Actions and Choices

"The most decisive actions of our life ... are most often unconsidered actions." -Andre Gide

I thought that this quote was so true no matter what the circumstances are in your life. Losing weight, relationships, career choices, etc; your unconsidered actions are normally what mold your life. Like tonight when I was eating dinner with my husband, I just kept eating and eating and eating, even though I was full. I did not even realize what I was doing!

Well, I finally pushed my plate away and told Seth "NO MORE FOR ME!"

Some unconscious and unconsidered actions are what have caused me to become the overweight person that I am now. This is truly a lifestyle change for me, not just a "diet" and because I am changing my lifestyle, it is not always going to be easy!

One day at time! that is all I can say!

I am in my wranglers though! YEAH! I am losing the weight and going down in inches and lbs. I am just wishing I was seeing it happen faster! :)

Michelle 1-24-2009

Success

"Some people have funny ideas about success. They think that successful people never suffer defeats or discouragement or setbacks. They equate success with some make-believe perfect life in which nothing ever goes wrong. Well, how naive, how totally and completely unrealistic if we are vainly searching for the classic fairy-tale ending "and they lived happily ever after." But success is a progressive realization of worthwhile, predetermined personal goals and a very different thing from the Mother Goose concept of perpetual bliss. Success in everybody's life requires conflict, problems, challenges, roadblocks and occasional failure in order that the reached goal may be satisfying and rewarding and self-fulfilling. Sometimes it is the knowledge of the bitter taste of defeat that makes winning so exhilarating. It is overcoming, a genuine test of courage, strength, ability, endurance, perseverance and belief that strengthens us and makes us proud of our accomplishments...Sometimes we are prone to see and hear and read about successful people without ever realizing that they first had to overcome adversity to earn what they have. The lives of most famous people bear the scars of obstacles and conflicts and struggles. . Successful people have earned their spot in life, just as you must earn yours. So if you are thinking of all the obstacles and roadblocks that you have and thinking that other people did not have them, erase this from your mind. It is not true. They, too, have overcome insurmountable obstacles to attain the success that they enjoy today." Mary Kay Ash Speech Topic Book

My Saturday Workout!

He He! This is how I got my workout on Sat! I will admit I played hookie from work on Sat because I needed to get out on my new mare! (I STILL HAVEN'T NAMED HER!) She is so awesome! She is VERY tall so it is kinda of funny to watch my fat butt try to mount her. ALTHOUGH, when I am not wearing my bibs I am able to do it without to much struggle! THANKS CARL!!! It is because I am getting stronger and losing weight that I was able to get on her! She is SSSSOOOO AWESOME! She is going to be a runner which I love! There is really nothing better in the entire world then having a horse sit underneath you running at top speed. It is really hard to explain. You can literally feel their muscles bunch and relax as they stretch their stride and run faster and faster at your urging. She has an amazing gait and is almost a prancer! For you non-horsemen, this simply means the style in which she walks. Some horses are just jerky when they walk but she is smooth as silk and is even better when she runs. PLUS, SHE IS SO FAST!!! I want to take her down to the rodeo arena so I can really open her up without fear of a twisted ankle or broken leg because of hitting a hole we don't see in this snow! But yes, it is a workout to ride horses, at least if you like to run! :)

Here I am carrying Pedro! OF COURSE I TOOK PEDRO! He is my puppy after all! Actually he did walk most of the way but when he got tired then I carried him which was kind of tricky! AND MAN MY ARMS GOT TIRED! He wieghs about 6 lbs but when you are carrying 6 lbs, in a crooked arm while trying to steer your horse with the other, it is not the easy and I AM SORE THIS MORNING FROM DOING IT! OH and before comments are made about how fat I look, I AM WEARING INSULATED BIBS and they are big on me so I look HUGE in these pictures. Granted, I am not small but I have lost weight! :)

Here I am bringing her to a stop after running her! It was cool because she jumped over a little ravine and then Seth told me to run back towards him so he could take my picture and this is one we got! AND YES I AM SMILING!! (while I am saying "Whoa!"). THIS IS WHY I AM LOSING WEIGHT!!! I LOVE TO DO THIS STUFF AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE I CAN FOR A LONG, LONG, LONG TIME!!!!

Here are my awesome riding companions! My gorgeous husband Seth and my beautiful little girl Shyanne!

Michelle 1-18-2009

It Must Be a Tuesday!

