You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink....

Huh? What's that got to do with anything?

Yesterday at work, we had a company rep stop by. I haven't seen her in a few months. She's a little younger than me...single and looking for Mr. Right. Last time she came by, she took myself and a couple of co-workers out to lunch. I stuck to ordering something off the menu that did not contain lots of calories, fat etc. The others ordered cheeseburgers and fries with cheese....yeah.

So yesterday when she stopped by, she said, "Wow...you have really lost a lot of weight!"

I smiled and accepted the compliment by simply saying, yes and thank you. I didn't jump up and down and say...Can you believe I've lost 54 pounds!. (On the inside I wanted to, but I didn't)

Her next words are the words I hear from everyone who has commented on my weight loss: "How did you do it?"

I don't know what they expect to fall from my mouth..maybe some new type of miracle cure...or a potion that you take at night and the next morning you wake up and the fat is just gone..POOF!

I can tell you what they don't want to hear - which is the truth. My answer is and will always be: I have changed my eating habits and the way I look at food. I am very conscious of what I am putting in my body. I exercise in some form everyday.

You can almost see the let down in their face as my words roll out of my mouth.
Nope..no miracle. It takes determination, dedication, and hard work.

The next thing I hear will vary, but it is usually in some form of an excuse. This time it was , "Oh, I hate to exercise."

And yes, I have heard before, "I could never do that" ; "I just don't have willpower to stick with it"; "Maybe someday I'll give it a try".

There are times I wish I could put my hands on their shoulders and just SHAKE them!

So, my conversation yesterday ended with "Find something you like to do and then do it". I would like to believe that would happen, but I know it won't.

Just like anything else in life, if it something you REALLY want, you will find a way..you will make the time..you will work at making it happen.

I'm not superwoman, a person with miraculous abilities to just make the weight disappear. I'm just like everyone else, but maybe I just want it more than others.
I work hard everyday, I struggle with food issues, and yes there are days when even I don't want to exercise. I had the courage to face myself, accept that a change HAD to take place, and a willingness to overcome my fears and thoughts of failure.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox for the day. Meeting my personal trainer at lunch today - first day after two weeks. He had a death in the family and was out of town. I'm really looking forward to hitting it hard today!

My Biggest Supporter - My Husband

My husband and I have been married for 4 1/2 years and this past June, we have been together for 5 years. It is our second marriage for us both. Between the two of us, we have six children. I don't write much about my "personal" life, but just felt that I needed to get this out there.

I was married previously for almost 20 years to a man who complimented me probably no more than I could count on one hand during the total time we were married. No wonder I failed miserably at losing weight. I was doing it in order to gain his love. I had the mentality that if I looked better, if I lost the weight, maybe he would love me more. In the end, it didn't matter...I could have been as skinny as a toothpick and it wouldn't have changed things. I know that now.
Marriage over...done with that.

Enter Brian.

Brian and I met and it was like love at first sight. Whirlwind romance....3 weeks later he asked me to marry him. 8 months later we were married. He loved me for the person that I was at that time....not what my weight was. Over the next few years, we both put on some weight. I loved to cook....he loved to eat. When he ate, I ate.....it catches up with you. But no matter what, EVERYDAY, he told me that I was beautiful....even when I knew I wasn't. EVERYDAY, he told me how much he loved me.

My husband NEVER made comments on my weight or me being "overweight". He just kept loving me.

Fast forward to today. My husband loves me today just as much as he loved me back then. The change in my weight did not make him love me more, because he has always loved me. Does that make sense?

He does tell me how proud he is of me and knows how hard I have worked to get where I am. He is the one that encouraged me to join the gym. He bought me an exercise bike for my birthday. Brian is always willing to try my new "healthy" recipes, even if it is something he doesn't like.

Brian believes in me. He has never made me feel that I can't do something that I want to try. If I fail, he encourages me to try again. I have never heard him say, " I told you so".

This is what he posted on Facebook yesterday, "Right now I am thinking how lucky I am to have such a beautiful,sexy wife and how much in love I am with her!"

My husband is my biggest fan, cheerleader, supporter....and I love him for sticking by me through it all.

28-Day Bootcamp Challenge

So I decided today to join the sparkpeople.com's 28- Bootcamp Challenge.

I like it because it is organized. It tells you what you need to do each day to complete your daily goal.

Today was day 1 of week 1.

This weeks goals are: 1. Track your food for at least 3 days
2. Do 1 - 10 minute bootcamp workout video (free on their
site) each day.
3. Do an additional 10 minutes of cardio for five days
4. Track your workouts


On another note, I weighed in today....and drum roll please...dadadaaaad:

3 lbs gone!

That brings my total to 54 lbs.

I am definitely not the same person I was before...on the outside or on the inside.

I feel like a caterpillar who has turned into a butterfly and is ready to be set free!

