Thrills, Chills & A Milestone Reached!

Some of you have been asking for some updated progress pics, but I wasn't planning on doing "official" ones until I've lost a total of 60 lbs. I think the effect is more dramatic when there's more lbs. lost between pics. I took my first ones at 30 lbs. gone. I want to do my next ones at 60 lbs. lost (I've only lost 42 so far), and then my final ones at 92 lbs. gone when I reach my goal weight of 180 lbs. However, I will be posting normal ol' crappy pics of myself along the way when I do special stuff.

I've got some pretty crappy ones to show you from last night, lol. Dwayne took me to Six Flags Saturday afternoon for Fright Fest and I had the time of my life! I've written before how when I was about 15 years old, I was too fat to ride on a roller coaster and I had to get off the ride and "walk the plank" while everyone waited for me to waddle off so they could ride the coaster. That was over 20 years ago and I haven't been to an amusement park since. Well tonight we went and I FIT ON ALL OF THE ROLLER COASTERS!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!! GO SKINNY TAMMY!!!!

I have a love/hate relationship with roller coasters. I love to ride them and experience the adrenaline rush, but at the same time, I hate them profusely due to my fear of heights and can't keep my eyes open while I'm on them. I flashed my eyes open 2-3x on each ride and then squeezed them shut tight again, screaming like a banshee the whole way!!! It was awesome. :)

One of the ones we rode I think was called The Acraphobia maybe? The name means "desperate fear of heights", or something like that. I cannot believe I got on that thing. I have a serious fear of heights. It's enough to send me into a panic attack if I let it. You hop up on this bicycle-type seat and then pull the shoulder bars down over you and latch the seatbelt. Your feet don't touch the ground. You're just kind of hanging there til they lift you up. It's a hydraulic system. As soon as the bars latched over me, I started feeling like I couldn't breathe. I told Dwayne I was going to hyperventilate. He held my hand and told me I'd be fine, that the ride only lasts about 10 seconds. And that's true. They raise you up about 200 feet or so, so you can see the Atlanta skyline off in the distance and probably a couple of other states! I couldn't look. I kept my eyes shut tight and just practiced on keeping my breathing slow. The guy controlling the ride sings a little creepy song into the microphone along the lines of "Pop Goes The Weasel"....except his limerick was worded "Drop Goes The People".

Dear.
God.

They hold you up there for a few seconds and in the middle of the song, while you're trying to concentrate on what he's singing, the bottom falls out. You free fall all the way to the bottom, where the hydraulics stop you. Dwayne was screaming bloody murder while I was quietly praying for a quick, painless death, lol. When we got to the bottom I started laughing and shaking, saying, "I can't believe it! I did it! I'm still alive!" I was more disturbed after I got off the ride than when I was actually on it. The more I thought about it, the more shaky I got, completely unnerved that I was that high up and just let them drop me. Insanity. I told Dwayne I would never ride that again, and he's determined to get me back on it. I see some vomiting in my future, lol.

We wanted to ride Superman, but the line was 1 1/2 hr wait....so we passed. We rode the Georgia Cyclone, the Georgia Scorcher, Goliath, Batman and a couple of others I can't remember. The pics aren't that great. Dwayne was taking them from his camera phone, not to mention we were bundled up in our hoodies and my hair was all wind-blown. I almost didn't post these pics...but then I changed my mind. If this blog is ANYTHING, it's REAL. Gotta' post the less flattering pics, no matter how much I don't like them. But they DO mark a milestone for me....being able to fit on and enjoy roller coaster riding for the first time in 20 years....that makes them important. :) These are just kind of sporadic pics...if I had of been the one taking them, we would have gotten a lot more. We were there from 4:30p-9:30p...5 hours. Some of the pics were taken after dark and they just didn't come out. But here's what I've got:

The eating completely sucked this weekend. Just too much. The only thing I'm proud of is that we didn't eat anything the entire 5 hours we were at Six Flags. No kettle corn, no funnel cakes, no greasy cheeseburgers, no footlong hotdogs, no cotton candy. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. We didn't care about the food...we were too excited about the rides. So we ran around in the 50 degree weather like a couple of kids, up and down hills all over the park, bouncing from one ride to another. It was just a fantastic time together. It was perfect. :)

On the exercise front....Billie and I went to the gym Friday morning and I walked 3 miles on the treadmill. We had lifted weights on Wed and Thur, so we didn't do it on Friday. The trainer told us to do it every other day, so we took a break from it. And as sore as we were, I don't think we could have done the weights even if we had to. Saturday I opted out of the gym because I knew Dwayne and I were going to be walking around Six Flags for several hours. Sunday (this morning), Billie and I planned to meet at the gym at 8:45am, and we did. But when we got there it was closed. That's when we read the sign on the door that said the gym was open from 10a-5p on Sundays. Doh!!

