Food Addict

I haven't blogged here for awhile...mostly because I've felt like an absolute failure.  It's not Plexus or any other weight loss product or program that has failed me.  It's me.  I can NOT stay away from food.  And if you are going to eat past the point of feeling full (like, Thanksgiving-loose pants-lay on the floor full), then no weight loss product is going to work for you.  You have to be willing to listen to your body's full signals and STOP PUTTING FOOD IN YOUR MOUTH.  This is where I fail.  If the food tastes good and/or it might not be there for me later, I will eat it...and continue eating it until I literally cannot put another bite in my mouth without throwing up (unless I'm in public or around others, then I'll try to stay to eating a polite amount of food...but then there's always a chance I might binge later to make up for it).  I fight this ALL THE TIME...but I don't always win.  In fact, I lose the battle more often than I win.  And that's WHY I'm in the condition I'm in.

Hi.  My name is Kara.  I'm addicted to food.

Food feeds not only my body, but also my emotions.  When I think of my "happy place," I think of my grandmother's dining room table.  Sitting at that large, antique, wood table with the claw feet and high back chairs, all seemed right with the world.  It's the place where our extended family gathered for Sunday dinners and holidays...and everyone was almost always in a good mood.  It's where I sat with my grandparents for meals when my mother and I lived there for a short time between her divorce/remarriage and whenever I slept over (which I did as often as I could).  The smells of home-cooked meals my grandmother prepared for the family still make their way through my memory bank today even though my grandmother passed away several years ago.  My grandmother showed her love through food.  Her answer to every problem was food.  Feeling cranky?  You must be hungry, have a snack.  Kids acting up?  They must be hungry...here, feed them.  Feeling mad, angry, sad?  You must be hungry...have a cookie!  I don't blame my grandmother at all.  I know she was only trying to help.  Like me, her love language was food.

Does that mean I'm doomed to be overweight?  No...I don't think it does.  Sure...I could take it on as my excuse and that would make life easier.  Well, not really.  It would enable me to simply indulge in all my favorites and continue down the food addiction road, but like any addiction, it would cause (actually, has caused) me more problems than it ever solved.  Sure...an ice cream cone can melt away the anger, hurt, frustration in the moment...but it also adds numbers to the scale, which brings on other problems.  I am currently at my highest weight...a weight I NEVER thought I would EVER weigh...a weight I'm too ashamed to put into writing.  A weight that's at least 50 pounds heavier than I was in the picture my cousin, whom I was living with at the time after losing about 80 pounds, said that she didn't know if she could love me at that weight.  I don't think she understood what an impact her statement had on me.  She never really struggled with weight a day in her life.  But, I hear that statement in my head all the time and am actually thankful she can't see me now.  And every time someone rejects me or overlooks me, I am sure it's because of my weight.  It might not be the real reason...but it has become my reality.  And I start to think if only I could kick this food addiction and lose weight, my life would be better.  And in some ways, it will.

Being overweight...especially THIS overweight really gets in the way of how I'd like to live my life.  My body hurts, especially my knees.  I get out of breath walking down the driveway.  I can't fit into clothes well.  I can't be outside in the Florida heat for more than 5 seconds without sweating.  I won't even attempt to fit into places that have a potential of being too tight.  I've been embarrassed trying to fit into booths where the seats and table don't move before, so I don't sit in booths.  As much as I'd love to take my kids to a theme park and the local fair, I know I'll avoid the rides like the plague because there's a chance I won't fit properly and be asked to get off.  I can't enjoy doing things with my kids because getting on the floor (and trying to get back up) is too uncomfortable.  Doing much of anything is becoming too uncomfortable...and it makes me mad!

Who am I mad at?  Me, of course.  I'm mad because I let myself get this big.  I'm mad because I can't seem to say no to food without a major inner struggle.  Seriously.  I was at a women's Bible study a few weeks ago and someone at our table brought two boxes of Dunkin Donuts and I literally sat there the full two hours obsessing over those donuts and fighting with myself about not eating them.  Sure, I succeeded...at least in avoiding eating the donuts...but I couldn't tell you one thing that was taught at that Bible study.  And I completely obsessed about Dunkin Donuts after that...until I had one.  The funny thing is Dunkin isn't even my favorite type of donut.  Had it been hot & fresh Krispy Kreme, well...let's just say it would have been all over in 2 seconds.  And there wasn't even my favorite type of DD donut, boston creme, in the box.  But I felt like a strung out junkie in the throws of withdrawal staring at her next "fix."  And, I guess I was.

