Catching up...............

Goals and results and SLACKERS..............

I have NOT posted for months and months..... Life has been amazing and busy. (The two are not mutually exclusive!) I also GOT OUT OF THE HABIT.......... that is the "big" deal!

So instead of "beating myself up" or eating.............. *when I'm NOT hungry* I'm using this!!!! 

I have learned so much over the last year+ that I won't be able to share it all here! Stalk me on Facebook!

Simply Total Health or  KISS Your Fat GOODBYE

This is about learning and sharing!  I recently got back from Alberta Canada......... My awesome friend and I spoke at a women's event. That makes me an INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER! I'm laughing as I type, but it was wonderful and I can't wait to do more!!! I am starting to understand a lot about what makes our bodies 'tick' and what makes them WANT TO BLOW UP....... well, makes us feel like that!!! I've learned that FAT is an organ. Over 7 hormones are stored there.... We CAN get rid of them, but we can also get new ones and they can go ANYWHERE on our bodies, even where fat has never gone before!!!

      The DEATH of a fat cell

How much are we holding onto??

I have my struggles........ I am an "emotional" eater. I've been reading and using a great book, Weight Loss Apocalypse by Robin Woodall.Weight Loss Apocalypse (I will post more about it, but this is a "catch" up post!) I highly recommend it if you are sincere about wanting to really conquer a food addiction. Many of us have them....... I am determined to conquer mine for better health!

     Positive thoughts and energy make more of a difference than we can possibly understand! 

We all have a "why"! Why we SHOULD/WANT/NEED.... to be healthy! I have many........... here are 10!

I also have realized that I've been working towards specific goals.
1.Canada
2.Family graduations
3.June 9th celebration
4. I don't have a "4" but today I realized I have to live each day as what it is! Not working "toward" but taking each one!

Follow me..... ask me questions. I'll do my best to be there! You are you! I am going to do my best to share what I've been through, what I've learned and where I'm going!

In a couple of weeks I will be 57. Twice in the last week I've been mistaken for a 20 something! TRUE........... really! I am not questioning, I'm just tucking it away with a smile!!!!

So for the REST OF YOUR LIFE................

Thanks for listening! 

Raising the Bar!

I know I've been a slacker and not blogging the way I would like to! Life has been crazy the last couple of months. My hubby would say it has been crazy the entire time we have known each other. Okay, he is always right.....

I've done very well with my weight loss "journey." With my busy traveling I haven't been as "focused." I've had times where I've eaten through my days. Yes, Canandaigua at Wegmans, Tom Wahl's, Abbots, Casa Italiana, etc.
Back home my capris weren't as loose as they had been. I could see the extra inches around my waist. I have decided that for me, sugar GOES TO WAIST
I haven't stayed "true" to what I know works for me. My clothes still fit, but now with winter fast approaching I feel I'm hiding under sweaters!

Talking with a friend, she said "you look so good, I can't tell...." Meaning she can't see the pounds on me that I can see, and I know are there.

My thought this morning:
When you raise the bar don't lower it. You're the only one who will feel the pain on the way down!
I think that is profound! I love what I do, what I have found. I have new tools that improve health, and potential success for anyone and everyone! I will continue to share what I've learned so it is easier (hopefully) for those who follow.
I'm back on track. EVERYTHING matters............ staying healthy is worth it!

Once Upon a TIME....

I've been seeing quite a few people with boot casts on broken or operated on feet, and I realized that I was one of those people just ONE year ago!
What a difference time makes!

I thought a lot about where I was then. Hence the title "Once Upon a Time..." for this post
(I loved the "Fractured Fairy Tales" segments on Rocky and Bullwinkle. A real treat for those of you too young to know.)

It was a crazy time, and embarrassing, painful, frustrating.......
Those were the days of my too tight clothes, running my favorite stretch jeans, and being VERY
self conscious. I would smile, and not let anyone know what was really in my heart!


















I'm so glad I decided to DO SOMETHING. My journey has been amazing, not always easy... but so worth it!

Yesterday my New York and Company order came. I'm really good at shopping the online sales, and ended up getting 2 pair of jeans, dress pants and leggings for $50.00 off! I've given away my size 12's, taken in my size 14 skirt--WAY IN--and continue to go through my closet to see what I'm hanging onto that I should never wear!



I'm back on my Nordic Track; I bought that cross country ski machine back in 1993! I've carted it all around the country. I finally wiped the dust off, and have been doing 4 miles daily. I'm starting to see the toning I was hoping for!

This is all a process, and I know I'll continue to trip, stumble........ or whatever!
It is all part of my life!

I continue to meet amazing people. I treasure the friendships I have. I'm loving having a business where I'm able to help others feel better about themselves and enjoy a healthier life!
LUCKY ME!

I hear the music: from the crickets at night out my window, to the blast of the CD player in the car on our way to Southern Utah.

This is my "Once Upon a Time"! Thanks for sharing it with me!

Change.................

I don't do very well with change, I never have! When I was little I would go hide behind a tree when my mother would get a haircut! I think I felt if she "changed", she would not be my "mom".
I still have those "feelings" sometimes! That catch in my heart! Lots of changes these last months!



Some changes are WONDERFUL! I love being thinner, having more energy, and wearing smaller clothes!!!!

I am really missing my daughter and her family today! They are making wonderful changes as they go forward in their lives! This morning I actually cried, and have to fix my mascara before I go out!!!!










