My Nutrisystem Journey

  “Sometimes the bad things that happen  in our lives put us directly on the path  to the best things that will ever happen  to us.” It's Day 514 of Nutrisystem. I can so relate to today's quote ! A whole lot of bad things preceded the current path my life is on. That's not to say the current road hasn't been without it's bumps but I'm finding it much easier to navigate them. I've said it 100 times, the fire was the turning point in my life but change is not always welcome and it takes a long time for good habits to develop. Most of the bad things in my life were a direct result of poor choices I made. It would be easy to just gather up all the blame and drop it on someone else but I did that for years. The problem with blaming someone else is you continue to make the same mistakes and in your mind it's not your fault so you didn't do anything wrong. So what is there to change if nothing was your fault ? Exactly ! I've learned that I was very goo...

"Life is about trusting your feelings,  taking chances, finding happiness,  learning from the past, and realizing  everything changes." It's Day 513 of Nutrisystem. Everything certainly does change. Today's quote talks about trusting your feelings and that's something I am still working on. It ties in with learning from the past because my first thought after reading this quote was that my feelings were not to be trusted. I was thinking they led me down a long road of regret, bad decisions and heartbreak, but maybe in reality I just wasn't listening. When the alarm bells rang the loudest did I stick my head in the sand or cover my ears ? I did. I didn't listen to anyone who tried to warn me when I was making those bad decisions. Instead I listened to those who didn't have my best interests in mind and kept plowing forward into disaster after disaster. I always believed things would get better, but they never did ! I've talked before about eventuall...

"One of the most important keys to  success  is having the discipline to do  what you  know you should do, even  when you  don't feel like doing it." It's Day 512 of Nutrisystem and the last official day of my vacation. I chose this quote today because I'm still working on discipline and it's a good reminder. I slacked off on exercise for a couple of days and that let me know I still have a lot of work to do when it comes to discipline. There is no magical solution - it's something you have to find within yourself. You have to find it and nurture it if you want it to grow. As I mentioned yesterday I could offer 100 reasons why I didn't exercise but they are nothing but excuses. I feel like the day I run out of excuses will be the day I achieve discipline. I weighed myself this morning and I've lost another 2 pounds, for a total of 136 gone for good ! I don't recall ever weighing 168 pounds, so for me this is the lowest weight of my adult life. ...

"You got a little crazy and distracted for  a while. That's ok. Now come back to  center. Re-align with your best self.  Every day is a second chance."  ~Brendon Burchard~ It's Day 511 of Nutrisystem and Day 4 of my vacation. The last couple of days I've slept in and slacked off on my exercise so today was the day to put the train back on the tracks and get back to business. All was not lost as I have worked out every day, just not as much as I'd have liked. I could offer 100 reasons why and they all fall into one category: excuses. Bottom line is I got up with purpose today and that purpose was getting back to center. I re-aligned with my goals. Reminded myself where all those excuses got me in the past. Reminded myself the journey is not over. Reminded myself there is still the matter of those last 20 pounds. Reminded myself that failure is not an option. Reminded myself that history will not repeat itself. Too often in the past I would get tantalizingly cl...

"Finding yourself is a lifelong journey of  discovery. The horizon of self is always  moving and keeps you engaged in the  pursuit. It is evolution by design." ~LeAura Alderson~ It's Day 510 of Nutrisystem and Day 2 of my vacation. I've spent the past 510 days finding myself, that is for sure. When I think about finding myself I can't help but wonder at what point I became lost. I know that back in 1996 I was living in a one bedroom basement apartment - fat, depressed and feeling very alone. I started to use my treadmill, saw a therapist to deal with the depression and joined Toastmasters at the suggestion of my therapist. When I met Alex in 1997 I abandoned all that and so began the downward spiral. The 50 pounds I had lost piled right back on and over the years I gained close to 100 more. I think my highest weight was about 330, my lowest until recently was 180. The journey back started after the fire in 2017 and continues today. I imagine the events of 1997 to ...

“The life of inner peace, being  harmonious and without stress, is  the  easiest type of existence.”  ~Norman Vincent Peale~ It's Day 509 of Nutrisystem and Day 2 of my vacation. I definitely woke up stress free with a feeling of harmony and inner peace. I think seeing my family the past 2 days did me a world of good. Although I haven't really minded being "isolated" at home you do get tired of your own company after a while !  Breakfast was a 2 ounce 180 calorie cinnamon roll and a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit key lime yogurt. Kinda sad, it was the last key lime and I haven't seen this flavor in the store lately. 😕 Morning snack was a 155 calorie vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 4 ounce 230 calorie spinach & cheese pretzel melt with a chef salad. Dressing added 30 calories. Afternoon snack was a 1.3 ounce 180 calorie  Jif Power Ups Chewy Granola Bar. Dinner was a 5 ounce 210 calorie broccoli & cheese ...