So...for several weeks now, I've been trying to follow the Trim Healthy Mama plan.  "Try" being the operative word here.  I have yet to make it a full week on plan...shoot, I don't think I've even made it a full day on plan.  But the beauty of this plan is that their motto is if you mess up, try again in 3 hours.  See...it takes your body 3 hours to process what you've eaten.  It will either process it as energy or fat, or some combo of the two, but nonetheless, it's processed.  So...you start again.  No more thoughts of, "Well, I've blown it...might as well enjoy whatever I can the rest of the day and try tomorrow...or next Monday...or next blue moon..."  You get the picture.  So, I keep trying.  And some day, I'll get it.  Thankfully, I have friends who are helping me because they are doing this too...and so, I'll keep trying.

As part of my accountability, I'm going to start blogging my journey again.  I don't know if anyone will even read this other than me...but I need to start doing something to get the thoughts out of my head and onto paper...er, computer.  LOL!  So...here it is.  If you're reading this, leave a comment and let me know.  :)  If you've ever struggled with food addiction, let me know.  If you're still struggling, let me know that, too...we can pray for each other.  If, like my cousin, you've never faced this struggle before, hopefully this will help you to understand the pain & struggle of your friend or family member that is facing it better.  :)

A Better Way

For most of my life, when others have talked about foods they can't have on a diet I have either been right there joining in the conversation with them...or feeling guilty that I'm not currently on a diet, knowing I need to lose weight.  Well, not any more...I have found a BETTER way!  :)  And it doesn't involve counting calories or fat grams, a list of forbidden or limited foods, "cheat" days, or hours at the gym!  I've said it before, and I'll say it again...it is BY FAR the easiest AND most effective thing I have EVER done to lose weight!  :)

The above picture is a perfect example of what happened with me this past Thursday night!  I was helping out at an event at our church, serving pizza before the event.  Next to me was a lady whom most would never imagine was on a diet or even needed to be...but as the night went on, I realized she was because she was talking with one of the other ladies from our church about the diet they were both currently on...one that involves powdered and/or pre-packaged meals and apparently (by what I gleaned from their conversation), only allowed ONE "cheat meal" per MONTH!!!  I have been on diets like this...and I can tell you from experience, there's nothing in me that would ever want to try that kind of diet again!  Just way too much temptation (which is something I don't deal well with), which means that the risk of failure is WAY too high!  All the while, we are serving pizza to those in attendance at the event...which means handling it (with gloves on), smelling it, seeing it...all those things that tempt the most.  When we were done serving, the other lady walked away, most likely feeling deprived...while I grabbed a slice of cheese pizza.  With the meal came 2 slices of pizza, chips and a drink.  I did have one more slice of pizza (because I don't like the edges, part of my first slice was still on my plate & later went in the trash) and a bottle of water...but that was it!  Once I had my almost 2 slices of pizza, I was completely satisfied and had NO desire for the chips (or anything else for that matter)...and neither did I feel the desire to have anything to eat once I got home after the event (which was several hours later).  AND...I lost weight!  :)

In fact, I've lost almost a full 4 pounds since my last blog post!  I am now at 27.4 pounds lost...I have now lost TWO POUNDS MORE weight than my 15-month old weighs!  It's not a fast weight loss, I'm averaging about a pound a week at this point (sometimes more, sometimes less)...but everything I've every heard or read about weight loss says that the healthiest (and most lasting) way to lose weight is to lose an average of 1-2 pounds per week.  So...I'm still on track!  :)  This is no fad diet!  It's not even a diet in the weight-loss sense of the word!  If I want pizza, I eat pizza (granted, I eat a lot less of it than I used to...but that's a GOOD thing)!  If I want cookies, I eat cookies.  NOTHING is forbidden and is only limited by me paying attention to my body's signals.  When I feel satisfied, I stop eating.  Of course, if I eat past the full point, I'm not going to lose weight.  This isn't a miracle pill where I could continuously eat more than my body needs and still lose weight...it just helps me to listen to my body's signals better by taking away the cravings and keeps me from feeling deprived.  As a result, food no longer has the control over me that it used to have, and I lose weight.  As far as I'm concerned, that's a win-win!

