Dear Amanda

I would first of all like to thank you for helping keep me accountable. It is your comment (blunt yet encouraging) that has kept me going the last few days.

I must confess to you one of my main problems.... something I am trying to overcome... it's just that I'd rather not know.When I made that declaration that I would reveal my weight loss on Monday... I completely expected that it would be 6 pounds or more. And that would be fat loss because I've definitely gained muscle, which is heavier than fat.

Anyway, Amanda, it was to be a great, shining moment.

But then, I took that nasty spill at my sister's house...
exercise was out the door
went to a few Christmas parties
ate more and more and more

and well, things fell apart.

But here, my friend, is what this blog and YOU are helping me to do....

not just bury it and forget it and lose it all together.

Because it would be so easy at this point.

I vow on Monday to weigh again. And even IF I've gained it back.... I will still post it and face the facts.

And then I will try again. I will learn. I will grow. Because I truly believe that being healthy, exercising and eating right is a discipline of the mind. If I'm weak in the mind, I need to face it and try try again. Or else... I don't know that I will ever, ever truly change.
And I want to do better for my family, for myself.

Your friend, Annie

Danger Zone

I recognize it. It's upon me. There is great danger or giving up or dropping out. Due to several reasons beyond my control.

*Christmas spreads - it seems everywhere I go, there is some kind of awesome dessert or summer sausage with an exotic cheese ball. The temptations surround me. I feel heartburn coming on already.

*Kids out of school - it is so much harder to get in a workout when I am not on a constant routine.

*Tom OOT - when he is OOT, it makes it waaay difficult to get the to the gym.

*My most compelling reason? I fell and hurt my knee. Bad. They don't call me "Grace" for nuthin. While running, I tripped over my sister's flower bed trim and my knee landed directly on the edge of her concrete step. My knee is black and blue and HURTS. I've got this really embarrassing limp.

Now you see why I call it the danger zone?

Well, thank goodness for this blog and for Amanda who called me out in a comment on my last post. I promise you: this blog is keeping me honest. And people like Amanda and Katie and Amy and Chere don't realize what a favor they are doing me by reading here once in a while.

I am going to do my best to make it through this 3 week stretch and NOT give up.

Do what I can to stay out of the danger zone. And Amanda, I will get to that weight thing.

Tomorrow.

Ok... I Admit it...

It is hard to keep up this blog. I am officially beginning day 22. And it is hard to keep up this blog because it requires documenting failures... lots of em.

Failures in the form of

cheese

pumpkin rolls

and more cheese.

Omigosh! I knew I loved cheese but WOW!!!!

but the cool thing is, without this blog, I may have jumped ship.

There may be no one reading, but knowing that I've got to at least report here once in a while has kept me on track.

So, now that I have reported my failures, I also get to report my successes:

Success #1 - My workouts have been GREAT. I am the workout queen. I have not missed a workout. I thrive on it; I crave it and that's a good place to be. My body already feels different. Tom was hugging me last night and had his hand on my back and declared, "You Have a Muscle!" It was so funny. A muscle. But, in 12 years of marriage, that is not something I have ever heard.

Success #2 - My clothes are fitting... I am not squeezing myself into them like like a the last pickle in a pickle jar. Now, there is still an uncomfortable amount of spillage over the top of my jeans, but the point is, I can get into those jeans now. Woo Hoo!!!

Success #3 - I am losing weight. I am going to wait until next Monday (4 weeks) to tell you how much. But Tom noticed!!!!