This Week - The Good The Bad & The Ugly!

01/30/20

The Good - I started Zumba this week and have done it 3 times since Sunday! And I cleaned for 6 hours on Monday. So my exercise has increased by leaps and bounds!

The Bad - My weight once again is all over the place! On Wednesday I was up to 253.6 pounds! I didn't take a photo as I was just frustrated!


The Ugly - I stuck to the low carb diet on Tuesday. But fell off the wagon on Monday & Wednesday. I cleaned all day Monday, helping a friend again and got home and just ate what I wanted. Almost 3000 calories that day. Then yesterday I was at home working and just gave into temptation and had over 3000 calories!!

Moving Forward - Clearly I am way to emotional when the scale bounces all around. So I weighed in this morning to have a baseline. I was 252.8. I am going to stick to less then 100 grams of carbs per day and not weigh in for at least a week and see where I am at next Thursday.

Onward!

If At First You Don't Succeed, Try Try Again!

I woke up very frustrated this morning! So I began to read more this morning about carbs, calorie burn and more. I feel like I have a new good plan. I figured out what my average carb intake has been since I started on January 2nd. I averaged 226 carbs per day! I think if I can get this lowered to under 100 it should (key word here) help. So that is my goal this week.

Per my new scale my BMR is 1400 calories. So when doing my calculations, light activity (exercise 1-3 times a week) is 1400 x 1.375 which equals 1925 calories I burn per day. Moderate activity (exercise is 3-5 days per week) is 1400 x 1.55 which equals 2170 calories I will try to use this information to optimize my calorie intake.

With this information I will try to move forward and start fresh today. I'm really hoping to drop some weight this week. Like I said, this has been a frustrating couple of weeks but it doesn't mean I want to quit, I just need to figure out what is going to work! Onward...

Up AGAIN!!

01/26/20 - I can't believe I am up again. 251.2. I have been trying so hard for the last 3 weeks!! Yes, the first week was good but the last 2 weeks have been beyond frustrating for me! I won't lie. I am disheartened, discouraged and disappointed!  I am an active person and very rarely sit on my butt all day! I exercise at least 2 times a week on top of being active throughout the day.

I want to add a couple of  more days of exercise into the mix, but honestly, I don't think that is the problem. The reality is, I think I need to cut back on my carbs. I have read that as women get older they don't process carbs the same and carbs can make it difficult to lose weight.

I tried this before, so I guess I will revisit the idea. But first I am going to try to just cut back. I'm not sure that I could go on a Keto diet and stay on it with only 50 or less carbs. Plus hopping off a Keto diet it not an easy process and has to be done slowly. But if I can lose weight staying under 100 or 150 per day, I can live with that.

I started my morning off with 2 orders of scrambled eggs at McDonalds. I hope to get to the store today so I can have eggs handy at work. It will save me $4 per day!! I love eggs so I don't have a problem with this.

I have a poor kids mentality. My mom had a lot of mouths to feed and so we tried not to waste food. I just bought some of my burritos I love for lunch and don't want to not eat them to ultimately throw them out. So my compromise one burrito with 33 carbs and one protein bar or shake with it.

Dinner I will have a normal meal with lots of vegetables. I don't want to alter eating a normal diet with my family. So as I was doing, I will stick to small portions of our main entree and lots of veggies with it!

Let's hope I have a better week. Fingers crossed!!

Not Much Happening Here

1/25/20 - Well my weight didn't do much . I actually figure I am up about a  pound from last Saturday. My old scale said 249. My new one 249.8.

So where do I go from here. Will after lots of article reading I am going to try to up my protein. Article after article about trying to lose weight during pre-menopause states that one key element is eating plenty of protein! 

Geez I wish this was easier.....

Up Just A Tad

01/24/20 - I am up just a tad this morning. By .02 on my new scale. I was 249 on my old. I weighed a few times and it continued to jump around. Not too surprised. I am feeling a little bummed this week about how my weight really has gone no where and I have been trying really hard.

I will keep my chin up and soldier on because I need to. I can't quit! Hopefully with this new scale I will have better consistancey and a sense of where I am really at and will finally see some REAL results!

My Old Scale Is The Cause Of My Insanity!

01/23/20 - Ok, so the fluctuations I have been dealing with over the last 2 weeks have been driving me a bit crazy! Especially the large jumps up and down!

