A Complete Fresh Start

  Here is the link to my original  Day 14  on Nutrisystem . It was Thursday January 17, 2019. My headline that day was "Believe In Yourself". I was closer to acceptance when it comes to the possibility of losing my job. I don't know what the job market was like back then, so my acceptance may or may not have been naive. Would I have found a job making anywhere near my salary ? It's proving very difficult right now, in the post-Covid era, so who knows. On my original Day 14 I didn't yet know that my job was safe. I slept in this morning since I was still awake at 2 am. For me, that meant getting up at 9:30 .. lol ! "Sleeping In" used to mean noon or later ! I had to pee and I knew the cats would be waiting to eat, so I couldn't justify staying in bed any later. Once the cats were fed I sat down to have my breakfast and watch YouTube.  Breakfast was a 180 calorie cinnamon roll. I never had my yogurt or a morning snack. Lunch was a 220 calorie pepperoni...

  Here is the link to my original  Day 12  and  Day 13 on Nutrisystem . It was Tuesday January 15, 2019 and Wednesday January 16. My headline for those days was "Trust The Wait" and "Be The Light". I was still adjusting to the thought of losing my job but I had hope for the future. I was thinking about what life might look like now if I had been laid off in 2019. It would have been hard, because I had all that credit card debt. Would it have been easier to find a new job ? I'll never know and I still believe things happen for a reason and I will end up where I am supposed to be. I didn't write yesterday as I was out all day for the Fair. It ended up being a much longer day than I expected. I left the house about 9:20 am and got home at 11:57 pm ! I didn't expect to be out and about for nearly 15 hours. The weather turned out perfect - mid 70's with clouds and sun. My weight was a huge problem as it didn't take long for my feet to start hurting. ...

  Here is the link to my original  Day 11  on Nutrisystem . It was Monday January 14, 2019 and my headline that day was "The Quality of My Life Depends Entirely on Me". I was climbing out of the depths of despair at that time and look where it got me ! I kept my job for another 5 years and lost over 150 pounds ! I've always said things happen for a reason, so I have to start believing my own words and keep trying. I have to give myself some grace and focus on the positives. Today dawned gray, gloomy and cooler. I was awake just before 8 and up shortly after. Once I fed the stray cats I discovered Minnie had peed on the laundry room floor. This tells me she was not happy with only one litter box. After breakfast I cleaned that up and put another box in service for her, then cleaned up the litter she'd kicked out of the existing box. Cleaning 2 boxes will be fine as long as I don't get lazy and ignore them. It only takes a minute to scoop out the clumps each day. Th...

Here is the link to my original  Day 9  and  Day 10 on Nutrisystem . It was the weekend of January 12-13, 2019. I was over the shock of possibly losing my job and had hope for the future. I was still dealing with plumbing issues due to the single digit winter temps. I am not looking forward to the return of winter !  I didn't write yesterday as I wasn't feeling it. I'm fighting the desire to put my head in the sand and not face the possibility that I won't find another job. Truth is, I don't really want to go back to work but I'm not sure that's an economically sound decision. It's disheartening to apply to so many jobs and either hear nothing or be rejected without even getting a chance to speak to the hiring team. I know I'm not alone in that - many people much younger than I are facing the same thing. So I spent yesterday on the couch most of the day watching YouTube and playing Cookie Jam. I had a 180 calorie cinnamon roll for breakfast followed...

  Here is the link to my original  Day 8  on Nutrisystem . It was Friday January 11, 2019. I was still absorbing the shock of our office closing but the initial shock had worn off and I needed to get back to work. It was a super cold winter day. The positive on this day was that I had lost 7 pounds on my first week of Nutrisystem.  The new Day 8 dawned bright, sunny and milk. I don't know what the temp was when I got up, but it was 73 at 10:30 am. I weighed myself and the scale read a disappointing 278. Since I didn't weight myself at the start of this latest effort, I will credit myself with a 2 pound loss and move on. I am fully committed to a good week 2 and I started it off my throwing away the last bit of ice cream. Week 2 is going to be about 100% compliance 5 of 7 days. Wednesday's will be my "cheat day" since it is rock & roll bingo night. Going forward I'm going to get a cheese flatbread with my 2 beers.  Thursday is State Fair day, so there wi...

