No More Plus Size … eventually

When we lose twenty pounds… we may be losing the twenty best pounds we have!  We may be losing the pounds that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty.  ~Woody Allen

Thank you to Lilly Fluffbottom for recently awarding me as a Beautiful Blogger! I love that she’s found me as a source of inspiration and thought highly enough of me to pass the award on

Beautiful Blogger Award

The rules of this award:

• Give it to 7 people
• Tell you 7 things about me you didn’t know

Ok let’s see…I’ll start with the 7 things about me you didn’t know:

1. For a couple years during college and after I left I had major episodes of binging and purging on a very regular basis. Thankfully I was lucky and when I started throwing up blood it scared me enough to make me stop.
2. Going along with number 1 above, I still occasionally struggle with wanting to binge and purge. It doesn’t happen often but there are times I want to just pig out & throw it all back up!
3. I’ve been engaged 3 times (twice to my son’s father) and never married.
4. I’ve turned into a gym rat and love love love the gym!
5. I’ve been a single mom since 6 days before Caleb’s 1st birthday
6. I hate bread crumbs in my butter
7. I have a certain way I put toilet paper on the toilet paper holder

Alright so now I get to pass the award onto 7 other bloggers!

1. Erin – She rocks! Nuff said.
2. Angie – I’ve known Angie for a long time and she’s always been a source of inspiration for me. She’s always encouraging and never has anything bad to say.
3. Angel – She’s a newbie to the blogging world but one of my closet offline friends. She’s amazing in so many ways and I just luv her!
4. Mary – Again she’s one of my closest offline friends and amazing in so many ways.
5. Michelle – I’ve only recently ‘met’ her but I love that her and her…I think it’s her husband are sharing this weight loss journey together. And I totally dig their blog name – Who Needs The Ranch (if you’re a Biggest Loser fan you’ll understand the name).
6. Jen – This girl rules! She is inspiration to me & just goes to prove that if you want something bad enough you can get there. She looks freaking AMAZING!
7. Momma Sunshine – She’s just a beautiful blogger! She writes from her heart and I love that. She’s funny and kind and just has a sweet spirit about her. Plus I’ve been following along on her love journey with another one of my fave bloggers Canadian Bald Guy and I just dig the both of them. Would so love to meet them in person!

Each one of these bloggers makes my life a little more special in different ways. They encourage me when I need it, push me when I need it and just support me when I need it. Thanks!

Wow I’ve now made it through this journey 20 weeks! That’s 5 months! Woot woot!Wow! Just goes to show that when you’re determined to do something and put your mind to it that you really can do it!

Updated Stats:

Last Week’s Weigh In: 229.2
This Week’s Weigh In: 257.2
Total Loss This Week: 2 lbs
Beginning Weight (1/4/2010): 313.2

Total Loss To Date: 56.4 lbs

I still can NOT believe how stinking good it feels to have hit the 250s!!!!! I know that means I’m still a fat girl but hello when you haven’t seen that number in YEARS it’s a pretty damn good feeling to finally see it!

How was your weigh in this week?

P.S. Don’t forget to check out how the Plus Size Bloggers are doing with their weight loss!

Yes yes I know it’s only May right now and November is off in the distance but I can’t wait for it to get here! My kiddo and I are hopping on a jet plane the end of November with my dad and sister and heading to Florida! Woot Woot!

I haven’t been to Florida since my son was 3! That was a looooong time ago! I haven’t been on an airplane in an even longer time – I was in 12th grade when I last flew on a plane (yeah I’m just a tad nervous about flying!).

We will be staying at what looks like a really incredible hotel – Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. We’re staying in what’s called a Two-Bedroom Vacation Home and it has some kick a** amenities!

• Three full bathrooms (definite plus considering there’s 2 girls – my sis & I! LOL)
• Master bedroom suite with king-size bed and connecting bathroom with whirlpool tub
• Second bedroom with separate bathroom and two queen-size beds
• Queen-size sofa bed and sleeper chair in living room
• Flat-panel TV and DVD player in living room, and flat-panel TV in master bedroom and the second bedroom
• Full kitchen includes: coffeemaker, dinnerware, glassware, flatware, pots and pans, microwave, toaster, stove, refrigerator, dishwasher and more
• Private balcony or porch
• pool overlooks beautiful Bay Lake and features a distinctive water slide, a shallow pool designed especially for younger children, and a separate, relaxing whirlpool spa.