So this morning I wanted to weigh on my old scale and my new one so I can figure the difference between the 2. I weighed in first on my old scale at:

I was like, holy cow! I dropped! Hopped on my new scale and was 249.4! What?! 6 pounds difference. That seems like a lot even between two scales. So I hopped on my old one again and got this:

Ok, now I am higher. What the heck. So I tried one more time and put the scale back where it was originally in the bathroom for good measure. I had moved it over slightly because of the new scale. And this popped up!

Ok really?! This is annoying! I hopped on a couple more times and it stuck with the 248.6 so I am sticking with that number! We got this old scale from someone who left it in storage. Plus, my son has been caught playing on it more then once! My new scale fluctuated a little. By just .02 so not bad. But after trying the new scale a few times this was the number that came up pretty much every time. 

So about a 1/2 pound difference from my other scale. I will use the old and new scale Saturday morning as one final reference but will switch over to the new scale only after that. 

I always have had fluctuations in my weight but the past couple of weeks have been really frustrating. Especially the large jumps up and down like I mentioned earlier. So I am really hoping I will get better consistency with this new scale. I know I will fluctuate as I did when I used my WII, but hopefully not by 5 pound increments in a day anymore! LOL!

New Smart Scale!

01/22/20 - I was very excited to receive the new smart scale I ordered on Amazon yesterday!

I weighed in on the new scale last night at 256.2 and on my old scale at 253.0. So about a 3 pound difference. I only weighed last night because I was anxious to see how it works! Boy, does it tell you a tone of info! Here is a screenshot of the app and all my stats.

With all my fluctuations I was hoping this would give me a look at the bigger picture of my overall health rather then just weight. I am really happy with it. You can have multiple users with multiple phones. When using it, the other users in the house just need to make sure their app is closed when someone else uses the scale so it doesn't get confusing. Here is a link to the scale on Amazon. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1UX8RW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Day 21 - Back up....

So I weighed in this morning and was just above 249 again. I just hopped off and didn't even take a picture. These fluctuations are just plain annoying. I won't lie, it frustrates the heck out of me. I did eat out yesterday but did well calorie wise but I'm sure there is some sodium at play here.

Once Saturday arrives I am going to try to stick to weighing in just once a week. Watching my weight go up and down is just to frustrating for me! But I will keep on going on and cross my fingers for a good number Saturday morning!

Here are my stats from yesterday. I a few "treats" yesterday but kept my calories low and my fat % below 30%. So I didn't do too bad.

Day 20 - Down Just A Little Bit More

1/21/20 - I dropped just a little bit more this morning.

Stats For 01/19/20

I want to begin sharing my daily stats on the blog so I have an easy reference to see how I do everyday. Rather then taking 2 screen shots, I will just take the one which will at least show my dinner every night. Since I tend to eat the same things everyday for breakfast and lunch I am not to worried about showing that here. What I'm really looking for are calories in and out and my macronutrients which is shown on the screen shot below.

I had a decent day yesterday. My calories were a bit on the high side as I struggled with having the nibbles yesterday afternoon and you can see by the list of my afternoon snacks. But I didn't crash and burn. I still kept my goal of being under 35% fat and I still burned more then I ate.

Day 19 - A New Goal This Week

So I am down this morning to 249.2. Since I was 248 as of Saturday. my hope is to be below 248 by this Saturday.  I'm going to stop expecting to drop down to 245.4 again quickly so I can take the pressure, that I'm putting on myself, off! I have to realize I had a great jump start in the beginning! But now I have to except that the weight loss will take time and I need to be patient! 

Now my goal is just to go down each week. No matter how small the amount. 

Loooove my new crockpot! Crock Pot Fajitas

I love my new crock pot! I got it last year but really just recently started using it a lot!

It has one large pot and 2 small ones. Tonight I cooked some beef in taco seasoning in the large pot with onion and peppers in the smaller pots for some delicious slow cooked fajitas!

I am becoming the crock pot queen! I will share recipes here on the blog as I make them. I love that I can cook a main dish and up to 2 sides.

Crock Pot Fajitas

1 Pound of sirloin steak
1 tsp oil
Salt & pepper
1 package of Taco Seasoning
2 small  bags of frozen red and green peppers
1 large onion
2 cups water
1 package tortillas

Garnishes
Lettuce
Sour cream
Avocado
Shredded Cheese
Tomatoes
Salsa

Season steak with salt and pepper. Add oil to skillet. Cook steak a couple minutes on each side to  sear on each side. Once brown place in crock pot. Mix taco seasoning with 3/4 cups of water. Poor over steak. If using a 3 pot slow cooker add onions to one of the small pots and pepper in the other. Add 3/4 cups of water to the pepper pot and 1/2 cup of water to the onion pot. Place both pots on low as well.

