Lisa's Point Of View

  Who is this girl that I see in the mirror?   She's definitely not the same person I saw 9 months ago!  Some days it's hard to recognize myself.  Lately I have noticed so many changes in myself.  Other people are also noticing, and commenting on these changes.   Of course, there is the physical change.  I've lost right at 50 pounds.  I see my body shrinking.  Some of my shoes are too big.  My rings are too big.  I don't have chipmunk cheeks any more.  My face has thinned out.  I keep having to buy smaller clothes.  All of these changes are very good things.   Then, there are the health aspects.  I have been taken off of my blood pressure medicine.  I feel good - better than I have in as long as I can remember.  I would venture a guess that this is the healthiest that I have been in many years.   But, those changes are not what this blog post is about.  It's about the way I look at things, the way I see things, and the way I think about things.

 The topic of our meeting last week was "Time."  What would you do if you had more time in the day?  I can think of many things.  I know that I don't utilize all of my time well.  I never have.  I'm not disciplined when it comes to time management.  I find it so hard to put my "free-time" on a schedule.   First, I need to say that being a responsible adult, having a job, and living to pay bills just really screws up the time factor, and the fun factor of life!  I like my job, but a lot of time is spent there, and even more when you include the time spent driving to and from work.  Today, as I sit here at work, I think about the things I need to be doing, and the things I want to be doing.  As you probably have guessed, I'm not thinking about work.  You can see that I am thinking about, and writing this blog.  It's important to me, and I haven't done it in a while.  It has slipped through the cracks, as I have many other things going o

I woke up this morning, tired.  That's never a good thing for my brain.  All I wanted was to go back to sleep, but I set the goal to walk on the treadmill for an hour, every morning this week, before work - because I know I won't do it after work.  The past few weeks, I haven't kept the exercise goal at all, so this week, I am going to do it, no matter what.    So, I start walking, and I'm ok with that, until my boyfriend asked me if I want a turkey sandwich or a frozen dinner, for lunch.  That's all it took to get my brain going.  The frustration, disappointment, and anger had started.   So, I'm going to address these feelings, one by one.   FRUSTRATION!   The thought of another turkey sandwich made me want to gag, right there on the spot.  I'm soooo sick of turkey.  Actually, I'm sick of everything that I eat!  People don't seem to understand "picky," to the extent that I am picky.  Before Weight Watchers, I had a limited

Well, I'm thinking something is wrong with me.  I feel like my fire is burning out.  I feel less than enthusiastic about this journey, and how close I am to reaching my goal.  I'm really "blah."  I'm off of my game.   I think that this feeling started after I applied to be a Weight Watcher's Leader.  I was fired up.  I thought I could help people, and that I could make a difference.  This is something I believe in.  I believed that this is something I would be good at.  I had my friends, people from my meeting, people from Connect, and from a couple of Weight Watchers pages on Facebook, supporting me - telling me that I would be great at this.  Then, a few weeks later I get this cold, computer generated email that tells me that there is no position for me, and that this is a very competitive field.  It then told me that they wished me good luck in my job search.  It didn't even say that they would keep my application on file.   My feelings were

I'm not sure what it is about this summer, but it seems like so many people, including myself, are in a slump.  I read so many posts that back this up.  Some people are hungry all of the time, and are having a difficult time staying within their points.  Some are going way overboard, and going into negative points again, and again - spiraling out of control. Some are gaining weight, instead of losing.  Some have quit tracking.  Some have lost the desire to exercise.  Some have posted that they feel like giving up, and they just want to quit. I understand the posts.  I've been in this funk, and am trying to work myself out of it.  I feel hungry all of the time, and I am missing desserts, and high point foods that I usually don't work into my diet.  I got lazy, and didn't feel like exercising.   I'm working hard with my points, but some days it is a struggle.  I've gone to bed feeling hungry, because I knew I would let myself go over my points if I allowed

The past few weeks I had really been feeling down, and mostly, down about myself.  I realized that something needed to be done.  I couldn't, and shouldn't go on feeling this way.  I looked in the mirror, and although I wasn't seeing "fat," I was seeing "ugly," and that, to me, was worse. Change.  I needed change.  For some reason, I have always embraced change.  I feel that change is good for the soul. First step, is that I got my hair cut, and I got it cut short.  It hasn't been short in a few years.  It's not totally drastic, because my hair wasn't that long, in the first place, but it is a very noticeable difference.  Secondly, I went and ordered a couple of new pair of glasses.  I'm used to having more than one pair, and being able to choose what pair "fit my mood" every day before heading out.  Last time I got new frames, I could only pay for one pair.  Soon, I will have 3 pair to choose from to fit my mood.  I lov

