Psuedo Love

I love me some good music. Especially good music that I can sing along to with my windows down while the ocean air comes rolling in.

Natalie Closner is one ridiculously good musician. Her lyrics tell a story of being a twenty-something girl and what that entails. I can listen to her songs on repeat for days on end (and I do).

She recently released an EP on iTunes that you MUST check out.

Trust me.

Buy it.

Support the cause.

DO IT!

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Girl Scout Cookies and Weight Watchers

I am living proof that it IS, in fact, possible to avoid gaining weight during Girl Scout Cookie season. To go even further, it is possible to LOSE weight during Girl Scout Cookie season.

If you have read this blog for more than this post or have seen my facebook updates, you know that I joined Weight Watchers at the end of January. Along with being VERY AWARE of what and how much I eat, I have added working out to my daily routine. EVERY DAY! Yes, even on Saturday and Sunday. Now don't get me wrong, if I need a day off, I allow myself that, but just one! No two days off in a row or in the same week. At least that is the goal! And so far, I have met that goal. In going every day, I have to be there for at LEAST 30 minutes, but the goal is 60 minutes or longer. As with taking a day off, the 30 minute work out is considered a slacker day and those days are also VERY limited!

In 4 weeks, I have lost 10.2 pounds! 10.2 pounds!!!

In 4 weeks, I have also built up such endurance, strength, and sustainability for working out.

In 4 weeks, Girl Scout Cookie sales have began and continued.

I lost 10.2 pounds in the midst of Girl Scout Cookie Season! Yes, you read that right.

Now let me be honest, before joining Weight Watchers, I could eat a whole sleeve of Thin Mints without blinking an eye. I would sit at work with a sleeve of the short bread cookies and demolish them in just minutes. Needless to say, that isn't the case anymore.

Have you ever looked at the Nutrition Facts of Thin Mints? Have you ever looked at the Suggested Serving Size? Have you ever thought that those facts are there for a reason? Before joining Weight Watchers, I hadn't. I never cared! The suggested serving size for Thin Mints is 4 cookies. FOUR COOKIES! Now, when I read that, I thought the Nutrition Facts people were out of their mind... they aren't. Four cookies is TOTALLY satisfying! I promise. Try it!

Maybe if we all stick to the serving size we can all avoid the Girl Scout Cookie 15.

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Taking Risks

When I recently posted about my journey with Weight Watchers, I was so nervous to let people in on that journey. I was afraid that it would affect my journey. I was afraid of judgment that may come due to it. I was afraid. I took a risk, and I am so glad I did!

I have received countless e-mails, facebook messages, texts, and phone calls full of encouraging words. People telling me about their own journey with Weight Watchers or other weight loss stories. People telling me that my story is encouraging them to get on track as well. People telling me that they are so excited for me and the journey that I have decided to begin and travel. All in all, I have felt so very encouraged and I am so thankful.

Today, I weighed in again and lost another 2 pounds!! So, in two weeks, I am down 4.4 pounds and have made being active a priority. I feel GREAT. I am thoroughly enjoying learning about food, nutrition, and physical activity.

Side-note: The lovely Jennifer Hudson who has had amazing success with Weight Watchers will be on Oprah tomorrow, Thursday February 10th. She will be talking about her weight loss journey. Set your DVR!

I am so very thankful for the people who have been so encouraging in this process.

THANK YOU!

Thank you - Jen, Katelynn, Mama K, Jeanine, Kira, Amy, Megs, Lanaya, Jessica, Brooke, Kim, ALL the ladies at work, The whole Klingaman fam, Brian, my community group, Mom and Clyde, Rosie, Kathlene, Michelle, Lisa, and so many others.

THANK YOU!

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SUPER GLEE

I am so dang excited about tomorrow's episode!!!

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Work It Out Girl

With WeightWatchers, they encourage you to be active everyday for at least 30 minutes. The great part of this is, you get points based on your activity. This has been a great incentive for me to go to the gym almost everyday, and I mean almost EVERY day. It's crazy. It's like I get this high on getting more and more points that I don't even eat. It is like getting a bonus paycheck in my WW account. :)

As I have spent more and more time at the gym, my "Work it out Girl" play list needed some updating.

Here are some songs that I can't get enough of while sweating it out...

