Earlier this month I was visiting my out-of-town family.  My sister begged asked to guest post on my blog.  After much suspense may I introduce my oldest sister Cathy - she loves wine, is the best voice teacher in Kalispell, MT, and makes a kick-ass pasta dish!  So without further ado... Losing Sarah - a guest post:

Fat little legs came to visit . . . 

Don’tcha just love the “hot stuff” printed on the t-shirt!

though I discovered I couldn’t call her that anymore. Let me introduce myself—My name is Cathy and I am Sarah’s “much older” sister—by sixteen years to be exact.


I think it would be fair to say that all of us in this family struggle with weight. I, too, am a member of Weight Watchers, losing 25+ pounds while I was in college. So, the journey has not been as intense for me as for Sarah. I also came down with an auto-immune disease related to my gastrointestinal system about 12 years ago. It’s not the best way to keep my weight in check—although I’ve learned to live with it.


But back to Sarah’s visit—Sarah loves to shop.

Sadly this was one of my suits—I can’t believe I wore this!

Maybe you haven’t figured that out yet, but she does. I also love to shop so we headed out on Saturday to the local farmer’s market and then off to a home decor store. The darnedest thing kept happening. I could not find Sarah anywhere. I would scour the aisles of the farmer’s market and then turn around and find she was right next to me all along! Sarah is a mere ghost of her former self—and I, her own sister, could not recognize her!!

So, losing Sarah . . . her weight, her baggage, her bad habits, losing her while shopping but finding she is walking right next to me, . . . I/we are so proud of her and she has truly changed into the “found” Sarah. I wish I could/would measure out my food, run miles every day, make healthy choices. She is an inspiration to us all. So, Sarah, here’s to you!!



O.K. I only drank a little while I wrote this

 And as a little extra bonus I am posting the recipe for the dessert I am making for our family dinner tonight. It will consume lots of “points” and probably kill off my diabetic brother-in-law.

Dump Cake

Preheat oven to 350. In a 9x13 pan layer a 21-oz can of cherry pie filling and a small, drained can of crushed pineapple. Sprinkle an 18.5 oz package of yellow cake mix over that. Pour 1 to 2 sticks of melted butter over that. Sprinkle the top with 1 cup of flaked coconut and ½ cup chopped walnuts. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream, ice cream, or if you are counting those points some non-dairy whipped topping.

This is why I am the “evil” sister. BAHHHHHAAAHAAAA!!

It was rewarding to be able to be out there yesterday - to be showing my support for men that have died of this disease, and men that are surviving in spite of it.  The number of people that I've heard of recently that have been touched by prostate cancer alarm me.  It was rewarding to see people banding together to support and remember loved ones.  I was able to share my dad's story with one of the videographers there.  I hope it can inspire someone else.  I was glad to share the day with my brother, husband, and son.  Daddy... I know you couldn't be there in person, but I was glad to share the day with you too!  I hope it made you proud.

Tomorrow I am running in the Great Prostate Cancer Challenge.  Its my second ever race - a 5k.  Its tomorrow morning at 9 am Central Time.  I am nervous and excited.  I am also happy that I've managed to raise $360 towards this cause.  Remember my dad died from it.  I know he will be there in spirit to cheer me on.  I am so honored to do this in memory of him.  If you still want to sponsor me there is still time:  http://www.active.com/donate/gpcctwincities10/fatlittlelegs

I am nervous... because my last 5k I had tons of people there supporting me... running with me.  Tomorrow... it's just me.  Just me... and my darling husband cheering me on of course! 

Daddy... this is for you.  I bet never in your wildest dreams would you envision me... your youngest... running a race.  Crazy, isn't it?  I'll be wearing the blue shirt.  Keep your eye out for me.  I know I don't look much like I did when I last saw you, but being your daughter I'm sure you'll still recognize me.  I've lost a little bit of weight.  I know I'll be looking for you, and something tells me you'll have the best seat in the house!

Due to me being exhausted this week and the 2 glasses of wine I drank last evening I was in bed early last night and didn't post my Thursday weigh in.  I am happy to report I am now 1 pound under my goal weight, with a loss of 2.2 pounds this week!  I am actually pretty much back to where I was before my vacation.  That makes me very happy.  I have 3 more weigh ins now until I am officially a Weight Watchers Lifetime member.

Our meeting this week was about asking for help.  This is one area that I am good at.  I do ask for help on this journey, but it didn't start out that way.  I realized yesterday at my meeting that a big reason I didn't ask for help in the beginning was because I was scared to fail - scared to have people see me fail.  Its probably why I didn't start this blog earlier too.  Now that I know I haven't failed, it is much easier.  So I will say this, don't be scared to ask for help, who cares if you fail?  What matters right now is that you are trying, and no one is going to fault you for trying.  The pressure we put on ourselves, is from ourselves, not from others.  We judge ourselves much more harshly than anyone else would... so ask for help when you need it.

