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Kasey Makes Brave Changes

making weight loss a reality while living the mom life

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Selfie with purple and beige dress
  • Welcome!
  • About Me
  • All Posts
    • Inspiration
      • The 1 Reason to Love Yourself Now
      • 7 More Things No One Tells You About Weight Loss
      • 6 Things No One Tells You About Weight Loss
      • 6 Easy Way to Manage Cravings While Losing Weight
      • How I Am Making Brave Changes, and How You Can Too!
      • How to Shake Off Impostor Syndrome
      • Don’t Let the Small Things Ruin Your Big Goals
      • Breaking Out of Comfort Zones: How little steps turn into big leaps forward
      • How to Get Rid of Food Guilt Once and For All
      • Finding Your Missing Landmark Will Change Your Weight Loss Game
      • What To Do When You Feel Fat
      • Doing the Dishes is a Weight Loss Game-Changer
      • 5 Apps that Simplify a Weight Loss Journey
      • Making Lifestyle Changes: Taking the Fork Less Traveled Will Change Your Life
      • 5 Failures that Sabotage Weight Loss
      • Perspective: Our View Down the Path to Changing Our Lives
    • Organization and Planning
      • How to Set Your Most Effective SMART Goals
  • Disclosure
  • Kasey Makes Brave Changes Free Resource Library

Perspective: Our View Down the Path to Changing Our Lives

April 29, 2018 //  by Kasey Clarke//  Leave a Comment

Perspective. This is life. Everything we see comes at us through a filter. I am reminded of that every day that I look in the mirror, take a selfie, see someone that I deem more beautiful than myself, and on and on and on. Every person’s experience is influenced by past lessons, observations, and experiences. To make changes in our lifestyles, we have to learn to shift our perspective from the negative to the positive.

The Experience of Someone Else’s Negative Perspective

Perspective is often felt as a one-way street because somewhere along the way, humans began comparing their attributes to other humans in a negative way. I am a home health nurse and I was talking to a 40-year-old patient of mine a couple of months ago. We were talking about how we view each other. It started as a discussion of his rapid weight loss after starting a medication to help him get rid of a bunch of extra fluid he was carrying around. He lost 20 pounds in 2 weeks. I commented that he looked great. I didn’t verbalize this part, but he looked a lot healthier when not swollen to the point that he was uncomfortable bending over. He disagreed. He said he hadn’t been this weight since he was a teenager and it made him feel uncomfortable. He felt like a walking skeleton. He also pointed out his bald spot I didn’t notice. Instead of brushing him off with a “you look great” and moving on to the next topic, we talked about how much our perspectives of his physical appearance differed. He told me later that discussing it gave him more to think about beyond what he saw in the mirror. I have thought about that conversation a lot. This perspective of another person’s insecurities caused me to question my perceptions of myself.

Thinking About How We Perceive Ourselves

The question of how we view ourselves is one that we have to ask as we start the process to change our lives. Physical appearance will be the most visible sign to the world that our weight loss journey is successful. What the world won’t see is how we perceive the weight loss and the other changes it brings with it. I have lost over 30 pounds. I’m wearing a smaller pant size. Shirts that were borderline tight now flow like they were intended. The one thing I notice most is how much easier it is to bend over and pick something up off the ground. Another is how much more energy I already feel. These last two things are the two that make me feel the most invincible. The things we can now do that we couldn’t before influence how we perceive our lives. It helps remind us that while others will see us differently, our perception is the one that gets us out of bed in the morning. It is the one that keeps our hand reaching past the peanut butter cups for the apple. We need to harness this power and use it to drive ourselves forward.

The Way to Change Self Perspective

I make a list once a week of new things I’ve noticed. This is something I have started since I began my journey towards a smaller, healthier version of myself. I always try to list five things on Saturday, which is also my weigh-in day. It helps counteract any gains and reinforces the losses shown by the scale. I use it to take the emphasis off the scale by reinforcing the non-scale victories I keep achieving the further down the path I go.

Start the Perspective Shift

My challenge for you is to keep your own list. Don’t give up until you have five. If you can’t identify five new ones, list the ones you are still proud of no matter when you first notice them. One I always list is that I no longer need a seat belt extender on an airplane. Another is that I can put my palms flat on the floor when I bend over. 30 pounds ago I could do neither. Take this opportunity to celebrate yourself. You deserve it!

