For Things To Change...

Any readers still reading this blog?

Yes, I have been absent and yes I have been avoiding my blog. 

Some quick things that have gone on lately:

1. My oldest turned 21!  (Amazing since I don't seem to have aged!  lol)

2. My daughter won state champs in her marching band!

3. Brent and I celebrated our 25th Wedding anniversary!  (See what cool thing I did - I pinned it here)

Okay, Keeping it REAL.

I have had same huge ups and downs in my life since moving here to Utah two years ago.  Slowly, I've let my own health slip down in priority as the challenges have crept in.  My knee injury  has set me back from basketball and running.  As I've missed out on those fun things, I've also slipped into some old negative thinking, and slowly packed on some weight.  Grrr.  

Here's a clue that my body has been growing.  After driving errands and shopping one day, I got home to realize I had a little tear in my pants... like a gaping rip tear.   Dang!

How did I not notice this?  How did someone not tell me?  Maybe they thought it was a fashion statement.  Maybe I'm glad no one told me, actually.  And I did get a big laugh from this, um... I'm realizing that although  I've made several attempts to jump back into a healthier eating and exercising regime with some success, overall  I'm finding it difficult to keep it consistent.

So, the hubs and I have decided that 2014 is our year again!  

Our year to get back our health 

(before it gets away from us),

and to get back our 

ENERGY, 

our ZEST FOR LIFE, 

and our MOJO.  

It is now our biggest priority again!

I'm so grateful for the success that we've already had, and knowing that IT CAN HAPPEN.  Believing it's possible is really half the battle.  It's about wanting it bad enough.  It's about focusing on the GOAL and not the reasons or excuses.

To jump start us, we are going on a minimum 10-day Juicing fast (or feast as some call it).  This will help clean out our bodies of toxins and help re-set our cravings. 

We got inspired by this video "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" a documentary by Joe Cross.  Have you seen this?

I've also been concerned about our cancer risks.  My neighbor friend just passed away after a hard battle with cancer.  Also my dad died of lymphoma cancer at age 64, and his mom died from breast cancer.  My own sister is a breast cancer survivor. 

I know that the way we eat can put us at more risk for getting cancer. What we eat affects our moods, our health, our looks, and our ability to think and focus.

I watched this video about cancer which I found very interesting - they do try to have you buy an info kit, but just watching the video is very enlightening.  It comes down to what we eat and several foods contribute to cancer and several foods help prevent cancer.  Why don't our doctors focus on what we eat?  Why do they always go to prescribing meds?  Okay, that's another topic!!

I got a juicer for Christmas! 

So, after our 10-day (or longer) jump start juicing jamboree, we plan on continuing on with organic fresh/raw veggies and fruit, smaller portion meals, and adding in some Medifast meals as well.  We still love the Medifast products and the 5:1 Take Shape For Life weight loss system that has saved our lives already.

Who's with me for big changes in 2014?  

What are your plans and goals?

I want to go ROCK CLIMBING again, I want to get my knee healed and enjoy BASKETBALL again.  And I want to NOT have my pants rip again.  lol

Here's my motto:  

For things to change, I must change.  

For things to get better, I must get better!!

~Margene

Check Out My New Video

What a GREAT time to change your life!  Where will you be next year?

Week 27 - My Happy Man!

Last Week I lost 2 pounds and my hubs lost 5 pounds!!! He has pushed through his hurdle of getting past that 220 range. I took his pic this morning... as he was dancing and flexing around in his glee... what a comparison. I have my happy man back!

Feb. 2010: 300 lbs / Today Aug. 2010: 210 lbs

90 pounds GONE, BABY!!!

I am learning SO much. I’ve been reading Dr. A’s Habits of Health book (the path to permanent weight control and optimal health) along with the companion guide. This is like the mental side to the losing weight which I NEED. It’s helping me learn to change my bad habits to healthy ones so that I can be and live with OPTIMAL health the rest of my life. There is SO much in this book... I wish I read it years ago. I HIGHLY recommend these books!

I’ve also learned, that on the Take Shape For Life Program (using Medifast food), I can’t rationalize my portions and sneak this and that into the plan, or I WILL drop out of “fat burning” mode. It’s calculated so specifically, with the nutrition, calories, carbs, and fat... that adding a snippet in here and there puts it off balance. The last thing I want to do is put my body in “starvation mode” where it will hold on to my fat instead of burning it. If my carbs go higher, my hunger and cravings increase and if the calories go higher, I no longer am using my fat stores to burn.

So both my man and I are RECOMMITTING to stay TRUE to this plan. Because, it WORKS!! And it’s NOT HARD to do. The Medifast food takes all the guess work out of it and they taste great. I just had let myself “eyeball” my portions (for my lean & greens) instead of measuring, and add a bite of this or that... you know how it goes. I even had some beef jerky as part of my lean the other day, even though that is not on plan at this stage. I Need to and Want to stay ON PLAN exactly... and not drag out getting this weight off. So stating this on my blog here, will help me remember and stay committed. :) And we both are very DETERMINED.

