Excusiology

So its 10:15PM and I just got off the treadmill. Sometimes the day just slips away but if you want something bad enough you'll stay up and do it. Did 3 miles tonight in just under an hour. Feels good to exercise and to be committed. Despite the blisters, the heat rash, the pain in my knees, the sweat and tears (yep..sometimes I cry while I workout watching Biggest Loser)...IT STILL FEELS TOTALLY WORTH IT!!

I have this word that I invented. The word is "excusiology" it is the art of making excuses (I know that _logy means the study of, but I invented the word, so no comments on my latin suffix using). I am always preaching to people that you make time for the things that are important to you. Actually quite a few people use this word; it must of rubbed off on a few family members and friends. I find it funniest when the people that use it are the people that I invented it for. LOL. Somebody once told me that if you want to see what is important to you, look at your bank statement and your day planner. Where you spend your time and money is what you value and it is what's most important to you. Funny how this word that I made up to ridicule other people has came back and bit me in the butt. That actually kind of happens a lot. Looks like I can't make excuses anymore! I value myself, I value my health and I know I'm going to value being thin; guess I better make time to pack lunches, plan meals and workout.

Losing Weight Saved her Life

I belong to a professional society, East TN Healthcare Executives and we meet quarterly. Our last meeting was in March and I was unable to attend because it was the night before I had Reese. Last night was my first meeting back and even though I am still off work, I figured I better attend since I am the President. Which brings me to the first reason for this post. Not to toot my own horn but I am the youngest president ever for this group and the room is filled with people that are all more professionally advanced than me. They are all executives...I just want to be an executive someday. Why is it that I feel so driven, so motivated and able to accomplish almost anything I have ever wanted; whether it be at work, or at home or with my business but when it comes to losing weight I just haven't been able to do it. It is so frustrating to me. I am really hoping to do this though as I know it will help me in all the other aspects of my life. While we would hope people aren't prejudice toward obese people, they are (even I am sometimes). As I looked around the room last night at all the executives, there was not one that was obese and only a few that are overweight.

Anyway..none of that was the true reason for my post. The reason for my post is that I was talking to another colleague at the meeting and noticed that she had lost weight. I never had noticed that she was really overweight at all, she always seemed to be normal weight and in shape, she just has a petite frame. She said that she had recently trained to run a marathon and had joined weight watchers. She had lost 50 pounds. My mouth hit the floor because I never would of guessed that she even had 50 to lose. While talking with her I noticed that she had a bandage on her chest and I knew that she had recently had surgery. Feeling comfortable with our friendship, I asked her what was going on. She told me that she was diagnosed with severe breast cancer and had recently had a port put in (a port is something that is surgically implanted for chemotherapy, that way they dont have to stick you with an IV every time you come in). She told me that she was scheduled for a double mastectomy and would begin chemotherapy today; after the meeting she was going home to shave her head. I was in shock; especially knowing that she was under the age of 40. I asked her how she had found it. Had she had a mammogram, did it run in her family, etc. She said that after losing all the weight, she did a regular breast exam and found a mass the size of an egg. She then looked at me and said, "Losing weight saved my life". She has a great attitude. She was so funny. She said that people have asked her if she has lost weight due to the cancer. Her response was, "Hell no, don't take that away from me, I trained hard, I dieted hard, I deserve every pound that I lost...don't you dare try to give credit to cancer".

This entire conversation was hard for me to swallow. A young colleague that I would have never thought even needed to lose weight, to hear her make that kind of statement. So powerful. I told her that I had joined Weight Watchers and she was very encouraging and said that it will work if you stick to it. I am going to pray for my friend and I ask that you would to. She has a tough road ahead. Just another reason to brand into my mind how important this really is.

Should I tell the world??