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Finding Your Missing Landmark Will Change Your Weight Loss Game

April 22, 2018 //  by Kasey Clarke//  Leave a Comment

I have tried to lose weight more than once. I would keep up the momentum for maybe ten days. It wasn’t until my son was born that I realized that I was unable to keep my journey going because I was missing a crucial landmark on my path. My son (nicknamed Squiggy) was that missing landmark. I know how cliché that sounds, but his future and my role in it has been my catalyst for change.

My Landmark

I was 310 pounds when I got pregnant and was still 288 pounds at delivery. I felt great about my weight loss right after he was born. The weight stayed off while I was nursing, but the minute I stopped nursing, that weight came roaring back. It seemed like I gained back that 22 pounds overnight. I felt even more uncomfortable than I did before my pregnancy, and I was so disappointed in myself. I also worried about keeping up with Squiggy as he grew. I could imagine not having the ability to keep up with him at the playground as a toddler. I worried about having the stamina to play catch or soccer or just get up off the floor without struggling after Monopoly when he was in grade school. I could see myself missing essential parts of his high school years because I had carried so much weight for so long I had to have my knees replaced. I was anxious about not seeing him get married or meeting his kids because I was dead thanks to a preventable issue that my weight caused. Some of these anxieties were blown out of proportion by my postpartum anxiety, but with the scale tipping over the 300 lb mark, none of them were that unreasonable. I guess to be fair; I have to say that my motivation was a fear of missing out. That’s because my son has brought so much light and laughter in my life, I don’t want to miss a second of his.

Finding Your Landmark

So far, I am down 34 lbs. It hasn’t been easy, but whenever I think of quitting, I see his little smile, and I keep pushing forward. I started writing this blog to help others keep moving forward too. I cannot provide that catalyst for you, but I can help give you the tools to make the changes you need to make to sustain your motivation through the dark moments when quitting would be so much easier. Please don’t ever quit. This journey isn’t just about weight loss. Weight loss is only a drop in the bucket. This journey is about healthy changes, so we have more time to enjoy the things and people we love the most. Find your favorite picture of whatever it is that keeps you going and keep in close. Memorize it. This physical memento is your landmark as well as your light in the dark.

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What To Do When You Feel Fat

April 15, 2018 //  by Kasey Clarke//  Leave a Comment

Not every day is a fantastic day. No matter how much coffee you drink or how many meaningful quotes you read, there will be those days that you just feel droopy or frumpy or fat. You can eat within your plan, exercise your butt off, and ignore the doughnuts in the staff room all you want, but our minds seem pre-programmed to tell us not nice things about ourselves. We spend so much time thinking negative thoughts when we aren’t paying full attention to that mean girl in our heads. Here’s how to shut her up and get on with our fabulous lives.

Tell Her to Shut Up

The most direct way is to stand your ground and confront that mean girl voice. Poke her in the chest. Tell her to back off. Defend yourself. You are strong and amazing and so many more things than those negative words she is spewing. Confronting her will help silence her voice because standing up for yourself makes you even stronger than you were before.

Meditate, Deep Breathe, and Think Positive Thoughts

Sometimes some quiet time will starve that mean girl voice out. I don’t practice formal meditation, but I do spend time counting breaths and intentionally thinking positive thoughts. Both activities help me focus my thoughts and block out the negative. Deep breathing can also slow heart rate. A lot of times the mean girl comes out to taunt us when we are stressed or otherwise distracted. Banishing stress can banish that nasty voice as well.

Spend Time Doing Something That Makes You Feel Great

Giving yourself over to a positive activity can make you feel so much better about yourself. Everyone has a different idea of an enjoyable or empowering way to spend time, but the activity itself is inconsequential. Pick something that has helped perk you up in the past. Some people run. Others shop. Some go to the movies or the zoo. A lot of people volunteer. Others read or write. Picking one will help lift you out of a funk and can also give you a unique perspective on how great you are. That mean girl will then fade into the background.

