It's Hot!!! And Sasha has a new friend

It was 87 degrees at 7:30 this morning. I really need to get going earlier, but it didn't happen today. We opted for the coolest path I could think of which runs along the river and through a park.
This park has these kinda creepy statues that always make me think of Shelley
This picture is for you Shelley :)
I had to take quite a few pictures to get a good one, all while laughing my silly head off. It doesn't take much to amuse me obviously!

Shape wear flashback

I was digging through a drawer looking for a swimsuit bottom when I found these lovely things...

Size 2x spanx-like undergarments. I guess I overlooked that drawer quite a few times when cleaning things out.

Oh my, looking at these brought back some painful memories!

I didn't wear these to smooth things out, I wore them to save my inner thighs. I gain weight in my lower half, which leads to terrible chafing. I've always been a pantyhose wearer, never feel fully dressed without them- I know I'm dating myself here :)

If you mix pantyhose with very large thighs you have a ...(TMI Alert!)... Bloody mess:(

These things saved my thighs, they worked much better than the huge band aids which never stayed put. I will never forget struggling to get these things up and down in the heat of the summer, awful!

After four years of maintenance it's easy to start taking things for granted. 

Last night I wore a skirt with heels and hose and I really enjoyed being able to walk with nothing rubbing.

Four year Anniversary!

This month marks four years since I hit goal weight. It's hard to believe it's been that long. I never believed I could do it. We all hear the statistics, and they can trip you up before you even begin. Like so many others my weight dropped below my original goal. While it hasn't stayed quite that low, it's well below what I originally only dreamed of.

It's interesting how differently I eat now than when I started losing. On every weight loss attempt I had ever made, the diets I chose were so complicated that I just couldn't stick to them. I was totally overwhelmed! Grocery carts full of things I didn't recognize, and so many ingredients. This time I went simple. I only focused on calories and walking on the treadmill. Gradually I've totally overhauled my diet to mostly whole foods. Recently I've gone gluten-free. I really fought this, I thought the gluten thing was a fad unless one had celiac disease. I was definitely wrong about that.

I was a couch potato for years. I never enjoyed exercise, as far back as I can remember. Now I walk/run four miles, five days a week. I love how it makes me feel! Every time I climb stairs I marvel at how effortless it is now. Getting up from the floor without struggling and moaning is awesome!

I think it's really good to stop and look back at how far we've come. I hope I never take it for granted!
After being well over two hundred pounds for more than twenty years, it seemed impossible that I would ever get the weight off. I wish I would have done it sooner. I finally reached the point where I was becoming very ill before I got desperate enough to get serious about losing the weight. That and seeing my mom die from side effects of diabetes motivated me.

I don't think maintenance will ever come easily for me. I struggle with my sweet tooth. My job certainly doesn't help me there. Being surrounded by frosting is very hard. I used to think "I deserve this sweet, I work really hard". Now I remind myself - I deserve to take care of myself, it's okay to take an hour a day for some exercise and its okay to spend a little more for food that will make me healthy.

Nothing feels better than putting your feet up after a good run, my dog thinks so too!

Finally 5k

It only took five years, but I finally ran a whole 3.1 miles without walking.
It helps to have a running buddy that is so willing ;)

Update

Last week went much better than it would have if I hadn't joined the no sweets challenge. I can't say I was perfect, but it was a big improvement. It was a crazy, stressful week. Working long hours with icing everywhere is like sticking a drug addict in a pharmacy! One thing I've learned since I started losing weight is to not let a slip lead to giving up. Making good choices most of the time is what keeps the weight off.

So far so good!

Yesterday was the first day of "no sweets at the shop" challenge and I did great. It's going to be a stressful week, five wedding cakes, a grooms cake and three smaller ones. I have to admit I ate more raisins than I needed, and a handful of altoids, but much better than cake and frosting.
I really think that a sugar addiction is similar to other substance addictions. Something happens in my brain that makes it so hard not to dive into the frosting bowl head first.
I keep telling myself that I lost 133 pounds and made lots of cakes at the same time. I'm up eight ponds from my happy weight. I want that off, but mostly I feel so much better when I'm eating clean.
I wonder how many people that struggle with their weight have sugar addictions.

No sweets at the shop

I'm declaring November "no sweets at the shop" month. Shelley's no candy for November has inspired me. Thanks Shelley! I've been struggling with this lately and it needs to stop. One bite used to be enough, but now one bite throws me into a downward spiral that ends in a sugar coma. I'm clearly a sugar addict.
I need to stop the stress eating, it only leads to more stress.
Thanks for the inspiration Shelley. I'm hitting my reset button along with you :)