There are people taking Plexus that lose weight a lot faster than I am and a few that lose it a little slower.  Everyone's body is different...and that's OK.  That's exactly why you see on every weight loss product advertised with testimonials the disclaimer "results not typical, your experience may vary."  They do this to cover themselves.  They can't promise you will lose 30 pounds in 30 days because everyone is different.  By the same token, Plexus doesn't promise anything crazy like that, either.  BUT they do offer you a 60-day MONEY-BACK guarantee if you aren't satisfied for ANY reason!  I haven't seen too many other weight loss products offer that kind of guarantee!  Some offer a couple of weeks, maybe even as much as 30 days, but most offer no guarantee at all!  With 60 days, you have two whole months to see for yourself how Plexus works for you!  :)

I do sell the products...but I only do that because I believe in them and have seen the results myself!  I will not sell anything that I feel isn't a good value for the money...I don't believe in taking advantage of someone else just for the sake of a sale.  But, when I consider how much my health and energy has improved since starting Plexus, I can tell you, it's worth EVERY penny we spend on it!  I originally started selling Plexus simply so that I could buy it at wholesale...but when others started seeing how it was working for me, they wanted to know what I was doing and how they could get it, too.  And so...I started selling to others!  Now, I have two other people on my team who are doing what I do...getting their own product at a discount, and one of them has had such success she has long passed me!  :)  I love that I get to help others make something better of their lives by getting healthy, and for those who want it, earning an extra paycheck every month!  :)  If you are interested in Plexus, let me know!  You can order the products directly from my website (www.plexusslim.com/karaj) and they will be shipped to you in a few days.  If you'd like to know how you can order them at wholesale and even earn an extra paycheck by helping others, just contact me at karaj.plexus@gmail.com and I'll be happy to answer any questions you have and help you get started!  :)

Best Thing I Have EVER Done To Lose Weight!

Yes, I know...it has been a whole month since I last wrote my blog.  No, it's not because I stopped losing weight...it's just that life has been busy and I've been spending more time with family and less time on the computer.  As I mentioned last time, I watched the little guy I used to babysit for a week and then our homeschooling year began...and it's a busy one!  My 4th grader and I are both working on Memory Master with our Classical Conversations group...this means we will be memorizing 161 timeline events, as well as 24 weeks worth of History, English Grammar, Geography, Latin, Science, and Math memory work...and will recite it all at the end of the school year!  In addition to that, he is also taking the Essentials class that is part of Classical Conversations.  It's an intense Language Arts and Math program that will further prepare him for Challenge when he reaches 7th grade.  :)  So needless to say, that's where a chunk of my attention goes...not to mention my almost-15-month-old (and he demands as much Momma-time as he can get)!  ;)

So...that's why I haven't been writing...unlike previous times when I stopped writing because I stopped losing.  ;)  In fact, I'm now at 23.6 pounds lost!  I've said it before...and I'll say it again...this is BY FAR the EASIEST and MOST EFFECTIVE thing I have ***EVER*** done to lose weight!!!  Only twice in my lifetime have I lost more than I have this time around...and both times, I was strictly following a diet plan and exercising 5+ days per week!  And BOTH times, when I stopped exercising & dieting, I gained every pound I'd lost and then some...and much faster than I'd taken it off, too!

But with Plexus, I'm not following any strict diet plan, not counting calories or points, not watching fat grams, not suffering through fat-free and low-fat versions of foods just so I can stay within my food plan, not giving up the foods I love...and what's even better, no longer struggling with cravings!  What I AM doing is eating foods I love when I'm hungry, stopping when I'm full...and not eating if I'm not hungry!  I am continually amazed at how little amount of food fills me up sometimes!  Earlier this week, I went out to eat with a friend a restaurant famous for their wings.  My usual order at this restaurant is 10 boneless wings with fries and a side salad...and I've never had any problem finishing it...usually would even go for ice cream or something afterwards!  But, this night, it was 50 cent boneless wings night...so I just ordered 10 wings and a side salad.  I ate my salad and a few of the wings and felt completely stuffed, so I took the rest home.  It wasn't until I got home that I checked how many wings I had left and realized I had only eaten FOUR wings before feeling very full...and I didn't even get fries!  Today was another example...I wasn't very hungry at breakfast, so I just had coffee (I don't become human without my coffee!)...then when I went to do my grocery shopping, I realized I was hungry, so I got a chicken tender wrap (one of my favorites) at the Publix deli.  I sat down to eat it and after finishing half of it, realized I was full!  I didn't even have chips or anything with it (other than my Plexus drink)!  About 3 hours later, I realized I was hungry again, and finished the other half...and was completely satisfied!  SOOOO not like me before Plexus!  I'm still retraining my brain to pay attention to my stomach's signals...so, sometimes I eat too much before I realize it...and feel Thanksgiving-Dinner-full on less food than I would have normally eaten!

