Lulu201's Healthy Living Journal--Just trying my best to walk the walk! Come on by!

[toystoryduo]

Good morning Erin!

Happy 21st Anniversary to your and your DH!!! I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating!

I hope you like Your Best Life Now..... It is definitely one of my favorite books and has helped me in so many different areas of my life. Maybe, I'll pull it out and re-read it again. The journal is wonderful too!

Have a wonderful day, Erin! You are doing a wonderful job!

 

[septbride2002]

Happy 21st anniversary! That is awesome! Whoo hooo!
Great job on remaining on plan! I'm jealous

~Amanda

 

[DoeWDW]

May I be the first to wish you a very happy 2 year anniversary on WISH! My life is better because we found each other here.

May we both have many more years to WISH together (preferably in MAINTENANCE mode ).

Love ya, WISH sis! and

 

[lulu201]

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Well, I finally made it to my journal today--I was running around all morning!
First I had to go pick up DD from her friend's house, then I took Mickey to the park. After that, DD and I went to get our hair cut~I got a manicure, too. Now I'm home, and if truth be told, I'm beat!

The plan:

1. Devotions
2. Vitamins--haven't taken them yet
3. Water--haven't had ANY yet
4. Exercise--walked Mickey in the beautiful sunshine, 1.25
5. Food--breakfast was yogurt, fruit, and almonds w/coffee=6. Snack was 2 fat free biscotti and milk=3. Lunch will be a chicken strip salad here at home. I don't know what the points will be. Now here's the bad part--I don't really care too much. I'm not going to binge eat today, but I'm going to eat a salad and not stress over it. That's as tough as I can be on myself today.
6. Scale--no, no, no, not good.

The fact of the matter is that yesterday I pretty much ate on and off all day. I opened a new bag of starbursts for my treat jar at work, and I nibbled on them all day! This morning the scale let me know how bad I'd been, so today I'll do better.

Not the best way, maybe, to start a WISH anniversary celebration, but I AM celebrating today in a major way. Why? It's sure not because I'm skinny ! Instead, I'm partying because of all the good friends and good experiences I've had these last two years because of the WISH!

Special today to :
Doreen, the dearest WISH-sis a girl could have. Doreen, you've been such a good friend and such a wonderful support for me these last two years. I'm truly blessed to have you in my life, sharing this journey with me.
Amanda, a great friend whose posts to my journal bring me such . We've learned a lot together these last two years.
Beth, a woman of great strength and determination who has been an inspiration to me these past two years.
Tracy, whose Christian light has brightened my journal on so many days.
MeMe, my Tyler Park walking buddy. I hope things are going OK for you.
Mel, for walking THE walk with Doreen and I this past spring.
Dizmare--I wouldn't be WISHing if you hadn't told me about the DIS!
Chris, Kate, Jen, Tigercheer, and all those WISH friends who drop in and offer such inspiration, hope, and understanding. How lucky I am to know you all here on the WISH.

I've walked countless miles because of the encouragement I've gotten on the WISH. I've had more water to drink, I've taken my vitamins more regularly, but most importantly I've learned how to care for myself on a day to day basis. Sometimes my weight is low, sometimes my weight is up, but because of the WISH, my overall health has improved, and my knowledge about who I am has increased. I've learned that I will never, ever give up trying to walk the healthy living walk and that God walks beside me--as a spiritual presence and in the form of the many WISH angels who are part of my life.

Erin

 

[Cruise04]

Oh Erin you made me cry. You sounded like I did a few weeks ago when I realized why YOU all were so good for me!!!!! Thanks and you are doing a great job and don't ever let yourself tell you that you aren't!!!!!!



Keep on
Chris

 

[DoeWDW]

Happy 21st Anniversary to one of the cutest couples I know!

May you have many more happy years together, Erin & Mike!

Erin, your words in your journal yesterday are so profound. The WISH is an amazing place where we find so much friendship and support and encouragement to examine what works and what doesn't, a place where we can share our joys & successes and celebrate with each other, a place where we can lay down the burdens of our guilt and our failings, a place where we can always get a just when we need it. Just as you are thankful for the many people here, we are also very thankful for you!

