Nostalgia

This weekend I relived a bit of my childhood. Growing up, occasionally my mom would surprise my brother and I and say- pack a bag, we are going away tonight. We would usually go to Massachusetts or Vermont, somewhere fairly local, but it was fun all the same. Going away to spend a night in a hotel, maybe swimming, staying up late watching tv on the beds...

I loved those little trips. We did the same for my niece this weekend- we even stayed in state (she is still a bit young for a long car ride after a day at school. We went to a fun restaurant for dinner, went swimming in the pool before dinner and then again after breakfast before packing up to head out. What made it even a little more fun was that there was snow on the ground as we were splashing around.

It was a fun little trip, something I hope we do again. Everyone should have a chance for an imprompteu adventure.

Need to re-focus

I have hit a plateau with my weightloss, both in the numbers dropping and my willpower in keeping up with what I have learned.

While I was actually taking the NS classes, avoiding excess sugars was no problem for me, it could have been starting with the 3 weeks of no sugars... well, that is no longer the case. I have found myself wanting sugars more and more, and I have had to tell myself NO, You are NOT going to the Bakery for a slice of carrot cake, or a cookie. In the course of the NS classes, there was talk of an amino acid supplement L-Glutamine, which is supposed to curb sugar cravings. I think I may have to look into getting some.

This weekend we had a girls getaway with my niece and went to a hotel in state for fun. I found myself eating breakfast when I wasn't hungry and slipping into old eating patterns.

I am stronger than my cravings, I know I am, and I am going to get back on track. I have lost 55 lbs and have been around that for over a month now. I am going to rid myself of this plateau. I think I have to re-affirm to myself that I can do this, and that I love the transformation that I have seen since July of 2011. There is a fantastic wealth of knowledge in the NS online community, and I am going to take advantage of it.

Time flies

My post on random thoughts commences...

I can't believe that it is almost the end of January already. It feels like the new year has just begun. My cousin and her husband wil be moving back in 4 more months, the family can't wait until they are back north!

One of my co-workers is retiring in 2 days- she can't wait, and while I am so happy for her, I feel more pressure being piled on my shoulders as her work is distributed. I have a project at work that has blown up in size and while I know what I have to do, I don't know how to go about communicating any type of timeframe to others. I am hoping that I gain more clarity on it within a couple of days.

My fingers are also crossed for a certain phone call to come in the next few days for an important person in my life. Stressful days/nights are taking a toll.

This year I need to get out more and meet people.... I also need to get a hold on my finances in a big way. I have to learn to budget ( at least much better than I am now)

From a health standpoint, I am going to commit to continuing on my journey with my transformation with my weight loss. There are rumors at my office about an advanced class being offered for Naturally Slim, I am hoping they are correct :)

Time to start gearing up for the busy week ahead. Have fun my friends.

Still shopping.

Hi my name is Cathy and I am a procrastinator..... next weekend is Christmas and I am still not done shopping yet. Wednesday night I shopped on Amazon and got a big bunch of things (actually the items themselves are small- and some may be for me...). I still have to get some items. One is a gift card to round out a present and then I have to figure out what to get for a round robin gift.

Each year on Christmas eve we get together with my mom's side of the fam and the 16+ croud do a secret santa $20 limit and people in age from 56+ down to 16. I have no idea what to get.... will be running out of time soon I have a feeling.

Thankful

Thanksgiving is now over and done, and I was blessed to be able to have fun and spend time with almost every person in the family this year :) From a food perspective, it was interesting. I typically have 2 meals a day, with the first being at around 11:30-12:00. The feast yesterday was at 3....., so I planned ahead and had a simple egg sandwich on whole grain toast in the am. That enabled me to not snack on apps beforehand and be hampster hungry! I did have a pig in a blanket that my brother and neice made, but I was not compelled to eat and eat. I ate more than I planned, but stopped before I was stuffed.

After the feast we took a walk/hike through the woods to the nieghboring tree farm- so beautiful, and so New England - rows of different kinds of trees in various growth stages on the rolling hills and surrounded by stone walls and towering old trees. It was so beautiful and peaceful, I really wish I had brought a camera.

I ended the holiday with a trip to my aunt and uncle's to visit more famiy- and arrived just in time for the games. Got to play with the dogs as a cap to the day.

I was SO happy that the scale was the same this morning as yesterday. I had a great time and did not take too much of a side trip on this journey to getting smaller :) I am going to take it as a trial run/precursor to next month and the fun that awaits !

This year I am thankful for all of my friends and family, being employed and doing a job that challenges me, and am so thankful that I took a chance this summer on the wellness pilot program that is really changing my life and its all for the better!

An awesome journey

I decided to share my amazing weight loss success so far... as of this week I have officially lost 45 pounds! My goal right now is to lose 50 by the end of the year :)

This summer, my company offered a wellness program called Naturally Slim to a select 500 folks. We had to have blood work done before and after the 10 week class to see what success we achieved. I went in with an open mind and was ready to give it a shot. I was at my heaviest ever weight and was NOT happy. This program does not have a special diet and does not require crazy  amount of exercise. The mantra is not WHAT you eat, rather it is about WHEN and HOW you eat, and to just move- even if its just walking.  At the end of the program we lost over 4000 lbs between the 500 people in 10 weeks.

I have learned that I am not really a morning breakfast person and I don't get hungry until about 10:30-11 in the morning. I have 60+ oz of water a day, and at least 20 oz are h2orange (a blend of oj and water to keep blood sugar level), and of course coffee. I eat SLOWLY and take at least 25 minutes to eat each meal. The best part? I can eat just about anything I want. It seemed at times that I used to mainline sugar, and have realized that while it is good in small doses, it doesn't hold nearly the same appeal that it used to. The program does say to limit drinking and to try and stay away from wine- instead to have beer or a non sugary mixer with liquor.  I tend to stay away from alcohol for the most part, so that part was not really a hardship for me.  If I do drink it is one drink with a meal (to limit the sugar spike) and to make sure my meal has protein. 

I have a couple of shots to share with you, a before shot from late June 2011 and a current shot from about a month ago.

 I am ecstatic of my success and I know my gramma would be very proud of me!

35 pounds gone baby!

Apple Harvest Fest

My hometown's fall fesitval started today. For some reason a lot of people that I know that went to school or worked with in the town HAVE to go, some of my family included. Not me, I don't understand the appeal, I guess I never did. In high school the extent of the festival for me really was marching in the parade.

I wonder why I just am not into it? Maybe its my introvert nature, don't know really. Certainly the thought of deep fried fair food has no appeal, although the famous apple fritters sound good, but I know they don't taste as good as they smell. I have worked too hard with my weight loss to gain some back over a day/weekend of fried delights