Just as a Reminder to Myself...

"If hunger is not the problem,

then eating is not the solution."

Anonymous

I'm a Winner! : )

I received an email from BlogHer (site dedicated to women bloggers that is very cool!) that I'd won the BlogHer / Dr. Oz Sweepstakes they've been holding!  Yeah for me! : )  I'm going to be receiving a set of autographed copies of Dr. Oz books and a Heart Rate Monitor.  I'm so psyched as I've looked in the stores at BOTH and haven't had the disposal cash for the splurges!

Can I tell you that the Law of Attraction really DOES work.  I often enter things and think to myself "I'm going to win (whatever)..." and then I end up winning!  It's pretty darn cool! : ) 

The sweepstakes began when Dr. Oz launched his new show in September and I entered at that time, answering the question of what motivates me to be healthy now.  My September 23rd answer is below:

This Chapter is Entitiled: Me!

I'm 51 years old and have raised my son and put him through college on my own. I recently broke off my engagement because I was not happy and fulfilled in the relationship. So, I'm starting over... a new chapter in my life begins now. I have a goal of losing 100 lbs. and have already lost 40 pounds by starting to exercise and finally eating the right way. I'm trying so hard to shape my life into what I can see it being in my dreams. I'm working hard, staying positive, and trying to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can so I don't waste another year, another month, another day, another hour! I need all the help and support I can get so I can give to others and reclaim the fit, happy person that I know is waiting to break free! : )

Goal ACCOMPLISHED! 5K Making Strides Breast Cancer Walk a SUCCESS!

I'll blog more later tonight after work but quickly wanted to say THANK YOU to you guys for your wonderful support and enthusiastic response to my walking the 5k yesterday.  I had SUCH a great time - and had a wonderful surprise when my life-long best friend showing up unexpectedly (3 hour drive for her, too!) to walk with me! The photo up top is of me, my friend, and her Mom (who is in amazing shape at 72 years old!) : )

The 5k was much less difficult than I'd let my mind lead me to think it was going to be! The hills were, indeed, hilly and a little rougher than walking on a track but I climbed them without problem. I only stopped once on the walk and that was for maybe a minute to drink water and admire the view from halfway up one of the hills! : )

Quick photos below but - truly - thank you all! I feel so awesome to have accomplished this goal I set for myself six months ago when I could barely get up a flight of stairs without being winded!!!

Hot and happy crossing the finish line of my first 5k! : )

I received a special plaque in recognition of the

Most Funds Raised by an Individual Walker

- over $1200!

Pictured w/my Mom who is nearly 83 years old and

celebrating 5 years as a breast cancer survivor!

Panic Sets In! Caution: Brain Dump!!

Oh good lord!! I just tweeted about how Weigh In is tonight and I know I'll be up on the scale as I have been SELF SABOTAGING this week.  Why am I doing this? I'm taking my lunch hour to sit here and blog and try to figure it out!

I really AM anxious about the Cancer Society 5k walk on Sunday, and I'm trying very hard to not be. I keep trying to stay positive and for the most part I *am* positive that I'll accomplish the 5k without any difficulties but in the back of my mind........ yikes!

So here's the down and dirty. On Sunday in upstate NY it may be raining - I just looked at the weather forecast it is actually supposed to be raining and high 60s, so not as bad as predicted earlier in the week.

I haven't walked as much as I should have. I haven't hit 3.5 miles yet this week 'cause I have given myself 101 excuses to NOT walk.  I was working late, I was too tired, I was not sleeping well enough to go out too early, it is raining... blah blah blah.

Last week I felt so awesome when I knew I would be able to walk without the pain of shin splits. Last Friday night I was cruising around the high school track like nobody's business... but then what? Nothing.  One mile here... two miles over the weekend... but still no 3.5 miles.

To compound matters, one of the other women walkers said on her Facebook profile "Watch out for those Blindbuck* hills - they kill me every night!".  Oh just great!  She's walking the *course every night and is having trouble with the hills- - what's that gonna do to me?!  I'm walking a flat track and haven't hit 3.5 miles yet!

And then, of course, is my asthma.  Will I be all congested from staying at Mom's and from the weather? Will that affect my walking? 

And that I'll be seeing people who haven't seen me in 20+ years and I will NOT look the same.  I'm 50 lbs. heavier than they remember me.  Sure, some of them will look different, too, I'm sure.  (Why do I always worry about what people think of me!?!)
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But wait just one minute here.........

I am the only one who can change my own attitude and I think I just have.  The sun is streaming in my window here now after clouds most of the morning.  I *know* I will walk the 3.5 miles.  I *know* I CAN do it.  I may struggle - but I am not going to put into my thinking that I *will* struggle.  Why will I? I will be surrounded by people I know and care about who are looking forward to seeing me like I'm looking forward to seeing them.  How cool is that?  I have been losing weight and looking and feeling better than I have in years and I'm walking this 5k to CELEBRATE that - to celebrate how far I have come in this past half year.

