Same product........just different look and packaging

Your favorite product.........you almost pass it up when searching for it on the shelf.  Then there it is, staring you right in the face just in different packaging.  The color is different and maybe so is the branding.  A sigh of relief escapes your mouth........ahhh, it's still there. Same product, just dressed a little nicer. 

On Sunday, I reached Lifetime status!  I've always said it's been a whirlwind of a journey.  A total of 202 pounds gone! There were times I wanted to stop the train at mile 98 and just go home.  But with my tremendous and awesome support network that I built, they helped me realize that wasn't an option.  The learning is not over.  The task to enjoy this new body of mine is at hand.  A good friend posted this on my facebook wall this morning:  "My wish for you is that you enjoy the new body you have and let go of any anxiety (if it has bothered you at all), your past is just that - your past.  And it doesn't define you AT ALL!! "

Let go of any anxiety!  Uh huh I can see that happening.  But this school friend who once wore the War Eagle cheerleader uniform and told me at our 20 year high school reunion that I've always been pretty is right.  Some say to let go is the easy part and it's the going forward that's painful.  I think for me trying to let go of that anxiety will be the challenging part.  That anxiety over what to eat when on a date or out with friends.   This friend who has the cheerful attitude of a cheer leader (the lift you up and is there to cheer you on type attitude) is right....my past is my past.  I can't dwell on it.  The person I was for the last 20 years does NOT define me.  She no longer exists. The real me was hidden underneath layers and layers of insecurity (which I still have hints of), low self esteem and worthlessness.  Hidden for 20 years.....

All of that has been replaced with smiles (most of the time), rising self-esteem, and knowing that I am cute as a button (as one man put it...not to be heard from again - ha ha) or even beautiful!  It all comes in a different package.

A couple of months ago in a Weight Watcher meeting, there were some new members.  My name was brought up and so was my story and the weight I have lost.  These new members (and some current) wanted to see a before and after/current picture of me.  It just so happened I had one on my phone.  As my pink phone was passed around the room, I saw some look at the phone then at me. Phone, then me.  Their eyes widened.  I heard some whisper she's a different person and she doesn't even look the same.  Well, I hope I don't look the same......

My leader pointed out that I was the same lovely person on the inside, the packaging had changed. I look at the packaging a lot lately.  The packaging has gotten smaller but my mind, one that was with the 375 pound person tries to squeeze into this small package.  I still have the same feelings, emotions, doubts, and insecurities as the bigger me did.  They all try to pile into a smaller me.  

The way I approach food and activity is different now, but the other part of my mind is not.  I have received the key to Lifetime but to me the battle is half won.  I will continue to journal what I eat.  I will continue to make healthy choices.   However I will add a few mix-ins.....the occasional happy hour with a glass of wine (or maybe two). A girls' night out....but it will include dancing.  A girls' trip.  A meal out every now and then..........maybe even with a dessert.  I will also mix in the living part.  The letting go part.  All as a transition to enjoying the new and improved packaging!

Christina  

Sometimes too much or too little is easier said than done.

"Happiness is a place between too little and too much"

I am on the cusp of making lifetime.....God willing.  I stayed away from bad foods this past week and it worked.  Lost the weight I put on week before last. Although just like a high school or college graduate, I am somewhat scared about reaching lifetime because that means I accomplished what I set out to do.  And now comes the task of maintaining it.  I'll probably lose some more to leave me a comfort zone.  Am I too scared? Absolutely!  

It's common knowledge that too much sugar or too much fat or too many calories is not good for anyone.  Yet, it isn't until Weight Watchers unveiled their new program that takes into account the sugars that we sit up and take notice.  Kind of like a wake up call.  

Take a emotion or personality trait and add the word too in front of it and that's me.  And I shrug at the idea when people say "just do this....." or "you have to be easy breezy...."  Hmph!  Easier said than done for me.  But I still forge ahead......trying not to be too trusting, too hard on myself, trying to be easy breezy.

For me, too  many sugars and certain numbers go up for me....blood glucose and weight.  For several years, my weight was too high, blood pressure, too high, and probably my blood sugars on overload. So I learned to take it down a notch.  But somewhere during the process, I may have made my way over to too little.  There was a time before my diabetic medicine was modified that I experienced low sugars.  And over the last year I realized I am way too competitive.....with myself and others apparently.  I walk an average of 16 miles a day.....which I enjoy,  My mother said recently I am walking too much.  Can someone walk too much?  The benefits of walking outweigh the thought that I may be doing too much.

