Yes, I've been away for quite a while. I can't say I have any excuses, but life has certainly tried to get in the way of my journaling. I once heard someone say that it takes 21 days to turn a new behavior into a long-term habit, and I'm happy to say that it's true. I may have fallen off on writing about my journey, but it's still going on. I don't exercise nearly as much as I should, but I have stuck to my healthy eating like glue. It's like a switch was flipped in my head, I feel totally different than I did a month and a half ago. I can really recognize when I'm hungry and when I'm full, and I don't snack unless it's one of the 2 healthy snacks I have everyday. While the smell of fast food still tempts me every now and again, the thought of eating it (and how crappy I know I'll feel afterwards) just doesn't appeal to me anymore. DH and I went out last week to our favorite chinese restaurant for Valentine's day, and I ordered the steamed veggies with white rice--not my usual sesame chicken. We're both really starting to reap the benefits of being healthy, Hubby looks better and better every week.Considering how I've always thought he was sexy, that says a lot. As for me, the way my clothes fit never ceases to amaze me. My jeans love me again ! A pair that I just bought (and could barely fit when I did) on January 2nd are completely comfy now. The jeans I have on right now are just over a year old, and they're so baggy it's ridiculous. I had to squeeze and pour myself into when I bought them, now I can take them off without unbuttoning or unzipping them, and that's even straight from the dryer. DH thinks I should wear a belt, but I kinda enjoy the fact that I have to pull and tug to keep them up. It's like built-in motivation. I'm bringing out pants I haven't worn in over a year now, and I can't wait until I really start dropping sizes.
I haven't weighed myself since the 16 pound loss, mostly because I didn't want to be disappointed if I didn't lose. Disappointment always leads to giving up for me, and that's the last thing I wanted to do. I probably will when I get to the 2 month mark in a few weeks. But for now, I'd rather enjoy the physical feeling of success instead of waiting on a scale to validate me. But I still take it one day at a time, and that's what gotten me through so far.
After that amazing loss I had last week, I slowly but surely was attacked and taken over by the "blahs". You know how you're so gung ho at the beginning of trying to reach a major goal, you feel like no one can stop you ? Then after a while, you simply just don't feel like it anymore ? Well, that was me for the last week. I'm happy to say that I stuck to my eating for the most part. On last Thursday and Friday I had major tummy issues, so bad that I switched from eating cottage cheese and fruit for breakfast to High Protein Special K with light soymilk, and got rid of yogurt for my morning snack and replaced that with those South Beach bars ( the peanut butter ones are awesome, btw). I had always had touches of lactose intolerance, really bad ones in high school as a matter of fact. But the lure of cheese and ice cream always got me every time.I think I'm about ready to put that to rest though. My stomach just can't handle what it used to. DH and I went out on Saturday looking at houses, and after a while we both were starving. So we went to Red Robin, one of my favorite places to throw down in my previously unhealthy life. To tell you the truth, I was a little uneasy at first. But then I thought about the fact that I can't hide in my house forever, I have to figure out how to make this lifestyle work for me wherever I am. I knew that I was going to have one of their Freckled Lemonades (basically lemonade w/ strawberries), but I limited myself to just one, and I didn't even finish that. Next came the menu. Now, I could have very well had a Gardenburger or a Boca burger....but both of them came with fries, and that's just a disaster waiting to happen. So I ordered the soup and salad combo instead. The only soup that didn't have meat in it was the french onion, and if you've had french onion soup in a restaurant you know that 90% of the time it's more bread than soup. There were croutons in the soup, on top of the soup and there were 2 small pieces of bread on the side. And the supposed "garden side salad" had shredded cheese and tortilla strips in it . I knew ahead of time to get my lowfat dressing on the side, or it would have been completely drenched.Yes, it was definitely a test. I ate all of the onions and broth out of the soup ,left the croutons, and had one piece of the bread on the side. Luckily, my DH took care of the rest. As for the salad, I ate about 1/3 of it, trying to get to the biggest pieces of lettuce and tomatoes. Amazingly after that, I was full. That may not sound like a big thing to most, but for me to actually leave a table with a big amount still on my plate was a triumph.
Well, that gets you up to speed up until this new week. I'll talk about the days since, and my battle with exercise later.
You know how I told you last week how it was my TOM ? Well, I guess I was retaining a heck of a lot of water. When I weighed in last night, the scale said that I had lost 16 pounds.
In one week.
I just knew it couldn't be true, so I weighed myself again. And again. AND AGAIN.
It was true, y'all.
So that brings my total now to 24 pounds ! I'm still in total shock, and I definitely don't exepct a loss next week because of this. But for now, I'm going to bask in the glory of knowing that I'm gaining my freedom one pound at a time, fat, water, whatever it may be.