I've lost weight. I've started to get fit. I ROCK! : )  *grin*

I ate a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream after dinner last night.  I had to buy it at the grocery store while shopping first, of course.  And then I ate it.

My son should feel lucky I didn't eat the pint I bought for him to have.  I was in that mind-set.  But, you know what - I'm allowed to slip up, too.  And... 'allowed' or not - I did slip - but I've regained my footing.

Heck, I've regained my positive atttitude which is the core of who I am.

I'm back to me. Phew.

I'm gonna rock that 5k and raise a ton of money for the American Cancer Society!

Thanks for listening. ; )

Sssstttttrrreeeeeeeeeettttcccchhhhh!

I walked 1.3 miles tonight WITHOUT PAIN!! Woohooo!! I feel so relieved I can't even tell ya! :) And I wasn't terribly tired - I had plenty of ooomph left!

It was just getting dark at 7pm when I arrived at the h.s. track. I got out of the car and - taking the advice of some of my tweeps *grin* on Twitter - I stretched out my calf and leg muscles before I went out onto the track. Why do I feel self-conscious doing stretching? I think it is 'cause I think people will see me and I believe they'll think "she's kinda overweight - what is she stretching to do?" But that is crazy talk - I seriously doubt people are watching me at all.. lol Oy! The things we think sometimes as overweight people! ; )

I had read something in Fitness magazine the other night about concentrating on your foot landing squarely - not too much on either the ball or the heel of your foot but 'kerplunk' in the middle. Maybe this was in a ChiWalking article I read from a Self Magazine link... that may have been where actually. But no matter, it worked!!

Between the stretching and the first lap of consciously landing my feet properly, I was without ANY shin splint pain. NONE! I was pretty encouraged and took it slow and steady (yup, like the turtle...) and went 1/2 mile and then 3/4 of a mile. Approaching the mile mark I was thrilled. I realized that the walk was well within my abilities!

I have been joking about it- but I have been worried about the 3+ miles. I've been getting shin splints regularly before a mile is up... but that worry is kaput! Gone. History. And I AM THRILLED!!! : )

As I walked, I thought about how thankful I am to be where I am tonight on this weightloss and health journey. A year ago could I have walked over a mile and been able to think about going more? Hell, no! No way!! Tonight - even in the humidity - I walked easily and steadily around the track. I had my inhaler in my pocket and didn't need it once! THAT IS SO HUGE FOR ME! And the fear of asthma attacks is gone for me now, too. Again: HUGE! I don't feel I need to have my cell phone with me "just in case". The phone was in the car. I didn't need it. Wasn't even concerned that I might.

I walked and felt the breeze and listened to Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt and Allmann Bros. and Christy Moore and The Dubliners and I was happy. Really, truly happy that I have come this far. I thought how my health will improve my quality of life and how when I'm next in Ireland I'll be able to hike the hills again and explore the countryside on foot - not just where I can get to in a car.

If you're reading this, thanks for your support. : ) And God, like Mark 9:23 (All things all possible for he who believes...) I do believe in myself and in You... thanks for answering my prayers! : )

Inspirational Quote

Poem: On the Drive to Work

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On the Drive to Work

And so it is Fall.
The traffic light mirrors the palette of the trees
As it stops me on my morning journey.

I look at my hands,
Gripping the wheel of this almost-owned car,
And at my arms,
A vestige of the best summer tan
I’ve had since my youth
Still visible.

A woman’s caftan swirls about her dark legs
As she walks the sidewalk regally beside me.
African prints billow up
Before small hands press them down again.

The first yellow and orange leaves
Dance across my windshield
Beckoning me to turn around,
To head for home,
To call in sick,
Then run outside to play.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - the first full day of Autumn *Photo from 2008 in New Hampshire

THIS JUST IN: October 4th Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk! I'm IN!

You know - - I have been thinking about this walk since I was last home to visit my Mom a few weeks ago and on Monday I committed to walking 5K in Washington County, NY's "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk".

eep! Now I have to DO IT!

It is all good though! : ) I'm on this great weight loss journey to get healthy and change my life and this will be a great short-term goal that will raise funds for cancer awareness and prevention! I lost my Dad to cancer and my Mom is celebrating 5 years of being a breast cancer survivor. My boss and friend, Mj, fought thee most valiant fight against breast cancer this past year. She was amazing and I was fortunate (sounds odd to say that, but it was a blessing really) to be allowed to know what she was going through day in and out as she is a testament to what willpower can truly do! She would not let up... she continued to do all she could as long and as hard as she could. To look at her now, you'd never know she was bald as 2009 began! All good, like I said.

