VIDEO: Zombie attack!

Sorry - i said i was going to post this on Friday - but holidays. you know...

i did NOT overeat on the holidays.  I actually prepared our Thanksgiving dinner with my health and weight loss in mind!  did  i cheat???

yeahhhhhhhhhhhh a little.
*ahem*  Exhibit A.

GLUTEN FREE French apple tart.  unfortunately not carb free or sugar free.
 Shhhhhh! NEVERMIND! i don't wanna hear it. it was scrumptious!

i'm good with it!  cuz..... i enjoyed it, in moderation, and life is not about punishment!!!!

soooooo... i dont' even call it cheating.  i call it .... "stretching the boundaries a little!" hahahaha

Life is NOT like a box of chocolates, Forrest.

Life is like a rubberband.  You gotta know when to stretch it!  (ya like that one, don'tcha!)

ok!  so i hit my goal early - right???  yup.  i surely did! I bet 11 months, 35 pounds.  and i hit that goal in 6.  (Feel free to stop reading and break out into a happy jig for me.  jig away! i'll wait.)

but..... i didn't bet my WHOLE goal.  I bet what I thought I could do without stressing myself into an early death by aneurysm.

mission: ACCOMPLISHED!  aneurysm: NEGATED!  (or at least delayed....)

My brain has not succumbed to an early demise brought on by impossible weight loss goals.

hooooooray for my beautiful grey matter!!!!

but now... i still have 20 more pounds that i want to tackle.  I already won the money (but getting check in April)  and i'm not gaining that back!  i know this because i'm not stopping here.  It's not even like "ahhhhh, now i have some wiggle room!"

no.  oh, no, my friends.

there is no wiggle room.  wiggle room is for jiggles.  and i'm getting rid of all my jiggles. hahahahaha

but i already made it sooooo farrrrrr with weight loss.....you're  probably bored with the whole weight loss thing by now... right???  I kinda am.   I mean - i just feel like i'm less concerned with the weight now (which is a HUGE thing for me to say.  i mean.... it's unbelievable that i just typed that.  who are you and what have you done with the real Leah???)

i mean - to me?? now???  i want something kinda crazy.   he he heeeeeee.  yeahhhhhh baby.

i mentioned it months ago - but i was so heavy - i couldn't even imagine attempting to start this.  now i'm 35 pounds lighter. i have no more excuses! LOL

so - without further ado..... i give you.   my goal for April.... or you know, when hell freezes over.

either/or!

is this girl a winner?

There are multiple answers to that question....

but you have to watch the whole video to get the answer ;)

Regardless of the answer..... I've worked my tail off!  It's been an amazing challenge - this last week was grueling hahahaha, but it was so worth it to finish as strong as I could!

I don't know if you can tell... LOL. but i am so proud of myself for not giving up!!!!!

and i'm so looking forward to doing a 30 day challenge that's coming up!   It's not based in weight - it's based on steps.   which is great for people who are goal-oriented.  You put the time in - you're gonna win - it's that simple.  And the awesome thing is - ALL the winners SPLIT THE JACKPOT.  seriously - i can't wait to do this challenge :) if you wanna be on my team - message meeeee.  I already have 3 people - but we can go up to 9!  :)   and.... you don't have to be on my team - make your own team if you want!  just let's have some fun!!!!

so if you're interested... and you're looking for a fun way to stay accountable through the holidays (ummmm and win a little money!!! hehehe)   definitely email or facebook me about it. (and NO... i do not get paid for this endorsement.hahaha i just love HealthyWage THAT much  - and i think you will too! )

so....... now that you've waited..... hehehehehe    do you wanna see WHYYYYY i love HealthyWage so much????   I'll give you a hint.   check out my smile at 0:52  ;)

(some people had trouble loading the video below - so you can see it directly using this link if you have trouble playing the video:    Weigh out video  )

Have a great day!!!! See you next week!

Happy Thanksgiving - and leave the stuffing to the turkey! hehehe

Total zen, baby

I'm gonna weigh out Friday morning.

And as freaked as I was at the beginning of this week - I am in the zone right now.

I'm so zen, baby.  yeahhhhhh ;) hehehe

I weighed myself tonight, and I just have to tell you.  It has NOT been easy.  Especially this last month.  The pounds have needed to be pried from my body with a crowbar, i tell you!

I needed to kick it into high gear, more than a few times, but the payoff has been oh-so-wonderfully worth it!

After Friday - I will still have pounds to go! (which I planned!)  but now I can take my time and not put pressure on myself to do anything strenuous or stressful.  I want to kick these last pounds to the curb - but I can do it slow and steady.

like the tortoise.  but maybe a teeny bit faster.  ;)

Sabotage!!!!

This close to the end - I can't believe that I actually would sabotage myself!!!!

I weigh in on FRIDAY for the team challenge - and i eat a roll!!!

not just a roll - but a GLUTEN filled carbalicious roll!

soft, sugary, fluffy - absolutely delicious!

It was too hard to resist, but then after it was over - i was soooo guilty!!!!

and then - i realized (as i opened my eyes to the sweetest feeling of relief) that it was all just a dream.  a ridiculously detailed, amazingly tasty dream. LOLOL!

Has that happened to you yet?  I mean - normally, when I'm not in a diet - and i dream about food, I wake up before I get to taste anything!

but when i'm working hard at eating completely right, and exercising and - DEPRIIIIIIIVED of all those gluteny treats. LOL  (and probably especially because I was at a dinner the other day - where they had fresh bread on every table.... and the smell of hot bread filled my nostrils the entire night.)  oy.

THEN.... i have amazing dreams where i feast!

and then - feel guilt like no other.

and when i wake and finally realize it was just a dream,  i try desperately to get back into the dream to dine!  hehehehe

anyway - 2 days left.  i can't wait til Friday :)

skinny minny!

I'm not kidding - 3 people have called me skinny minny in the last 4 days! LOLOL

and i don't think i can really wrap my mind around that yet!  I don't doubt them!  but .... i do.

hahaha  i can't explain it.  i just can't believe that they're talking about ME.

I'm not where i want to be yet.  I still have pounds to go!  so maybe my brain doesn't want to get distracted and wrapped up in those thoughts of being skinny yet.

and truth be told - i'm NOT skinny.  i promise - i'm not.  i'm just thinner than i was! lol

and i don't even want to think about being skinny!  because you know what happens when you get wrapped up in those thoughts, right?

the next thought is "great!  then I can afford to eat these 3 chocolate eclairs!"

and little by little, you start slipping here and there, and you don't pay attention to the scale as much anymore, and then... hmmm these jeans must have shrunk in the dryer - cuz i don't remember them being this tight...  LOL

and then - you see yourself in a photo!  and you're like WHO'S THAT??? WHAT HAPPENED TO SKINNY MINNY???

and then the scale laughs when you get on it.  and it's all over!


sooooooooooooo.  i've got blinders on my eyes.  my focus is on that goal, X amount of pounds away.  I really don't know how many more pounds i can lose.  i'm not trying to be secretive by saying X.

I think my body is gonna start to rebel, the lower I get ;)  so.  X amount of pounds - here i come.

i really can't wait to do a video again sooooooooooon.  and move my river rocks over!  looking forward to Friday in the WORST WAY!!!!

No words

No words could adequately express the anger I feel... that I'm sure we all feel... over the tragedy in Paris.

It's not just a tragedy.  That's what makes us so angry.  A tragedy is an earthquake, a tsunami, a natural disaster or a massive accident.

But this was no accident.  This was evil, personified.

Life is so precious.  Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.

(These pictures are not my own, I found them on the internet and these are simply a collection of the heart of the people in Paris.  I'm sorry that I don't know the photographers - but I hope they won't mind me sharing their work.)