I didn't bring a jacket or hoodie with me because I was counting on being inside. It was pretty damn cold out and the wind was blowing, so I just wasn't able to go to the park and walk. So we missed out on the walking AND the weight machines today. I couldn't come back later and do it because my day was already packed. I had to go grocery shopping and get home and start cooking for Mom's retirement party/cookout at my sister Brandy's house this afternoon.

I made 2 pumpkin rolls w/ cream cheese filling for our dessert. The filling calls for 1 c powdered sugar, 8 oz of cream cheese, 4 tbsp of butter and 1 tsp of vanilla. In an attempt to make it a tiny bit less fattening, I used reduced fat cream cheese, and only 2 tbsp of butter instead of 4. But all in all, this still isn't a healthy dessert, lol. I also made a pot of green beans and I sauteed some baby portabella mushrooms, onions, & green, red, orange bell peppers together in a touch of olive oil. Then I made a big bowl of potato salad (Mom's recipe) and this is where I really screwed up. I haven't had any full fat regular mayo in my frig in almost 5 months. The only kind I have is Kraft Lite Mayo. Oops! I had to make the potato salad with the lowfat mayo and I just knew everyone was going to hate it. I held my breath while everyone was eating it and surprisingly, I got even more compliments on it than when I make it the regular way!!! After I was sure everyone loved it, I told them what I did. They were all shocked, but continued to say how good it was, so that turned out unexpectedly well.

I took a bunch of steaks up there that I've been buying on sale for the last month and putting in my freezer. I wanted Mom to have a special retirement party meal, but I also took up 6 chicken breasts, so that I could have something a little healthier. I don't know why I bothered, since I'd already eaten too much this wknd to salvage anything. But I passed on the steak and had chicken.

The cookout was at my sister Brandy's house up in Ellijay, which is in the Northeast Georgia mountains. Our leaves have just started to change this week, but they're not at their peak yet. I took some pics from her back deck:

Next are some pics of my nieces and nephews; Grace and Carla are both 4 years old. Elijah will be 3 years old next month, and Cyress turned 2 years old this past June:

Here's a pic of my sister Amy and her daughter Carla (I call her Ladybug):

Next is a pic of me and my niece Grace:

Here's a pic of Mom and Dad...the best parents in the entire world:

Next is a pic of my sister Brandy and her husband Steven. He grilled the steaks and chicken for us. I'm basing my goal weight of 180 lbs on Brandy. I'm 5'10...she is 6' and weighs 155 lbs. I prefer not to be that thin. I want to be a little more full-figured than her:



Here's a pic of my roommate Shane and his girlfriend Billie...the weight loss blogger at "Let The Skinny ME Out" that I joined the gym with:



Here's a pic of my mom and I, my sisters and I, and then just a pic of plain ol' me:







And last but not least, here's the pic of my pumpkin roll, and the plate of food I had to eat...a spoon of potato salad, a spoon of green beans, and a big helping of onions, peppers and mushrooms. The grilled chicken wasn't ready yet, so I took a pic of that afterwards:

I can tell I'm developing a cold. My nose is stopped up one minute, and running the next. These usually come on me pretty fast, so I will probably feel like total crap when I wake up in the morning. Bummer. Time to go drink some OJ!! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend...I know I sure did! :)

Quote For the Day:

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." -Eleanor Roosevelt

Labor of Love

I had a lovely Labor Day cookout with my roommate and family! And I have food pics!! I didn't take any people pics though....mom and I had both been cleaning house today among other things, and although we managed to shower, we didn't put our make-up on, so no people pics this time. However, I'm planning on trying to get some progress pics taken of me sometime this week. I'm not sure you can tell much difference in 30 lbs. I can feel a difference in my clothes, but I swear, everytime I get undressed and look in the mirror before I shower, all I see is fat. So I'll post some and we'll see.

