My Nutrisystem Journey

"Patience. Let's be honest here. You  won't drop 2 jean sizes in one day. You  won't lose 50 pounds in one month. You  will miss occasional workouts. You will  have a few setbacks. You are human ,  you will fail sometimes.  Just Keep Going !" It's Day 544 of Nutrisystem. I wish I had this quote handy on the day I started this journey ! I'm going to print it out and post it where I can see it now because it's such a perfect reminder. You can't undo years and years of bad habits overnight. You can't just "flip a switch" and be healthy and fit. It all takes hard work and you will have setbacks and you will fail. The key is not letting them stop you. This quotes end with "just keep going" and that is what you have to do. Picking myself up is nothing new but now I'm picking myself up with purpose. Most of the trouble I've had over the past 544 days pertains to exercise. I had no real issues with the change in what I was e...

"If you are not showing up for yourself,  who are you showing up for ?" It's Day 543 of Nutrisystem. When I started this journey it was about getting healthy. At the time it was all about physical health because I knew if I kept eating the way I was, it was only a matter of time before my health would decline. My body was already suffering but I had no officially diagnosed medical conditions .. other than morbid obesity ! That's such an ugly word. Obese. Morbidly obese is even uglier. I'm less than 10 pounds from a "normal" BMI - 154 is the high end of the range for my height. I will no longer carry the morbidly obese, obese or overweight label once I get to 154 or less. I'll be "normal", whatever that is ! When I started this journey at 304 pounds I probably had high blood pressure and was heading towards heart disease and diabetes. So this quote struck me .. because I am showing up for me now. Everything I am doing is for me and for my he...

  "The happiest people I know are always  evaluating and improving themselves.  The unhappy people are usually  evaluating and judging others."  ~Lisa Villa Prosen~ It's Day 542 of Nutrisystem. Most of the time my quote of the day is inspired by real life thoughts and events. Today is no exception. Sitting out on the front porch enjoying my morning coffee I watched a neighbor drive up with a big bag of McDonald's food for the household, all of whom are very heavy. I thought back to the days I would do the same thing on a lazy Sunday. I couldn't go to McDonald's and get one Sausage Egg McMuffin - I had to have two. I couldn't go to KFC and buy one "famous bowl" - I had to have two. Even though I could never finish two I had to make sure I had a second one on hand "just in case". It was not uncommon for me to also buy a 3rd entree of chicken tenders at KFC to go with those famous bowls ! The beauty of the drive-thru is no one knows all th...

"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only  the scenery you miss by going too fast,  you also miss the sense of where you are  going and why."   ~Eddie Cantor~ It's Day 541 of Nutrisystem. Today I opted to enjoy life. It wasn't about the eating regimen. It wasn't about the fitness regimen. It was about being with family and having a good time.  Breakfast was a 2.8 ounce package of pancakes with sugar free syrup and a 5.3 ounce Light & Fit key lime yogurt. After that I was out for the rest of the day and eating mostly off program. I did have a 1.8 ounce 200 calorie fudge graham bar in between breakfast and lunch/dinner but I can't really put a calorie count on anything else. Lunch was a buffalo chicken wrap with fries and a margarita. I brought half of the wrap home but I ate all the fries. I've gone over 1200 calories and didn't drink enough water but I'll be back on track tomorrow. Today was an unexpected day of shopping and casino with my o...

"Happiness is not just a place, but also a  process. It's an ongoing process of fresh  challenges and it takes the right  attitudes and activities to continue  to be happy."  ~Ed Diener~ It's Day 540 of Nutrisystem. You could call that 18 months based on a 30 day month ! I had hoped to be at my goal weight by the end of June but I realized that wasn't going to happen so I reset the goal to my birthday, August 31st. I can honestly say I'd be happy with my progress even if I never lose another pound but I intend to stick with this until I reach my goal. I've already done so many things I never thought possible, so the prospect of losing another 13-14 pounds is nothing. I will get there .. maybe by 8-31, maybe not .. when I get there doesn't really matter. In my heart I know I'm doing everything I possibly can to eat right and exercise so I just have to be patient and trust the process. I chose today's quote because I was thinking this morning how...

