AmySays

The time has come! I check into the surgical center at 8:00 in the morning to be banded. Am I nervous? Well, I didn't think so, but I just realized I've chewed my nails to nubs today, so maybe a little, lol. A week ago I was a complete basket case. Now, I'm just ready to do it. I'm ready to get on with my life as a healthy person!
 
I thought I would have more to say here... and there would be some great epiphany that I would be able to share, but there's just not. I've lived most of my adult life as an overweight person. I'm ready to start unwrapping the layers from myself & find out who I can be without the burden of this extra baggage I've carried for so long.
 
So, here we go... see ya'll on the flip side!

I've been a blog-hoppin fool the past few days... and wow, I've just learned so much. You know, after years of Weight Watchers & other yo-yo dieting, you get to a point where you feel like you just really do know it all. We don't, of course, but it sure feels that way. I am a bit of an over-achiever when it comes to sitting in a *classroom* of any sort. I've never been the type to slink into the back row and try to stay unnoticed. Oh, I have good intentions, really I do... but the leader/teacher always always ends up asking a question that no one can answer.. and there I am, raising my little over-zealous hand like that kid you wanted to smack in grade school. "Ooh Ooh MEEEE... Pick MEEEE, I have the answer!!" Because once you've been through a year of WW meetings, the questions start to repeat themselves. And when you go for a year & quit, only to start again 3 years later, you learn that the exact same discussions are still being had.
 
Because, for real... this ain't rocket science, folks. Eat less + move more = lose weight. It's just that simple, right? That's what we've always been taught.
 
"Drink a full cup of water before your meal so you aren't as hungry!"
"When you get the urge to snack, go brush your teeth!"
"No eating after 6:00 pm!!"
"Never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach!"
 
These words of wisdom often come from people who have been through a major weight loss, but sometimes... sometimes they come from jerks well-meaning friends who think we don't know all of this. Like we just rolled off the Twinkie truck 100lbs overweight with visions of pot roast dancing around our heads.
 
In reality, overweight people are often the most well-educated when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle. We've researched it, we've planned for it, we've implemented each and every tip & trick known to man - time and time again.
 
But the part they don't often scream from the rooftops, the part we had to learn on our own... THIS. IS. HARD.
 
I'll be beginning my newly banded life in two short days. And yes, it will be hard. But I'm going to hang on to one nugget of wisdom... one reminding whisper..
 
It will be WORTH it.

i often get asked how do you stay so focused and positive. The answer easy, I look in the mirror every morning and I love what I see, I stand on the scales and I love what I see, I get to go shopping and wear pretty much anything I want! So I ask Why would I not stay focused and positive when this process has worked so well for me? Has it been easy NO!!! but what is worth achieving with out hard work and dedication? I will tell you something that has helped me and that is my positive outlook and commitment to this process. I have learned from both my positive experiences and my negative experiences. I have learned that I am far from perfect and can learn from everyone, even the ones who are struggling. I am just Polly Anna enough to believe that anything worth achieving is worth working hard for and I also believe that most people are good. Now I have been burnt a couple of times in my life but this does not prevent me from still believing in people.
 
So I share with you this morning some positive affirmations for a healthy happy weight loss journey.
 
I write them on my mirror, I post them in my office and on my refrigerator and share them with my friends.
 
This is my trick for staying focused and realizing my dream of a thinner, healthier me.
 
 
 
A list of positive Affirmations for Weight Loss

I achieve my weight loss goals
Losing weight comes naturally to me
I choose nourishing, healthy foods
I think before eating
I drink lots of water
Losing weight is fun
Healthy foods taste better
I am motivated by both successes and failures
I accept and love my body as it is, and work to make it better
I love challenges and embrace them
I lose weight systematically and I keep it off permanently
I am losing weight
I exercise because it makes me feel good
I respect my body and treat it with respect
I do everything I need to do to achieve my healthy weight
I am encouraged by every success
I am motivated by every shortfall
Losing weight and I are one
I dissolve all blocks to reaching a healthy weight
I forgive myself
I learn from my mistakes
I fill all physical appetites in physically healthy ways
I am aware of my eating habits and how they affect my weight
I am willing to change my eating habits and I do so easily
I build lean muscle and I lose fat
I enjoy the process of reaching a healthy weight
I see myself at my healthy weight and I achieve it
I have non-stop daily determination to reach my healthy weight
I like long walks
It is easy for me to stay on my plan to obtain my healthy weight
I picture myself at my perfect weight
I have a positive attitude about what I eat, how I eat, and when I eat
My body burns fat like a furnace
Developing healthy eating habits becomes easier each day
I stay on a healthy eating plan and maintain my healthy weight easily
Each day, I automatically and successfully get healthier and healthier

