June 3rd - Perception vs. Reality...such a funny thing

It's a tricky thing our perception of ourselves.

Why is it that when we are bigger we think we are smaller and when we are smaller we think we are bigger?

I'm not sure if I am the only one this happens to, but I wonder about overcoming this false perception a lot.

Here's the thing -

When I was bigger, I never felt as big as I was. Every time I would see a picture of myself (which are few and far between!), I would think, "I'm not really that big, am I?"

Now, the reverse is true. I can't wrap my head around my actual size. It boggles my mind to buy a medium anything, and I still think 16 pants fit.  They don't!  I feel bigger than I know I am.

And  -

Why is it that I only focus on the muffin top complimented by cottage cheese belly and the swinging arm fat? When I should focus on how much smaller I am and how far I've come.

Why is it so hard to love ourselves for who we are today? Not that we shouldn't strive to be better, but we really should be grateful for the body we have today and thankful for all it can do for us.

I think this is especially true if you take a moment to think about all the people who would give anything for a capable body - the sick, the elderly, the victims of the Boston bombing...you catch my meaning.

So my goal today - be happy with the body I have. Be intentional. Be grateful. Work to make it stronger, but be less critical of the way it is today.

May 2nd...has it really been that long?

Not sure how I left 6 weeks slip by, but life has been a little nutty lately...sorry about that!

Everything is still going strong from a diet perspective. In my opinion, the weight loss has slowed down a bit, but that's ok. I'm still in a 14, but they are loosening up a bit, so a 12 is not far away! I know exercise is key to losing the rest of the weight. Now, it's a matter of fitting it in.

I signed up (with my book club) to do a fun obstacle course race in September, so I am hoping that gives me the motivation to get out the running shoes and working on my 'couch-to-5k' program!

I promised some photo's, so here are some before & now shots...

A family trip to Santa's Village - Aug 2012

 

And recently -

Boston Strong Day - April 2013

As you can see, still a little love handles/muffin top to work out, but pretty decent results if I do say so myself.

~Cheers~

Mar 13th - 6 months down...

Today is the 6 month anniversary of when I started the hypnosis program and what a great and rewarding 6 months it's been.

I can't speak highly enough of the program.  I see Julie Ann Kibe of The Key Hypnosis (http://thekeyhypnosis.com/) - for anyone who may be interested and local in MA.

I still have a lot of work ahead of me and the true test will be when I get into maintenance mode. This is where my true fear sets in!

For now, though, I am focusing on getting rid of the last bit of weight- only 2 more sizes to go - and celebrating the extreme success I have had over a VERY short period of time.

A quick celebration recap-

• My blood pressure is way down (last read was 120/80) and my cholesterol is down a bunch too.
• I've gone from a size 22 to a 14! I'm embarrassed to admit the first number,but it really does show how far I've come. I may even be inclined to take a photo or two and post some before/current shots.
• I am down to the last of my "skinny" clothes in the attic. I have 2 pairs of size 12 capri's w/ tags on, but that's it. I only had a few 14's up there. I didn't realize (or used selective memory) that most of my "skinny" clothes up there were 16's. 
• All of the dresses I wore the summer I got married and to all the weddings we went to around that time (10+ years ago) are too big. 
• I haven't had anything sweet (sugar, soda, fruit, ect) or anything with any significant gluten (bread, flour, beer, ect) since the day before I started the program. Not even a glass of wine & that one is hard!!
• I have significantly more energy, patience, & self-confidence.

So now, after a few moments to pause and reflect, I can say this - I am happy - truly & deeply happy - and that is the best gift I could have given myself and my family.

Mar 6th - Things that help with Balance

Since there really isn't anything new or exciting to comment this week in regards to weight loss, I thought I would share some websites and podcasts that I love and have found really helpful as I continue to strive for balance in my life - especially when it comes to mothering

1) Busy Mom Survival Guide - PJ Jonas is a homeschooling mom of 8 and runs a very successful business - Goat Milk Stuff. She is the sister-in-law of my high school & college roommate.

http://goatmilkstuff.com/Busy-Mom-Survival-Guide.html - I subscribe via iTunes.

