lots of life changes... the good kind!

It’s been a very busy few weeks in our house. So let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start (I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help myself). My husband had been with the same company for about 9 years when he was offered a new job and after a lot of talking, praying, talking, and more praying, he accepted the new position. Since starting the job the mood in our house has lightened quite a bit. Now, that could have something to do with the fact that Hubby and I went away with our friends for a long weekend of rest and relaxation in Gatlinburg. The cabin we stayed in was beautiful and slept 8 people very comfortably. The family that we rented from was so accommodating and helpful. We all agreed we would stay there again. Here is the link if anyone is interested. Awesome Cabin

Right before the job change and the vacation I hit my 30 pound mark!! HURRAY!! I have lost 30 pounds and over 27 inches all over my body. Because I hit my 30 pound mark I made the decision to eat what I wanted while on vacation (4 days). By day two I decided to get back on the wagon. My stomach was in terrible shape. I was not used to the amount of sugar I was suddenly taking in or the amount of food. After the second day I upped the amount of water was drinking then proceeded to get my cardio in (2 full days of outlet shopping). I was so ready to get back to my normal eating schedule. Since getting back from vacation I have lost 4 more pounds making a grand total of 34 lost!! I haven’t done my measurements in a while but I was able to purchase some new clothes that were 1 or 2 sizes smaller than what I was wearing before. I’m also fitting into clothes that I haven’t worn since way before I was pregnant with Baby Boy.

In other news, my best friend got engaged!! My BFF has been dating the most wonderful man for a little over a year now and on their one year anniversary he proposed!! I am so very excited to be a part of that wedding and their special day. Just one more reason to stay motivated to keep those pounds coming off.

In other “other news”, because of Hubby’s new job we are now able to seriously begin the process of looking for a new home. Baby Boy isn’t so much a baby anymore (in the process of potty training, more on that next time) and if we ever want to give him a sibling, we must be in a bigger home first. Let the search begin!

With three weddings in the next calendar year plus the possibility of moving into a new home we will be one very busy family. Now that things have slowed down for a bit I will be able to update weekly again. Until next time,

sarah.

Five Week Pictures!

 Not going to lie, I've been so self conscious about taking my before and after pictures that I've been taking them myself, while Hubby is at work and Baby Boy is sleeping. It's not that Hubby won't take the pictures, in fact he offers to help all the time.

 

I'm feeling excellent this week. All of the work is finally paying off and I'm starting to see results. Lots more exciting stuff has happened this week but I'll leave that for a later post. I just had to get these pictures up. Normally I would never share the second set of pictures with anyone but this quick 5 week transformation has really helped with my confidence. I always love seeing the progress of people on a diet, it's very motivating for me. At the very least, these pictures motivate me to keep going and hopefully motivate others to take the plunge and do something for them.

 

 

 First picture was taken in July on my birthday (no I don't normally smile like this, it was a goofy picture taken with my husband). The second picture was taken yesterday (I don't normally take selfies, I think they are tacky, but I was super excited).



The first picture was taken the first week of the program (February 3rd) the second picture was taken yesterday. I'll ask Hubby to take my pictures from now on. I know that they are fuzzy and just bad.
 

All I wanted to do was add pictures and give my weigh in update. Lots of exciting stuff happening in our life right now and I will put those things in my next post. Thanks for the support everyone!

 Week One: -10 lbs.

 Week Two: -2 lbs.

Week Three: No Change

Week Four: -5 lbs.

Week Five: -3 lbs.