So those of you that are reading my blog are a privileged group as I have not told very many people. Everyday I get more confident though and tell someone else. There are probably about 20 people that now know about it. The reason for not telling everyone (i.e. linking to others blogs, Facebook, etc) has been because I am embarrassed. My blog is very honest and it has pictures of that damn scale. I didn't want anyone to know the numbers on the scale.

The other day I was talking to a friend and she said, "Cheryl, who cares what the number is on the scale and if they know how much it is. They have seen you, they know what you looked liked, so does it really matter if they know the number?" After pondering this I am starting to think that it doesn't matter, especially for those that have seen me. Now, I am not about to link it up to Facebook yet because there are several people on Facebook that havent seen me in 10 years but I am considering telling more people, like family and friends.

A few people have said that the more people that know, the more accountable I will be. That will probably be true so maybe I should let others in on the journey. I am scared to do it though. I am scared to be judged or to have people talk about me. That is why I picked who I picked at first. And while I would hope that none of my friends and family would be like that, we know that there will be a few that are. However, most of everyone that I have told so far, just seems to be supportive and it is nice to have a following and the support. It really does keep me going.

I will decide soon. Maybe I will tell more people once I reach 199. That doesn't sound quite as glutenous as 252. Arrggh. :(

Blog Award

So I decided to give out a blog award to my best follower. This person reads my blog daily and is the first to know about what I am up to. She sends me encouraging texts during my workouts, calls me frequently to check on me, gives advice, gives recipe ideas, workout ideas, she has been my biggest supporter so far. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all my followers and you have all been great. But..one person has been exceptionally supportive and deserves to be recognized.

Drum Roll please!! And the BLOG award goes to.....JORDAN!


Thanks for all your love and support! I appreciate all your encouraging words! You truly are a great friend.

Food Glorious Food

Some of the yummy food I am been eating. Trying to "EAT to LIVE" instead of "LIVING to EAT". There are actually a lot of good foods out there that you can enjoy with out neglecting flavor and satisfaction. Here are a few of the things I have been eating lately.

1) The breakfast sandwich: an english muffin, 2 egg whites, 1 slice low-fat cheese, 3 pieces shaved ham) only 4 points on weight watchers

2) Yoplait Smoothies. These are sold in the freezer section near the berries. All you do is put the bag in the blender with one cup of milk. It makes 2 servings. The triple berry and mango pineapple are both so yummy. My only beef with these is that one serving isn't quite enough and two servings is too much. I think a serving is only 2 points!

3) Homemade fries. So good and so healthy. To make a big batch you use 5 russet potatoes. Peel them and cut them evenly. I cut them into 12 slices per potato. Soak in water for 30 minutes to remove starch. Toss in 1 TBSP of olive oil and bake at 400 for about an hour, tossing occasionally to brown on all sides. These are awesome. You totally feel like you're cheating but you aren't. Really it is like eating a potato with less than a tsp of olive oil. Next I am going to try sweet potato fries.

4) Snacks: I am liking apples or celery with PB, oranges, carrots with low-fat ranch, roasted almonds, strawberries and chocolate. I keep forgetting to buy humus but that would be a good snack as well.

5) Subway: I actually love the veggie delight with honey mustard. I also like the turkey but if I need to save some points for another meal, I go with the veggie.

Weight Watcher Results: Week 4

2.2 pounds this week. Still feeling pretty good. Last night was the first time I felt a little deprived. We grilled Ribeye steaks and they were the best we had ever made. I had to cut mine in half and put the other half in the fridge. It was so yummy that I just wanted to scarf down the other half. I didn't starve though...LOL. And while it tasted good. Nothing can taste as good as skinny!

Four weeks down! It is actually going fast. Can't believe I have stuck to the program so well and not cheated for a whole month. The next big goal is to get to 207.9. That would be a 10% weight loss since I started Weight Watchers. There are many proven benefits to losing just 10%; including a healthier heart, decreased risk of type II diabetes, lower cholesterol, improved breathing, and an increase in energy.

Another week down. Here I go again. Happy Mother's Day!