THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR INQUIRIES LAST NIGHT...

...(since I didn’t come straight home & update you guys…busy day!!) & for well wishes today…very heartwarming!

THANKS for all of your skinny vibes, love & support...it obviously worked, cuz YES, I REACHED 50.2 LBS YESTERDAY!!! (week 38)

Of course I was beside myself when I saw that number on the scale! My leader was ALMOST as thrilled as I was, she knew how much this meant to me!

I sat down & had the hardest time holding myself together...I'm sure everyone around me thought I had a rotten WI or something cuz I was blinking back the tears. I had to just "breathe....just breathe Julie" Whew!

Michelle did the awards at the end of the meeting & left me 2nd to last (there was a man who reached 75# yesterday!!! YEAH!). I think that being a part of GOAD makes us a different kind of meeting member, don't you? I mean, Michelle asks me questions cuz she knows how I feel about this whole thing & knows that I'm able to get the "reality" of this lifestyle across to these people (WHEN I can keep it together, anyway...I almost lost it several times when I was talking) in a way that will hopefully make them think about challenging themselves & the way they think about how they are dealing w/ this weight of theirs. Whereas, this man who has had this incredible 75# loss had very little to say.

It was great! The lady next to me reached over & rubbed my shoulder & said "Congratulations!". I just love it when people reach out to you like that... it seems to happen to me @ each meeting when I've lost another 5 lbs or reached a milestone...very personal...knowing that they want to make sure you made a personal connection w/ someone.

Anyways…I immediately called my DH when I got out of the meeting & balled…. then called my parents in Colorado…I was so excited!!

You guys know how I feel about this…this has been such an incredible journey for me… a truly life changing journey… different, cuz I’m 100% here, you know? I’ve figured out how to make this a life one that I can embrace as my own & be satisfied w/ it!

Having all of you here right beside me is such a vital part of it…you have helped me to reach way down deep inside of myself, to challenge myself everyday to do my best… to do what I know is right & to know that this is something that I CAN DO & to be PROUD!

I AM PROUD of myself & I thank you guys for being here for me & for eachother and for letting me be such a huge part of your lives as well!

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I have a few new NSVs (Non-Scale Victories)!

#1 - I now weigh LESS than what my Driver's License says....and I just renewed it in May! Why in the world I didn't lower my weight another 50 lbs or so is beyond me!! LOL!!

#2 - I have a good buddy on GoaD that has challenged me to start climbing a hill in my neighborhood that I had been avoiding up till about a month ago. My neighborhood is just a "boot shaped" street...a full mile round trip if I leave off the hill, which you could call the "heel" of this boot. (the hill adds another 1/10th mile) It's a cul-de-sac that goes down to the lake & the kids love to go down there & throw rocks...climbing it after playing down there for a while used to wind me really easily. Well...not only have I increased my walks from 2 miles @ 40 minutes up to 3 miles in an hour, but I have added this hill as well. I head straight to it when I start out...walk down & then back up it once, walk a 1/2 mile to the end of the neighborhood (the toe...another cul-de-sac) & back to the hill to walk it TWICE...then back to the "toe" & then to the hill to walk it THREE times (I walk down, then back up...reach the top & then turn right back around)... back to the "toe", then to the hill to walk it FOUR more times (ten times total) & then up to the other end of the neighborhood (the leg?) & back to my house...3 miles/1 hour. I was just walking the full neighborhood 3 times w/out doing the hill & that was kinda boring. This hill certainly breaks the walk up a bit...give me a challenge to be proud of & doesn't wind me or slow my pace down anymore!! Awesome, huh??

#3 - It's been a while since I took my measurements, but all of my NEW pants are getting really baggy...I even had to take a safety pin to the waist of my jeans the other day! (no belts in sight!)

...look @ these numbers...(I didn't take my measurements until I had been OP for 2 months & had already lost 9 lbs)

BODY PART...INCHES LOST LAST 2 MONTHS...TOTAL INCHES LOST SINCE MARCH 2003
Waist......1.5"......5.5"
Hips......2"......7.5"
Bust......1"......5"
Upper Arm......0"......1"
Wrist......0"......1/4"
Thigh......1/2"......2.5"
Calf......1/4"......1"
Ankle......0"......1"

If you guys haven't taken your measurements yet, or in a while, do so!! THIS is why I don't really worry about what the scale says...these measurements & my clothes are telling me the WHOLE story!! Yeah!

Okay…I think I’m done now! LOL!!

