Week 12 of Get Healthy & Fit: The END (for now)

Wow…..what a crazy, rough 12 weeks I’ve had.  I started out doing awesome, losing 6 pounds the first week and another 5 pounds in the weeks beyond that.  But then…. life got in the way.  I kept trying to keep my head above water, but I ended up giving in.  I didn’t completely give in, but I didn’t continue losing weight and exercising like I had planned to do.  I maintained pretty well, but that was about it.  I was starting to get down in the dumps about it….especially with the fact that I knew I was about to have to admit to you all how “wonderful” I’ve been doing.  I decided to just be open and honest about it all, letting you know that I got emotional and I just happen to be an emotional eater.  I don’t know if you all noticed, but…. I did not post a thing on Mondays the last 2 weeks.  I had no clue what to say.  The past 12 weeks we have dealt with numerous things to include:

• Vacation (one week in Branson=lots of relaxation and fun, the best part of this list!)
• Father-in-law going into cardiac arrest while at a wedding we were all attending.  He was air lifted to a nearby city and after a long recovery period, he is now doing fine.
• Our 7 year old daughter was also sent by helicopter to a nearby city’s hospital after we had taken her in for rapid respirations and heart rate.  She was admitted for respiratory failure & pneumonia and ended up with a partially collapsed lung as a result of it all.  She was only hospitalized for 3 days, but has since been diagnosed with asthma and we’ve been doing breathing treatments and steroids ever since.  I can’t wait to get the all clear from the doctor!  (We have joked about how we needed a buy one get one free pass for the heliecopter rides of my FIL and dd)
• Our 10 year old who has epilepsy that is normally controlled by medication, experienced one of the worst seizures that she’s ever had!  The post – seizure time was pretty bad and unusual for her, too where she couldn’t walk, talk or see clearly.  She is still having some vision issues and a lot of auras that are troublesome to her.  We’ve been in touch with her neurologist and they are adjusting her medications to hopefully help her with what we believe to be depth perception problems.  She’ll go in for an MRI at the end of the month.
• Last, but by far the worst.  My sister’s husband killed himself.  He had been struggling mentally for a while and finally decided that he couldn’t do it any more.  We are all so devastated to know that we won’t be able to see his goofy, fun-loving, smiling face again.  He was loved by many.  Please, if you can say a prayer for his wife and 2 kids as they go through this difficult time, I would appreciate it!

I hope that you can understand a little more clearly as to why I didn’t stay firmly on the wagon.  The thing is…. I don’t think I’ve EVER had a 12 week period of time that had this many big events in it.  No wonder I lost a little ground.  I’m OK with that.

The good news is that I’ve had a few small successes anyway.  While I’ve not given up my Dr. Pepper completely, I quit buying it to bring home for the most part.  We do buy it occasionally, but that is a small problem in comparison to what I was doing before.  At the time I started this 12 week series, I was drinking 2-3 cans of Dr. Pepper per day.  Now, I do buy it out occasionally, but I don’t feel like I’m addicted to it like I used to be.  I can say no a little easier.

I’m still trying to be more conscious of my vegetable consumption.  I think I’ve definitely improved in this area, but I will need to continue on towards that goal, increasing my salads and reducing the sweets in my diet gradually.

I’m always so amazed at how quickly life can change and how I really need to be ready for anything.  I proved that I really wasn’t ready for anything this go round….but that doesn’t mean I have to quit forever.  I will get back up, dust myself and try again!

I’ve been doing this series with 18 other bloggers who have been sharing about their successes and failures, too!  Would you like to see how the other girls did?  Check out their progress by going here.

Would you also take a moment to fill out this survey?  I’m trying to decide if I want to do a big group weight loss series or if I should just keep it to myself.  Any input you all have is welcomed!