Woohoo! Did you know that Catherine's is not the only Clothing Store?!?!

(posted on FB 9-11-18)

So guess what I did today?!?!

 I went shopping! It has been a loooong time. We went to Catherine's and Kohls. I figured I wouldn't fit in anything at Kohls, but I could look at the rest of the store. Well, my aunt and sister found a couple shirts they knew I would like and made me try them on.

 Imagine my shock... they fit!!! My aunt was so sweet she bought 2 for me, one was 2x and the other 3x. I admit I did get tears in my eyes when I was in the dressing room. I didn't realize how much iIwas hoping this day would come.

We then went to Catherine's...I knew I could find something there, and yes, I went straight to the 4-5x. I got yelled at by everyone, lol. So after a lot of trying on different sizes, I bought a victory outfit.

 I went from tops 5x 34/36 to a 3x depending on style, pants 32/34/4x to 26/2x (24 were not quite comfortable) and bra 50 to 44. I was shocked and there was a lot of hugs and high 5s! 

Today was a very happy day...rainy but happy ❤
Here is 1 of my new Kohls shirts...

UPDATE!!! I had to go back to Catherine's and exchange my new 3x shirt for a 2x!!! Woohoo!!!

I hated the Camera...now its becoming a Friend!

NSV: I HATED taking picture...I mean I LOATHED it with a passion!😠 

But now, i am beginning to become a selfie diva lol.😘 

I love taking a picture with my Jess today and actually posting it.

Tip: give up the camera and smile pretty because you are beautiful. No, you might not be the size YOU want, but your family loves each and every inch of you!!!

 
(Secretly i was jealous of my siblings posting pics of them and their families but I never did because i was too embarrassed 😞)

ps: use those beauty filters on your phone camera. There are a ton of apps.... at least that way you might have a double chin but hey, at least your skin will look flawless, lolololol!!!!!

Pss: check out my arm...it looks so skinny. Thanks Jess for hiding mom's arm fat. lololol. 

Menu Idea when shopping, lol.

Today was a shopping day with my aunt and sister do that means eating out.

B- Starbuck (sister's pick) egg white and turkey bacon sandwich 5pts and water

L- IHOP (aunt's choice) 2 pancakes 8pts, 2 turkey sausage links 2pt, no eggs took one bite but they werent good and syrup 3pts

D- tortellni alfredo with cheese garlic bread kids choice. I had a headache and took a nap so they made dinner. They woke me up with flavored water and a grilled chicken salad because they knew i wouldnt want the pasta. They are awesome kids❤❤❤. Salad 10pts (they measured all the toppings like i do...kids are observant, i didnt even know they were paying that close attention!)

S- baked lays 4pts

Total:34/35

What was in your kitchen today?

One day at a time, one meal at a time!

Menu Ideas

Todays menu:
B- i was bad girls no breakfast, got a late start for church but took a nice big ice water with me.

L- chicken sausage 4pt, potatoes 5pts

D- big ole chicken taco salad with lots of fixins' 12 pts

S- since i had extra points and haven't had chips in a couple months, i had double portion of bbq baked lays 7 pts.

Total- 28/35

Set Goals! Very Important...without direction, you will lose your way

***Update 9/19: i have lost 100lbs woohoo! Still have a gosl to get into that 2x shirt that is really a xl! Lol.

***Update: I am 4 lbs away from 100lbs. I think there was a part of me that thought I was going to blow this. But God is so good! So sitting here now and thinking what do I set mu goal to. Well i decided not to set a weight goal. Instead I set a shirt goal. I found a pretty top that I really want to wear for Christmas. It is a size 2x and looks tiny to me but i am determine that I an going to wear it! Maybe I should take a pic of me trying to get it on lol. I look like an acrobat lol.***

My goal was 50lbs by my birthday (started March 12th). I am down 60lbs now. I took off the first 50 very quickly just by following the plan and no cheating. So I am very pleased with my progress but now it is time for new goals. So my new goal is 40lbs by the end of the year. Why that long? 1) my weight loss will slow down 2) I have to be realistic with my goals if I was success and not discouragement. So that means, I want to be 100lbs down by 1-1-19.