But CAN I do it? Walk 3+ miles at once on back roads of my home town? Hmmm... I'm a little concerned honestly. But I know I'll make it. It will, indeed, be *good for me*. I walked after work on Monday night (that is a pic of me before heading out the door to walk Monday) and last night walked with WiiFit while I was watching Biggest Loser on television. I think I logged in 800+ steps last night... tonight I'll go for a walk or do the WiiFit again... and gradually I want to get up to 1 mile around the h.s. track by end of the week without having to stop. Mind over matter. I *will* do this!

If you would consider sponsoring me, I would be extremely grateful! The link to my American Cancer Society "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk" is: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/hlgjan If you can't make a monetary donation (and believe me, I understand that many cannot!!), sending some good thoughts my way at noontime EST on Sunday, October 4th would sure be appreciated, too! : )

A year ago I could barely walk from the parking lot into my office without being out of breath... now I'm signing up for 5K walks! *beam*

LIFE IS GOOD!

Lose For Good = Food for the Hungry!

I am no spammer on Twitter but I did post for the "Lose For Good" cause today many times. Probably some of my tweeps thought "Too many times"! lol Oh... I just counted... I posted 26 times.

This is such a great cause as Weight Watchers will donate $1 every time Lose For Good is posted today on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace. It is social media in action at it's very best - helping out a worthwhile cause.

If you'd like more information, check the WeightWatchers.com site or go to http://www.loseapalooza.com/ or http://www.loseforgood.com/ for details!

LOSEAPALOOZA!!!!!!!!!!

Now You See Me / Now You Don't ??

Have I been thinking everyone on Twitter sees my little HungryLoserGal icon and everyone really only sees that weird (and may I add horridly color hued) waffle icon? Do you see HLG or 'weird waffle' when I post on Twitter? And if you DO see the waffle... how the heck come? My icon is under 700k. Can you hear me muttering? lol

*I* see the icon above...

What do YOU see? *grin*

Just LOVE this quote...

LOVE this... "Tomorrow" is disease

Just read this great quote that Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels posted on Twitter:

"When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no 'I'll start tomorrow.' Tomorrow is disease."

How true is that? As Nike says... "Just Do It!"

Happy September and rededication! : )

Happy (September) New Year!!

I officially declare that September is my "New Year"!

The season changes. School starts again. And I have New Year resolutions...

• My intent for the month of September is to exercise 4x a week and walk 3x a week a mile or more.
• My intent is to be in the 220s by October 1st.

So there you have my September intent and goal which I will achieve. (That's my Power of Positive Thinking in action by saying I *will* achieve my goals! lol)

Feel free to keep track of your intent for September in the comments below!

We can do this!! : )

You Know... Bloody Mary Was One Smart South Pacific Lady!

As I drove from Boston to Vermont today, I was listening to TheSecret DVDs which I really enjoy. I always find some new inspiration in them. Today I was drawn to the lesson of how you have to BE READY to accept the gifts you've asked for! And how the lessons of The Secret are - in a nutshell - really Bible based and very simply put:

1. Ask
2. Believe
3. Receive

Here are some Bible references to back up this:

"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall
receive." Mat 21:21-22

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have
received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

But in order to truly put your heart into something to ask and then believe in, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE GUTS TO DREAM IT.

I think, so many times, those of us on the journey to good health and our perfect weight, have let ourselves slip backwards, that we don't DARE dream of the reality of what life will be like when we're healthy. So, today- I day-dreamed a good deal of my four hour car ride on what my life will be like.

• What will I physically feel like?
• What will I be able to do again that I don't do now?
• Where will I feel comfortable going that I don't now?
• How will I walk into a room?
• Who do I want to have share my life with me? (That was a fun day-dream! lol)
• And how will I continue to maintain my perfect weight and health - what will my joyful daily regime be?

You know what?? - I imagined it all and I hadn't taken the time to do this before. I didn't TRULY have a dream. I kind of had a vision of what I might like. But now I feel differently.

I imagined jumping into a kayak with a two piece bathing suit on and having a gorgeous man who is fun and the love of my life jump in behind me and paddling on a quiet lake and loving life. And now I KNOW in my heart I will get there. I have felt the happiness (just by imagining this!) that I'll feel when that actually takes place.

All those years ago when I watched South Pacific and loved it so much, it was teaching me a valuable lesson that came flooding back to me today as I recalled Bloody Mary's important lesson of "Happy Talk".

Happy talk, keep talkin' happy talk,

Talk about things you'd like to do.

You got to have a dream,

If you don't have a dream,

How you gonna have a dream come true?

So DREAM THE DREAM you REALLY TRULY want, my friends. Ask yourself the questions that will lead you to believe in your dreams and feel them in your heart. Dream and believe and achieve. We can do this... no dream is too big for our imaginations and then the Universe to see come true! : )

Dedicated to my dear high school friend, Vincent, whom I sang this song with and acted out the little happy talkin' hands with countless, happy times. RIP .

