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MichelleT's Blog

I didn't say no to the Cheese-its

I said no to the feeling I know I will have after I eat the Cheese-its - the self-loathing, the disappointment, the anger, the sadness that once again I didn't keep my word to myself.It's not about the Cheese-its. ...

January 6, 2009 | comments (4) | A Day in the LIfestyle

You are going to be so happy you did it

The Before Photo  - IS NOT a reflection of who you are as a personIS NOT a condemnation of you and your abilitiesDOES NOT tell the world you are stupid or lazyDOES NOT have to be permanentThe Before Photo - IS necessary IS a snapshot of your physical being right in this instantIS a yardstick to measure progressIS something you are going to be happy you have when you are explaining your transformation in 18 weeksIS something you are goin...

January 4, 2009 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Only Positive Goal Setting

Worrying is simply negative goal setting.  All you are doing is using the power of your mind to imagine negative things happening.  An optimist simply uses the same power of the mind to imagine positive things happening.Stop What-if-ing yourself in a negative manner.If you have to What-if yourself, use this one:What if it all goes right?   ...

January 3, 2009 | comments (0) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Today I will have No Excuses!

No emotion, no event, no party, no holiday, no family member, no friend,  no co-worker will keep me from my goal of being healthier and happier.  Today I will have no excuses! What about you?  Accept NO EXCUSES from yourself today!  ...

December 30, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

The Indispensable Prerequisites for Success...

The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term is the indispensable prerequisite for success.   Brian Tracy   Not only do you have to "want it", you've got to plan for it, and then act on it to make it so. Success seems to be connected with action.  Successful people keep moving.  They make mistakes, but they don't qui...

December 28, 2008 | comments (1) | A Day in the LIfestyle

A Life Changing Gift

If someone gave you the greatest gift ever, one that made you wake up in the morning beaming from ear to ear, one that made you feel like the luckiest person alive, one that gave you great energy and stamina and health, one that opens up your world to new experiences and new people in your life - would you wait to start using it?Then why wait until January 1st to start eating correctly and exercising?That is exactly what is waiting for you...Begi...

December 26, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Before you go to bed tonight...

OK, Christmas dinner is over. You've been saying for days, weeks, months, years that you want to get in shape, change your life, really live, and that you were going to start taking care of yourself right after Christmas. If you are truly serious about transforming your life and your body in 2009, you will do this right now:Go to your kitchen and throw out every single thing that is not authorized.Don’t tell yourself that you ate your fill ...

December 25, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Transformation as Opportunity

An opportunity to start fresh... to lay out your life the way you want it to be... to become the person you want to be.It's never too late to be who you might have been.   George EliottYou don't have to see the top of the staircase to take the first step.   Martin Luther King Merry Christmas!...

December 24, 2008 | comments (6) | A Day in the LIfestyle

It bears repeating...

Are you sick today? Did you know you can talk yourself into being sick?  No, really.  You can go to work feeling perfectly fine and someone can tell you:  "You don't look so good.  Are you sick?"    Let a couple of people do that and before long you will be having symptoms of sickness and might even have to go home and lay down, when in fact maybe you just needed some better lighting in the bathroom to put ...

December 23, 2008 | comments (8) | A Day in the LIfestyle

When you love yourself enough...

When I loved myself enough, I began learning whatever wasn't healthy.  This meant people, jobs, my own beliefs and habits - anything that kept me small.  My judgement called it disloyal.  Now I see it as self-loving.by Kim McMillen...

December 21, 2008 | comments (6) | A Day in the LIfestyle

If you knew now what you'll know then...

As I’m watching so many of us get ready to start the 2009 Transformation Challenge, it puts me into a very reflective mood and I started wondering:  If I had to start over today what would I want to know?    Not the eating or exercise stuff – Bill has wisely covered that in Body-for-LIFE.    What would I say if you asked me:  What do you know now that you didn’t know then? What do you wish someone h...

December 20, 2008 | comments (7) | A Day in the LIfestyle

LOVE the person in your before photo...

LOVE that person in the photo Because that person was strong enough to hold on Long enough for you to get to a point where you were ready... Ready to CHANGE.What an amazing person in your before photo, huh?    ...

December 16, 2008 | comments (5) | A Day in the LIfestyle

You can get HERE from THERE...