Disney World is like just about right next store to us. We can walk from our vacation home to the tram thingy that will take us to Disney World! We’ll be spending Thanksgiving Day at the Magic Kingdom…how stinking cool is that????

I wish it was November! lol I’m so ready for a vacation. And yes I’m totally like a little kid at Christmas…I’m that excited ALREADY! Just wait until it gets closer to November!!!!

This is a guest post by Lisa Thomson who writes for Plus Size Survival.  It is part two in a five part blog tour.

I can’t afford to eat healthy.  I don’t have time to go to the gym. My family needs me. I need to get my sleep.  I can’t afford a gym and even if I could, I’m too big and out-of-shape to go. It doesn’t matter if I lose weight…I’ll still have to wear the same clothes because I don’t have money for new ones. I’ve failed before and I’ll fail again.

How many times have you said one of those phrases to yourself?  If you’re like me, chances are great that one or more of those phrases has been echoing in your mind for a long time.  And the sad truth of the matter is this:  Those excuses are just excuses. While there may be some underlying truth in each of them, most of them are things you can change.

In this series What’s Your Excuse?  Common Excuses That Keep Your From Losing Weight, I am going to focus on 5 of the most common excuses I hear that keep people from losing weight.  I’ll share the things I’ve learned that have turned those excuses around and have helped me shed over 35 pounds.

Common Excuse #2:  I can’t afford a gym.

Although it’s true that gym memberships can be expensive, you don’t have to join a gym to lose weight.  There are plenty of things you can do that don’t cost a lot of money!

Workout Videos – Workout videos can be purchased online or at a local retailer, borrowed from the library, streamed on Netflix, or borrowed from friends.  I’ve even been able to snag some great ones at garage sales.

Here are a few of my favorite workout DVDs that I have found for under $10.

• Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred
• Leslie Sansone – Walk Away the Pounds
• Any of the Biggest Loser Workout DVDs

Couch to 5 K Running Program – This program is designed to turn even the laziest of couch potatoes (or overweight non-exercisers like me) into a runner!  It’s a 2 month program that will take you from being a non-jogger to consistently jogging 3 miles (or 5k) in only 2 months.  I adore this program and got my whole family on board.  It was fun to watch all of us get stronger, run faster, and start to enjoy the process.

Take the Hundred Push-Up Challenge! Push-ups are a great full body exercise that work your shoulders, triceps, abs and torso.  This program is designed to get you all the way to 100 consecutive push-ups!

Make your own weights! You can use soup cans, water bottles, milk jugs filled with water, or anything else you can find around your house.

Use the Stairs! No, I don’t mean take the stairs instead of the elevator, I mean walk or jog up and down your stairs 3 times in a row (or 5 times).  Better yet, head out to your local high school stadium and take advantage of those steps.

Grab a friend or family member and take a walk! Don’t take a leisurely stroll, get those arms pumping and get that heart rate up.  This can be a great time to bond with someone you care about while taking care of yourself too!

You can totally do this!  Make exercise a priority in your life.  You’ll feel better and look better!

If you missed Common Excuse #1, check it out here.

So let’s see…

First here are two new weight loss pics
I just added to these pics to my ‘collection’. If you didn’t see my recent weigh in post I’m now down 54.4 pounds

So I still look at myself and see this FAT girl (you know I’m beginning to wonder if that perception of myself will ever change????) I’ve come really far and I’m so so proud of myself. I’m really trying to focus on NOT looking at the big number (total weight I have to lose) because that is so depressing and like my awesome friend Angie said this is a FOREVER journey anyways. It’s not just something that once I even reach my goal weight I’ll stop doing. I’ll be forever focusing/working on staying healthy and keeping the weight off!

But when I have moments like this and can’t stop seeing myself as the fat girl I pull out these photos to look at & I’m really reminded of how far I truly have come.