Total Loss: -20 lbs. and 18 inches


Until next time,
sarah

progress is progress is progress

What a couple of weeks! It’s been kind of crazy around here. Birthday celebrations, sick toddler, house guests, out of town friends, lots of distractions. I didn’t see any change in my weight from week 2 to week 3. Not going to lie, I was disappointed. I spoke with my health coach and she asked if I was drinking my water. I had no problem consuming the 120 oz. of water my first couple of weeks because I was still getting used to the amount of food was able to eat. When I was hungry and it wasn’t time to eat I would just drink my water. Now that I’m used to my 6 smaller meals a day I’m not as hungry and I really have to force myself to drink the necessary amount of water. My health coach said that because of my age I should be able to lose the amount of weight I want pretty quickly if I make sure to drink my water. So, week 4 I drank all the water I was supposed to and I lost 5 pounds! I also measured myself and noticed that I lost a total of 14 ¼ inches all over my body! I am now a believer that drinking all the water makes a huge difference.

Now that I’ve been on the program for a full month I feel like I’m able to share some tips (per request) that have helped me stay focused and make sure I meet all of my daily requirements.

1.     DRINK THE WATER. Drinking that much water a day can be a hard thing to do. I could never remember how many times I filled up my water bottle and because of that I think I was slighting myself. Now I measure out all my water for the day and put it on the counter in the kitchen. If I’m going to be at home all day I fill up a giant pitcher and just refill a water bottle from that. If I’m going to be out an about all day I fill up multiple bottles and take them with me.

2.     HYDRATE THE MEDIFAT MEALS. It’s no secret that the Medifast meals aren’t gourmet. However I’ve found rather than mixing the “hearty” meals with cold water and microwaving, that mixing them with boiling water, letting them rehydrate, then microwaving yields better results. At least for me.

3.     PICK A GOOD START DAY. Do not start before a big party or event that revolves around food. I think that if an event is over a month away I don’t think it will kill you to stop for a day but be ready MENTALLY to jump back on the ol’ Medifast band wagon the next day.

4.     CLEAN OUT THE PANTRY/FRIDGE. I cleaned out all the junk food in the house before I started Medifast. I also made sure that I had a bunch of Medifast Friendly condiments and salad dressings. (Hubby and Baby Boy were less than thrilled that all their junk food was banned from the house).

5.     IT DOESN’T LAST FOREVER. I think the biggest thing that keeps me motivated is this whole weight loss journey isn’t going to be a life long journey.  I can see light in the distance and I'm working toward a very attainable goal. I am using Medifast to be lose the extra weight then I’m DONE losing weight.

 

 

Also... I'm not trying to brag at all (okay maybe I am). I was going through my closet and saw a few pairs of jeans that I had when Hubby and I first got married (FIVE years ago). I don't know what possessed me to try them on, but they FIT!! I lost one full pant size in just ONE MONTH. I haven't fit in those jeans since before Baby Boy was born. It's been a good week.

 

 Week One: -10 lbs.

 Week Two: -2 lbs.

Week Three: No Change

Week Four: -5 lbs.

Total Loss: -17 lbs. and 14 ¼ inches

 

Yay Me!!

 

~Sarah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my diet: week 2

Holy Cow! I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of support I received after my last post! I got the most page views since I started my blog and so many comments on Facebook full of encouraging words and lots of love. I was not expecting that at all. I even received some emails and phone calls from people thanking me for my post because it inspired them to make a few healthy changes in their lives. That feels awesome! Again, thank you so much for all the support and love. You all are fantastic!

Entering the second week of my diet I could definitely tell that I had more energy. Not only did I have more energy I was sleeping better and had no more back pain. I’ve had consistent back pain since I was pregnant with my little boy over two years ago. Every morning I would wake up with a stiff and sore body and it took me forever to get moving in the morning. Now, I am up as soon as the alarm goes off and ready to start my day. I can honestly say that after only one week I can feel the difference a well hydrated and well fed body makes. It’s such a simple concept

I was worried that I wasn’t going to have a successful week. Back way before Medifast, Chris and I bought Cincy Beer Fest tickets for Valentine’s Day. We were so excited to be able to spend an evening just the two of us. It is very safe to say that drinking beer is so not on program not to mention we splurged and purchased the VIP tickets that got us food pairings for our beer. I mentioned this to my Health Coach and asked her if I should wait till after Beer Fest to start Medifast. She told me that I could start right away and I didn’t have to skip our Valentine’s Day weekend. She gave me a few tips that will help me keep the diet going and still enjoy Beer Fest!

