OMG!!! :)

I've heard people talking about the percentage of their body weight they've lost, so I decided I would see how much I've lost...

I'VE LOST JUST A LITTLE OVER

20% OF MY BODY WEIGHT!

I was SO shocked! I had no idea that it was that much.. but I'm so happy! It's just another way to measure my progress :). Once I reach my goal of -100 lbs, I'll have lost a bit more than 41% of my body weight.. WOW!

I haven't been keeping measurements from the beginning, but at the end of December I did measure my calf, thigh, arm, wait, hips, and neck. I just measured again to compare, and there was either no difference or a very, very small one (I'm talking like half of an inch). So that's kind of a bummer, but I keep reminding myself that I can't fail if I don't quit. Someone posted that saying on 3fc and I really like it! I printed it out to hang up on the fridge:

What sayings or quotes do you use to keep yourself motivated?? And have you checked out the % of your body weight you've lost? That could be motivation in itself!

xo, Carissa

Quoteage

You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there. ~Anonymous

"We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are."
~Adelle Davis

"You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind."
~Author Unknown

"Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose--
a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye."
~Mary Shelley

"Your mistakes do not define you now; they tell you who you're not."
~3 Doors Down

"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self."
~Aristotle

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” 
~Helen Keller

"Each day is a new canvas to paint upon. Make sure your picture is full of life and happiness, and at the end of the day you don't look at it and wish you had painted something different."
 ~Author Unknown

Reevaluating

Obstacles are what you see when

you take your eye off the goal.

I've needed to write this post for a long time, but I'm still not sure exactly what to say. It feels as if I'm at this crossroads in my life. It's time to reevaluate not only my weight loss but just my life in general.

I lost a whopping 3 pounds in January and am sitting at 199, my first plateau since starting this WL journey. I don't even know if I can really call it a plateau because I've been eating terribly and not exercising at all. I've been discouraged, lazy, out of control, unhappy, lost... it seems as though all the things that led me to being overweight will never go away. I'm sure a lot of you have gone through this... just being TIRED of thinking about food and exercise and calories and muffin tops and just ready to LIVE. However, I know that I can't live the life I imagine until I am happy with myself. So this week I sucked it up and have been putting forth an honest effort. I still feel overwhelmed.. but refuse to allow a couple of months off plan to turn into a couple of years.

As far as everything else goes.. I can't even put it into words. It's like... ugh, idk. I want to make a difference in the world. I want things to be better because I've lived. Right now it feels like I'm doing the same things day after day and not getting any satisfaction from it. I don't like the thought of just getting by every day... inside, I know there has to be something more. God? Charity? Traveling? Friends? Family? Career? I don't know what it is, but something is missing. A lot of these feelings are feelings I've always had, but they're of this new intensity that makes them hard to push to the back of my mind. It's like time is ticking and my life is just passing me by. I want to change it, but I'm afraid. I've lived like this for so long that I don't really know how to change it or how I would emotionally handle it (geez, it all sounds really crazy when put into words like this... I hope this makes some kind of sense).

Writing all of this brings me to tears.. I'm so thankful and appreciative of the life I live and the wonderful, amazing people in it, and in no way am I saying that they're not enough; I simply feel lonely and lost. Maybe I'm just growing up and starting to realize there could be so much more to life... or maybe it's just a phase. I don't know.

I'm pretty sure I'm rambling so I guess I'll end this... I'm already behind on reading for my classes so I need to get to that! I'm back though, for sure. Want proof? Check out this sweat I worked up doing the 30DS a little bit ago:

I don't think you get the full effect from the picture (I was seriously drenched), but there you have it! If anyone else is going through a hard time right now, let's do this together. Get back on track, get back to being healthy, and get back to reaching our goals. No more excuses - only actions. :)

as always,

Carissa

WOW.

Who watched the BL Season Finale last night?

I only ever watched the first episode of the season of Biggest Loser that just ended.. but I did catch the last 30 minutes of the finale.. and all I can say is, WOW. Wow wow wow. Everyone looked SO good! Most were unrecognizable. Nothing gets a girl motivated like the Biggest Loser does! You can check out the before/after pictures from all the contestants here :).

I bought Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred from walmart.com. I'll do a review on it once I start it. From what I've read & heard, it's a really good, hard workout. I'm glad I'll have it to use as my workout during winter break!

I hope you've all been staying healthy! Talk to you soon!

Post these on a wall somewhere...

Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes it’s the quiet voice
at the end of the day saying,
"I will try again tomorrow."

Don't give up what you want
most for what you want now.

"You’ll never achieve extraordinary
results by taking average measures."
–Skwigg

Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it.

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon
as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and
with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling,
but in rising every time we fall."
- Confucius

Happy Love Your Body Day!!

In honor of National Love Your Body Day, I decided to make up a list of a few reasons why I love my body, exactly as it is right now. No "ifs" or "buts" or "excepts". So...

I love my body because...

...it has arms, legs, eyes, ears, a heart, lungs, and everything else that works to keep me alive and well every day. Thank God for my health.

...of what it has been able to accomplish so far.

...it's the house for my soul, my feelings, and my thoughts.

...it can be so easily wrapped in a hug.

...it bravely protects all my insides :).

...it's mine.


I know I complain a lot about the way I see myself. But none of that right now. Today (and everyday - I'm still learning), I just want to be thankful that I have this unique, ever changing, capable body. Especially with pictures like these being plastered all over the media, it's important to remember that beautiful does not have boundaries, and no one should be able to tell us it does. Let's appreciate our bodies and give them the TLC they deserve! :)


Why do YOU love your body, exactly as it is RIGHT NOW?
xo, Carissa

To learn more about the Love Your Body campaign, visit http://loveyourbody.nowfoundation.org/.

Quotes & Sayings :)

Many of life's failures are people
who did not realize how close they
were to success when they gave up.
-Thomas Edison

Some Mantras

I will choose WHAT
exercise I will do each day,
not IF I will exercise.

*

All things in moderation is fine,
but some things need a LOT of moderation.

*

Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.

*

It's easier to stay on plan
than to get back on plan.

Quotes & Sayings :)

I'll try to post a few new quotes every once in awhile, just to keep our spirits up & give us a little push when we need it! Here are some that I love and that you might find inspiring:

If you keep on doing what you’ve always done,
you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got.
- W.L. Bateman

You’ll never achieve extraordinary results by taking average measures.

Remember when you see a man at the top of a mountain, he didn't fall there.

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

Better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.

Success is a journey, not a destination.


Always,
Carissa

She lost 100 lbs!

One of the members of the 3FC forum I belong to posted her before & after pictures in the goal photo album.. she looks SO good! Def. very inspiring; she's lost 100 pounds so far. Seeing as how that's the same amount I hope I'm going to lose, this gives me motivation! You can look at her pictures here.

What do you think??

Always,
B ♥