In honor of your name, I bestow an Irish blessing upon you:
May God grant you many years to live,
For sure He must be knowing
The earth has angels all too few
And heaven is overflowing.

Love ya,

 

[lulu201]

here in my journal. Thank you, Chris, for your kind words. We're all in this together.

Doreen, aw geez, you know your Irish blessing made me tear all up. Thank you for that, sweetie.

I'm not going to be able to stay here long, I've got a love letter to write. I told DH I didn't want to give him a card--I wanted to make something more personal, so I'm going to go work on that now.

I'm in the last day or two of the D-Zone, and I'm struggling like mad; I think it's because all of the sugar I've been letting myself have. NONE today!

Here's the plan:
1. Devotions
Daily Thoughts:
A Time to Think:
We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems. --Lee Iococca
To Act:
Look for an opportunity to make a positive difference.
To Pray:
Lord, teach me to consider
2. Vitamins
3. Water
4. Exercise--I'm going to make DD come with me--it's a glorious day!
5. Food--cereal and banana for breakfast
6. Scale-- what can I say? It's my own fault!

Off and into the day. I expect to be back later.

Erin

 

[toystoryduo]

Erin,

Wow! Your anniversary post is amazing, Erin! I just love reading your journal. So often, I find myself blessed by what you write.

Thank you for reminding me that although my scale may not cooperate with me on my weight loss journey, I have made friendships that sustain and encourage me and help me to be a better person. You are one of those friends who has blessed my life. Thank you, Erin!

Have a healthy and happy day!

 

[septbride2002]

Okay, I'm a little teary over here. Just talk amongst yourself while I get control of my emotions. Here's a topic - low fat ice cream - what's the point? Discuss.



Seriously though - thank you for mentioning me in your journal. Your friendship means the world to me! GROUP HUG

Have a great walk in the

~Amanda

 

[lulu201]

:thewave: :thewave:

That's just a little Friday joy to start my day.

It IS a joy-filled day--I'm home today and I'm going to get LOTS of cleaning done. I CAN'T WAIT! Truthfully, now! It'll feel so good to get things in some kind of order so when we come back from vacation we can come home to an extra-clean, extra-peaceful environment.

Thank you, Tracy and Amanda, for coming over yesterday. Your posts, as always, made me smile. Amanda, what can I say? You crack me up!
Low-fat ice cream???? People really eat that???????

We had a nice anniversary yesterday. The longer that I'm married, the more in love I become.

Hmmm, what have I been reading lately? Oh, well, I was into that "Hurried Woman Syndrome," but I got a little sidetracked when they started talking about HRT/ERT. That's a whole subject I can't even begin to figure out yet.
They do have some kind of healthy living program in the book (and I found their discussion on brain chemistry fascinating), though, so I'm going to get back to that. I also read "Natural Prozac" which also outlines a healthy living program. That book was interesting, too--written by a guy with a PhD in pharmacology. It talks about balancing your brain chemistry with diet and exercise, music, and different activities (like prayer and meditation). Today I'm reading "Potatoes Not Prozac" (yeah, I guess I've got a theme here!). This book talks about managing sugar additions/cravings that come when serotonin and beta-endorphins are out of balance. Like I said, I'm learning a lot--just about wellness in general. What's interesting to me is that a lot of these books stress the need to live balanced lives--in our food, exercise, activities--and how the continued stress we experience wears down our chemical balances. Oh, and I've still got "Your Best Life Now" on the nightstand, Tracy; I'm planning to take that to the beach.

OK, without further ado, here's the plan of the day!
1. Devotions From the Purpose-Driven Life on-line devotional
2. Vitamins
3. Water
4. Exercise--I'll most likely get out with Mickey this afternoon. Cleaning this morning will be my top priority.
5. Food--I've got to lighten things up today! Last night I had chicken parmesan at 7:30! Not exactly, lo-cal! Today's the beginning of a new WW week, though, and I'm ready to get back in the groove.
6. Scale--I just couldn't get on this morning. I'm feeling heavy and bloated.