I've always been too hard on myself.  With everything.  This has been pointed out time and time again.  But how does one learn not to be too hard on one's self?    The weight comes off week after week and the one week the umber rises, we beat ourselves up.  I know I do.  The first time it didn't bother me and I was able to handle it.  Most recently when  gained 10 lbs after reaching goal, I surprisingly handled that well.  But this last week when 5 lbs seemed to creep on, I nearly had a panic attack.

It was pointed out by my friend that I am too trusting.  I tend to give EVERYONE the benefit of the doubt and search high and low for the good in everyone.  She said it's an admirable trait but at the same time can get me in trouble and do damage to my mental state.  I might agree with her, but at the same time I might be a little too naive.  I tend to believe, word for word, what some people say.(Gosh, need clarification.  No not you but the toxic ones.  The ones that tell you things to get something in return.  They tell you what you want to hear and I believe them) Whew!

So I went dumpster diving and pulled out that subject I swore to give up.  Because as my roller derby friend pointed out, giving up men is a lie.  But I will be sparse with my misadventures.  I was voicing my frustrations with my roller derby friend.  Why are there "rules" all over the web about "too much texting" will do this or "too little response" means that?  You have to understand at the age of 44½ (okay basically 45) I am having to deal with dating as a 20 or 30 something would.  Too little of the men texting and too much of me worrying about it just drives me crazy.  Something I will have to learn to deal with respectively so there won't be too much eating the wrong thing.  The Mexican meal with too many calories.

I will surge forward with my normal routine this week, probably walking too much, so I will make sure to make lifetime come next Sunday.  What does the rest of my life hold after next Sunday? Probably bouts of me being too hard on myself.  No doubt there will be moments of too much celebrating, resulting in eating too much.   I will probably continue, as to some, walking too much. Those fears of the weight coming back on will forever be there.  I will do whatever it takes to make sure they stay far away.   I will continue the mental battle and try to learn not to be too trusting and too hard on myself.  Also try to be easy breezy.

What do you do when you too much of this or too little of that?  You may find sometimes it is easier said than done.

True Confessions

"Nobody likes to lose control; there's nothing worse.  It's a sign of weakness, of not being up to the task.  Still there are times when it just gets away from you, when the world stops spinning.  No matter how hard you fight it, you fall.  It's scary as hell.  Except there's an upside to the free fall.  It's the chance you give your friends to catch you."

Confessions.  Sometimes it soothes the soul to confess to something.  Other times, confessing just opens a can or worms you wish had just stayed shut!  And maybe confessions are like losing control. Once those confessions are out in the open, they can't be taken back and whatever control was there to keep them under wraps is gone.  So I thought I would offer up some true confessions of my own.

1. Tracking hasn't been on my brain lately.  I don't know if I haven't just out of spite of the new updated app.  The fact that IPhone 4 users have been left out in the dust or what.  I will track breakfast and maybe a snack and if I'm lucky lunch but it ends there.  I haven't really tracked on the other app (one that counts calories) either.  I think I get so complacent with what I eat that I know the points of my Cheerios breakfast and my salad I have for lunch.  I know I would be shocked to know what I've been eating that I haven't been jotting down.

2. I eat things I really shouldn't.  The chocolate chips, the croutons, cookie dough, still all very real. I tout myself on eating clean, and for the most part I do, but there are those times when I give in.  I know it's part of life, but the fear is still very real and at the forefront of my mind.  If I eat the chocolate chips, to me it's just the same as eating a slice of pizza.  Food scares me.  When I was packing up for Christmas Cookie Drop, I saved out a few cookies to eat that Sunday.  And I ate the cookies along with the peanut clusters that wouldn't fit in the containers. I ate some cookie dough (see later confession) because of those emotions that come knocking.  I need to be honest with myself and if I am going to eat clean, then make a point to do it.  Leave the not so good things for me on the shelf in the store where they belong.

3. Losing 200+ pounds isn't all that great.  I have yet to find a book/manual that guides you through the process of losing 200+ pounds.  It took me about 2 years to lose more than half of my original body weight and I am still struggling.  Honestly, 200 lbs. isn't enough for me.  That's what I honestly think.  To me, that's still not far enough from the 375 lb. person that walked through the doors.  I struggle every day with the psychological aspects.  It sucks.  So why, you may ask, did I make losing 200 lbs and reach the weight of 175 my goal?  Even numbers are wonderful.  I thought losing 200 lbs. was what I was supposed to do.  When that much weight is lost, a whole person is gone.  It's almost like you need to have a funeral of a bon voyage party.