I shared this in October at Tennessee Champions Weekend.  If you only see my before and after photos, you are not realizing my whole story.    The good news is that you don’t have to be this off to change your life.  The great news is that even if you are this far off track food-wise, you can still change your life beyond what you can even imagine right now.  Believe me… I know.  ----...

December 15, 2008 | comments (5) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Are you on the right road?

Success comes when one is comfortable with their actions because they are in alignment with their vision and that vision is one that is insired and led by God.  Anonymous...

December 14, 2008 | comments (2) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Another life saved

From the moment I saw my first Chow Chow back in 1987 I was hooked.  He was cinnamon colored and looked like a big kitty cat or a small bear, depending on how you looked at him.  I was intriqued and knew that one day I would have at least one.   Don't laugh, but I had a name picked out for him years before we finally brought one into our family.  When we got him, it was like he'd always been with me.We've had many ch...

November 30, 2008 | comments (7) | A Day in the LIfestyle

It was a lovely day...

spent with family and friends. We were able to watch the little ones just BEING and having fun.  What better way to spend the day is there?We enjoyed a glorious feast and I just spent a bit of time freezing what I could for next re-feed day (aka:  Free Day).  What wouldn't freeze went into the waste bin.  Not a chance now that it will go to my waist.  ;->I hope you all enjoyed the day... and that you wil...

November 27, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Welcome to Transformation. Allow me to introduce myself... :->

“Michelle Treichel had been fighting a losing battle with her weight for over 30 years when she finally found the inner strength and determination to take control.   By using the teachings of Bill Phillips, she has lost and maintained over a 100-pound fat loss for more than 3-1/2 years and no longer dreads getting up on Monday mornings because she knows she has to start a new diet.”  Seriously, though, I was overweight ...

November 21, 2008 | comments (4) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Power Mindset

Every night before I go to bed I make my list of things that I have to get done the next day.  I then go back and number the items in order of importance - typically the thing I least want to do first. (Thanks, Bill!) I start the day ready to go, no time wasted. I hit the ground running.  And I get a lot done.  I have to, for I am a wife, a mom, a business owner, a friend, among so many other things.  I do ...

November 18, 2008 | comments (5) | A Day in the LIfestyle

This is a good one...

It's not about being in control.  It's about being in POWER.   Bob HarperLove it! ...

November 12, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

My To Do List

I'd suggest keeping #6 - eat ice cream - for Free Day only.Have a wonderful Wednesday!...

November 11, 2008 | comments (4) | A Day in the LIfestyle

I Gave Up...

food for friends extra portions for extraordinary experienceswhining for winningcomplaining for complimentinghopelessness for helpfulnessgrumpiness for gratefulnessburgers for blessingsGodiva for Spirit What will you give up?   ...

October 23, 2008 | comments (9) | A Day in the LIfestyle

The Best Years of Your Life

The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own.  You don’t blame them on your mother, the ecology or the President.  You realize that you control your own destiny.                                       &...

October 15, 2008 | comments (4) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Because it has to be said...

This post is probably going to make some people angry - I'm comfortable with that.I post this because I believe it needs to be said.  You all know me well enough by now that it's the last thing I would do to try and offend you so I know you will take it in the spirit that it is intended.  I want you on this side of the abyss.  I want you to experience the peace and mental clarity that I enjoy.  That is what my purpose in writi...

October 14, 2008 | comments (20) | A Day in the LIfestyle

I think I'll have a t-shirt made...

that says:I do math in multiples of 18Feeling extra saucy today... Let's all share our good mood and smiles today with someone who needs it.  Pass it on - you'll feel even better for having done something outside of yourself.    ...

October 7, 2008 | comments (5) | A Day in the LIfestyle

True Freedom

True freedom comes when you embrace who you are and reach for who you can be. Anonymous   ...

October 4, 2008 | comments (2) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Your Strongest Muscle

I've learned over the years that my strongest muscle isn't my hamstrings or my quads, even though they are pretty strong.  It isn't my chest muscles or my back muscles, even though I can do chin ups.  Wanna guess which muscle it is?It's a little known muscle but if you don't exercise it regularly it will atrophy quicker than any other in your body.It's my "I will not quit" muscle.  It's located a bit to the left...

October 2, 2008 | comments (5) | A Day in the LIfestyle

You didn't fail - it was a Practice Shot

An inventor fails 999 times, and if he succeeds once, he's in.  He treats failures simply as practice shots.  Charles Franklin Kettering We are all the inventors of our own lives. ...