I am so incredibly blessed to have the help I need to be successful in this journey.  A HUGE shout out to my husband for everything that he has done to help me reach my goals:

• Kept certain foods out of the house... especially cookies and chips.
• Endured 2 years of me rarely baking anything - I am a sucker for cakes, pies, desserts, whatever!
• Yelled at me when I am in the honey roasted peanut jar... again.
• Brought me fresh produce... and flowers, from the farmer's market.
• Supported me as I worked to fit exercise into our busy lives.
• Played with our son, bathed our son, got our son out of bed and dressed and fed and off to daycare countless times to allow me to exercise instead.
• Pretty much gave up eating out accept for rare occasions.
• Stood in the chilly gray day on my first 5k and cheered me on.  Will stand tomorrow on another chilly gray day and cheer me on my second.
• Continued to love me despite my changing inside and outside.
• Always asks about my weigh in every Thursday.
• Reminds me that I shouldn't weigh myself so much, because the scale is often evil.
• Laughs nervously as I commit to donating 107.5 pounds of food.

Thank you, thank you thank you.  I'm sure it has not been easy to sit by and watch your wife morph into a totally different person over the last 2 years, but I cannot even begin to express my appreciation to having you be the person by my side as it has happened.  I am forever thankful for you help!

For the third year Weight Watchers is running a campaign to help fight world hunger.  They are calling it Lose For Good.  For every pound Weight Watchers members lose, they are donating money to Share our Strength and Action Against Hunger. 

Well... I've also decided to get involved personally as well.  I have been so incredibly blessed to always be fed well; to have a healthy meal several times a day.  I was inspired by another incredible Weight Watcher:  Tory.  She took a picture of herself with food equal to the amount of weight she's lost, and donated it - all 108 pounds of it!  I thought this is awesome!!!  So I decided on Saturday that I was going to donate 107 pounds of food.  107 pounds to represent the weight that I have lost to date.

I first went through our cupboards, because we always have LOTS of extra pasta, rice, cereal, soups, etc.  I filled a whole grocery bag nearly to the top and weighed it... 16.5 pounds!  WOW!!!  It felt heavy.  It was hard to lug around.  I cannot believe I had been previously hauling around over 6 bags like that on myself every single day.  No wonder I felt so horrible, so tired, and so worn out!  I also realized after weighing one large bag of food that this might be a bit to take on, on my own, so I sent out a plea - telling people of my idea - and asking them to donate food to represent my weight loss.  The response has been amazing.  So many people have volunteered to bring food for me to donate.  I am amazed and honored at the response.  Thanks!  I can't wait to collect all 107 pounds of food and take a picture of myself with it.  Then its going straight to my Weight Watchers meeting to be donated.

So... I challenge you - If you are blessed to have healthy food for yourself each day please consider making a donation to your local food pantry this month.

There are so many bits and pieces to catch you up on... so here's to a rambling post, while I sip a glass of wine!

1)  Weigh in Thursday... up 2.4 pounds from the past 2 weeks.  Best ever I have done on vacation.  Yes I am happy about this gain, because the last time I went to Montana on vacation I GAINED 6 POUNDS!  This puts me 1.2 above my goal weight.  I have 4 more weigh ins to Lifetime.  I will get it off soon!  I also want to say what a great Weight Watchers meeting.  CCWL... you outdo yourself each week.  It was about slow weight loss, and how the .2s and .4s and .6s and .8s add up... and really they do... I am living proof!

2)  4 MILES!  Yep... that's how far I ran yesterday.  I believe it took me between 42 and 43 minutes.  It is the farthest I've ever run.  It was a great run.  I felt so strong!  I felt so empowered and was smiling the whole time!  Don't you just wish you could bottle up those runs and save them to think about when you have a really shitty run?  Do I think I can do a 10k?  Well... haven't quite talked myself into that one yet.  But if I do you'll be the first to know.

3) Speaking of running... my Great Prostate Cancer Challenge run in this Saturday, September 25th! at Lake Nokomis and Minneapolis, MN.  I am so honored to be running in memory of my dad.  It will be a wonderful and emotional day I am sure.  I hope that we can find a cure for prostate cancer - for all cancers, and I am honored to be a part of this event.  I am so blessed to have made my original goal of raising $300, but I am hoping to go above and beyond and get to at least $400 before race time next Saturday.  Even small donations count, so please if you can help check out my race page:  GPCC Race Page.  This is one race I can't wait to recap!!!

5) Mirrors.  Saw myself in one the other day, and honestly did not know myself.  I need a post about this, but it is still so shocking to me.  What happened to me?  Where did I go?  I know everyone says... you are still the same person inside though.  Guess what?  I'm not.  At all.  I am a totally different person!  It's good, but very hard to change your identity at 33. 

6) Guest post... from my sister, as promised coming up this week.  I PROMISE!  There are pictures involved, so stay tuned...

