thesarahjade

Good morning all you wonderful, lovely, fantastic readers!

So this morning, I stepped on the scale as always, expecting to weigh my same old 150 pounds.  I yawned and looked down at the numbers.  Excuse me?  I stepped off the scale, went to the bedroom, grabbed my glasses, and then went back to the scale.  It can’t be!  I weigh exactly 147.0 pounds today!  Finally all of my hard work is starting to actually have an effect on me.  I’m so excited!  It makes me want to go run…and lift weights…and eat a salad…and drink water…and do everything right.  I was getting so discouraged just sitting at the same weight…but now I can actually update my weight tracker thing and say that I’ve lost weight!  YAY!

OK…well that’s all I have for right now.  And to anyone who gets discouraged…with hard work anything can be accomplished over time.  Hang in there.

~Sarah Jade

OK.  This is it.

Today is the day.  I’m planning a full-blown attack on my body.  First, I’m going to run 4 miles to attack my leg muscles.  Then I’m going to the gym to do some serious all-around muscle work.  It’s time to start shredding away some of that fat that has lingered on me for way too long.  Goodbye tummy fat!  I’m gonna get you today!

No more “oh, one cupcake won’t hurt”.  No more “oh, well if one cupcake didn’t hurt then TWO won’t hurt either”.  No more “well I might as well finish the cupcakes”.  NO MORE!

So that was my plan of attack.  What’s yours??

~Sarah Jade

Hallo lovely readers!  Hope you all are doing well.  It’s time for another question of the day

As most of you know (if you read my previous blog), I had a great weekend, but paid for it in pounds!  My biggest, most difficult struggle with this whole weight loss thing is eating at events/parties/special occasions.  I think I use those occasions as excuses to eat whatever I feel like eating.  For example, on Father’s day, I ate a piece of cake, some ice cream, a brownie, some nuts, a brat, and some more ice cream……all because it was Father’s day!  How in the world does that make sense?  My dad doesn’t care if I eat a lot of junk or not, so why do I even do it?

So this is the question…

What is your most difficult struggle in this whole weight loss journey?  Is it difficult to find time to work out?  Do people bring doughnuts in to work?  Does the rest of your family eat a lot of food?  Are you just plain lazy sometimes?  I know I can be!

Anyway, let me know what is the hardest part about losing weight for you and I will make sure to encourage you through it.  If losing weight is easy for you, then more power to ya!  I just don’t think that it’s very common….or else the whole world would be thin!

OK - gotta go.  My hubby and I are going on a date

~Sarah Jade

Well, readers, I gained a bit of birthday fat this weekend.  1.4 pounds to be exact.  I was kind of expecting to, but it’s still frustrating.  I feel as though all of my work last week was for nothing.

But that’s OK!  Because I know that I’m still making little improvements…and that if I jump right back on the bandwagon, I’ll be able to keep on track.

I’m scheduled to run three miles today…so that should be good

Have a wonderful day!

~Sarah Jade

Hey readers!  Sorry to everyone who got spammed when they tried to reply to my blog.  Didn’t mean for that to happen!

And also…thank you so much to everyone who sent me birthday wishes.  That’s awesome! :)  I kind of ate a lot today, but not too much ;P

 Have a wonderful rest of your day.

~Sarah Jade

Good morning all of you wonderful readers.  I’m having an absolutely fabulous day.  I hope you are too.

I’m smiling, I’m suuuper pumped, and I’m completely giddy because….

It’s my 21’st birthday today!

Yahoo!  Woo!  Yay!  Yeehaw!  Yippee!  Hullaballoo!  Grilled Cheese!

I went for a five mile bike ride this morning, and I must say, the weather is fantastic!  The sky is clear blue and the trees and grass are a vibrant green.  As I was coasting down a long hill, I almost closed my eyes to soak in all of the beauty I was experiencing.  *sigh*

Well…I DO need support from all of you today (which I’m sure I will get…you guys are awesome).  It’s going to be a gigantic struggle not to eat/drink whatever I want today.  There are a lot of people wanting to take me out for dinner.  I’m already scheduled to go to a Mexican restaurant AND a Chinese restaurant.  SHEESH!  I’m allowing myself to cheat a little bit today (I mean, come on!  It’s my birthday!), but I still want to stay on track with everything.  The biggest birthday present I can give myself is to be healthy.

As far as exercising goes, I have a 45-minute abs session today with my friend.  We’re going to attack our core using an exercise ball.  It should be pretty intense.  Also, my mom and I are going to go for an hour long walk, so I should be set to go for the day.

Anyway, thank you for all of the encouragement.  You guys mean so much to me.  I really mean that.

Have a wonderful day!