4. Maintenance is hard.  I am supposed to stay within 2 lbs. either way of my goal weight for six weeks.  Let me tell you, it is soooo much harder than losing the weight.  When I was losing the weight, if I had a night out and ate something out of the norm, I wasn't having to worry will I stay within those 2 lbs.  I am just hanging on for the next 3 weeks hoping I can make it.   I'm supposed to learn how to maintain the weight.  How?  Am I supposed to do something to crush the fears (which there are many) I have of the weight coming back on?  Maintenance is the last door I go through before I am pushed out into the real world.  For a person with OCD, which I have, talk about anxiety!

5. A new me? Really?  The psychology of losing 200 lbs. sucks! You think you're a new person when really you're not.  I'm supposed to embrace this new me when sometimes all I really want to do is invite the old me back in (parts of her anyway).  Play pretend that everything is new and it's not. Trying to be a new person is not in the cards but being the old person is not right either.  I don't want to be the old me, but what the hell do I do?  Thought once I lost all this weight things would be better and in reality they are not.  There are still issues, just different ones....sometimes more.  Some days I like the improved me; other days, I just wish I could hold up in my house and cry.

6. I want to get off the train and come home.  I have been on this psychological trip for 2 years.  I am ready to come home.  As my friend put it, I've been working so hard and now the battle is looked at from a different angle.  So she says take this part of the journey one day at a time.  Easier said than done when I'm an impatient person.  Should I choose my battles and go at them with gusto? Or handle them one at a time?  I gave it all I had and more to lose a whole person.  It was a mandated decision and choice.  But when you're on a journey and you're not having fun, aren't you supposed to be able to turn around and come home?  If I hadn't reached my goal, no, I wouldn't turn around at mile 98.  And some would say maintenance is that mile 98.  I just know I haven't liked all of the attractions I've seen along the way.  Very few pictures of what I've seen.

7. I do not love my new body.  I look in the mirror and from the neck down I still see the fat me.  I see the lose skin that hangs.  I see the "granny" butt as I like to call it.  I look at the bat wings underneath my arms.  And yes, they are battle scars but I don't feel pretty or normal. The skin between my thighs is wrinkled. With the media hype about image and how to look, how am I supposed to love this body so someone else can?  Which brings me to the next confession.........

8.  The single scene still sucks! This has been buried before, but in reality I really want that special person.  I deserve that.  I want my plus one.  Someone who can't wait to see me.  I am a great catch...........I don't have an issue with your kids.  I don't have an issue with an ex. What is it about me????  Tried them all (just to appease my friends who have had success)....got burned and stood up by some fake profile.  Don't have much faith in them.  Maybe I'm not a catch.  I have put myself out there and each time come back with new burns.  My self-esteem can be up high one minute but it gets knocked down a peg when a guy won't even meet for coffee!  Or when a mutual friend wrinkles their nose with 'oh I wouldn't do that to him.' But pushes for someone else they like better.  Really!! New rejections.  So, for the single guys out there, breathe a sigh of relief because I won't be vying for your attention, messaging you hoping you return the courtesy or suggesting coffee. Men suck! I think I'm Done!

9.  Despite all of this, I do feel better....  It excites me that I can get up and walk 10  miles in the morning and come home in the afternoon and walk 4-6 more.  When I see the blood pressure number in the normal range, it makes me feel good.  I feel empowered that I can bypass Burger King without flinching.  I feel amazing that just 2 years ago I would never have thought to enter a 5K, let alone a half marathon.  I am humbled by the friends I have in my life now. And the support I have gotten during this journey.  The fact that I have kicked diabetes in just over a year.  That my friends continually lift me up and tell me I'm unstoppable.  On days when my emotions are where everyone can see them, I think about that.  It is amazing that when I have a week like this last one I may console myself with a few bites of cookie dough or some chocolate but then I walk with ferocity like my feet are on fire.  And my friend usually gets the brunt of the ticked off me and the punishment.

There is always something to confess to.  Confessions about food.......what has been eaten, really eaten.  Emotional confessions.  And sometimes control is lost when those confessions are expressed.  These are just a few of my confessions.  Most of mine are emotional and psychological confessions.  And I don't like to be out of control.  But sometimes confessions need to be made.  It cleanses the soul and you breathe a sigh once those things are given to the universe.  