The house is so empty. I know this is a good change....... but I really miss those boys! It does help when I call and one of them is screaming!

The house is VERY quiet. I am going to set up their apartment for business and it will be wonderful. Until I do it, there are just empty echoing rooms......






What next......... I've been so busy that I really shouldn't be taking the time to do this blog post! Sharing is important though......... and life is wonderful! So I hold on......... and look forward to the next adventure!

Then and Now

Finally... the fat pictures! Sometimes it's imperative to look back at where we have been to truly understand where we are now. I'm grateful for all of the learning experiences in my life, but I'm also grateful that I've been able to overcome them to be where I am now!

That was then...

This picture is from 1995

One of the most striking things about this picture is how happy I'm not. My daughter told me in an email that: "Just so you know, you've always looked fantastic! I think You can see in some of the pictures that you're happy, but not totally, and you can tell that you seem self-conscious. Although there was nothing wrong with the way you looked or felt, it wasn't as right as it could be. You hadn't realized your full potential. You've set such a good example as I've seen you change and grow.. . even if some of that growing was shrinking ;)"

You can see that I was making progress, shedding the pounds...

And this is ... today!

I'm happy, I'm healthy, I have more energy, I weigh less than I did in high school, and I'm keeping it off! I'm so glad I get to share such wonderful experiences with so many fantastic people across the world as they too achieve success with my program!

The BEST of Me..........

I've been thinking a lot about a number of things! No surprise really, my brain often goes a zillion miles a minute! I'm sure if I was in school now there would be a name for it!

I've been thinking a LOT as I will be.....
I could say "halfway through my 50's", or other things I'd rather not say right now!

I was thinking this morning as I was attempting to put on nail polish... about what I'm good at, and not so good at! My BIG "NOTS" would be hair cutting, cake decorating, and putting on fingernail polish.......

I'm really, really good at lots of things! Bread is one of them!

I also think I've done a fairly good job as a mom.......... my kids are wonderful and amazingly talented! Mother's Day is such a special day, and a great time to realize what matters MOST

Once again my daughter really hit the nail on the head! She said I've always used symbolism for so much...... PAYBACK!

It was really wonderful, profound, and I can't wait to use it!
This is what life is, rich and full and often unexpected.
I hit a "milestone" today with my health stuff....... I'm 58 lbs down, and had to take my dress pants in because I can't keep them up! (No, I'm not ready for a 6!)

I don't need Diet Mt. Dew anymore. I lived on it for decades; but no more!
My latest addiction continues to be my Vanilla Creme water I guzzle daily! (It is my nearly 3year old grandson's favorite "grandma water" flavor!) Natural and healthy....... all good!








I've been "smelling" things instead of eating them. I'm not missing out, not giving anything up! Went to a wedding the other night and didn't eat at the cookie bar, the cheesecake, or anything else.
My choice! I'll go get a cookie when I'm ready, I'll go get the best cheesecake when I choose!

I'm on the way to 55 and the best of me!
Life is good, life is rich, life is AMAZING! I'm not giving up anything...... I've feeling better than I have for so long; and health and happiness is worth any short term "sacrifice".

Business continues to grow by leaps and bounds, I'm getting to know wonderful people from all over! LUCKY ME to experience them.

So here I am........ off to eat my 3.5 ounces of chicken and cabbage, or maybe just an apple! Oh yes........... LUCKY ME!
So what is the "BEST" of me? I can't wait to see!

Greater Expectations..

I love strawberries.......... I mean, I really, really LOVE them! In 1988 I actually had 2 strawberry pies for my birthday! My visiting teacher got me one , and a friend got me one. I have never forgotten that birthday.

My wonderful husband brought me 3 flats of strawberries the other day. We want to freeze them, preserve them, etc. so we can enjoy them longer.

They were some of the best strawberries I'd had for a LONG time. Naturally sweet, didn't even need any of my Sweetleaf Vanilla Creme stevia drops to taste amazing.
I had strawberries for my "legal fruit" as I was cleaning them and preparing for freezing.

I ate and I ate and I ate...... Lets just say I used "strawberries" as my fruit and veggies for the entire day! I had 3.5 oz of chicken for lunch, and 3.5 oz of chicken for dinner! The scale was my friend this morning, so my unplanned modification worked, this time.




I froze bags and bags of them, but had the fantastic idea that I wanted to dry some. I prepared the berries and filled my trays of the best dehydrator.
Such a beautiful sight!
Then the drying started! The house smelled FANTASTIC, just like strawberries.
This morning........ the end result!




Here are my dried strawberries......... they are "okay", not bad really. But, come on, these are STRAWBERRIES! They need to be fantastic! The amazing sweet flavor didn't carry through. I didn't add anything, I wanted all natural, only strawberries; just like I do my apples I'm addicted to!

Dried strawberries will never be an addiction. I adore fresh ones, frozen are good...... but there I draw the line!
I wanted to try, I did have great expectations. Instead I got a learning experience.

Often life does NOT go as we plan, even aspects of our daily life are not as we expect or work for! This is life,* Life is what happens while we are making other plans*
You know, these are just strawberries and they will still be eaten and enjoyed. The harvest is still upon us so I will have more strawberry opportunities. I will not dry them.
I will savor them for the sweet fruit they are!

I will take each moment of my life, good, crazy good, not so good- and appreciate it!
This is what we get, this is our today and we only get to do it once!
So I will have greater expectations, and it's okay if I have my "dried strawberry days"