It's time for me to get cracking here. I'll try to get around to journals on and off throughout the day.

to all,
Erin

 

[lillygator]

Hey - while your in the cleaning mood - wanna come over to my house? JK!!

Have fun today!

 

[septbride2002]

Can you come clean my house? My DH was just commenting last night how messy our house is. I didn't bother to tell him that it was all his stuff on the floor. You've got to pick your battles.

I think I am going to give this WW core program a go on Monday and I'm going to need your help! It has been over 3 years since I've counted points! So I might be asking you a lot of annoying questions

Have a great day today and enjoy cleaning and organizing. I always clean our house before a trip as well. So nice to come home to a neat house!

~Amanda

 

[DoeWDW]

I'd PAY you to clean my house!! Cleaning has never been my strong suit. I do love living in a clean house though.

It will be so so so nice to come home to a clean home after your trip.

Are you leaving tomorrow morning? I'll be thinking of you all next week and sending lots of prayers up on your behalf. Enjoy the ocean and the sand and those wonderful breezes of salt air - boy, just thinking about it is relaxing me!

Take really good care of you and have a wonderful time!

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Erin!

Stopping by to WISH you a wonderful vacation! Relax and enjoy.....

 

[lulu201]

Good Saturday morning! to you, my friends.

Here's the plan for today:
1. Devotions
Daily Thoughts:
A Time to Think:
Remember that nothing is small in the eyes of God. -St. Therese
To Act:
Appreciate the joy in this life in even its simplest forms.
To Pray:
Heavenly father, I bring You the pain of broken dreams, knowing that whatever is broken, You can make whole.
2. Vitamins--I forgot them yesterday. Will definitely take them today. I'll also pack them for vacation.
3. Water--I definitely didn't drink enough yesterday.
4. Exercise--walked yesterday; plan to get out this morning with Mickey.
5. Food--yesterday was not the worst, but it wasn't the best. Without a plan, I feel. . .random. I made healthy choices, though, and avoided Gertrude Hawk ice cream bars and Cinnabon at the mall (even though I bought one for DH). At Starbucks I treated myself to a frappucino light.
6. Scale--I'm so round and bloated, I just didn't want to get on!

Thanks, Amanda, for the links about Core that you posted on the WISH board.
I printed it all out and really looked it over, and I've decided to stay with Flex but try to use more Core foods as the basis of what I eat. I just don't think it's realistic for me to think I'm going to be able to have only 35 points of non-Core foods a week. Heck, I probably wouldn't be able to have a Subway wrap and my Saladworks salad in the same week! I like the food list, though, and have already picked out a few new things to eat from it. If anything, Amanda, that list made me realize that I'm on the right track for me (for the most part).

We leave tomorrow, mid-afternoon. We'd have left earlier, but we wanted to play at church and then our dog-sitter told us she wouldn't be home from her cruise until 2 or so. We'll get to the shore in time for a late dinner. My in-laws are due to arrive on Monday. I can't wait to go, but if I had one wish, it would be that we had taken this trip earlier in the month. As soon as we get home, DD has one day to get herself together and then starts high school (10th grade) on Tuesday. It's hanging over her like a cloud. Anyway, that's something to think about for next year.

Hmm, book reports. Last night I began reading Mike Huckabee's "Stop Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork." It's an easy read (I had to take a break from all that stuff on brain chemicals!) and motivating. Mike says you've got to follow a 12 Stop program: stop procrasitinating, stop making excuses, stop sitting on the couch, etc. He also stresses that you have to forget about the weight--too often we fixate on that, reach the number, and then revert to old habits. We need to stay focused on health and fitness and creating lifestyles that support that.

So today, I'm going to eat in a healthy way: fruit, veggies, dairy, whole grains. It sounds good, doesn't it? I'm going to drink LOTS of water and take a nice walk in the park, too. The part, though, is that I'm moving on to the 2nd floor--I'm almost done with the cleaning!!

Moving onward, looking Upward--
Erin

 

[septbride2002]

Great post this morning Erin! Have a great day!