Thanks guys!!!

xoxxoxooo......Julie

Weigh-in update & Setting Goals

Most recent weigh-in shows 2 more pounds gone FOREVER!! :o) (week 36) 46.4 pounds total loss puts me UNDER 220!!! I am THRILLED! (& very VERY proud of myself!!) Things are going GREAT...life is awesome! My only OP problem these days is EXERCISE!! (what's new?) I'm trying to get my bootie out the door as often as possible for a nice walk. (AT LEAST every other day!) Shooting for an hour, which is 3 miles for my short legs. It sure feels great when I'm out there. I've started carrying Sam's MP3 player w/ me...music makes such a big difference! You can't get bored when you're listening to music & your pace is faster...especially when you're listening to stuff like The BackStreet Boys, Metallica, Hoyt Axton, Guns-n-Roses, etc. (LOL!! Seriously...this is what is on Sam's MP3 disk...I HAVE to burn my own music!! LOL!!) I strut down the street! :o)

This morning I woke up at 5:40 (nature called...darned water!!) went back to bed but never fell back to sleep... ....sooooooooooooo...I got up & went for a walk!! It was a cool 43 degrees & dark when I started out...kinda fun!! I need to remember this when I'm trying to talk myself into taking a walk! I DO enjoy it! BUT...w/ it getting colder, I'm not sure what I'm going to do...the cold air this morning hurt my sinuses after about 40 minutes...I can just imagine how long I'll last if it's below freezing!!

How about an NSV??
Remember that gorgeous fitted dress jacket I talked about in my last journal entry...the one that has been sitting NEW in my closet since my 5 year old was born & it FITS now?? Well...I had a party to go to a week ago & I wore it! It was a 90th birthday party for the mother of one of the designers I work with...Eleanor...she's such a doll!! It was a "ladies only" party...about 20 ladies stuffed into Sandy's small house! I knew most of these ladies, but haven't seen the majority of them this year! Needless to say, the comments & open mouths were numerous! I loved it! (of course!!) The jacket really accentuated the fact that there are smaller curves there!

Cool, huh? :o)
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I want to talk about GOALS...
My meeting a few weeks ago talked about goal setting (Storyboarding)…writing out the steps it will take to get to a specific goal. Well…I had a hard time coming up w/ something for this one, cuz I'm not really big on setting specific goals & and rewards (I’ve always thought that taking care of myself & getting this weight off is a reward all its own, right?)

I've just been moseying along, losing weight... not worried about exactly where I am, just confident of where I'm going. Well…this meeting made me think a bit...which I guess it was supposed to do! We’re supposed to set a goal to reach by January…

Well that night I took a look @ LinemanTX's website ...I have heard about his mini-goal chart, but never took a good look at it. He has a great chart set up w/ a note about why he set these mini-goals up & it just made a TON of sense to me! So...maybe I’ll set up a goal list for myself....just tracking those little pieces of progress, having the dates & all would be really great to look back on!

Anyways…I’ve decided on that ONE specific January goal to shoot for...to be in ONDERLAND by January 1st! How is THAT for a goal? As of this past weigh-in, that's 18.7 pounds & 12 weeks away (Jan 5th, final check-in day)...which means I have to average 1.6 lbs or so per week. I really don’t like timed goals...but I think it's a great thing to try to shoot for. If I don't reach it, I'll be fine. It's do-able...a slight stretch for me & how I've lost weight up till now (avg. of 1.3 lbs/week)...but it just means that I have to kick things up a notch, doesn't it? I know I'll at least be close!

The holidays aren't going to stop me! I'll be out of town for Christmas & into the first week of January (Colorado ...family & New Year's wedding) ...so it'll be a test...especially w/ my Mom's holiday goody baking...but I've been on two vacations this summer...both visiting my family and I've come home to great losses...so I KNOW I have the control it takes to get me through the holidays w/ my family!

So...w/ that said... I posted a challenge to my buddies on the GoaD board a few weeks ago to see if anyone wanted to join me in a New Year's Challenge! Well...the response was GREAT!! Check it out! AND JOIN US!! Set a goal for yourself & let me know...I'll add you to the list!

xoxxoxo.....Julie

RAMBLING...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TODAY...

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TODAY TO MAKE YOU FEEL PROUD??

I started a new daily thread on GoaD toward the end of October because I think that this is an important thing to focus on.

Pride in yourself.

So many of us focus on what we did wrong in our journey, but that sure doesn't get us anywhere, does it? Nope! We kick ourselves & feel sorry for ourselves & go soothe our emotions w/ food. Yeah, that sure sounds like the right thing to do, doesn't it??

I want all of us to make a point of finding AT LEAST one thing each day that we can say "hey, I did THAT right...I'm proud of that!!"

~ ~ ~

So, you blew your points last night....BUT you journaled them anyways! Be PROUD OF THAT!!

So...your WI didn't go as expected (or maybe it confirmed what you already knew!!)...but you took it as a challenge to kick butt the coming week... BE PROUD OF THAT!!

So...you're feeling a bit overwhelmed as you get started on your journey? Do ONE THING today that you can be proud of!! (then do it again tomorrow...then the next day & the next....then add something new next week!!)

~ ~ ~

Find something to feel good about! It's time to change your thinking, because this journey is going to be a long one (the rest of your life!!) & you need to focus on the positive each day! Get excited...find some satisfaction!!

So...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TODAY TO MAKE YOU FEEL PROUD?
(or what are you GOING TO DO today?)

I'm going to post that question every evening on GoaD. Think about it & make yourself proud.

This doesn't necessarily have to be "journey" related each day.

So...time to dig down deep & figure out what you can be proud about!
(I know it's there!!)

Julie