When I began this journey, I was so enthusiastic and so motivated.  The past couple of months, that slowly started going away, and, I don't know why.  I was doing good with the food, but when it came to exercising, all of my enthusiasm was gone.  I just did not realize how far gone that it was.   I started making a weight loss journal in January, when I started the program.  I'm OCD, so I made charts for a few things.  I have a calendar where I keep up with blue dots, a chart for days that I exercise, and another chart for the amount of steps that I take per day. The step chart has different colors for different ranges of steps per day.  I had not worked on these charts in a few months.  Last night, I caught up on these charts, and it suddenly became very real.  The blue dots were good - could be better, but I'm losing at a good rate, so that didn't make me feel bad.  The exercise chart, and the step chart gave me a very rude awakening.  I consider exercise as

We all have stories of friendships.  Most of us have made friends, and lost friends along the way, for many different reasons. I'm still friends with my first friend, that I made at the age of three.  She lives in a different state, and we don't talk as much, but I know I can count on her, if I need to.  I am still friends with people that I went to first grade with, and many of us keep in touch, and get together as a group, occasionally. I have lost two friends to death, both in their early twenties.  One was my very best friend in the world, but I had ruined that friendship.  She did something that I didn't approve of.  I was judgmental, and I told her that I couldn't stand by her side on this decision.  I did send her a letter apologizing, and saying that I valued, and missed our friendship.  I never heard from her.  Shortly after that, I heard she had a stroke and was on life support.  To this day, close to thirty years later, I still have not been able to

 Today, I am running on empty.  I just don't fee like "me."  I am in a total funk.  That's the only way that I can describe how I am feeling.  Maybe you can relate.  Maybe you can't, but that's where I am.   I know that I ran myself ragged over vacation.  We never stopped "going."  Vacation was fantastic.  It was great to step away from everyday life for a few days, and just enjoy ourselves.  I came back with my brain feeling renewed!  The break was good for me.  I have just been out of it, physically, since we got back.  This has been going on for almost a week now.  Excuse the terminology, but my ass is dragging!   I know that I'm tired.  I don't feel like I will ever catch up with rest.  My motivation for pretty much everything is gone, for the time being.  I really don't feel like writing this blog, but I feel that these feelings, may be worth capturing.  As far as exercise goes, I just can't seem to force myself

 Every day, all of us have to make decisions - what to wear, where to go, what to do, what to eat, and probably many more decisions.  More often than not, I struggle with decisions.  Some days I go through 2-3 outfits before I make a decision.  I'm often involved in the conversation of "Where do you want to go?" "I don't know, where do you want to go?" I am an "over-thinker," and sometimes, I think that makes it even more difficult to make the decision.  There are times that I wish someone else would just make decisions for me! I just got back from vacation, and I had a very difficult time making decisions - food decisions.  A few years ago, my boyfriend and I went on vacation, and we were both on diets.  We went to this famous restaurant, and didn't want to cheat, so we didn't eat anything that we "shouldn't" eat.  That was over four years ago, and we still talk about how we will never do that again.  It bothere

What do you consider success?  Do you think that success is reaching your main goal? I look at success differently.  I will consider goal, when I hit it, a huge success, but I consider reaching many smaller goals, successes, also.  I consider every ounce that I lose, a success.  Every time that I exercise, is a success.  Every time that I go down a size in clothes, is a success.  Every day that I stay within the program, is a success.  Every time that I do something that I was unable to do before, is a success. If we focus only on the end goal, and don't appreciate and celebrate our smaller successes, success seems so far in the distance.  Success is right in front of us.  Most of us have many successes along the way.  We should appreciate every single one of them.  We should celebrate every single one of them.  We should also help others celebrate their successes!  Each and every success that we have, is an important step in this journey!  Each step gets us closer to