Find Positive People to Spend Time With

Just like immersing yourself in positive thoughts or activities will silence negative thoughts, surrounding yourself with positive people will lift your spirits. Pick a friend, a loved one, or even a co-worker that makes you feel like the beautiful person you are. You will feel better, and since like attracts like, your positivity and greatness will probably rub off on your companion. It’s a win-win for everyone except your internal mean girl.  

Vision Boards

Sometimes thoughts are not enough. Sometimes we need something visual. There has been a lot of talk about vision boards lately, and I think that is for a good reason. Your brain can imagine positive things all day long, but a picture really is worth 1000 words. Clipping pictures from magazines or printing them off the internet will give your brain something to really focus on. It tricks your brain into thinking that thing you are seeing is already in existence, so you strive to find it for yourself. Putting pictures of things you consider positive where it is easily visible will encourage your brain to look for the positive and to leave the negative in the past.

These tips and tricks and ideas will help you silence your inner mean girl when she rears her ugly head. We can’t always control when and where she pops up in life but having the ability to push her back into the corner adds a lot of positivity and light to a long and sometimes tedious path. Don’t feel sorry for pushing. You are worth it every day of your life.

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Category: All PostsTag: fat, Feel fat, feeling fat

5 Apps that Simplify a Weight Loss Journey

April 8, 2018 //  by Kasey Clarke//  Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: The observations and opinions in this post are all my own. I have not received any compensation from any of the apps in the post. The apps highlighted also have not contributed in any way to this article, and my thoughts are not the opinions or thoughts of any of the below-mentioned companies that own the apps.

The first few times I embarked on a weight loss journey, I did it all on paper. Calorie counts, Weight Watchers Smart Points, exercise, and foods eaten all went on paper. It would go great for about two or three days. Once, I think I made it a week. Then, inevitably, I would lose the notebook or forget it somewhere. Once the notebook was out of site, I lost all motivation to continue. It was like the notebook was my map. Without the map, the adventure was kaput.

My adventure resumed with my discovery of apps. I was in the group of late bloomers as far as owning a smartphone goes, but once I got started, I quickly bonded with the ease of all things smartphone. It was amazing how many options I now had at my fingertips. I have tried so many apps since then that I couldn’t count them all, but here are the five that have made an enormous difference in how I track weight, food, calories, activity, and sleep. They have helped facilitate my ability to keep my adventure fueled by helping me not to lose the map.

My Fitness Pal

The My Fitness Pal app (and www.myfitnesspal.com) is my go-to app for calorie counting, weight recording, recipes, and meal ideas and thought-provoking blog posts. It links to my Fitbit, which also allows it to count my steps and exercise. It also keeps track of nutrients (i.e., sugar, fat, protein, fiber) for the meals I eat. Nutrient goals and calories per meal can be set at custom levels to meet any dietary need. Of all the apps I use, it is probably my favorite. It bases my calorie count on height, weight, weight loss goal, and steps per day. I use the free version, but there is a subscription service as well that goes more in-depth with nutrients and exercise goals.

One of my favorite features is the ability to complete your diary for the day. Once that is done, it will tell you how much weight you can reasonably expect to lose over the next five weeks if you eat the same as you did that day. This feature helps keep me on the path by helping me visualize the future rewards for doing so.

Weight Watchers

The Weight Watchers app is part of the Weight Watchers program. I’m guessing most people have heard of Weight Watchers, but for those who haven’t, this is a paid program that counts smart points instead of calories. Smart points aren’t just calculated based on calories, but also take into account fat, saturated fat, carbs, sugars, fiber, and protein. There are daily points, weekly points, and fit points. Weight Watchers Freestyle is the newest version. 200 items are now free items that don’t count against your point count. These are mostly veggies, lean fish, skin free boneless chicken breasts, eggs, and nonfat plain Greek yogurt.

This is my longest run ever with Weight Watchers. The app makes it almost effortless.  There are no more searching through books for point values, and nothing is taboo. It also has a barcode scanner incorporated to allow automatic addition of points as well as a calculator to calculate points and a recipe builder to calculate the points in any recipe. My FitBit also links to the app to upload and track my steps and activity to calculate fit points. The simplicity attracted me back and has helped me map my journey more effectively.

