You have to dress up in order to go up!

That's a Zig Ziglar quote! I was raised listening to Zig and I own a bunch of his recordings and books. He inspires me! 

You have to dress up in order to go up.

Over the past several years, I have let my weight dictate how I look. I got to the point where I cut off all my hair....it was terrible looking. I didn't care because I felt like nobody was looking anyway! I also quit caring about my overall appearance! I wore sloppy clothes that were too big because I thought people were not looking! 

I have read a lot about people who lose over a hundred pounds (I am going to lose 181!!!). Losing the weight is one thing, but a person that loses that much weight goes through an emotional journey too. 

So I have said that I want a new life. Well here is one thing I am doing besides losing the weight. I am changing some things about me, so when I reach my goal I won't have the same emotional problems that I do now! I am trying to look at myself differently. I am telling myself that I am worth losing the weight. I am telling myself that I deserve to wear cute clothes, wear makeup, and fix my hair daily!! That might sound silly, but if I don't start taking care of myself now, I won't be any different emotionally when I lose all the weight. I am trying to get into the habit of dressing up in order to go up!!

God has blessed me twice in the last couple of weeks! And I want to share them with you.  

Allison, my new friend, gave me a gift certificate to Marshalls, after she started reading my blog. She said that God led her to give it to me, so I could buy something to wear! I have gone down a size, so I got to pick out 2 shirts in my new size!!! WOW! What a blessing!!!

I went with my Mom this week when she got her hair cut. I was planning on making an appointment in June, so I could get a cut before my birthday. I haven't had it cut in over a year! I just wasn't concerned about it because I was overweight and nobody was looking at my hair. Well, Thom has been cutting my hair since I was about 13. He is wonderful! He took one look at me and told his assistant to wash my hair. He said my hair looked like a broom! Haha!!! And it did!! He cut my hair and wouldn't let me pay for it! Another blessing! 

I want Allison and Thom to know that they are true blessings to me! I want them to know that they have encouraged me to dress up in order to go up. Where am I going up to? A new life!!! 

So here is a picture of me today! Wearing my new shirt and rocking my haircut!!! 

Thanks Allison and Thom!!! 

WHOOP!!!! THERE IT IS!!!

I was driving down the road this week and looked down at my arm. THERE WAS A MUSCLE!!!! Yep, you heard me....a MUSCLE!!!! Whoo hooo! I'm not an expert, so don't quote me, but muscle burns calories. So the more muscle I have the more calories I burn. And I don't have to be moving to burn the calories. At least that's what I've heard! The muscle has a lot of fat around it! But who cares...it's there. I try to picture what I look like under the fat....and I am getting muscular!! It's gonna be awesome!!!

I've had a rough couple of weeks with snow days, sickness, and work stress, but I continued to go to the gym as much as I could. I am losing about 2 pounds a week, which they say is the max to lose per week. With all the stress, I have eaten a little more than I should, but I'm still eating the right stuff. I went to dinner at a friends house and nothing was on my diet. What did I do? Well...I ate small portions of it. And let me say, if I were going to cheat, it was my favorite meal ever!! Poppyseed chicken and creme brûlée. Yum!! The next day it was like nothing happened...I was back on the plan!! God is good to help me with cravings!!

I'm about to sign up for my first 5K. Talked my sister and brother in law into doing it with me. Whoo hooo!!! I'm frustrated though because some days I can run 2 minutes and walk 1 minute for 8 times. But other days, I can't run 2 minutes. Weird! I lift weight before I run, so that might have something to do with it? Might lift weights 4 days a week and run 3 days a week. Then I can take a rest day every now and then when I need it! 

So, even with some setbacks I am still losing fat and gaining muscle!!! Whoop whoop!! I know God is going to get me through this journey because....Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

It will be a reality!!

I love my creative side. I spend a lot of time on Pinterest, but unlike some people, I follow through with ideas that I pin! No offence!! What I have noticed on weight loss pins and blogs is that people make vision or dream or motivation boards. I'm not calling mine a dream board...simply because this is not just a dream...it WILL BE A REALITY!

So, I am going to call it my reality board! The naysayers my say but do you think you can really look like those girls. To them I say YES!! Why not? I believe that anything is possible with God on my side. I am going to work hard!!! Is my body shape the same as theirs? Who knows??? I can't remember that far back, so WE SHALL SEE!!! I don't plan of wearing a bikini though!! This is going to be fun! Whatever my shape is, it will be healthy and fit! And I'm just going to be honest here...I want some muscles!! Not "I'm going to beat you up" muscles, but some muscles! Never thought I would say that! 