 

Happy Sunday all and wishing you continued success to achieving your goals!

I haven't posted in a hot minute, but I have a good reason for that. I have been TDY in Everett for the last week on 12 hour days. It takes a lot of you... and week has kinda blurred together. But I go home on Monday (tomorrow). Which I'm pretty happy about. Ty is also here TDY too and on the same schedule and that adds to the stress and draining feeling. Don't get me wrong, I love that boy, but it's a lot to be around eachother at every waking moment.
 
So, on Thursday, November 28th, I started my supervised diet, so hopefully surgery will happen in the begining of March. So right now my goal for the month is to start eating more protien at breakfast and to start getting 30 minutes of excerise 2 days a week. It's all about small changes to make a big lifestyle change. My next appointment is Decmeber 20th.
 
I got my camera! So stay tuned for my vlog! I'll let ya know!
 
Time for bed, work in the morning! Yippy.
 
Night!

Once Upon a Time...
 
there was a girl. And let me tell you, this girl was awesome. Incredibly funny, kind-hearted, full of energy, beautiful and ready to tackle the world! This girl had four amazing children and loved them so incredibly much that she kept the biggest souvenir she could from each pregnancy. So after 10 years of having these amazing children, this awesome, funny, kind-hearted, full of energy, beautiful girl was.... fat.
 
But that was really ok, because she was still the same person she always was.
 
The End.
 
Ok... so there's that fairy tale. And there's a lot of truth there, really. I gained weight with each pregnancy, tried and failed to lose it, only to gain it back again and again. Same old story. After I had my 4th child, I hired a personal trainer and with his help, lost 60 pounds and felt terrific! Then we moved. No support system, new gym, you know the excuses. About 20 pounds crept back on, but I was still proud of myself. Then we moved again, this time out of state where we knew NO ONE. I made some friends, ate out a LOT, drank my fair share of Bud Light Lime & Twisted Tea, stopped going to the gym altogether and the weight came back, full force, plus 40 pounds.
 
I think I was born with some sort of self-confidence gene that most people don't have. I was always confident in exactly who I was, no matter what my body looked like at the time. I remember the very first time I ever had a crack in that confidence... it was about 6 years ago when I had lost that 60 pounds. I was at a womens' retreat with church and had accomplished a tremendous feat. They have this hill that goes from the lake up to the campsites and I swear to you, it has to be about a 65* angle. It felt like I was walking straight up a wall. But I made it. And I didn't just walk up the hill, I RAN up that hill. I felt like Bella scaling that wall when she smelled human blood the first time she went hunting after she turned. I digress... I made it up the side of that mountain and just collapsed at the top, chest heaving, pulse racing, heart about to burst. And oddly enough, in what should have been a time of great joy, all I felt was sadness. I couldn't believe that I had lived my life on the sidelines for so long. I was disparaged that the Lord had given me this body and I had wasted it.
 
I never thought I'd go back to "that place" but I did. I gained all the weight back, and then some. And now I'm at a point where I don't want to let myself down anymore. I'm still that awesome girl with a great husband and four amazing kids. I STILL don't have any real negative body image issues (although I also know I SHOULD), but I know I'm ready for a change. I'm ready to set a good example and be healthy for GOOD. I'm ready to be around for my kids, I'm ready to jump on trampolines & go on rides at amusement parks without a second thought as to whether I'll fit. I'm ready to sit in the bathtub without having to shift to one side to let the water drain out. I'm ready to get naked in front of my husband of 11 years! I'm just READY.
 
My surgery is scheduled for 12/12/12. Sounds like a good day to start my new life to me.