Mom helped me do the grilling and everything turned out so good....very tasty. My Dad is the true judge of whether or not I did a good job. He'll come right out and tell you what he thinks if you ask him. If something's too salty, or overdone, or just doesn't suit his tastes, he'll tell you. You can always count on him for honesty, so after dinner, I asked him how he liked everything....and he said everything was real good! Woo hoo! The one pic that I screwed up majorly was my fruit platter that I made for dessert. I totally forgot to take the pics til after everyone was almost done eating!! I am so disappointed because it was so pretty before we dug into it. The outside was ringed with pineapple, then watermelon, then strawberries and grapes in the middle. Bummer.

One more thing! I've had to go to the park since I moved and no longer have access to the treadmill at the fitness center from my apt complex. Since I started driving over there last week, I've only done the 2 mile trail. For some reason, I haven't pushed myself to start the trail over, walk to the 2.5 mile marker, and double back to the beginning to complete the 3 miles. Today I did it!! I finally walked 3 miles, which is what I had worked up to before I moved from the apt. Only walking 2 miles again was going backwards in my progress, so it was time to step it up. And boy did I feel it!! Just goes to show you not to slack off on the exercise. If you drop back on what you're doing, or don't do it for a while, it is so hard and friggin' painful to get back in the groove. But I did it, and I'm proud. :)

I'm going to try to insert the pics now. If I can't figure it out...Pam is standing by on email for me, lol. Such a great friend. :) I enjoyed the holiday with my family and roommate Shane, as I hope all of you did, too!

Veggie Kabobs:

Grilled Salmon & Shrimp Skewers:

Baby Scallops:














Platter of Fresh Sliced Tomatoes:















Tuscan Bread with Roasted Garlic:














Lemon Pesto Butter:















Fruit Platter:













My dinner was 468 calories, and I still had 300 left over!! I know I'm supposed to be consistent with the calories and not all over the map, but I was so stuffed after dinner, I just couldn't fit anymore in. So total calories for today is 1200, and the excercise was a 3 mile walk at the park with my sister Amy. It's been a great day! Pam helped me line the pictures up, and she tried to tell me how to do it myself, so I'm going to give it another shot on tomorrow night's post with putting up pics of my baby Scarlette, and maybe some of Dwayne and I if I can find some.

Quote For The Day:

"Let us strive to improve ourselves, for we cannot remain stationary; one either progresses or retrogrades." -Mme. Du Deffand

Wow! Guess What I Did?!

As I said in my last post, I reached my next 15 lb. lost mini-goal and it was time for another reward. When I reached my first 15 lb. marker, I didn't have to buy myself anything because Dwayne gave me $100 to buy a few new pieces of clothing for dropping a size. It was a lovely surprise! Well, when he got here Friday evening, he handed me ANOTHER $100 for reaching this current goal...I was shocked! It was awesome the first time, but I never even thought he would do it again. I'm guessing he wants to be a part of the reward process because he's proud of all of my hard work.

So it looked like I wasn't going to be buying myself anything again this time...until I realized something last night. When I started my travels this time on the road to permanent weight loss, I started in June of this year and was 272 lbs. I set an arbitrary ending goal of 180 lbs. I stated early on that I have no desire to be stick thin, and actually prefer the look and feel of a curvier body. I am 5'10 in heighth and do remember a time many years ago when I weighed 200 lbs. and could tuck in my shirts w/o any embarassment. So I'm figuring 180 is good for now. If I get there, and want to drop lower, then that's cool. But I'm going to consider reaching the 180 lb. mark my true success for what I started out to do.

With all of this said, I got to thinking last night about my very highest weight several years back. It was 340 lbs. I remember thinking after I crossed over the 300 lb. threshold that I had reached a point of no return. A 300 lb. girl? There was no turning back, I remember thinking. Once you let yourself go that far, well there's just no hope left in sight. Or so I thought.

Thank God I was wrong about that. I reached a point where something "clicked" and I decided that I COULD take the weight off, and I was going to, come Hell or high water. And that's just what I set out to do. I lost 83 lbs. in 7 months (and no, I didn't do it the right way). I went from 340 lbs. to 257 lbs. and I was sailing down the scale. I was on fire! And then I met Dwayne, lol. The weight loss stopped. All of a sudden my attention that was dead set on the weight loss had been fully diverted and squarely placed on my blue-eyed guy. What a mistake that was, lol. I love my fella to pieces, but I should have NEVER, EVER taken my eyes off the goal.