 ~Sarah Jade

Hey there all you lovely readers! I know I’ve been blogging a lot lately, but it helps me keep my mind set on my goal, which is what I need to do.

I just got back from the gym.  I went 4 miles on the treadmill in 53 minutes and 5 seconds.  I know that seems like a lot of time, but for me, it’s a big deal!.  Afterwards, I was pretty tired and seeing bright spots in my vision, so I sat down.  When I stood up I almost blacked out!  Pretty freaky.  But I guess that means I was working hard??  Who knows…

Anyway, maybe I pushed it too hard, but I still feel good about myself today.  For lunch, I ate broccoli, brown beans, and tuna.  It was delicious! 

OK everyone, enjoy the rest of the day!

 ~Sarah Jade

As I take a bite of my particularily bland oat meal (after, of course, doing my routine 25 morning crunches), I can’t help but think to myself…WHY???  Why do we do this to ourselves?  Why do we eat little amounts of nasty tasting food while everyone else gets to eat whatever they want, whenever they want?  Why do we slave away at the gym while our friends are having fun or our families are at home?  Why do we weigh ourselves every day to see if we’ve lost even .01 pounds?  Why do we sweat?  Why do we cry?  Why do we groan?  Why do we struggle?  Why why why why WHY?

I have to ponder this for a while…because today I’m feeling particularily discouraged.  Since I’ve started losing weight (I started before I joined BuddySlim), I’ve lost about 9 pounds.  However, I’ve been stuck at the same weight for about a month and a half.  This is extremely discouraging to me, especially because I’ve been trying so hard.  I’ve been saying “no” when people offer me m’n'ms (which…you will find out about me…is a HUGE deal).   I’ve been going to the gym at LEAST 4-5 days a week.  I’ve been training for a 1/2 marathon.  I’ve been doing everything right.  But it’s still not coming off.

 So why do I even try?

Here’s what I’ve come up with…

I do it for myself.  I do it for my family.  I do it for my work.  I do it for God.  I do it for everything

No matter what, I always feel better when I’m making a conscious effort to stay healthy.  It gives me a goal and something to reach for.  I have to get up and DO things.  I have to think about what I’m eating and say no to a lot of yummy foods.  Every time I see a little bit of cellulite disappear from my rear…every time someone compliments me on how I look…every time I step on the scale and lose .01 pounds…every time I say no to someone’s graduation cake (and trust me…there are a lot of those going around right now)…EVERY time, I feel great about myself!  I’m happier, more energized, I sleep better at night, I don’t say “I’m fat” as often….it’s awesome!  I can accomplish more in my life by simply being more confident in myself.

So…the question of the day is…

Why do you do it?  Why did you decide to lose weight?  What will motivate you to keep going when you feel like giving up?

Thank you so much for all of your encouraging comments.  Together we can reach our goals!

~Sarah Jade

Alright…here is the question of the day:

Who inspires you?  If you were to look/act like one person, who would it be and why?  What do you need to do in order to reach this goal?

Now, I am NOT telling you to give up who you are as a person and imitate someone else.  However, I do feel that we are all special and capable of GREAT THINGS.  I can see the things that I am capable of in others. 

For example, my all-time role model is Brandi Carlile.  She stays true to herself, is confident onstage, looks amazing, and is always smiling.  I could definately see myself being all of those things.

So…

 Who inspires you?

You know…it’s amazing how much our lives are impacted by our own choices.  For example, if we chose to work hard at our jobs, we are more likely to be recognized and/or promoted.  If we are honest with our spouses, our marriages are much better.  If we pick up after ourselves, our houses stay clean.

 And…

If we stay away from that freaking doughnut…maybe we’ll look better!

I’ve always thought it was so hard to lose weight.  I would say things like “Oh poor me!  I have a slow metabolism.  Everyone in my extended family is overweight”.  I would use those excuses to eat whatever I wanted…and to slack off as much as I felt like. 

But the thing is…

It’s not that hard.  It really isn’t.  Yeah, I might have to cut way down on delicious foods (and trust me…that’s hard for me to do).  I might have to get my butt to the gym.  Sometimes it sucks.  Sometimes I’m too tired.  Sometimes I crave Snicker’s ice cream (sorry if I just made you crave it…it’s sooo good!).  But every day we have to remind ourselves that WE can make changes in ourselves.  WE can chose to get on that treadmill and throw that bag of chips away (or feed it to our husbands).

Yesterday I had a great day.  I ate well, ran 3 miles, did some abs exercises, and drank a lot of water.  I feel absolutely fabulous today. 

I just want to encourage all of you to really think about your goal.  Imagine yourself at your ideal weight.  Think about how happy you will be.  OK…now get out there and DO something about it!!

Have a wonderful day!

~Sarah Jade