN for my PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) Chapter. I thought I would be working on the design already but so far I have spent several hours just organizing the information sent to me by other members for the media guide. What I have realized through this little experience is that I want everything to be perfect. I am a perfectionist.

It is not enough for me that the information is mostly complete or that it is “as good or better” than the model media guide we have. I want it to the best, all correct, uniform on each entry… because the end product will be something I have to stand behind. I always want my work to be the best it possibly can be. How can people be satisfied with doing crappy work? Do they just not realize how bad it is, or do they just not care?

Well, after checking out this list I am pretty sure I am a perfectionist, at least when it comes to work.

Ten Top Signs Your a Perfectionist:

1. You can’t stop thinking about a mistake you made.
2. You are intensely competitive and can’t stand doing worse than others.
3. You either want to do something “just right” or not at all.


4. You demand perfection from other people.


5. You won’t ask for help if asking can be perceived as a flaw or weakness.


6. You will persist at a task long after other people have quit.


7. You are a fault-finder who must correct other people when they are wrong.


8. You are highly aware of other people’s demands and expectations.

9. You are very self-conscious about making mistakes in front of other people.

10. You noticed the error in the title of this list.

I know water is good for the body, no one needs to convince me of that. In fact, water is the only beverage I drink besides milk, but I still feel like I don’t get enough of it. Rarely do I meet the daily goal of 8 8oz. glasses of water. In order to help myself drink more water I have collected some ideas for increasing water intake.

Tips for drinking more water:

Keep it handy. If water is conveniently placed near you it will be easier to drink without thinking about it. Keep a glass or bottle of water next to you whenever you will be sitting for a long period, especially if you work in an office. Drink from it regularly throughout the day and soon you should be reaching for it automatically without realizing it. Also, keep a glass or bottle of water handy when you get home so you can continue drinking while watching TV, doing laundry, or other tasks at home.

Carry it everywhere. Try getting a cool water bottle that will make drinking more fun. Sometimes just the look of the water bottle will make you want to drink more. Carry the bottle with you everywhere you go. When it is empty just refill it and keep drinking.

Substitute water. When you normally order a soda or alcoholic beverage, order a glass of water instead. Make it a point to only order water when you eat at restaurants for one month. You will save some money and develop a habit for drinking water at restaurants.

Drink filtered water. Use a water purification system such as Brita or PUR for water free from contaminations and impurities. Once water is filtered store it in a glass container and keep it in the front of your fridge. Every time you open the fridge get a glass of water to drink.

Add a little flavor. If you can’t stand the taste of water, or just want something different once in a while, try adding lemons or limes to your water. Be careful and only add a splash, otherwise it might be too sour. Another option is freezing little bits of peeled lemons, limes, and oranges to use as ice cubes. You can also try letting mint leaves sit in a pitcher of water overnight. Crystal Light is another alternative, just add a pinch to add flavor to water.

Sneak it in. You don’t have to drink water to get water in your system. Eating water rich foods is another option. Watermelon is a great option since it is mostly water. Tomatoes also have a high water content. Fruits are not the only option, a piece of lean meat has a high water content.