I love knowing their are so many opportunities out there and the fact that I never know what tomorrow might bring.

Life is GOOD!

I Want to Be in the Parade.....

It happens the same time every night, or should I say morning. Would you consider 3AM in the middle of the night, or early early morning? It doesn't matter..night, morning...I should be asleep at 3AM.

But I wake up with all these thoughts bombarding my mind. Things I have been feeling, things I want to say....they are all there trying to compete with each other to win a spot on the next blogging post.

It seems to take me forever to clear my head and tell myself that it can wait and that I really need the sleep. After about an hour I will drift back into la la land, if only for an hour or so.

Just giving you a little background on where my blog title above and post came from. So, if it seems incoherent or just words rambling on, remember...it WAS 3:00 this morning.



I started thinking about life and how you can compare it to a parade. I want to be in the parade, not on the sidelines waving and watching it pass by.

I have been on the sidelines for far too long....43 years to be exact. Sitting, watching, and waiving and sometimes smiling...but most of the time envious of the people passing by me.

I don't want to sit on the side lines any longer. You remain in one spot and nothing ever changes except the parade.

I want to be in the parade. I want to have fun, wear bright colorful clothes, dance, sing, make people smile and laugh. The parade moves, it goes places, it sees new things, it enjoys new scenery.

When you are in the parade, you make yourself available to other people...you put yourself out there for everyone to see....

You cannot hide like you can when you are on the sidelines just trying to blend in with the crowd.

I don't want to watch life passing me by anymore....I want to LIVE my life. I want to ENJOY my life....I WANT TO BE IN THE PARADE!

You have a choice....you can sit on the curb and waive as the parade passes you by...or you can join in dancing and singing down the street.

What are YOU going to choose?

Headaches...

I have been having problems with headaches lately. Ones that just seem to go on for days. They are really putting a crimp into, well....everything!

I wake up with a headache, the last thing that is on my mind is climbing on to my bike and get moving. Any kind of bouncing, fast movement is out.

They just make me feel tired and after awhile, just plain cranky.

At first, I thought maybe I wasn't eating enough, so I amped up my calorie intake...but nope..headaches still there.

Next, maybe it's my pillow that I'm sleeping on. So I tried different pillows...nope, still there.

More sleep? Less sleep? Ack! This is driving me crazy!

But, night before last, I woke up around 2:00 am with an incredulous headache. Have you ever had one that wakes you up? My right side of my sinuses was completely stopped up and I could feel the pressure. Got up, took a couple of tylenol and some Mucinex.....and an hour later, my headache was gone!

It is back today, but I think the culprit is my sinuses. I did not sleep well last night and was too stubborn to get up and take something.

so, instead of riding my bike right now (like I should be doing), I'm going to finish up my posting, check out a couple of things on the ol' computer, and then go get ready for work.

I got in a great workout last night, about 1 1/2 hours. Hopefully, I will be re-energized tonight to get in a 1 1/2 to 2 hr workout as well.

Have a great Tuesday!
Angela (who is so ready to get back to my routine)

Some Questions that I Get Asked......

1. Question: How much weight have you lost?

Answer: I have lost a total of 49 lbs. Just 1 pound shy of 50.

2. Question: What diet plan are you following?

Answer: I do not follow any "diet" plan. I have changed my eating habits by eating healthier foods, more veggies and fruits, less sugars, sodium, and high calorie junk. Sodas have been cut out and have been replaced with 8 glasses of water a day. I am much more conscious of the foods that I am putting in my body.

3. Question: What made you decide to take on this new lifestyle?

Answer: The Ah-Ha moment was at the doctor's office Feb. 2010 when weighing in, I didn't even want to look at the number on the scale. I was thinking, "I hope the nurse doesn't say what my weight it. But no....You're weight is 205. Ugghh! That plus the fact that my blood pressure had to be taken twice...the first time it registered 200 / 148. Next time it was 185/148. That was life threatening! I decided that I didn't want to die and needed to make some serious changes in my life.

4. Question: How did you get started?

Answer: I read everything I could get my hands on about nutrition and healthy living. I didn't want to "diet", but really make a lifestyle change. I quit cold turkey and changed what I was eating. I started exercising by just walking around my house, walking in place, marching in place,
really putting more effort into my housework. I let people know at work what I was doing. I joined the gym, at my husband's insistance. I started watching "Biggest Loser" and was inspired by their courage and determination. I have read cover to cover several times "Biggest Loser, Six Weeks to a Healthier You". And Basically, I became my biggest fan.


5. Question: How much more weight do you want to lose and what keeps you motivated?

Answer: I want to lose 31 more pounds for a total of 80 pounds which would put me at 125. My doctor would be happy for me to reach 145. I know staying motivated is hard for some people. I like to hear/read stories of other people who have been where I am and have succeeded. I like the way I feel when I put on clothes that were once too small to fit into. I like it when my husband tells me I look sexy.

