New Mexico Family

Good Morning from the Land of Enchantment.

We are visiting my in-laws and my Aunt Barb.  On my husband's side, we have four nieces, two nephews, and one great niece.  We were able to see the entire gang Saturday and Sunday and had so much fun catching up.  I am soaking up at much time as I can with the two cute newest babies.  My niece Kirona is not quite a year old and my great niece Kanani is 13 months.  I've gotten tons of baby smiles and I just want to keep squeezing them.  I'm not posting any photos of them in respect to their parents.  I wish I could though, they are adorable.

We are also finding time to squeeze in some Mexican food during our trip along with my favorite green chile and cheese bagel.  Our dinner at Little Anita's was very underwhelming (holy spicy!!) but the sopaipillas were delicious.  So we might try for one more Mexican cuisine night before we leave.  I am still craving enchiladas since my last encounter didn't quite hit the spot.  The chile was also hot when we stopped into Flying M yesterday for breakfast.  I am just not having the best of luck when it comes to green chile on this visit.

Lastly, we are dealing with cockroaches!!  Yuck.  On Friday night I spotted one on my way to the bathroom but was not able to step on it fast enough.  Those suckers can move.  Saturday we came home to find they had multiplied and now there was two holding each of the entry way into our bathrooms hostage.  Between Kenyon and I, we were able to tag team them and I stepped on them.  Sadly, on Sunday night I missed killing the one I saw since I didn't have my tennis shoes on.  I've learned that you need to turn the light on before going into the hallway/bathroom and have adequate shoes on so you can squish them.  Other than that, I'm pretending they can't climb on the bed or suitcases and that they don't bite.  So far, it is working.  Eventually I'm going to show these roaches who is boss!  

18-Week Check-In With The Personal Trainer

I had my 18ish week check-in with my personal trainer and got my measurements taken again.  The month of April was a difficult one in that my weight didn’t really go down a whole lot.  Instead, it went down, then up, then down, then up, up one more time, and finally back down.  I think I came away with a two pound loss for the entire month of April.  So, I was hopefully my measurement might make up for the difference.  And they did!

I’ve been losing at least one inch all over my body at each of the measurement check-ins.  This time, however, I lost 5 total inches on just my waist and 6 total inches on just my hips.  Holy cow.  My trainer even measured two times just to make sure.  I guess maybe the accumulation of the last 18 weeks has started to pay off.  I am down 17 pounds as well since I started my personal training sessions.  I am definitely feeling better, have more energy, and my clothes fit better.

I will resume training sessions when we return from vacation next week and sign up for another 12-weeks.  I’ll work really hard to continue to change my body. 

I’m also going to stay mindful of my splurges while on vacation (alcohol!!) and remember to eat more salads.  We are going to the land of Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo so I see Mexican cuisine in my very near future!

I’ll check in as I can/time allows.  I do plan to enjoy my unlimited time with Kenyon, my in-laws, and my Aunt Barb.

Sharing Blog Posts From My Weight Loss Journey: I’m Turning 30 On Sunday

I’m sharing old blog post from my weight loss journey when I blogged on another site:

October 21, 2009

I’m Turning 30 On Sunday

My 30th Birthday is fast approaching and I am nothing but excited for it. I have a whole new life to enjoy “in my next 30 years” thanks to Weight Watchers.  

I set a goal last year that I wanted to be at goal by my 30th Birthday. I am at/under my doctor's goal and have been for 7 months now. I am not yet at WWs goal. I'm not sure if I want to be 155 pounds and if I want to work for WW. I thought that is what I wanted but now I'm not so sure. The weight loss is very slow now that I do still have time to decide. As of now I am at my all time low of 165 pounds and I have lost 139.8 (yes I missed that 140 pound star by .2 lbs). 

I love WW. It is a fantastic program and it helped me to understand how to build healthy eating habits and how to find control over food. I feel WW is a great program when it comes to weight loss but it is lacking in the tools needed to sustain that loss forever. There really isn't much guidance once a WW member hits maintenance. Often, in my many chats on the WW boards, I read posts several times a day of how people are scared to gain the weight back, how they just cannot seem to stop losing weight, and how they just aren't sure they can eat anymore food.

This is why WW needs more information once members hit maintenance. Since we are 'free' once we gain our Lifetime status, WW doesn’t make any money off us anymore. But aren't we just as important as all the other WW members?? I know I sure could use support and guidance along my new journey I call maintenance. After all, I have to learn now how to KEEP this weight off forever. 

I have switched to calorie counting. I had a hard time with points in that points still equal calories. Just because something has extra fiber in it does not mean it has less calories. Often WW members will hunt for the lowest possible points value foods and eat and eat and eat and before you know it, they have gained an excess of calories and can’t figure out why the scale won't move. A 100 calorie food, whether one point or two based on fiber, is still 100 calories. So I am finding that calorie counting and I work well together. I still weigh, measure, and track my entire food intake. I will never stop doing that. It is what keeps me on track. 

I have also started to learn how to understand food and nutrition and how food fuels the body. This is also very important for making this maintenance journey a success. Not every day needs to be low point/low calorie/low fat. That is when you are in losing mode. But at maintenance you can eat more, enjoy treats again, and really find the balance between high calorie and low calorie food so you are giving your body all it needs. It takes time, but I’m figuring it out. 

Reflecting back on my last 30 years is like a trip down memory lane. Where I have been, how far I have come, and the great things that have come out of the journey I've already taken (my amazing husband, Kenyon, is just one example). Life really is like a box of chocolates and you really don't know what you will get. So keep enjoying it, keep moving forward, and cheers to another 30 years ahead!!