The 3ps I live By! They helped me lose 100lbs

So I got to thinking....scary I know, lol. Looking back at the last 4 months, I have 3 p's that I have come up with and wanted to share.

1) Plan- plan your goals, plan your week, plan your day! Ex: baseball picnic, pizza and wings on the menu along with cake and dirt dessert...yummmmm but big no no's when you are losing at. What to do? Plan you points for the day, have a 0pt breakfast or under 200 cal. Have a lite lunch under 10 pts or 400 cal, save your points for the picnic or go a step further like I did and make my own tortilla chicken and veggie pizzas before you go. It came to 10 points for both, yummy! Plus I took fruit tray to picnic for 0 pts. Guess what, I didn't even miss the pizza and wings and 1 lost a lb that day! Score!

2)Prepare- prepare your own food. There is not much that is good in those middle aisles at the grocery store. Shop the perimeter of the store. You can control your calories when you make your own food. I am a "in the process reformed fast food junkie", lol. Prepare your food for parties and get togethers. My sister brings salads to EVERYTHING! Why? Because she can't eat heavy gluten foods so she brings something she can eat. People will notice more if you just sit there and have to say "no thank you, I am on a diet", boo who wants to say that?!

3) Portion- ok if you cheat...you cheat yourself. A 1/2 a cup serving is 1/2 cup. If the bag says 13 chips, its not 13 plus 5 more. Those extra servings will add up. Don't fool yourself because you can't fool the scale. So be honest with your portions because we all know the restaurants are not. Speaking of going out to eat, get in the habit of only eating half and taking half home or look for lighter portions if self control if hard for you. Most menus have fit and lite choices, look for those.

I hope these help as a jumping point to get you started. I will be adding more 3P tips and techniques each week as they come up for me and my journey.
xoxo Sandy

What I eat to lose the Weight...

What's in your pantry? What are your favorites? Post your normal foods that you eat daily to help lose the pounds.

In my kitchen you will find: chicken breast, steak, Healthy Choice steamers, FF Greek Yogurt, Dannon Greek Yogurt, cranberry and pecan salad topper, fruits, eggs, 6" 90 cal tortilla shells, bag lettuce, ground turkey breast, tilapia, turkey hot dogs and bacon, crumble feta and blue cheeses, diet dr pepper, skim milk, crystal light mix for my bottle water, baked lay chips, pint halo ice cream, Special K strawberry cereal, pepper, mushrooms and onion, self rising flour, oil cooking spray, Bob Evan Mashed Potatoes, Bolthouse Yogurt dressings only 35 to 45 cals, fat free cake mix, lite swiss cheese slices, turkey pepperoni, fat free cottage cheese, lite ricotta cheese sugar free jello and pudding, whipped topping in can, hershey chocolate sauce.... thats my diet in a nut shell!

Hello 200s!!!

(posted n Facebook 9-11-18)

Hey girls! I am so excited! I made it to 299! After 4 years of 300s and just flirting with 400, I met my first milestone goal!

We can do this ladies. Stick to your program, make sure you are moving and remember we are eating to live now and not living to eat!!!

Its a Lifestyle not a Diet

(posted Sept 1 on Facebook)

It is truly a change. A change in how you look at food, a change in planning your meals, a change in your decision making... do you live to eat OR eat to live? It took me 43 years and 395 lbs to finally get real with myself.
I tried the diets even as far a surgery but nothing worked until i stopped the dieting and started to learn how to live my life without food being in the center of it.

Give me my Pizza!!!!