F**kin' Perfect - Pink
Feeling Good - Jennifer Hudson
Ignition - R. Kelly (I blame B Klingaman for this addiction)
Knock You Down - Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo
Miss Independent - Ne-Yo
One Two Step - Ciara feat. Missy Elliot
Work It - Missy Elliot
How Will I Know - Whitney Houston (Pre-Crack)
Barton Hollow - The Civil Wars
The Story of Us - Taylor Swift
Long Live - Taylor Swift
Settlin' - Sugarland
Stuck Like Glue - Sugarland
Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
Uncharted - Sara Bareilles
Gonna Get Over You - Sara Bareilles
Say You're Sorry - Sara Bareilles
No Reins - Rascal Flatts
Baby - Justin Bieber & Ludacris (Don't judge me.)
Party in the U.S.A. - Miley Cyrus (Don't pretend like you don't know the lyrics.)
Dance Floor - Nova Page
Meet My Kiss - Natalie Closner
Who Needs Feelings - Natalie Closner
5:19 - Matt Wertz
Someone's Somebody - Dave Barnes
Tired of Waiting - Sean McConnell
American Honey - Lady Antebellum
Perfect Day - Lady Antebellum
Stars Tonight - Lady Antebellum
I Do Not Hook Up - Kelly Clarkson
How I Feel - Kelly Clarkson
Somebody to Love - Glee Cast
Poker Face - Glee Cast
Some Days You Gotta Dance - Dixie Chicks
Undo It - Carrie Underwood
Wasted - Carrie Underwood

Those are just a few. What are some of your faves?

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Jennifer Hudson was right...

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, and I'm feelin' good!

I have debated, heavily, on whether or not I would blog about this, put it out in the open, or tell many people. The reality is, most of the people who read this here blog already know the details of this post. So, I figure why not!?

I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't "bigger" than the other girls. As with all girls, I have my days when I say, "I'm fat!" mainly due to hormones and emotions. The reality is, I'm not fat. I'm not skinny. But I'm not fat either. To go further, just because I am not "fat" doesn't mean I don't need to get some things under control while I am still young. There are benefits to still being a baby. :)

I have never dieted. I have never tried Atkins... I'm Portuguese, we eat Bread with every meal, it would never work. Jenny Craig is too rich for my blood and I hate the taste of lean cuisines and I imagine that is how all of the meals taste. MediFast wouldn't work for me because I actually like to eat. More than all of those reasons, I knew that none of them would work for me because I knew that the minute I started eating real food again, I would gain it all right back, and then some.

At the beginning of January, I decided to start keeping a food journal with the calorie totals. I simply wanted to know what it is that I consumed and just how much I ate. WOW! Talk about a wake-up call. Wow. Needless to say, as my eyes began to open wider and wider the desire grew stronger to change, to REALLY change.

On January 26th, I attended my first WeightWatchers meeting. I weighed in and started the long journey ahead of me. I wasn't shocked by the number that popped up on the scale. In fact, I was very aware of what I weighed in at, which I think helped all the more in this process.

I went to my second meeting, and first weigh in since starting the program on Wednesday and have already lost 2.4 pounds. I know what you may be thinking, "all of that work for just 2.4 pounds?!?!" Trust me, I thought the same thing, but then I took a step back and remembered that this isn't a diet, this isn't a program for me to lose weight before a wedding or vacation. This is the real deal. Learning to think before eating. Learning to be active daily. This is a lifestyle.

I am so fortunate as to have the BEST support system even outside of the meetings. I have friends who have been successful on the program, losing weight and keeping it off. I have friends who have never done the program but who support me 110%.

If I can do this, ANYONE can. I have a long road ahead of me, but I KNOW that I will stand on the other side so proud of how far I have come. Some people have asked me why I am doing this... The answer I give them is: I don't want to be fat on my wedding day. No, I am not engaged, which means I have lots of time to do this. :)

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Pray for Kate

No 7 year old should have to think about Heaven so closely as to utter these words to their mother, "Mom, I don't want to go without you, I would miss you way too much."

Sweet Kate McRae is, once again, in a battle that she has come to know all too well in her young age. As you can read here, Kate went in for a routine scan and what was shown on that scan was not what parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, doctors, specialists, or little Kate wanted to see.

So, would you join us in praying for Kate. Pray that God would heal her. Pray that, just as we see in Scripture, a miracle happens. The God that performed those miracles to make the lame walk and the blind see is the same God that we pray to today, so pray BIG. Pray for Kate's brother and sister, Will and Olivia. Pray Kate's parents, Aaron and Holly. Pray for the doctors and specialists. Pray for the community around the McRae family, that they would know how to love and support them in this time. Just pray.

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