If you are using one pot add all vegetables to the pot with the steak  and the remaining  1 1/4 cups of water. Pull apart steak and stir when ready to serve. Warm tortillas, add steak and veggies and desired condiments.  Enjoy!!

Reminding Myself....

....that I am doing the right things!

Muscle repair, inflammation and water retention are factors and fluctuations can be up to 10 pounds at a time! 

From the earlier article link I shared: 

Have you been exercising and eating clean, but when you step on the scale, it says you've gained a few pounds? While it can be easy to let a higher number on the scale screw with your head (especially if you feel you've been doing all the 'right' things), it isn't cause for panic. 

Weight Gain from Muscle vs. Fat

The scale says nothing about your fitness level or body composition.

As noted above, the scale can't tell you how much of your body weight is muscle versus fat, which means if your goal is to improve your fitness level, it's not the best tool for measuring improvements. (Related: 10 Ditch-the-Scale Ways to Tell If You're Losing Weight)

"If someone is trying to improve their fitness, they should ignore the scale and pay more attention to objective measurement tools like body composition to track their progress," Dolgan says.

While weighing yourself can be one way to track your progress, it shouldn't be the only way. And it certainly isn't worth obsessing over with daily weigh-ins (and, as a result, fretting about gaining weight while working out and eating healthy). Don't forget, Dolgan says, losing pounds on the scale does not mean that you are more fit—it just means you are lighter, which doesn't mean much at all. And keep in mind that if you're exercising but gaining weight, it could be that your workouts are effective, but you need to get your diet in check to see weight loss results. (That's just one of the reasons you aren't losing belly fat.)

Day 18 - Mad @ The Scale Right Now! But I'll Get Over It!

1/19/20 - Weighed in this morning to only be back up to 250! Ugh, I think I may have to go to weighing in less often but for now I will keep doing it daily until I see the extra weight drop off! I have to stay positive and know that I am doing all the right things and the weight WILL follow!

And you know what? Even if I am not dropping weight, I am eating better, I feel better and I am better hydrated! I am also making more efforts to move and get out there and do fun things for exercise!

We went ice skating last night. I was a bit rusty as we only went once last year and I just learned about 5 years ago when I lost a bunch of weight. Well I hit the ice pick on my skate and took a good fall. My knee is pretty banged up but I will live! LOL

Do I have any theories of why my weight jumped up again? Who knows but the only 2 factors I can think of is the extra activity could have caused it as I was using muscles I hadn't used in awhile. The fall with the knee injury could definitely cause inflammation and I ate out for lunch yesterday and had a few extra calories. Usually I eat around 1500 calories per day, but I had 2255 yesterday. Being my day off I don't mind that now and then as long as I keep my fat down and not go over too much. 

Bottom line is I always have issues with fluctuations in weight. I have for years. But with pre-menopause symptoms added to that I am sure it will only get worse. So I just have to grin and bear it and move on. After this week, I will go back to once a week weigh ins, probably. But this week I still want to closely monitor my progress so I can better understand my weight fluctuations, even if it sometimes hard for me to see the number go up as often as it does. I need to learn to not take it as a failure and understand it's normal for my body to do so.  

Lots of notes and figuring out how my body reacts to different situations is key! I can do this!! 

Day 17 - Slowly I Creep!

Down to 248 this morning! My total loss is 11 pounds. I am up 1.2 pounds from last Saturday's weigh in with my Facebook group. I have kept off 11 of the 12.2 pounds I lost as of last Saturday.  I'd say that is a win considering I lost that in just over a week!

The goal for this week? Get back to 245.4!! Since I know I was just there, I know it's in arms reach! I have to stay focused and continue to talk myself through the tougher times! 

Day 16 - Rough Day - But Victory In The End!

1/17/20 - Yesterday I had a bit of a tough day! I woke up, weighed myself and was still stuck at 249.4. I started to doubt the process and my impatience was kicking in. But I soldiered on and went on with my day.

