"My! You must be VERY proud of all the weight you've lost!"

This is how I feel NOW

MARCHIONESS STRONG ARROW HERE...

I guess I was worried for nothing because I lost 2.0 pounds this week. Sigh.

This is how I feel NOW:

THIS IS HOW I FEEL THIS WEEK

I don't want your sympathy. I'm being honest. I feel like crying the way my Olivia did on the first day of kindergarten. While I have not abandoned my diet this week, I have not given it my all. Exercising did not enter my mind this week and I could have been more careful with the food. It is all I can do to continue. As I pass the 4 month mark, I feel weak. I'm not giving up though. I need to get through tomorrow's weigh in and re-focus. (How many times have you all heard this?) Thanks for your patience everyone. Do not expect to see a log of all the exercise I should have done this week but didn't.

The next time I blog I will have become my super inspiring and motivating altar ego by the name of MARCHIONESS STRONG ARROW. (If anyone needs their own name, see me!)

IF

If you think you're beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don't
If you like to win, but think you can't
It's almost certain you won't.

If you think you"ll lose, you're lost;
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will;
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are
You've go to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself
Before you can win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

by Unknown

Can't quite put my finger on it.....

I don't know what is happening but I feel out of sorts today. I forced myself to walk yesterday even though my back was still achy from the 5K. It feels totally normal again as of today so I'm hoping to get a walk in today as well.

I feel a struggle coming on and I have 2.5 more days to get it under control before weigh in Friday. I wrote down all my individual losses and I definitely see a pattern, so try as I might, I'm not expecting to lose a whole pound this week.

This is what I'm talking about:

Week 1: -4.4
Week 2: -7.6
Week 3: -1.4
Week 4: -2.8
Week 5: +1.4 (Silver Dollar City vacation)
Week 6: -2.4
Week 7: -2.0
Week 8: -.2
Week 9: +.4
Week 10: -2.4
Week 11: -.2
Week 12: (No Weigh In)
Week 13: -.6
Week 14: -2.2

Looking back, I think I was more careful in the beginning. I avoided using too many of the "limited" things. Now I think I eat what I feel I must to like something. I need to evaluate what I've been doing and see if I can buckle down and hopefully see more significant losses.

WE DID IT!!!

Olivia and I just completed our 5K Run/Walk for EYES on AIDS this morning! We are very proud of ourselves and each other and took a picture shortly after crossing the finish line. It was hot and humid here today and there were several hills. Olivia had a hard time after the first 1.5 miles so I am especially proud of her for finishing with me. She was way ahead of me part of the time but we got back together for the last 3/4 mile and finished together. Prior to the event, we were able to have a live telephone call from a lady over the speakers from Africa. She thanked us for doing this to raise money for the many children orphaned because of AIDS.

We definitely finished in under an hour but not much! The results and event photos will be posted this afternoon at http://www.eyesonaids.com/ if anyone wants to see it.

Time for Renewal

Today is a new day. After being worried and depressed about diet-related things all week, I managed to lose 2.2 at the scales today. I want to renew my commitment this week and focus primarily on the foods. Looking back through the weeks I realized I haven't been as strict as I should.

It was also time to renew my driver's license this month so off I went to take care of it today. In order to keep myself focused on my weightloss goal I decided to change my weight on my driver's license to reflect my goal weight. The lady working the counter didn't seem to notice that I am over 50 pounds over this weight! Now I have one more way to focus on my goal!

Tomorrow is the first 5K (walk) I've done for the past 10 years! I'll take some pictures to share on my next blog entry.

Oh yeah, I finally made my 10% goal today too!

Three Months of Hard Work

Wow! I just realized that I have completed three whole months of doing Jenny Craig! I'm a little nervous because this is the same amount of time I fizzled out on all my other weightloss attempts. The thing I'm having the most trouble with now is not cheating. I feel so weak at times. During this trying time, I was able to eat out at a restaurant. Yesterday my daughter wanted to eat at Cracker Barrel but I cleverly talked her into eating at Chili's with me (she hates Applebees). I am proud to say that I ordered the "guiltless chicken platter" which had the most benefecial nutrition info as listed in my Jenny Craig Dining Out Guide. It was really good too. Prior to deciding to eat there, I actually did consider Cracker Barrel, McDonalds and Sonic, so I'm thrilled with the outcome. This feels like a major accomplishment given my shrinking will power.

I want to thank my Jenny Craig buddies, a.k.a. extended family, who are ever so encouraging to me. They always know what to say and what I need to hear. I'm thinking we can do this if we know that we can really turn to each other for support when it gets difficult.

I also want to thank my husband (Mike) and daughter (Olivia) for providing me with ongoing support. My daughter is the best at getting me out to walk! She is my biggest cheerleader! Thanks to her 'nagging' me about signing us up for a 5K next weekend, I did it! And my husband, talk about support! Not once has he complained about his meals at home or the weekly cost of doing this weightloss plan. He encourages me all the time and notices changes in the way I look. That does wonders for my self esteem and desire to succeed.

I am reminding myself, "It is a brand new month, so get movin'!"