Thin Girl Thursday {7}

Sorry if these posts are getting old.  It's all I've had time to post about lately other than a random post here and there.  My school term ends tomorrow, so hopefully it means more time for blogging!

Someone told me yesterday that I would go back to stuffing my face with cookies as soon as I was done with my diet.  I quickly informed her that this isn't just a diet, this is a lifestyle change for me.  She also told me not to deprive myself of things because it will cause me to binge eat later down the road.  Um, that might be how it is for you, but not for me.  If I feel like I want something sweet I go for my strawberries sprinkled with stevia instead of those double stuffed oreos.  If I'm feeling like a salty snack I grab my melba toast and put some hummus on it.  Is that saying I will never eat those sweets and snacks I did before?  No way.  It's my way of teaching myself to turn to healthier choices rather than immediately go for the cheetos.  And once I reach my goal, if I want cookies or ice cream, I will have it.  Hopefully I will just not do it as often or make better choices when the situation rises. 

People baffle me.  Everyone on the blog has been nothing but supportive of me, then I run into something like this and it just irritates me.  So I went to yoga to chill out and all is well with Lauren once again.

What lifestyle changes are you making in your quest to a healthier you?

Thin Girl Thursday {6}

I got on the scale this morning and felt like crying.  It wasn't because I was sad or upset about my weight.  But it was because I am now down 10 pounds from when I started.  It might not sound like a lot to everyone, but for me this is huge.  I finally feel like I'm accomplishing something and I'm getting somewhere.  That all of my hard work is starting to pay off.  And can I tell you how awesome that feeling is?  Now I'm hoping that I can keep up my momentum and drop the rest of those pesky pounds!

Now I know what is working for me and that I must plan, plan, plan!  I write down my meals, sometimes for the upcoming day sometimes for the next couple of days it just depends.  Then at night, I've been packing my lunch so I don't feel rushed in the morning.  I make sure I have plenty of water throughout the day.  It's a lot of work, but it's so worth it.  I haven't been going out to eat, but because I was on travel for work the first part of the week one time it was necessary.  So on our way to the restaurant I pulled up my calorie count app on my phone and went through some different menu items that I thought would work with the calories/protein/fat/carbs I had left to work with for the day.  I looked at the nutritional values and made up my mind what I would be ordering before I could sit down with the menu and be tempted by those darn french fries that I love so much.  See, if you plan ahead and make a decision to stick to it you avoid the depression sometimes felt when you cheat on your diet or make poor food choices. 

So if you're working on your eating habits make sure you plan ahead!  You won't regret it :)

Hope you all have a fabulous Thursday!

The needle on my record player has been wearing thin....

I was laying in the bed in my hotel room and out of no where a memory flashes in my head.  A memory I haven't thought about in quite some time, but it was so vivid, it was almost like it happened yesterday.  I felt a flood of grief come over me and I realized that sleep simply isn't going to happen.

It's about one month short of a year ago, when I was sitting almost exactly where I am now.  I was on travel for work, same town and same hotel.  I was catching up on my emails and facebook after a day full of meetings and recently had something new I checked religiously for updates.  One of my dear friends, Nick, was involved in a terrible motorcycle accident and was in and out of consciousness so his mother set up a Caring Bridge site to keep everyone informed on his health status.  Sitting in my hotel room, I checked Caring Bridge and saw a new entry.  Apparently the infection was spreading too fast for the doctors to control it.  You see, he had terrible burns on his body from the road and the skin that was burned was also terribly infected from all of the junk on the roads.  I remember how I felt when I read that the doctor's would be amputating Nick's leg.  I was devastated for him.  I called my sister and we cried.  I told her how I couldn't imagine how terrible it would be to wake up missing a leg.  I cried more when I thought of how if anyone could make it through something like this, it would be Nick.  He would always keep his spirit up.  I knew he wouldn't let missing a leg keep him from playing his guitar or going out and returning to the "old Nick" like nothing had happened.  I did not once think that he wouldn't wake up.  Or that losing a leg wasn't so bad at all compared to losing your life.  August 25, 2009 Nick took his last breath.  His body was unable to handle all that was happening and he finally passed away.  Two days later I started my blog.  I wanted to do a post for him, like a memorial, but every time I tried to start it I just couldn't do it.  So now, almost a year later I'm finally getting around to it.