Just a few hours into the morning I began to crave stuff I hadn't ate in the last 2 weeks. Yes, it has been exactly 2 weeks since I started on January 2nd already! I haven't really had much trouble with this until yesterday. I am guessing probably my period caused the increased cravings. I had to go to Saratoga Springs yesterday afternoon and didn't give into those cravings and that is saying something since I was out and about. I had a salad at Moe's and my snack afterwards was 2 boiled eggs for some extra protein! 

I am proud of myself, even with the self doubt and the cravings I didn't falter! I stuck to the plan and did what I was supposed to do! This morning thankfully I was down another pound! Just 3 pounds to go to get back to 245.4 which is what I weighed on Monday morning! Onward....

Vacation - 1 Month From Today!

01/15/20 - We are headed for a week of vacation on February 15th! We are renting a house on a lake in Maine and are very excited. This will be a family fun vacation to play games, build Legos, watch movies and more! Yes, we will get out and about, probably do some snow shoeing and ice fishing while we are there. We are close to Portland, ME so I am thinking we will spend some time there, too!

Vacations are one of my worst times for gaining weight! From all the eating out,  and loss of focus usually half way into the week, it tends to be tough for me. But I'm determined to have a great time and not sweat sticking to my new eating plan! What strategies will I use to help maintain my new habits? Here is what I have come up with so far!

1) Only eating out once a day, since we are renting a house and have a kitchen. We will probably do lunch out if we are out already and have breakfast and dinner at the house on the lake.

2) Bring healthy snacks with us on this trip.

3) Look forward to the activities and not focus my excitement at the restaurant options in the area. Too many times when I head on vacation, I am more excited about the restaurants in the area then the actual site seeing or activities we are going to do! I want to change that!

4) Bring a crock pot! I am going to bring a crock pot so if we go out for the day, dinner will be ready to eat and we won't consider going out so easily. If we have a delicious hot meal waiting for us at the house we will have that to look forward, too! 

5) Make some of  our favorite dinners! If I make a lot of our family favorites, I know we will be more apt to eat at the house. Plus, sodium and portion control is a lot easier to do at home then eating out.

6) Exercise will be a snap! I tend to walk a lot on vacation so I'm not worried about exercise. I hope to do some snow shoeing though as an added activity.

7) Not sweat the weight gain at the end of the week! If I do gain, I am going to try not to let it get to my head. Because even with all these strategies I will most likely gain from water retention and inflammation. We usually do a lot of moving so I am bound to have some inflammation as I do 2 to 3 times more walking then I do regularly and my body WILL need to recover. Plus with eating out even once a day my sodium content will be up.

So this is my plan and I'm stickin' to it! Once we leave I will check in daily with my progress while on vacation!

Day 14 - Headed Back In The Right Direction!

1/15/20 - I am gradually going back down. I ended up starting my period yesterday and I am sure that was a major factor in the weight gain as well. But the good news is I am down 1 pound from the gain! Just 4 more to go to get back on track!

Ended my day yesterday with a nice healthy dinner! Salad, roasted chicken breast and a baked potato. For being my day off I had an excellent day! I am very proud of myself. :) 

Not Giving Up My Favorite Things

1/14/20 - One of my favorite things I would get pretty much e every day was a Sausage Mcmuffin from McDonald's for breakfast.

Every once in awhile ok, but every day,  not a good idea. So I allow myself one on Tuesdays and Saturdays (only if I go out).

But I'm on a lowfat diet, right? How do I manage that?! I compromised by having a very lowfat lunch! Today I had nice warm yummy oatmeal for lunch! Low in fat, high in fiber and high in protein! 

I get the Hannafords Weight Control Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal.  It has 6 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein compared to the regular which as 3 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein.  

Day 13 - Inflamation & Water Retention - I'm Up By 5 Pounds!

1/14/20 - I pretty much predicted I was going to jump up in weight today. I spent 6 hours helping a friend deep clean yesterday and as predicted I was up by 5 pounds! Wasn't expecting 5 pounds but I am ok with it. I am trying to learn not to let the scale play with my head, especially if I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing on a daily basis!

I know water retention can play a big roll in weight gain. But I had also heard that it can be caused by inflammation as well. So I looked it up online and here is what I found out. 

Weight Gain Immediately After a Workout

A lot of factors can influence your weight—including your workouts.

Have you ever noticed that right after (or even a day or two after) an intense workout the scale goes up? That's normal, and it doesn't mean you're actually gaining weight, Dolgan says.

