Slow But Steady Wins The Race

I am now in week 3 to a NEW ME. Last week I lost 3 lbs. So I am now holding at 175 lbs. I was talking to a friend telling him about my weight loss, about what I was and was not eating. He made the comment about not depriving myself of the things I like to eat like pasta and rice. I LOVE pasta and I LOVE rice. I used to eat rice probably almost everyday twice a day. I let him know that so far I have not had a craving for the rice or the pasta. I have put it in my head that I do not want those things at this time. I have mentally prepared myself for the fact that I will not be eating rice and pasta during this process. If I do have that mental lapse where my head and my stomach tell me I want them then I will have it but only a spoonful. And my clothes will tell the tale. I put on a pair of shorts the other day and I was actually able to button them. Two weeks ago I could not do this. I see the "fruits of my labor" and I love it. To know that I will not have to buy new clothes because I have made this lifestyle change is a beautiful thing. When I have reached my goal weight, I will continue to exercise and eat right because I do not want to go back to where I was on Sunday, July 5, 2009. 15 more pounds to shed and I am so looking forward to seeing it gone.

Yes!

Yay me! I lost 2 lbs in my first week of working my way to a New Me! On Sunday, July 5 I was 180. I weighed in on Sunday, July 12 and it showed 178...woo hoo. Hard work pays off. I walked 5 times last week and watched what I ate. Even with 2 BBQ's over the weekend, I made sure that I did not overdue it when eating. I am proud of me. So far this week I have walked twice. I have been conscious of my food intake as well. I did eat 2 chocolate chip cookies that my boss made today and last night I made some popcorn. It as 100% whole grain kernels and zero transfat...yep I read the label which I very rarely do. I am going to do that more often to educate myself on what exactly I am putting in my body.

Being Tested

My son comes to me asking whats for dinner. I told him to look and see what's there and then tell me what he wants. After looking he decides on spaghetti. He puts the water on to boil. So I put the pasta in the pot to cook. I'm stirring the pasta so it doesn't stick and I pick some out and put in a bowl to taste to see if it's ready. As I lift it to my lips to taste it, I hear myself say "you can't eat that, no pasta remember?". I had to laugh at myself. If I had eaten those 4 or 5 spaghetti noodles I would have wanted a whole plate. After laughing, I gave myself a pat on the back and said good job. I didn't give in to the temptation. I called my son to taste the noodles. Test #1 passed. It's only going to get more difficult but I am ready. I made a chicken filet and corn for dinner for myself. Yay me.

The Pitfalls

When I got home after my walk today, my neice's mom tells my neice has made rice krispie treats. Oh my goodness! The whole time I'm making my dinner, baked chicken and salad, I'm thinking about the rice krispie treat. My neice says to me "Aunty Chelley did you try my rice krispie treats yet?" Needless to say I ate one for dessert. Then I wanted a brownie that my brother had bought. One of those Entemann's brownies. Yes I ate one. It was good but I felt guilty about eating it. I told myself that eating a brownie and a rice krispie treat was not the right thing to do. It should have been one or the other not both. I am not a big sweets eater at all. It's very rare that I want stuff like that. So I decided to keep a food diary. Maybe that will help me.

The New Me

When I woke up on Sunday, July 5th, I went downstairs and turned the TV on to the Exercise on Demand channel. I did a program that was equal to walking a mile. I felt so good after that! Tired but good. I ate fruit salad for breakfast...on the way to a healthier and skinnier me. I got myself together and went to the store to buy a scale. I used a gift card I had been given! Yes I am also losing the debt as well as the weight. So with scale in hand, I leave the store and proceed to leave the mall by way of McDonald's. Yes I fell off the wagon on day 1. It was so sad. I told myself this was going to be harder than I thought. The only thing to do was pick myself back up and get tough on myself. When I got home that night I wrote my weight on my calendar on Sunday's date. I am going to weigh myself every sunday to track my progress. Fast forward to today, Wednesday, July 8th. I have been taking 1/2 hour brisk walks for the past 4 days. I consciously decide my meals. Fruit, oatmeal or a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Lunch is usually some type of chicken (not fried), with salad or a veggie, or a turkey or tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread. Dinner is usually the other option what I have listed for lunch. I have fruit or sugar free jello as a snack. I am drinking lots of water. I will lose this weight.

Why I'm Doing This

I've been saying I need to lose weight for the longest time. Last year in May I weighed 167 lbs. I wanted to be 155. I started working out with a friend of mine who is a personal trainer. But then the summer came and so did the vacations and I never got back on track. Fast forward to July 2, 2009. I was dog sitting for the same friend and her husband. The scale was in the hallway so I got on it. Why was it telling me 180 lbs? I got off the scale. Talk about being in shock! I knew I had gained weight based on the fact that some of my clothes no longer fit. But 180 lbs? I went home that night telling myself I have to lose that weight. That 180 was unacceptable and I had to do something about it. Waking up the next morning, I truly looked at myself in the mirror and I did not like what I saw. That is when I made the decision to get my rear in gear and take off the weight. Nice that I decided that the day before the July 4th holiday and that we were having a BBQ! I allowed myself to enjoy July 4th with my family. Sunday, July 5th, I got up and began the journey to the NEW ME.