New Year...........fresh starts

"Fresh starts.  Thanks to the calendar, they happen ever year.  Just set your watch to January.  Put your past behind you and start over."  

How was the survival of the Christmas holidays?  One more holiday to go.  Resolutions being written?  Are there changes?  Or maybe the week was bad and you wished to Undo It!  Or maybe undo the last few months or this past year.    

I am starting maintenance week 3.  I finished week 2 on a happy note. Happy to report I lost the gain from celebration week. No more peanuts, cookies or crackers.  All the cookies got delivered on Christmas Eve (see photos below).  Back on plan and increased my activity.  It felt so good to go back to eating what I normally eat.  An apple has never tasted so good.  Thank goodness!   Just 4 more to go.

There were several moments (sometimes days or weeks) I wish I could undo.  Sometimes not even food related.  The moments I took a step outside my comfort zone and made a complete fool of myself.  Knowing it's better to leave well enough alone. There'll be more I'm sure, but I will learn to pick and choose.

With regard to those things food related, even during this journey, I wish I could undo times I ate too much (the apps that added on) or drank too much.  The times when, instead of an activity to feel better, I ate to have the feeling of inadequacy go away.  I wish I could undo the last 5-6 years.  But, if I look at it another way, it's all part of the journey. Part of the exploration of one's self.  For those 5-6  years brought me to this place and started this journey.

So a new year begins this week! I am excited about starting 2016. I believe it will be the best year yet for us!  My resolutions will change and for the first time in a few years, it will not have "lose weight" on it.  It will not have "start walking" on it.  The box I built around myself is no longer.........although the barbwire fence around my heart is still there.  Only certain people are allowed beyond the fence.  It will take a strong (and special) person to tear away the fence.

A good friend of mine gave me a glass box for Christmas to put all my wishes and dreams in.  I will write them down on pieces of paper and tuck them safely in the box.  One wish will be missing (one that came true)....the one wish that I could/would lose weight.  Maybe I need to include it and instead of "wish" on the piece of paper, put "came true."

My other friend gave me a packet of different color fit bit bands so I can walk in style with a different color every day!  So I am safe while walking early in the morning (or as one friend puts it, "in the middle of the night"), my walking buddy and BFF gave me some pepper spray.........and yes it's in a pink holder!

A new year.  It means so many things.  I will try to put the past behind me......although sometimes it's easier said than done.  Fresh start.  We all need a fresh start.  Maybe you look at the new Weight Watchers program with new eyes and new perspective.  Look at it with fresh eyes as if you were a new member.

What does a new year for me mean? It means expanding my comfort zone, living a little more, always learning how to live a healthy lifestyle and improve on myself.  To make sure that I know whatever I will want to undo is just part of life.  If we never wanted to undo things, then how boring would life be!  It means becoming a Weight Watchers lifetime member and being very proud of my accomplishment.  This one huge accomplishment.

Okay, so some of you may be asking what I have on my "resolution" list.  Alright, I'll give you a glimpse.  These are just a few.......this blog is already longer than I anticipated.

1.  Start running
2.  Run/walk 5K and marathons
3.  Perfect my yoga practice
4.  Take more time for me
5.  Learn to love the new me.

When you sit down to write those resolutions, maybe don't include "continue to lose weight," but something like "continue living a healthier lifestyle."  It's a fresh start.  Beginning on Friday, we have 365 days to look forward to.  When I started this post I initially thought about the moments I wish I could undo.  Then I started writing and it went in another direction.  I will remember when there are moments I wish I could undo, it's all part of living and exploring this new life of mine.

Happy New Year!  2016  will be the best year yet!

What do they have that I don't? More importantly...Do I have what it takes?

"We all think we are going to be great.  And we feel a little bit robbed when our expectations aren't met.  But sometimes, our expectations sell us short.  Sometimes, the expected simply pales in comparison to the unexpected.......you gotta wonder why we cling to our expectations.  Because the expected is just what keeps us steady...standing.......still.  The unexpected is just the beginning. The unexpected....is what changes our lives."

No video this time.  I am still trying it out.  But I needed to vent just a little and I didn't want to do it on the video.

So.......here I am once again.......standing at the doorstep of maintenance. And for some reason, I am wondering if I am ready (or want) to walk through.  After this last week, I would have said no.  Last week, first week on maintenance, was an epic fail.  I gained so much even the weigh in person was shocked.  I know what happened.  Would you like to know?  It started with celebration at one of my favorite wine bars.  There was a happy hour.....which I happily enjoyed.  The celebration lasted all week! I think my body revolted against all the weird food I was eating.  Weird to my body since I don't normally eat those things.

