If She Can Do It, I Can Do It

The woman above and below is Ginnifer Goodwin. She is one of my favorite actresses AND she does Weight Watchers (Sorry to air some dirty laundry there, Ginnifer). :) She's in some of my favorite movies like "Walk the Line," Win a Date With Tad Hamilton," "He's Just Not That Into You," "Mona Lisa Smile," etc. And I can't wait to see her new movie "Something Borrowed."

Isn't she gorgeous? I think so! Girl knows how to hold own! Even when standing next to Kate Hudson. ;) Anyway, like I said...she does Weight Watchers! Cool, huh? There are other amazing women that have done or do Weight Watchers, too. Women like:

Jenny McCarthy

Tina Fey (Heck yeah!)

Sarah Ferguson

Jennifer Hudson

Kate Winslet

Kate Beckinsale

And now *THIS* woman does too. I have joined the ranks of Weight Watchers. More to come later!

The Summer of Me and Celebration!

The other day I was talking to my mom and she said, "Liz, you need to make this 'The Summer of Me.' This is your time. Time for you to focus on only you. So take this chance and make it all about you."

Now I don't think my mother was encouraging me to be selfish, selfish, but in a way, yes! I need to look after me, myself, and my health. Which is what I'm doing! It's the first week of summer break, and already I've been doing really good at working out and giving my all. I have so much support, that I don't know what to do with it! I feel so motivated and willing to do this for myself and others.

I hope you all that read this find it somewhat inspiring. Because I'm not just doing this for me. The major, biggest reason is for me, yes. But I also want to do this to encourage others to do the same. Because when you're healthy, you're happy. I've even seen it in the past week! I am already a much happier person because I'm exercising and eating right. It could also be because I no longer have a sinus infection too..... :P

Anyway, back to topic... I have more goals to make this The Summer of Me. Some of the goals are already in effect, but I will reiterate them.

1. Exercise at least 5 times a week.

2. Read at least 8 books this summer.

3. Finish the Book of Mormon with my ward by the end of the summer.

4. Finish reading "The Holy Temple" by Boyd K. Packer.

So yes, I know this is a weight loss blog, but I believe that when you're spiritually with it and happy, it makes it easier to be physically and mentally happier. Not to mention it gives you a little heavenly boost from above. ;)

Now time to CELEBRATE! :D

I have exercised 3 times this week! Woo hoo! Go me! And on Saturday I'll weigh in, and we'll see if we can celebrate some more!

And now for something a little funny to keep you laughin'.

(Thanks to http://hubpages.com/hub/Weight-Loss-Quotes-and-Cartoons-to-Inspire-Us-All)

A Love of My Life

Secret Confession #1: I am secretly in love with the man in the following picture.

Bob Harper. Pathetic, I know. But I just love Bob. I think he's amazing and "The Biggest Loser" is one of my favorite shows! I get so much motivation from the show and the trainers. And so...for the next six weeks my work regiment will consist of:

I've had this DVD for a little while now, and I've done it here or there, but have never gone past week 1. Lame, yes. SO....goal for the next two weeks: Complete the two week drill with Bob Harper. I believe in us Bob! I think we can do it! :)

GOALS --- Don't Reach For the Doughnut, Reach For the Banana!

Whew! This week has been crazy and not fun. Unfortunately, exercising was on the no-go this week due to vomiting and pink eye. Joy. HOWEVER, my exercise regiment is all planned out for next week, which I will blog about on Monday. You'll be introduced to one of my favorite people. :)

Since I was unable to practically move or see this week, I came up with GOALS for myself. I have both long term and short term. I think it's good and healthy to have short weight loss goals. If you make too big of goals and give yourself only a short time to accomplish them YOU WILL BECOME DISCOURAGED. Don't do this to yourself. It's awful. If you set a small goal and give yourself a longer period of time to accomplish this goal, then just imagine how wonderful you'll feel when you meet that goal and then some! So here are my long term and short term goals.

Long Term Goals:

1. Weigh at least 145 lbs. (Yes, this is a VERY long term goal. I'm thinking over a year.)

2. Lose at least 50 lbs by the time I'm done with laser hair removal. [ Surprise, surprise! I started last week. :) Will blog more on topic later... ]

3. Do not cut my hair until I reach my weight loss goal. --- Yup! That's right! I have been growing my hair out since January. For those of you that know me, this is very hard to believe. I cut my hair all the time! My hair is now past my shoulders. It hasn't been this long since high school! I will have to trim my hair every now and then so it doesn't lay dead and split-endish on my face, but I will not be getting any more haircuts that cut over an inch.

4. Be able to run a 5K next summer --- That's 3.1 miles. (I plan on this being filmed [not the whole thing] and will put it up on my blog. But you'll have to wait a year or so...)

And now for Short Term Goals:

1. Lose 10 lbs by June 20th (My parents will be here!).

2. Work out at least five days this next week.

3. Drink over 32 ounces of water a day.

4. Look up Zumba / dance classes this week.

OK, so I know my short term goals might be a little lame, but you have to start out small, right? Right. Slow and steady the course, one baby step at a time. And I know that by starting small, at the end I can lose big. Lose big, and gain even more. :)

The Denim Wars Begin...

And so it has begun! My fight with "the jeans." I have two pairs that I can wear out of four. Yup. Perfect time to start this blog.

And I must say to Walmart --- You have failed me! I went to Walmart to find some "transition jeans" (jeans to fit until I get smaller) and I found NOTHING! This has never happened to me before! I couldn't believe it. I was floored. BUT...maybe this is a good thing! Instead of moving up, work hard to move down.

Like I said, it has begun! Bring it on denim, bring it on!

And I WILL win. :)

Welcome!

Hello, everyone! Welcome to my weight loss blog, "Lose Big, Gain More." :) I am so excited you've decided to check this out and I hope you will continue to check it out to support me in this adventure! Let me give you the proper introduction...

Two years ago I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance Syndrome. To find out more about IRS, check it out here. But the basic gist is that my insulin is not as strong as it should be and my pancreas over produces insulin. I am in danger of my pancreas crashing and becoming a full blown diabetic. I am also in danger of PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), ovarian cancer, and pancreatic cancer. It's awhile down the road, but more of a threat than it should be.

However, despite all this awful news, there is light in the darkness. Most individuals who have IRS are on medication for the rest of their lives to regulate their system and to keep it in check. I am not one of those people. I can 100% cure myself through two simple things. Diet and exercise. Easier said than done, right? Hence the blog...

I did not create this blog to receive sympathy or pity from anyone. I created this blog because it will help me to be more determined and aggressive in my desire to do this. If I am held more accountable (essentially, the world wide web, friends and family...), then I better make good on my promise and DO this. I cannot let myself down, and I don't want to let you down.

Now, this is where YOU come in. All I am looking for is support. Like I said, no pity and no, "Oh Liz, you're fine the way you are. We love you!" OK, so you can tell me you love me, but none of the other stuff. All I want is your support. Notes of encouragement, notes of how you're going to help kick my butt into gear, etc. All that jazz. :) And you don't even have to do that if you don't want to! This is mainly for me, but I know this will be a whole lot easier with support from friends and family.

The Game Plan: My game plan (in the next few posts) is to tell you my weight goal, how I'm going to get there, and things I plan on doing to motivate myself. You'll read about my struggles, plateaus, successes, victories, all that good stuff. I'll also provide motivational articles, pictures, good recipes, and post my progress.

I know this will take some time. A lot of time. But I am willing to do that. I'm looking to make a healthier, happier me. So...here's to being healthy and happy! Wish me luck!

--- Liz