Ghosts of blogging past, present and future

First of all, hi! And a big welcome to all my new followers and readers! I hope you’ll take some time to go back and read some older entries. Through the Facebook page, I’ll post some throwback posts with some of my greatest (or worst) hits. I hope you’ll stay a while.

I spent some time during the weekend rereading old blog entries. And the fear started creeping into my heart. Then the doubt. Then the negativity. First of all, I remembered all the feelings that came with the posts I read—both the successes and the not-so successes. But then I started to worry.

Do I have anything else to say? Am I going to repeat myself? Again with the dang broken record.

Honestly, I probably will repeat myself. Where I am now is somewhere I’ve already been. At least physically. Mentally and emotionally, things are different—and hopefully I can express that. Still, there will probably be many times where things will sound familiar to me and you. I have to just trust that it’s all part of the journey.

Speaking of journeys, let’s start with where I am now along this sometimes-crooked, sometimes-hidden path of mine.

Weight

So. It’s tough to admit, but here goes. I’m up about 50 pounds from my very lowest weight. There. Now you know. However, I’m looking at it as I have managed to keep off more than 80 pounds, and that’s pretty OK, right?

Food addiction

My constant battle. I don’t think it will ever really go away. Still, I do less full-on bingeing than I used to, I’d say. Part of the reason is that I’m now living in sin with my fiancé and it’s easier to just eat crappy foods as part of the normal routine. This is NOT good. His schedule is completely opposite of mine right now. He’s working a lot of nights and sleeping during the day, so I’m feeling a little lonely and sorry for myself in the evenings. That can lead to emotional eating. He knows this, though, and is more than supportive. Two examples. Last week, I woke up with an upset stomach and stayed home from work. He brought me some ginger ale and crackers. Two days later, he told me he threw out the crackers, because he knew I couldn’t have them in the house. I was sad and happy. Sad, because I really wanted to EAT ALL THE CRACKERS. And happy that he knew to throw them out. Oh, and he also threw them into the outside garbage can. He really knows me.

Example No. 2. I really had a weird reaction to getting engaged, as I mentioned. I went through a strange little sad period. During said sad times, he came home and noticed some things I bought at the store. “What’s going on? Cheez-Its? Ice cream? Why are all your trigger foods in the house?” Yes, he called them trigger foods. Yes, he knew those particular foods are among my very biggest offenders. After I cursed myself for telling him too much, I was grateful that he knew me well enough to gently ask about how I was feeling—just based on those foods.

Exercise

I recently joined my local YMCA. I love it, and love some of the challenging classes I’ve been taking. It’s motivated me in some new ways. I also gained a German Shepherd through my relationship and I enjoy taking her for walks. Though we both could use more of these walks. She’s a lot, as I like to say (so am I, some others might say).

Wedding

We have set a tentative date for Oct. 23. I’ve got nothing so far, except my shoes. Yep, no dress, no venue. But I’ve got fabulous shoes! He and I are paying for this ourselves, so it’s a little scary, budget wise. Venues are ridiculously overpriced. I just want a barn in the middle of a field with a bunch of twinkly lights (seriously, if you asked me my biggest priority for my wedding? Lighting. True story.), but unfortunately that rustic theme is super trendy right now. And trendy = holy crap, we can’t afford that! So, we’re looking at some alternatives and may end up in a high school gym. Just kidding. Sort of.

Now the important thing.

Where do I want to be?

Right now, my wedding is kind of my focus when it comes to my weight. I don’t mean hitting a certain number. I mean feeling healthy. I mean feeling beautiful. And mostly, I mean, not ONE SINGLE TIME muttering the phrase, “I’m such a fat cow,” on my wedding day. Will I be at my goal weight by then? Probably not. But I want to feel like I’m in control. And that is something I know I can do. Because I’ve done it. Well, not gotten married, of course, but I have been in control.

Also, it’s one of the reasons I was so compelled to restart regular blogging. I’m terrified of losing my mind, freaking out and EATING ALL THE CRACKERS (or whatever) because of my wedding. I can’t let that happen. And I know I’m never more in control than when I’m really talking about things with friends, family and my reader-friends.

As for this blog, I’m planning to make some tweaks here and there as far as layout and things. I also bought a domain, and as soon as I become an expert web designer, I’ll move us over there. I hope you’ll be patient with me.

So there we are. Here I am. I’d love some updates from you guys. What are your goals? Your fears? Your motivations? Fill me in.

Thank you so much for supporting me. Even if I am going to repeat myself.

Even if I’m going to repeat myself.

Erika is losing it—Take...73?

It happened twice. In two days. And now I can’t ignore that it’s probably a sign.

Last week, the week during which we share thanks with our family and friends, I had two instances that reminded me why I need to get back to blogging. 

First, my Weight Watchers leader told me that at another one of her meetings, members were sharing about who or what has inspired them during their weight loss journeys. One of her members sweetly mentioned my blog and said it had inspired her to begin steps toward better health.

The very next day, I went to a Zumba class. A friend was talking to another girl and introduced me. As we said hello, she said “I feel like I know you. Have we met before?” When I said I wasn’t sure, she said, “I feel like I know you like this”—and waved her hand indicating she recognized me dressed in workout clothes. I asked her if she might know me from my blog. “Yes! That’s it. I loved your blog!” she said.

Twice. In two days. And I haven’t written an entry since July. Hmm. Methinks that’s more than a simple coincidence.

Why did I stop blogging? 

Well, truth be told, I got tired of feeling like a broken record of a roller coaster. Up and down and ‘round and ‘round. Not only did *I* get tired of feeling this way, I figured you guys must be tired of reading about me feeling this way. That’s a lot of feelings. And you know what I do with my feelings? Yep, I eat them.

So here’s the thing. I feel like those two not-so-coincidences were just an affirmation of what was already in my heart. No matter how broken this record of a girl feels, I need to be talking about it.

I need to trust that my readers have often felt the same way I do and will support me, no matter what. For those who don’t, I can understand if you don’t want to continue on this journey with me. But the truth is that I could really use all of your hands to pull me out of the mud along the way.

I don’t want to make any promises of how many times a week I plan to blog, but I will tell you that I’m making a commitment to at least try to find my way back. Back to my Photo Phridays and weekly favorites. To my triumphs and fails. To my recipe trials and errors. And maybe even some wedding planning news along the way, if you don’t mind (because holy crap does THAT scare the bejeezus out of me). 

So now it’s your turn. Are you guys in?