Big girl jeans are starting to sag!

I haven't weighed myself since I started this blog. I'm afraid I haven't lost hardly any weight at all. I know, I didn't get fat overnight, so I shouldn't expect to get thin overnight. But we've been doing so well with changing our eating habits, I just don't want the scale to discourage me! Maybe I'll find time to weigh myself this weekend.

The biggest change I've noticed is that my "big girl" jeans are really starting to sag. This is good and bad - I still can't fit into my smaller sized jeans. So, I take two steps, pull up my pants, repeat. I've also noticed that a few t-shirts aren't as snug as they were a month ago. One shirt in particular belongs to my husband. He hasn't worn it in a long time, so it sort of became mine. Anyway, the last time I wore it, it was snug around my belly and shoulders. I took it out of the dryer yesterday and tried it on. It still doesn't "fit," but it sure fits better than it did. I like to call that progress! :o)

I created a "mini goal" that can fit somewhere between baby step 1 and 2. I like to call it "25 by 25" - I want to lose 25 pounds by my 25th birthday. This gives me 2 months from the time I started my diet. I thought it was going to be pretty easy, but now I realize I should probably kick it up a notch (or two!).

Things I eat:

I've really taken a liking to mushrooms. Which is odd, as I hated them until I read how good they are for you. I believe I've had mushrooms with my last 6 meals.

Lots of chicken breast. Lots.

Spinach, carrots, green beans, asparagus, peppers, celery, squash... All fresh. Not frozen. Definitely not canned.

Fruits such as: raspberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, honey dew, watermelons (not in season, but still good), oranges

Lots of almonds and walnuts. They're great to take to work. I also like tossing them in the skillet with some mushrooms, spinach, and chicken. Yum ;o)

Exercise:
Besides housework and playing with the kids, I haven't done any "exercising." Today, I did walk to my son's school to pick him up. It was about a 15-20 minute walk each way. I also live close enough to work that I could also walk there - however, it's the walking home I dread.

Overall:

I feel better. Most days, I feel like I have more energy. Each day seems to get easier and easier. I crave bad things" less and less. So, I guess that's good, right? I don't think it's so much losing weight that I need to be concerned with, it's changing my lifestyle so I can KEEP IT OFF!

Giving this a try...

In the past when I've tried to lose weight, I'd say to myself, "I'm not going to say a word to anyone - it'll just be a surprise!" Well, I think what I was really telling myself was more like, "I'm not going to say a word to anyone - that way if (when) I fail, no one will know I was even trying."

The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. This is me trying something different.

If I make it public... vulnerably public... I have to be accountable. I have to be honest.

So, this is my attempt to record and account for my actions. I will update as often as I can. Hopefully, this blog will list daily food choices, exercise, weight loss/gain, and a bit of a diary. I'm not going to worry about how perfect my writing is... I'm too busy worried about taking care of myself - not my writing.

My baby-step goal #1:

Lose 15 pounds. Sounds simple, right? HA! I've fluctuated back and forth 10 pounds, but can't seem to lose more than that. I feel this first step is going to be HUGE for me. Once accomplishing this, I hope to be in the right frame of mind to continue to baby-step goal #2...

Baby-step goal #2:

Get to 200 pounds. I've tried saying my second goal should be to weigh under 200 pounds, but simply reaching it is a feat. I haven't weighed less than 200 pounds since the summer after high school. I think I need to tackle some emotional demons tied to that time period before I can physically be back to that weight.

Baby-step goal #3:

Reach pre-pregnancy weight. This is about 175-180 pounds. I imagine it will be hard to reach this goal, but hopefully seeing goals #1 & #2 "checked" off my list, I can kick it in gear. I should be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel from here!

Baby-step goal #4:

Reach 150 pounds. I weighed in about 145 my freshman year of high school. My mom told me once that I "hide my weight well." I know I will never be a size 0, or weigh 110 pounds. Being 150 would make me very happy.

Baby-step #5:

Be able to wear size 14 jeans. To me, the true way to measure weight loss is your jeans size. I'm embarrassed at the size I wear now, but I guess if I want my blog-s'periment to work, I should own up to the fact I just bought size 22 "big girl" jeans a few weeks ago.

And lastly, baby-step #6:

MAINTAIN. I don't ever want to be this size again. I don't ever want to walk into a store and not find pants that fit. I don't want to ever worry about standing on a step ladder at work and having it whence under my weight. I don't want people to see me as the "fat girl" - I want to be the "cute girl!" I don't ever want to worry about heart disease and diabetes due to what I eat. I want to be fit, and I want to be healthy.

So, here we go!