  Here is the link to my original  Day 7  on Nutrisystem . It was Thursday January 10, 2019. I was still absorbing the shock of our office closing and Tigger passing away. I was on the third vacation day of the new year, mostly because of the plumbing issue that started on Tuesday but repairs weren't finished until Wednesday. It was a cold and dreary winter day and I sat at home watching movies on TCM. I was feeling pretty alone. I wasn't yet exercising because calories the first week are under 1000, which is pretty drastic when you weigh 300 pounds ! The new Day 7 dawned bright, sunny and warm. I don't know what the temp was when I got up, but it was likely in the high 60's. By late afternoon we were at 77. The scale read 280 this morning and I suspect my first week will result in no weight loss. Lesson learned ? I don't know. All I can do is try harder next week.  I chose today's photo because it's a good representation of where I am. Every day I set goals...

  Here is the link to my original Day 6 on Nutrisystem . It was Wednesday January 9, 2019. I was absorbing the shock of our office closing, along with another tragedy , which was Tigger passing away. Because of my plumbing issues I happened to be home that day and was able to hold her until the end. My very first Nutrisystem journey did not not get off to a good start ! The new Day 6 dawned bright and sunny, if cool. It was near 60 when I got up, with a predicted high of 77. I do love the cool nights ! I was awake shortly after 7 am because I needed to pee, but I knew if I got up I'd never get back to sleep. So I turned over and went back to sleep until Minnie arrived shortly after 8 am. As soon as I got up she settled on my bed to nap. Did she wake me up so she could have the bed to herself or did she hear the stray cats grumbling outside ? Breakfast was a 180 calorie cinnamon roll. Food for the rest of the day was a 1770 calorie pig feast from DQ. Well, that didn't last. I h...

  and “Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.”  - Tony Robbins I originally prepared this blog to document the beginning of a new job, but nearly 3 months after being laid off there is no job in sight. Therefore, I am choosing to use this for something more positive. Today is the last day I will use this statement in my blog. Today should have been the 25th day of my latest effort to lose the weight and stick to the Nutrisystem plan. However, I've been off track due to falling back on "excuses" and just being lazy. As such, I decided to renumber the days. I haven't been "on track" for 25 days. It's only been 5. At day 25 the first time around I had lost 19 pounds, so it makes more sense to go back to Day 5 instead of chasing yet another impossible goal. Today is also the last day I will use this statement in my blog.  Here is the link to my original  Day 4  and  Day 5  . It was Monday January 7, 2019 and Tuesday January 8...

  I originally prepared this blog to document the beginning of a new job, but over 2 months after being laid off there is no job in sight. Therefore, I am choosing to use this for something more positive. Today should have been the 23rd day of my latest effort to lose the weight and stick to the Nutrisystem plan. However, I've been off track due to falling back on "excuses" and just being lazy. As such, I decided to renumber the days. I haven't been "on track" for 23 days. It's only been 3. At day 23 the first time around I had lost 18 pounds, so it makes more sense to go back to Day 3 instead of chasing yet another impossible goal. Here is the link to my original Day 3  . It was Sunday January 6, 2019 and I was preparing to return to work after my holiday vacation. I was excited to go back to work ... little did I know life was about to change. After a late night, it was a little bit of a struggle to get up at 9 am today, but I knew the cats were waitin...

  I originally prepared this blog to document the beginning of a new job, but over 2 months after being laid off there is no job in sight. Therefore, I am choosing to use this for something more positive. Today should have been the 22nd day of my latest effort to lose the weight and stick to the Nutrisystem plan. However, I've been off track due to falling back on "excuses" and just being lazy. As such, I've decided to renumber the days. I haven't been "on track" for 22 days. It's only been 2. At day 22 the first time around I had lost 18 pounds, so it makes more sense to go back to Day 2 instead of chasing yet another impossible goal. I lost 7 pounds the first week of Nutrisystem in 2019, can I get to 273 by next Sunday ? My only concern is my weekly rock & roll bingo trips. I usually have 2 beers or glasses of wine and a buffalo chicken wrap with homemade chips. I think this week I will get the chicken Caesar wrap since it uses grilled chicken ...