Weigh in Day.............

So every Sunday will be my weigh in day since I started this whole journey on a Sunday. Last week, I made sure to do all of my food shopping and get myself prepared for the week so I could do this right. I had a great week with my food choices and the only thing I ate that I think is a little on the bad side is several snacks of Rold Gold Pretzels.

These things are so yummy and they and they satisfy my craving for something to munch on. These are better than chips, I suppose. I made sure to stock up on some different healthy items for this week so I don't get bored.

I started this journey at 151.6. After one week the scale read.......146.6!!!!! Woohoo!!! Somehow I managed to lose 5 pounds doing things right. That makes me feel so good to know that things are going in the right direction and I am seeing results. And get this, my husband said he could already see a difference. Since when does that happen???? Usually I have to lose a considerable amount before he can see it or before he actually says something. I can feel that my tummy is a tad flatter too which is saying something since my time of the month showed up at the beginning of this week. It is hard to start a diet plan healthy lifestyle when Aunt Flow decides to visit. I hope to see a bit more loss after she leaves.

Wish me luck for next week. I will take comparison photos this week to see if I can "see" any changes.

So far so good....

I have almost finished my first week of my new lifestyle. So far things are going pretty well. I am seeing some weight loss and I know this because I am a little obsessed with seeing progress so I weigh in daily. I'm only going to post my weekly weigh-In's here but so far things are going in the right direction. I will have my weekly posts on Sunday which is the day I started this whole process.

Each day I get stronger and each day I get less hungry in between meals. I am learning to love food that is good for me and I am open to trying new foods to acquire different tastes. I eat a little slower now because I actually taste my food. And when you are not in a rush to shove greasy food down your through, things can actually taste good. I'm not saying that a cheeseburger does not taste good but good food also has a great taste.

I am trying to drink lots of water. I am better when I am at work and I tend to get most of my water intake completed in the first half of the day and then I enjoy some tea in the afternoon and my fluid intake levels off so I am not waking up 50 times a night to pee. However, my mornings are spent going back and forth from the bathroom which is a little annoying. I know that my body is thanking me for the extra hydration and proper fuel though.

I am hoping to find new recipes and new foods that will keep me from getting bored. I also want to find more time to exercise, but as a mom of twins who works full time, teaches part-time, and goes to school full time, time is sparse. I just hope I continue to do well, feel well, and make more progress.

Phases

Does anyone else feel like they go through phases when it comes to eating right and exercise? Sometimes I feel like it is an all or nothing type of deal. I am either in it full force and being really clean about the things I eat, or I am so bad with my food choices, I am looking for a heart attack to happen. Now it may not be as bad as I describe but I enjoy fast food. I enjoy a big cheeseburger and fries. I'm not really a sweet tooth kind of person but I do enjoy anything peanut butter and chocolate together. I think I eat when I am bored. I eat just to fill time when I am at work. I like to snack or I like to eat big huge meals and not need anything for another 5-6 hours at a time.
All of these habits are ones I need to work on and I need to commit to this healthy lifestyle not just embrace it for a few months and then go back to my old ways.

I feel like once I get back to my goal weight I will learn portion control and hopefully be able to still enjoy a slice of pizza here or a cookie here but it must be in moderation and not binge on those things.

I say all this because just last year, I was on the right track. I was finishing up nursing the twins and I was ready to get my body back in shape. I did all this through food choices alone and very little exercise. I was successful to a point but then I gained a bunch of this weight back over the last year:

I was not to my goal weight in the top picture but I was about 8-10 pounds away. I was so close I could taste it, and apparently I chose to taste other things. I hope this time will be different and I will become a changed healthy person through this journey.

Getting Started

It is time. It is time for me to get healthy and stay healthy. I can remember countless times over my life that I have started a diet, tried to lose weight, or felt my body was not good enough. Now I can look back at some of those times and I could slap my younger self. I was pretty fit growing up. I loved sports and playing outdoors and my body developed at a different rate than my peers. I was a gymnast with a muscular body while my friends were "skinny" or that is how I saw it. I developed curves early and thought that meant I was fat or bigger than my peers. Looking back on pictures from my childhood, I can see that I was fit and active.

Although I was pretty fit. I was probably not healthy. I was raised in the fast food generation. At the end of generation X we were among the first families where both parents worked. I was also a part of a blended family and both of my mom's had little time to cook or make meals with healthy ingredients. I learned to love fast food early and that has always been my downfall. My body craved that junk and I never learned to eat "right". In my adult years, I made some changes but never stuck to my changes. I have learned more about proper diets, exercise, and ideal weights but I have never adopted the lifestyle.

Now that I am a mom of two beautiful twin girls, I think it is time for me to make some major changes so I can raise my girls better and allow them the to learn about food in its purest form.

My husband is no better with his eating habits. He has a psychological aversion to water. I don't know when or how that started but he doesn't drink water in the pure form. He will drink Crystal Light, juice, and soda but he does not drink water. He also refuses to eat most vegetables. And the only fruits he eats are apples and some oranges.

As I look at our family, I realize we are all struggling to find health. My quest has to do with losing weight but it is more important that I get my family healthy. The weight loss will just be a perk of getting healthy.

So with that said, I introduce you to me. I don't know why I have the most awful frown on my face but you get the idea. This is all 152 pounds of me.