A month of firsts
When I tell people prior to November 10, 2018 I had never been to a college football game, I’m met with a lot of disbelief and good-natured ridicule. Even my own son says he has a memory of he and I attending a TCU vs Utah game many years ago…not true.
Two weeks later, another first in my life: my first ever Holy War football game, BYU vs Utah.
Fun-start the holidays
I have been steadily preparing for the holiday season with different outfits and have decided to go with both the suit and sweater to be in an extra festive mood. Check out the gallery above for a look at the over-the-top ensembles.
Friends with Swag
A good friend of mine, Dr. Kat, has been talking to me about the benefits of Emsculpt, which uses High Intensity Focused Electromagnetic (HIFEM) Energy in a handheld device about the size of an iron. This is the first time body contouring has been done using energy, specifically electromagnetic energy.
Emsculpt targets skeletal muscle, causing the muscles to have a large muscle contraction called a supramaximal contraction. I say PROVE IT so I will be checking this process out and let you know how it goes.
I have been consistently hitting Vasa and utilizing the Total Health and Fitness plan customized for my body, however, props go to Doctors Cottom & Richards and all of the BMI Utah staff who helped me jump-start my weight loss journey. Thank you to all of you. My wife Jen is also on her own weight loss journey.
Yes I am and loving it too!
Thanksgiving
This is by far my favorite time of the year, the holiday season! Once Halloween is over it is game time. Time for family, friends, shopping, and yummy foods.
It has been a year and one month since my surgery, and I have been able to reflect back on how I have done. I have had successes and failures along the way, but the one constant has been my energy level.
Thanksgiving is a time of the year when we are supposed to be able to look back at all we have to be grateful for. I have so many things to show gratitude for: my family, my friends, my job, and my new lease on life.
Our family was here for the holiday, and we were able to celebrate with my husband’s side of the family as well. When we all come together there are about 50 of us eating yummy food and playing games. We started a tradition last year of playing Bingo as a family. Everyone really enjoys it, and the kids get to win small gifts.
This year we had a cookie exchange. My son and I each made a different kind of cookie to take to the family to share. We ended the night with taking photos together as a family.
I love being with my children all the time, but there is something about the holidays that make time together even more special.
Two Weeks
Today marks two weeks until my daughter Jaelyn comes home from Sydney, Australia where she has been for the last year and a half serving an LDS mission. We are beyond excited to have her return. She is an amazing person and has been a wonderful missionary.
Over the time that she has been gone we have only been able to Skype with her twice, last Christmas and Mother’s Day. I have written over 60 emails and received even more. This has been a precious experience for our whole family, but we are ready to have our daughter back.
When she left, I was around 260 pounds, so I look a little different than she probably remembers, and I am excited for her to see my progress. We have a lot planned for her return. A few days after she gets home, we will be headed to Disneyland with the whole family for vacation. Disneyland has always been Jaelyn’s favorite place to go and we wanted to make it happen.
After returning from our vacation it will be time to help here adjust to life after her mission, where for the past 18 months she has been wearing nothing but dresses and skirts. It will be a lot of fun to take her shopping. I am so excited, I am literally counting down the days until I am at the airport waiting for her to show her beautiful face.
Being able to hug and kiss her for the first time in so long is going to bring many tears to me and my whole family.
Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!
This is my favorite month of the entire year! I love to decorate my house a little too much. My kids have to sometimes tell me to stop buying Christmas decorations.
When I went to the Pinterest Expo this year, I found this booth that does wood decorations. They have all the wood and supplies that you can buy for DIY crafts. I have gone a little overboard with my purchases from The Wood Connection store, but it has been a lot of fun for me and to be honest a bit therapeutic with all the painting I have been doing.
My daughter-in-law usually comes over on Sundays to make our crafts, and it is great. I have been able to add many new items to my Christmas deco this year. I love it!
Now, I just need to convince my husband to put lights on the house. With Jaelyn coming home for Christmas I want everything to be perfect.
Before ending my blog for the month, I like to put a challenge out in the air for me to work toward for this next month. My goal is to be more consistent with my working out throughout the week, especially when I am tired. I need to push myself to complete my exercise for the day.
Another goal that I have is to reach out to the BMI institute and utilize the nutritionist that they have for free consultations. Thank you all for your kindness and support during my journey to live a happier and healthier life. Happy Holidays to you all!
Thanks to everyone for the ongoing support! Click here to follow our Losing for Life journey.
