Lighter and lighter...

The pounds are melting away! I'm really happy with the "Fat Smash" plan. I'm down nearly 12 pounds. I had a wonderful cheat day Friday. I think that helps motivate me. My grandmother fried catfish, hushpuppies, french fries. We had vinegar slaw and yummy deserts. I ate until I was stuffed. Saturday morning, it was back to "healthy eating." This is actually addictive. A no brainer diet.

Winkler Sentencing...

What did you think about the judge's sentencing order for Mary Winkler? I'm sure many of you have mixed feelings.

Sentencing was so much more emotional than the trial. If the prosecution had handled the case earlier like they did sentencing, the outcome may have been far different. Matthew's brother, Daniel took the stand and spoke for the first time. I thought he did such a good job talking about his brother's character, good name and the way he cared for his family. He made several bold comments to Mary as he spoke. Her facial expression never changed. Aren't we used to seeing that? Nothing new.

Perhaps, Diane Winkler made the biggest impact, though her testimony didn't do much to sway the judge's decision. I cried the entire time she was on the stand. Her words came from the heart of a woman torn between anger, saddness, confusion, etc. I can't imagine what life has been like for this mother the past year. Her life turned upside down by one person's decision that has changed so many lives.

I do not believe Mary's punishment fit the crime. Regardless of what "she" says happened, Matthew never got a chance to tell his side of the story. We only heard from Mary. She had no right to take the law into her own hands. She had no right to shoot her husband in the back while he lay sleeping. She had no right to take away her children's father. She should have been found guilty of murder and sentenced to the maximum. I don't believe she should have spent the rest of her life behind bars but I do believe she deserved at least 20 years to think about what she did.

Now her attorney's are wanting a new trial. Why? Who knows! She is lucky the punishment wasn't much worse. Take what you can get and be happy with it. Isn't she basically walking away a free woman? She got away with murder didn't she? Why drag this family through anything else because selfish motives have gotten in the way.

I feel so sorry for Mary's children. The only normal life they've had the last year is about to be taken away from them. Mary wants those girls back and most likely the judge will see to it they are returned to her. Dan and Diane will probably never see them again. Can you imagine what kind of life these little girls face? Pray the courts make the right decision.

"All you can eat" doesn't really mean what you think

I've done really well sticking to my 'healthy eating plan.' In fact, I've really enjoyed the food choices, though in phase 1 it is slightly limited. I was supposed to start phase 2 Friday. However, after eating what I did Saturday, I went back to phase 1 again today. I'll start phase 2 later this week.

Saturday was my brother's birthday. My sister-in-law ordered 3 pounds of smoked chicken with white sauce, pork, slaw, baked beans from "Pig Stand BBQ" in Hartselle. Oh my! How yummy! We also had potato chips, cake and homemade ice cream. I already planned to blow my diet and eat just what I wanted. That way, my metabolism would get a needed boost. Boy did I eat! Chicken. Pork. Slaw. Chips. 3 glasses of tea. Bite of cake. 2 cups of ice cream. About an hour later, I was in the bathroom sick! When I weighed this morning, I gained 1/2 pound. Was it worth it? You better believe it! :)

I got up this morning, fixed a cup of oatmeal with peaches. For lunch, I fixed chicken and rice. I measured out a 1/2 cup and ate that with 1/2 of a tomato. I also had a blueberry smoothie. It was really good.

For a few days, I will stick to phase 1 just so I can drop a few extra pounds. I can really tell a difference in my weight. So can everyone else! I'm really proud of myself for sticking to it for 12 days. One day off the wagon didn't hurt much and I jumped right back on today. Remember, we are all just human and we deserve a break now and then.

8 pounds lighter and loving it!

The "Fat Smash Diet" really does work. I weighed this morning and really saw results! I'm happy with the progress. I will continue this phase for 2 more days, only because I didn't feel well 2 days this week and I skipped lunch. SHAME ON ME! You are not supposed to do that. I feel better now. My blood pressure is normal again and my appetite is better. I think the stress of my transistion may have caused me to feel bad.

I will blog more about my results later today. I've got to head out to Madison.

Day 5, 6, 7

Ok. I'm behind on blogging my "progress." My home computer is down. I haven't had time with transitioning to Huntsville to pull up my blog.

I'm on my 7th day. Sunday, I started feeling really bad. No wonder. I checked my blood pressure. It was 93/56. No matter what I did, I couldn't get it back up. My mother suggested I eat salt (which I had cut from my diet). After a teaspoon full, I started feeling better. I can tell its down again because I feel weak and strung out. I know now why I've lost so much fluid. Salt makes you retain water so without it, you lose weight. Speaking of which, I'm down 4 1/2 pounds.

My diet is still basically the same, though I will admit I'm looking forward to phase 2. I hope to start it Friday.

Hope all is well. Will blog more about this later.