I just feel like I have. T.O.M came with a vengence late last week, and it's been kicking my butt ever since. It's like I have no energy at all, so working out has been a no go since Thursday. Happily though, I've still stuck to my eating( and you know how that magical time makes your cravings go out of wack) so I refuse to beat myself up because of it. My body, on the other hand, doesn't quite know what to do. I woke up with the worst leg cramp this morning. I literally went from sleeping to screaming in 0.5 seconds, LOL ! DH knew what was wrong instantly and helped me stretch, it was then that I decided I'd ease myself back into walking so I (and my legs) could get used to it again. I have my week 3 WI tomorrow, and honestly, as long as I don't gain anything, I'll be happy. I'm not expecting a big loss since I haven't worked out everyday, but if I can at least maintain, I'll be on my way
Yesterday was another good day off, my DH and I went out looking at houses at first since we'd like to be in a home of our own by the end of this year. Then we went to my favorite place:The mall. We walked, and walked, and walked. To my surprise, I didn't get winded once, didn't have to stop to sit down, and I kept up with him the whole time. Go Me ! After going around from store to store we went to relax in one of the seating areas. DH got hungry, so he went to get himself a hot dog and a mocha from Starbucks(great combination, huh?) after I convinced him it was okay to eat in front of me. I had my handy bottle of water and was fine. In all we walked around for about an hour and a half there. Then we came home and I made myself a salad for dinner, then later did a 30-min WATP routine before I went to sleep. So yeah, I'm a walking fool !
Once again, my apologies that this post is a day late. Then again, it was my day off
Tuesday was definitely a learning experience. I work from my home, so I'm here most of the time. But on my days off, the main thing I want to do is be out and about for a while. My DH happened to get off early, so first we went shopping for DP, which happens just about every week. I'll be the first to admit that our pup-pup is totally spoiled. He's our only child right now, so that's to be expected(and probably won't change until we have a real baby in the house). Later that night, we ended up going to the movies. Of course, if you're not prepared the movie theater will suck you in with its big buckets of popcorn and soda. However, DH and I packed our own low-cal snacks, and even made two bottles of Crystal Light to drink.Hooray for loving big purses ! We enjoyed the movie and didn't get loaded on junk food, I was so proud of both of us !
I weighed myself yesterday, and I'm happy to report that I've lost 2 more pounds, bringing my 2 week total to 8 pounds !!! At first I was a bit disappointed it wasn't more (I was secretly hoping for at least 3), but then I put it into perspective. It breaks down to 4 pounds a week, which is pretty awesome for not using any pills or starving myself which is what I've done every other time I've lost up until this point. I had to rememeber that I'm doing it the healthy way, and that means it's not going to all come off quick, but it'll come off steadily. So if I can keep this pace, I'll be where I want to be by hopefully my birthday next year. That would be the best gift ever !
**I would have posted this earlier, like say, yesterday. But of course, life always gets in the way. **
With that being said,
Sunday was another good day. I kept up my eating and even snuck in a little nap after work, but not so much that I was thrown off schedule. Naps are the best thing ever, I swear. If you're not familiar with them, you should be, LOL ! I did an hour of aerobics and would have done more if DH hadn't have asked me to come to bed. You gotta get that quality time in where you can. Overall, I can't complain at all
Yesterday was another good eating day, it seemed like I was hungrier sooner after I ate. That may be my body's way of telling me my metabolism is picking up, at least I hope so*crosses fingers*.
I ended up doing an hour and 15 minutes worth of walking, the equivalent of 4 miles. Thank the Lord for Walk Away The Pounds, I didn't know how awesome it was until now. It's now a permanent part of my exercise arsenal. My week 2 WI is tomorrow, and once again, I'd be happy with any loss. I know it probably won't be as much as last week, but I'll take whatever I can get.
Yesterday was a wonderful day ! By 8:30 last night, both my DH and DP(dear puppy) were asleep, so I went ahead and made myself dinner, watched my soaps for the first time in years and just relaxed. Before I went to sleep I did 30 minutes of dancing/aerobics straight through, without stopping. I wasn't able to do that 3 weeks ago, that's for sure.I was exhausted afterwards, but felt great ! But the time I got settled in, DH was up and DP just sat in his crate and looked at me, like "Come on, it's time to play!" LOL ! So the "me" time was officially over. But it was awesome while it lasted.
. DH thinks I should wear a belt, but I kinda enjoy the fact that I have to pull and tug to keep them up. It's like built-in motivation. I'm bringing out pants I haven't worn in over a year now, and I can't wait until I really start dropping sizes. 
And the supposed "garden side salad" had shredded cheese and tortilla strips in it 
. I knew ahead of time to get my lowfat dressing on the side, or it would have been completely drenched.Yes, it was definitely a test. I ate all of the onions and broth out of the soup ,left the croutons, and had one piece of the bread on the side. Luckily, my DH took care of the rest. As for the salad, I ate about 1/3 of it, trying to get to the biggest pieces of lettuce and tomatoes. Amazingly after that, I was full. That may not sound like a big thing to most, but for me to actually leave a table with a big amount still on my plate was a triumph.