"The only thing that stands between  you and what you want out of life is  the will to try and faith to believe it's  possible."  It's Day 539 of Nutrisystem. Every day that goes by I have more faith in my ability to achieve the goals I set 539 days ago. I started out just wanting to lose the weight. I knew exercise was going to be necessary but in the very beginning my idea of exercise was a short daily session on the treadmill. I've never liked "exercise" and I can't really say I like it now, but I do like how it makes me feel. Most of the time I really enjoy the time I spend working out. As with anything else in life there are days that I don't really want to do it but I know that if I give in to that I will eventually give up completely - and that is NOT an option. It took a lot of "trying" to get where I am now. Exercise was the toughest part of this journey but once I was working from home 3 days a week I had no excuse not to use ...

"No matter what you have gone through  and what others have put you through,  you are still you. To embrace happiness,  to find your passion and to love yourself,  remember these things were never taken  away from you. Nothing can stop you  from rediscovering yourself. The greatest  journey always begins within you.  ~ Dodinsky, author of In The  Garden  of Thoughts ~  It's Day 538 of Nutrisystem. This has definitely been a journey of discovery for me. I was lost for so many years. I had no purpose, no goals, no hope. My whole focus was on keeping our heads above water financially. I might have been married but it was never a partnership. I couldn't count on anyone other than myself and I struggled almost every day. After years and years of this it hasn't been easy to cast it all off. There are still things that trigger brief flashes of fear or anxiety in me. I wouldn't say my trauma rises to the level of PTSD but I have some insigh...

"There is a huge difference  between  wanting to change and being  willing  to change. Almost everyone  wants to  change for the better. Very few  are willing to take the steps necessary to  create that change.  ~John T. Child~  It's Day 537 of Nutrisystem. It took me a long time to find inspiration tonight but when I stumbled across this quote it fit perfectly. I wanted to change for as long as I can remember. I guess I just didn't know how and I obviously didn't put in the effort required. Does anyone really want to be fat ? No, of course not. I was for so many years and I didn't make many attempts to lose the weight. Any attempt I did make was short lived because I always gave up. But I sure did think about not being fat. Wishing I wasn't fat. Wishing my life was better. I wished for so much but in the real world there is no Fairy Godmother to wave a magic wand and make your dreams come too. You have to be your own Fairy Godmother. Yo...

"I am a series of small victories and large  defeats and I am as amazed as any  other that I have gotten from there to  here."  ~Charles Bukowski~  It's Day 536 of Nutrisystem. Today's small victory was getting up before 6:45 ! I woke up at 6:27 and when the alarm went off at 6:30 I allowed myself a 10 minute snooze. It was so nice to have time for a few sips of coffee and part of my breakfast before getting on the treadmill ! I knew it was going to be hot today and I was determined to get the longest workout on my schedule out of the way first .. and I did - finally ! Little things like this soften the blow a little when I fail but they also motivate me to keep trying. It has been a struggle to get up early enough to make the morning workout less stressful. Mornings that I am frantic to squeeze it in before 8 am are just not pleasant, so going forward I will remember how relaxing this morning was when the alarm goes off !  I suppose getting 4 workouts in o...

"Success is no accident. It is hard work,  perseverance, learning, studying,   sacrifice and most of all, love of what  you are doing."  ~Pele~  It's Day 535 of Nutrisystem. Perseverance was an appropriate theme for the day since I got out of bed knowing I had a huge challenge in front of me. I knew it was going to take hard work, perseverance and sacrifice. There wasn't going to be a lot of time to hang out on the front porch or lounge in front of the tv. I had 3 hours worth of exercise to get done in addition to a grocery run. It doesn't sound like a lot for a 12 hour day but I'm not ashamed to tell you I need time in between each workout to eat, hydrate, rest and recover - especially when it's 90 degrees and you rely on fans for cooling ! Many in the fitness world will tell you that mindset is just as important as physical ability and I'm starting to believe that more and more. I got out of bed with a goal for the day and failure was not an option. ...