Another thing that still amazes me is that this former Diet-Coke-a-holic no longer likes the taste of Diet Coke or any other soda, for that matter!  I used to buy a 6-pack of 20-oz. bottles at the grocery store every week, not to mention all the Diet Coke I would drink when eating out, pulling through the drive-thru, or going somewhere like Target's Cafe.  Well, today, we cleaned out the fridge and found 5 Diet Cokes that expired in April...which was when I started taking Plexus!  I just don't care for them anymore!  And what's even more amazing...this formerly water-phobic girl (i.e. wouldn't drink water unless it was the only option or necessary for saving money) now CRAVES WATER!!!!  WHAT?!?!  Yep...I actually PREFER to drink water over any other beverage!  Occasionally, I'll have an unsweet tea or I'll put either lemon juice or Crystal Light in my water...but for the most part, I drink it plain...just ice and water!  :)

Also, the other two times I lost a significant amount of weight, I was serious about exercise!  The most weight I've ever lost was 80 pounds on a program through my church called First Place.  My cousin (who is an exercise fanatic) had already had me walking with her and became my personal weight-loss coach!  I loved hanging out with her, so the exercise didn't seem so bad.  We started by walking around her neighborhood (pushing her little girl in the stroller) several times a week...and eventually progressed to working out at the YMCA five days a week in the wee hours of the morning (this is when I discovered that 5 o'clock does indeed come twice a day)!  ;)  I did great with it all...until my cousin moved a couple hours away, and I eventually moved to a different state.  Slowly, the weight came creeping back on (though not nearly as slowly as it had come off)!  The other time was a few years ago when I decided to give Weight Watchers another go.  I was doing it secretly...planning to surprise my family at Christmas.  I was exercising at least 45 minutes per day on the elliptical (because it produced the most activity points, which meant I could eat more) and going to the gym at least 4-5 days per week...more if I could fit it in.  This worked well for a few months and I lost about 30 pounds...but then I lost my motivation and the cravings started to take over and the best I did after that was maintain for awhile...losing a few tenths of a pound here, gaining a few there, etc.  Eventually, I gave up.  I made a few more attempts at WW, but none were very successful because the motivation just wasn't there!

But with Plexus, there's no motivation needed!  I get up in the morning, take my accelerator and drink my pink drink...then just listen to my body for signals that I'm hungry or full!  That's really all there is to it!  In the pictures above, you see my "Before" picture that was taken at an Avon President's Club Recognition Luncheon.  I had NO idea just how fat I was then until I compared that picture with some my son took this morning!  I had him take the pictures this morning because I realized that the shorts that used to be too small and the belt that wouldn't even make it around me a few months ago not only fit, but I could put my fists in with the belt on the LAST hole!  I don't always realize how well I'm doing...and sometimes it seems the scale just won't move as fast as I would like it to move (or as fast as it seems to move for others)...but I just keep reminding myself of the moral of the Tortoise and the Hare...slow and steady wins the race!  As a dear friend reminded me today...we are running a marathon, not a 500 yard dash!  :)

So...if you would like to know more about this wonderful product that is literally transforming my body, email me at karaj.plexus@gmail.com, check out my Facebook page, or visit my Website (just click on the links).  If you think you can't afford it, consider becoming an Ambassador.  The annual membership is only $34.95/year and you can get your products at wholesale, as well as earn more money when others order from your website!  And trust me...when others see what Plexus is doing for you, they will want to know what you are doing - you might as well let them order from you and earn 15-25% of what they order!  It takes just 5 people ordering the combo and it's like getting your own product for FREE!  :)  Let me know if you have questions or want to get started!  I'd love to have you on my team!  :)

Weekly Weigh-in

Yep, it's FRIDAY!!!  For many people, that simply means the end of the work week and the beginning of their weekend.  For me, it's weigh-in day!  :)  Time to face the scale and see what it has to say about my progress for the week.  But, before I reveal the results, let me tell you a little about my week.

