Well, I'm back.

Until I just logged in here tonight I didn't realize how long it had been since my last post!  I doubt any of you were sitting at the edge of your seats just waiting for a post, but I am going to apologize for my lack of commitment anyways.  The past month has been quite a ride. When I left you last I had started the South Beach Diet, and it was going well.  It continued to go well until having to go down to my boyfriend's home town to help with his dads injury.  The first week went fine, and the second...well that's a whole other story!  It all adds up to a very stressful day and not enough will power to jump back on the wagon after the "bad meal."  The odd thing is, I got really sick after eating that meal and yet I kept eating junk.  Big shock, I continued to get sick, but did that stop me? Not at all.  After the 2 weeks in Southern Illinois, I headed up to the Twin Cities (MN.)  I told myself I would get back on track and yada yada yada.  Of course, I didn't.  I continued to make one bad choice after another, and got to the point where I didn't even care anymore...mind you, I was still getting sick every time!  Going to chalk that up to a HARD HEAD!!  Anyways, long story short my first "get-a-way" from home did not go well at all.  So as of today the diet has restarted.  The "diet" isn't that hard for me as long as I keep things simple and not stress out about menus and getting that odd item required.  Grocery shopping is something I do not like to do, so the less complicated the better.  So today has gone well, just have to find something other than eggs for breakfast that is still on plan.  During the first run of this diet it was eggs, eggs, and more eggs.  I might turn into a egg if I have another! Thursday we will be traveling back down to check on his dad in So. IL so I (we) will be tested yet again.  Honestly, I think it will just be a lot of chicken!  But if that's what it takes!  I don't think I can face another failure of that magnitude in this journey for awhile!  Anyways I would love to hear from you all!


One of my favorite quotes right now:

Know your limitations, then IGNORE them.

South Beach Diet

Hello everyone, it's time to update you on the "diet."  As you have already read I was previously trying to follow along with the meal plans on JillianMichaels.com, well that just wasn't for me.  While I still really look up to her, the food plan was a little to elaborate for me, and filled with way too many "hard to find" items at the grocery store. I miss Cub Foods!! Anyways, as I was sitting on the couch (lol) I remembered that I had bought a South Beach Diet cookbook for quick and easy recipes.  I am not sure what prompted the purchasing at the time because I have never tried this diet or had any idea of what it entailed.  So I snagged Kevin into going through this book with me.  The beginning of the book gave you a little snippet of what the diet was, and explaining the three different phases that the diet was made up of.  So of course since I am a Post-It lover, we went through the entire book and assigned each phase with a different color Post-It, so you could easy find recipes for the phase you are in.  The phases are listed on the recipe, you just can't see it from the outside of the book, just a convenience thing with the Post-Its!  The nice thing about this diet, is the recipes don't require you to have a five star rating in cooking.

Let me back track here, and give you a little bit more knowledge on how the diet works. Better yet, go take a look at the Wikipedia page for it.  Just enough info to spark your interest on it, or know that it's not for you.  The first phase is obviously the most challenging, and I have realized that it is not that bad.  I am not a meal planner at all, but I am slowly learning that it really helps me to make the right decisions.  Also, I have made sure that the only things that are in our cupboards are foods that are allowed in this phase, just makes things a lot easier.  One of the things I really like about this diet is that you don't have to focus on counting calories.  I know that is the staple of dieting to a point, but I think the is only one key of weight loss.  Obviously if you wanted to you could fill up your calories with candy bars all day, but your obviously not going to lose weight that way.  The next thing I really like is that you can eat when your hungry.  The diet does have you plan out 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, but if you get hungry, you eat, approved items of course.  Also, serving sizes are not stressed, eat until you are satisfied and then be done.  Remember though, eating until you are satisfied doesn't mean you have to unbutton your pants, or have a stomach ache in return! 

When you move on to phase 2, it is pretty much the same plan but you are slowly adding back in carbs and sugars, in moderation of course.  And phase 3 is basically the rest of your life, you have a little more food options.  Also, if you go on vacation for a week, and delight your taste buds, and see a larger number on the scale, you can go back to phase 1 and do a do-over to drop the weight again!  This diet is simple, and that's my kind of diet.   I am on day 3 of phase 1 and so far the scale is reading -2lbs, but I will do an official weigh-in after a week of it!