"Our debt to the heroic men and valiant  women in the service of our country  can never be repaid. They have earned  our undying gratitude. America will  never forget their sacrifices."  ~President Harry S. Truman~ It's Day 508 of Nutrisystem and it's Memorial Day. As such, today's quote is about that and nothing else. Breakfast was a 2.1 ounce 160 calorie cherry cheese roll with a cup of caramel creme coffee. Power fuel was a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit creme brulee yogurt. After that I was out for the day and eating real food again. Went to my mom's for a cook out and had a hamburger (no cheese or roll), a small piece of italian sausage, a scoop of mac & cheese and some fruit salad (watermelon, grapes & strawberries). I also had a chocolate chip cookie, a small slice of Wegman's strawberry shortcake (yellow sponge cake, whipped cream, fresh strawberries) and a tiny piece of leftover Tuxedo cake. Before dinner I had...

Photo credit: ME ! This is where I spent my day! "Today I'm forever grateful for what is,  and grateful for what has not yet come  to me .. for that opens my heart to the  endless possibilities and blessings  available to me." It's Day 507 of Nutrisystem. In reality I am grateful every day but Sunday is a good day to rest and reflect on your blessings. For so many years I felt like I had nothing to be grateful for and there were only curses in my life, not a blessing in sight. I know I've said it 100 times but the fire in August 2017 really changed my life. I won't rehash that story but I am reminded every day just how blessed I am. I have my health, I have my job, I have a home I love, my family is healthy. What else can you ask for ? Mind you, those blessings are not in order of importance !  Breakfast was a 2 ounce 180 calorie cinnamon roll. Power fuel was a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit creme brulee yogurt. I was out for the da...

"Striving for success without hard work  is like trying to harvest where you  haven't planted."  ~David Bly~ It's Day 506 of Nutrisystem. I've decided to stop counting the days of "NY on Pause" since we are in the reopening phase. With any luck we'll move to Phase 2 on Friday 5/29 and retail stores will be able to open. I miss Boscov's ! Casino's are opening on June 10 which is confusing since they fall into Phase 4 and shouldn't be opening before 6/26. Restaurants can't even open before 6/12 (Phase 3) so I still suspect there are some political $henanigan$ afoot ! Masks are going to be required no matter where you go and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I will also most likely be working from home full time for the rest of the year, and possibly permanently. I'm good with that although I will miss my colleagues ! Today's quote is another good one for me. I have been guilty of sitting around ...

"Stay committed to your decisions, but  stay flexible in your approach."  ~Tony Robbins~ It's Day 505 of Nutrisystem. I've decided to stop counting the days of "NY on Pause" since we are in the reopening phase. Today's quote is perfect for me and it's something I've actually been working on throughout this journey. I have a tendency to make lofty, impulsive goals and once I make one I have a hard time rolling it back. A good example is the thought that I could jog more on the treadmill, just because I've done a little brief jog here and there. Well, a brief 1 minute jog isn't going to become 10 or 20 minutes of continuous jogging overnight. It was hard to admit but I don't see me ever being a jogger. I will still give my all for the brief spurts of jogging in some of the workouts I do and I will continue to challenge myself, but I'm not going to waste my time chasing something I don't consider a "dream...

"Self-care means giving yourself  permission to pause."  ~Cecilia Tran~ It's Day 504 of Nutrisystem and Day 67  of Quarantine, NY On Pause or Shelter In Place ... whatever you want to call it. Today was Wendy On Pause while I went on my dental adventure. I couldn't admit it to myself last night but I knew today would end up being a complete deviation from what has become my normal routine. I guess I'm always hopeful and there's nothing wrong with that. I've said on numerous occasions that life will happen but the key is not to let one day become 2 and so on. It would be different if I was sick or injured - I'm not - so tomorrow I have no reason not to exercise, eat on plan and get enough water in. Breakfast was a 2.8 ounce 150 calorie pancakes with sugar free syrup. Power fuel was a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit creme brulee yogurt. After the dentist I had a 350 calorie muffin - see explanation below. Dinner was a 7.5 ounce 220 ...

"It's alright to do things the way you  want. There is no map to life, no  blueprints to survival. You can create  your world day by day if you have  clear vision and an unwillingness to  give up."  ~John O'Callaghan~  It's Day 503 of Nutrisystem and Day 66  of Quarantine, NY On Pause or Shelter In Place ... whatever you want to call it. I can definitely relate to today's quote. I've pretty much always done things the way I want and and that didn't always work out for the best ! So yes, there is no map to life and no blueprint for survival. I fumbled my way through a lot of my life, did the best I could with what I had and I survived a lot. I never had a clear vision until I decided it was time to address my weight. I was always unwilling to give up, sometimes to a fault, but until now that unwillingness wasn't used to do good things for myself. In order to survive I had to be unwilling to give up. I spent a lot of years in ...