Work in Progress

So it's been a little over three weeks since I made a new commitment to myself to start living healthier.  It's been tons of work but it's been worth it. I've exercised my heart out and I'm starting to see results (even though others totally might not be able to) and I feel better than I have in a year! In fact, I'm almost to the weight I was around this time last year when I lost the 20 lbs right before my trip to TX! Today is going to be my rest day from exercise because I've been working so hard lately and my body told me I needed a break today so I'm doing it!

I thought it would be a good idea to start recording a few of the things I've been doing to lose the weight for a couple of reasons. a.) I want to remember what has worked to get the weight off and b) Maybe sharing what I've been doing will help someone else to get started.

First off...I am not on any particular diet.  I honestly think diets suck and are not realistic for everyday life.  My goal is to just be healthy and follow a plan that I can use practically. I've been learning to read the labels and take into consideration how many calories things have (something I never really did before) before I eat them, which has been an eye opener.  Reading the labels has definitely helped me be aware of everything I put in my mouth. 

Here are a few things I've been doing:

--Drinking lots (and lots) of water! I have also eliminated all other drinks aside from a glass a milk a day (which I usually drink after working out).  Soda is junk and I DO NOT need it, diet or regular! I've found it most helpful to fill up my plastic sipper bottle and carry it around with me where ever I go.

--Exercising for 90 minutes a day (6 days a week):  I've found that in the past and the present, I have the most success exercising first thing in the morning.  It's in that window of time I see Fernando off to work and before the girls wake up.  At the moment, that requires that I wake up around 5:00 every morning but I don't care.  I have a solid hour of uninterrupted exercise time to myself, without having to worry about fighting children or changing diapers! I've continued to use my aerobic exercise Leslie Sansone DVD and it's been great.  It falls into the "walking" category but it's so much more than that. It's leg lifts and kicks and side steps, etc and all at a very brisk pace. The DVD is broken up into five individual miles and I've been doing four of the five every morning. By the end I'm sweaty and tired but it's a good kind of tired! I'm already thinking about finding another DVD to start changing things up because the workout is pretty repetitive.  It's working for the now, which is most important. In the evenings after I put the girls down, get on the elliptical in my bedroom and watch TV for 30 minutes.  That's when I get a good sweat!

--Cutting down my portions.  I used to eat WAY too much and then I would go for seconds too. Seconds do not exist any more and now that I've been eating less, my stomach is shrinking and I'm getting used to the smaller portions. I eat til I'm full and then stop, something that may be simple for others but has always been a struggle for me. For lunches, I've been eating a lot of those Weight Watcher's "Smart Ones" freezer meals.  They've helped me learn what the right portion size looks like and also allow me to eat things that aren't so plain.

--Getting rid of the junk.  From sweets to chips, I've eliminated all of those.  When I have the urge to get something sweet, I eat a sugar free jello or put some lite cool whip in between a graham cracker and make a little sandwich out of it.

--Cooking healthier.  I found a recipe blog that is a Weight Watcher friendly and awesome!  I've made a handful of her recipes for dinner and they've been really good!  The blog is called Skinny Taste.

The further I get into this new routine of eating better, I've found my desire for sweets and junk go down and it's been replaced with my desire to feel great and lose the weight!  I am still a major work in progress though because there are moments where I totally think about how delicious some bread from Panera would be or a Starbucks frapp and I start to get the urge to give in to those thoughts.  When I start to go there, the thought of how much better I feel now that my jeans are fitting better reminds me that staying on track is worth it! 

My starting weight: 198

My weight this week: 182

16 lbs down, woo hoo! I'm doing it!!!