Lightening Up My Life...

Sometimes you do everything right. You plan your meals, track your food, even throw in some extra exercise for the week...and you STILL gain back some of the weigh already lost! That is what happened to me last week.

I'm not on this journey for anyone else but me. I really enjoy reading about other people's weight loss journeys, but only I can do the work to lose the extra weight I need to lose. That's why it was such a disappointment to see the numbers go back up last week. The scales showed a 2.4 gain at my last Weight Watchers' weigh in. I felt like no matter how hard I try, it still didn't matter. Do you ever feel that way?

The OLD ME would have cried, felt like a complete failure, grabbed some serious chocolate, and abandoned the WW plan...along with my dream of becoming a healthier version of myself.

The NEW ME still cried (well, just a few tear of frustration and self-pity) and then I put my big girl pants back on and got down to the business of tweaking my plan to get some better results from the scales this week.

And you know what?

IT WORKED!!

I didn't give up on Weight Watchers. More importantly, I didn't give up on myself, and the reward for believing is getting on the scales this morning to see I've lost 3.2 pounds this week.

I hope my continuing story helps inspire someone out there that is having a rough time. Maybe some unplanned food found its way to your plate this past week. Maybe when the morning exercise alarm rang, you just hit snooze and went back to sleep. Maybe its Mother Nature playing tricks on you to see if you REALLY and TRULY want this new, healthier lifestyle. 

And just maybe it's the new YOU, letting you know you've got this weight loss thing under control. That YOU aren't going to let those numbers on the scale define or scare you any more.

You're stronger than that.

You're more beautiful inside than you ever imagined and now is the time to let that beautiful spirit loose so the NEW YOU can, step by step, take you into a world where a healthier, happier YOU is waiting to meet you!

Bending the Universe To MY Will...

My son and I joke all the time about how the universe always seems to bend to his will. Just this morning we were remembering the time when he left his college backpack at the main bus terminal late one night. He naturally panicked when he finally got home because he just knew no one would return the $2000 Mac laptop, $300 iPhone, $200 iPod, or other assorted items totaling almost $5000. We even raced back to the spot at nearly midnight just in case the gods were smiling upon him but of course no backpack was waiting there for us. But there was one thing we DID forget about...

My son's uncanny ability to bend the Universe to his will.

Proof you say? The next day my son gets a phone call from his bank. Of all the various "criminal" types that might have been lurking around a late night bus station and could have picked up that back pack, my son got lucky. A little, old couple stumbled upon the bag, discovered my son's bank statement tucked inside (along with all the electronics, loose money, and other items), and HAND DELIVERED IT BACK TO THE BANK for safe keeping. My son went over to his bank between college classes the next day and recovered everything like nothing had ever happened.

That is just one example of the many, many instances where the luck of the universe seems to always bend in his favor. I've encouraged him countless times to play the lottery but smart man that he is, he always refuses to gamble. Except for that one time on his 21st birthday when he decided to buy ONE lottery ticket...and WON!

I was thinking of him this morning when I stepped on the scales to do my weekly weigh in. I'm enjoying my journey on getting healthier but when I titled this blog, CLAWING MY WAY BACK TO A HEALTHIER ME, I didn't realize there would be days when it would be such a true statement. The scales was NOT my friend today...showing a 2.4 pound gain...even after my diligent tracking of every morsel I put in my mouth. I am on the Weight Watchers Online Program and I'm loving the challenge of using daily and weekly Smart Points. I've been on the program since April 3rd and I'm down 25 pounds so far. That is, until this morning when those numbers went back up a wee bit.

Who knows why the Universe likes to play with me so much...like the fact I'm ALLERGIC to allergy medicine or the fact I have a very rare blood disorder that kinda makes me ALLERGIC to most of the food grown in the world. I know losing weight is going to be a struggle sometimes and sometimes those numbers on the scales are going to bobble up and down but just once I would love to have a touch of my son's astronomical luck and have the Universe bend to MY will. 

Just once...