30 Days of Thankfulness

 Each year in November I participate in 30 Days of Thankfulness. I wanted to post my collection of posts here. 

Day 1 - I am participating in 30 Days of Thankfulness (although we should be grateful every day). I  just want to take this month to spotlight a few of the things I am grateful for. Today I am thankful for my salvation. Without God sending His Son to die on the cross for my sins, I would be so lost. My life would be worthless. It may sound preachy, but it is true. Outside of God and His blessings, my life holds no true meaning. Thank you God for sending Your Son to die in my place. 

 

Day 2 - Today I am thankful for John. There are truly not enough words in the English language to express how much this man means to me. God truly made him just for me. He isn't perfect, but he is perfect for me. He is kind, loving and one of my biggest cheerleaders. I truly wouldn't have made it this far on my weight loss journey, or in life, without him. He is the best! 

 

https://youtu.be/9Jg4d7Gkbyc

 

Day 3 - I am thankful for my Mama. She was did the best she could to raise me. She made so many sacrifices so I could have what I needed and wanted. She loved me so much. I am grateful God chose her to raise me. I sure do miss her.

 

Day 4 - Today I am thankful for my Dad. Though our time was short, I am grateful God allowed us the time we did get together. I miss him. 

 

Day 5 - Today I am thankful for my Bonus Mama. That lady was, and still is, so precious to me. She loved me when she didn't have to. She spent many, many hours pouring into my life and I will never stop being grateful for the relationship I had with her. 

 

Day 6 - Today, I am thankful for our Glory Babies. I miss them something terrible, but without them my life wouldn't be the same. They helped make me who I am today.

 

Day 7 - Today, I am thankful for Sam. He is has grown into such an amazing young man. I am so proud of who he has become. 

 

Day 8 - Today, I am thankful for Landon. He is still finding his way in this world, but he is a pretty great guy. I am proud of him. 

 

Day 9 - Today, I am thankful for Jewel-Anne. She is such a sweetheart who would do anything she could to help another person. She is kind, loving and just an all around good human. I am proud of her! 

 

Day 10 - Today, I am thankful for Liana. She is a great person who teaches me so much about myself. She would never admit it, but she is so much like me. I cannot wait to see who she grows up to be.

 

Day 11 - Today, I am thankful for Isaiah. He is the caboose to our earthside crazy train and my life simply wouldn't be the same without him! He is an amazing young man! Everyone needs an Isaiah.

 

Day 12 - Today, I am grateful for all of my siblings. Each one of you have helped shape who I am today. Some of us may not talk a lot but I love you so much! 

 

Day 13 - Today, I am thankful for my best friend Stephanie. Guys, she is truly an amazing person. We have been through so much together! My life wouldn't be the same without her and I am truly blessed to have her in my life! I love you, Dear Friend! 

 

Day 14 - Today, I am thankful for YOU - all of my friends! I appreciate our friendship and your support. I love you guys! 

 

Day 15 - Today, I am thankful for my author friends! You guys keep me entertained! I love reading and without you my life wouldn't be nearly as fun! Love you guys! 

 

Day 16 - Today, I am thankful for my doctors - Dr D. and Dr. W. and their office staff. Over the past year, I have been in both of their offices so much for obvious reasons. They have handled my needs and treated me like family. I am grateful for their skill and bedside manner (for the most part.)

 

Day 17 - Today I am thankful for my weight loss surgery and the weight loss progress I have made so far. It has been a struggle to get where I am today but it has been worth it. I am proud of myself. I wouldn't have been able to do it without God and a great team of doctors, support staff, friends and family on my side. Thank you all. 

 

Day 18 - Today, I am thankful for my walking pad! We spend many, many hours with each other. A great portion of my weight loss is because of this device! 

 

Day 19 - Today, I am thankful for music. Thank you to the musicians who create the beautiful works of art that I listen to every day. 

 

Day 20 - Today, I am thankful for my health. Just a couple years ago, I was a terrible diabetic with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. I took almost 20 medications a day to sustain my life. Thank God, that is no longer my story! 

 

Day 21 - Today, I am thankful for Christmas movies! 

 

Day 22 -  Today, I am thankful for my dogs. I was never an animal person, but I would be lost without Chewy and Lucy. It is amazing how they just sneak into your heart and you can't seem to make it through the day without them. 

 

Day 23 - Today, I am thankful that my husband's main job is working from home. I get to see him on every break. I will miss him if that ever changes.

 

Day 24 - Today, I am thankful for food. So many out there are struggling. Thankfully, our needs are met. 

 

Day 25 - Today, I am thankful for a house to live in. 

 

Day 26 - Today, I am thankful for my van. It takes us everywhere we need to go. 

 

Day 27 - Today, I am thankful for good food and time spent with family. 

 

Day 28 - Today, I am thankful for cozy blankets. I kind of have an addiction to soft, cozy blankets.

 

Day 29 - Today, I am thankful for Stitch! He entertains me so much! I love him! 

 

Day 30 - Today, I am thankful for Christmas. I am thankful for the manger. More than that, I am thankful for the cross! 

Onederland!