I am ready to get back on the train and get it moving.  Last week was a wake up call that I can no longer eat like that.  Do I have what it takes?  A thought crossed my mind.........you known when you are losing the weight, the wishes are for the number to go down.  Once on maintenance, thew wish is for the number to stay steady or if HAS to yo yo, then only do it a little.

Do I have what it takes?  Some of you would say, "Yes, duh!"  And I would tend to agree.....I had what it took to lose almost 203 lbs.  I had what it took to step on the scale week after week,  But, this is a different ball game.  Diabetes is under control.....milligram dosage in pill I take was decreased. And, yes, I had what it took to get me to this point  But at this point in the ball game, it takes something different to not get a strike. 

Getting to goal is just a small piece of the puzzle.  I am still learning to be the [new] me.  And here is where I need to vent.  [I know I tossed this subject in the dumpster, but I need to resurrect it just for a brief moment]  Maybe my hormones are on overload this week.  I realize there is no right or wrong answer, but I would like to know what the hell I am missing?  I am tired of getting passed up because of the age thing, looks, or lack of chemistry.  So I have no control over the age thing {but that's going to be a deal breaker....really?!} And don't you have to talk to see if chemistry is there?!   I have bras from the famous bra store to make my chest appear larger. I could lose another 60 lbs and that one thing would STILL be missing.   So......whatever chance there was, is gone.  If it's not realized I am a catch and someone to be chased instead of get away, then why waste my energy?  I'm not the stupid one!  Whew!  Okay, I think I am done.  Glittery things, glittery things.  

Although the prior me was banished to the land of no return, she resurfaces without my knowledge occasionally.  This is a story/journey that has no end.  But, here's a glittery thought.  I am starting the new year 203 lbs lighter.  I am starting the new year on my way to lifetime.  I am starting the new year with two of the most awesome friends ever!  I learn something from them every day.  And we tend to lean on each other.  We have things planned.............road trip to Austin.  Never been on a road trip.  Learning how to two step.  And yes.......we will try speed dating/mixers........purely for the entertainment.  

What do they have that I don't?  Not sure, but who knows?! Someone could ask themselves the same question.  Two years ago, I knew how to answer.  I didn't have the will power, the perseverance, or the competitive attitude I do now.  I didn't have the "want to" to lose 203 lbs.  Do I have what it takes?  To make it through goal.  I would hope so.  Do I have what it takes to let go of the past? Maybe.  It'll take time.  It's more psychological for me at this point.  I've done the weight loss.  Now, it's psych time to learn to maintain it.  A friend of mine asked me if it was possible that it's the anxiety of going through maintenance and finally reaching the goal.  Absolutely!  This might sound depressing, but you can't wait to get to the goal you set for yourself.  For me, reaching this last goal and losing 203 lbs, was like coming to the edge of a cliff.  I did it!  I climbed that mountain.  Uh oh! How do I make it back down to earth?  Or do I spread my arms and fly.  Sure it's anxiety.  

"It's one of those things people say: you can't move on until you've let go of the past.  Letting go is the easy part.  It's the moving on that's painful.  So sometimes we fight it, trying to keep things the same.  Things can't stay the same though.  At some point, you just have to let go, move on.  Because no matter how painful it is, it's the only way we grow."

You may ask yourself do you have what it takes?  You bet!  You have the knowledge, the will power and the vision of a healthier future.  You have what it takes to ring in the new year a little lighter, whole lot healthier, and happier.

Y'all have a very Merry Christmas and a fantastical New Year!

Change.......it comes whether we like or not. Embrace the change!

Change.....we don't like it, we fear it.  But we can't stop it from coming.  We either adapt to change, or we get left behind.  It hurts to grow.  Anybody who tells you it doesn't, is lying  But here's the truth: Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same.  And sometimes, oh, sometimes, change is good.  Sometimes change is everything!

I have grown so much in the last several months.  And I will continue to grow and sometimes it may not be pretty!  Will I ever eat a fast food hamburger again?  Probably not.  Will I change what I eat for breakfast?  Maybe.  But those plain Cheerios are just that awesome!  What I will do is add things I want to do to my mental list which I probably should put on paper.  

Two hundred two pounds!  And six ounces........those ounces are important!  Weight I will NEVER see again.  I will continue to learn how to make that happen.  I'm sure it will include change.  

