So... Things have been going really well for me lately. I have been doing really great on my diet and with yoga. Today is actually day number 46 on my 60 day challange and I've done 46 classes. I've got less than two weeks to go to reach my goal and it really does feel fantastic to have stuck with it for so long.
As far as eating goes, I haven't had ANY animal products since the new year. And the funny thing is, cheese is the one thing I really miss. Not chicken, not sushi... but cheese. And ranch dressing. I never could have imagined myself consuming as many veggies as I do now without the aid of ranch dressing, but I'm diong it. Honestly, it hasn't been that hard. It is amazing what you can do once you've made the decision to do it. I could have never imagined a life that I live now, but it really was as simple as saying, "Ok. I'm worth taking care of. And I'm going to do this for myself."
The other awakening that I've had is that I don't need alcohol in order to facilitate a good time. I haven't had anything to drink since the new year, and really I have never felt better. The relationships in my life now are much stronger and not built on superficial partying. I feel much more productive. I make better decisions, and I am always in total control of my choices. Drunk Angela would have blown her diet with a late nigh drive thru a hundred and one times by now. But sober Angela always makes good decisions because she's always in control.
The weight loss journey has been different than the ones before because I was always doing it for someone else. I don't mean directly because my boyfriend or mother wanted me to lose weight, but there has always been an indirect motivation to please other people with my weight loss. Men will be more attracted to me. My colleges will take me more seriously. My friends will not look at me as the heavy one. I've ALWAYS tried to lose weight to please people. I've always been looking for acceptance from other to validate my self worth. And that's why this time it is different.
Everything I've done this time around has been for me. I'm not gettig thin. I'm getting healthy. I don't need you to place worth on me. I know that I'm beautiful because the journey is what is important. Not the dress that I can fit into. Not the jeans that I can buy. Not the number on the scale. I'm doing it for me this time and it feels liberating!
Ok... So, schools been kind of a beat down lately. The kids are not to thrilled with what we've been covering and its really wearing on me. The good news however is that I weighed in this morning at 188.8 lbs! Oww! WOO HOO! I'm making great strides and loving every minute of it!
The really great things is that I am also on day 34 of my sixty day challange. I do have two days that I still have to make up, but for the most part, I'm steady and going strong!
So, I got this incouraging comment from Summer this morning and it reminded me that I haven't posted anything in awhile and that made me sad!
So, now it's time to play catch up. I had my next weigh in this morning and I am down another 3.6 pounds. Which, believe me, is a really good thing, but I had hoped it would be more.
The weekend was pretty good, but I did run into a few bumps. Saturday night I went out with some friends to this trendy little resturaunt downtown. The thing is, this is the first time I had really been "out" with civilization since my vegan, non-drinker lifestyle change.
We had to wait for TWO HOURS for a table because it was so crowded. The others in my group didn't seem to mind as they bellied up to the bar and drank away the time. I, on the other hand, was getting increasingly annoyed at the situation... but what can you do?
I was trying my best not the be "that" girl. You know the one. The one who isn't drinking and so she turns into a bitch. Well, I really was trying to be good but when we finally sat down, there was NOTHING for me to eat on the menu. Everything in this country is covered in cheese, so I opted for the hummus. It was great hummus, but I just stuffed myself on pita bread. It hardly counted as a meal.
So, in retrospect I've decided that I'm going to tweak the eating plan a little. I saw on Oprah once when she said to stop eating at least 3 hours before bed time. I remember her saying that if that was the only thing you changed, you would lose weight. Well, I've decided to give that a try.
One of my students said to me before class today, "Ms. Tennison, you just keep getting skinnier and skinnier." I decided that she is getting and A this semester. :)
So, I didn't do super great this weekend. I mean, I didn't really go over my calorie intake except on Friday, but I didn't really keep track either. I was able to make it to yoga all this week and drank all the water that I needed to.
The good thing about my eating is that I decided that I'm going to take on the vegan lifestyle. I haven't had any meat over the past week and it really has made me feel great. I started to read a basic how-to book that takes you step by step through "de-meating" your life.
The first thing that it says to do is do a little detox diet to get all the animal proteins out of your system. It requires you to drink only a lemon juice, maple syrup, water mixture for 1 to 10 days. I'm going to start tomorrow. So, hopefully it won't kill me. But, I am looking forward to ridding my system of all the crap that's built up over the years. The plan is to do it for 5 days, Monday thru Friday coming up. I'll let you know how it goes.
Tomorrow is also WI day. I really would like to hit 192 which would bring me to a total of 10lbs since the 1st... but, I'm not going to hold my breath. As long as I don't gain, it'll be a success.
Still doing really well! Yoga everyday, around 1200 cals, and plenty of water. I can tell that I'm getting thinner, but I'm not going to allow myself to get on the scale until WI day on Monday morning. If I let myself, I will totally turn OCD about the scale and I should never let a number have that much control over my feelings for myself. So, I'm not going to do it. I just will keep on trucking and time will take care of the rest.
So, I have missed 2 of the last 12 days on my sixty day challange at yoga and I got a wild hair in me today... And I dd a double! Today was my first day back to school, and I did great!
I ate 1205 cals, I drank plenty of water, and I did the 4:30 and 6:30 yoga class tonight! I'm on the road to health and it feels great to be doing so well. This is better than anything ever tasted.
So, I've been crazy busy the past few days trying to get ready to head back to school tomorrow. We've been out for two weeks on break, and I totally procrasinated on planning my lessons and grading my essays.
So, that's what I've been doing. I have done some good things though... I've been going to yoga. I've been doing great with my eating and with my water. Tomorrow will be the true test, however, to see if I am in full swing. Back at work and teaching hard. The good news is, that I was down a total of 4.4 pounds! The first weigh in went great and now I'm just waiting for the fat to continue to melt away!
Another successful day! I went to yoga, ate 1160 calories, and had 70 ounces of water. I feel like the blog holds me accountable... And I've also decided that every 10 days will be my weigh in day. Well, tomorrow marks the 10th day of my 60 day Bikram Yoga challange. So, tomorrow will be my official weigh in day.
I'm, of course, a little nervous about this because although I have gone to yoga 9 times out of the last 10 days, I have only been eating healthy for the past 2 days.
But, it is what it is... If we don't know where we are how will we know when we get there, right?
Blogging, I mean. I've only just signed on to this sight and I'm already amazed at all the things it has to offer and what fabulously supportive people are here to encourage! I think my spiritual guides lead me here for that reason alone.
So, I've never been good at keeping a diary, but I'm looking at this blog to help me track my progress each day. At the end of each night I'm going to try to sum up what I've done today to make me feel proud.
Today, I'm proud of myself because I went to yoga and worked out super hard. Although I didn't do two classes like I originally planned, I got in there and kicked butt. I'll make up for that missed class before the sixty day challange is over. And secondly, I'm proud of myself for eating only 1190 of the healthiest calories I've eaten in a long time. All of it tasted good and made me feel good too! Lastly, I'm proud of myself today for drinking 70 ounces of water.