This was the last week I had completely free from responsibilities other than the normal everyday stuff of being the mom of two amazing boys.  Next week, I'll have the little boy I've babysat for the last year and a half (since he was 3 months old) while his mom goes back to work (she's a school teacher) and his new babysitter is on vacation (I will be the back-up babysitter this year so that I can focus more on homeschooling my oldest).  The week after that, we begin our first week of homeschooling for the new school year.  So, summer is officially over!  LOL!  But, we made the best of it!  :)

Monday I had lunch with a long-time friend at our favorite Mexican restaurant.  I ordered my regular meal (steak fajita quesadilla with the white cheese dip appetizer)...but ended up bringing most of the cheese dip home and half my quesadilla!  Monday night, I had a meeting at church for new middle school leaders and we were served sub sandwiches, chips, and a double-decker cookie cake for dinner (yep, had the cookie cake)!  Tuesday, the boys and I headed to the pool and had a relaxing day with friends.  I had some of the left over sub sandwich for lunch..and then we had Taco Tuesday at home for dinner!  Wednesday we had fun with friends at the park (i.e. the boys ran and played and I sat and chatted with my mommy friends) and then grabbed some lunch at Target while we got a birthday present for a party we will attend tomorrow (ya know Target has Pizza Hut pizza, right?).  Then we had Wednesday Night Dinner at our church...and since I'm not a fish eater (the main meal was crab stuffed sole), I opted for the alternative meal...cheeseburger and fries (and for some reason, they made mine a double!).  Thursday we had a MOPS playdate & ice cream social...but I had no desire to eat the ice cream...even when my 1-year-old was done after eating only half of his...so I gave the rest to my 9-year-old (who was happy to oblige!).  :)  We came home after that and had some leftover pizza that my hubby had brought home from a youth event after church the night before (I'd come home right after church to put the baby to bed).  Thursday night was my night out with a couple of friends before we attended a group meeting at church, and I had Chicken Teriyaki at the Sushi Thai restaurant where we went.  So...that will give you an idea of what my diet has been like this week before I weighed in this morning.  ;)  As far as exercise...I got in 30 minutes on the elliptical ONE morning this week (I think Wednesday) when I woke up early on my own.  THAT IS IT!!!!

Why did I tell you all that?  Well...you see, in spite of all of that, I still lost a pound this week!  I am now at 19 pounds total...and I have NOT done ANY dieting and VERY LITTLE exercise!  Yes, I know I could have lost so much more if I had actually made better choices in my eating and put in a few more days at the gym...but the great thing about Plexus is that I don't HAVE to do that or feel the least bit deprived while losing weight!  I'm certainly eating less than I was before taking Plexus (like bringing home part of my lunch) and some things have lost their appeal (like the ice cream at the social) - and that IS making a difference.  But, I'm not struggling to do it...it's happening naturally!  I'm not beating myself up over every bite I put in my mouth.  I'm not counting calories or killing myself at the gym.  And yet, I'm still losing weight at a healthy rate (roughly 1-2 pounds per week).  And even though it's been a few months, I'm STILL amazed at what Plexus is doing for me!  :)

If you would like to know more about Plexus, you can email me at karaj.plexus@gmail.com or check out my website: www.karaj.myplexusproducts.com.  If you'd like to know how you can earn money while you lose weight, I'd love to help you with that!  Just email me for more information!  :)  I also have a Facebook Page that you can check out if you are on Facebook - I post information, testimonials, and links to my weekly weigh-in blogs there...and sometimes I offer deals and/or contests!  :)  

Putting Things In Perspective

As I shared with you in my last post, we've had LOTS of junk food in our house the last couple of months...not to mention, Blue Bell ice cream was on sale TWICE (and was even BOGO last week!)...and if you have ever eaten Blue Bell ice cream, you totally understand what that means!  Oh yeah...I bought it and I enjoyed it!  :)  If you haven't tried Blue Bell, just think HOMEMADE ice cream...that's exactly what it tastes like!  It is by far the BEST store bought ice cream I have ever put in my mouth (second only to my grandfather's homemade peach ice cream, which I can't get anymore)!  But, we only buy it when it's on sale because it's six-something a half-gallon and that's not quite budget-friendly!  So, usually store-bought ice cream isn't a big temptation for me...but Blue Bell totally is!

