Luna's Birthday

Luna is 1 year old today!!

Day 1 - October 12, 2019

(so tiny)

She's a total tortie.

 Sassy....

Vicious....

...Sweet.

I love her.

Onward

Hello! It's been a hot minute. 8 years. 96 months. 2,940 days. But who's counting?

EVERYTHING has changed.

#1 is that I'm off social media. It was a long time coming. I felt addicted. I didn't think I could actually step away. It hasn't even been a week and it feels like a loss - but also like freedom.

I thought restarting this blog could be a way to stay in touch. Or I could be sitting here on this beach all by myself. Either way - beautiful.

I sat with this idea all week - and the idea to revive this same blog - full of the past and history and things and some people who don't even exist anymore[for me]. Should I erase those past posts? Pretend they and the memories don't exist? I think the answer is obvious and I found it in the inspiration for "boffo panda" from Anne Lamott:“... I thought the secret of life was obvious: be here now, love as if your whole life depended on it, find your life's work, and try to get hold of a giant panda. If you had a giant panda in your back yard, anything could go wrong — someone could die, or stop loving you, or you could get sick — and if you could look outside and see this adorable, ridiculous, boffo panda, you'd start to laugh; you'd be so filled with thankfulness and amusement that everything would be O.K. again.”

Anything did go wrong and everything is okay. Again. 

I was a fairy, a wife, a dog mama, smaller, and more.

All these things happened to me ~ and for me. But mostly because of ME.

Onward! 

New Rule

This is the new rule at my house (and within earshot of me).

I'm practicing it for myself, for sure.

I didn't lose 72.5 pounds (and more to come) only to put myself down because of this, that or the other thing.{and I'm always gonna have a bigger bottom than top - it's just part of my sexy self}


And I don't want to hear people I love beating up on themselves either.

I will be enforcing this. With ruthless compassion.

I hope you will too.

xo

p.s. And it's more than "beating up on myself (or yourself). It's deflecting compliments or negating them by saying things like, "but I've got a lot more weight to lose".

AND it's 74 pounds now! :D

p.p.s. Let's include strangers in this too! Stop making judgements based on how someone looks. 

Surprising

This photo (taken this past Sunday, May 13) surprised me.

Usually I see a photo like this - and I ask the person to remove it from Facebook. I look at my face, and my body and then I usually need some time to myself.

The first thing I thought when I saw this was, "I look normal!".

Not that being overweight (which I still am) isn't normal. I just didn't have one bad thing to say or think (even with messy hair, no make-up and a spatula in my hand). It just is. And I love that girl.

Even more surprising was this photo I saw the other day. It was taken 1 month and 1 week before I started this weight loss journey.

Holy crap. This made me feel depressed for a few moments and then I got it. I've lost 72.5 pounds since this photo was taken.

I have. 

ME.

I DID THAT.

I am DOING THAT.

And nobody is more surprised than me.

Just Sayin'....

Here are some things to NOT say to someone who is losing/ has lost weight:
{not ALL of these have been said to me...}

* you look SO MUCH better
* you better slow down/stop now, you'll float away
* you better slow down/stop now, you'll lose your curves
* don't get too thin
* you skinny bitch


So, what are some things to say to someone who is losing/has lost weight?
{ALL of these have been said to me....}
* you're kicking ass at the weight loss!
* you look great, gorgeous!
* holy crap, you've lost weight!
* I'm proud of you
* you're inspiring


 Thank you for the love and support. It's making a world of difference for me. xo

Deep Thought for Today

"You will stop turning to food when you start understanding in your body, not just your mind, that there is something better...Truth, not force, does the work of ending compulsive eating."

—  Geneen Roth

Getting Unstuck

 

Here I am. 63 lbs lighter. I got a little stuck between 50-60 and had so much going on - family visits, birthdays, illness. 

I kept on trucking - just in a little bit of a lower gear.

I came up with an action plan last Monday to kick it into high gear (and then promptly got sick) but I'm back, baby. I'm back! 

My Action Plan:

* plan meals & eat them (i.e. Stay *ON* Program) ~ this has been part of my success since the beginning. To stop, think and plan ahead for what I'll eat the next day. Then I just eat that plan. 

* no going out to eat ~ this is part of the above and I'm just reeling it in a bit. I can easily find things to eat at restaurants but it's harder and much more tempting so I'll putting this on hold (for now).

* track days *on* program ~ I'm doing this like a good manufacturing plant: 123 DAYS ACCIDENT FREE. I don't know if this one will work for me, by I'm willing to try it. I know I haven't had caffeine, soda, sugar, and other things for 147 days. And knowing that it's been 147 days, it helps me to not have those days and have to start the count over

* read Life is Hard, Food is Easy by Linda Spangle ~ I'm reading a bit of this every day.

* Zumba 4-5 times per week ~ (as soon as I can stop coughing, I'm back on it!)

* walk Molly every day that it's not raining

* drink 100 oz. water per day ~ I've been really good with 80 and pushing it up to 100 now

* blog once a week ~ HELLO! :D

And adding in now - getting how freaking amazing I am. Every day. No matter what I weigh. 

xo