2) Power of Moms - I don't know anyone here, but I do enjoy their podcasts. I haven't gone into their website all that much. I subscribe to the podcasts via iTunes and started with the 1st one.

http://powerofmoms.com/learning-tools/podcasts/

3) Scary Mommy - You probably see links to this on my Facebook page, but I just find it funny - hysterical, actually.

http://www.scarymommy.com/

4) Pinterest - well, you all know Pinterest, but I find it really does make me "appear" to be a Super-Mom, when I really am not. I am a copy cat and proud of it.

http://pinterest.com/trsboston73/

5) Groupon, Eversave, Living Social, Amazon Local, Family Zip, Breathe NH - I use all of these sites frequently to find deals and savings for me and my family. I can't tell you the last time I paid full price for a hair cut....

http://www.groupon.com/
http://www.eversave.com/boston/bottoms-up-detail-2
http://www.livingsocial.com/cities/2-boston
http://local.amazon.com/boston
http://www.familyzip.com/
https://www.breathenh.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=948

That's all I got. Enjoy!

-tammy

Feb 28th - On feeling skinny

I am going to preface this post by stating that I know I am not skinny - not yet anyway! And by that I mean, when I walk down the street I am pretty certain people (aka: strangers) don't look at me and say "That's one skinny girl..."

However, I feel skinny and with that comes an ability to carry myself with confidence. I stand taller. I walk prouder. I feel like - in the first time in AGES - that I actually look 1/2 decent in clothes.

Happily, I am running out of "skinny" clothes in the attic. Some of the things up there, with tags on them, mind you, are actually too big. Isn't that exciting?

Well, the exciting part is that come spring and summer, when I am done losing and ready to maintain, I'll be forced to go shopping...bummer for me!

What I am realizing, though, is that it really doesn't matter what size I end up - feeling skinny and feeling good about myself is what does. So I may never be a size 6, and I may never be that girl on the street, but inside I sure as heck will be. :)

Don't get me wrong, I still want that tummy tuck - dang twin pregnancy - but with a little Spanx, it might not be that bad....And, if I actually exercised, it's even possible, I could look decent in a bathing suit this summer.

So, here's to feeling skinny at whatever size that is for you. Right now, it's a 14/16 for me, and I am pretty freakin' happy with that!

Feb 20th - Houston, the door appears to be stuck....

Getting out of the house is harder than I thought. It's just one of those things that seems to get pushed to the bottom of the list...or forgotten all together.

Morgan & I did walk to the bus stop 1 day last week and that was really fun.

She got to discover ice "glass"

And we had a great time breaking it 

She also played Queen of the Mountain on the snow banks

And we talked, just the two of us.

Why, then, is it so hard to fit all of those great moments into my day??

It's just not easy when life is busy to carve out 10-20 minutes - or remembering to take them.

I'm trying though - and that should count for something - shouldn't it?

Feb 13th - Getting out of the hamster cage

Have you ever thought of your life like living in a hamster cage? I hadn't until a few weeks ago.  But I think it's true in a sense - I live surrounded by 4 walls and, generally, my days are pretty predictable - wake up, get dressed, drop of kids, go to work, pick up kids, come home, cook dinner, baths, bedtime...you get the idea.

So, one of the things I have been thinking of is how to fit exercise into my day and breaking free from the hamster cage.

Here is the advice I was given & I think it's pretty good -

As humans, it's pretty easy to just open the door. The sense of freedom will come from not following a program or joining a gym, but just at random, and whenever I can, opening the door and taking a quick walk - sun, rain, sleet or snow. Truly giving myself permission to get outside and get moving, so whether it's 5 minutes or 25 minutes anything is better than nothing. The end result is continuing to build a desire to do more exercise and reach a level of fitness I haven't seen in many, many years. :)

I don't have a specific goal in mind or anything, but I do believe that this is the next thing I need to make a priority in order to help me reach my pant size and, definitely, some thing that will be needed in order to keep my ass in them!

Sounds easy, right?