One last day....

So a few days ago I came up with 5 mini goals to follow this week...

1. Make it to the gym 5 days this week.
2. Drink to 32 ounce glasses of water a day.
3. 1 or 2 Diet soda's ONLY this week.
4. Keep a food journal for the next 7 days.
5. NO SUGAR {the only exception is my son's cake today-a sliver}

Here is my progress....

1. Made it to the gym 3 times this week. Today I couldn't leave my house {we had an ice storm last night} but I could have worked out at home but chose to sleep in....the other day I did wake up early but ended up writing most of the morning. Overall I feel good about my workouts this week. It's more than I had been doing for a month or so. I found a machine I just love, too. It's a stair climber/elliptical thing. It's fun and really works my legs! 

2. I have been drinking more water this week than I have in months!! Really happy with this:)

3. As of today I have been Diet Soda free for 6 days!!! I don't even miss it! I just KNOW I can do this:) Read more about this here. 

4. Okay, food journals and me rarely work but I have done okay this week. Writing down even the bad stuff {and yes, there has been bad stuff}. This is one of my main goals for clean eating so I must work on this. Eventually {when I get my camera back} I plan on posting pics here of what I eat.

5. Okay, so this NO SUGAR thing hasn't worked out so well. I did enjoy a piece of my son's cake but then I've enjoyed mini candy bars and cookies, too...so far everyday this week. I keep telling myself "Les, you aren't drinking diet soda...enjoy a piece of sugar." Driving me nuts!! HOWEVER, as I go another day without diet soda I am gaining steam at saying no to sugar. I WILL do this!

So, while I haven't reached my goals 100% I am doing better in some areas than I ever imagined {the diet soda} I mean I ADORE diet soda...and I haven't had one in SIX DAYS!! WHOO HOO!

Tonight's game plan for New Year's Eve is a steak meal with my yummy salad and potatoes. Our munchies will be few...mostly veggies with dip, guacamole and chips and Ro-tel with Velveeta and chips. 

I am just gonna enjoy the night hanging with family and playing the Wii and shuffleboard. Love it!!!

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Overcoming My Soda Addiction

Girls, I am doing it!! I have not had one of these in FIVE DAYS!!!

One of my goals for 2011 is to give up Diet Soda. Well, maybe not entirely but at least as often as I drink it. Every day for the past 5 years or so I've had one of these from Sonic. Route 44 Diet Coke with lime. Yum-o.

But really it's not good for me. It's an addiction. I don't want to be addicted to anything.

So last Saturday night I had my last diet soda. I have been doing pretty good. No caffiene headaches {so far} and no real cravings for the fizzy drink. All I've been drinking is ice water with lemon. It really does feel great!!!

What I'm learning is that the longer I go without my diet soda the stronger I become. If I can overcome this addiction and just say no then I can surely begin saying no to cake and chips and other treats, right? I can feel myself gaining momentum. Right now I'm still somewhere near the botton of the hill looking up but little by little, with every day that goes by I am inching my way up...

Soon I'll be at the top looking to slide right down into a healthier, happy me. 

That beats a Diet Coke anyday.

What kinds of food addictions have you overcome? How did you do it? Please share!

My Word for 2011

So last night I came across an old art journal I had created back in 2005. It was filled with images of overweight people who had become skinny. There was also a photo of me in a sports bra and shorts looking tired and depressed. I think I looked pretty good. Better than today anyway. I thought I needed to lose weight then? Ha! Little did I know where I'd be just 6 years later....

 It's not that I'm obese. No. I don't have THAT much to lose...30 pounds tops. But let's get real here folks. I have been gaining each year...getting flabbier and flabbier and feeling it!

The goals I had for myself 6 New Years ago are the same ones I have today....

*get lean
*be energized
*lose 20 pounds
*eat clean foods
*workout 5 to 6 days a week
*love myself

I was nearly 20 pounds lighter 6 years ago and I wanted to lose 20 pounds? Heck, I just want to get back to that photograph!

What I realized last night is there are at least half a dozen journals with the same exact goals written in them all over my house. It's true. I run into them on occasion.

To say that THIS is my year...well, I've said it before. I said it back in 2005. THIS is the year I get fit once and for all!!!

What if I do say

that THIS really IS the year

I get fit once and for all?

Do I mean it? 

What am I willing to do to get me there?

What am I going to do differently?