I slowly gained back 33 of those lbs. over the next 4 years or so. Thank goodness I didn't gain it all back and plus some, like I read about so many others that do. I remember when I finally got around to noticing that I was sitting at 290 lbs., almost at the 300 marker again, I said "WHOA NELLY!!" This is NOT happening again. I refuse to see 300 lbs. ever again. The problem was, I didn't really make the right mental changes to get it off. I didn't have the "click" that I had before. I prayed for it, over and over, but it just didn't happen. It's like I wanted to lose the weight, but couldn't find the willpower and desire to put forth the same effort I did before.

I very, very slowly dropped 20 lbs. over the course of a year, and then kept jumping between 266 and 272 lbs. Fluctuating week after week, up/down up/down...and that's when I finally decided to see what this blogging stuff was all about. My best friend Pam whose blog is Journey To The Healthier Side Of Life, and listed on my blogroll, had been blogging for quite some time, and I decided to give it a shot. Thank God I did. Blogland is where I found my inspiration. So many inspiring people out there, doing what I yearned to do for myself. And alas, From Fat to Fab was born. My starting weight was 272 lbs.

My realization came last night though from remembering that I once was 340 lbs. I am now 241.8 as of my last weigh-in. Is everyone doing their subtraction??? I've lost dang near 100 lbs. from my highest point!!!! Holy cow!!! That's amazing!!!! Well, I couldn't let that pass me by without buying myself a reward....one that came from me and not Dwayne. I don't know why....Dwayne's gift of cash for clothing is deeply appreciated and I'm very touched...but there's just something about buying a little something for you...from you.

I went to a bookstore with my Mom today and found the perfect little gift. I collect cookbooks and found one called Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly. It's full of healthy, low-fat recipes for your crockpot/slow cooker and they list all of the nutritional value for each recipe!!! I love to find recipes that already have the calories figured out, and now I have a whole book full of them!! Perfect!! And it only cost me $15.95 to boot. Yay!

I am extremely pleased with my little purchase. My pocketbook didn't suffer too badly, and my new cookbook signifies a tremendous amount of hard work and effort to get to a healthier me. What better gift to give yourself than something that will further the good that you're working so hard to accomplish? Books last forever. I want my weight loss to last forever. I can continue to use this book during maintenance. It's just an excellent choice all the way around and I'm glad I made it. :)

Tomorrow is Labor Day, and rather than have to face someone else's cookout with the trepidation that always seems to creep up on me with holiday eating, I decided to take the reigns and have my own cookout! This was my evil plan so I can control ALL the food that is available....very cool. Labor Day marks the "end of summer", and summer is synonymous with seafood to me when it comes to food, so Mom's coming over to help me grill some salmon, shrimp, baby scallops and veggie kabobs. It's going to be fantastic!! My roommate Shane will be here, along with my parents, one of my sisters, Amy, and 2 of my nieces and nephews, Carla and Cyress. It's going to be a lovely time filled with food choices that I can feel good about. I'm really looking forward to it!

I still don't own a digital camera, but Shane does, so if I can remember, I'm going to get him to show me how to use it, and load the pics from it onto my computer, and then how to access them, and will probably get Pam (my blog guru) to show me how to post them on here. I'm severely challenged when it comes to these types of things, so we'll see. I love the blogs, like Amy H.'s at No To The Deuce, that always post food pics and recipes. I'd like to start adding some of my own pics.

I have a few pics of my puppy Scarlette saved on my computer from the last time Dwayne and I went to Hilton Head, SC for a weekend getaway. It was overcast, so the pics aren't bright and sunny, but if I can get Pam to help me tomorrow, then I'll try to put some up of my baby to show you.

I hope everyone has a fun, happy and safe holiday, surrounded by close family and friends, and filled with good eating choices! We can do this!! Doesn't it feel great to know you're finally on the right road to a happier, healthier you?? I think so, too!!

Quote For The Day:

"Nothing is predestined. The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings." -Ralph Bluen

Detox Day

I had a fantastic weekend, but boy was it a bad one for eating. Way too much sodium. I haven't posted my calories and food because I didn't know what the nutrition stats were for everything I ate. Friday night, which I turned into Free Day, I had that Chinese food...no clue what that was. I'm sure it was through the roof in the carb and sodium departments though. Saturday I had about 500 calories before I went to Dwayne's mom's house for the cookout, saving 1,050 for that. I ate 2 pork spareribs, 2 spoons of potato salad, 1 spoon of coleslaw, 1 ear of corn, 2 small yeast rolls, 1 triangle of watermelon and a small piece of cake made with Splenda. I might have still been okay if it weren't for the fact that I got hungry again about 8pm. Mom told me about Kroger having crab legs on sale for $3.99/lb and Saturday was the last day of the sale! Have I mentioned that I'm a seafood FREAK? I ran myself over to Kroger, bought a pound and a half of crab legs which was 4 clusters, and the dog and I were in seafood Heaven. And yes, I dipped them in butter. REAL hot drawn butter. Is there any other way to properly eat crab legs? I think not. :)

