About a week ago I let ya’ll in on some pretty confidential, CIA, if I told ya I’d have to kill ya, kind of information. For those who didn’t read the last post I bet you’re anxious to know what I revealed!

I told you how much I weigh(ed). Yes, a woman’s best kept secret, thanks to spanx, control top pantyhose, and other devices, is her weight.

But I thought to myself, why am I ashamed of my “number”? So I decided I wouldn’t be. But I also decided that getting my feel good groove back was more important to me than my “number”.

I’ll give you an update on my progress but first I want to show you how I’m measuring that progress.

I’VE LOST MY MARBLES!

I saw this idea on Pinterest and I thought it was perfect for measuring Big Daddy’s and my weightloss progress. For me, anything out of sight is most definitely out of mind. So, I needed a way to keep my goals front and center.

I headed over to the DollarTree and picked out some blue marbles to represent each pound I wanted to loose and I got some green marbles to indicate Big Daddy’s goal of loosing 100 lbs.

I counted out 25 blues and 100 greens and dumped them into a jar. That’s the “junk in our trunk jar”. Once a week we weigh in and take a marble out of our “junk in the trunk jar” and place them into the “I’ve lost my marbles” jar.

After 2 weeks, Big Daddy has lost 7 of his marbles and I’ve lost 4 of mine! In fact, Big Daddy informed me today that he was using a hole on his belt that had never been used before! And unofficially, I’ve lost more like 6 marbles but we only weigh in on Sunday morning, so I’m not able to confirm or deny such poundage.

If you decided to get your feel good back then I encourage you to try this because it’s kind of fun to watch your marbles get lost!

STUFF I’VE LEARNED ON THE JOURNEY

I can still eat at Cracker Barrel.

This is a must for me. It’s my food paradise when it comes to breakfast. Last weekend I rounded up a satisfying brunch that was 615 calories!

If you don’t know about Cracker Barrel then you must email me immediately so I can give you directions to your local Barrel. If you do know about Cracker Barrel then you know that loosing weight is NOT the name of the game they play.

For example, a typical meal for me would be pancakes, bacon, and hash brown casserole. Here’s the b-fast break down.

1. Pancakes x 3 (that’s their serving size) is 330 calories.

2. Maple syrup 1-2 small bottles is 190-380.

3. Bacon x 3 is 129 calories.

4. Hash Brown Casserole, which is the bomb-diggity, comes in at 155 calories.

5. Large fat free milk cost me 260 calories.

And what does that equal?

1,254 calories!

If you remember my daily caloric goal is 1200 calories. Um, that’s like for the whole day. Yeah. Not awesome.

But CB and I go way back so I couldn’t just give up so easily. Of course the waitress asked us if we were ready like a million times and we explained we were crunching some numbers. I’m pretty sure she thought we were crazy. Oh well.

After a few changes this is what I came up with.

We’re tracking our meals with myfitnesspal.com

With some careful caloric consideration and a calculator I smacked my original breakfast in half. At least in terms of calories.

I love Egg Beaters so I very much enjoyed the protein without the fat. Honestly, I was getting pretty risky with those fancy turkey sausage patties but they were mighty tasty and not greasy. Of course, I refused to let go of my affair with CB pancakes but I discovered one pancake was more than enough. Actually, I drank 2 glasses of water before the meal arrived, then ate my eggs and sausage so I could get my protein and fat (some fat is good) in before I went all scrump-dee-licous with my pancake. The result? I couldn’t finish the pancake. I was full. One last thought, their sugar free syrup is awesome. I can’t believe I never asked for it before!

When we left the table the waitress saw that both Big Daddy and I hadn’t finished our pancake and she said, “you both really are on a diet”.

But walking away from the table I realized that I splurged. I was satisfied. In fact, I’d say that’s the opposite of a diet.

Question: Where are you at this week? Are you getting your feel good back? 

Update: Check out our progress, Losing My Marbles { Part Deux }

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8 Responses

  1. Lori

    What a great post — I’m not even trying to lose weight and I was inspired! I love the marble idea. I’m married to Big Daddy (you thought you were, didn’t you), and this might be a great idea once he gets his mind right. THanks. Visiting from Be Not Weary today and glad I did 🙂

    Reply
    • ccleahy

      Thanks Lori!! Maybe your Big Daddy and mine are related?!?
      I headed over to your blog and it’s wonderful!!! I love your writing!! I’m your newest subscriber!

      Reply
  2. Sherri Noel

    Love your post… thanks for sharing, its inspirational, and fun! love the marble idea! And who couldnt use a little more FEEL GOOD?

    Reply
  3. Printabelle

    I like the marble idea and it looks pretty, too! I’ve never been to Cracker Barrel if you can believe that!

    Reply
  4. Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

    Great idea! Love Cracker Barrel, but we only go like twice a year. Thank you for sharing this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see your prettiness again on Monday. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

    Reply
  5. TheScentedCottageStudio

    What a great idea, visuals make the difference! Cracker Barrel, sigh. What’s not to love about good food AND shopping in the same place? I plan my road trips around the CB.

    Reply

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