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

~ Albert Einstein

For the past 4 or 5 years I have chosen ONE WORD to focus on throughout the year. Last year's word was POSSIBILITIES. I just tried to open myself up to new things, new ideas and thinking out of the box. Overall I think I did pretty good with this word. I began painting and exploring various art forms. I wrote more than ever while growing my Words of Me blog to nearly 200 Followers. {a big deal for me}. I aslo began to realize that my life is really just beginning. The possibilities haven't stopped just because I'm in my 40's. I have lots of life left...lots left to do....lots that I want to do.


This years WORD? Well, I have thought about it for the past 2 months. At first CREATE kept coming to mind. But no, I want to do more than just CREATE. I want this WORD of mine to encompass everything I want to accomplish from my weight loss to my creativity to the way I live my life. So after thinking and thinking and thinking here is the WORD wthat kept popping in my mind....

reinvent

1.

to invent again or anew, esp. without knowing that the invention already exists.

2.

to remake or make over, as in a different form: At 60, he reinvented himself as a volunteer. We have an opportunity to reinvent government.

3.

to bring back; revive: to reinvent trust and accountability.

---

---

Author Lesley Garner says this about self reinvention...

"Do what you love. Do something because you really want to. You can't lose. Your passions can become useful in surprising ways. Each time you have to reinvent yourself you will find that the life you have lived is every bit as important as the job you have been paid for. What lies behind successful self-reinvention is the act of giving value to everything we have done. What should you be doing with your life? You should be doing what you think is valuable" 

I chose REINVENT because I want to become a better me. I want to take a look at my life and know that I have been successful in many areas of my life and I know I can use those success's to help me find my way with future goals. I love many parts of me but there are those areas in my life that need help. In 2011 I want to become whole. I want to take my passions that fuel my spirit and fly!!

What about you? What will your WORD for 2011 be?

Start NOW!

Today...a part of you may be feeling hopeless. You may be thinking to yourself....

"I have nothing to wear."
"Nothing fits!"
"Why did I eat all that SUGAR!!?"
"I will NEVER be thin and healthy and pretty...NEVER!!"
"I hate myself today."
"I am just too far gone...too much fat, too out of shape...."

Are any of these statements sounding familiar?

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." ... Confucius

Image from Bing.com

 I have recited over and over in my mind each of those statements over the past 72 hours. Holidays are hard on me. Every year I tell myself that THIS time it will be different. THIS time I won't eat all that junk.


But, like always I didn't listen to myself...I mean I was telling myself "Don't do it, Les" but I did it anyway.

Along with the festivities the past 72 hours I have managed to eat dozens of cookies, 1/2 lb. of fudge, countless pieces of chocolate along with bags of potato chips, dips and cheese. Oh my goodness the CHEESE!!!

It is time to stop the madness. It is time to forgive and forget and move forward!!! Like Confucious says it is time we rise up and get our groove on!!

Today I want you to STOP making excuses. Today I want you to forgive yourself and start fresh!! Today I want you to set 5 goals for the week...just for THIS week! You can do it! Here are mine...


1. Make it to the gym 5 days this week.
2. Drink to 32 ounce glasses of water a day.
3. 1 or 2 Diet soda's ONLY this week.
4. Keep a food journal for the next 7 days.
5. NO SUGAR {the only exception is my son's cake today-a sliver}


Now it's your turn. Take a piece of paper right now and jot down 5 goals you can accomplish this week!! 

You CAN do it!!!

Share one goal with us...inspire us!!

Tdoay I Will...

Make the decision, then do something - no matter how small - toward accomplishing what you want.

 Today I will drink a full 8 glasses of iced cold water with lemon.

Today I will NOT eat sugar.

Today I will take time for ME and create and BE still.

Today I will love myself.

What will YOU do today?

Find Joy in Your Life

"I Dance with a Light Heart."

This morning I had a meltdown. Not a tiny one.

No.

A BIG one.

A REALLY BIG one.

Really.

It seems that every time my family loses something it's MY fault.

Can't find your homework? My fault.

Shin guards, basketball socks, soccer uniform? My fault.

Notebooks for school? Um, that would be my fault.

Is it, really? 

NO!

You add this to the fact I am feeling less than stellar about myself {as in I've eaten nearly a 10 pound bag of sugar in the past week} and my mood as been anything but jolly.