So this is a vision of my soon to be reality, with some motivational phrases and Bible verses. On the right side, I am counting down the pounds! When I finish row 1, I will be half way there. The goal...to lose 181 pounds!!! Whoo hooo!!! (There was my honesty again) I am going to prop the board up on my piano! It's on one of those 3 fold science project boards, so it will fold up and slide behind the piano when I have guests. 

I'm excited!! It's the middle of the night again...but I just couldn't sleep so I made my reality board. I have been working on cutting out phrases all week. I have soooooo much energy now. I don't need as much sleep as I thought I needed. That's a great thing. I'll read this again tomorrow around 3 when I crash! 

I am loving this blog! It's such a good way to keep my thoughts together and I love the accountabilty! I mean....who's gonna give up at this point? Not me!!! So, until next time. Here is my REALITY BOARD!!!

Drum roll please...

So, here are the stats for weigh in #2! I have lost a total of 33.6 pounds and 29.5 inches!!!! Since January 3rd!! (Remember the headband that I had to start wearing...there it is!!!! Not attractive, but at least I don't have sweaty bangs in my eyes!!)

Today I ran 1.5 minutes on the treadmill...multiple times!! I'm learning how to run faster and keep my heart rate up without thinking I'm going to die. I am increasing my weights every time I go to the gym. I don't get very sore after lifting weights. Now that I have a good habit going, I am increasing the intensity! If I had been painfully sore the first month, I might not have gone back! I see regulars at the gym now and one guy even gave me a high five after he saw me run for my pitiful 1.5 minutes! Laugh out LOUD!!! So, people at the gym are supportive even though they don't know you! 

I'm pretty excited at this point! Hard work is paying off! This week I lost 10% of my body weight. That's a big deal in Weight Watchers. And I should know.....I have joined at least 15 times in my life!! I have literally been on a diet since high school!! Sad to say...but true! If I could talk to my SKINNY 16 year old self, I would tell myself to get active!!! That's the key for me! I can't just sit around and watch life pass me by! 

Get up and get moving!!! You will feel so much better!!! Don't let life pass you by....

Satan tried but failed!!

Thanks for the outpouring of love and support. I am truly overwhelmed! I'm so excited to be on this journey and have all the love and support from you guys! 

Back to satan....he comes to kill, steal, and destroy! I had 2 obstacles to deal with this week. Stomach pain and foot pain.

I really missed peanut butter. So I added it into my diet this week! Ate it for lunch every day and it was soo good! I had a tummy ache all week and Thursday figured out that the problem was the peanut butter! I don't know if it was the fat or little bit of sugar, but it made me SICK every day. So, I bought organic peanut butter and will try it next week. Hopefully it will be good, but I don't plan on eating it every day! So don't worry dietitians out there! 

Remember those awesome new shoes I bought for running? Well, they killed my feet all week. I tried to run Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday but was miserable. Thursday evening I bought new shoes AGAIN!! I bought some shoes that I love because I have bought the style 2 other times. They are not "running" shoes, but they have a lot of cushion on the bottom and that's what matters right now. When I don't have so much weight, maybe I can buy the actual "running" shoes. So here they are.... They feel like my foot is in a cloud! AND they are my favorite color!!

So, even though satan tried hard to discourage me this week, I managed to work out Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday! Didn't exercise Monday because of my tummy. And decided to take Friday and Saturday off because my feet needed to heal a couple of days. I will be back into the swing tomorrow after lunch! I missed going in Monday and Friday. I missed my new friends! 

I managed to lose 1.6 pounds this week! Yay!!! So satan tried to bring me down, but by the grace of God, I still lost weight! I'm trying NOT to focus on the numbers, but it is hard not to. I was able to wear 2 pair of jeans that I haven't been able to wear in 3 months, and my "fat" jeans are hanging off of me!! I was busting out of my clothes in December, so they were really tight. They are just now starting to fit or get a little loose. I was wearing very loose fitting clothes to hide myself, so they are looking really big now. I don't know about you, but I sure don't have the money to spend on clothes in every size as I lose the weight. So, my plan is to wear size 28-30 for a couple more weeks. Yep, I just told you my size.....no secrets here!! Then I might splurge and buy a few essentials! So, if you see me and I am wearing super big clothes or the same clothes every week or day, just know that I am in transition. I don't want to buy a wardrobe in very size! That's crazy! I can't wait to hold a pair of size 30 pants beside me while wearing a SMALLER size (whatever that my be). You know what I'm talking about...the success picture!! Looking forward to that. 

So back to satan....John 10:10 says, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to more abundantly.

He will not win this fight! Jesus came so I can have life and have it more abundantly! The new Holly is thankful for this promise!!! So whatever your fight might be.....remember who the winner is!!