The 100 lb Journey

Week 16 Check-In: Being Persistent

2008-12-21T19:50:00.000-08:00

What can I say ... it's the holidays. While I know I have gained weight this week, the good news is this semester of college is over as of a few days ago, and now I can concentrate more on weight loss.Although this weight loss journey has been a rocky road, I've come to the realization that the number one important thing in losing weight is to be persistent. No matter what gets in your way, just

Week 15 Check-In: Weight Loss Pictures of Me

2008-12-14T20:06:00.001-08:00

Wow, I'm up to a 27 lb weight loss. For every 25 lbs, I'm going to have new pictures taken to show the progress. Below are images taken before (September 13, 2008) and after (December 14, 2008). They show the 8 inches I've lost on my body, the drop in a dress size, and how my clothes are getting too big.

Week 14 Check-In: Mindful Eating

2008-12-08T06:22:00.000-08:00

It seems like I've been on this weight loss journey a long time, but in actuality it's only been 3-1/2 months. This week, I lost part of the weight I gained at Thanksgiving, but am still up 2 pounds from my lowest. The number is now 23 lb weight loss.Have you ever heard of mindful meditation? I've taken classes in it before. According to Wikipedia, it's a concentrated awareness of one's thoughts

Week 13 Check-In: Holidays and Our Food Addictions

2008-12-01T06:09:00.000-08:00

This week I've decided to give myself a break. I did hit the magical 25 lb weight loss the day before Thanksgiving, but of course, I gained weight with the holiday. Instead of announcing my current weight, I'm going to give myself a week to get back on course.I watched a television show last night that highlighted the plights of several people who are morbidly obese -- 500, 600, 700 lbs. You say

Week 12 Check-In: Overcoming Roadblocks to Weight Loss

2008-11-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

My total weight loss is now at 24 lbs, just one pound way from the magical 25 pound number. It's special because for each 25 lbs weight loss, I'm going to get a massage to reward myself and take new weight loss pictures to document my progress.My topic of discussion this week is "staying the course." It seems that so many times in the past when I've tried to lose weight "stuff got in the way" --

Week 11 Check-In: Making It Through Personal or Holiday Events

2008-11-17T21:46:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, it's week 11 and unfortunately I gained 2 lbs, so my total weight loss stands at 21 lbs. What happened to me this week was a "potluck event."I decided to go to a friend's potluck party and knew there would be lots of tempting food. In order to minimize my hunger, I ate before going. However, by the time I arrived at the party an hour later and I entered her house, I was met by a

Week 10 Check-In: Losing Weight No Matter What

2008-11-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to report that the changes suggested by my trainer as talked about last week, really made a difference. I have now lost another 4 lbs, for a total of 23 lbs. It's amazing to me because it's the most weight I've lost in a long, long, long time.Probably the biggest change I made this week was limiting the Weight Watcher snacks and switching to apples, pears, cheese, yogurt, and peanut

Learning to Eat Slowly

2008-11-06T05:51:00.000-08:00

It's time to talk about eating slowly. I hesitate to bring up the subject because it's a big problem for me. As far back as I can remember, I've always been the first finished at a table filled with other people. I don't know why? There seems to be a little demon in me who says "I'm starving. Feed meeeee." So that's what I've done.I wasn't a starving child or adult -- so there is no logical

Week 9 Check-In: Eating Healthy and Goals Review

2008-11-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

On September 30, 2008, I set some Goals to reach by my two month anniversary of November 2, 2008. I'm now claiming partial success. I did not obtain a 25 lbs. weight loss (I'm at 19 lbs. loss) and can't claim that I consistently exercised three times a week, but having these goals has motivated me to step up my game. Yesterday, I met with a personal trainer, who I will be seeing once a week for

Cleaning Out Emotional Baggage

2008-10-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

I decided to turn on the TV in the wee hours the other night because I couldn't sleep. On the television was an old episode of Clean House, a show on the Style Network, where the hosts go into messy homes and help families take control of their lives by eliminating all the clutter while redecorating rooms.While listening to this show, decorator Mark Brunetz said something like, he's learned that

