Good Wednesday Morning to all!! The middle of the week, the seventh inning stretch YAY almost the weekend!!!

For those who are wondering how I find all this information, well..I have signed up for every free newsletter on health/fitness/diet and exercise available lol. And if I am curious about something, I'll do some research. I also cross-reference all of the information I receive, look it up on medical sites, and ask as many people as I know for confirmation/verification. I have literally dedicated a year and a half of my life to learning about health and fitness while I am on this weight loss journey. The human body and the way it responds is fascinating to me. And the bottom line is, the human body responds to OUR commands. If we starve it, it preserves fat. If we overfeed it, it slows down. If we balance it, it works right. If we exercise it, it pays us back ten-fold with energy, vitality and health. Anything we do to our bodies determines the end result of that action. I overfed my body and my body puffed up like I told it to. The body is a very interesting and complex machine. If we were robots, our bodies would do everything at a minimum for the purpose of survival only. When we combine our minds and our freedom of choice within our minds, that is when everything really becomes interesting. So you see, it isn't just your body..it is your mind. Weight loss, better health, it is all about the mind, the attitude. Once you master your mind, your attitude, your heart, your understanding...you will accomplish your goals AND be happy while working towards them and cut yourself some slack because you will also understand that you are HUMAN and NOT just a machine. This is why I think everyone of you is fascinating. We all have the same goal, the only thing that is different is what is inside our minds, what we tell ourselves, how we respond to situations, and our attitudes. Those are the things that make you beautiful, successful, and a pleasure to be around. Those are also the things that can destroy you and sabotage your goals. Tis a fine line we walk and I like to fall off the line more often than not and splash around in the positive puddle lol

Writing positive entries, for me, gives me energy and sets my mood for the day. While I have my fair share of depressing, stressful, aggravating, upsetting, events in my day...I like to focus more on the positive things inside me rather than wait around for something positive to happen...in other words, I try to make something positive happen...I create my own happiness. It might be something as simple as saying that I am having a great hair day..but you have no idea how many times I have been in the middle of a stressfull event and thought "Oh well, at least my hair looks good!" and then laugh to myself because it is so David and Golliath lol.

Don't get me wrong, I have times when nothing will kick the bad mood/attitude and I have to understand that during those times..that they WILL pass and there is no sense in destroying what I have worked so hard for because of an event that will pass or will be better in the morning. After all, if you spent a year redecorating your house, just to have a window shade fall down...would you start breaking windows, ripping off wallpaper, breaking furniture, just because of that little window shade? Of course not. So why do we destroy our hard work with a binge when we see that we have gained a few ounces or pounds, or haven't lost anything?

The hardest part of a diet is your mind. The second hardest part of a diet is understanding what your body needs in order to be a well-tuned machine. Fortunately, you can do both. But they also require work just as our diet requires work. Dedication. Willingness to toss everything you have ever felt about yourself, about events in your life, about people in your life..toss it ALL out the window and start fresh. Don't think in terms of patching up the old house..think in terms of razing it, and rebuilding a new house! The 'diet' is not the foundation of your success. Your mind is your foundation, your attitude is your foundation...the diet and the knowledge that comes from doing the diet..those create the walls..the visual...your heart and attitude..those are the beautiful decorations inside that pull it all together.

OK anyway, enough about that lol. Last night I did all my exercise. After being sick, the last couple of days have been a little more difficult with the treadmill but I've stuck to my 17-minute mile at least. I still have some congestion, but it does loosen up nicely when I'm on the treadmill. Imagine that lol. I sent an email to my family asking them to let me know if they know of anyone getting rid of an exercise bike or some other type of cardio equipment. I have decided that this weekend I am going to turn my sons old bedroom into my workout room. Remove the queen bed and replace it with the twin bed. I said that is what I would do, and by gosh, I'm going to do it. =)

Sparkpeople is also offering their employee fitness program and I am going to start working on that for my office and roll it out the beginning of next year. I am also considering going to weight watchers at the beginning of the year. I am thinking that I may not reach the 150lbs mark by the end of this year, just because I have slowed down with my weight loss. That one great month in August was something to remember lol. I am going to spend this weekend while I am redoing the room, thinking about a new plan of attack. Regroup time!

I am going to see if my parents want to go somewhere this weekend,and I'll ask my mom to take some pictures of me so I can post them here. I was going through my file cabinets at the office yesterday and OMG I found pictures of me back in 2004...wow..talk about a big difference. Those pictures are of me when I was at 213 pounds. I just cannot believe how round and shapeless I was. I looked like a basketball with eyes. I wish I had a scanner to scan those pics, maybe I'll see if I can get a pic of the pics hmmm...

I actually took the pictures and looked at my face side by side with the pics. Being 166lbs is no slim-trim missy...and the fat is stubborn as heck, but there is a massive difference. It is unbelievable.

OK here are some articles I have to share. I hope they are of some help! Have a great day ladies!!

What to do when the scale won't budge: http://www.prevention.com/article/1,,s1-4-88-278-7468-1,00.html?cm_mmc=Spotlight%20Weight%20Loss-_-10%2f11%2f2006-_-Weight%20Loss-_-What%20to%20Do%20When%20the%20Scale%20Won't%20Budge

Is your attitude preventing you from being healthier? http://www.prevention.com/quizleadin/1,,s1-4-57-177-1797-1,00.html?cm_mmc=Spotlight%20Weight%20Loss-_-10%2f11%2f2006-_-Weight%20Loss-_-Is%20Your%20Attitude%20Preventing%20You%20From%20Being%20Healthier

Slim down with the biggest loser: http://www.prevention.com/specialpackage/1,,s1-4-62-622-62,00.html?cm_mmc=Spotlight%20Weight%20Loss-_-10%2f11%2f2006-_-Weight%20Loss-_-Slim%20Down%20With%20the%20Biggest%20Loser

I'll stop by later this afternoon to read and post to everyone else. I am SERIOUSLY way behind!

Current Goal - 47.1 lbs lost so far, only 16.3 lbs to go!