Step Bet

StepBet is an app I never thought I would use effectively. It is an accountability app that uses financial investment to encourage steps. It does require a buy-in and a linkable step counter, such as a Fitbit, Garmin, or other Bluetooth pedometer device. Groups are formed, money is thrown in a pot, and two levels of steps are set for every participant. All groups are different, but the group I keep joining has the requirement of meeting four active goals and two stretch goals every week for five weeks. The people who don’t meet the requirements lose their money and those that do split the pot.

I didn’t think I would use this app effectively because I didn’t realize the money would be enough motivation until I saw the amount of the buy-in. This group has a 40 dollar buy-in. Let’s just say I have been known to walk the last few hundred steps for the day around my living room to not lose $40 bucks. My first round I made about $10. I count that as a good return on my investment, and a significant investment in my health.

Flo

Flo isn’t a fitness or a weight loss app. It is the oddball app in the list, but it does play a significant role. Flo is a free menstrual cycle tracker app. I use it to track my cycle and all of its accompanying symptoms. Mood, physical symptoms, and actual period dates are tracked by the app. So is weight, calorie counts, sleep, and water consumption if you link Flo to another app like the Fitbit app. I have included it in this list because knowing where I am at in my cycle helps me predict when the scale is most likely to fluctuate and is also good at letting me know when the cravings I usually experience a week before my period starts will likely occur. Knowing these things help me adjust my meals and my mindset to accommodate any changes that occur.

Fitbit

I have talked about FitBit in all my previous app recommendations. I thought about listing the accompanying app first, but I chose to list it last because it plays a vital but mostly background roll in the adventure. It’s the burrow in this app list. It does all the heavy lifting. I’ve worn a Fitbit since 2013, and since then, it has transmitted steps, activity, and sleep patterns to my Fitbit app. More recently, this information is then sent to my other apps to help me track progress. The app itself is free, but it does require a Fitbit device of any kind.

Losing weight is never an easy task. There are so many factors and moving parts that just getting that number on the scale to budge can be a juggling act. I have had a lot more success this time around, and a lot of that is thanks to the apps I use to help me track and understand my progress. It is an adventure I have abandoned many times, but this time the apps above have kept me going. I am sharing it to ease your journey as well. Feel free to comment on your favorite apps in the comments to help this list grow.

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Category: All PostsTag: Weight loss apps

Doing the Dishes is a Weight Loss Game-Changer

March 25, 2018 //  by Kasey Clarke//  Leave a Comment

Sounds silly, doesn’t it? How can doing the dishes, specifically doing dishes right after the meal is over, or even as you make it, have anything to do with weight loss? You might be surprised. I was. I used to be the queen of putting it off. Changing when I did the dishes was a multifaceted step in the right direction that is now one of my most important tricks to staying on track.

Move Yo’self

The number one reason that doing the dishes after a meal is that it keeps your body moving. This aids in digestion and adds some steps to your day. Talk about a double bonus. Sometimes doing the dishes just entails loading the dishwasher, but that’s better than plopping my butt on the couch right after I eat. Join me in keeping our butts off the couch.

Clean Dishes = No Excuses

I don’t know about you, but if I had a quarter for every unhealthy food choice I have made just because I didn’t want to do dishes before I could cook myself something reasonable, I would be a wealthy woman. My family and my waistline both suffer when I don’t clean up the last meal long before the next one is due. I do work as a full-time home health nurse too, so not only does having to wash dishes and then cook after a busy day just make me tired to think about, but it also results in my family getting their meal later too.

Free Your Mind from Menial Tasks

The third plus of doing the dishes after dinner is that you get that one menial thing off your mind. If you are like me, you have way too much cluttering up the space between your ears already. Getting this task done takes one of those things off your mind. For me, that means I have a little more time to do something important, like reading another book to my little boy or getting my charting done sooner so I can get paid.

A Complimentary Lifestyle Change

I am not the neatest person in the world. For the longest time, I put off every household task I could for as long as I could. The change in that behavior came when I got serious about losing weight and realized it was so much harder to talk myself out of cooking a healthy meal if I didn’t have to waste time washing the dishes. I made this change, and I haven’t looked back. This change isn’t solely responsible for my weight loss to date, but it has played an important role in it.

Do you have something that has been a game changer in your journey? I would love to hear about it in the comments if you do. Great minds not only think alike, but they also learn a lot from each other.

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