Putting The Plan In Place...

Today I am sitting here at Intermountain Medical Center with my grandma, that means I have some time to post here. To answer any question, my grandma took a fall and broke her tib/fib bones right above her ankle. She is doing well and we are all hoping for the best recovery for her.

 Now, let's talk about my current progress on my healthy journey. I am currently sitting at a loss of 34.4 pounds. I am super excited about that! I have made a lot of progress, especially in just simple everyday things. I find myself being more aware of what I am eating, being more proactive about planning my workouts into my daily schedules, and just being more aware of my body, like listening to it cues of thirst versus hunger. I have dropped pant and shirt sizes and am loving the ability to buy new and cute clothes! I did measurements the other day, I have lost about 20 inches overall... so there is some great progress!

I am so excited about the above improvements... but I did hit one little bump and am now putting a plan into place. I was really hoping to get on the scale and see the magic number of 35 pounds lost. See... the week prior, I hopped on the scale and lost 34.4 pounds... so this means I did not lose or gain anything this week, I maintained. It has been well over 2 months since I have not lost something at the scale. I knew this day would come and I knew I needed a plan to keep me motivated versus discouraged. It is now time to put the plan in place.

So, what is the plan? The plan consists of focusing on other victories, or as I like to call them, non-scale victories. Remember the moments I shared a couple of paragraphs ago? There are some prime examples of some of my non-scale victories. I actually feel more accomplished when I look at those victories. Yes, I love to see the numbers on the scale decrease, but that is not my main goal. My main goal is to gain a healthier lifestyle. One that can help me take advantage of all that life has to offer. I would rather be 175 pounds, fit and tone, then 140 pounds and not active. I do know that exercise is only about 10% of losing weight, while diet is 90%, but there are so many other benefits of exercise. Exercise has so many health benefits... the heart works better, bones are stronger, you have more energy, your mental health is greatly improved, and so much more! So, there is my focus... I am doing so good and I have improved tremendously on this journey. I have no reason for being upset or sad about not reaching 35 pounds yet, it will happen in due time. Sometimes your body needs to pause for a minute, it needs to adjust to a new level before pushing forward.

Life has been great! I have so much to be thankful for! Til next time!!!

The Carli Project... What Do I See?

Oh time... where do you go? Life has been so busy lately! It has been quite some time since I have blogged and I have so much to share. I have been busy in such a good way and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The other day I received a text from my mom, a text that has left me thinking for the past week about my life and what I am accomplishing in my life. This text stated that my mom had just ran into my ex's mother. Now, I am not one to talk about my past relationships in forums like this. I feel like that relationship is one I learned a lot from and am more grateful for the things I learned and the pain I went through, then being sad that it ended. So, when I received this text I immediately called my mom to not ask for info she received, but to ask what info was shared about me. The info that was shared was exactly what I want people to know about me, what I hope people who interact with me see in me.

My weight loss/healthier life journey has been the most amazing thing to happen to me. I have had so much joy and happiness brought into my life in the last few months. I have truly grown to love myself and most importantly I am learning to love my life! This is exactly what was shared by my mom, I am loving my life! My life is better than I could ask for and I am so grateful for the time I have to make myself the best me! I am loving where I live, my roommate, my landlord, and my ward. I am loving my job so much right now! I am excited to start school again and grow my knowledge. I am loving the time I get to spend with my family and friends, the time I get to make our relationships richer and deeper. I am loving the chance I get to become healthier and to really see myself conquering a thing I feared I could never do. It is kind of silly how powerful I feel because I have been conquering this struggle in my life, but I am so dang proud of myself! I am my biggest cheerleader... and that is my secret to success... I am cheering myself on every single moment!

So... how is my journey going? Well... I am glad you asked! I am doing so well! I reached a great milestone today! I am officially under 250 lbs and have lost over 33 lbs since the beginning of March. I feel the lifestyle change I am trying to achieve happening. I am back to running and boy did I miss it! I had to take some time off due to an IT band injury. I am loving the "runner's high" so much! When I run, I feel as though I have just had a free therapy session because it is so mind clearing. I am just feeling so much more like a live everyday to its fullest person, versus the person that is living day to day. I know I will hit my bumps in the road, but I am ready to hit them, I have planned my attacks when they hit. I am just loving my journey!

Life is so good! I am so happy and I just love it! I am living a life that others in my life never had an opportunity to live, so maybe I feel as though I need to live it to the fullest for them. I am okay with not being married and having kids right now... I love that I have grown to love myself so much! This will only benefit me in my future relationships. My time will come... I am not the typical LDS girl this way... I am not dying to get married. I know that a husband and children will bring me lots of joy in my life, but it is not the only source of happiness in the world. I am enjoying all the happiness life has to offer me now. OK... I guess I am getting a little carried away... so I will end my rant now. I am just loving life so much and I just really wanted to share that joy with you!