So here's a list of things I want to do:

Start running

Participate in a half marathon (will do in 2016)

Participate in a full marathon

Be in a 5K every month

Learn how to two step

Become serious about my yoga practice (haven't been lately.....sure they are missing me)

I am sure I will think of more things I want to do.  But for now, that's a start. 

Change.  Growth.  Change is feared and growth hurts.  But when change is embraced, no one is left behind.   And as for the growth (new or otherwise), it may only hurt for a moment.  As women we go through a lot more just to look pretty.  We can deal with a little change and growth!  As weight is lost, why not embrace (or adapt) to the new changes?!  Sometimes change is everything and can be oh so good!

Y'all have an amazing week.  Embrace the new changes in the new Smart Points program.  Maybe a new favorite food will be found.  

GiveThanks for what is now and for what is to come!

"Give thanks for a little and you will receive a lot." 

(Those of you keeping track, I did very well last week....after getting frustrated with my gain the prior week....and lost 5 lbs!  Only 4.8 lbs to go before the finale!). 

Brrr! Well, it appears we skipped fall and headed right into winter.......at least for a couple of days! Don't fret......those predictable Texas temps will come back just in time for Thanksgiving on Thursday (note sarcasm in voice) with another shot of winter air afterwards.  

This week will be filled with menu planning, family time, and celebration of the 1st major holiday of the 2015 holiday season!  Thanksgiving!  It can also be filled with nervousness and anxiety.  The menu planning alone can cause sweat breakouts.  The holiday can cause stress like no other for those on the path to losing weight.  But if we're focused and determined, Thanksgiving can come off without a hitch.  A couple of months ago, while perusing the web looking at Weight Watcher blogs, I came across one with an acronym for Thanksgiving.  But when I really want it now, it's nowhere to be found.  Ha!  But I found this one from a blog.  The original blogger said she saw it a WW meeting.  

  

I imagine most are already picturing the "temptation" table filled with mashed potatoes, southern cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes dressed in everything from marshmallows to pecans, and the overflowing basket of rolls.  In the middle is the turkey and somewhere on the table are green beans loaded with mushroom soup and fried onions.  And those desserts!  The horror! It comes every year and every year our readiness level increases.  I will occupy my  time with seeing my nephew and my step/bonus niece.  I will delight in participating in the GE Run Through the Woods for the first time. Squash those temptations like a bug!

In our Sunday meeting, the leader asked us what we were thankful for.   Thankful.  Definition of the word looks like this: pleased and relieved; expressing gratitude and relief.  Well, if I answer with this week in mind, I am pleased that I lost what I gained (and more) and relieved I remained focused. Answering with my entire journey in mind, well, it requires some thought.  Believe it or not I am thankful for that diagnosis in 2014 that made me realize the time is now.  Thankful that God has not faltered or given up on me.  He knew who the person inside was all along.  To be able to walk double digit miles 5 days a week (single digit miles on the weekend) and enjoy it.  And to walk with an awesome person who knows me inside and out.

Most of my life I have stayed in the shadows, under the radar, only to peek out occasionally.  I felt left out and like I didn't belong. I am thankful for the support, friendship, and kindness from the Sunday morning Weight Watcher group.  I walk in and know that no one will judge, snicker or look me up and down.  I am thankful that, for whatever reason, I chose this Sunday morning group.

I am thankful I am learning more and more to make healthy options when temptation doesn't leave me alone.  My leader forwarded me a link to a blog that I read this morning.  Oh my goodness... such an insightful and thought provoking blog.  I am thankful I am not alone on this wild journey.  My life has taken a whirlwind turn and gone in directions I never knew existed.

Thankfulness for losing the weight I have lost and feeling fantastic!  I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for the journey I have been on.  Gratitude for myself for becoming a stronger person.  Relief in knowing that temptations do not get the best of me.  Gratitude for those along with me for the ride.
Thursday hands will be joined across tables to give Thanks.  Thanks that maybe the potatoes have a little less butter or cream cheese in them.  Thanks that there are two dishes of steamed green beans with almonds and oooh, that Pumpkin Fluff.  I will give thanks that I have a job (albeit part time, a job), good health, family I can't live without, and that I was able to finish the 3 mile walk earlier in the day with GE Run Through the Woods. What are you thankful for?  What will you express gratitude for?  Are you pleased you strategized and as a reward, that glass of wine has your name on it?

Gobble Gobble!! Happy Thanksgiving!

Just in case you need it....