My 1 Year Blogiversary

The actual date was Wednesday, October 23, 2013 and one year ago I wrote, "So Much to Say."  I truly feel as though I have said a lot and have shared what many of you have had to say also.  I had several personal goals in mind when I started this blog.  I wanted to Maintain my 50 lb weight loss, get the word out about Maintenance, register for the National Weight Control Registry. So here I go:
Current Weight=161
Highest Weight E-VER=216
Hover Weight=200 --hover weight is the weight I always hovered around until I truly got serious or that weight you just can't let yourself go past, per se.  I can point to many journal (writing, ala Bridget Jones) entries whereas my daily weight was 199, 203, 200, etc.
Most Recent Lowest Weight=155
Lowest Weight E-VER=128
Ideal Weight=140 or below but at 48 years old and ~ 5' 4" my 155-160 range has been good.  I fit nicely into my size 10 jeans and my size 12 jeans are baggy. Size 10 dresses are snug but size 12 dresses need to be altered, again, probably the body fat, which I am working on.
I started spinning and I am still running just no race goals.  Spinning is phenomenal I did 2 back to back classes last Sunday, albeit challenging, I was not sore and felt great.  After running 10-12 miles, I would not do anything the next day. Monday I got up and ran 4 miles.  Trust me, this was an AHA moment for sure.  I do still love running, especially in the beautiful California weather but I probably will not run races anymore.  My schedule includes running 3-8 miles 2 or 3 days a week and spinning 4 or 5 days. On some of these days, light weights and even some jump roping.  I am still trying to walk as much as possible.  I can take a long walk over to my Parent's community or cut through over a hill, which are my extra steps just about every day.
One of my biggest accomplishments is remaining off sugar, pure cane (the white stuff) and high fructose corn syrup (hfcs).  Sugar is out of my diet.  For the most part I eat fruit.  I am not doing a lot of sugar free baking because it's easy to substitute one addiction for another--so I am just waiting and if I truly want something I will bake using a natural sugar.  My mother is planning to use turbinado (raw brown sugar)  and maple sugar in her sweet potato pies for Thanksgiving.  I will probably use her batter for a custard without the crust and depending on how I feel I may have a piece of her pie.  I don't feel deprived and I don't miss desserts because I know if I sought out or baked my own I would have a dessert. Many bakeries are now offering sugar-free or rather alternative sugar baked goods, so again, if I sought them out I would have a dessert.  By the way, I have been off sugar for 2 years now and also caffeine.  I have not had coffee, no Starbucks or coffee house coffee for 2 years.  Now, if I am out and want I diet coke or unsweetened iced tea, I am not stressing about the caffeine.
These are all things I have had to figure out for myself and no sugar and caffeine is definitely not for everyone, but this is what works for me.
Lastly, I filled out the online form for the National Weight Control Registry on Wednesday and am waiting for my forms in the mail to send back and wait to hear if I am accepted.  I am so excited that I set out for the goal and did it.  The NWCR is very important for maintainers, I believe.  They want know what works and share it.  Learning what others do to maintain their weight is imperative because it helps those who are struggling.  It sounds like a Catch-22, because what works for one person may not work for another person.  But here's the thing, another person may be able to use a portion of what someone else has done.  
I hope this 1st Blogiversary post is helpful and I will continue aggregate and blog in the coming weeks.  Thank you for reading.

An Anniversary...of sorts

Well, one year ago today (sort of, because the Thanksgiving holiday rotates), I started on my current journey by walking into this place the day after Thanksgiving.  I actually made the appointment over a week before; I didn't want to go through the holiday season, gain more weight and have more to work off.  I was very sad because I had gained back the 40 lbs I had lost AGAIN!!!! I had started running and was trying to make smart decisions and I thought starting the day after Thanksgiving would be good for me.  For me, and I can say this honestly, the journey to maintenance is a long and winding one but the light bulbs continue to go off.  First I let go of white sugar and high fructose corn syrup and then caffeine.  I felt that it was time for me to take charge of me.  I am sure I have said before that I would never give up coffee; but I have.  I think so many people on the journey always think they are going to miss something; but you don't and it's always something else.  I just wanted to reflect on where I was and how I felt a year ago.  Always good to see progress.