tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23478475824083178072024-02-19T05:01:56.356-06:00Such a Funny FatBecause Getting Healthy is HALF the battle!<br>This blog is all about my journey from fat to ... well, who knows?
<br> I'll tell you about my good days, bad days and everything in between.Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.comBlogger339125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-77305878325175376742016-10-23T07:54:00.002-05:002016-10-23T07:54:28.734-05:00Some things change. Some don't, thank goodness!
My view walking into work!
A few weeks ago I was all in on blogging, again. I promised myself that I'd blog once a week to help get these 15 pounds off. And for a few weeks I did just that, while I lost and gained. Then my life basically turned upside down. In addition to starting a new job in Wisconsin we started house hunting. The promise that I'd made to myself to Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-11544707285535316522016-09-30T10:39:00.001-05:002016-09-30T10:41:00.357-05:00Aw shoot...Things have been changing around here. For those that are friends with me on Facebook this won't come as news but if you aren't, well then, buckle up. In my past life I worked in IT as everything from first level Help Desk to Independent Consultant and lots of jobs in between. As my contract as an Independent Consultant ended it felt like a good time to take a break and then I Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-84269994995282969512016-09-17T06:41:00.001-05:002016-09-17T06:41:28.266-05:00Setting GoalsWhoo! Two weeks in a row of posting? I'm not gonna call it a comeback just yet... HAHA!
So this week at the meeting (yes, I still go to meetings every week and find them to be the entire reason I am only 10 pounds over my goal weight rather than 50 or more) we talked about setting SMART goals. You know SMART goals if you've ever worked in a corporate setting as that's howAwesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-1173550960691813712016-09-12T16:24:00.001-05:002016-09-12T16:24:11.220-05:00Need Accountability*knock knock knock* Is this thing on?
Yeah, I know, it has been awhile. Things were going pretty well. Then they weren't. Then they were. Now, well... did you read the title of this post?
Weight maintenance is so freaking tricky. This is not surprising to me as I've basically spent the majority of my adult life trying to lose weight. I have only spent Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-50755321502375665072015-07-28T08:49:00.001-05:002015-07-28T08:49:15.698-05:00FIVE YEARS!!
Taken about two weeks after joining Weight WatchersJuly 2010
When I started Weight Watchers over FIVE years ago I didn't actually think I'd stick with it. It wasn't that I didn't believe in the program; it had much more to do with not believing in myself. Having the encouragement of friends (Sheri & Bri) who started with me and then making friends with the members at my meetingAwesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-2761483271645396472015-07-07T07:36:00.000-05:002015-07-07T07:36:09.471-05:00What do you surround yourself with?
[source]
This photo showed up in my Facebook feed yesterday. I think it is absolutely perfect. I think we can all agree that it's easy to fall into the trappings of negativity. What happens if we reverse that? If we get rid of the naysayers and negativity in our lives? My husband did something crazy (at least to me) and got rid of Facebook because some people wereAwesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-43305857849468104222015-06-27T14:02:00.002-05:002015-06-27T14:04:16.993-05:00Product Review: Blue Diamond Almonds - Sriracha
Best mail day EVER!
We like spicy food there is no doubt about that. Our garden is filled with spicy peppers so it was only a question of when we would try the Blue Diamond Sriracha Almonds. I looked at several different stores and didn't have much luck finding them so I am REALLY glad that I had the opportunity to have the company send me a couple of cans to try out. ThatAwesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-43564819956211014822015-06-24T14:57:00.000-05:002015-06-24T14:57:00.311-05:00Are you mindful or mind full?Last week in the meeting room we talked about being mindful. I know that normally I am more on the mind full side of that equation than the mindful side. You know what I'm talking about -- you're having a conversation with someone and watching TV/reading Twitter/Facebook/a real book at the same time? There are more times that I can count when I know that Dan and I are talking Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-23347542603245718292015-06-15T07:27:00.000-05:002015-06-15T07:29:02.550-05:00Post race thoughts: LITH TRI
In Eagle River, WI at Journey's 5K with Brenda
Yesterday, after my triathlon I went to watch Dan play in a pick-up hockey game. As we were driving I said that it was a day for two firsts -- my first triathlon and my first race in the rain. He disagreed and reminded me of this race from back in 2011 -- my first 5K. It suddenly seemed completely appropriate that yesterday's Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-327934455946916612015-06-13T19:30:00.001-05:002015-06-13T19:30:38.198-05:00Pre-race Thoughts
Five years ago (next month to be exact)
If you'd have told me five years ago that I would spend today making lists and checking things off so I was prepared for my first triathlon I'd have called you crazy and maybe a few other choice words. I never imagined being a person who enjoyed being active or that I'd ever have the confidence to take swimming lessons. I wasn't exactly happyAwesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-13554567786856854402015-06-10T15:46:00.001-05:002015-06-10T15:46:45.246-05:00Pre TRI thoughts... While going through my "One day in time" memories on Facebook I came across a post from 2011 (not even a year after I'd joined Weight Watchers and obviously still very obese) where I said that I was thinking of completing a triathlon. At the time I didn't even know how to swim so that was quite the proclamation.
My inspiration to always be active
Last year as I cheered on my friend, Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-39906494463275483692015-06-03T12:18:00.002-05:002015-06-03T12:18:57.045-05:00Again? Yes, again.