During week two I lost three pounds which is a total of 13 pounds lost!!! I am so pleased with these results, especially since we got to enjoy an amazing Valentine’s Day weekend with friends.

Thanks again everyone for your support! This journey is not easy nor is it close to being over, but it sure is more bearable when I have such an awesome support system!

Week 1: -10 lbs

Week 2: -3 lbs

Total: -13 lbs

-sarah

 

time to commit

Alright… what I’m about to say is very hard for me but it’s something that has to be done. I am overweight, that’s not a secret. The secret is how overweight I actually am. I’ve always weighed more than I looked but this time my number and my reflection were extremely displeasing. I’ve tried being more active, eating better, drinking more water, but after a few weeks I found myself falling back into my old habits.

There is definitely something to the saying “Fat and Happy”. Whenever I was lonely, miserable, stressed, or sad, I looked fantastic. But as soon as I was happily in a relationship, happy at work, or had my life together, the pounds started to pack on. It’s about time that I did something serious about my weight and took a step in the right direction for me, my health, and my family.

A friend of mine from church started this diet in the Fall and by January he was down 50 lbs. He looks fantastic. I knew that he was following some kind of program but I didn’t know what it was. I finally got the nerve to call him and see what he was doing to help him lose that much weight, that quickly. He told me he was on the Medifast program. I had no idea what it was, but he was happy to explain it to me. It is a program where they send you pre-packaged food and you eat 5 of their meals a day plus one “Lean and Green” meal. He told me how they assign you a health coach, a licensed dietician, and they help coach you through the process of losing weight. The part that really hooked me was the fact that the program doesn’t end once you lose your weight. That is just the first step. The following two phases are the most important. There is a six week transitional phase that helps you transition back onto regular foods then there is a maintenance phase which is exactly like it sounds. It helps you maintain the weight you have lost. Once I heard his testimonial I was ready to sign up.

I have since signed up, received my food, read their cook book and picked out my first week of meals to make. I think the push I needed was that even though this is a pretty expensive program to commit to, I have a husband who was 100% supportive and was willing to look at our budget with me to make it work. I start my diet February 3^rd (the day after the Super Bowl). I have 3 goals that I hope to achieve with this program. The first is to lose 50 pounds, then 70, then 100. I know that people who know me will say that losing 100 pounds is a little extreme however, trust me it’s not. Once I get the nerve to type out my starting weight I will update all of you will my progress and post pictures and information about my weight and measurements. I am very much looking forward to this diet and ask only for support and positive thoughts. Believe me, I have plenty of negative thoughts running around in my own head, I don’t need yours too.

***UPDATE***

I’ve been on this diet a week now and I’ve had some ups and downs. I was told that the first 4 days are the awful and if you can make it through that you can make it through the program. I was preparing myself for the worst. My first 3 days weren’t so bad but the cravings really hit me on days 4 and 5. I kept floating between feeling excited about the diet, to wanting to scrap the whole thing. The only thing that really kept me motivated was stepping on the scale each morning. The weight immediately started to slip away. I have been on the diet officially a week and I am down 10 pounds!! 1/10 of my goal was completed in the first week. It’s safe to say that some of the cravings are still there (I’d consider  committing a minor crime to obtain some hot wings) but when friends came over Saturday night and brought pizza I was content with my veggie burger and salad. Then on Sunday I went to my parents’ house after church and Mom made a roast and mashed potatoes. Despite it smelling amazing, I was satisfied with a salad and a baked chicken breast with a little tomato salsa.

I think I’ve finally hit that acceptance level I keep reading about. The rules of Medifast are simple to remember and follow. I still miss fried food (which is my go to comfort meal) however I’m making it work and don’t feel like I’m being cheated. Hopefully week two yields the same results and I gain even more confidence in this diet and with myself.