Another Photo Update

September 4th after work - 237 lbs.

Okay, so I can notice the belly bloat isn't quite as bad. Nice to see the results of the weight loss. I try to take the photo(s) in the same spot and wearing the same clothes or type of clothes month to month. I'm at 40 lbs. lost thru Weight Watchers (insert very big grin here, please!!) and started taking photos around 267 lbs. in late March. I really want to be down another 10 lbs. to 225 (227 I would take! lol) by October 17th, the end of the Weight Watchers "Lose for Good" campaign where lost pounds translate to food for families in need. Such a worthwhile cause!

Peanut Butter with 85% LESS Calories = WOoooHOoooo!

Okay, so I love Love LOVE peanut butter… I admit freely that probably 20+ pounds that I have to lose are probably directly related to over-indulgence in peanut butter frenzies. Not a pretty site, lemme tell ya!

As we talk about in Weight Watchers’ meetings, creamy peanut butter is definitely a “trigger food” for me. I can’t just have one little smidge of peanut butter over a piece of whole wheat toast. Nope. One smidge leads to 1/3 of the jar gone! YIKES!!

With all that said, I am SO thrilled to say that there is an alternative that is REAL peanut butter with 85 percent LESS calories. There is ‘powered peanut butter’ called PB2 that you can search for on the Bell Plantation site to see where it is sold locally. I had to travel about 10 miles and it is a little expensive ($7.50 for the ‘jar’) but I am happy to report

IT TASTES INCREDIBLE!!!

I was very skeptical to try it but my love of peanut butter and my worry that I’m going to go nuts and run to the grocery store at midnight some night to buy a tub of Skippy (lol!) made me investigate this. I first heard of it thru a Facebook post made my Tara Costa (BL#8 finalist) who said right after the final weigh-in she went for the powered peanut butter. That caught MY interest, I can tell you! So I researched, emailed Tara directly and sure enough – it is the Bell Plantation powered PB2!

Last night I measured out 2 tablespoons of the power and added a tbsp of cold water and mixed, mixed, mixed ‘til it was smooth. And it DID get smooth. It was a little too dry at first so I added a few more drops of water and VOILA! Creamy, spreadable peanut butter and only 50 calories / 1.25 WW points as opposed to the 190 calories /5 WW points in 2 tablespoons of my beloved Skippy! In Healthy Loser Gal terms that means I can have a peanut-butter-craving-fulfilling-time with eight tablespoons of PB2 for about the same calories as two little tablespoons! Count me IN! : ) And yes, I plan to have celery and peanut butter tonight as a happy snack (maybe with Granny Smith apples, too!) while watching the Red Sox game!

If you get it and try it – let me know how you like it. Oh!, for you chocolate lovers… there is a powered peanut butter and chocolate variety!! You just add water and you have peanut butter cup taste with less than half the calories!! Wooohoooo!

Ode to my water bottle...

For Christmas a year ago my sister from Florida gave me a really cool water bottle as a stocking stuffer (it stuffed the whole thing! lol) which I have grown to LOVE! I think the company in Florida that originally produced them has gone out of business as the 1-800 number on the bottle no longer works, but I've narrowed down the company that sells this remarkable piece of my personal weight loss to Innova Pure Water found at: http://www.innovapurewater.com/html/products/all_water_filtration_products.htm

My water bottle doesn't look anything like the ones on their site but the product seems to be the same in the long run.

I fill this bottle up a few times a day at work as shown in the photo above - no tossing plastic into the recycle bin for me as tons and tons and tons of plastics are killing our oceans, natural resources.

Cool thing about the filters in bottles, too, is - if you're a hiker - you can refill the bottle in any stream or fresh water lake and not worry about what you're drinking. : )

Cheers!

July is going to be my month!

"X" marks the spot... I'll be back later - definitely over the 4th of July weekend if not tonight - to catch up on blogging and what is going on with my life...

But let me say this for the record:

I DECLARE JULY 2009 AS MY MONTH!

New Pics of Progress ~ Before and "On the Journey" Shots

Now I know what you're thinking, why on God's green earth would she post these photos of herself? And a year ago I would not have - believe you me!! But the truth is, I have to stop hating who I am in order to change for the better. I have to accept I was that big, see the small changes, accept them and keep going. So... there you have it, or have me, as the case may be!
I proud of myself for having the courage to post these... I'm ashamed of myself for not facing a long time ago that I needed to get busy on reclaiming ME!

I 'photo shopped' in the hats, I couldn't resist! *grin*

Kinda fun exchange w/reality tv celeb...

I am on both Facebook and Twitter and was trying to help Kristin from the Biggest Loser out since she's new to Twitter... she responded with the below: