real quick...

I will very quickly, however, share that I lost 8 pounds this week. Good week. All around.

Blogging Suspended

I am suspending my blogging for today, January 20, 2009, to celebrate the inaugaration of BARACK OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a glorious day :)Congratulations America!!!!

Update

So lately I have had very little time to do more than a small blurb on my blog...Thought I would update a little more thoroughly. I'm having a really great week this week. I feel motivated, focused and in control. I am on full Optifast formula (800 calories), and have made it to the gym 3 times so far since Monday. At the gym I have been running on the elliptical for 30-35 minutes, and I have been doing some strength training as well. So right now I feel pretty good about things. My weightloss ticker is updated below according to my home scale this morning.

I have been trying to start a new habit, that focuses on my emotional health--a gratitude journal. Each night I am writing down at least 5 (I always have more than that) things that I am feeling grateful for that day. This was the suggestion in a book I am reading: "Simple Abundance". I am finding that I have been "standing knee deep in a river and dying of thirst" (song title). Along this journey I have learned to not take so many things for granted, and to not get too caught up in the details. I definitely feel like my gratitude and contentment with life is related to my eating. It is as if I had been trying to fill a hole in my heart with food for years and years, and now I realize that there are so many other things to put in that hole. So many things to be "full" of instead of food....

Something else I wanted to comment on--when I saw my doctor again after several months one of the questions he asked was whether or not people treat me differently now. The answer is, yes, absolutely. People I have known for years have suddenly become much kinder to me...I feel like I have gained a lot of respect from people. And while this may seem nice, it bothers me alot. Because I was no less wonderful when I was heavier. I was still smart and funny and caring--some people just didn't/couldn't see past the weight. Sad. But another thing my doctor said made a lot of sense--really it is on an unconcious level that people make judgments. They probably don't realize that they were discriminating based on weight...Interesting...

That's all for now. OH---one more thing. Reading another weightloss memoir "Diet Girl"--Shauna Reid is a fabulous blogger and author. Very inspiring.

DEAR KIM!!

Dear Kim,
Thanx for checking my blog so regularly. Makes me happy :) Please join Facebook.
Love your BFF,
Katie

A Little Sloppy

I got a little sloppy this week and stayed the same (lost .3 pounds--ha ha). The last 25 pounds is definitely going to be the hardest. This time of year is a tough time for me to lose weight, as my pattern is typically to be gaining it. So have to continue to find motivation and willpower to keep going!!! Today has been a great day. One day at a time....

A Swimsuit is Still a Swimsuit

100 pounds gone has made a huge difference in most areas of my life. But this weekend I am finding that it has not made that much of a difference in terms of how comfortable I feel in a swimsuit. On a weekend getaway here at Kalahari (indoor waterpark), I have actually discovered that I feel a little more self-conscious in my swimsuit than I ever did when I weighed close to 300 pounds. I'm figuring there are multiple reasons for this: a)When I weighed 100 pounds more, I was in serious denial of how large my body was. I knew I was fat, but I just stopped looking in the mirror below my neck at some point, b/c it was too painful. b)The bigger one is, the more invisible one becomes. I used to be that lady that people glanced at and looked nervously away, because I was so big. Maybe this is just my perception, but I felt a lot more invisible when I was bigger. I remember hearing my friends (and practically every woman on this planet) complain when they got into swimsuits about some their thights, or butt, or some other minor "flaw", but I never did this, b/c I didn't even know where to begin.

So this weekend, I understand. I feel awkward about my body, even though it is so much smaller than it used to be. I am not one to let stuff like this get in the way of having a good time--and I never have---but just a new experience I thought I would share. Interesting...

For those who are curious....

I lost 10 pounds this week!!!! I feel like I'm melting....

Half-Assed!

Reading a book called "Half-Assed" by a weightloss blogger: www.pastaqueen.com. A really funny weightloss memoir. The author has literally lost half of her ass--started at 372 pounds and is now in the 100's. Very inspiring and encouraging!

So Far Away

Current theme song...


This is my life
Its not what it was before
All these feelings I’ve shared
And these are my dreams
That I’ve never lived before
Somebody shake me
Cause I, I must be sleeping

(chorus)
And now that we're here,
So far away
All the struggle we thought was in vain
And all the mistakes,
One life contained
They all finally start to go away
And now that we're here its so far away
And I feel like I can face the day
I can forgive, and I’m not ashamed to be the person that I am today

These are my words
That I’ve never said before
I think I’m doing ok
And this is the smile
That I’ve never shown before

Somebody shake me
Cause I, I must be sleeping

(chorus)
And now that were here
So far away
All the struggle we thought was in vain
And all mistakes one life contains
They all finally start to go away
And now that were here
So far away
And I feel like I can face the day
I can forgive, and I’m not ashamed to be the person that I am today

I'm so afraid of waking
Please don't shake me
Afraid of waking
Please dont shake me

(chorus)
And now that were here
So far away
All the struggle we thought was in vain
And all the mistakes one life contains
They all finally start to go away
And now that were here
So far away
And I feel like I can face the day
I can forgive, and I’m not ashamed to be the person that I am today

Happy New Year!!!

I am soooo ready for 2009! Am having a great week and my lifestyle is back in check again. Here is a link to an article that is really interesting on MSN:
http://health.msn.com/nutrition/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100218116&imageindex=1

10 Secrets of the Effortlessly Thin:
1. They don't diet
2. They keep track of their weight
3. They exercise regularly
4. They don't solve problems with food
5. They stop eating when they are full
6. They don't surround themselves with temptation
7. They allow themselves treats
8. They eat breakfast
9. They move, stand and fidget more
10. They don't skip meals

All things I am working on...makes a lot of sense!!!