Ten Percent

No picture of me today.  I really do not feel like taking one so I will take it on Friday.

I am down another 4.6 pounds this week which more than made up for my half pound gain last week.  I also reached a major milestone in the healthy weight world.  I have lost ten percent of my original body weight and I have been feeling the benefits for quite some time.  I have more energy, I can easily chase after running children and not got winded, and my feet and knees do not hurt nearly as badly as they used to when I was heavier.  I am also starting to fit back into all of my awesome clothes that I have not been able to wear for several years.  I am excited to say that my fat clothes are going in the Goodwill bin because I will no longer be needing them!

Weight loss to date:  24.4 pounds down, 35.6 pounds to go!

Here is something I found earlier today which is something that I will take to heart.  Enjoy.

Sabotage

I had a bad eating week. 

I also feel like I am becoming complacent.  I am doing so well in my weight loss journey that I am starting to sabotage all of my progress.  I do not want to be overweight for the rest of my life, but there must be some subliminal part of my mind that is still hanging on.  I don't think I would be having this internal struggle if that were not the case.  My week was so awful that I almost talked myself out of going to weigh in, but I realized that would be even more detrimental, so I went.

I did not get to stay for my meeting yesterday, but I did get a chance to talk to my leader for a few minutes before I weighed in.  She is completely fantastic and listened to my concerns.  She said do not put too much focus on the scale because that is only a small piece of the weight loss puzzle.  She also said I should focus on how I am feeling and to pay attention to how my clothes are starting to fit.  Truth be told, I am feeling more energized, and I did get to go shopping in my closet for a new pair of jeans.  Yesterday I wore a pair of jeans that I have not been able to wear for two years.  That does feel pretty awesome, in the grand scheme of things.

I also walked 7.5 miles in one fell swoop.  A month ago, I would have never been able to do that.  I am well on my way to being healthier and happier.  I just need to understand that persistence is important to succeed. It took me years to put all of this weight on, and I am doing really well, taking it off.  I have also figured out that it is much easier to weigh in after a good week, but that is not when I need to go to Weight Watchers the most. 

No gratuitous picture this week.  Instead, here is a note that I stuck on the refrigerator.  This is my attempt to ask myself whether or not I am truly hungry.  My gain was less than a half pound.  That could be attributed to the fact that I had wet hair and was wearing jeans and a sweater when I weighed in, but it was still a gain.  I seriously thought I was going to gain pounds not half of one and I had no one to blame but myself.  I am sure that I will have hard days or even weeks, but I will do my best to get my emotional eating under control.  This is far too important to me and I will see it through to the end.

Gain Some and Lose Some

Last week, I had an out of town visitor and as a result I had a weight gain of .8 pounds.  I am fully responsible for the food that I put in my mouth, so I was very pleased that it was only .8 pounds.  I knew that I would have trouble with tracking what I was eating so I tried to make better choices.  It did not always work but this was my first time since I have started on my journey, that my environment changed.  This is only going to prepare me for the upcoming holidays because I do not intend to gain any weight during this time of year.

This week, I got back on track.  I was not up to par with tracking so I am wondering if I am unintentionally sabotaging all the hard work because I am doing so well.  I absolutely need to put a stop to that, I have worked too hard to fall off the wagon.  I also started back into my workout routine.  I find that my moods are a whole lot better when I excercise and I have more energy to keep busy through out the day.  This journey is not only about my physical health, it about my mental and emotional health as well.  I firmly believe that the two go hand in hand and I have to be happy with my outward appearance as well as inward.  Looks definitely are not everything, but that is the first thing a person sees when you meet them for the first time, and I want to look my best.

With that said, there is a race on April 7, and it is a 5K.  I am going to sign up for it and I cannot be more excited and nervous at the same time.  This will be the first race that I have run since high school and if it goes well, I plan on running more.  Maybe I will run a half marathon someday...