~Amanda

 

[lulu201]

Hey, everyone! I'm going to the beach! I'm going to the beach! First, I'm going to church. . .and then I'm going to the beach!

We're almost all packed. We get to leave early because our wonderful next door neighbor said she'd drive Mickey to the pet-sitter, so we're hoping to leave around 11.

Plan for the day:
1. Devotions
O God, help us to sort through the noise of everyday life so that we can listen for your call to serve you in the world. Amen.
2. vitamins
3. Water--not too much this a.m. There are NO public bathrooms in DE and MD unless you're a paying customer in a restaurant!
4. Exercise--just a walk around the block with Mick
5. Food--I'm aiming for 3 balanced meals a day while I'm away.
6. Scale-- why would I want to do that? I mean, seriously now!

I'll be walking the beach in the a.m. and thinking of you all, sending up prayers for your special needs. With much love, ERin

 

[lulu201]

Hi, everybody! I'm back from my week in the . It was so nice to start each day on the beach. . .looking at the waves, walking in the sunshine. Ahh.

I had lots of time to think and to read, and I'm looking forward to getting back on the healthy living trail. Here are my plans for the upcoming week and the month of September:

1. Continue with my daily devotions.
2. Take my vitamins with the extra calcium.
3. Drink that water every day!
4. Exercise 6 days a week, 30 minutes each day. I'm going to continue walking Mickey in the park so I get my , but I need to pick up the aerobic pace of things to effectively combat stress as my fall schedule begins.
5. Food: I'm going to continue to keep my food journal. I'm going to concentrate on a balanced complex carb and protein diet (very similar to WW Core) with a high carb snack before bedtime. Since last Sunday, I've had "sweets" only once. My goal for September is to eliminate all "overt" sugars--no cake, ice creams, cookies, candy, etc. Even though sugar substitutes supposedly act like sugars in the body, I'm going to let myself have them for now. One thing at a time. Also, my goal is to eliminate caffeine (except for s.f. chocolate) by the end of September. I've done TONS of reading about my body chemistry and I feel like this is the way to go to take care of myself. I've known I over-react to sugars and that they trigger cravings, but I've also felt like I need carbs. . .I think I'm getting the hang of what I need to do now.
6. Scale: I can't imagine what this says. I'm very aware of being "big," but I've been walking a lot the last week, and I've avoided sugars and snacks for the most part (all pretty amazing since I was vacationing with my in-laws!). Still, I feel big, and I'm not eager to get on the scale tomorrow morning.

That's it for now. It's nice to be back.
Erin

 

[toystoryduo]

Welcome back Erin! Glad to hear that you had a relaxing vacation. You sound refreshed and ready to go. Your goals for September look great!

Have a wonderful week ahead!

 

[lulu201]

Hi, Tracy. Thanks for stopping by. I've been reading the Joel Olsten book (did I get his name right?) and I think of you often as I read.

Well, it's a new week,and a brand new day. I'm sleepy this morning, but I'm mosying along.

The plan:

1. Devotions
Daily Thoughts:
A Time to Think:
Prayer is man's greatest means of tapping the infinite resources of God. -J. Edgar Hoover
To Act:
Believe in the sun even when it's not shining.
To Pray:
Dear Lord, let us go forward with great hope that all things can be possible—with Your help and guidance.
2. Vitamins--have to get them all out for the week
3. Water--I've had 8 oz. so far
4. Exercise--I want to sleep, but I'll get on that treadie today for 30 minutes.
5. Food--breakfast was a whole grain mini-bagel w/1 tbsp. pb, coffee w/1 tbsp. 1/2 and 1/2.
6. Scale-- No wonder I'm feeling big--186.

I'm kinda down 'bout the weight, but I can't really go far to blame anyone! Too many late night meals while on vacation. Today's a new day, though, and I'm committed to action!

While we were in OC, I took my family on the half marathon route--it was amazing to them (and to me)--that I walked those 13.1 miles. It was great to remember and to feel the pride that I felt in that accomplishment all over again. Physically, I feel very far away from that--I guess because of the extra weight.

OK, off and into the day.
Erin