October 1, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Running From or To? It Makes a Huge Difference

 Only a few days left until I get to leave for the Champions Weekend in Tennessee.    The first event I ever went to was the Expo in Denver in 2006.  I had been doing BFL for almost 2 years and had lost the bulk of my excess fat.  I had only been involved with the online community - the Texas BFL Yahoo Group - for about 6 weeks or so.  I was terrified to go alone, but let me tell you - there is NO alone when you are ...

September 29, 2008 | comments (24) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Which will you choose today?

"Tears will get you sympathy. Sweat will get you results."-- AnonymousVictim or Victor?  Which do you choose today?...

September 26, 2008 | comments (6) | A Day in the LIfestyle

235 Pounds

Highest weight I hit on the scaleANDHigh point tonight on deadliftsWoohoo!!!!!...

September 24, 2008 | comments (6) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Time for ACTION!

"Once you've done the mental work, there comes a point (where) you have to throw yourself into the action and put your heart on the line."-- Phil Jackson, Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers...

September 23, 2008 | comments (5) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Can you count that high?

I decided to count my blessings today and learned something new about myself -  I can't count that high!Happy Monday all!  ...

September 22, 2008 | comments (4) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Are these your thoughts?

I was surfing around the web this afternoon going through some sites that I normally find uplifting.  One particular site had a link that I clicked on just for the heck of it.  It led me to a blog that I could have pretty much written myself a short 4-1/2 to 5 years ago.  This poor soul was writing about the pain of her food addiction.  How all she thought about all day was McDonald’s, Oreos, Ultimate Cheeseburgers from ...

September 21, 2008 | comments (5) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Open Your Gate

No one can persuade another to change.  Each of us guards a gate of change than can only be opened from the inside.  We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or emotional appeal.  Marilyn Ferguson  ...

September 17, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

How to get to where you want to be

I didn't get to where I am by thinking about it or dreaming about it.  I got there by doing it.  Estee Lauder...

September 16, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

In order to succeed...

In order to succeed, you must be easy to start and hard to stop. Go out and make it a great day!  ...

September 11, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Do What You Can Do Now

I know it's not about the bathing suit ultimately. It's not totally about what your body is going to look like when your transformation is well underway.  But that is a part of it, and frankly, aside from wanting to be healthy enough to be a bone marrow donor when I began, looking good in clothes was way up there on my list.  It was my starting point.  We all have to start somewhere, right?I'm posting these stats because I know the...

September 10, 2008 | comments (10) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Weight Loss versus Transformation

Pain pushes you until the vision pulls you.  Anonymous...

September 9, 2008 | comments (4) | A Day in the LIfestyle

A new script

When you stop eating your feelings or to not have feelings, they come out in the strangest places.   There have been many instances of this lately.  Just the other day I was buying a pair of running shorts and an event from 20+ years ago came crashing forward.  I remembered it, decided it was no longer accurate or rational to let those old events hold me back, and charged ahead.  I hadn't purchased running shorts in more ...

September 8, 2008 | comments (6) | A Day in the LIfestyle

It jumped up and bit me again...

I think I figured out why people run either on the street or the track.  It's because the sidewalk is uneven, huh?At least it wasn't the same knee.And I got ice on it immediately.And ice on the shoulder.And it's elevated.So maybe it won't be so swollen and hurtful in the morning as the right one was 2 or 3 weeks ago.Oh, well... 2 hurts in 4-1/2 years.  I'm obviously overdue. It's not going to stop me.  I've got a lot of time t...

September 7, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Do you BELIEVE you are worth it?

We should reward ourselves.  It causes us to focus on giving up what we want right this minute for what we want in the long term.  It grows our delayed gratification muscle.How many of you actually plan out rewards for eating right, training, doing your assignments, and say, getting in your water?  As I went along, I couldn't control what the scale was going to tell me each week, but I could control all of the above liste...

September 5, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

The Power Inside of YOU

I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within.  It is there all the time.  Anna Freud...

September 5, 2008 | comments (5) | A Day in the LIfestyle

So long Lane Bryant! I'll miss you... NOT!

It's been a busy week over here but everything is on track.  As a matter of fact, I've been making up for 20+ years of no shopping for clothes.  It is a wonderful thing to be able to go into any store and have clothing fit and look good. Used to be I'd take whatever fit, didn't matter how it looked because when you're over 230 pounds and 5'4" there is just not much that can be done to beautify the exterior.  I sometimes get ca...