As far as exercise goes, I went hiking for 2 hours with Dwayne on Friday, but I didn't do a dang thing on Saturday. Way too sore. I couldn't even lift my free weights to do any arm exercises. I enjoyed the holiday weekend, but I am truly glad that it's over! Time to get back on track, and it was slow going today, for sure. It took me ALL DAY LONG to talk myself into getting on that treadmill today, but I finally did it. I walked a mile in 15:50. I KNEW not to go more than 1 day w/o exercising. It is easy for me to fall out of the habit. So easy. I'm glad I made it down there. That in itself makes today a win! I did great with my calories too. My limit this week is 1550, but I purposely came in under. I got on the scale this morning and I did some damage over the wknd. I needed to jumpstart the next 5 days before time to weigh in. Maybe I'll break even by Friday...please God.

Goal Stats:

Calories 1550
Carbs 250
Fat 60
Protein 136

Today's Stats:

Calories 1046
Carbs 123
Fat 16
Protein 105

Here's my food intake for the day:

2 pcs. of homemade turkey sausage (4 oz.)
2 c. of coffee w/ sugar-free creamer

Big salad (romanine, spinach, broc slaw, onions, tomatoes, cukes, bell peppers, lite Italian)
1/2 of a blueberry banana muffin

Big turkey burger (7 oz.) on sourdough w/ toms, onions, lettuce, lite mayo, ketchup
6 baby dill pickles

1 c. watermelon
1 frozen strawberry smoothie (1 c. strawbry, 1 c. 1% milk, 3 tbsp fat free lite van yogurt, ice)
(The smoothie wasn't sweet enough so I threw in 1 Stevia packet)
Lots of water....NO TEA, NO COKE......only water :)

Quote For The Day:

"There is no chance, no fate, no destiny that can circumvent, or hinder, or control a firm resolve of a determined soul." -Anonymous

Love for the Red, White & Blue

I love the 4th of July. It's a time to reflect on the sacrifices made for us on a daily basis so we can sleep well at night. One thing that Pam and I have always shared is a STRONG sense of patriotism. We've both got family members that were in the service, but I don't think that's even where our deep-seeded love for our country and our freedom comes from. I'm not exactly sure where it stems from, but we've got it.

I thank God for the men and women that have always sacrificed to serve in our military and maintian this country's freedoms. They give up civilian life and the liberties that come with that, they give up time spent with their families...holidays, birthdays, their kid's recitals and ballgames, they give up their personal comforts to crawl around in deserts, jungles, etc. in extreme temperatures and weather all for the sake of keeping their country safe. The country that they love.....that they are willing to die to protect. They fight for me. They fight for you. They fight for our children.

No matter who the president is, what your political beliefs are, what your religion is, we should ALWAYS support our troops. They deserve our support in every way possible. They are the ones willing to do what so many of us aren't. They are the picture of sacrifice. The next time that you exercise the freedom to walk in the store and buy a loaf of bread.......one that you didn't have to stand in line for 5 hours to get like they do in some countries....pause and give thanks for our troops. Pray for their safety. Pray for their families. The next time you're sitting in your backyard enjoying the evening air, thank God for our forefathers....the ones that had the vision and the courage to step out on our own....out from under England's rule. The ones that originally fought, bled and died for our freedom. The freedom that we so easily take for granted.

Patriotism should not be reserved only for days such as Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Independence Day. It should be part of who you are. It should be something you are always aware of and thankful for. It should be shown in your actions. Get online and find a website that lets you send care packages and cards to troops around the world. Let them know you appreciate them. Let them know they will never be forgotten, and their sacrifice is never in vain. When you go to bed tonight, say a prayer of thanks for the peacefulness you'll undoubtedly be surrounded by. Thank God that you don't have the explosions of mortars casting a glow in your bedroom window, and that your children don't have to huddle in fear under their covers because bombs are going off a half a mile away. Thank God for the country you are so blessed to live in. It's the greatest one on Earth. :)

Quote For The Day:

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt