October14, 2016 - Today my little lady Leah and I got to spend some quality time together shopping in "the city" (Oklahoma City). We went to 6 different stores and she spent her own money on a pair of boots that she just "had to have". We had a great time - BUT MAN CAN A 6 YEAR OLD TALK NONSTOP! I'm exhausted!  One of the exciting stops we made was to Sam's Club - yahoo! This was my 1st time since the Team Fullmore October Facebook challenge was issued that I have been in a store with 50 lb bags of sugar - so I had to get my "Sugar Shot". The October Challenge was to embrace the cruel reality that this is the season for candy and treats and sugar by taking a pic with the weight of sugar that represents your loss. So here I am... with two 25 lb bags of sugar. It's so much heavier than I expected... I can't believe I had been carrying that on my joints/back/legs. It's really rather crazy when you are holding the weight in your arms.  Have any of you had a chance to do this yet? Next time you are in the grocery store take a minute to lift a bag of sugar that is comparable to your weight loss. If it is a 5lb bag - awesome. If it's 25 lbs - that's amazing. If it's 1 lb celebrate it... if it's 50 lbs - through a party! Wherever you are in your weigh loss journey, use your exciting weekly grocery shopping trip to get pumped up and reminded of how far you have come in this transformation. (And you don't have to take a picture.... but we all would love to see your progress and celebrate with you!) Wishing you a week of steady progress toward a healthier you! Hugs,  Kelly

September 30, 2016

Happy Friday!!!

I hope you are all enjoying the change of the seasons as fall ushers out the heat of summer and brings in crisp air and changing colors. This time of year is my favorite. 

I wanted to share a video (conference call)  with you all called: The Death of Diets -- A Response to "The Biggest Loser"

This is a video call that Dr. Anderson (the founder of Take Shape for Life) put on last May after the release of a New York Times article that discussed how many of the contestants from the TV show "The Biggest Loser" gained their weight back due to a lack of change of healthy habits. In this video you will hear an encouraging testimonial from a TSFL client who has lost 200+ lbs and learn about how healthy habits have made the lasting change in her life. Dr. Anderson goes over the basics of the TSFL program and discusses the elements of success with "health" rather than a "diet". Here's the link to the video: https://youtu.be/Mav-q8UUzyM

Also I was wondering if each of you could shoot me back a quick email and share how much you have lost so far on the program and also what your biggest non-scale victory to date. Each of you are at a different place in this journey and have been working toward health for different amounts of time... but I think it's time to start celebrating our success on the TSFL Team Fullmore Facebook page 

I'm excited for this new season on the calendar as well as this "new season of life" that each of you are embarking on!

Keep on keeping on!

Kelly 

September 23, 2016  

While I often find myself looking forward to Monday (this is usually around 5pm on Sunday night when the kids are at each others throats), today I am saying YAY IT'S FRIDAY! I am excited because... outside of a soccer game in the morning, we have nothing planned tonight nor tomorrow. Nothing! When school started I was looking forward to getting back into a routine, however instead it just feels like my time has become more chopped up and every kid, organization, sport, etc. wants a little piece of me. Of course I am grateful to have a life where my problem is too much fun/involvement... but it can be challenging to find balance when you are going in multiple directions throughout the course of the day. 

Earlier this week I realized that while I have shared with all of you the importance of planning out your fuelings/food at the beginning of the day - this is something that I have become inconsistent with. Being in the maintenance phase of the program, I have more freedom in my meal choices, however having a plan is always the 1st step toward success and staying focused on our goals. 

I wanted to share a great website with you all that has helped me when it comes to planning lean-green meals and even my regular fuelings. The website is: http://www.sandyskitchenadventures.com/    

Sandy has a candid form of writing and I appreciate how she shares her honest health journey with the reader. When  you look at the home page you will see several recipe pull down options... go all the way over to the tab "Medifast Recipe Box". On this page you will find a TON of lean-green meal ideas and recipes AND a list of ways that you can creatively alter the Medifast meals into new fueling by adding allowed condiments or preparing the food in a different way. I'm thinking tonight I just might to turn my Vanilla Pudding into Pumpkin Pie Custard .

If you have extra time, I want to encourage you to check out Sandy's Kitchen Adventure website and see if there are any recipes that look interesting. If you find something you like it would be great if you share it on our TSFL Team Fullmore - we all love learning new ways to add adventure to this health journey. 