Over the weekend I managed to slam my foot into the corner of a table top that was on the floor, (for my puzzle.)   My foot managed to get pretty large, and I am finally able to start walking semi normally, so I am hoping to get exercise started again tomorrow.  And it would be kind of the state of WI to be not include the humidity in the heat!!

Anyways, thanks for reading, and check out the South Beach Diet and let me know what you think!

Success Stories

I am a person that really enjoys reading success stories.  Although sometimes they do more damage than good depending on my mood. :)  Just thought I would pass this WomensHealth Success Stories site along, I have been reading it for the past few days and I got a lot of out it.  Enjoy!  Don't forget to tell me what you think!

Options, Options, Options

So, I have hit the reset button and am off to the races again.  Had a fun time with my dog at the lake today.  The little bit of time we were playing in the sand really wears a person out!!  Good times though.  I always love getting a work out in with out having to go to the gym, or viewing it as a work out.  That is why I am thinking about purchasing a punching bag.  As I said in my previous post I would really like to get into some type of boxing, karate, or MMA.  This is the one I am thinking of purchasing, the price isn't bad, and I am sure it will be a good outlet for stress also.  LOL.  I am all about variety because I get too bored with things.  When it comes to food though, that is not the case.  I am not a huge cook and I would just prefer to stick with somewhat the same items so I don't have to run to the grocery store all the time.  On a side note, I am really wishing you could still purchase the original Tae Bo series!!  What are ways that you keep variety in your work out?  What activities do you do?

P.S.  Dark Chocolate...does it really help you stop at just one serving?

Time to hit the "RESET" button.

Oh Lord, where to even start!  I was doing decently well with all of this until the end of July.  I hate to say it, but this is pretty typical of me.  I am just going to warn you ahead of time that this blog post will most likely not be uplifting or inspirational at all.  My goal for this blog was always to be real and upfront with everything.  Honestly I was reading back from the start of this blog and as of right now I am feeling like I was delusional to think that I could actually be successful with all of this.  I hate feeling like that, and I hate giving up on myself.  But yet, I do it all the time.  I struggle constantly with motivation and staying positive still.  The gym was going well for maybe 2 weeks, if that.  My healthy eating lasted for maybe a month.  I just keep going back and forth with everything.  Right now I am attempting to have my own design business so I don't have a "job" to go to per say.  This has me feeling like I should spend every minute in the gym.  While I know that it isn't logical, it enters my mind constantly.  The funny thing is, even if I attempted that I know I would find some way to stop myself by at least day 3.  I find it really irritating to know all my faults that I have with dieting, and I know the way my mind works, but I can't figure out how to change that way of thinking and turn it into something good.  Just makes me want to pull my hair and scream!!  When I first started this blog I wanted to write a couple times of week, and I seem to have failed on that goal also.  I am just completely frustrated with everything.  I really miss training with a personal trainer.  But as of right now, that is just not feasible as they are a little expensive.  At some point I would like to try kick boxing or something like that...but I am kind of a chicken and would like to find someone to do it with me.  I haven't been back to the gym for awhile now and while that is depressing, I still can't manage to change it.  I always get into a cycle of not wanting to go to the gym (or not being able to motivate myself to get there), to be depressed that I didn't go, and then not being able to snap out of it and my whole day is shot.

My food choices haven't been the greatest either lately, I won't mention what was consumed.  The worst part of "falling off the wagon" is having to retrace your steps and lose the weight all over again.  I haven't weighed myself again since the last time, but I know I am not in the same place.  I am scared to get on the scale, for a couple of reasons.
1. I will be at the same weight that I was a couple of weeks ago.  Why is that bad?  Physically it wouldn't be, but mentally it screws me up.  In my mind I think, "well if I can eat all that and still stay the same whats the harm in eating it?"  But, we all know that my weight would not stay the same eating junk constantly.
2. My weight goes up.  Well for obvious reasons I get upset/depressed/frustrated, and I tend to deal with these emotions with food and laziness. Even though most nights I fall asleep thinking about what I need to do the next day to change all of this around.  Quite the vicious cycle if you ask me. 

I am always waiting for that "moment" that everyone talks about with weight loss. You know, when they saw a picture of themselves, or heard a picture, or couldn't participate in an event and everything just clicked in there head and BAM they lost all their weight.  Well, there have been plenty of things I didn't participate in, or felt really uncomfortable doing.  I listen to speakers all the time about weight loss, and motivation.  And Lord knows I have seen countless embarrassing pictures of myself that you would think give me that "ah ha!" moment.  For instance, I saw a picture of myself the other day and I instantly thought, "wow, I really do look obese."  I know I am obese by the "numbers and charts," but when you actually SEE yourself as obese and not just the "facts" I think it sinks in a little bit more.  So I thought that it was my turning point after that, well, I was wrong.  So I guess I am still searching for that moment.