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain."   We only have one life, and we have to live it to the fullest.  Life is too short to not be happy.  Life is to short to not enjoy it.   Life is full of ups and downs.  We all have difficult times.  We all struggle.  Enjoying this life fully, and being happy, comes down to one thing - a positive attitude.  That's the bottom line.  When we experience the storms in our lives, we need to try to make the best out of a bad situation.  Yes, the storms will pass.  Will waiting for the storms to pass, impact your happiness?  The answer is "Yes."   I know that there are horribly difficult times in life, and most times, this may be easier said, than done.  Sometimes you have to endure the storms, and wait for them to pass.  I get that.  Sadness, heartache, pain - they don't just disappear overnight.  On those times that you can make the best of a bad

By the time you are reading this, it will be the first day of my vacation.   I'm hoping to leave work a little bit early, and get on the road.  I am hoping to pretty much escape reality for a while. You see, I desperately need a mental break!  I haven't been out of town in over two years, due to money, and my job constraints at my old place of employment.  This is going to be my time to recharge my batteries.   I will not have a set schedule that I have to stick to.  I don't have any plans that are set in stone.  I don't have to set an alarm to wake up at a certain time.  I will be away from stress for a few days!  Basically, all I want to do is relax! I am needing to get away from the feeling of "having to do something,", so I will be taking a break from the blog until the middle of next week, when I am back at home. The weather report says that I will have constant rain for most of the trip.  At first, this bothered me, but I am so looking forward

I would imagine that all of us have been called names, or labeled by someone else, at sometime in our lives.  I'm sure we all probably think back to this happening to us during childhood.  Kids are mean!  They also have no concept of how the things they say, make others feel.  It may not have just been kids. It may have not been only during childhood.  It could be teachers, brothers, sisters, other family members.  It could be anyone.  It could still be happening to some of us.  Most people may not verbally label others, but, the fact is, subconsciously, they are probably viewing others in terms of these labels.  I am sure that we have all also been guilty of that, at one time or another.  Unfortunately, labeling is a learned behavior, and it is difficult, and maybe virtually impossible, to unlearn. Fat.  Ugly.  Stupid.  Worthless.  Crazy.  These aren't just names.  These are negative labels.  Labels can harmful, sometimes robbing us of our self-esteem.  Sometimes, w

This is a journey in which we have to work hard to achieve our goals.  For most of us, it doesn't come easy.  We change our lifestyle.  We change the way we eat.  Many of us begin to exercise, when we have been totally sedentary. Without having fun along the way, and constant hard work, many will suffer burn-out.  This is just a reminder that even though hard work is work, we can also make some of this work, fun.  Compete in step challenges with others.  Take a walk through the park.  Ride a bicycle.  Get outside occasionally, instead of only getting exercise in the gym!  Think of how much more you will get done when your workout is fun!  Get your exercise doing something that you enjoy! Don't forget - just because it is hard work, doesn't mean it can’t be fun.  Now, get out there and get it done! Always remember – YOU ARE AMAZING!   Go out and make it a great day! **If you like this post, please feel free to share it, or to share the link to the blog!  I

 Body Image.  This is a very controversial topic.  It's about how others see us.  It's about how we see ourselves.  It's about what people believe is "socially acceptable."  It's about the stereotypes that come with the body shapes and sizes.  It's about biases.   I know that I am guilty of this.  I can't think of much that bothers me more than when a skinny person (Size 3 or below), complains to me about their weight.  Seriously???  You are talking to an overweight person, and you are complaining about how fat you are?  Maybe that person does actually see themselves that way, but I can't imagine that they don't know that they are not fat.  I do know that they are definitely not thinking of how bad they are making an overweight person feel.  Sometimes, my thoughts are just not nice, but I don't say what I'm thinking.  (I'm never mean to anyone.)  I do not think this way of all skinny people, but when a skinny person co

This post is to serve as a reminder that today is more than just the third day of a three-day weekend.  It's more than the "unofficial" beginning of summer. Take time today to remember those who have served our country.  Take time to remember those who gave their lives, so unselfishly, so that we can live the lives that we are living today.  Take a moment to thank someone, who has served, or is currently serving, in the military.  It is important that we always remember all of these people. Please take a minute to listen to this song, sung by Billy Ray Cyrus, appropriately called "Some Gave All."  It's very moving and puts this day into perspective. https://youtu.be/ydWhRObVxrM Have a great Memorial Day!  Always remember – YOU ARE AWESOME!   Go out and make it a great day! **If you like this post, please feel free to share it, or to share the link to the blog!  It is with your help that I may reach, and inspire others!  I welcome