 Well, I did it. I am a couple days late blogging about it, but I hit ONEDERLAND the day after Thanksgiving!! That has been a dream of mine since I started this journey. I will admit, though, that it has me scared to death. My weight yo-yos a lot. I will lose a few pounds and gain a pound back, and so on and so forth. As my therapist says "Weight loss is not linear." Onederland has brought on some new fears that I didn't expect, though. 

I am right on the cusp of Onederland (199.7) and I am afraid I will do something wrong and gain those extra .3 lbs back before I go to the doctor on Monday. (An unexpected appointment). 

I am terrified of eating - eating too much, eating the wrong thing, etc. 

I am fearful of drinking (water) - will I drink too much? Will I gain water weight? 

Monday's appointment isn't my official weigh-in for December so I will have another appointment in a couple weeks. Will I lose enough for them to see that I am still trying to lose weight on the phentermine? 

Speaking of Phentermine, have I lost enough to appease them to make them continue to prescribe it for me? I did talk to my PCP who said that once the 6 months was up he would write my prescription for it. (Bariatrics said they would only prescribe it for six months.)

I know all of these fears are not of God, and I am trying to combat them with TRUTH, but they are still very much real in my mind and I am having to work through them. If you see this, please just pray for me. I do not want to allow Satan and his fear tactics to steal my joy of a goal well earned. 

December Weigh-Ins

 December Weigh-Ins

    6 - 200.8

    13 - 203.7

    20 - 202.1

    27 - 203.2

November A1C

 My a1c was 4.7!! 

Weight Loss Wrinkles

 I knew it would happen. I was hoping it wouldn't, but it did. I have developed what I call the weight loss wrinkles. I colored my hair yesterday (I do not like the color. That is a story for another day, though.) so I took a picture to show my husband and sisters. I smiled. Then I wish I hadn't. I noticed that my face (especially around my smile has developed "the weight loss wrinkles." It is worth it, but I hate them. 

Fourteen Miles

 I walked fourteen miles today! No, that isn't a typo. I did two hours this morning and two hours tonight on the walking pad bringing my total to fourteen miles. I am trying to push through to this "stall" (not a true stall, but I consider it one) I am in. I want to make it to onederland! 

Phentermine Month One Results

 Today is the last day to weigh in for month one. I didn't hit the goal I wanted to but I am still proud of myself. I had a few moments were I was hard on myself for not meeting this (unrealistic goal according to my therapist) goal but some prayer and a couple hours on the walking pad took care of that - mostly. I know I did well. I just struggle with not pushing myself harder. Any way... I lost 12.2 pounds this month. Here's hoping next month will be successful, too! 

3.5

 I had a goal of making it to 3.5 MPH on the walking pad before I finished my first month of my new medicine. That day is quickly approaching and I decided I wasn't going to make it. I had made it to 3.3 and I was about to give up on it. My goal right now isn't to run...I am not a runner and I do not want to be. Long story short, I did an hour and fifty minutes of 3.5 MPH today. I made it almost 7 miles today. 😀I almost gave up at first because it was too fast, but I prayed and I did it, through the grace of God. It isn't nearly as scary as I thought it was...And I didn't run either.

ETA: Two hours at this pace burns 700 calories!

New Clothes

I bought new clothes today! I should have kept trying clothes on the other day because I can actually fit into size 20 (women's) jeans and a 1x (women's) top. I bought a new outfit for Thanksgiving and a couple extra pairs of jeans. I do not want to buy a lot of clothes in this size because I hope I don't stay here long. I must admit, though, it was exciting to shop for clothes for the first time in...well... ever. 

No More Wide Width Shoes

 For the last couple weeks that I have been walking two hours a day, I have started to develop blisters on my feet. We discovered that my shoe size has changed. I have always been an 8w in shoes. I have worn wide width shoes since I was a child. I had wide, fat feet. Well, I have apparently lost weight in my feet too because I am now an 8 regular. Cindy and Cyndee took me shoe shopping today and we even found one brand that I wore a 7.5 regular in. I didn't like those shoes as much, though. We will not talk about how much my shoes cost. The down side to losing weight is how much money I have to spend to replace everything.😒

Body Measurements November 2025

I bought a new measurement tape to measure my body. So I did some digging through my blog and found my old measurements from 2012. The only difference is I mismeasured my thighs in 2012 and I measured them together. Todays measurements were all individual. 

Date: November 2, 2025

Weight: 207.4

Resting Heart Rate: 92

Body Measurements

    Neck - 14.40 in

    Shoulders: 41.73 in (all the way across) 

    Bicep l - 12.67 in

    Bicep r - 11.53 in

    Chest - 40.90 inch (all the way around)

    Waist - 50.51 inch

    Abdomen - 49.33 inch

    Hips - 47.83 inch

    Thigh l - 24.96 inch

    Thigh r - 20.31 inch

    Calf  l - 16.85 inch

    Calf  r - 16.29 inch

Date: April 18, 2012
Weight: 298
Resting Heart Rate (See below for instructions): 88
Circumference Measurements (See below for instructions):
Waist: 61.5
Hips: 64
Thigh: 50.75

Chest: 52