 

-sarah

 

Things I have been doing instead of blogging…

Increasing my chalk art prowess

Perfecting my fort building (don't be jealous of our mad skills)

Picking flowers in the back yard. 

Reading books to Yoda.

Chilling at the park in Blue Ash

Interviewing house painters and concrete companies (get ready for a kick ass outdoor entertaining space this summer).

Attempting to make friends with other stay-at-home moms. I say “attempt” because my son isn’t against the adult friends I am making, it’s their pint sized companions they bring with them. Any suggestions on getting a toddler to enjoy other toddlers is very welcome.

Planned and executed a super successful lock in and camp out for the kids at church (post and pictures about said trip to come, once I get parent permission to use a few of the pictures that were taken and an awesome Harlem Shake video).

My husband and I survived our first trip to the emergency room. Ezra fell on Easter and hit his head on the corner of a baseboard. He required three stitches. Baby Boy did much better than I did. We sat in the exam room long enough that the numbing ointment worked well enough that he didn’t feel the stitches at all. He wasn’t a huge fan of us holding him down to get the stitches but then again he has never been a fan of being confined in any way. Getting the stitches out was a different story. It took four adults to hold down this 18 month old toddler. Again, the pediatrician insisted that he was not in pain however you could have fooled me.

We are approaching our Gatlinburg trip and I couldn’t be more ready for a vacation with friends. The trip idea began when my bff wanted to celebrate finishing her Master’s Degree and passing her licensure exam. We decided on Gatlinburg mainly because my husband and I have been there 2 or 3 times since we have been married and it’s a nice, fairly inexpensive place to spend a weekend in the mountains. We have used Auntie Belham’s Cabin Rentals for the majority of our trips however this time we are renting a VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner). I will give a full report on the trip once we get back. VRBOs are a little less expensive from what I’ve seen and hopefully we all have a great time.

Until Next Time...

Sarah

Call off the Search!

Yes, I’m alive. Yes, I know it’s been forever since I’ve written. Yes, I know that I’m a terrible blogger and should just forget about the whole thing. Now that that is out of the way here are a few things I have accomplished since my last entry.

1.      Mastered a yeast roll recipe that hasn't been reproduced in 25 years. I was beginning to believe that this recipe was a conspiracy. However one inedible and three slightly less inedible batches of yeast rolls and 20 pounds of flour later I produced a batch of rolls so beautiful I cried (no joke, I was beginning to place my self worth in the result of these rolls).

2.       Successfully made it through the holidays (3 Thanksgivings, one of which I made all myself and 5 Christmases)

3.       Hosted a New Year’s Eve Party.

4.       With my newfound confidence in bread baking, I began exploring other recipes and now make bread for communion at church.

5.       Began couponing (not extreme couponing, but enough to save us $30-$50 a month).

6.        Learned how to play and dominate my husband in Canasta. For the record he won’t play with me anymore unless we are partners.

7.       Made 7 scarves.

8.       Learned how to knit using a loom.

9.       Bought a beautiful new sectional couch.

10.   Learned how to sneak vegetables into my son’s food, thanks to a wonderful cookbook called Deceptively Delicious.

11.   Planned and booked a weekend getaway for all our friends in May.

12.   Started counting calories.

13.   Filed our taxes.

14.   Made plans to spend/save our awesome tax return.

15.   Maintained a clean house and happy spouse and child.

And my most proud accomplishment…

16.   Lost nine pounds. Woohoo!

Things in the future that I will share:

1.       Our weekend trip away in May.

2.       The tale of how my husband and I took 8+ children camping (that is of course, if we survive).

3.       My son’s future antics.

4.       My future weight loss. Nine pounds is great but the goal is 20 pounds by May and 35 pounds by July.

5.       My visit to Joseph Beth Booksellers to meet Jenny Lawson aka The Bloggess.

Until next time,

Sarah