Compare & Contrast and my Famous Recipe!

Lately my friends have been begging me to give them an idea of what it means to be down (at the time 70lbs) sooooo here's my comparison shot as of last week:

The picture on the left was taken the day before my surgery, 7-9-12. The picture on the right was taken last week, 9-14-12. Big difference so far! I am glad I made this pic, it really helps me see how far I've come because I forget so quickly and get caught thinking about how much much further I have left to go. The reality is, I've lost just a smidge under 1/3 of my entire body weight! That's so fantastic! All of my HARD WORK is paying off! I'm exercising EVERY DAY! (Well, 6 days) Sometimes I'm doing it twice a day. I've built up to 4 miles each way...so I alternate. Some days I will walk 4 miles and go home to either a Leslie Sansone Walk at Home DVD, TurboFire Greatest HIITs (High Intensity Interval Training) from Beachbody DVD or 45 minutes of playing Just Dance on the Wii. Sometimes I will just walk the neighborhood twice and get in 8 miles that day...in addition to whatever errands I'm doing. Here's my awesome recipe I handed out to my Weight Loss Support Group this morning: Crock Pot Chili (feel free to tweak it to your needs, this is just a base!) Ingredients 1.5lbs ground beef 1tsp tumeric 1c chopped onion 1c taco seasoning 2 bay leaves 2tsp cumin 2tbsp chili powder 1tbsp minced garlic 1tsp salt 1tsp pepper 1tbsp paprika 1tsp red cayenne pepper 28oz canned tomatoes (your choice) 1 dash of red pepper flakes 1 can EACH: dark & light kidney beans, pinto beans & black beans Optional: various colored bell peppers, chopped Directions: *Tip: Spray your Crock Pot with Non-Stick Spray for EASY clean up! Brown the beef, add taco & other seasonings, then put into your Crock Pot. Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the kidney beans. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours OR on high for 5 to 6 hours. Stir occasionally. Add your kidney beans about 90 minutes before serving. ENJOY! :) (You can sprinkle cheddar cheese on top & add a dollop of sour cream!) Hope you have a great weekend! As always, THANK YOU FOR READING! :) Until next time...

10 Weeks Out & Haters Hating!

Hey everyone, my laptop is acting up, so that's why I haven't been on updating as much as I'd like. But, as usual, I'm full of pictures & stories! First of all: I am 10 weeks out and currently weigh 321; I'm down 66lbs! Here's how I looked on Sunday for my son's birthday party :)

Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I just get SO DOWN on myself! This entire process is so hard, mentally and physically. No matter how much I try to keep positive, I still slip. Since I'm having a tough time with food, I have found myself feeling as though I should be seeing more results since I'm basically not eating yet exercising definitely 5 days a week, but usually 6 days. What I constantly forget is that the scale doesn't remind me of all the INCHES I'm losing off of my body. That's what's so complex about this entire ordeal. My clothes feel looser, some more than others, and yet there are some items that are tight 28's while I own 26's that are now falling off! Confusing! It's a matter of time before this is just a distant memory. Anyway, my body mass is completely different. In fact, I found some pictures on my digital camera that completely put it into perspective for me, I'll be putting those up soon! ;) Speaking of distant memories... I can't wait until I reach that "ideal" weight and am where I want to be so all the people who continue to talk bad about me behind my back while smiling in my face can REALLY stick my success in their juice box and suck it!

This is me tonight. I hadn't exercised this morning but I was fired up earlier after hearing some more MOTIVATIONAL WORDS from a friend of mine about a mutual acquaintance. Because once again, it's a family member that can't help but continue to spread rumors & say hateful things about me, it does hurt a little bit but I always suck it up and use it to motivate me to be better!Seriously, while I'm out walking, I think about all the mean & hurtful things people have said about me to keep me buzzing along! Anyway, I wrote myself a little sign and took it on my walk this evening! :) Here's the thing, I've been hearing that "easy way out" phrase again from multiple people. It never, ever will make sense to me how people can honestly believe that bariatric patients are taking the "easy way out". This isn't a diet. It's an entire lifestyle change. So while they can continue to try diets to compete with me, please remember that I can lose my fat but you can't get rid of the ugly in your soul! (Just sayin'!) This surgery is PERMANENT! It's not just a fad or phase I'm going through. I may not be a size 12 yet but the difference between me & them is I WILL DEFINITELY REACH MY GOAL...BECAUSE I AM DETERMINED AND THAT IS WHAT THIS SURGERY DOES!

If you are trying to start getting fit then please know that it's not easy, it definitely takes dedication and hard work. You have to be serious to get results! Once you get to that point where you HONESTLY are READY ... NOTHING CAN STOP YOU! I'm a perfect example: I have been trying to get this surgery since 2007. Granted, I had to endure some extreme changes (gave up my 5 bedroom house, my car, both my jobs and my comfort zone!) but I did it because ultimately I chose LIFE. Not just a new life for myself, but I wanted to live for my son and for every person around me who makes me smile or giggle. I want to be here to help others feel that incredible excitement of stepping on a scale and NOT wanting to break it! I'm definitely loving that cliche' saying "If I can do it, YOU CAN DO IT!" but it's so apropos! ( ap-ruh-poh ; it means fitting, at the right time, to the purpose, opportunely ) I want to discuss something I've been going through. My eyelashes have been breaking & falling out and my hair is changing! When I was growing up, my hair was brown and straight. As I hit puberty, it became jet black and super curly. Most of you who know me would recognize me by my long, curly hair! Now, it's straightening out again. But it's in this in-between phase and is such a pain to deal with. I really miss my curls actually. So I find myself putting it in buns because I can't do anything with it. As for the eyelashes, I really don't know what to say about that. I've always had nice, long thick lashes. None of which I can identify with anymore. I don't know if this is related to the surgery or not. I really have no clue. OH that reminds me, next week I am going back to Augusta for another EGD so my surgeon can check my pouch and make sure there's nothing wrong with it. My nutritionist spoke to him about my emails asking for help finding foods I can tolerate. I didn't write her anything mean, just was being honest. I hope she didn't take them the wrong way. At least I'm getting it checked out though! Of course, I'll let y'all know what happens! Thank you for reading this. Thank you for encouraging me. You may not know it and I may not know you. But I watch the "views" and every time it goes up, it validates that I'm doing the right thing by sharing the REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES I am going through. So THANK YOU, you inspire ME. Final Thought:

Until next time...