LOL!! SO I hate Tuesday! Ok, not really but Tuesdays are always SO busy! Not just for work, but also for the stuff the kids and I do. From 3:00 PM until 8:00 PM we are down in town running them around to a few of their after school activities. My kids do art, dance, and tumbling and I am so glad!

Here is the problem...
because we are in town so much, we end up eating in town and YES, I caved today and ate 2, just count them 2 Arby's Melts. I am sure they are like 5 million calories each, but I was hungry and tired! I have found that the more tired I am, the more I eat. Have any of you noticed that before?

I am sure that means I should go to bed earlier. LOL!!! I laugh about it, BUT it is only because anyone who has ever been a parent or tried to build a business from the ground up will understand my fatigue! Even better yet, if you have ever done both like Christine, Jenn and I are doing, then you will REALLY understand it! BUT, this also means that sometimes I miss my appt with Carl.

I AM SO SORRY CARL!!! I had a meeting come up and it was one of those important ones because it had to do with my kids!

OH WELL...I am constantly telling myself this...

"Short term sacrifices for long term gains!"

This simply means that I must do the stuff that is a pain in the butt for a little while, just so we can get to the point where we can begin to enjoy the fruits of our labors. The day will come and I will be able to fit into the those "skinny" jeans! I am going to see Carl tomorrow. I am not giving up. I did get in 4 sessions with Carl last week and that doesn't count the stuff I did on my own. I am getting there.

I am nervous because Jenn and I were talking today about trying on and fitting into some of our jeans that we keep buried in the back of our closets. I told her that I had lost enough weight that I was considering trying some of mine on, but I am SSSOOO nervous and scared that I don't want to. LOL!!! I just don't want to find out that I am still to fat to put them on.

Oh well, I will just have to pull up my panty hose and be a big girl, huh?

Talk to you tomorrow!

Michelle 1-14-2008

SO COOL!!

Ok, so today I had the funnest thing happen to me today! I was going to pick up my son Garrison from pre school down in town (actually, I never left town from dropping him at at school because I had worked out before hand and was trying to save some "dough" on gas money! It is a 24 mile round trip from house to town and back) Well, school was over for Garrison and I went to the door to get him from his teacher and I was in my nasty, sweaty work out clothes and as I was walking up to the door, I had several people say that they had seen our "Healthy Edge" stuff!!!! I was so excited!

First of all, we have to magazines out with the WAY awesome profiles on each of us, Christine, Jenn, and I. Then we have that great write up on what "The Healthy Edge" is all about! Well we were so excited (Jenn and I) when we walked into Kody's Fitness Center this morning to work out with Carl AND our articles and profiles were posted all over! IT WAS SO COOL!!! THANKS KITTY AND CLIFF!!!

So because of the magazine write up AND the stuff at Kody's I had 3, yes that is correct 3, people ask me about it and how I was doing!!!! HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!

Then last week I had a girl on the elliptical machine by me who said she was working out at the gym because she had seen our blogs and decided to come down to the gym and sign up and get fit with us! I AM SO EXCITED!!! I really wasn't sure how people would react to all of this, but I am seriously SO overwhelmed at the positive response we have gotten from everyone. THANKS!!! I love getting your emails and your blog comments, and your letters, and your phone calls! I even got a fax once! THANKS YOU GUYS!!! We hope you keep this up with us for the next year and we will see where this contest will take us!

Michelle 1-12-2009

LONG WEEK!

hehe! Ok so it has been a few days since I wrote, BUT it is because this last week was VERY busy. We got the magazines in late, which yes, we were all just a LITTLE stressed over here about, BUT we managed and we did not gain any weight. So I was busy doing deliveries and sending out subscriptions and all of that fun stuff. THEN on top of it all, I got to go in and see Dr. Shurtliff this last week.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I WEIGHED IN AT?

WELL....

DO YA...

THIS IS SO COOL!

I weighed in at 231.some other #. YEAH!!!!! So the first time I went and I say Dr. Shurtliff, was only 2 months ago and I weighed 246. some #. I made it through the holidays with the help of Carl and the girls without gaining ANY weight at all. Then on top of it, I find out that I actually lost 15 lbs according to the doc's scale. I do want to say this also though, the VERY first I weighed myself was about 2 weeks before I go to go and see the doc and it was on my mom and dad's scale. Well, if you have read my other blogs then you will remember this scale is not too reliable because it said I weighed like 6 lbs less then I actually did. BUT when I did weigh myself on it the first time, it read 250 lbs. So I am going to say I have lost nearly 20 lbs since the very, very beginning of this contest. Oh, I won't say that i have not had some slip-ups with food and such, BUT I have been trying really hard and everyone at The Edge Christmas party last night (yes we had it last night...better late then never right?) said that they could tell I have lost weight.