I sold a ton of my “favorite” big clothes this last week... the ones I was saving and still wearing but they are huge on me. And I am letting them go. I would give them away but right now money is tight. You should see my bare closet right now! One of the ladies I sold a ton of them to, came to my house from the bus in a motorized wheel chair. She was very big and I wanted to share this program with her and let her know her life could be better, but I sensed she wasn’t ready or interested. She left with a garbage bag filled to the brim with my clothes, holding them on her lap and by the feet of that wheel chair. But she was happy with the good deal I gave her. It was a reminder to me where I was headed, though. I remember using the wheel chair at Walmart a few times when I was too tired to walk around and in too much pain. It is hard work to be obese!! (and I still am, technically).

I had tuna for the first time on this plan. This is 2 cans (total 6 oz.) of sodium free tuna from Trader Joes with a little fat free mayo, Mrs. Dash, and some celery - along with my salad. It would taste good in a lettuce wrap, too, I think. :) Happy Weekend... How is YOUR plan going this week?

WEEK 26 - 6 months now!

Yesterday I said goodbye to my dear friend I've had the last 5 years. She and her family packed up their moving truck yesterday and headed down to California. Her son is also my sons' best friend. I hope she doesn't mind that I post her picture here on our last "gals day" together, but I just wanted to share how beautiful she is INSIDE and OUT!! She has been there for me at some of my lowest moments and cheered with me at my highest ones too. I will really miss her SO much and hope she finds joy in her new adventure. :)

We have hit our 6 month anniversary on our lifestyle change using the "Take Shape For Life" program. Last week we EACH lost 1 pound. Yay, for a loss... but I am still aiming for more than that each week. I think I may have lost more if I didn't have those 3 diet soda's this week.

My Favorite Lean and green this week was a nice salad with Bolthouse honey mustard dressing, 3/4 cup cottage cheese, and our Costco Chicken patty covered with sauteed mushrooms. Oh... SO good! My kids are LOVING these Costco chicken patties (Sweet Caramelized Onion Chicken Burgers - Pic of them in one of my Feb. posts), they are in the refrigerated section and my kids eat them in a bun. When I am needing to make something quick, I pull those out.

So last friday, my man had a day off and we were fixing up our family bikes. Then we just decide to ride our bikes (without the kids) to the theater for an afternoon movie.

Back in the day, my man and I were big movie buffs and always used to go to the newest releases... even once going to 3 movies in one evening! (Okay, we were very young teens then). With movies having so much yucky stuff in them nowadays, we don't do that like we used to, but it was SO fun last Friday.

I am always wearing that top, I noticed too, since it is one of the only ones that fit me. I have a lot of my "tent shirts" and I wear them too, but they are huge on me. I can't wait until I can afford a real clothes shopping spree... but I've still got a lot I want to lose, so it's good to wait anyway. :)

I look at this pic and I see two older folks... yet inside, we are still those two crazy teens. At least now, we have hopefully learned a thing or two!!

The Story

This is me and my husband right before we got married - over 21 years ago!

The STORY:

We're happily married, in our forties, and we're both obese. Yes, I said it: OBESE. I hate that word but I have to face it because it's the truth. We KNOW we've needed to lose weight, we've tried many programs including Nutri-systems, Jenny Craig, The Atkins Diet, The South Beach Diet, The 6-Week Body Makeover and others. We have always gained even more weight back. We have four children and it's like our lives are at stake. The future of our children is at stake. So we have asked ourselves over and over: Do we keep living like we are, or do we take take back our lives? And if so, how?

The SOLUTION:

After seeing my good friend lose over 100 pounds in 6 months, we have decided to try: "Take Shape For Life" using the Medifast 5 and 1 plan. We will eat 5 Medifast "meals" a day and 1 "Lean and Green" meal a day, which is basically a portion of lean meat and vegetables. This is the plan with WILL work for us. We are COMMITTED (and I don't mean to the funny farm). This is the year we WILL take back our lives. We are so sure of it, that I am starting this blog so we can monitor our progress and maybe even be a source of motivation for someone else. Watch us transform our lives!

GETTING STARTED:

So here are our "Before pictures"

Feb. 7th, 2010 My Hubby at 300 lbs.

Feb. 7th, 2010 Me at 280 lbs

We are NOT happy with our physical condition! I hate my double chin!!!! Hate may be too weak of a word, really. My tummy gets in the way of everything... I bump into people with it, and I don't have a lap because of it. My back gets tired from carrying such a big belly and it's hard to ever pick anything up off the ground, especially when I'm sitting. I worry about fitting into booths at restaurants or breaking chairs. There is practically never a time that I don't feel self-conscious. I haven't felt beautiful for so many years, that I have forgotten what it feels like. This is NO WAY to LIVE!! I look at these pictures and they just aren't us. This doesn't reflect the real me inside. I'm excited to get to the point where I really look and feel like my true self, and I believe that it WILL happen THIS year.

IT'S TIME TO CHANGE!!!