Wishing you all a fantastic and relaxing weekend, 

Kelly 

September 9, 2016

Hello Ladies, 

Have you ever had a week where you feel like it will never end? Since Sunday morning I haven't felt great... not really sick, but defiantly not 100%. I've still done my work from home and gone to the gym and coached Leah's soccer team and done all the other things moms do to keep life rolling and people fed - after all, as a woman I've been programed to believe that the world will stop if I dare take a day off. On top of feeling yucky, I've had several strange/annoying things happen that have taken my focus off joyfulness. Earlier this week I showed up for a 6am meeting... that was last week (so not only did I waste getting up early but also missed something important). I missed a class because I didn't see the time change on Facebook (seriously... how about a text direct to my phone rather than some random post that I don't even have set to be at the top of my Home page). And then today I went to Leah's school so that she could do FaceTime with my mom for Grandparents Day and when we left early, I went out to find that someone parked behind my car blocking me into the space between their car and a fence. Seriously? I was so irritated. 

I sat frustrated on the grass, thinking about how my van is totally recognizable with my silly stickers on it and with my husband as a pastor in a small town I best not ruin our life by saying what I wanted to say to whomever this person was.  Instead I said to myself - "Kelly - get a grip. Look back in your life at all the real problems that have been thrown at you - this is nothing. Count your blessings... you're life is great."

So I did. As I thought about the many, many ways my family has been blessed... HEALTH quickly came to the top of my list of things I am thankful for.  This week I celebrated my 5 year cancerversary. 5 years. I was given a 40% chance of surviving 5 years. It is not hard for me to remember being told those stats and deciding that I HAD to focus on the 40% survive rate and not the 60% chance of cancer coming back and getting me. And now, 5 years later, not only can cancer be put on a shelf in my memories... but I can celebrate that I feel healthier than I really ever have. But health is not happening by accident - the mental, emotional and physical work has paid off... and it feels great. 

Ladies, I am thankful for Take Shape for Life and that there is a real, virtual community that I can be a part of for support. I know you all have active FaceBook pages, so if you haven't had a chance yet to look at the TSFL Team Fullmore page yet, please be sure to take a few minutes to visit and read through the posts. ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/1673702179577104/ )

This is a page where you can celebrate your victories. 

Where you can celebrate with others and be encouraged by their success. 

You will find posts about how people make new creations out of the TSFL food. 

There are people sharing problems that you may identify with.

Its possible you might even get to encourage or help someone else with their problem. 

And if you have a problem you can seek out advise/encouragement.

This page is a place where you can "Face Brag" and post photos of your success without feeling weird. 

It is a way to help you stay connected to your goals and your "why". 

This is our community... and community is vital to success! Remember.... that was one of the main Habits of Health - to be engaged in a support system. You are not alone - there is a huge tribe of friends ready to cheer you on!  

On September 3rd, the Team Challenge was posted... please take a minute to check it out and consider participating. I hope that you all use this community as a way to strengthen your journey and celebrate your victories so that we can celebrate with you!

Wishing you all a weekend where you focus on blessings and dwell on the goodness that this life offers!

Kelly

September 2, 2016

Hello Friends, 

I am excited and happy for each of you that you are on this journey toward health. Something crazy happened this morning.... I went to Boot Camp at the gym, gave it 110% the entire time and didn't die. Seriously though, when I started going to this class 3 weeks ago it was sooooo painful and I was aching for days. I had never done anything like this before and it was totally outside of my comfort zone. While my kids keep me busy and I would say we have a active life, working out is not something I have ever really enjoyed or felt good doing. But a friend encouraged me to go and I found that sweating in a community is much more fun than sweating alone. Today was the first day I felt like I had really made it past the pain and now my body is wanting to exercise. A year ago I couldn't have done this... or if I had I would have probably injured myself. I can hardly believe that this much change has happened in my body and mind since starting the program in January. 

Friends, I want to encourage you to be strong and believe in yourself. You each have your own "why" - your own reason why you signed up for this program. Your own goal and your own desire to find health. As this weekend approaches be sure to take time and plan how you are going to care for you. Take a few minutes to pull out the food you plan to eat each day so that you are ready to make the best choice for you when temptations arise. If you are planning to go or have a Labor Day party planned be prepared. Weekends are hard for me... being out of my routine requires extra effort and planning. Do you ever regret making wise choices and staying focused on success??? So far I haven't. 

WE CAN DO THIS!

Have a fantastic weekend!!!

Kelly