So this morning, during my workout {which I soooo enjoyed!} I made a few decisions. #1 I have decided on my WORD for 2011 and #2 As of TODAY I am no longer taking responsibility for others things. Not gonna do it!

My kids are nearly 16 and 14...it is THEIR responsibility!! 

{please know that I LOVE and ADORE my children and will ALWAYS be here for them!! ALWAYS!!! But their are some things they MUST learn to do by themselves!!}

So, here was my poor, sweet husband listening and watching me as I went into a very long rant which ended up with me crying.

I gotta telly ya....I feel great!!

Seriously, don't you think sometimes you just need to vent,to cry, to let it all out?

I sure do and am soooo thankful I have such an amazing man that understands me!

Dave cooking fresh spaghetti sauce last summer.

 And so, my point of this post is this...

 our lives aren't perfect. 

We all have our faults, our stresses 

and all of this can either bring us down

OR we can choose to vent and move on. 

We can become better people. 

We can choose happiness. 

We can let the stress destroy us and our happiness 

or we can surround ourselves with people who love and support us

and choose to be full of peace and joy.

My wish for you this Holiday Season is to find those people in your life that lift you up. 

That support and love you and believe that you can be all that you were meant to be.

Merry Christmas!!

Here's to the Healthiest and Happiest 2011!!!

Why Can't I Get a Grip?

As much as I love Christmas I do not like all the food that goes along with it. Seriously!

I had been doing so well. 

Eating pretty clean, lots of veggies

and NOT overeating at all. 

Then...Baking Day came. 

Oh boy. Talk about sugar overload!!!

So I posted on FB why is it I feel soooo bad...headache, weak and shaky yet I continue to stuff cookies in my face! 

The Blogs on the right side all inspire me. And I know, once the New Year gets underway I will do better. I am trying to do better right now. Today I made it to the GYM! Talk about something I needed desperately. It was wonderful getting back to the treadmill and bike. I put in 3 miles this morning!

So, I haven't been doing my best but I promise myself and you that I won't give up. And I will keep this blog, documenting my life...my journey to my skinny self. 

I hope you will join me.

Feeling Good {& holiday treats}

"I wake up every day with the realization that this is it, that there's only one shot at this life and I can either enjoy the ride and live it to its fullest and to my highest potential or I can stay the way I am." 

I'm not sure who wrote this {it didn't say} but this is exactly the way I have been thinking lately. And it is why I want to lose the weight, eat healthy and exercise. I get one chance to live here on Earth. Once chance to be here, with my family and I want to make the most of it. I want to really live!

I am feeling good today. The scale continues to go down which makes me happy {especially during the Holidays} Today I put a cute shirt on my husband had bought me last summer after I had lost 15 pounds...it had looked so darling back then but then a few pounds had crept on as well as that "bloat" you get when you stuff yourself with carbs. Well....I am happy to report that it is looking pretty good today! I have it on and am feeling good in it. No, I 'm not as "skinny" as I was last summer but I am on my way.

My husband and I were talking this morning how we just feel better. We have been watching our carbs and our portions and have that "empty" feeling. Love that. Our clothes are just fitting better.

Saturday is baking day here...creating all those yummy Christmas treats that have become Tradition in the Ackman household. I am a bit nervous about that. I just don't want to pig out on chocolate covered pretzels and ginger snaps ya' know?

How do you handle treats? Any strategies you have would be sooo helpful!!

What a Difference a Pound Makes

"Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome."  -Samuel Johnson

Happy Tuesday, Ladies! I know it's been about a week...but that's okay. When I decided to start "Skinny Me" my intentions were to post about 2 to 3 times a week. I do have a creative blog, too...so lots of writing going on all over the place...which, by the way, I LOVE:) {click here to visit}  As we get closer to the New Year I suspect my posting here will become more frequent. My quest for a Skinny Me is beginning to kick into high gear...if you know what I mean.

The past few weeks I have been complacent with what I put into my mouth. I have good intentions but by lunch I'm milling about searching for sugar, fat, anything unhealthy. Why or why do the Holidays do that to so many of us?
I mean it's like "It's Christmas! Gorge, Feast and Gobble up all that you can!!" UGH!

Anyway, even though I don't think I have done a very good job of eating clean I have managed to lose 3 pounds.

THREE POUNDS! 

Talk about motivation!!

Isn't it crazy 

how that number on the scale can be

the deciding factor in whether or not we have good day or bad?

