I'm Back!

Happy Monday everyone! I want to first say thank you to everyone that has been praying and leaving me such encouraging messages. At this time not all of my test results have come back so we are still playing the waiting game, but I am feeling much better.

So to get back into the groove of things let me fill you in on what I have been up to. This weekend was my husband’s 30th birthday. He didn’t really want a party and we didn’t feel that we had the time to go out of town, so instead we had a nice weekend of just us. My brother Matthew and his wife Nancy watched Evan for the entire weekend! They are so incredibly good with him, and my six year old nephew enjoys anytime he can spend with his little cousin. So I knew he was in good hands, but man did I miss that little guy. I cried when I was packing up his stuff for the weekend, I cried when we left their house, cried when we came home, cried when I woke up……. I felt like so ridiculous cause I knew he was fine, but I wanted him with me (= My husband laughed a little at me, but not much…. He felt the same way too. So other than missing our boy we had a really good time together and realized how much we needed that time. We went out to eat, and did some shopping. Nothing major but it was really nice not to have a schedule. We got up the same time as normal but we didn’t feel rushed to start our day. Instead we got a chance to lounge a bit…… it was a very peaceful weekend. On the down side I really didn’t get much exercise in and for the first time in months I didn’t calorie count. Overall I did fine with keeping it in line, but I did stray from what has become my normal diet. We splurged on a few sweet treats, and ate Mexican food one night, and I drank a coke……….. again I have been staying away from this stuff for months. After splurging over the weekend I have a couple of concerns. ONE: will I go back to my old ways from one weekend? Answer: Absolutely not. As it was nice to have a few of these things, I have to say I feel much better with the foods that we have been eating and I was very happy to plan my breakfast, lunch and dinner for today to get back into it. My other concern was I had decided at the first of the year not to judge my success strictly by weight loss and by watching the scale. I factor in other things such as my ability to accomplish physical task that have been difficult, or on how does my body & health feel over all…so with this I decided to only weigh myself once a month, the first of every month. So today being February 1st it was weigh day…….yuck, after this weekend when I didn’t exercise or really eat right, plus I have the not so lovely monthly visitor in my life at the moment. Oh well I did it anyways. So for the month of January I lost a total of 9.5 lbs. My goal is to lose 10-12 lbs a month, but I have to say that I wasn’t disappointed with this loss. I mean it is a loss after all and I am focusing on changing my lifestyle and not just my body type so I am happy with my progress this month. I have to say that this month I noticed that my workout routine has gotten a lot easier, and I am ready to intensify my routine. I am going to start incorporating swimming and more weights. In addition I am going to increase my distance of walking/running. I am still staying on a daily 1500-1700 calorie intake with a target deficit of 1000. So with upping my workout routine, this should be attainable!

Here is a list of either things I have tried for the first time or I accomplished for the month of January:

- Worked on my 21 day challenge of not saying anything negative about myself or my weight. This was a very difficult challenge, but I have to say it is getting easier! (Stay tuned this week for my next 21 day challenge).

- I am now able to walk 6-8 miles in a day. Not something that I do every day but I now have the ability to do so.

- I attended a 2hour belly dancing class, and learned some new moves (=

- We have broadened our selection on fruit/vegetables and the way that we prepare them (so long butter).

- Walking the dogs is now a part of our daily routine.
- I am able to run 2.5 miles without stopping.

- My husband and son now go for walks/runs with me, which give us a fun family activity.A family that sweats together, stays together (=

- As cheesy as this may sound I feel victorious when we grocery shop……. All of the right things are in our buggy! Our grocery cart reflects a healthy lifestyle.

- I am a water drinking machine!

- I am learning healthy ways to avoid eating out of boredom or eating because of emotions. A big thing that I have learned this month is when I think I am wanting to go raid the kitchen I ask myself if I am really hungry and is it worth the hours of work for a second of satisfaction.

- I see an improvement in my hair and skin.

- I am learning to find time for me!!!! The month of February I want to concentrate on giving me that “me” time. I want to get back to taking at least (1) 15 minute break a day at work.

Well folks I can’t wait to see what the month of February will bring! At the start of my journey I was 247 lbs and now I am currently at 214.5 lbs!!!!! Reaching my goals one pound at a time (=