As of right now I am trying to find the thing that is going to restart me, and keep me going until I can find my next source of motivation/strength. Say a prayer :)

P.S. Sorry this post was so doom and gloom, but I can't keep silent, it will drive me crazy!  Don't be shy, what's your story?

Well It Is About Time That I Post!

There is nothing really exciting and new happening currently but I figured I would do my best to update.  Over the past week or so I have been able to finally try my hand at swimming for exercising.  I am not really sure how I feel about it really.  It is a nice change, and the water is often refreshing.  But the 30 minutes that I have myself in there feels like about a day, why is that?!?!  I also just feel like I am swimming "wrong."  Maybe I am not, but something isn't right.  So I do my best to get the 30 minutes, and my arms haven't gone a day without feeling it!  I have to get back on track with my Body Gospel dvd's, I did them for a couple of days and then got distracted with going swimming at the gym! Heaven forbid I do them both! ;)  As of my last weigh-in, I am down 8lbs.  I try not to really focus on the scale though, so I plan to start doing measurements.  The scale tends to make me crazy and it's too easy to get a number..measurements will require a little more time and work from me!  The past couple of days have been harder for me food wise, when its "girl time" it's harder to resist all those things!!  Anyways, I would love to hear from all of you and see what your doing to stay with it!

Getting Out Of My Own Way

Well, guess what everybody?  I managed to avoid working out again.  Sure I have done a few walks and a few work out videos, but I know that's not nearly enough to do what I have to do.  I have been complaining that I don't like the gym I am at because it is too small, etc.  Anyways I have had a membership for LA Fitness from when I was in MN, but haven't been using one since the nearest gym was 20 minutes away. But it also has a pool and just a more comfortable atmosphere for me to be in.  So what I am trying to say, is that I am going to go to the gym I want to go to and get use of the membership.  I don't have a standard job right now so I have no excuses not to!  I just need to get over myself and get on it. 

I did the elliptical today mainly because I think you get the most "calories for your time."  I really would like to incorporate swimming into my cardio routine.  I have always liked it, and I know its a good workout.  I just have to figure out what kind of calories get burned doing it! I am hoping some new surroundings will bring out the fight in me at the gym so I can take over my life.

The Ugly...Well Kind Of.

Well to start, I finally got my hands on the Body Gospel dvd's.  Along with the dvds you get 2 resistance bands, a couple of booklets, a measuring tape, and a chart to fill out your measurements...that part scares me!  Anyways, so I did the assigned work out for the day and it was doable.  There were a few parts that I had to just keep moving, and got my dog involved...she didn't care for that!  Apparently she is still sore from her work out yesterday.  I found her laying on the floor, on her back lifting her legs up and down, it was hilarious!! I fail for missing the kodak moment!!  Anyways, its been about 45 minutes and I can still feel my body burning, so I am assuming I got a good work out!  Next time I will wear my HR monitor to keep track of calories burned.  Sometimes that thing just puts too much pressure on me, and I stress about getting to a certain amount of calories...not helpful!

To the real reason of the ugly part...food journal.  I dislike these very much and I have yet to succeed in keeping the effort up.  When I am doing them, they are helpful.  You don't have to remember every little thing that you ate and the calories involved when you just write it down.  You would think that would be enough for me to take the extra 30 seconds and do it...but it's not.  I have not found the reasoning for this yet either, I am actually just going to chalk it up to pure laziness.  So, I am going to add this to my list of things to defeat.  We all know that results are better we food and calories are tracked, after all calories in, calories out.  Anyone else struggle with this?  It seems so simple! Talk to y'all later! :) 

Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.

Busy Bee

Wow, It has been a crazy few days! Last night I was able to get my new design companies website together and launched! The company is called Pink Heart Design, and the focus is on customized invitations.  This is really exciting for me, as I have always wanted to do this!  So now I am busy making advertising fliers and business cards to help kick start the business.

