Dived off a Weight Plateau... (My Secrets)

So, many of you don't know this, but I have lost A LOT of weight since August of 2008. Many people ask what my secrets are and I'll share them in just a second.

Here are my stats:
From my heaviest, I've lost 52 pounds.
I've gone down 6-8 sizes (depending on the clothes) which if I go down one more size will be half my original clothing size!

How did I do it?
Well I cheated for the first 20 pounds. I was sick last year for nearly 3 months and lost it then. Once I lost that first 20 pounds, I vowed to lose more and that's what I've been doing ever since!

So what of the other 32 pounds?
A couple of things.

1. I do take one supplement to help. It's an all natural supplement that just helps to keep my metabolism up, and is not meant for quick weight loss but to help get it off gradually and keep it off! I've been taking it since August of last year when it first came out. I take 2 pills once a day with my other vitamins. I do have a healthy regimen of organic vitamins I take daily!
Health and Beauty - Nutrilite® Slimmetry Dietary Supplement
Health and Beauty - Nutrilite® Slimmetry Dietary Supplement- Blister Pack

So that has definitely helped!

Occasionally, I take a Carb Blocker when I'm going to have a big Carb meal:
Health and Beauty - Nutrilite® Carb Blocker 2
Health and Beauty - Nutrilite® Carb Blocker 2 - Blister Pack

2. I cut portions sizes big time!!!
You don't need to eat so much! I had to literally teach myself it was ok to leave food on the plate or take a doggie bag home from restaurants.


Most of my meals are like this where I have more plate than food. I eat just about anything I want, except for a lot of sweets. I have cut a lot of sugar out of my diet, and hardly ever drink soda. I stick to juices, milk, and a lot of water. I eat better including fresh fruits and veggies in most meals. I make my lunch when I have to go out during lunch time (usually a sandwich with meat, cheese, and mustard, and then some baked crisps and a yogurt or fresh fruit). If I'm up early enough, I try to eat breakfast. This kick starts my metabolism as well.

I used to eat too much, but I was raised under a mentality that we have to watch money, so if we ate out, I felt like I HAD to finish my food. I'm much better now. It was definitely a mental wall I had to break down.

I eat slower and drink when I feel like snacking. Sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger. I do have a glass of wine occasionally.

3. I Exercise. Yes, I used the dreaded "E" word. Right now, I'm working out about 3-4 times a week in the gym and usually for about 1-1.5 hours. I have a friend who is a personal trainer and he recommended more weight training to accelerate my weight loss.

I have a Wii Fit. When I don't have time for the gym or access to a gym, I use it. And I actually take a body test on it nearly everyday or every other day. I love it and those of you who can get a Wii, should get one!

4. I give blood/platelets. How does this help? Well, it keeps me healthy! When I give it forces my body to create new cells. New cells are healthy cells!

5. I sleep 7-8 hours a night as often as I can. I go to bed earlier than I used to and set my clock so that it's not usually more than 8 hours. A healthy amount of sleep is super important for helping improve your weight loss!


So, what of this plateau? I seem to hit plateaus at about every 10-15 pounds lost. Sometimes I linger at a weight for a few months. The biggest thing I have learned from those plateaus is to not give up, to keep at it! I broke off another plateau last week and my weight has been steadily dropping again and I feel like a million bucks every time I see my weight lower and lower.

I'm within 10 pounds of my high school weight now (in fact more like 8!) and I haven't been this "light" since I had Giardia after Guatemala in 2003 (actually I was 1 lb heavier after that than I am now)! In fact, when I got back from college (after I lost a lot of weight the last year or so), I was 10 pounds heavier than I am now!

Talk about feeling good! I haven't felt so good physically in ages. My knees don't really hurt anymore and I have a much better stamina.

Anyways, I just wanted to give some of ya'll hope out there. I know that I plan to reach my New Year's goal of another 9.2 pounds by mid January, but I may reach it sooner!

My Friend Debbie's "Blown" Glass

I've visited my friend Debbie and her flock a couple times, and she has a hobby where she "melts" glass.

I got this from her (the "charm").

 

She recommended leather or ribbon to hang it from, and I had this white leather necklace to put the charm on.

 

I love it and think it is gorgeous!! It's great to be able to support my friends' businesses/hobbies!
 And yes, she made that!!! I watched  her make what she calls a Frog Focal. It was amazing!!
(her pic not mine:)

Check out her site here: Pierces Designs

A Bit Taken Back

So, as many of you know, I have an online E-Bird Store. Things are going fabulously! I'm doing this full-time now which is just the opportunity that I've been looking for.