Week 8 Check-In: What Objects Weigh

2008-10-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

For the first time on this weight loss journey, I ended the week with a 1 lb weight gain. I'm now at a total loss of 18 lbs.I think one of the key elements in losing weight is to re-evaluate periodically what you are eating, how you exercise, and your thoughts and feelings to see where improvements can be made. In my case, since my exercise has been sporadic, I signed up for a trainer and my

Weighty Moments: Realizing How Much We Really Weigh

2008-10-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

first person accounts of food, body, or weight incidentsI was working at my law firm job today, when all of a sudden the fire alarm rang. A voice came over the airwaves, "A fire has been reported. Please leave the building in an orderly fashion. Do not use the elevators."After checking our conference rooms for people because I'm a floor warden, I hurried down the stairs from our 5th floor suite.

Week 7 Check-In: Writing a Blog and My Scoop on Poop

2008-10-17T22:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, I lost 3 lbs this week for a total of 19 lbs and 5¾ inches off my full-figured frame. I don't know about you but I've spent a lifetime trying to lose weight, and there's always a voice in my head that says, "You can't it!" But this time, I don't hear that ugly little voice, I hear the sweet tone of "Yes, I can lose all the extra weight!"I must admit, writing a blog has been fabulous for

Review of Diettogo.com

2008-10-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

Reviews are given 1-4 skinnies, based on the website's ability to cover the whole person regarding weight loss and health. This is an independent Review--I'm not being paid. I don't know if you've ever heard of Diet-to-Go, but I thought I'd review their website to spread the word. As food programs go, they are pretty good. Diet-to-Go is a diet food service that for the past 17 years has offered

Week 6 Check-In: Losing Weight is Not a Race, It's a Marathon

2008-10-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

This week I'm at a 16 lb weight loss and proud of it! Another 1 lb gone, never to return again. Sure, I'd love to lose 5 lbs a week but reality is -- it's just too hard and unhealthy. I don't have the time and energy to devote to exercising daily and starving myself. So on my 100 lb journey, I'm taking it slow and fitting it into my lifestyle.I haven't lost a whole dress size yet, but I'm

Water is Essential for Good Health and Weight Loss

2008-10-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

Water is ranked by experts second only to oxygen, and is essential for life. The water you drink literally becomes you -- a human embryo is said to be 80%, a baby 74%, and an adult 55 to 75% water. Since such a large percentage of our bodies are water, we need lots of fresh water to stay healthy.I've always heard we should drink at least 8 glasses of water a day; however, upon researching the

Week 5 Check-In: Finishing the Food on Your Plate

2008-10-06T04:51:00.000-07:00

Well, the scale only went down 1 lb this week for a total loss of 15 lbs, but I'm very happy. It seems, my modus operandi is to gain a few pounds over the weekend and then slowly lose it during the week. I think it's because during the work day you are in a "controlled food environment" where you can either eat what you brought or buy a quick meal on the lunch hour. But during evenings and

Weight Loss Tips: Fats, Breakfast, and More

2008-10-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

Choose Lower Fat and Limit Sugar – Keep fat low to moderate between 27 to 78 grams of fat each day (about 6 to 15 teaspoons). Read labels looking for products that contain the least sugar. You can work toward lower fat by:• selecting lean meat, fish or poultry and using meat substitutes such as dry beans;• eating low-fat or nonfat dairy products; and• limiting use of high-fat spreads, sauces and

Week 4 Check-In: Eating Veggies and Setting Goals

2008-09-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

I've lost 3 lbs this week for a total weight loss of 14 lbs. What I did right was increase veggies in my meals like instead of bunny food having rich provocative salads with pieces of chicken, gargozola, nuts, tomatoes, beans or avacado. I also started steaming prepackaged broccoli and cauliflower to eat at work as snacks or to supplement main meals. It's really easy to prepare and pretty good to