September 3, 2008 | comments (8) | A Day in the LIfestyle

That was close!

I always take Free Days on Sunday.  Monday is sometimes , not all the time,  not the easiest day to get back in the swing of things.  I still want to continue eating freely - and I can hear the voices in my head saying, "come on, you're not fat anymore, you can take an extra day off" or "just have one, it didn't feel like a real free day yesterday" or today I'm hearing "there's leftovers from yesterday"...

September 1, 2008 | comments (1) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Free Day

Free day was today.   I know everyone has their own take on Free Day, but for me it's always been a day to not have to worry about eating every 3 hours and generally relaxing the rules.   I am super-strict the other 6 days of the week and Free Day is free - period.  It's a day I can use whatever way I want to - eating clean if it's what I want, but 99% of the time I eat whatever I want.   Now when I say wha...

August 31, 2008 | comments (4) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Day 1,579

I was curious what day I was on so I just tallied 'em up. Pretty cool.....What if I had gotten frustrated at Day 28 because the scale wasn't showing any movement?What if I had stopped at Day 47 because I had missed a workout and I wanted to start over because I hadn't done my challenge perfectly?What if I had quit at the 12 weeks because I had only lost 30 pounds and I had wanted to lose 40?What if...Fast forward to your day 1,579.  What doe...

August 30, 2008 | comments (6) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Food at your fingertips

I just got finished cooking dinner for this evening - EFL Chicken Noodle Soup.  This is a recipe that is filling and full of good-for-you vegetables, plus it makes 8 servings which gives us a second meal (I freeze 3 servings to eat in the future) and leftovers for Jeff and Kayley for tomorrow or the next day.  I always at least double up on food when I make something so that we have ready-to-go food that doesn't have to be prepared.Whil...

August 30, 2008 | comments (1) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Are you sick today?

Did you know you can talk yourself into being sick?  No, really.  You can go to work feeling perfectly fine and someone can tell you:  "You don't look so good.  Are you sick?"    Let a couple of people do that and before long you will be having symptoms of sickness and might even have to go home and lay down, when in fact maybe you just needed some better lighting in the bathroom to put on your makeup.I bel...

August 28, 2008 | comments (8) | A Day in the LIfestyle

When...

WhenWhen your reasons to move forward outweigh your excuses for staying put, you will move forward. When your thirst for success is more powerful than the desire to stay within your comfort zone, you will succeed. When the reward is meaningful enough, you will act. When you connect your deepest purpose with the goals you set, those goals will be achieved. When you understand that there is a real and accessible pathway to the most magnificent drea...

August 27, 2008 | comments (6) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Self-Assessment vs. Self-Judgement

I'm currently on week 5 of my most recent challenge.  I've been thinking about why I'm doing this challenge.  I mean, realistically I've been working these challenges for almost 4 years now, and while I've made very good progress and am thrilled with the results, I still am not what I would consider a finished product.  I'm starting to wonder  - what if this is as good as it gets?  I mean, starting before I was even age 9...

August 26, 2008 | comments (4) | A Day in the LIfestyle

When Your Goal List Becomes Your Reality

About 5 years ago I was listening to either a Brian Tracy program or a Zig Ziglar program, not sure which now.  It was about setting your intentions for yourself.  What you wanted to be like, what you wanted to think of yourself, how you wanted to live your life.  My "I am" statement was written way back then.  I've been working on it ever since... and a good friend of mine recently pointed out to me that it is no lo...

August 25, 2008 | comments (4) | A Day in the LIfestyle

What if your limitations were all an illusion?

I found this in my saved files today and wanted to share with you.--------------------------------------------------------Perceptions - Mind set What if your limitations were all an illusion? What if you were being held back, not by your circumstances, but by your mind? Though it is easy to recognize the perceptual bias of another, your own perceptions are more difficult to distinguish from reality. In many ways the world you see is of your own m...

August 24, 2008 | comments (4) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Is food the major excitement in your life?

I saw this quote tonight while surfing around and just had to post it. "I think if people’s lives were a little more exciting they wouldn’t need to eat so much to get some joy out of their day.”Hmmm...I know that used to be true pre-BFL for me.What about you?Time to find some new experiences to focus on?...

