My Journey Through Life

Today is the first day of my five day vacation.  I really need this...to just unplug and relax. My goal is to not stress out - or make demands on myself or my husband.  I sometimes get so caught up in plans that I end up not truly enjoying my time off.  I am going to do some gardening, cleaning, relaxing, reading, writing, resting and of course, spending time with my beloved husband! Have a great week!!

I was looking for a new profile picture and I came across this pic from last year.  My sister, niece and I were attending  Women of Faith  in Hartford, CT.  This was in November of 2012.  It was good to look at this picture - it really let me see how much weight I have lost!!  It is good to look back and know that I look better now - helps to put it into perspective. It is tough to  think that I have another 30 plus pounds to lose.  This picture helped me to appreciate what a difference the 30 pounds I have lost have made! Happy Memorial Day!

No loss this week, but that's better than gaining!!!  I don't know why I didn't lose any weight this week. It is kind of depressing, but I am going to keep doing what I have been doing...working out...watching what I eat...next week will be productive!! As I think back, I wonder how different my life would be if I had made different decisions.  As I reflected on my life-changing choices, I wrote the following article to sum up how I feel as I approach my 50s. This article was published on the Yahoo! Contributor Network...I hope you enjoy it! " When I graduated from high school and ventured into my twenties, I wish I had known that everything would be okay. It would have made life so much more bearable if I had known that, no matter what, I would end up happy. I used to think that if I could go back in time, I would visit myself when I was about 24, before I accepted an engagement ring from my first husband. I thought that it would be marvelous to go back and tell...

Tomorrow is weigh in day again!  I feel pretty good about jumping on the scale.  This week was a challenge - having my calories cut back due to my weight loss was...interesting.  I had one evening that I just needed more to eat - I think that was mainly due to having a sub for dinner. I didn't go over my calorie goal, but I think having a sub that has most of its calories coming from the roll was a mistake.  In order to succeed, I need to eat lower calorie meals.  The rest of the week was good.  I took a walk today - it was quite chilly, but I was happy to be out walking!  I ended up walking 2 miles in 41 minutes - so I got an extra 11 minutes of exercise - plus I am going to do my strength training tonight. You might enjoy reading this article I wrote about the ups and downs of weight loss that I have experienced, including some advice on how to succeed. "It is invigorating to lose weight! I feel successful, happy, and thin! However, something...

I did it!  I lost two pounds this week which brings me to a grand total of 30 pounds.  I am so happy and proud of myself. I am going to stick with my regular exercise plan - 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.  My calorie tracker has adjusted my daily calorie goal due to my loss.  I went from 1450 a day to 1330 a day.  At first that was daunting...some days I am hungry after I have eaten my 1450...how will I eat less?  Here is what I have planned: November 2012 Replace mid-morning snack bar with an apple or fat free yogurt - this will cut from 20-30 calories Replace afternoon snack bar with carrots - this will cut about 70 calories Eat more veggies with my evening meal - cut back on starch - I can probably cut another 50 calories there Replace evening snacks with an apple, carrots, or yogurt - that is about another 50 fewer calories Over all, as long as I replace what I am snacking on now with more fruits and veggies, I can easily cut those 120 ...

I got up this morning and took a walk. We went out for a light breakfast before heading home.  I have been doing my flower gardening in stages.  I love having flowers, but I am too lazy to do a lot of gardening so I did it in steps: Cut back dead growth from last year Attacked the weed-vine that invades everything in our small back yard. Attacked the weed - vine again...and again...finally found some of its roots and dug them out...that was no small task Put down some bags of garden soil...more exercise...they were heavy Put up a wooden border to keep the dirt away from the grass Today I finally planted my Iris', lilies, and  Aquilegia Took a break to write my blog I want my flower garden to be all Perennials so each year I will have a beautiful display without much work.  The hardest part will be keeping the invading weeds out!! Time for a shower!! Stay healthy and enjoy the weather!!  

I wonder why I am so much hungrier some days than I am on others.  I would think that it has to do with how much exercise I get and what I am eating.  The thing is that I eat about the same thing every day up until supper.  My evening meal varies, but the rest of the day is usually the same.  Today, I was really hungry at suppertime, but was satisfied with my frozen dinner and a bowl of cereal for dessert.  I know, I have an odd diet, but it works for me.  My DH works overnight, so he was asleep when I got home from work - I don't cook when it is just for me so the frozen dinners are great.  Having an apple for a snack now.  I have been thinking about how easy it has become for me to eat healthy.  There are days that I look at the brownies in the display case at Starbucks and almost order one, but I don't. I know that one slip during the week will lead to all the bad habits coming back.  Better to wait till Sunday when I can treat myself...

I only weigh myself one time a week.  The scale can become an enemy if I allow it to entice me to step on more than that.  This week I am excited to weigh in.  I like to set small goals for myself and if I can reach my goal of losing 2 pounds this week, I will be at a total of 30 pounds lost!!!  What an accomplishment!  It hasn't even been hard.  There are days that I am tired and don't feel like working out. I do it anyway.  There are days that I feel like eating a bag of chocolate chip cookies (the greatest food ever invented) but I don't. I eat an apple or a banana or a cup of yogurt instead. Something that has helped me is "free Sundays"  I eat what I want on Sunday. I don't count my calories on Sunday. I am happy to say that even when I do this, my healthy habits override some very bad decisions. I find that when I treat myself to a higher calories meal or treat, I fill up quicker and still don't eat too much.  I feel satisfied. This h...

I would love for you to visit my Yahoo page. I have published a short story there: Cassandra stood by the closed and locked window and squinted out into the afternoon sun. She flattened her palm against the pane as if she were trying to touch the outside, the sky, the very air. "I want to experience it again. I want to lie on the sand and feel the sun warming my skin. It's a wonder I don't have skin cancer…my girlfriends and I logged way too many hours slathered in baby oil and iodine! The wind…the…air…the…sun…" She began to sob. "Baby oil and iodine, what was that, a homemade suntan oil?" Dr. Sanderson knew the answer, he had an aunt who used the same technique and even as a young boy, it hadn't seemed like a good idea to him. The question was for Cassie's benefit. "Yes, I'm not sure how it was supposed to work, but we all did it. We didn't have the Internet back then to look up stuff like that. I will have to research it. I th...

Four months down and I have lost 27 pounds!  I am not depriving myself. I am exercising moderately and I feel good. I also started to post articles on Yahoo! contributor site.  I'd be happy if you stopped by to check out my Yahoo page. Stay healthy!!