Nick and I practically grew up together.  It's safe to say he is one of my oldest friends.  We were in kindergarten together, and countless other classes that followed.  When we were in elementary school he was the only boy I would invite to my birthday parties, you know because boys had cooties and all.  And he came to all of them.  We were in gifted classes together from 3rd to 8th grade, and had most of our classes together in high school.  In high school he was in a band, that my best friends and I were totally groupies for.  I'll never forget when they played Hit or Miss at a pep rally at school or the time the play at Project Graduation when we were so excited to be done with high school.  Or the countless shows I would go to at "The Den" to watch them play.  I remember when he worked at the mini-golf place one summer and we would go up there to see him (and play for free, of course).  And of course there was the time when he and my best friend were the other half to my double date for prom.  The late nights at Coram's (it's like our local Waffle House, but way better) and fun parties we would go to.  But the thing that sticks out the most in my mind is that I do not recall in the 20 years that I knew him anyone ever saying anything bad about him.  Or saying that he mistreated anyone.  He was a genuine person and nice to everyone it seemed.  He was one of the nicest, most caring human beings I have ever known and I was blessed to have had him in my life.

So this post is for you Nick, after almost a year of putting it off.  I know you are smiling down on us from heaven...

Anyone?

I have a question.... I know it's not for another 2 months, but I will be on vacation for 2 glorious weeks and not able to post on my blog.  So I was wondering... would anyone want to guest blog while I'm gone?  Anyone?  I'm not picky, it could be about anything.  Give it a thought or two and let me know.  Send me an email or leave your email in a comment and we'll work it out.  This sounds like an awesome idea in my head, we'll just have to see how it pans out.

Hope you're all having a fabulous week!

Thin Girl Thursday {5}

Happy Thursday all!  I'm down some more pounds, which is freaking awesome if you ask me :)  Today I want to talk about motivation.  Sometimes we need that extra little umph to get us going.  I know for me lack of motivation was one of the biggest issues I had in being successful with a weight loss program.  I would start something and never stick with it.  At first I thought getting married would be motivation enough, but it wasn't.  I've finally decided to this for me, for my health, for my happiness and well-being, for my fiance, for my future children and if that isn't motivation enough I don't know what is.  So if you're struggling with weight, find out what being healthy really means to you. Why do you want to better yourself?  Once you find what being healthy really means to you, your motivation will follow. 

Hope you all have a happy, healthy week!

Bonjour!

I have recently decided to learn some French....  

John and I are taking an amazing vacation this fall and I want to be ready.  We're flying into Amsterdam then heading to Munich for Oktoberfest and ending our trip in Paris.  I decided to focus on learning French because John and I will be by ourselves in Paris and I figure we need all the help we can get!  We're going with a big group of friends and I'm really excited.

So I bought some software that I've been playing with and hopefully I will know enough to stumble around and find some friendly English-speaking locals.  Anyone been to Paris?  I would love some suggestions of must sees and things that you could do without :)

Hope everyone had a happy holiday weekend!

Thin Girl Thursday {4}

I have some great news today!  I'm down another 2 pounds woohoo!  I lost 2.5 last week and 2 this week.  It's such a great feeling to finally be losing weight on a steady basis.  Now I just have to keep it up.  I really believe my recent weight loss is because of the change in my diet.  Don't get my wrong, I've had some days where I wasn't good.  Like this weekend when I had pizza and ice cream :\  But I've really changed how much I'm eating and what I'm eating.  The Calorie Count App on my phone has been a huge help!  It really keeps me accountable.  If you aren't using a calorie tracker you definitely should!

This week my focus is on vitamins.  I haven't been taking my vitamins like I should.  When I have my Shakeology for breakfast it's not much of an issue, but I don't get it everyday.  So now I'm going to work on taking my multivitamin, calcium/magnesium, and B12 everyday for the next 30 days.  Hopefully after that it will be ingrained in my mind and I won't forget!

How has your week been?  Anything good news to report?  Let's keep each other accountable and become the healthy happy people we should be!!