Kevin, Annie, and I went on a walk today, and about half way through I thought we were crazy!  It was mega hot today, with high humidity.  Annie and I were about to pass out!  But I am glad we got out and got moving, definitely makes you feel better about things.  I also joined www.jillianmichaels.com the other day since she is offering one month free.  Wow, grocery shopping for the recipes had me stressed!  Eating healthy definitely takes work and patience!  So, I am going to try it out for the month and see how it goes, hopefully the shopping gets easier.  :)

"Believe It, Be It" By Ali Vincent

I just finished reading the book "Believe It, Be It" by Ali Vincent, for the second time.  She is a crowned Biggest Loser.  Usually I can't read books over a second time but this one I could, and I found stuff that I had missed the first time.  The book is all about believing in yourself, and how she got herself there.  She started out not caring, and being pretty fearful of actually doing something about.  Her sister would often try and get her to watch the Biggest Loser, but she refused since she thought it was making fun of people.  She finally gave in and watched the show realizing she was completely wrong about it all.  As a matter of fact she said, "I am going to apply," and then quickly backtracked out of fear.  I am sure this is something that many of us do all the time in all different situations.  I know I definitely have multiple times, being afraid of failure, but also afraid of success.  The book goes through Ali's whole weight loss journey with the show, and the mental obstacles she had to face.  It is a great book to help you find out how to believe in yourself.  I am most definitely still working on that, but the book gives me a glimmer of hope, which keeps growing every time I read things similar.  All in all, give it a read, I think you would enjoy it.

Facebook Page!

Hey everyone, I made a facebook page for this blog today!  I will update both sites, so view whatever one is easiest for you.  The facebook page will allow for discussions between everyone, so all in all a better learning tool!

Calories & Books

Julie Hadden (former Biggest Loser contestant), wrote in her book "Fat Chance" to treat your calories as money.  For instance if you are on a 1200 calorie a day allowance, think of it as $1200 for food.  Is that candy bar or treat really worth 3 or $400?  Probably not.  This has helped me on multiple occasions!  I know I have read in multiple places that women are typically set on a 1200 calorie budget and men are at 1600.  This should be a minimum as your body still needs fuel to keep running!  You don't give your car extra fuel...because it won't fit!  Think of your body as a gas tank, if you give it more food than it can handle its going to bulge! 

I have ready many weight loss books by various different people, and I thought I would go over them again to be able to give everyone a pseudo review of them.  Remember I am no professional so it will definitely just be my opinion!  Would love to have everyone's input on their favorite, not so favorite books!

Stagnant

The past couple of days have been pretty stagnant for me as far as exercise goes.  Mainly because I am being a chicken about going to the gym.  I am in a new town and don't know anyone so you would think that I would be pretty carefree about going.  I can't tell you how many times I didn't want to go to the gym in my home state out of fear of running into people I know, since I was ashamed of how I looked.  For some reason I have this idea that everyone but me looks pretty exercising.  Ha ha!!  Anyways, so now I am always wrapped up in the fact that I am uncomfortable going along, and the normal "gym issues."  I know that they are all in my head for the most part, but it is still a major setback!  I am still waiting for my dvd's to come and so I just keep finding excuses for not exercising.  Although, my eating has been pretty good, with a few exceptions.  I do notice that my body is processing my insulin injections better and I am not having to take as much insulin for meals, which is a nice money savings since I am without insurance for right now.  So for the past couple days not much has been going on except for me fighting my inner demons.  What sets you back?

Body Gospel

A couple of days ago I placed an order to receive Body Gospel from BeachBody.  I always like to have things I can do at home in addition to the gym.  Mainly so that I don't have an excuse to NOT work out!  Yesterday I had been going through my work out dvds and ended up just watching them instead of participating, wouldn't it be nice if it worked that way!  I have a lot of the Biggest Loser work out dvds, tae-bo, turbo jam, and some Jillian Michaels.  While I have done all or at least part of all of these, I think I am just needing something new.  Those work outs seem to remind me of all the times I have started and quit when I wasn't seeing results fast enough or at all. Remember, I have little to no patience!  I am really excited to get these dvd's, and start something fresh!  I will keep you updated on how they are!

The N Word

Negativity, yesterday and today it has reared its ugly head.  I know the reasons why I need to stay positive, I just haven't learned how yet.  How do you get to the point of having a positive thought, and it not sounding stupid?  Not sure if I am too cynical or what the deal is in this department.  I really admire people who have got the positive thinking down, it is quite a feat.  I am really trying to hand this whole ordeal up to God and put it in his hands, but this is a struggle for me.  I like to do things on my own, and I usually find out the hard way to do them.  Lord, please let your will be stronger than mine!

