Why do I want to lose weight?

For Good Health – the symptoms of my endometriosis, PCOS, chronic knee and back pain and asthma will be greatly decreased once I am in a normal weight range. If I continue to let my weight be in the “morbidly obese” range, I will eventually develop Type II diabetes, heart disease and additional complications with my current conditions.

For Quality of Life – to shop for clothes at normal-size stores, to climb a flight of stairs without losing my breath, to go hiking, to feel as beautiful on the outside as I do on the inside, to play, to fit comfortably into booths at a restaurant, to not worry whether or not the seat belt will fit, to ride roller coasters again, to have more energy, to make sure I’m around when my nieces and nephews grow up, to sleep better, to dance, to ride my bike, to have a greater quality of life.

For Self Esteem – in every other area of my life, I’m a confident woman – except when it comes to my weight. I hate feeling insecure about my size and want to make the change.

To Succeed – no matter which diet I’ve tried, I have failed. In everything else I’ve tried in life, I’ve succeeded. I want be successful in my weight loss.

~Pam

5 Holiday Wieght Loss Tips

Weight Loss Tip 1: Stay active. The best thing you can do is try to stick to your normal schedule and routine.


Weight Loss Tip 2: Don't let yourself get too hungry. If you go to a party and you're starving, everything will look even more scrumptious than normal. And of course, you'll eat much more because of it. Try starting each day with a good, solid breakfast - particularly something with protein. And when you're at the party, try munching on the veggies to help keep you feeling full. These two things will help your hunger stay under control, and will in turn help you refrain from "gorging" on anything you see just because you're famished.


Weight Loss Tip 3: Stay away from the food. Literally. Just don't go anywhere near the buffet table, appetizers, or treats... and you'll be fine.


Weight Loss Tip 4: Wear cloths that are slightly tight on you. This should help you feel full faster, and keep you from eating too much food.


Weight Loss Tip 5: Keep your portions small. Try to load up on salad and vegetables, and take just tiny amounts of anything else. (Note: This is my favorite tip. Use the small dessert sized plates rather than the big ones for dinner to help you with portion size too.)


 I found these tips at Urbanesque Magazine's website. Visit the website to see the "Reality Check" for each tip. Sometimes, the tip sounds easy enough, but in reality it's not as easy to put it into practice - so the Reality Check portion of these tips helps put it all into perspective.


 Talk to you soon!
~Pam

Christmas Eating Season

Does anyone else feel like you're eating constantly? For me, today marks the official beginning of Christmas. We had the Christmas party at my Dad's side of the family - it's always the Sunday before Christmas. Besides the usual gift exchange and catching up with extended family members, there was a huge potluck buffet with all the fixings. So today's party marks the THIRD Christmas party this week for me. Crazy! Plus, there's another one tomorrow at work. Things should slow down a bit after tomorrow's potluck luncheon - that is, until Christmas morning brunch at Mom's house. And don't forget the final Christmas party on New Year's Day - this one for my Mom's side of the family. When will it end!? I heard a statistic the other day that said most Americans gain 8 pounds over the holiday season (between Thanksgiving and New Years). I really don't want to be one of those people. Right now I'm doing everything I can to just maintain! I've got some great tips on how to control holiday eating. I'll share those with you later this week. Talk to you soon! ~Pam

Christmas Party

Last night I went to the Christmas Party for my WLS support group. There were 14 of us there and we had so much fun! It was a potluck dinner - but not like a normal potluck, of course. These receipes were weight loss surgery friendly. Everything was delicious. I brought mushroom caps stuffed with crab meat, creams cheese and bread crumbs. Lot of garlic too, of course. We also had a gift exchange and I received a beautiful collage picture frame. I've been looking at my bare living room walls lately, thinking that I'd like to put up some pictures. So this was the perfect boost to get me moving on that project. For those who don't know me well, I'll let you in a little secret. I'm basically a loner. I don't surround myself with a lot of casual friends and acquaintances. The few good friends that I have are great treasures to me and I hold them dear. Unfortunately, my really good friends don't live near me. The closest is 90 minutes away and the others live out of state. So I don't go "out" very often to just hang around with friends and have a social night out. And I'm fine with that. My life is busy and when I have free time, I often spend it doing something I enjoy on my own (going to a movie or lounging at Barnes & Nobel or scrapbooking). But the gals of the support group are quickly becoming treasured friends. We all come from different walks of life, different backgrounds and experiences, but we have something that ties use together. Obesity. Even the gals who are a part of the group who wear a size 4 jeans, have the same thing in common as those who have not yet started their WLS journey. But that's just the beginning of the thread between us. As we get to know each other through our weight loss process, we learn that we have more in common that might meet the eye. It's nice to be surrounded by women who care for each other. Women with compassion and love for each other. Not just for those who have been a part of the group for a long time, but even the new women who are just beginning. I've only known these folks for a few months, but I feel like they are lifelong friends already. It was a good Christmas party. I'm glad I'm a part of such a wonderful group. ~Pam

So busy!

Christmas is only 17 days away. I need to start my shopping. The list is done and I basically know what I'll get for everyone, but I haven't hit the stores yet to actually purchase anything. And I think it's getting too late to do my shopping online at this late date. Then all those gifts will need to be wrapped. Let's not talk about the Christmas tree and outdoor decorations. I made the decision a week or so ago that I was NOT going to put those up. No time. Too busy. Plus I hate taking it all down after the holidays and usually get a bit depressed - so I'm avoiding that too. Besides, nobody ever comes to visit me anyway, if I want to see a Christmas tree, I'll just go to my parents house. Not sure I've ever mentioned it here before or not... but besides working a full time job and commuting 15 hours a week to work and back, I also run a home-based business. And yep, you guessed it! Other people are doing their shopping and have ordered stuff from my business to complete their Christmas shopping. And since my business is service-based and I provide custom work, when an order comes in it could take up to 20 hours per order to complete their project. (I create custom scrapbooks using other people's photos and memorabilia.) Normally I try to keep my side business schedule to just 20 hours a week of work and consider it a part time job. But in the past few weeks things have gotten a bit crazy. Here's a typical day for me right now: 6:30 am --- Good Morning - alarm goes off 6:45 am --- Get out of bed after listening to the alarm for 15 mintues 7:30 am --- Out the door and on the road to work 9:00 am --- Arrive at the office for an 8 hour workday 7:00 pm --- Arrive home from work 7:30 pm --- Finish cooking dinner and relax for a bit while eating 8:00 pm --- Head to the scrapbook studio to begin working on client projects Midnight--- Drag myself out of the studio and head for bed Yep, you've read it correctly. I've been neglecting the exercise portion of the diet and exercise program. Weekends are a bit more flexible and I am able to get a short workout in on Saturday and Sunday - or at least do some physical activity that will count as "extra" and can be tracked for a workout. (Did you know that shopping burns about 100 calories per hour?) After the orders are done (all due by December 22nd) and I can get back to a normal routine of only working 2 hours a night on the biz instead of 4, I'll get back to exercising like I need to. Sometimes life just gets in the way of living. Talk to you soon! ~Pam