At least that's how it is with me anyway. 

I have been estatic and full of energy all day. 

Went to the store and bought healthy foods 

then came back home and made some yummy and clean chicken quesadillas. 

So filling and good!

"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."  -Theodore Roosevelt

Treating our bodies with the kindness and respect they deserve really does take one step at a time. It is soooo very easy to give in. To eat the junk. To say "I will start tomorrow." But honestly... tomorrow is today. The time is now and ladies we are all worth the effort it takes to be the best we can be.


"There is no passion to be found in playing small, in settling for a life that is less than what you are capable of living." -Nelson Mandela


I am determined to live my life with passion. To be the best ME I can BE.

Our Word for the Week over at "Words of Me Project" is BEGIN. Click here to read more about that.

I know...you say to yourself..."But it's Christmas and I don't wan't to start eating healthy right now. I mean I want to enjoy the holiday."

I said that to myself last year and the year before that and ended up gaining 7 pounds each year!!! That's why I'm here today...weighing what I do...feeling the way I feel.

I will begin to feel good about me by 2011. I will wake up New Year's Day with an empty feeling, a good feeling and energized. Iwill be ready for anything!

Life is about choices. We have the choice to enjoy the Holidays with our loved ones. Listen to the music, watch the shows and feel the Spirit of Christmas. We can even enjoy a few treats as long as we don't stuff our faces with sugar cookies and fudge {like i have in the past}. Enjoy one piece of fudge, a few ginger snaps and a cup of hot cocoa {the 25 calorie Swiss Miss hot cocoa ROCKS}

How are you doing this Christmas Season? Are you having a hard time staying away from the treats? Tell me  ONE thing you can do to help you stay in control this season.

Holiday Habits

How are you ladies? I have been doing okay. I mean it is the Holidays and normally I would be eating everything in site. Sweets, dips, chips, you name it...I would eat it.

However...

I am now thinking before I eat.

I am now making sure I am hungry before eating.

And while I haven't lost one pound yet I am noticing a difference in my waist and in how I feel.

Vince Lombardi:" It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up."

So, ladies...let's promise ourselves that even if we indulge in the occasional sugar cookie or cream cheese puff...we will get back up. We will make sure the next meal is reasonable and healthy. 

Tonight we are enjoying sloppy joes with whole wheat buns and sweet potato fries. They are sooo yummy! Just cut up a few sweet potatoes, spray with Pam type cooking spray and sprinkle with a mixture of chili powder, rosemary and sea salt. Bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. These are very good!

How are you doing this Season? I would love to know!!

Ideas for those BUSY times

This is one of the busiest, most happiest times of the year! I love the Spirit of the Season. How about you?

Along with putting up decorations, baking, buying and wrapping there are and school projects, church programs my daughter's basketball games. We spend so much time in a gym...right during dinner. This can be so very difficult!! I mean, here we are wanting to lose weight and be healthy and all there is to eat is a concession stand full of hot dogs, nachos with cheese and Twix candy bars.

The next time you're out and have zero healthy choices...BE PREPARED! Here are a few of my staple snacks that help me make it to dinner....

1 low fat string cheese with 3 to 6 Triscuits
2. Peanut butter on 1 slice whole wheat bread
3. pretzels with low fat string cheese
4. grapes with a few Triscuits and lowfat string cheese
5. dried cranberries mixed with almonds and/or walnuts

If all else fails and I must eat something 

I choose the lowest calorie snack with the least amount of sugar in it I can find. Last night at Em's game I was unprepared...thankfully the concession stand had a small bag of Sun Chips. At 160 calories at 6 grams of fat {with a hefty dose of the healthy kind} they kept me satisfied till dinner.

Do you have a "go-to" healthy snack? Please share with us. I would love to try it!!!

Create a Plan

Soooo thankful it's the Saturday after Thanksgiving. While I enjoyed every bit of the day I ate waaaay too much and my stomach now feels like a basketball!!

Last night as I stuffed two pieces of cherry pie in my mouth I found myself asking..."Why do I continue to do this? I feel so sick and out of control. Why am I doing it?! WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!????????

"Most experts believe binge eating is much more prevalent than any survey can measure. 'Our findings only document people whose eating problems are clinically significant and causing marked distress—and that’s probably just the tip of the iceberg,' says James Hudson, M.D., Sc.D., director of the psychiatric epidemiology research program at McLean Hospital and lead author of the national eating disorders survey.