Chicken & Fruit Salad

I tried the Chicken & Fruit Salad and it was great!  The recipe does call for romaine lettuce, but the selection at the store was pretty limited, and it didn't look good, so I just got the iceberg lettuce.  I'm sure you can use any lettuce you like.  Try it and let me know what you think!

Learning To Live

Learning To Live by Beth Hart is the theme song for Losing It with Jillian Micheals.  I had never heard this song before I heard it on the show.  So I decided to actually pull it up and listen to the lyrics.  This song is able to apply to any life, no matter what is going on.  I watched the latest episode tonight, and it hit close to home for me.  The family featured had a 14 year old son that weighed 330lbs, wow.  It broke my heart, and then I heard how he was feeling about school and family, and my heart broke even more.  People can be mean, kids can be mean, family can be mean.  At one point his older brother was bragging that he was doing twice the work that his younger brother was doing. REALLY?!?!  Thankfully Jillian worked her magic and got to the bottom of a lot of the family issues and by the end of the show the boy was in a much better place.  I don't think that we all need for Jillian to come and beat us up.  I do think that we all need some one to call us out. Call us out on our excuses, weaknesses, or any wall we have put up.  Most people are afraid of failure, me included.  The way I have been looking at it now is, if you haven't failed, you haven't lived. The only time you have truly failed is when you stop trying.  Take a listen to this song, hope you enjoy it!

A Whole Lot of Everything

First off, I tried Popchips!! They were great!  Go get some. :)  Last night was a night of trying to setup a food plan for myself.  My plan is to have a pretty similar food plan every week just to keep it simple.  Once I feel myself getting bored I will switch it up a bit.  I use SparkPeople quite a bit for recipes.  This site is out to help people with their fitness goals.  The membership is completely free, all you have to do is sign up.  They have plenty of tools such as a food journal/planner, fitness trainer, and tons of other things!  As I was going through recipes I thought I would share some of the ones I am anxious to try:

Parmesan Baked Tilapia
Turkey, Broccoli & Tomato Soup
Crock Pot Taco Soup
BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheese
Mexican Casserole
Chicken & Grape Salad
Chicken & Fruit Salad
Cheese Pita Pizza
Chicken Pita Paradise

Try a recipe and let me know what you think! Better yet, if you have any recipes you enjoy, please share!  I should say that you have to make sure that the recipes you are choosing are actually healthy for you.  Not all the recipes on Spark are completely healthy I have noticed. Nonetheless it is a great resource! The food plan isn't completely done yet, mainly because I want to make sure it is something I will actually do.  Although did some grocery shopping for the recipes above.

Been walking the last two days with Kevin and Annie, and got a nice sunburn along with it!  Really enjoyed spending the time with both of them, and getting outdoors.  It's amazing how a simple walk can give someone a pick me up.  I do have a gym membership but I really like doing things outside when possible.  Although I will be walking outside and hitting the gym almost everyday.

 My last post I told you I was going to let you know what my goal was other than weight loss.  My goal is to participate in a 5K, well to run in one.  I am not really sure what a logical goal for that is, so right now I am just going to say by next spring.  I am not sure that I would be ready by the end of summer or fall.  So I will use this time to see what ones will be happening, and to convince Kevin and others that they should join me.  :)  Hey, the more the merrier right? So let me know if you want to join!  I am really pretty excited about it, and the chance to really prove something to myself.  On the other hand I would like to give myself a short term goal of losing 10lbs by my birthday on July 31st.  I figure what better than weight loss as a birthday present to myself!

I thought I would mention something that happened today when going to the grocery store.  Kevin and I went into the store with list in hand, and managed to get through the whole thing with little hassle.  I must mention that WalMart has a strange way of organizing items.  Not my favorite place to shop, but it is what we have.  As were walking out Kevin says "we didn't get anything frozen."  This was true.  I have always been told to stay on the perimeter of the grocery store and avoid the middle aisles, since they are mainly the unhealthy very processed foods.  Walmart isn't really set up this way, but you could definitely tell the aisles that were a no no!  There are some frozen vegetables in the freezer aisles but that's pretty much the only thing you would need in the area. Just remember that fresh is usually always better than frozen!  When freezing they tend to inject plenty of sodium and other misc ingredients to it...so just freeze it on your own.

