I did it!

Yay - I reached my goal of 10 exercise sessions. It took 5 weeks. Now I get to reward myself with a manicure! I think I will keep this same goal a second time. Maye I can get it in less than 5 weeks this time.

Today I walked a mile and a quarter. I even had a couple mini-spurts of jogging.


On the weight loss font, I am still sabotaged by unhealthy snacks/desserts. Grrr. I'm going shopping tomorrow. Maybe I can find some appealing substitutes.

Baby Steps

Well, I'm trying to move in the positive direction again. I lost 2 of those 4 pounds I gained. I have breakfast and lunch under control. Dinner goes ok. It's just the snacking that is still getting me. I can't seem to get excited about fruit again.

So, I decided to focus on a new aspect - exercise. I've decided to get my nails done as soon as I exercise 10 times. It's been 3 weeks and I'm up to 6 so far - mostly going for walks. I'm actually proud of this even though I know it sounds pretty pitiful to anyone who is already a friend to exercise. For me, it's a big deal.

Next goal - get healthy snacks to replace the cookies, brownies, and M&Ms that are sabotaging me. Here we go...

I'm not going back.

OK- truth time. I've gained back 4 pounds. It started as a plateau that moved into maintaining for a few months. I was ok with that since school started and I was happy with the progress I had made so far. Getting lots of attention and positive comments from peers and co-workers helped too. Then came exceptions, modifications (the wrong ones going back to old habits) here and there, and at least 2 major binges. So, here I am headed in the wrong direction and I can't deny it as I look at the scale.

So - what is the plan?

First of all - I am NOT going back!
So - I'm going to gather my resources - ie this blog (writing in it and re-reading what I wrote before) and all the folks who lovingly supported me through the early months of my lifestyle changes. Then I lovingly let the new me kick the old me back into submission!

What would a healty eater do?

Wow - it's been awhile since my last blog. Quick update - I am now at 21 pounds lost and I got to buy new clothes! It is fun shopping for smaller sizes!!!

On the down side, I had a run in with one of my roadblocks today. I got a cold... sniffles, sore throat, etc. When I'm sick nothing feels better on my throat than pop (carbonation I guess) and nothing tastes right except sugar. This morning I went to school when I wanted to stay curled up in bed. I armed myself with cold medicine, cough drops, Diet Coke, and a Milky Way. This is how I deal with being sick. This is the old me. However, I don't know the answer to this question:

-What would the new me do?

I don't have the tools, habits, ideas I need especially when I feel so lousy.

So, friends, tell me - what does a thin/healthy person do?

Another shopping adventure.

So... I've gotten better at finding the low-fat food supplies I need. I even feel relatively comfortable in the fruit and veggie section (though I do not recognize nearly all the items there). Today I discovered that some things are still a mystery to me. I have a few recipes that call for barley so I put it on my list and headed to the store. I first looked near the oats - they are both grains, right? No luck. Then I went to the rice isle - another strike out. Finally, after checking all the foreign food areas, I was ready to checkout without my barley. Then it hit me - barley soup- maybe it was in the soup isle. Ta-da - on the bottom shelf under the cans of soup was a box of barley. What an adventure!

I did it!!!!!!!!

Today I reached my second weight goal. I have lost 14 pounds total putting me at my pre-baby weight! I am soooooo happy!!!

Having my step-mom visit for a week really helped. She showed me a lot about cooking and shopping. Plus, just having someone to model good eating habits got me back on track. I am thankful to her. We spent some time cooking things for me to put in the freezer for easy, healthy meals later.

I continued the cook and freeze project after she left. Yesterday I made a box mix of rice and beans adding some veggies and brown rice to it. I made enough to have lunch today and freeze 4 servings for later.

Today I'm making a low fat version of potatoes augratin, turkey, and steamed snap peas for dinner. I plan to add corn for the family, but hope they will eat the turkey and potatoes. Wish me luck. =)

Backsliding... =(

So, it's been 7 weeeks since I started this blog. I didn't realize it was that long. I've lost 10 pounds total. I'm actually pretty happy with that progress. It would have been closer to 14 pounds, but I stalled on 2 different weeks.

Now, it's confession time. I've been on summer vacation for 2 weeks, and it's a LOT harder to eat healthy when I'm home all day. (In fact I gained back a pound this week.) Those veggies just don't look as appealing in a kitchen full of other foods. This is a big roadblock for me. It's not like I'm downing cookies and icecream all day - it's just a snack here and an exception there. I guess it's time to monitor my food more closely. I think I need to keep a food journal for awhile.

Any other suggestions, my friends?