Monday, September 26, 2011

Friend Makin Mondays


If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
FMM: What’s your favorite holiday? And why?

It's hard to say, really. I have always traditionally loved Christmas. Growing up I had always loved the family get-togethers at my Grandma's house, with my cousins and aunts and uncles. It was a little slice of heaven for me, really. Sadly, those days have been over since the 90's. They will always be in my memory and I will always yearn for that. At this point, we don't have family we are close enough with to have the sort of get-togethers from days past. I still enjoy Christmastime, but it's not the same. My family is still young, and we are still creating our own traditions. I love Christmas, but I think I am beginning to equally love Halloween.

I love Halloween because it's a fun time of the year. The kids get to dress up in their favorite costume of choice.... we get to pick pumpkins and decorate the house.... it's fun!

.....And for the first time in my adult life - I can say - I love Halloween because it's an opportunity for me to DRESS UP in a way I would not usually dress. ;) I have not dressed up for Halloween since I was like, 12.

Now... I'm not saying I am going to intentionally dress.... provocatively. No, screw that. Yes, I AM saying that. Here it is in bold: I intend to wear a sexy costume. Because for the first time in my life, I feel like I finally CAN.... and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to "get away with it" (aka not get horrified looks when I walk by).

The funny thing is, I don't even know how to dress sexy! I mean, not really?! I have spent my entire adult life trying to "hide" as much as I can. The thought of showing off anything is a little scary.... yet exciting!
A "marine?"
A sexy cop?

A vixen pirate, maybe?
Or maybe a nurse.....

Of course, anything I decide on will probably still be on the more conservative side. And I'm short so the skirts will not ride up as high on me as they do on the models.  But looking around at all of the options out there is definitely amusing. I'll let you know after October 31st how I feel about Halloween. But I'm thinking it could be my new favorite...if only because it is the most fun! :)





Wednesday, September 14, 2011

A Shocking Confession and a setback

Hi. I'm Laura......

And I'm addicted to food.

Shocking, right?? Maybe not to you, but to me, saying this, and admitting this is a big step for me. Because I didn't think I had an addiction problem.

For.... ever... I never thought food addiction was my problem. I didn't think food ruled my life. I mean heck, I could go an entire day without eating anything at ALL.  I would just have a big dinner and sometimes a late night snack.

So if you're only eating once in a day, that demonstrates all by itself that there is no "addiction."

Right?? Oh wait, you mean that's WRONG???


While losing weight, I discovered, much to my surprise... that yes, I am indeed addicted to food. Just like alcoholics are addicted to their booze, just like druggies are addicted to their drugs... I am addicted to food.

The varied periods of time in my life where I would only eat once a day - that one meal was always a good one, and it was always whatever I was "craving" that night.

My husband and I have always been big on going out to eat.

Often, the topic of dinner was brought up hours before. Sometimes my husband would bring up dinner before he even had lunch! We fattened the wallets of chain restaurants - Olive Garden, Outback, Red Lobster, Applebees, Bennigan's (before they closed down), Friendly's, and on and on. Our monthly totals from dining out were staggering! But the whole "going out to eat" problem is better left for another post! The point is that food and where to go, what to have... was always on our minds.

**
For the past few days I have been giving in to my cravings in a big way. I even ate ice cream for two nights in a row, and tonight I had a generous sized bowl. I am DISGUSTED with myself. I am angry at myself.

My husband wanted Outback last night. So what did we have? I ended up having about half of a 6 oz steak, some green beans, a salad (at least I used 0 calorie Walden Farms salad dressing), and then probably about HALF of that darn loaf of bread!!!! So even though I don't consider the majority of the meal TOO bad (though probably more calories than I should have had) - the bread killed it. And yes, I used the whipped butter. WHY did I do that!? Why did I do that, knowing it would sabotage my diet?

And then to add insult to injury, I had ice cream shortly after. I also ate like, 2 *boxes* of Fruit Loops in a matter of a day and a half. Seriously!? I am so mad at myself right now!! What is my problem!? And WHY have I been feeling so hungry that I'm just giving in to my cravings?