 

Not only praying for Paris.... but for our world.

Dying a slow death

Yes. it's one of those days.

Where exaggeration is the only form of expression I am capable of using.

some days you just need to let it all out.  

i'm dyinggggggggggggggggg.

dying a LOT.

not physically.  physically - i feel super-amazing.

but my miiiiiiiiiiind.  my mind is telling me that i neeeeeeed.

i'm not even sure what i need.  cuz - like i said - physically, i'm solid.

but the temptations.  arghhhhh the temptations.  the anxiety.  the countdown.
THAT DREADED COUNTDOWN. lol seven more dayyyyyyyyyyys.  blahhhhhhhhh! LOL

why is it always the last week that is absolute excruciating torture????  LOL

i wish we could all sit down in a room somewhere, and just talk. just go around the circle and tell each other exactly what we want to eat, and describe the taste and texture!!!! and exactly how we know how it would satisfy us and exactly how wonderful it would be!!!!!  i know exactly what i would describe right now and i can see it in my mind!  yummmmmmmm!

but THEN..... i want us to all go around again - and remind each other that the satisfaction would last for 10 seconds, and then.... what?  it would not be worth it.  that what we're doing is so much better.  that each day we're making the choice to be healthy and conquer our temptations and look better and feel better and think clearly and grow past that "i want it now so i'm gonna have it now" childish way of thinking that got us here in the first place.

that this is valuable... what we're doing.

that we're going through these trials as lessons.

that we're growing and changing.

that it's so much better than a chocolate bar, or a slice of cake, or any other snack you can mention.

that seeing the proud look on your family's face when you tell them you're down another pound.... jumping up and down with your kids when you've hit another goal.... getting a high five for another week of endurance....   how can that ever compare with a bag of junk food?

so  huh!  i guess i'm not dying, after all.

i'm living... abundantly :)

T-10 and counting!

I have 10 days left of our team challenge!

excited - nervous - freaking out - happy - relieved!!!!

and probably a million other emotions!

I was able to eat pretty healthy while I was out of the country last week.  That was a HUGE concern of mine.  But God was so kind to give me plenty of good healthy foods to eat :)

I tend to retain a ton of water when I fly - so I was expecting to see that on the scale when I got home, and.... i was not disappointed. LOL.

but - yesterday was back to my normal foods and normal schedule - and I know it will only be a matter of time until that's back off and I'm feeling on track.

A lot of people got sick on the trip - and I was not one of them!  So relieved!!!!!  Hoping that nothing hits me in the next few days cuz I just want to remain completely focused on finishing this challenge strong and not being distracted with sickness.

unless the sickness is puking my guts out and losing 10 more pounds.  THEN i'll take it!

just kidding. :)

I've been out of the country before - but this time when we came back through all the security and the officer said "Welcome home, ladies"  it just felt so good :)   maybe he was just a really nice officer - or maybe I was just ready to be home... i don't know - but it was nice to have a warm "welcome home" :)

ok life is moving fast right now.  some very cool things are happening in my life and in order to stay on top of everything i don't have time to blog more right now!  I can't wait to update you more and i CANNOT wait to do my next video in 10 days  :)

love to all of you!
Le

Out of the country!

I'm in a different country this week.

yep - in a different time zone - and with a crazy schedule - but still very very focused on how i'm eating

having an incredible time - (not on vacation - but on a missions trip)  and getting to treat little boys and girls like princes and princesses!!

absolutely loving this opportunity to bless them and love them!

wish i could write more- but today was a very long day and we are all exhausted (but in a good way!)

Today began the weigh-out window for the team challenge!   but i will be weighing out on the 20th most likely!

Can't wait to see my final weight for this challenge in just 2 more weeks!!!!

love love love!
and night ;)

YAHOOOOOOOOO

Biggest day for me in 20 years!!!!!!

remember my whining video yesterday?

Today's video makes it all worthwhile ;)