The pizza dilemma for a dieter... Craving pizza all the time? An ultimate comfort food? I hear you, we used to have it 3 times a wk. So ways to get that yummy pizza and still lose weight.
If you have a Pizza Hut, the veggie thin and crispy is the way to go. You can eat 2 or 3 vs the regular crust or you can eat a personal veggie pan if you have the points. I try to go for 1/2. The word is

try lol. I only had pizza 3 times since March.
Instead, I started making my own but using a soft tortilla shell or the Flat out wraps. Load it up with veggies, grilled chicken or turkey pepperoni. Splurge a little on the cheese and hit it with Italian seasonings. Bake 375 for 15 mins. It smells and tasting yummy. I have to keep the kids away because they always want mine. Now we dont even buy pizza, they make their own tortilla pizza. Bbq chicken is a big favorite with us. Heck you can do pineapple and chicken or mushroom and turkey pepperoni. The Flat outs are awesome because it is only 2pts. Picture below of my Flat out bbq chicken pizza.

My Story: Reflecting on the Past...As you work on the present...To meet the future

Sitting here thinking of my weight loss time line and thought i will share...preface it with...i have always been over weight. There was never a time when i wasn't. Sometimes it is worth looking where we have been so we know where we are going.
- 140 lbs in grade school, started wearing women's clothes in 4th grade.
- very active with sports but was always the biggest on my team.
- began dieting in 10th grade, got back down to 160 with exercise, wore 14/16 throughout high school, thought i was huge....big dummy!
- started gaining weight in college 1993 and got up to 240 wearing 20s.
- graduated college at 260 and stayed between 260-280 size 22/24. Meet Chris 2005 and had kids at this size.
- After 4 pregnancies in 4 years 2004 to 2008, got up to 290-310, size 26/28
- June 2010 started weight loss surgery process and had gastric vertical sleeve dec 2010
- went from 297 to 210 with sleeve from 2010 to 2012.
- 2013 started back with bad habits, tired of losing hair and protein shakes, hated dr appts, started getting bigger.
- anti diets and weight loss, started gaining weight and got up to my highest 395 in 2018. Wearing a tight 5x 34/36.
- no medical issues, no medications but having a lot of pain, couldn't get out of bed without pain, hubby rubbing my back daily so i could move.
- March 12th started Weight Watchers. It was time to take control. Needed to find something that i can do for the rest of my life. This is do or die for me.
- have lost almost 90 lbs in 6 months just by eating healthy, eating the right portion size, just stopped drinking pop and started drinking water.
- goal wt is 195, a loss of 200lbs

So this is me in a nutshell. I have to say there is a switch that clicked in my head, for the first time i have not cheated once, my whole outlook on food has changed. I really believe this is a God thing. And i hope this inspires you to look at the past, then let it go and live new starting now.

Progress check in

(posted 8-29-18 on Facebook)

Hi everyone. It has been crazy this past week getting the kids ready for school. I am so relived that they are back in. Love them bunches but they were ready to tear each other apart. Them being together 24/7 for 3 months takes a toll on everybody.

On the diet end, I bought a new scale that just bounces around. I never had one like this before. It was bouncing between 311 and 304. I decided to go with 310 since my old one had me at 312 last check in lol. That will put me at 85 lbs lost since March 12th.

I also sold all my 5x shirts on FB marketplace and shrunk half my closet. I did by a new pair of shoes, i am down to a size 9 1/2. I forgot we lose wt in the feet too. My aunt wants to take me shopping which is so nice of her but she is a wonderful person and i am not surprise she is so supportive. I was hoping to lose 100lbs before I start shopping but i got 2 new shirts at walmart on sale! Sure beats buying expensive Catherine clothes.

Also I started posting on a site called twinbody. It is great, you can follow people that are the same size as you and watch their progress. It is inspiring. There is an occasional post with some language but I am enjoying this site. If you get on, let me know so I can follow you.

Anywho how is everyone else doing? Are you meeting your goals? Seeing progress? Give us a shoutout!