Now, I have hit a weight loss of 20.2 pounds.  I had a great week, and yesterday I went to a party.  It only took a couple of hours to make the skirt and I love how it turned out.  I excited to say that I recieved a lot of compliments on it as well.  Definitely a bonus, and I felt great.  The fabric I used was from Alexander Henry's The Ghastlies line and it is by far the best Halloween fabric I have ever seen.  I could wear this skirt all year round, I think it is that awesome.  The pattern was from my head, and I cannot wait to make some more.  I want to try one in a longer length too.

20.2 pounds down, 39.8 pounds to go!

Earl Grey and Regina

I finished a hat today.  Actually it was yesterday but it was officially done blocking today.  I am not a fan of slouchy hats; however, this hat was so darn cute, I had to give it a try.

The hat pattern is called Regina and the designer is Carina Spencer.  I absolutely adore all of her patterns, and I have most them. The directions are easy to follow and she is available to answer any questions if the directions are a little too tricky.  The Regina pattern is a free download if you are on facebook.  Go to her page and "like" it, and you will receive the download.  There is also a knit along on Ravelry, in the Carina Spencer group, where you can see other variations of this awesome little hat.

My version was knit with Madelinetosh Tosh Merino DK in Earl Grey.  I purchased it at a yarn store in Texas.  This yarn was absolutely amazing to knit with and it is so soft.  Please excuse the awful picture, but I was excited to get this hat done and wanted to share what it looks like on.

Ponce de Leon Lighthouse

This is going to be my last post for today.  It feels a little strange posting so much in one day but I wanted to break everything up a little.  I had to run an errand around Cape Canaveral, Florida, and on my way down I stopped at Ponce Inlet.  The lighthouse is the tallest in the state and it sits at 175 feet tall.  The lighthouse and the grounds are the most gorgeous I have seen in quite some time.  It is very well taken care of.

Cape Lookout, NC will always be my favorite lighthouse, but Ponce Inlet is a close second for me.  The view at the top was amazing.  It is kind of funny because I have always enjoyed looking at lighthouses and I thought that I was nearly done with my obsession.  I have been collecting miniature lighthouses for many years and I almost left them packed in boxes when we moved here.  I unpacked the ones that had the most significance to me and set them out because as it would turn out, I am not quite over the obsession.

The first lighthouse I remember seeing was Bodie Island, NC.  I was sixteen years old and we drove by it on our way to Cape Hatteras, NC.  It is a magnificent structure that sat in isolation back from the beach with nothing but the keeper's house to keep it company.  I often wonder what it would have been like to be a keeper and have the weight of the shipping fleet on my shoulders.  It is an awesome responsibility that is certainly not for the weak spirited and physically handicapped.  It was of utmost importance to keep the lights burning in the worst weather...

Then we arrived at Cape Hatteras, and it was breathtaking.  The first time we were there, it sat on the beach.  If I thought Bodie Island was isolated, Cape Hatteras was even more so.  There was nothing but sand between the water and the lighthouse and my favorite time to visit was not on the calm, clear days but rather, the grey days when the ocean was angry.  To me it seemed the lighthouse was even more isolated.  I used to give the lighthouse a personality and feelings, and I would often imagine that it was lonely.  It had to be, with it's light calling out in the darkness, beckoning to the sailors that had to stay away because the sandy shoals were too treacherous, protecting them from the shallow waters that had taken so many lives before them.  Lighthouses call to me because of the wild isolation, and the loneliness of the environment that surrounds them.  There is something romantic about being the only person on a sandy beach, and although most people would agree about the wildness and the romanticism, it should never detract from how hard the job of being a keeper truly was.

I know that this is about Ponce Inlet, but it has been 16 years or so since I went to Cape Hatteras lighthouse for the first time.  It has been moved back from the beach to protect it's foundation.  The Outer Banks of North Carolina are barrier islands that come and go with the changing of the seas, and unfortunately the sea is eroding the beach at a fast rate.  You can read more about the lighthouse and the move here:
http://www.nps.gov/caha/historyculture/movingthelighthouse.htm

Without further ado, some Ponce Inlet pictures and one of the lighthouse at Cape Canaveral and some links with information about both:
http://www.ponceinlet.org/
http://canaverallight.org/about-2