AMAZING THINGS CAN HAPPEN

Wow!  Yesterday was really great!  My stats were:

14,578 steps
20 floors climbed
6.81 miles traveled
2,243 calories burned
1,546 calories eaten

I have lost 5 pounds in the past month.  I know to some that will sound like a slow job but it's okay with me!  A loss is a loss!!  It is SO much better than a gain!!

My OA meeting was great.  There were only two of us there though. We read from the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous.  It's funny how you can read something that you have read before and see it in an entirely different way.  Cool!!

I have lost a total of 16 pounds this year.  For the first couple of months I was yo-yo-ing back and forth but I believe I have broken my plateau.  My workout tonight with trainer and friends was awesome!  We walked/ran/jumping jacked and steam engined our way through 2 miles.  It was hot but we did it!  We would walk a little bit and then run a short sprint for as fast as we could.  It was a heart pumping workout alright!!!!  In between the runs and walks we did jumping jacks, steam engines, get-ups, etc.  Tomorrow we are going to bring our mats and work out on our abs some.  My trainer likes to workout outdoors.  And that is fine with me.  The hotter it is, the more calories I can burn, and I might get a tan too.  Although  I do wear sunscreen. After our workout today I came home and cleaned out the pool, swept off the patio, since Major had mowed the yard and made a mess, but I didn't complain because every step was more calories burned.  I am learning to like NOT sitting on the couch and watching TV from when I get home from work till bedtime. I spend enough time sitting at my job all day and then my second job at home at night typing.  We will be working out tomorrow again in the park.

I am determined this time to really do this deal!!!  Nothing can stop me but me!!!  And this time I want to succeed.

MAKE it a great day friends, 

Betty 

Day 4.

Wow!  Day 4 of abstinence has been awesome.  It's like God has removed my obsession for the kinds of food I don't need.  I simply don't want them anymore.  I hope this feeling lasts ...and lasts....and lasts....like... for my whole lifetime!!  Woohoo!!   This is how I feel today!!!

Today started out kind of slippery because we had a major storm and our electricity was out at work.  My "mind" went to thinking and my first thought was, I can eat, but it wasn't time for my 10 am snack yet.  So I told myself, I said, "self, you do not need to eat right now.  Wait for your scheduled time, stick to your eating plan, you can do it!"  And it worked!  I have not overeaten today and I have not eating anything that I should not have.  

I went to my Celebrate Recovery meeting, which is a 12-step meeting for any and all kinds of addictions, hurts, habits and hangups, and when they were finished giving out chips, I though, I should have gotten a 24 hour chip for starting over so when the lesson was finished I asked for one and told everyone I was a compulsive overeater.  It feels good to acknowledge out loud what I struggle with.  Once I name it and claim it, I can do something about it.  And I plan to do just that.  One Day At A Time!

I am loving this bodybugg but sometimes I find it hard to believe the calories I am burning. Today I did not exercise.  I only did my usual things with maybe a bit more walking.  And my bodybugg says I burned 2,759 calories.  I must have been eating a lot to be gaining weight while burning that many calories.  But we will see if I lose weight.  I bet you I was eating 3,000 calories a day or more!!!

I am trying for at least a 500 calorie deficit each day so I should lose a pound a week.  I would love to lose it fast like the ones on my favorite show, The Biggest Loser,  but that is not possible and I know that.  Slow and steady will get me where I need and want to be.  And if have a little step back I will counteract that with 2 steps forward.

Today, I really believe I am going to do this.  And I pray this will be the last time!  I really feel I am ready and willing to do that it takes and as my husband says all the time, "time will tell".

At our Celebrate Recovery meeting we have pizza every Thursday night.  I have such as hard time not eating any of that.  But I made a plan to go to  Subway today
and eat healthy.  As I was checking out, I was eyeballing the cookies and looking for my favorite one.  I finally found it!  And I had a mental fight going on inside my head.  "I can eat just one cookie.  I have enough calories left, I can eat one. Ok, order one.  No!  Wait!  Do I really want to spend 350 calories on just ONE SINGLE COOKIE???  Heck NO!!"  So I did not order that cookie.  Did you hear me people???  I did NOT order that cookie.  A MAJOR victory for me.  It may sound small to some of you but it is a MAJOR victory for me.  I was pound of myself so I shared that little story with all my friends on facebook and my recovery friends and especially my friends at OA.  I want everyone to know  that they can do it too!  It is possible...it really is.  You just have to want it bad enough.  Today, I want it and I want it bad!  So here's to another day of abstinence!

Thank you Sean Anderson for your blog.  It has really inspired me!  If you can do it.....I can do it!!  Until tomorrow.....

MAKE it a great day my friends,
Betty

Had a great OA meeting last night. Today I texted my OA friends and told them I was committing my abstinence to them and they should text me back at the end of the day and see how I did! And............drum roll please........I did great! I stayed abstinent and within calorie range.  

Did a 3 mile run and did my best time for not being in a race; 40:25 minutes. I ran/walked 30:45 instead of my usual 1:1 so maybe that helped with my time. Sat. was my 19th sobriety birthday (no drugs or alcohol in 19 years) so on the way home from my run my husband called and said he wanted to take me out to eat. Yikes!! But I was prepared. I texted by friends again and told them I was going out to eat and to pray for me!! We went to our favorite Italian rest which is owned by friends of ours. My hubby told them it was my sobriety birthday so they brought me bread pudding for my birthday!!! Oh no!! I had one bite and then had her put in a to go box. I am proud of myself, I did pretty good! 

- I did not get appetizer. 
- I did not eat the bread they put on table. 
- I ordered grilled chicken salad with dressing on the side. 
- Ate one bite of bread pudding dessert and threw the rest away as I was leaving because I knew if I took it home I would eat it!!! 

And of course my OA friends texted me and asked how it went and I could give them a good report that I was proud of! 

    

But I must remember - ONE DAY AT A TIME. Now, lets do the same thing tomorrow!!!

OA, Jeff Galloway IN PERSON and other ramblings

My OA meeting last night was great! We had two new members! How cool. We are started a "book study" and are going to study the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions of OA. Need I say that in the first three paragraphs I saw myself over and over. I am so glad I decided to do something positive about my food issues. Like I said at the meeting last night - it is not just about losing weight! It is about getting healthy and that is what I want to do. If I lose weight in the process - that is great too! Thank you God for 12 Step programs - they have literally saved my life!!

I went to the Y to run on Monday and it was packed! That is the first time I have seen it that full this year! I guess all those new year resolutions are in full swing! lol. I did the elliptical for 2.6 miles and still no treadmill available. I wasn't exactly dressed to run outside so I went upstairs to the cardio/core class. Wow and wow and ouch! The jump rope part almost killed me...he he... (not to mention my 52 almost 53 year old bladder wasn't happy either). I had not done that class before but I loved it. I will definitely do it again. But....now my right calf is hurting. I wonder if I strained it.....oh great...just what I needed. But I am taking it slow today. I didn't do anything yesterday as far as exercise. I did have a total of 19 miles last week so that was great, but no weight loss for that week but I am hoping a weight loss will show up this week for sure.

The Galloway running group that I am a part of is starting back this Saturday. And guess what??? The man, Jeff Galloway himself, will be there in person!!! I am too excited!! He will run with us that morning and he will be doing a three hour running school that afternoon. I can't wait!!  I will let you know how it goes.

MAKE it a great day everyone!