I am a binge eater. I know that. Some days my portions are under control, I eat just till I am full. No sweets or chips or other junk. But then some days I eat anything I can find...crackers, cheese, chips, nuts, anything by the handfuls...{after handful after handful}

Last April my husband and I began taking the weight loss drops HCG. You can read about my journey here. I LOVED this program!! It wasn't easy...but it was do-able. I lost 15 pounds total and felt amazing. Please read my journal...it won't take but a minute;)

Anway, after eating more and more the past few months the weight has crept back on. As of today I am 158.6. Ugh.

For the next 28 days my husband and I will be taking 4 drops of HCG 3 times a day. You can read about HCG here. Normally I don't believe in pills and shakes and all that other weight loss stuff...however, after having success the first time I KNOW this works. It does curb by appetite and keep my blood sugar levels stable so I don't eat as much and I lose. And I was doing a great job of keeping it off until I became just plain lazy.

 My husband and I don't follow the strict 500 calories a day plan they suggest. We eat approx 1,000 to 1,200 a day...lots of fruits {berries are good}, veggies, lean meats and water. Very little bread. If we DO eat it we choose whole wheat with 40 calories a slice. I will be sure and post my food for the day {with photos some days}so you can see what we're doing. I will exercise starting Monday...my goal is to begin slowly {I don't have a lot of energy for the first few days} at 10 minutes a day. By the middle of next week I should be back to my normal 30 to 45 minutes a day.

"You don't drown by falling in the water, You drown by not getting out."  -Anon.

I have been drowning in food. I am done. As of today I am done!

I look forward to taking this journey to health. I hope you'll join me, too.

*Create a list of goals for yourself today. List at least 5 things you want to happen by January 1st, 2011. Here is mine...

1. wearing smaller size jeans
2. NO binge eating
3. Loving myself 100%
4. Be in control of my actions
5. Be able to focus my energy on my creative projects, my family and other things...not the size of my stomach.

*Decide on an eating plan that's right for you. It may be Weight Watchers, Body for Life or simply just counting calories. Do what works for you. That is critical to your success.

*Promise yourself something..."I promise to workout for 10 minutes a day for the next 30 days." "I promise to keep a food journal." "I promise to choose 2 or 3 of my fave holiday foods and eat them only."

*Tell yourself you can do this and JUST DO IT!

I think President Abraham Lincoln sums it up perfectly...."No individual who has resolved to make the most himself can spare time for personal contention."

What will you promise yourself for the next 30 days?

Let's Get "Skinny" Together!!

Helloooooooooo and WELCOME to "Skinny Me". I am sooooo very happy you are here!

Many of you may already know me from by other blog..."Words of Me Project". Now you are probably thinking..."Les, I know you. You are soooo busy so why the heck would you start another blog?!"

Am I right? Are you thinking that?

Well, I gotta be honest. I have thought about "Skinny Me" for quite some time now. Seriously...I have. You may remember last Spring my husband and I went on a weight loss journey together and we did pretty well. For the first time in a  LONG  time I lost weight! Around 14 pounds to be exact.

But then....
as time passed...
the weight has crept back on.

UGH. I hate it.
I hate the way I feel.
The way my clothes fit.


Now I 'm a writer. When I write stuff down it just "sticks". Do you know what I mean? I knew this was what I needed to do to be successful. Oh, sure I kept a journal on Words of Me but what I needed, what I wanted was a place to share all things related to eating healthy, workouts, inspiring websites, quotes, etc. I wanted a place where I could focus on this aspect of my life.

There is my creative life...then there's this life. It's the part of me, that for whatever reason I can't seem to get under control. I mean for goodness sake people...I am 44 years old. I am a wife, a mother. I have ran 2 marathons, finished a triathlon, been published in a magazine, had my own column in a a newspaper for 5 years and the list goes on.

But I have never been able to get my eating under control. 

Never.

I know there is power in community.
There is magic that happens when we lift one another up...sharing our frustrations, our success's. 


My goal with "Skinny Me" is to share what I know, encourage you and inspire you to be your very best. And just like my other Blog we will be using the power of WORDS to help us on the journey.


If you have a favorite weight loss blog, website, recipe or workout would you please let me know? Either leave a comment here or e-mail me at leslieackman@yahoo.com


Thank you!! And Welcome!!!