"A person's scale mass is a combination of muscle, fat, bone, the brain and neural tract, connective tissue, blood, lymph, intestinal gas, urine, and the air that we carry in our lungs. Immediately after a workout routine, the percentage of mass in each of these categories can shift as much as 15 percent." Intense workouts cause variability on the scale due to factors like hydration status, inflammation from muscle damage repair (we call this delayed onset muscle soreness), even the amount of intestinal by-product or urine and blood volume, Dolgan says. So there you have it: if you're gaining weight while working out and eating healthy, it's probably not the type of weight gain that you think it is.

Link to full article: https://www.shape.com/weight-loss/tips-plans/help-why-does-my-workout-cause-weight-gain

So there you have it! After strenuous exercise you can gain weight from inflammation and water retention. Since 6 hours of cleaning is not something I do on a regular basis, I should see a drop in weight I hope in a few days! Fingers crossed!  

What I'm Doing Right

1/13/20 - Sitting here I wanted to make a mental note of what I think I have done right over the past 12 days that, what I feel, is contributing to my excellent weight loss results. Here are some clear observations.

1) I have kept my fat percent below 35% all but one day. January 7th I had 42% fat.

2) Besides a McDonald's Parfait, I have not eaten out except on January 7th when we went to Moes.

3) I have drank at least 96 ounces of water per day.

4) I at an average of 1727 calories per day.

5) I have eaten very little candy or desserts. I have had 1 Hershey Miniature 2 days, 2 bites of chocolate cake 2 other days, Butterscotch cookies 1 day and coffee cake another. So small servings of candy or desert only 50% of the days but none on the others.

Here is what my morning routine consists of with my eating habits most days.

McDonald Fruit & Yogurt Parfait for breakfast.

2 El Monterey Beef & Bean Or Chicken & Rice Burritos For Lunch.

For snack I have had a banana or indulged myself for a few days with some Sourdough Bread! 

For dinner if we are having a high fat entree I make sure to have no more then a serving size and then fill up on potatoes and veggies!

I have really screwed up my diet over the past 3 years! I have gotten back into really bad habits that I used to have before I lost so much weight. Even habits I learned to avoid since before I got married. I used to stay away from Salami when getting deli sandwiches and I ate sausage in moderation. Chips were something I rarely did! But I have indulged way to much in all these things the last few years. I just didn't care about my fat intake. I even tried lowering my carbs during my last diet so I can continue to eat high fat foods. But I got hardly anywhere with that. I would lose a few pounds but had a hard time sticking with it. Low fat always worked well for me. I don't know why I stopped going back to the basics of what seems to work for my body but I am certainly glad I did now!

Of course, I am still pretty early in my start. But I just feel good about all these changes. This is the best I have done in a long time. Even the eating out! We eat out so much and I know the sodium reeks havoc on me. Another reason I think I was having trouble dropping weight during my last few diets. I just didn't want to give up McDonalds for breakfast and lunch! Sausage McMuffins everyday is clearly not good for me!!

And now that I have stopped indulging in high fat foods and sugary sweets I haven't really missed them. I mean I still eat high fat items (usally during dinner only) but it's in moderation with healthier choices on the side and a smaller portion of the high fat item on my plate!

I've always said I am one for everything in moderation and I truly believe I am there! If you read nutritional guides they say a person should eat 12-20% Protein, 30% Fat & 60% Carbs. My numbers have stayed in this range since I started on the 2nd pretty much! Everyone responds differently to different types of diets. Some diets work better then others for each individual. I think the low fat diet clearly works for me. With a focus on healthy carbs and snacks, I think it's a win for me!

I'm excited for the changes I've made, the commitment I have made to stick with the plan and the progress I have made thus far! Let's hope my weight loss continues and a nice pace and I have 60 total pounds lost in less then a year! I'm already down 13.6 pounds in 12 days. 46.4 pounds to go to hit my goal! 

Day 12 - I Just Don't Know What To Say!

1/13/20 - I weighed in this morning and was down yet another pound!! I just don't know what to say! LOL! I haven't dropped weight like this in a long long time! Years really! I am clearly doing something right! I am trying to stay focused and keep doing what I'm doing!

Simple Compromise Goes A Long Way!

1/12/20 - Small compromises go along way! Meals at our house have to be kid friendly. I don't like having to make myself separate meals and, quite frankly, even if I did how long would I want to do that for? It would get old super quick! So it's just a matter of making changes to my portions and toppings to keep it healthy and keep me on track! 