Having said that...I HAVE been eating less junk this week and listening to my body's cues a little more...and it shows!  I lost 1.6 pounds this week...so I am now at 18.2 pounds of total weight loss!  Looking forward to that 20 lb. weight loss!  :)  I have not, however, gotten much exercise this week.  I did spend about 45 minutes playing Wii Sports on Monday...but then I was dealing with some monthly physical issues (trying not to be too TMI) this week and didn't feel up to doing much more than was necessary to get through the day. So, exercise did NOT happen after that.

I'll be honest with you...I was totally starting to get down on myself when the scale wasn't moving like it had been...or really, at all like I wanted it too!  But once I took a hard look at what I was doing and realized that part of that was related to how I was eating and what I was doing (or more accurately, NOT doing...namely, exercise!), then it started to make sense.  I have said before that you don't HAVE to follow a diet plan or exercise to lose weight with Plexus...and that is still true.  But, you DO have to be smart about what you eat and listen to your body, not just stuff whatever tastes good in your mouth and keep stuffing it past the point of full just because it does taste good.  Plexus is NOT a magic pill.  It will NOT cause you to lose weight regardless of what you do.  But, it WILL help you...if you are willing to do your part!  It takes away the cravings for unhealthy foods.  It helps you to feel full on less food.  But, you have to listen to what your body says in order to lose the weight.  Weight loss is both biological (as in eating correctly) and behavioral (as in making wise choices).  Plexus does help with both...but it doesn't do all the work for you.  You have to be willing to do your part...and that's the very important lesson I learned over the last few weeks.  Now...having said all that, I do want to add that if I had not been taking Plexus, rather than having maintained my weight, I totally would have gained some, if not all, of the weight I have lost so far.  So, I would say that is still very much a victory!  :)

By the way, I asked a friend who is also doing Plexus and who had previously done another product that is geared toward weight loss (Advocare) what the differences are between the two since I have friends and family who are doing the Advocare.  She told me that first of all, Plexus is a LOT less expensive and has been FAR more effective for her.  She told me that Advocare was geared more toward athletes, so unless you were willing to work out for hours each day, you wouldn't see much change.  She told me that other than when she did the cleanse with Advocare, she never lost anything on their products (and she used the products for quite some time).  She has lost 20 pounds so far on Plexus (since May) without dieting or exercise!  I think that says a lot for our products and am very glad to know her personal comparison!

For those of you who think Plexus is too expensive, it really boils down to just a little over $3/day.  That's about how much I used to spend on one soda at a restaurant or one coffee at a local coffee shop!  Since I now pretty much only want to drink water after my morning coffee (that I have at home), I have saved that much and more!  And, if you sign up to become an Ambassador, you will get your products at wholesale and can actually EARN money while losing weight!  You only need to find 5 friends to join you on the journey and order through you, and then your product is basically FREE every month because your commission will cover the cost of your product (and then some)!  :)  If you want to learn more and don't already have a Plexus Ambassador, contact me via email at karaj.plexus@gmail.com for more information and with any questions you may have.  :)  I would love to tell you more about how Plexus can work for you...and even how to earn an extra income while losing weight!  :)  If you just want to go ahead and order or check it out yourself, you can visit my website at www.karaj.myplexusproducts.com.  :)

Talk to you next week!  :)
Kara

Time for an Update! ;)

Sorry for the delay in posting updates...I have had a lot of "life" going on lately!  As I mentioned in my last post, my dad has been in the hospital.  He's home now, but he's still dealing with the health issues...most likely a life-long thing for him at this point.  My birthday also happened in this time span...which brings with it a whole host of issues (both good and bad)!  ;)  So, to just say "life happened" is probably a huge understatement, but is better than burdening you with all the crazy details!  LOL!

Anyway, my point being that no matter what you do to lose weight, life is going to happen.  You are going to have birthdays, parties, events, special occasions, sad times, stressful times, crazy-out-of-control times, etc.  You can't let that sidetrack you completely from the big picture!  If you do, then you fail.  BUT...if you pick yourself up (yes, I must say it...by your bootstraps!), and keep going, then you succeed!  You might not get there as fast as you would like, you may not do all you want to do...BUT, you will get there if you don't give up!