Til next time!

Who do I depend on?

I have been pondering lately on why I have chosen to take this path again. I do not question why I am doing this, that has been made very clear to me and I am beyond ready to make the changes that are necessary for me to live a long, healthy life. The question I tend to ponder... Why I am I taking this path alone this time? Last time I joined WW, it was on the spur of the moment, I don't even think I knew I was going to do it the night before. My mom, sister and grandma were joining and I just thought I would give WW a try. Funny thing was, I was the one who ended up staying the longest out of us four. I loved going with them, but I also loved going on my own. I really learned that I can be just as much of a support and pusher on myself than that of others. I am truly my biggest critic, but I am also my biggest supporter. If anyone knows what I am truly capable, it is me!

 

Well here I am, attending meetings by myself again. I am truly finding my power of control again. Has this been an easy transition for me? NO WAY!!! I am having more struggles this time and I am truly finding it hard to readjust to this lifestyle, but I also am remembering that I will not wake up changed because I want to. I will have to work hard and it will take time, but it will come. One of the reasons I chose WW was the basis that you are not dieting, but making a lifestyle change. I have really tried to make this clear to others... I am not limited on what foods I can eat, everything is an option, but I may choose to pass up one indulgence so that I may indulge in something I would enjoy more. Let me say it one more time... I am not on a diet!!!

I am learning quickly how much I have to depend on myself. I am the only one who can make the changes in my life. You cannot tell me to go and exercise after work or to not eat that extra slice of pizza that night. It simply does not work that way. As I mentioned earlier, I am learning more about finding my power of control lately, just in myself. I am the only one who can truly tell myself that walking around the block instead of a nap is a better choice. I am the only one that can say that I need to pass on the candy bowl at work and that the candy is SO not worth the points.

I know this journey is truly one that I will take on my own, with the support of others behind me. I know that I am truly the only one in control of myself and my choices. I am going to do this and I am going to become a healthier person because of it.

In other news... I reached my first weight loss goal today! I have officially lost over 10 lbs as of today! (I can't reveal my real number yet... I am in a biggest loser competition and don't want my competitors to feel bad ;)) I was very excited to see that number hit, especially since I have felt like crap this week.

Til next time!!!

The Reality of What I Saw and Feared...

Here I am, joining the blogging world again... but this is not what I anticipated blogging about. I had actually given up on blogging and really felt no importance of keeping it up. I do feel as though I do not want to share everything that happens in my life in such a public forum, I have private accounts and ways of sharing with my family and friends about my personal life. I am returning to the blogging world for a more important reason, and I secretly hope this reason will not only be inspiring to me, but to others as well.

A little over a year ago I was faced with some big bumps in the road. I don't feel it necessary to share all the details, but my life was pretty much flipped upside down. Everything I thought was going to happen didn't, the things I never expected to happen did. I really struggled... I had felt as though I was living the phrase "when it rains, it pours" to more than its fullest. Well, with all of the things happening in my life, I had a lot of stress in my life! What happens when you have a lot of stress in your life? Well let me show you how I dealt with my stress. 

 

This is me about 2 years ago.

Here are some recent pictures of me within the last few months.

 Well folks, I sure did undo all my hard work and effort I put forth to lose weight and become healthier. I gained all the weight I had lost back, plus more.

 

 I have had some big reality checks in my life lately and I know I need to make some drastic changes in my life now! I have noticed simple things like my energy level and ambition diminish lately. I feared being diagnosed with scary things like diabetes or hypertension. I have noticed a great increase in my GERD/acid reflux. Also, my big scare moment was stepping on a scale and seeing a number I had never seen in my entire life... 281.8 lbs... that is the heaviest I have ever been. Most of all, I just don't feel like myself!

 

I have decided to join Weight Watchers again, as I know that this program works for me. I lost close to 50 pounds before I quit last time. I am excited to start this program again! I know that it is a doable program and there is so much to benefit from it. I was recently talking to my doctor about weight loss and she was really emphasizing on picking something that would focus more on losing around 2 pound a week. The point being that if you lose it at that rate, you are making lifestyle changes that are doable and livable for more than a short amount of time. It is also healthier for you. Weight Watchers is meant to lose at this rate, they have the same beliefs as my doctor on losing it and keeping it off.

 

*Note: this is the program that works best for me. I am not saying this is the program for everyone and that Weight Watchers is the only program that works. This is the program I am using along with help from other bloggers and medical professionals. This being said, most of this blog will focus on my journey through Weight Watchers. I encourage those joining my journey to do what works best for them, I want to see success in you!

 

I will be updating this blog with my journey to a healthier me, truly becoming someone I never thought I could be. I have never been able to truly picture myself as a skinnier and healthier girl. I cannot wait to help inspire myself and others along this journey!