We had tacos tonight and I had 4 corn tortillas with 3 ounces of ground beef total on all 4 with a sprinkle of cheese then piled with lots of veggies and sour cream to finish them off! A quarter of an avocado made up my side. The meal was delicious and only 645 calories! 

Day 11 - Still Dropping!

1/12/20 - Can't believe my eyes, but I'm still dropping even after yesterdays weigh in. Down another .4 pounds! Woohoo!

I feel so amazing right now. Apparently the low fat healthy diet I have switched to is really working. This is the diet I always turned to when I've lost weight in the past. I have tried several other diets, because I didn't want to give up my high fat foods to be quite frank, and clearly they were not nearly as effective! I am so glad I went back to what I know  and what was most effective for me in the past!!

Day 10 - January 11, 2020 Weigh In - Whoaa!!

Happy Saturday! I hopped on the scale this morning for quite the shock! I am down 9 pounds since last Friday and 12.2 since January 2nd!! From 259 to 246.8 in 9 days!! I'll take it!

This is the most weight I have ever dropped in such a short period! Apparently my body was begging for change and is responding well to the healthier changes I have made.

Obviously I was retaining a LOT of fluid! All in all I feel better and my mood has improved. I know not to expect this every week! I am happy with 5 pounds a month to be perfectly honest! But this little jump start certainly boosts my confidence with my new changes and will help encourage me to keep doing what I'm doing!

Day 5 - Goals!

January 6, 2020 -

My ultimate weight loss goal is to drop 60 pounds. But I know that will take some time and I am not going to rush through this process! I have a goal to drop 10 pounds at a time and celebrate the small victories along the way rather then fixating myself on that larger number! I have no time frame set. Just to keep going down rather then up! 

I currently exercise 2 times a week at TKD but hope to increase that to 5 times a week. Between work and TKD I am usually pretty active so exercise is not as big of a concern for me. 

Food is my biggest issue! I have been eating horribly over the last 3 years which included a very high fat diet! So I am challenging myself to stay on a low fat diet as that has been very effective for me in the past. Everyone is different and I think different diet approaches work better for some then others. My other goal is everything in moderation and staying away from too many bad carbs. Not snacking at work on candy when I'm hungry and making sure I go to the healthier snacks I now have available to me there. Keeping my freezer packed with lunch stuff so I can eat lunch at work is another goal of mine as I pretty much eat out for lunch everyday. 

My motivation is really to just feel better! Since I put all this weight back on I can feel my body protesting. I don't like how I feel and want to make this change to feel better. It's just taken me awhile to get it through my thick head to start focusing and taking care of myself! LOL! But hey, better late then never. And of course my drive to live a long healthy life is great motivation, but I need to stay focused and remember that during those harder moments! There will be rewards along the way. I will allow myself to buy a new Lego set every time I lose 10 pounds! ;) Here's to the better me all around in 2020!

Day 2 - Day One Went Well!

January 3, 2020 - After just one day my body is letting go of some water, still a win, and I am down 3.1 pounds to 255.8. So I am very happy with that! My ultimate goal is to lose 60 pounds so if I can drop off a few of these pounds quickly that just makes the beginning of my journey that more invigorating!

Day 1 - A Brand New Start!

January 2, 2020 - Today I made the commitment to get back on track! I have struggled for the last 3 and a half years! My last time really staying focused was May of 2015. I was down to 182.3. With so many hard things going on in my life the last several years I have had so much difficulty pulling it together!

First my Mom having issues with memory, a stroke then dementia in 2016 which carried on into 2017. She passed in July 2017. That probably had the biggest impact on me of everything that has gone on in the last 3 plus years. Then we bought a motel at the end of 2017 and had a lot of work trying to build that business and remodel the motel. And then in 2019 my sister had a stroke in February in which I traveled 4 hours round trip for over 8 weeks to see her in rehab.

My eating habits became horrendous! A very high fat diet is what I got accustom to over the last several years. I just ate what I enjoyed and didn't care for so long.

I weighed in at 259 this morning. I am not going to even comment on that number. Today is a new day and I'm not going to dwell on the past but look to the future and what it will bring!

I am determined to get my focus and drive back. But most importantly remember to take care of me! Today it begins. Not a New Years resolution but a day that I have chosen to begin fresh and start over. The holidays are behind me, now it's time to start this transformation!

Onward....