Happy New Years Eve!!

Happy New Years Eve!! Here we are on the eve of a new year.  Looking back on this year I can see God's provision and love even in times when I was full of doubt and fear. God is good all the time. It has been a year full of changes for me. All though I did not make a big announcement about it I determined that 2014 would be a year of renewed faith and trust in Jesus my Lord and Savior. I am a child of the One True King. The following video was my theme song for 2014.

In my last post I said I would post again when I had past my 75 pound weight loss goal.  I passed that goal 12/27/14.  I am so excited.  This part of my journey has been most interesting.  To see how my thoughts and ideas have changed in the area of food is truly amazing to me.  Food is no longer an addiction. I still enjoy what I eat, however, food is now nourishment and provides nutrients my body needs to live a healthy life. I feel so much better. I have more energy and I am able to focus on areas that are way more enjoyable than worrying about what I can possibly eat next.  Again, God has been good to provide a way for me to become a healthier person. I am loving the new me I am becoming.  I thank you all for your support and encouragement in this journey.  Now I need to be more disciplined to exercise more frequently. Below is the latest before and after picture I have taken. And I just threw in an extra picture of Becky and myself. This is our Christmas 2014 picture together.

Well the only other major change this year was my return to school.  That is going very well. School will resume January 5, 2015.  It was a nice surprise to have a week off for the holidays.

So 2014 has been a year of Losing Myself in many ways. I thank you for all your prayers and support. God bless you all as we move into 2015 and discover new ways of becoming who God wants us to be'

Happy Christmas Eve Day!!!

Just Jumping in real quick to say Happy Christmas Eve Day!!! I weighed myself this morning and discovered I have lost 73.5 pounds. This is a great present for me this Christmas. I will post again when I break the 75 pound loss.  Blessings to all my friends and family during this Holiday Season.  I love you all!

Merry Christmas

Greetings everyone. I am taking a few minutes to update this blog. I thought I would do it while I had time. I know things will get busier and busier as the season progresses! So while I have a few minutes, here I am.

I want to wish all my friends and family a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year. God has been good (as that is always the case. God is good all the time). It has been a very busy year for me.  I started going to college in March. I started going for an associates in Network Security. I have, however, switched to a Bachelors in Business Management. School is now progessing very well for me.

I had gastric sleeve surgery in August.  That is also progressing very well. As you all know this is the reason for this blog.  I will announce today that I have officially hit my weight loss of 70 pounds. I feel so much better. I feel lighter on my feet and one of the things I feel is I am not the necessarily the first person people notice because of my size.  I have more energy and even though I have always had a pretty high self esteem, my daughter tells me I have become even more self confident. I didn't know this was possible. So I am learning to bring myself down a notch or two.  LOL!!

One of the side effects of this surgery is hair loss.  I have noticed that I have been losing a lot of hair lately.  I am not to concerned, however, I am going to look into getting some vitamin suppliments for hair loss.  The funniest part of this whole hairloss thing is that my eyebrows are almost completely bald.  It's quite laughable. I am learning how to pencil them in.  I would like to get permanent eyebrows tattooed on at some point. They can make them look quite natural.

Once again I wish everyone a very Blessed Christmas and Merry Holiday season. Also a very Happy New Year.  I may not be on again before the first of the year.  I thank you all for your support in my health quest endeavors. It is very appreciated.

JESUS is the SEASON!

Well here it is the beginning of December.  This is my favorite time of year.  I love the sights, sounds and smell of Christmas.  I really love spending time with friends and family. Although presents are fun to receive, I would gladly go without presents if everyone of my family and friends that do not know Jesus Christ as their personal savior would come the Him and receive the benefits of eternal life.  There is a common phrase going around that says "Jesus is the reason for the season."  I think I would prefer to say "JESUS IS THE SEASON." 

Jesus, Wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow!

I frequently get teased because I am one of "those" people out there who would like to keep my Christmas decorations up all year round. Let me help you understand why.  I believe we should celebrate the sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross all year round.  Jesus could not have made that sacrifice if were not born as a human.  SO...I like to celebrate Jesus all year round. Both His birth and Resurrection!

Well with the holiday season comes many parties and celebrations.  This will pose and interesting problem for me.  Holiday Eating.  What to do??? I do not want to skip the parties and fellowship. I have determined in myself to be strong and not make bad choices.  I will allow myself just an occasional indulgence but I will choose those indulgences wisely.  I have discovered I MUST stay away from sugar.  I don't like how it makes my stomach feel and I don't like spending long amounts of time in the bathroom.  I also am learning that I can have coffee and I can have creamer, however I need to learn to make the sugar free choices.  Fortunately the coffee shops that I like to go to offer coffees with a "Skinny" option.  I need to make a more concerted effort to get all my protein and water intake to the appropriate levels.. I did weigh my self this morning.  I am pleased to see that I have actually lost 2.6 pound this week.  So I am progressing just fine. That makes a total loss of 65.6 pounds.

This is a picture of three of the five Isum sisters.  Kaia Murnion, Signe Gee, Greta Cox.  Taken November 24, 2014 on Kaia's Birthday. It was taken on the front porch of her new home.  It was an awesome day.