So to sum it all up: try some popchips, make your food plan, have a goal, go grocery shopping, and stay active :)

Popchips

http://www.popchips.com/

Hey, just thought I would let y'all know about these chips!  I have yet to try them but I plan to as soon as I can get my hands on them!  I have heard so many great things, and that they are DELICIOUS!  They are not baked or fried, but literally "popped" through heat and pressure.  There is an assortment of flavors, and they all have the same nutritional value, so no tough choices need to be made!  I will let you know what I think when I pick some up, go and try some for yourself and educate us!

The Plan Behind The Future Success

This blog/post is also part of one of my goals to rid myself of negativity.  I am guessing you will probably be able to tell in how I am going to word things.  So just to clarify I am not trying to be conceited and act like I know everything, just trying to make myself believe, to turn it into action!  At the moment I am currently in Mn, but will be leaving for home tomorrow afternoon.  So I am using this time to prepare myself for what I need to be doing, and my game plan for it.  My first task when I get home is to go over all of this with Kevin and make sure he is behind me on this, or even better, joining me! 

Accountability is something that I believe is absolutely essential for accomplishing a goal, whether it be big or small.  Plenty of people have told me to find an "accountability partner," but I have decided that I need more than one!  Why is this?  Well, I tend to procrastinate and fib my way out of things.  I need people, multiple of people, to call me on it.  This may make me sound like a bad person, but it's just the way it is.  I know that my "food addiction" will be the toughest thing to break in the string of issues I want to recover from.  I often compare my food addiction to an alcoholic.  There are many times that I know I shouldn't be eating the food, or even thinking about it, but that doesn't stop me.  A lot of the times I don't even realize how much has been consumed until it is all gone.  The problem with food is that you cannot give it completely up since it sustains you. 

Tasks:
1. Plan out the meals for the week, and cook what can be ahead of time.  This will allow for quick and low maintenance meals, and hopefully minimal excuses!
2. Schedule and write out all "gym" days.  Often times when I start out a new diet and exercising I tend to burn myself out by the second or third week. This doesn't do anyone any good.  I believe I am going to allow myself one or two (max) of "rest" days.  I wouldn't have any but I know my body would wear out!  The reason why I am not a huge fan of the off days is because it's hard for me to get myself back into the gym.  I am hoping making a schedule will prepare me mentally for what I need to do.
3. Put together an inspiration book.  This means quotes, sayings, pictures, articles, etc of anything that gets me motivated or keeps me positive.  Also there is something called an inspiration board which is essentially the same thing.  Basically the same idea as the book, but it is on a board of some sort that you display. 

I probably could add a million other tasks that are supposed to aid in my goal but I am not going to allow myself to go there.  In previous attempts I would busy myself so much with side tasks that are supposed to help me in losing weight that I wouldn't have time to actually do the work of losing weight.  So often times I just view all those things as "proof of failure."  So I am going to avoid going down that road, and just keep it simple.

Another reason of why I need some people to keep me accountable: motivation and positivity.  I have the ability to be an extremely negative and belittling person to myself. As I mentioned in the previous blog it is something that I need to work on.  Unfortunately it is one of the number one reasons why I have not succeeded in past weight loss attempts.  If I have a set back, I take it hard, and often find it impossible to think of anything positive to keep moving forward.  I am really trying to rewire my brain to think differently in that matter.  Motivation is something that comes and goes rather quickly with me, this is pretty frustrating. I will be motivated and all ready to "change the world," and a second later I am all doom and gloom.  So I am going to add that to the list of "I need help with..."

Patience?? What's that?  As many of you know I am a huge fan of The Biggest Loser.  I follow many of the past contestants on Facebook and Twitter, mainly because they often have informational things to say about healthy living.  But the one setback to that lovely show is that the time line is not all that realistic.  Obviously if someone can stand being in a gym for 6-8 hours and still having the energy to go to the grocery store and shop with a healthy attitude, so be it, but sorry that's not me.  Of course I would love to have their results they achieve in one week.  But of course seeing all this taints my rational thinking even though I know its not a normal lifestyle. Nonetheless I get mad at the scale when I only see a 1/2 lb loss, and then I tend to give up.  I really would like to find things that keep the positivity and keep my impatience at bay!

Hopefully I have given all of you some food for thought.  Find an accountability partner, strike that, find multiple!  Keep me in mind when your looking, I would love to have many!  Find what motivates and inspires you.  I am going to start thinking about a goal I would like to achieve besides losing the weight.  For example running a marathon, or hiking a certain trail. 

P.s. If you have any inspirational/motivational quotes or articles that you enjoy, please share!