But more than that, I like the person that I have become - strong (physically and mentally), confident, and ready to tackle the world. I don't want to go back to the person I was before. The person who was just existing in life instead of living it.


Side Note: More questions and answers to come another day. Still need to get my Monday morning workout in before getting ready for work :)

Sorry...no mind blowing title today

Yesterday I took a break. Not just a break from blogging, but a break from everything in general.

It is very rare that I do not have some place that I have to be. So, yesterday, I just ENJOYED being at home. I did some cleaning, watched a movie, played around on the computer.

And....GASP....I even took a NAP!

I didn't ride my bike, I didn't workout to my fave DVD, and I didn't even lift any of my weights!

And guess what? The world didn't stop. I didn't wake up to find that I could no longer fit into my clothes. I didn't feel that I wanted to quit exercising.

I gave myself permission to have some down time. My body needed it. My mind needed it. And isn't that what it's all about - listening to your body and learning to trust what it is telling you?

Today, feeling much more rested and ready to go, I got my 6 mile stationary bike ride in first thing this morning, planned my menu and grocery list for the week, and took care of some house cleaning that still needed to be done. I'm about to head out to the grocery store for my weekly grocery shopping. And then, who knows? I might go the gym, or I might stay home and workout to the DVD or get some weight lifting in.

Happy Weekend!

My Sleep Problem Last Night.....

I re-wrote the title of today's post no less than five times.

Let me first say that this post really doesn't have anything to do with sleep. Tracking my food is the real culprit. I have been pretty lax when it came to actually writing down what I have eaten during the day and coming face to face with what I am actually putting into my body. I kinda new what was going in, the amount of calories, yadda, yadda, yadda. Why would I need to keep track of it...I'm doing perfectly fine....or so I thought.

So, a couple of days ago, I decided I would be more consistent in journaling my food, along with calories and nutrtional value. I answered a few questions to set my nutritional goals. Goal for calories, carbs, fats, and proteins which are necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Each one of these is needed in your eating plan in order for your body to function properly. You shouldn't cut any of these completely out of your eating plan.

After tracking my food for just two days, it has come to my attention that I am depriving my body of necessary items it desperately needs. I thought I was doing great...but my calorie intake is too low. Too low of all things!

Did you know that when your calorie intake is too low that your body will go into survival mode? This means that your body thinks that it is starving, that there is not enough food for it to function. It will then start holding on or storing what little it has so it can keep on going. So, really instead of losing weight ....you will see that you might even gain weight at this point.

You really DO have to eat in order to lose weight.

Okay...back to post title. The last thing I did last night before going to bed was to enter in my last snack of the night and run my daily nutrition report. Yes, it came up short - again.

All night long, that is all I dreamed about...tracking food...how many calories...etc, etc, etc. I woke up this morning and thought..."I can't believe I have been thinking about food all night long!"

Yes, I'm sleepy this morning. Yes, I'm going to continue to track my food. Yes, I'm going to post the progress.

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday...gott go and try and get some exercise in before heading off to work!

Routines and an Update

I am a routine kind of person. I have always been. I like routines and lists. I will make a list for everything, from grocery shopping to cleaning, from dinner menus to bill paying. My husband has even made fun of me for this habit...but hey, its what works for me.

My eating and exercising really is no different. I try and make a plan for each day. If you have followed my food log on the side bar, you have probably noticed by now that my breakfast and first snack are usually the same everyday, oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast and a banana for snack. It's what I like and I don't get bored with it. When I get up, I don't even have to think about it, its just automatic.

I try and eat during the day around the same time each day...it just seems to help me stay on track. Like I said before, its not even something I think about now, it is just done as a habit (a good habit).

Exercise is almost the same way...but I do change it around a bit. I try to get it in before work, during lunch break (if I don't have errands to run), and again at home after work.

I love routines. Did I already say that? Having a routine helps me stay focused on whatever task is at hand.

People are different. I know some that like to fly by the seat of their pants, and that works for them. What works for one person may not necessarily be the best way for the other. You just gotta find your own pace.

Now for an update....Yesterday, I was one pooped puppy. I thought I was tired the day before riding in a car for 12 hours, 800 miles, 3 kids and 1 husband (who would only stop twice..Grrr). But it really must have caught up with me yesterday. I did five loads of laundry and got them all put away except one.

Because I committed to start my 5K training yesterday (see earlier post), I went to the gym and the family tagged along. They went to the pool while I stayed inside and proceeded with my workout.

The first day of week one indicates warm up by walking briskly for 5 min. Then you are to alternate run for 60 sec and then walk for 90 sec. You do the alternating for 20 minutes. That went great...no problem! Yay!

After that, I was eyeing those dastardly eliptical machines (The Machines of Death). "Hmmm", I thought. "There is no one else in here, I'll give it another chance."

