30 pounds!

Wow, Jason Alexander looks absolutely fantastic. I was excited to see he reached his goal yesterday. He’s lost 30 pounds and he looks 10 year younger.  It’s great that Jenny Craig works so well for men too!

I saw Jason’s new commercial with Val and thought it was hilarious!  In honor of Jason reaching his goal I decided to dedicate this post to his pictures and new commercials and video blog!

Congratulations Jason!

• Jason and Val’s new commercial
• Jason’s video blog
• Jason on ABC News!
• People Magazine featuring Jason

Post comments here!

Jason before

Jason after

Way to go, Nicole!

Wow! I can’t believe how great Nicole Sullivan looks! In case you didn’t know, she just completed her goal of losing 35 pounds on Jenny Craig! She wanted to get rid of the weight she gained from her pregnancy, and boy does she look fantastic!

I’ve been following her blog on Jenny Craig and was so excited for her when I saw this she finished this past week! She looks phenomenal in that swimming suit, and she inspires me so I can stand up proud (and without a cover-up on) in my bikini when summer comes!

Watch her new commercial!

Check out her latest video blog!

Congrats Nicole!

Nicole Before (after her pregnancy)

Nicole After!

Nicole's in People Magazine!

I did it! Sunday was the St. Patrick’s Day race, and I successfully ran the 5k!

I must say, I was completely terrified when I first got to the starting point. I didn’t sleep the night before out of pure terror I’d miss the race because of daylight savings. I got down to the start line at 7:40am and waited for my race to start at 8.

Although my friends were there to cheer me on, I felt completely out of my element. There were over 7,000 runners in the 5k alone, and 21,000 total (5k, 8k, and 15k combined). People were stretching in the streets, beside trees, and against lamp posts. As I stood there in my minute-mile section I started to get really anxious and thought, “What am I doing here? I’m not a runner”.

Seconds later the horn went off and it was my section’s time to go. All feeling of nausea and anxiety flew quickly out the window as I started jogging along with everyone in the streets downtown. I instantly felt a wave of confidence come over me. This was different from my daily jog down the street and back. I felt like I was a part of something. About halfway through, I passed my friends on the sidewalk. They screamed my name and cheered me on, and gave me another boost of confidence to keep going.

I surprised and impressed myself when I could see the finish line in sight. I thought, “I haven’t stopped running the entire time!” A couple of blocks before finish, my friends had caught up with me one last time. As I passed them I felt a surge of energy and excitement pass through my veins, and I sprinted the rest of the way to the finish!

I was so proud of myself for accomplishing my goals. I successfully completed a 5k, I ran the entire time, and surprised myself when I found out I ran the 3.1 miles in under 30 minutes! I felt like Valerie Bertinelli when she ran her first half-marathon! If you put your mind to it, you can succeed at anything! Looking back, I was so scared and terrified I almost let it get in the way of achieving my goal, but now all I can think about is the next race I’m going to run! I’ve found a new hobby and am excited to see what other goals I can set and achieve next!

My St. Patrick’s Day race is this weekend and I’m excited! I have never participated in a race before and I will be running with 21,000 people! A little intimidating, huh?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how I got an allergy infection. To be honest, I made it an excuse to not run for a few days after I felt better. It wasn’t because I was lazy (ok, maybe a little) or didn’t want to run out of fear I’d get another infection. I made excuses simply because I was scared of the race itself.

I’ve been thinking; instead of being scared and nervous for this race, why not embrace it? After all, I decided to do this and it’s not like I was forced. I reminded myself of the reasons why I decided to sign up:

-To do something new

-Achieve a new goal

-Run a race without walking or stopping

-Support a local children’s hospital by signing up and participating

-Prove to myself I can do whatever I put my mind to

-Stop using asthma as an excuse for not running

-Jumpstart my running “career” for future races and longer distances

Another thought came to mind: Valerie. Valerie Bertinelli recently discussed in her new Jenny Craig blog and video post that she is headed to Italy on vacation, and is still committed to running the Boston marathon when she comes back. It was really motivating and inspirational because many of us (myself included) tend to put things in the way of accomplishing goals, not because we think we can’t, but because we’re scared.

I’ve been running everyday now for the past week and a half to prepare for this Sunday and I’m going to run again tonight! Wish me luck, and if anyone else is getting ready for a race or marathon I wish you luck too!

Beyond Halfway!!!!

This was one of the most stressful weeks on my program. First of all, I had to work over the weekend, so by Friday of this week I had worked ten days straight! Second of all I had a long-term customer of mine tell me (admittedly due to a mistake on my part) that I was unprofessional and had lost all credibility. The last straw was the possibility that my job could be eliminated. So you roll that ball of stress up and what do you get? For me at this point in my life it meant sticking even closer to my program. I have finally learned that when things external to me and beyond my control are spinning it is even more important for me to follow my JC menu. On my 10^th day of work I calmed myself with some Evian water and magazines at 9pm at night at the end of my workday. I passed all the drive-through restaurants that used to be my retreat in times of stress when I would convince myself that “this” was just not a “good” time to follow my program. Now I know ALL the time is a GOOD time to follow my program. So what was my reward for taking exceptional care of me? I didn’t meet my halfway goal of 40 pounds, I PASSED IT and lost 2.8 pounds for a total of 41 pounds GONE. YAY ME!