I REFUSE to be the yo-yo dieter.

I REFUSE to be the girl who loses a ton of weight....
...only to gain it right back.

Ugh. These past few days/weeks have been a setback. I am absolutely dreading my weigh-in at the clinic tomorrow. My last weigh in (2 weeks ago) I only lost .8 pounds. So in my opinion, I did not lose weight. Because let's face it, I could have just been wearing .8 pounds less of clothing for all I know!

Anyway will update when I can. I need to end here and publish otherwise this is going to sit in my "drafts" for ever. The first half of this post was actually in my blog drafts for months! :X

Monday, September 5, 2011

Friend Makin Mondays

I would really like to update with a more bloggy-type post, but my brain is fried and I am exhausted. So what else is there to do when exhausted, than a survey? Really though, I appreciate that blogger Kenlie creates these every week. When I participate, it means at the very least that I am visiting my own page! Which is good because it reminds me not to forget about it!

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
We’ve talked about this topic before, but this week the questions are different so take a few minutes to think on your answers. And if you have any ideas for FMM, feel free to pass them along! And if we use them, you’ll be sure to get the credit! :)

FMM: Favorite Things

1) What is your favorite food?  Oddly enough, I don't really have an all-time favorite. I go through phases of craving different foods though... and since I have been actively losing weight, my biggest nemesis has been cereal. Yes, cereal. And of course, I don't crave the healthy stuff. No. Give me a big ol' box of Apple Jacks, or Fruit Loops, or Frosted Flakes, and I can polish it down in a short amount of time. And these aren't the "reduced sugar" variety either. ::sigh:: Those and Reese's Mini-cups. Stupid cravings. And carbs. Ugh. I guess my favorite food group, generally speaking, would be sweets and carbs. Yeah. And I wonder how I managed to gain all the weight I did over the years!

2) What is your favorite childhood memory?  Spending Christmases and the 4th of July at my Grandma's house, playing with my cousins and just generally having a wonderful time and feeling loved.

3) What is your favorite way to burn calories?  The wii!! I love Dance Dance Revolution and Just Dance. And it's even better when my kids play too. Or even Wii Active. The best way to burn calories is when you're having a good time!! Dancing is definitely a great calorie burner.

4) What is your favorite mode of technological communication? Phone? Text? E-mail? Tweets?  Over the years this has changed. For a while, I preferred email, hands down. Now I prefer the phone. I like to talk to the person I'm communicating with, and it's also much less time consuming than sitting down preparing an email. And it helps bonding more.

5) Who is your favorite actor/actress? Honestly, I very rarely think about actors and actresses and I think the celebrities out there get paid an absurd amount for essentially playing make-believe. I definitely like several out there, but I'm too tired right now to think about who.

6) What is your favorite lip color? Honestly I have no idea? For EVER I wore Revlon's Mocha-something-or-other. But it was clearly too dark for my complexion. I got away with it from 16-23 but think I would look ridiculous with it now. But I'm completely clueless in this area. I really need to sit down with someone who has a good eye for flattering makeup (and clothing, and hairstyles, and everything else I didn't pay attention to for 10+ years) to show me what looks good on me.

7) Who is your favorite historical figure? Well I enjoy learning about the Tudor Dynasty, but I can't say that any of the particular people (Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, etc) are my "favorite." It's hard to say which historical figure is my favorite. I could also be having a difficult time with this because it is now 3:19am :X

8)  Who is your favorite athlete?  Mike Alstott, definitely. Not only was he a great football player, but he is also an amazing person "IRL." And he's a huge supporter of LEO's (law enforcement officers) and their families, which is big in my book.


9) What is your favorite TV network? Whichever network has Modern Family (abc?), also a fan of HLN, TLC, A&E, NatGeo

10) What is your favorite site on the web? I'd have to say The Nest/bump. I've gone there (for the message boards) since 2003 and think I will continue to go there for years to come. There are others sites I love too, but at this point, I've got to hit the "publish post" button and get the heck to bed. I am starting to nod off!!