Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude

Hello hello!

It’s easy to get so focused on my goals that I forget to step back and appreciate the good that is happening in my life right now. So I would like to just take a moment to share a few things that I am currently feeling thankful for. Here goes. 🙂

1. I am thankful that through the Lord’s grace I have lost 56 pounds since January 1st, 2014.
2. I am thankful that I am now able to squeeze into size 6 pants. (Say wut?!)
3. I am thankful for those who share their ideas and experiences freely on the internet – they have been a huge help.
4. I am thankful for my family and friends who are always looking out for me.
5. I am thankful that I had a breakthrough and no longer think of myself as a boring person.
6. I am thankful for the revelation of “false gods” in my past that were still affecting the now.
7. I am thankful for discovering natural beauty products 🙂
8. I am thankful that I made it to the top of the rock wall! (Yay!!!)
9. I am thankful that I K.O.’d my happiness saboteurs today!
10. I am thankful that I have been given the opportunity to assist others too.

For the next week I am going to be challenging myself to find three things that I am thankful for each day and praise the Lord in a special way. Feel free to join in!

Thanks for reading!

-Anna San♥

Inspire Yourself ;)

When working toward any goal or even keeping yourself upbeat and in optimal mental shape it’s important to supercharge your environment with positive energy.

Since I started my weight loss journey last January I have grown a considerable collection of inspirational wall art and other items that I read every day.  Even when I have a bad day I read them and bring things back into perspective.

The one that constantly serves as my biggest reminder is “Pray hardest when it’s hardest to pray.” It may take a minute to calm down and pray about what ever it is, but when I do I feel so much more at peace. 🙂
 

My collection isn’t just limited to my room. I also extend the energy flow to social media by sharing a wide variety of motivational sayings on my personal Facebook, pin things to my board on Pinterest and favorite inspirational posters on Etsy.

What is your favorite motivational saying?

Thanks for reading!

-Anna San♥

Best Day Ever

 Happy Sunday Everyone!

Yesterday my “unplanned plans” for the day fell through, so I decided to take myself out. My mission: Clothes shopping at the mall.

This may sound like no big deal… but for me it was. Due to my size I have never purchased clothes from a “mall store” and was limited to assisting my trim sisters in looking for items and holding their purses so they could try them on. Ugh… This got old really fast and I became unwilling to be a style consultant/purse holder and eventually stopped going out with them.

As I am now free from the confines of the plus size category I have been enjoying a freedom I forgot even existed; shopping in the regular clothing sections. There are so many more styles to choose from and I judge whether I’m going to purchase the item based on if I like it – not if it fits. Being confident in my now “average” size helped snag me another small victory this past week: I asked one of my coworkers where she bought her cardigan. TBH I’ve never asked anyone that question, because even if I knew where they purchase their clothes – the store wouldn’t have my size anyway. So why ask?

I drove to the mall, deliberately went straight to the store my coworker specified, grabbed a few items to try on and headed to the dressing rooms. The attendant escorted me to a room, hung up the clothes and left. I pulled on the items and looked in the mirror… See image 2/2015.

Transform!

I am now fitting in mall clothes! 😀

Thanks for reading!

-Anna San♥

 

Success is More than a Number

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Last week I had a “bad” weigh-in. The scale said I had gained nearly three pounds! I was like “Say wut?!” Sometimes deep down we know we “deserve” that weight gain, however I was really angry because I didn’t. I am not cheating by sneaking junk food and I’m not overeating or skipping workouts. So whats the deal? Frustrated, I brought it to the Lord in prayer and asked that the scale stay the same. When I got home from church, the scale changed it’s mind. The readout declared that there wasn’t a weight gain – and that I had stayed exactly the same. Thank you Lord!

I tried to think of anything that could possibly stall my weight loss and attempted to amend it. Not enough rest? Get in bed sooner. Bound up system? Detox drinks every morning. Could this not-quite-precisely measured 2 tbsps of lite dressing be a culprit? Make sure not to use all of it. Despite this rather anal mentality, I was more relaxed and kept my personal achievements in mind….

Recent Successes:

• I can wrap a regular towel around myself – instead of needing a bath sheet
• Noticeably slimmer thighs and ankles
• Slid a size 6 ring on my left ring finger (whoa)
• Less back fat
• Losing inches all over
• Surprised my swim instructor with how much my swimming has improved 😀
• My replacement clothes are getting loose and more items are ending up in the donation bag 🙂
• Getting more and more compliments on my appearance
• People are asking for my secret weight loss technique (lol!)
• An all around feeling of well being

We can’t rely on the scale to advise us of success because that number is just one small piece of a much bigger story. 🙂

This week I had a 2 pound loss bringing me to a total of 45 pounds lost since 1-1-2014. This means I have officially passed my 20% weight loss goal! 😀 😀 😀 Next step is to bring my BMI out of the obese category – which I’m really close to; then I’ll be working toward my 30%. 🙂

Thanks for reading!

-AnnaSan♥

Perseverance

After the excitement of the holidays I’ve been feeling kinda bummed. Have new goals and resolutions I’m working on, which are good – but they are challenging and will take time to see progress; so very little motivation there. 😦 I also haven’t been able to hang out with my friends due to my work schedule which makes me feel disconnected. 😦 😦 And to top that off I’m already having to work overtime to meet January’s quota. 😦 😦 😦 Everything feels harder this month and to be honest, I really don’t want to do anything. Good thing I don’t rely on my feelings, huh? No matter what they say I am still at the gym four days a week.

Lets face it – weight loss is a bumpy ride and we all experience challenges along the way. My weight loss journey definitely hasn’t been an easy one and I hope that my previous posts haven’t alluded to such, because it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Early on I accepted several invitations to pity parties or would rationalize having “just one” and eat things that I  knew I shouldn’t. For example in September I ate five donuts in one week. FIVE. No, I didn’t gain weight from it (because I had already started changing my diet and exercise plan) but I lost some respect for myself. Instead of being reactive I became proactive. I stepped back and asked, “Why am I working against myself?” I spent quite awhile soul searching and in prayer. It came to the front that my inner child didn’t want to give up anything. I wanted to achieve weight loss and eat the donuts too.

For some, the “everything in moderation” mindset works well. As a sugar and food addict with a long history of unsuccessful weight loss attempts, I knew that it didn’t work for me. Armed with this new self-awareness, I refocused on what I wanted and why I wanted it, committed it to prayer and took steps to amend my habits.

First I asked my brother to get rid of the rest of the dozen donuts that I had been grazing on as I was too weak to resist them, then I stopped eating donuts at the weekly Coffee & Donuts after church but would still go for the coffee and the socializing. It was through this situation that I finally realized and accepted that I had to make a commitment to a complete lifestyle change.

After a few weeks of cutting the sweets, I experienced my first triumph over my sugar addiction when I threw away that donut on Halloween. It was a glorious and freeing feeling. It was then that I knew that I was mentally ready to take my weight loss to the next level by starting the 1,200 calorie diet …which I am still on today. 🙂

Don’t let the failures of today dictate your tomorrow. 

If you mess up, it’s okay. Take time to find out why, pray about it and make a commitment. Get right back on the bandwagon. I know you can do it. 🙂

Thanks for reading!

-AnnaSan♥