It hit me that I had finally grown to a point where the opinions others have of me don’t define me. I get to determine who I am, and I know I AM professional and credible, independent of what that customer said about me. I know I am someone who will land on my feet regardless of what happens to my job. Why? Because I have decided on whom I am, and that’s a woman who knows how to put herself on her “to-do” list of top priorities.

I haven’t felt this proud of my choices in a very long time. I could get used to being powerful and not pitiful.

I’ve also attached a picture of me in front of the poster at my center. I think I’m looking pretty good if I say so myself!

Hope

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My 39th Birthday!

Well I’m officially 39 now and I lost 33 pounds for my birthday. I was disappointed for a solid minute during my Jenny Craig consultation and then it was all about facing forward.  I’ve attached some pictures of myself wearing a size MEDIUM dress and it’s from Target.  I never could have worn anything that didn’t have at least one “x” in it 33 pounds ago, so I’m incredibly proud and excited about the next 33 pounds to lose.  I spent my consultation focusing on the next short term goal which is still to hit 40 pounds. I’m only 7 pounds away and I know I can do it.

I must admit I had to borrow a little of my consultant’s faith in me. Just hearing her say every week that I CAN do this and that she is 100% convinced, makes me take the leap of faith in myself.  I LOVE the one on one attention. Maybe it’s because I’m an only child. I like being the focus.  This journey isn’t easy so I don’t miss the days of the other program where I would sit in a large group and have to hear about solutions to problems I didn’t have.  I’m glad I found the courage to walk through Jenny’s door and I’m even more proud of the courage I’ve had to stay.  So much has happened in my life….loss of a baby, unraveling of a marriage, and the threat of being layed off.  But you know, through all of that the skills I’ve learned on this program have taught me that no matter what I belong on the list of people to take care of.  As I continue to put myself at the top of my list of priorities I continue to have more to give to others and to my job.  I’ve learned you can’t give what you don’t have and because of this program I now have a LOT to give.

39 and 33 pounds lighter!

So that’s my update.  It’s knocking on the door of another “first” and I always thought it was crazy to only be excited on January 1st. We have 11 others we could embrace and get pumped up about. So I’m pumped, I’m excited and just too thrilled at the possibility that THIS Christmas I could be weighing ‘1′ something.  Only 10pounds away now, so it’s possible. My choices are the only thing stopping me.

Until next time….Hope

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Wow! I cannot believe it’s the 8th month of 2009. I am now 25 days before my 39th birthday and 7.2 pounds away from hitting 40n pounds lost on Jenny Craig.  I am SO EXCITED and I gotta be honest, also a little nervous.  I mean, I’m REALLY doing this.  Since I rededicated myself to the program on May 23rd,  I have consistently lost with the exception of one week.  I have really proven to myself that I CAN do this, and for someone who hasn’t weighed 205 since 2001 that really matters.  I remember vividly on my wedding day, December 8th 2001, that morning I weighed myself and the scale said 195. I was so disappointed that I had “excused” my way out of reaching my goal weight of 165. Then after seven days in the Western Caribbean on my honeymoon I came back at 205lbs. Yes a 10lb gain.  So for me it would represent a huge milestone.  Reaching this by my birthday would be the best present I could give myself, and ironically it’s a present that ONLY I can give to myself. In some ways that’s very empowering because it means it’s 100% in my control to follow the program.  OWNING my program has been a long time coming. I’ve put people and external life situations in charge for so long, surrendering my power. It really feels good to be in this place.  So I lost 0.8 pounds this past week and at first I was disappointed, but my consultant quickly reminded me that I’ve loss 4.4 pounds over the last two weeks, so I’m doing well.  Okay I’ll be back to report my next update soon.  August…still can’t believe it.

Forget the past…there is no future in it.

Hope

So the holiday weekend had some food challenges. There were hurdles I easily jumped over and there were others that made me stumble. I went to the movies and ended up having popcorn and not the small size either. What the heck was I thinking? I wish I knew. There are still those moments where I am unconscious about my journey, BUT the great news is that I didn’t continue the downward spiral. We even had pizza and I only ate one slice. It was so salty and greasy tasting that I just didn’t want anymore. It had nothing to do with willpower, my tastes have just changed. It makes me realize that this is working on levels I didn’t even know about.

I was walking on my treadmill this weekend watching the Discovery Channel and this great new Jenny Direct Commercial came on. Val looked great and so did her Mom after losing 54 pounds, but the comment at the end of the commercial really hit me. Val said, “Your LIFE is calling!” …WOW. I mean, shopping for smaller clothes is great, getting into a bikini is fun, but being available for my LIFE is powerful. We all have a FINITE number of days. Seems like our awareness of that is only heightened when we or someone we love gets sick, but it’s an unfortunate reality. I don’t want to live a less than optimal life because of my weight. This is something I have control over. There are SO many things people wrestle with daily that they cannot control regarding their health. This weight issue, on the other hand, has a solution. As much as I sometimes complain about this journey, I’m fortunate to have a “problem” that has a solution.

So my LIFE is calling and I plan to answer the call.

Here we go…

Oh…by the way I got rid of 0.6 pounds this week for a total of 10.6 pounds over the last six weeks. I have exactly 20 pounds and eight weeks to reach my birthday goal of 195 pounds. That’s going be tough, but you know what? I’m going to work as hard as I can, and I know I’ll be closer than I am now and maybe just maybe, my weight will start with a ‘1’ by then! Overall loss of 29.8 pounds…woohoo yay me!

Until next time…..

Hope

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