Before Pics:

I’ve kicked a** and attention whore or not I deserve to ‘brag’ about these accomplishments!

Second – Date Update

I had my second date with M on Saturday. We did dinner at one of my fave places to eat (which also coincidentally it’s hard to eat healthy at this place) La Senorita and then went and saw Date Night. I really like his personality – he’s goofy, fun loving, easy going and makes me laugh a lot.

We ended the evening with we definitely would like to see each other again we’re just now sure when our schedules will allow. It’s too hard to do anything during the week unless we meet for a quick lunch. Next weekend my best friend and her family is coming up for the long weekend so I’ll be with them all weekend.

So that’s that How was your weekend? Anything exciting going on?

Never eat more than you can lift.  ~Miss Piggy

I did my weigh in yesterday but forgot to post it. It was another BIG day for me! I’ve hit another huge milestone…the number on the scale is a number I haven’t seen since 2003 or 2004!! It seems silly to be so excited about hitting the 250′s but this is huge to me!

Week 19 Weigh In:

Updated Stats:

Last Week’s Weigh In: 261.6
This Week’s Weigh In: 259.2
Total Loss This Week: 2.4 lbs
Beginning Weight (1/4/2010): 313.2

Total Loss To Date: 54.4 lbs

I can’t believe how stinking good it feels to have hit the 250s!!!!! This has been my goal for YEARS and I finally did it! Yeah me!

How was your weigh in this week?

P.S. Don’t forget to check out how the Plus Size Bloggers are doing with their weight loss!

So I had a date today. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on one! I actually ‘met’ this guy on a dating site over a year ago and I wouldn’t go out with him back then because I was moving. On Sunday night I decided to make my profile viewable again on this dating site that him and I had met on before I moved. He emailed me a little while after my profile was viewable again so we emailed back and forth a couple times. He still had my number from before I moved so he called and we talked for quite awhile.

So anyways we had a lunch date today. Nothing spectacular we just met at my favorite place – Subway! Funny thing is I actually didn’t like my sub today! It was kind of dry. lol After Subway we met up again at Wal-Mart cause I had a few things I needed to pick up. How’s that for an exciting first date?

He paid for my lunch (uhm hello this was a date so he should have paid but I’ve been on dates before where the man did not pay), opened doors for me, asked if it would be ok to give me a goodbye hug. He was a complete gentleman and super sweet! The date went way better than I expected! I honestly was expecting the worst and had even considered canceling first thing this morning because (1) I was so nervous and (2) I just expected it to be bad. I’m so glad I did not cancel! And not that looks matter (well ok obviously there has to be an attraction there) but he is way better looking in person! The picture he had posted on his dating profile and the one he sent me via text did not do him justice!

So anyways as corny of a first date as it sounds like we had it was perfect! It was laid back, easy going, not too long, not too short and lots of fun! We both have goofy senses of humor (put it this way I asked what he would be driving so I knew when he got there and he said a Yugo with training wheels…maybe I find it funny because that’s a corny answer like I would give! lol) and I laughed a lot.

Oh yeah bet ya were wondering if he asked me out again weren’t ya?

Well he did. We’re going to go out Friday…well that’s the tentative plan anyway. We haven’t finalized details yet.

Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention that even he noticed I had lost weight! He said from the pictures he saw of before I moved last year to the new pics on my profile this year he could totally tell

This is what I had for breakfast today. It was super delicious and oh so filling!

Aside from it being super yummy it’s low in Weight Watchers points too. This whole meal was only 7 points.

• 3 egg whites – 1 point (with some green onions & mushrooms)
• cheese – 2 points (it was 3 points for 1 ounce of cheese but I didn’t use hardly any so I figured I’d count 2 points just to be on the ‘safe’ side)
• English muffin – 1 point (used a couple squirts spray butter which is 0 points
• Strawberries – 0 (you can have 8 strawberries for 0 points)
• Cantaloupe – 1

This is my new fave breakfast! I was eating a bowl of Special K or Koshi Go Lean cereal in the mornings – well sometimes. I’m not a huge breakfast person.