[source]
This is not the post that I intended to write today but it's the post I need to write today. I have to be honest with myself, again, because even though I woke up feeling bloated and puffy today I knew I needed to get to a meeting. I went to my Weight Watchers meeting and stepped on the scale to a 3.4 pound weight gain. Joanne looked at me with empathy and I shook my head.Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-63786697220832365852015-05-23T18:01:00.002-05:002015-05-23T18:01:50.811-05:00I needed a pushWith TRI training in full force (my race is now less than a month away -- EEK!) I was in the pool this week for a couple of work out sessions. I'm swimming along and as I approach the wall I tucked, and got a really good push off. I realized that in life I sometimes just need a good push. I realized that to take a job in a state where I knew, literally, one person I got a push Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-75924896279974862562015-05-14T07:01:00.000-05:002015-05-14T07:01:03.563-05:00It's happening... again
Remember this?
Las Vegas 2012
For those of you who have been hanging in there with me for any length of time you know that the last few years have included quite a lot of training; there were 7 half marathons since December 2012 and after all that I was tired. For the most part I absolutely loved training and loved racing but at some point it just got to be too much. After runningAwesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-81525320349225359232015-05-02T19:43:00.000-05:002015-05-02T19:43:06.696-05:00Baby StepsHey -- remember me? I took a hiatus from blogging when I was leading a lot of Weight Watchers meetings and was struggling to figure out what to say here. I mean, I spent the majority of every day talking about weight loss and when I'd get home blogging about weight loss or maintenance was sort of the last thing on my mind. I'm not entirely sure that I'm fully back to blogging Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-37222147222879715992015-01-06T13:39:00.003-06:002015-01-06T13:40:05.427-06:00When did THAT happen?Back in November of last year I started taking private swim lessons. I knew how to tread water and get myself out of trouble if I was in trouble but I didn't know how to do the various strokes properly and I definitely didn't know how to breathe and swim at the same time. I was completely out of my comfort zone. I loved swimming because it was something completely different fromAwesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-31066909588797962902014-12-22T08:02:00.000-06:002014-12-22T08:02:00.283-06:00Focus
Me: Nervous as hellMark: Chill as can be
Back in 2012 at a family reunion my cousin Mark and I were talking about the upcoming Las Vegas Half Marathon. Shortly after that I got a message from him that he'd entered and was going to run it as well. So, we bonded over that and hung out together at the start line. I was a mess of emotions. Mark was as cool as Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-62202916563392499572014-11-24T07:00:00.000-06:002014-11-24T07:00:00.068-06:00Pre-Thanksgiving ThoughtsI know that with Thanksgiving rapidly approaching that it is time to start thinking about what is going on our holiday table. Obviously I love to plan it out because I know that it helps me stay in control and on track. However, I have other people to take into account for a holiday meal rather than just a regular week night meal. My holiday meal will be shared with my husband, Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-32926609263865059052014-11-17T07:30:00.000-06:002014-11-17T13:05:50.711-06:00A new comfort zone?A couple weeks ago I mentioned that as part of my new identity I am trying to embrace stepping outside my comfort zone. I truly believe that when we do that amazing things happen and we suddenly find ourselves doing things that we didn't think possible. This week was no exception. When I was little I took swimming lessons. Or at least I remember going to the pool when I Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-28998219309786204872014-11-10T07:30:00.000-06:002014-11-10T07:30:02.696-06:00Sharing Tips for Success
Success isn't always blingy, but it should be!
Last week during our meetings we talked about sharing our tips for success and members at Weight Watchers were encouraged to share your tip. I think we have to step back and determine what success means? One thing I said last week is that through Weight Watchers I have learned that you don't have to follow the program 100% perfectly. &Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-70127612982602425962014-11-03T00:00:00.000-06:002014-11-03T00:00:14.030-06:00Identity changesWhen I see ideas that I want to blog about I put the idea in an email because I always have access to email. Last December I made a note that said "Do not give your past the power to define your future". During the month of October in our Weight Watchers meetings we've been talking about the five levels of change. We change our environment, our behaviors, our capabilities, our Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-420497001510670112014-10-27T14:42:00.000-05:002014-10-27T14:42:12.794-05:00Woah - this has been awhile!Remember when I used to post every week? My mom would call if I didn't to make sure I was ok if I didn't post. I want to get back to it but struggle to find a balance between leading my Weight Watchers meetings and working out, taking care of the dogs and having some fun with Dan. But... let me try to catch you up on what's been happening since I last posted.
Diane crossing Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-81127545195915068672014-06-08T15:40:00.005-05:002014-06-08T15:40:58.284-05:00Race Recap: Journey's Half Marathon
I'll freely admit this, my heart wasn't really in this race. I knew I'd be running in Eagle River but until about two weeks before the race I thought I was going to run the 5K rather than the half marathon. My decision to run the half marathon came because on the way home from the Oshkosh Half Marathon I realized that I'd been a little under two minutes off a personal best. Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-78805463786783022312014-05-25T08:14:00.002-05:002014-05-25T08:14:30.877-05:00Bondi Band Winner!
One of my favorite designs!
Have I shared my love of Bondi Band with you? If not, let me tell you - I love this company! You see, when I run or bike I sweat. A lot. I tried a few different kinds of headbands but apparently my head and/or hair is slippery (which sounds kinda gross but it's not) because they'd always end up moving during my workout. Until I found Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347847582408317807.post-70827597835680183562014-05-17T11:30:00.000-05:002014-05-18T10:11:33.512-05:00Let's Celebrate!
Taken about two weeks after I joined Weight Watchers
July 2010
It has been a year since I reached my goal weight and I am so proud and excited to have maintained a 215 pound weight loss. This is not something that I ever thought possible - in fact I never thought I'd be a Weight Watchers member more than six months. You see, I had done Weight Watchers before. In 2001 while a Awesomerness Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764482586033747029noreply@blogger.com1