That's where I am today!  We have had a constant stream of cake and/or cookie-cake in our house since my son's 1st birthday in June...and I have enjoyed every single bite, I'm not gonna lie!  ;)  But, as a result, my weight loss the last couple of weeks has not been what I would like it to be.  On more than one occasion, I have eaten past the point of fullness...sometimes to the point of feeling stuffed (think: after Thanksgiving dinner stuffed)!  The good news is that I've felt this stuffed on far less food than I would have in the past!  I felt stuffed on less food than I would have normally eaten in a given sitting just 3 months ago!  And I'm thankful for that!  That, in itself, is progress!  And now that the eating out and sweets in the house period is over for the time being, I'm getting myself back on track!

So, while the scale hasn't really moved for me the last couple of weeks, I still feel like there has been success.  I'm more conscious of what I eat, I'm full (or even stuffed) on far less food, and unlike years prior to this, I have not gained significant weight eating as I have the last few weeks!  I usually gain 3-5 pounds during my birthday week...just from all the eating out (LOVE those free birthday meal coupons I get in my email inbox!) and cake!  But, in the last two weeks, I've only gained a pound (when I weighed in on Friday)...and by Monday, I had lost that pound.  I can only attribute this to the Plexus Slim that I've been taking!  There certainly hasn't been any exercise happening in my life lately...unless you count parking a little further away from the store from time to time, just because it was the first parking spot I found!  ;)  But, each day is a new day and I'm working myself up to actually getting some exercise into my daily (or at least weekly) routine!

I know two things happen when I actually do get regular exercise: (1) I feel better, and (2) I lose weight faster!  So, even though I'm still at an average of 1.5 pounds per week of weight loss, I really wanna ramp it up!  But, in order to do that, I've gotta drag my lazy butt out of bed at 6am...not something that comes easy to this non-morning-person gal!  I'd much rather exercise mid-morning...it's when I'm more awake and have the energy to go...but, that doesn't work well for my schedule during the week.  In order to get to a gym that has child care, I have to drive across town...and I have to get there and complete my workout before noon. Between my 9-year-old who shares my aversion to mornings and my 1-year-old who takes a mid-morning nap, this makes doing this nearly impossible.  So, if I'm going to fit this in on a regular basis, I either need to resolve myself to getting up earlier (and missing out on that precious last-minute morning sleep while hubby showers) or go in the evenings after hubby gets home...but that would make my exercise sporadic at best because of the things I'm involved in that meet in the evenings and my desire to spend time together as a family when we are all home.  So...mornings it is!  Please pray for me!  I'm gonna need it!  ;)

God bless you all...no matter where you are on your journey!  Regardless of whether you don't really need to lose weight, are in the process of losing weight, or need to lose weight but haven't found the motivation...I pray that you enjoy reading my blog and find some enjoyment/encouragement from it!  :)  Feel free to leave comments or contact me at karaj.plexus@gmail.com for more info.  :)

Weekly Weigh-in Report

My hubby was off today, so we slept in and I weighed in a few hours later than I usually do...but it was still before I had breakfast, so I'm going with it.  :)  I am down another 2.6 pounds this week, which makes my grand total 17.4 pounds since April 19th.  :)

In addition to the loss on the scale, I also had a non-scale victory.  Wednesday, I put on a size 22 jeans and not only did they fit, but they were actually a little loose.  :)  While some people would be sad about that size, it actually was a victory for me!  You see, before my Plexus journey began, I couldn't even fit into a size 24...and I refused to buy any size larger than that, so I just bought pants with elastic & vague sizing so that I didn't have to face how big I was getting.  But, Plexus is changing all that!  :)  I knew I needed a belt with those size 24 jeans I was finally fitting into, so I decided to give my 22's a shot...and was pleasantly surprised that they fit!  Later that evening at church, a friend noticed me hitching them up and said, "Pants getting loose?"  I was happy to report to her that not only were they loose, but they were at least 2 sizes smaller than what I'd worn before!  :)

It's been a crazy week...my dad went in the hospital Tuesday night with many health issues.  I'm 650 miles away, so I'm having to rely on family for updates.  Thankfully, they've been pretty good at keeping me posted.  But, I'm having a hard time focusing, as you can imagine.  Sorry for the short post, but I am literally worn out from worrying about him.  If you believe in God, please say a prayer for my dad.  <3  

God bless!