Review of GoodGuide.com

2008-09-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Reviews are given 1-4 skinnies, based on the website's ability to cover the whole person regarding weight loss and health. This is an independent Review--I'm not being paid. GoodGuide.com is a one-of-kind health website that bills itself as "the world's largest and most reliable source of health, environmental, and social performance information of household products." The website had it's debut

Learning How to Eat from Cancer

2008-09-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Earlier, in my first article Lunch Catastrophes, I talked about receiving signs from the universe about food. But I must tell you about another incident that happened at the Writing for Change Conference at the Kabuki Hotel in San Francisco on August 16-17, 2008.It was a conference for writers who want to bring about positive change – from the personal to the

Week 3 Check-in: Weight Related Illnesses

2008-09-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

I had a few challenges to my weight loss this week that's why my weight stayed the same at an 11 lb loss. But the good news is that I've consistently lost inches, now totaling 2-¾.Pain in my right foot the last few months has hampered my progress, so I finally decided to go to a doctor. He said I have plantar fascitiis (pronounced fash-ee-EYE-tus), which is an inflammation of the tissue on the

Week 2 Check-in: Benefits of Stair Climbing

2008-09-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

Two weeks into my weight loss journey, and I'm feeling good. This week I lost another 3 lbs, making the total weight loss 11 lbs.The first few days my weight either "stayed the same" or I lost only a "few tenths of a pound." Then I dropped a banging 3 lbs all-in-one-day; and the next day, I gained a pound back. There's no rime or reason to weight fluctuations but it can be a little disheartening

The Best Of Eating Plan

2008-09-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

The Gods have answered my prayers! At Week 1, I lamented that I felt like a fish out of water — uncomfortable about not having a specific program to use to lose my 100 lbs extra weight. Over the years, I've tried just about all the diet programs and even though they weren't successful in getting me to a swimsuit body, I did gain a lot of knowledge.So, when I found myself wandering aimlessly after

Weighty Moments: Retail Temptations

2008-09-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

first person accounts of food, body, or weight incidentsIt's 2:00 pm on a Saturday at the local COSTCO store, a "large wholesale box store" that sells enormous packages from diapers to wines. It's only been a little over a week since I started my weight loss journey, so I went there to stock up on healthy food.I loaded my metallic cart with hearty veggies and fruits -- green asparagus stalks,

Week 1 Check-in: A Fish Out of Water

2008-09-07T22:26:00.000-07:00

The first week on my weight loss journey was interesting -- I'm feeling like a fish out of water. As discussed in my post A Line in the Sand, my usual is to select a quick fix mode to lose weight, so I'm having withdrawal in not having the crutch of a specific program. In the meantime, while I wait for the Gods, or this blog, to show me the way, I've simply started watching what I eat. That means

A Line in the Sand

2008-09-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

I decided to take my life back today! This feat occurred at 7:15 am, Pacific Standard Time, on September 2, 2008, while standing in my quaint California living room.In an instant, I decided to take the plunge and draw a line in the sand, so to speak. On one side of that moment is a fat person who ate what she pleased, and on the other is the person who will be pleased to be slim and healthy.

Review of Prevention.com

2008-08-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

Reviews are given 1-4 skinnies, based on the website's ability to cover the whole person regarding weight loss. This is an independent Review--I'm not being paid. Prevention.com is a smorgasbord of health. It's a cut above the two-dimensional diet websites that only talk about food and exercise. Among their webpages, I found stories like "Learn to Navigate the Highs and Lows of your Life" and "

Lunch Catastrophes

2008-08-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

I work at a law firm in this ultra modern building that’s green, shiny and rounded on one end like a cruise ship. A couple days ago, a friend and I decided to pick up two tuna salads for lunch, so we walked to a nearby restaurant. But when we returned to the office, paleness came over our faces as we discovered the restaurant personnel had forgotten the tuna — what we held in our hands were