YEAH!!! That made me so happy. I can tell they have lost weight too though! We all are looking REALLY good right now Not as good as what we want to be, but considering we just went through the holidays, I am really impressed with how this is turning out!

Dr. Shurtliff just kept saying how proud he was of me. It really made me feel good to hear that from him because I have been working REALLY hard at this!

Well, I am going to go for now, haven't been to bed before 2 AM this whole last week because of work so I am going to hit the hay early tonight so I am ready to hit the ground running tomorrow. Thanks for your support and talk to you later!

Michelle 1-11-2009

MOTIVATIONAL THOUGHTS! - "A NEW DAY"

I have had this card which I got from a friend of mine literally years ago! Roy Murray used to have a car sales business here in town and he had the most amazing "thought" on the back of his business cards and I have kept this card taped to my computer desk for probably 9 years now. I wanted to share it with you! I LOVE IT!

A NEW DAY

This is the beginning of a new day.
I have been given this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or use it for good.

WHAT I DO TODAY IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE I AM EXCHANGING A DAY OF MY LIFE FOR IT.

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone
forever leaving in it's place whatever I traded for it.
I pledge to myself that it shall be...

GAIN, NOT LOSS;
GOOD, NOT EVIL;
SUCCESS, NOT FAILURE,

In order that I shall not regret
this price I have paid for this day!

I DID IT!

YEAH! What did I tell you guys about Mondays? I LOVE THEM!! Especially when I get to go down to Kody's and make it through my workout!

Actually I have to brag on Jenn a moment because she was feeling icky with that wonderful gift mother nature grants us women each month...yes...you know what I am talking about so please DON'T ask me to spell it out for you! And she still totally kicked my a@& at the weights! AAAHHHH!!! I am going nuts! :) I am just only a LITTLE competitive if you haven't noticed!

No seriously! She really did do awesome and I mean she had cramps so bad she would have to stop for a second and take a breather and SHE STILL DID BETTER THEN ME! I was kinda hoping I might beat her today, BUT OBVIOUSLY NOT!

THAT'S OK! I figure if I have to lose, then I want it to be to her or Christine because they both work so hard and are both doing so awesome with this whole fitness thing. I am getting better each week though. I have to admit that I love getting to work out with either one of them because I feel like I push myself that much harder and I don't allow myself to slack. We were doing some pull down thingies with this rope on the weight machine and it was heavier then Carl and I normally do for me and it was so cool because Jenn was right there cheering me on! I LOVE IT! THANKS!!!

So I made it back after a not so hot weekend last week and I am glad. There is always a bright side to being sick though Carl told me...YOU NORMALLY LOSE WEIGHT!!! :) I think I did, in fact I might sneak a peek at my weight on the scale tomorrow when I go back down!

I will keep you guys posted! ha ha...get it...POSTED!

NIGHT!

Michelle 1-5-2009

Sick and Tired

So Carl sent me home early today. I almost cried! I was so sad. I went down at 9 AM this morning to work out and I wanted to make sure I got this workout in because I missed my workout on Wednesday.

I didn't want to miss it, in fact I really tried hard to get there but to be honest I just felt plain POOPY! I am not sure if I got the flu or if I just am feeling blue about the holidays or if it is because I am still struggling with the suicide of a young lady I know who lives by me, but I have been sick to my stomach.

I know that "they" say that you should go and work out when you are not feeling good because it will help you to feel better and so that is why I decided to try to push through and just do it this morning.

Well I barely made it through my workout on the stair climber today and normally it wouldn't even be that hard. Then he had me go out and try to do some arms work. Well we start the first set and he gives me 60 lbs which is what I did with it that last time and I ABOUT DIED! Seriously. There was no pushing through and still making it, I mean I literally got stuck and no matter how hard I tried to push, I could not get my arms to move. It was a bit disturbing to me.

Carl tells me "Why don't you go home and just rest? I can tell you aren't feeling good." HOW SAD! I was sad. I didn't want to go home early. THAT SUCKS! He told me that we will do it again on Monday and for me to get some rest. I hope he is right.

I have been through the depression thing BIG TIME and I DO NOT want to go there again. I am more afraid that is it that then anything else, SO I am going to read some books and veg with my kids and if I feel good enough, go and play with my horses! I WANT TO GET BETTER!

Michelle 1-2-2009