Oh... and I have some exciting news to share this week regarding the Weight Watchers Lose for Good campaign, and my own donation to try and help end hunger!  Sorry to keep you hanging on that one with the teaser, but a girl has to have some content for her posts this week!

So tonight while eating my dinner I had a revelation of sorts... what I was eating tasted completely naughty, but it was not.  So I thought I start a new thing thing there called... Tastes Naughty but is NOT (TNBIN)!  To highlight foods that are OK in the fat/calories department and high in the taste department.

First up...................

Trader Joe's Orange Chicken!

Now maybe you guys already know this secret, but seriously people this is amazing!  It is a complete copy of any sort of fried chicken dish you'd get at your favorite Chinese spot, but I can have 1 cup of the stuff (without sauce) for 4 points.  Now really I'm not going to eat it without sauce, so 2 Tbsp = 1 point, and of course I'm not going to eat it without rice so 1/2 cup of Jasmine rice = 2 points.  7 points for a meal that at a restaurant would easily cost me 10-15.  SCORE!

Now to let you in on another TNBIN... and something to round out your meal if you really want to splurge:  Trader Joe's Coconut Curry Chicken Sticks. 

They are basically small egg rolls.  You can have 2 of these suckers for only 2 points!

So there you have it... It Tastes Naughty but is NOT!








By the way... Neither Trader Joe's nor anyone else paid me or gave me anything to say these nice things about this yummy food.  I bought it with my own hard earned cash so my family could have a meal tonight.

I am back from playing hooky...reintegration into everday life is always so hard, isn't it?

And I am repeating this over and over to my super tired, horribly stressed out, at the brink self tonight:

I will get up and run tomorrow, I will get up and run tomorrow morning at 5:45 am... I will get up and run... I will do it.  I will like it.  I will.  Maybe if I say this I will actually feel it.

So I'm just a little absent this past week.  If you must know, I'm playing hooky. 
Hooky from life.
Hooky from Weight Watchers and counting every last point. 
Hooky from work...

I'm not playing hooky from exercise though.  OK, I did take the weekend off - not even a long weekend.  But I was running again on Monday morning already.  But this morning I DID NOT WANT TO GO.  I know, since I've been playing hooky that I have been eating and drinking (unfortunately I'm not talking water here) more than usual.  I knew I had to get out there, for my sanity, because I have a 5k coming up in 2-1/2 weeks, but most of all because I needed to desperately burn some calories. 

Despite all of the reasons I needed to go, I thought of every excuse in the book:
Its cold out... it was in the 30s this morning.
All I have is short sleeve shirts and shorts (see above comment).
I'm playing hooky after all, what's the big deal about skipping a day.
The altitude here is 3 times what I'm used to.

But then the cloudy/cold day became lovely and mildly warm, and there was ZERO percent humidity and even though I wondered what the altitude would do to my head and my lungs I couldn't bear to NOT run when my view was this:

So... you've lost 106.4 pounds, what are you going to do next? 
I'm going to Disneyland.... oh oops... wrong answer, but I wish :-)

But it does beg the question, after losing 106.4 pounds where do I go from here?  Well... this time the answer is fairly easy.  Keep going down.  See, while this might be the goal my doctor and I set for myself, it is not my personal goal.  It is actually still 9 pounds above the weight that Weight Watchers REALLY wants me to be - I have a Dr. note for my current goal.  So... I want to continue to lose weight, and right now I'm thinking I want to lose 15 more pounds. 

So you are probably wondering why I set my Weight Watchers goal 15 pounds above my actual personal goal aren't you?  Is it because I'm cheap and don't want to pay for Weight Watchers anymore?  Nope... although after paying for nearly 2 years, it will be very nice to not have to pay here in about 5 more weeks.  It's basically because well... my clock is ticking.  Yes... THAT clock - the biological one.  I want to have 1 more child, and because of all of my risk factors (HELLP syndrome) my doctor very strongly prefers this all to happen before I'm 35... Let's see that gives me... YIKES, not very much time!  Considering that I struggle with PCOS and fertility issues.. it gives me even less time.  So... that's the reason behind the different goals.  My current Weight Watchers goal is the goal my doctor and I set for me to reached before I could "try again" so to speak.

Now that that cat is out of the bag... onward and downward until Weight Watchers boots me out for being pregnant (Yes CWWL has informed me that it must happen as soon as she knows, and she does read this blog so... mum's the word around here for a long long time).  I'm certainly not looking to lose weight if I get pregnant.  I am just looking to be healthy, and continue my healthy eating habits and enjoy a controlled gain.  I am also at risk for gestational diabetes, so I especially need to watch my carbs and sugars and keep on exercising. 

My first weigh in today after reaching my goal weight, and despite having no access to a gym all week - closed for maintenance - I think I did decent. 

See... I told you to stay tuned, because like I said before... we are just getting started here!