August 22, 2008 | comments (2) | A Day in the LIfestyle

My Food Policies

My Food "Policies" -  Don't buy anything for Free Day until and unless it's Free Day.-  Free Day is Sunday, and only Sunday.  Do not move Free Day around to be convenient.  I need structure and something to look forward to and to work for.-  Only eat on Free Day until I am not hungry, never until I am full.-  I always have something appropriate for me to eat stashed in my van in case I get stuck o...

August 21, 2008 | comments (2) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Take your own food - anywhere

Have you all seen these things?http://www.instawares.com/versatainer-black-round-container.nc723bns.0.7.htm?sessionID=1321896383BAA1074F90120I order these in several different sizes so that I can prepack food as I cook it in the proper serving sizes and they are ready to go in the fridge.Jeff gets some on his refrigerator shelf, I get some on my shelf and so does Kayley.  A shelf to each person stopped the instances of my going to the f...

August 19, 2008 | comments (2) | A Day in the LIfestyle

When you fall... remember this: How Bad Do You Want It?

Last night my husband and I went out for a fast lifestyle cardio walk around the neighborhood.  I had my IPOD on loaded with our challenge sound track.  There are a couple of songs on there that it is not possible to do anything but RUN during, so that's what I was doing.I headed up the hill which I know I usually have an issue with momentum on, and the momentum is going so well that I forget that there's a spot on the sidewal...

August 18, 2008 | comments (2) | A Day in the LIfestyle

It's a Family Affair - including future generations

I believe that part of the reason I've been so successful with this lifestyle change is because our whole family eats the BFL way, including our 12 year old daughter, Kayley.  Each morning all of us have a Mypolex shake, Jeff gets Deluxe.  Jeff and Kayley typically take leftovers from the night before for lunch.  Kayley's favorite after school snack is blended cottage cheese with fat free ranch dip seasoning made into a vegetable d...

August 18, 2008 | comments (5) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Environment tip - Have the Tools You Need and the Excuses Vanish

Tip that I thought of while I was getting my shake/breakfast this am:  have more than one blender if others in your household are doing BFL with you and eating at different times.  When we first started and the blender was used by husband, Jeff, first thing in the am, I used to get so frustrated by having to take the time to clean the blender and then I'd gripe about how hard this was and how much time it took to make this work.Mak...

August 17, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

What are YOU Running From?

I keep thinking about what was different about this time of my losing weight and why I've been able to maintain it for going on 3 years now.  Sure, it's a good thing that I reached my initial physical goals: smaller pants size, normal body weight for my height.  Ya know, the superficial ones that get us started.  It got me to thinking about what it is that keeps me going now, now that I'm pretty much where I'm going to be.  My...

August 15, 2008 | comments (3) | A Day in the LIfestyle

An Explanation of Some of the Blogs to Come...

I've decided to not reinvent the wheel, so to speak.  At the beginning of the year, I started a thread on another site regarding my transformation.  It was a way to show others what it was like to live this lifestyle on a daily basis.   It hit me today that this was available and I went back and have been reading the online journal. I've been crying as I've been reading it.  No wonder people keep diaries!  My in...

August 15, 2008 | comments (0) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Living the Change

I've decided to be a bit more transparent with the physical aspects of my transformation - wait, that sounds funny.  What I mean to say is what I do on a daily basis to maintain my hundred pound loss. It was never my intention to be a small eater.  I like to say that my goal is to be able to eat as much as possible and maintain my fat loss.  I probably could have lost the weight faster, although 80 pounds during...

August 14, 2008 | comments (5) | A Day in the LIfestyle

It's not about the bathing suit...

You know what I realized tonight?  And this is from someone who has been living BFL for 4+ years and lost 100 pounds.  I learned.... you ready?It's not about the after photo.  It's not about the bathing suit in the after photo.  It's not about Day 84 and being done with the 12 weeks.  It's about all the experiences that you had during those 12 weeks.  It's about where you pushed yourself harder than ever before....

June 27, 2008 | comments (15) | A Day in the LIfestyle

Let me introduce myself...

I'm not sure if this is the best place to do this, but I'd like to introduce myself.  And since this is already typed and ready to go , this is the essay that I turned in with my packet last year for the BFL challenge.  =======================================================================I picked up the two ends of the seat belt and, out of a habit formed long ago, opened the length as wide as it would expand. I firmly pushed the tab ...

June 3, 2008 | comments (16) | A Day in the LIfestyle

MichelleT

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