I tell you what though, sometimes, it makes me wonder what goes through people's minds. I'm a pretty supportive person, and when I have things that I feel like someone should know, I do it in private. I would never ever bring it to light in public.

However, without mentioning names, I'm a bit taken back by a new store that distributes through my same warehouse.

I'm pretty supportive of many stores that distribute through my warehouse. In fact, for many of them, even though they technically would be considered my competitors, I still write things to encourage them or are even fans of them on Facebook.

This one person who has this new store though won't talk to me and keeps removing me as a fan on their Facebook Fan Page. What's wrong with supporting them? Am I that abusive or what not? I don't know, but it's beginning to feel a bit personal, especially when they won't even talk to me or tell me why they are doing that.

Dr. B has always been supportive of my store even though it is technically competing with his online store as well. In fact, I used his store as a template for my own.

Anyways, I feel like I just needed to get that off my chest as it's been bothering me. I figured something might be up when I couldn't even click "Like" on that Fan Page of one of the photos posted.

Heaven forbid I EVER screen my fans. That just looks bad to me. I've spent many years building relationships with my fans on Facebook and YouTube. I wouldn't want to ruin it by being selective of who could be fans of my page. You just won't see me doing that.

By the way, if you ever have a problem with me, please don't hesitate to contact me directly privately. I would like to work things out or talk it through with you!!

Ok, that's my rant for the day. lol.

Kiwi!

There is just something about this video that I just love... and yet it is also heartbreaking too. I don't know what it is. Perhaps the mere aspect of the dreams in our lives and those wishes we work so dearly to attain and the price we pay. In the end, we ponder the worth of the outcome.

Finding true, deep happiness in what we seek when we finally seek it is what makes the effort truly worth it. Even when it seems it is something that is unachievable or impossible.

As a friend of mine said after watching this video, "This video just shows so clearly something that is extremely hard to explain."

Remembering 9/11

It was cool that morning in Boone, NC. I was walking to my 9am Chemistry class when I walked by the TV in the downstairs lounge area between Gardner and Coltrane. It’s a big TV and hard to miss. It was on a news channel and I remember seeing a tall building on it burning, but I didn’t really have time to stop and look.

The classroom atmosphere was fairly normal when I made it to Chemistry. Apparently, not a lot of people really knew what had happened at that point. We made it through chemistry fairly normally that day.

It wasn’t until I made my way to Spanish at 10am that I realized that there was not only one building burning in NY, but two and that one had collapsed. Spanish class was basically canceled as we all piled into a dim room on the same floor where CNN was projecting on the screen in the front. I was horrified. What had happened? What was going on?

My eyes were flooded with tears as I watched the images projected on the screen. I watched as couples holding hands jumped out of the building on screen. They were trapped and figured death was upon them anyways. I covered my mouth in shock and held my breath as I watched the second building collapse.

After the 10am hour, classes were an afterthought for the rest of the day. I can’t remember if I skipped them or if I even went, or if they were canceled. All I remember is that I sat in my dorm room watching the tele as the events unfolded on that fateful day.

What were you doing, where were you on that fateful day?

No Self Pity

I met someone the other day who was legally blind. I didn’t know it until well after an hour of sitting across from him at a church meal. I guess I could’ve picked up a few clues, but really I had no idea.

This person amazed me. The reason I didn’t know was because as he introduced himself to me and then when we would have a discussion, he would look right at me. It wasn’t until the minister was thanking someone for a donation of some blinds for the window that he jokingly laughed about it and told me.

I was so fascinated. He didn’t make his blindness be something that “paralyzed” him. In fact, as I talked to him, he said that sure he could make it be something he would want pity for, but why do that? He has a great family, a loving wife, and just lives so happily despite being blind. He’s been blind since he was 25. He’s not that old or anything, but that’s a long time to be blind for.

He admitted to being able to see my “shape” or as I would think a kindof aura. Meeting him made me feel more appreciative of the things that I do have, such as the ability to see, talk, walk, and hear. Honestly, meeting him was a blessing and a self realization of how one can choose not to let the “little” things in life get you down. The mere fact that he didn’t pity himself or want others to pity him made me truly respect him and the things in life that I take for granted.