I figured, why not. I'm already sweaty. If anyone comes along, it'll look like I've been on this thing for awhile! (Yeah, I know..deception, not my proudest moment). Anyway, I climbed on and got it started moving. Looked at the direction for the arms. Did I want my arms to push or to pull. Decisions, decisions. I think I must have been thinking on that way too long. Oh heck, just push the button already! Now, I don't even remember what I chose. So off I go! Still on level one...but I'm doing it. I decide to just shoot for 5 minutes. I didn't seem as difficult this go around as the first time. But 5 minutes was enough for me. When I looked at the display at the end of my 5 minutes....I had burned 14 calories. 14 CALORIES...are you kidding me...was that all? . SIGH. I WILL do better next time. Yes, I said next time. I will master that eliptical machine...I am now on a mission!

After that, I did go and do a little strength training...arms and legs.
Then enjoyed sitting out by the pool with my husband while we watched the kids play in the pool.

At home, hubby cooked dinner. I was the last one to finish eating and it was all I could do to keep my head from falling onto my plate. I was going to try and get 5 miles of biking in....but opted to go to bed instead. I was instantly asleep when my head hit the pillow. Ahhhh....

I am on a Journey, Not in a Race

I have had this blog title rolling around in my head for quite some time now. There are mornings when I hop in the shower after working out, and there it is, just floating in my brain. Funny the things that you think about in the shower. My mind would start drifting away thinking of what I wanted to say. And now that I'm actually writing, I can't seem to remember what I discussed with myself during those thought filled showers.

So, I'm just going to shoot this one from the hip.




There are some who look at losing weight the same way as running in a race. You have a starting place and a finish line and the quicker you get past the finish line, the better. A race can usually be a fairly short distance. It's usually on level ground (think running track), and your focus is simply to get past the finish line and do it in the shortest amount of time possible. You don't look to your left or right..you don't notice anything around you. Again, you just want to get to the finish line.

What do you think of when you say "journey". To me, there is no time limit. There are hills and valleys to cross...ups and downs. You have time to think, to observe, to learn and to understand. When you are on a journey, you are not focused on crossing a finish line, because there isn't one to cross. When you are on a journey, your focus is not just on that final number where you want to be, but everything else in between that will get you there.

I am on a journey...I don't know when or if it will ever be over...only I get to decide that...not a line drawn somewhere with the words "Finished" painted on it.

I am on a journey...I know that there will be bumps along the way, but it will not stop me.

I am on a journey...I know that I can't do it alone, I need help and support.

I am on a journey...I can take the time and get to know me again.

I am on a journey...I know time is not a factor.

I am on a journey...I will learn to use this time wisely and make good choices.

I hope your journey takes you to new, wonderful and exciting places!

Just a Little This and That

So yesterday, I didn't post any now pictures. I know, I know...the before pics don't do any good with out a now pic to compare it to. I had every intention of posting one. Even had my stepson take a picture of me. But when I looked at it, honestly, I felt a little disappointed. Did I really look like that? I deleted the picture and vowed to try again another day thinking maybe a different outfit will make me look better.

I used my DVD - Dance Off the Inches yesterday morning. It's a 30 minute DVD and boy was I sweating when it was done! But I felt so good when I was through. I think I'm finally getting the hang of the DVD and I can do it all the way through without having to stop and catch my breath - progress.

I had had planned to go to they gym during my lunch and get on the treadmill. I never thought I would miss being on the treadmill, but I do. Unfortunately, I packed my gym clothes and conveniently left them on the kitchen table. Sigh.

After getting home from work, I made dinner for me and the kids...veggie soy burgers for the two vegetarians and turkey burgers for me and step-daughter. I had put all the fixins on the counter. When I asked step-daughter if she wanted anything on her burger, she wanted to know if she could have bacon. I don't know what it is with that girl and bacon. That is all I hear about is how much she loves bacon.

I rode 11.5 mile on the stationary bike, and worked up another good sweat. I used to hate to sweat. But now, when I do, I think, "Wow, I must be working really hard."
It's a great feeling.




I've been trying to get in more water during the day. I really need to start logging my water intake to see how much I'm really getting. I'm also trying to make sure that I get enough raw vegetables and fruit in everyday. You know, it's really not that hard. Eating this way is becoming more and more of just a habit...a habit I plan on continuing.

Let's see, anything else.....oh yeah. I have my second meeting with the personal trainer during my lunch today. All I know is that he said he was going to some bootcamp thing this past weekend and he wanted to incorporate some of that today. So, I have no idea what I'm in for. I am glad to have someone to really push me to my limit.

I have had tendonitis in my ankle so I just need to watch it and keep it iced when needed and take some ibuprofen. I'm determined not to let it slow me down or keep me from getting my exercise in.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Hope everyone has a great day.