Weigh-in

weight: 234 (down 6 pounds!)

waist: 41.5" (down 1 inch!)

everything else the same

New goal: only weigh myself once a week instead of every day, so the fluctuations don't drive me crazy!

Getting Harder

Today I miss food. I just want to eat all day long.

No! Don't do it! That's how you got into this mess!!

I have things I don't want to do today (clean) and by way of procrastination, I want to eat. And I'm feeling grumpy which also makes me want to eat. And the list goes on. I really like to eat!

But I'm stronger than that want. Seeing the scale and inches go down is much more rewarding than whatever is looking yummy at the moment. I can do it!!

Lunch is over and I can't eat again till dinner. I guess I should go clean to get my mind off eating!!

"Fast-Break"

I've been exploring sparkpeople.com trying to get acquainted with all its features. One thing I found breaks down your weight-loss journey by stage.

Fast Break: weeks 1 - 2

Healthy Diet Habits: weeks 3 - 8

Lifestyle Change: week 9 - 18

Spread the Spark: week 18 on

I think you get the general gist of it all, but since I'm in the Fast Break stage, I delved a little deeper and found some good stuff.

The Fast Break Stage is a springboard that gives more power to the other three SparkDiet Stages. Just a little prep and practice give you a head start without the need for manic, life-altering changes. This Stage has three main purposes: Create momentum before tackling “heavier” dieting Stages. Build confidence and the knowledge that you can “make this dieting thing work.” Allow you to get used to your dieting and website surroundings without pressure.

And then to help you get the hang of things, you work through these--

6 Fast Break Strategies

1. Do you know what you are eating?

2. Finding the Time

3. Setting up shop

4. Site Tips and Tricks

5. Keeping Goals Top of Mind

6. Which Diet Strategies Will Work for You?

My favorite of these strategies is the Setting Up Shop, which focused on:

Prevent Temptations

Promote Convenience

Purchase Wisely

Anyone who has ever dieted knows that a kitchen full of treats is a recipe for disaster. So that's my goal for this weekend: get the kitchen full of healthy yummy food and clear of junk!

Yes!

The jump start has finally kicked in! Today is Day 4. For the first three days, I was ready to do this, but still very much missing my junk food. I wanted to eat all the yummy stuff I used to. (And with it being valentine's season, there's a lot of good stuff out there!!) But, today that changed.

I stepped on the scale this morning, and I've lost almost 2 pounds! Hooray! That means it's working!! So the desire for junk food is gone. I'm hungry and I love it! I'm sore and I LOVE it! I am looking junk food in the face and daring it to try to tempt me!

I am the master of my fate! I am in control of my destiny! I will become the person I want to be!

Ok, maybe I'm getting a little carried away in my enthusiasm, but every journey begins with a step, but in this case it was more of a running leap!

:)

tired

Have I mentioned that I have a newborn? Yeah, I'm tired. And trying not to be grumpy.

But I worked out anyways. Yay me. I'm still tired but at least I've done one productive thing today, if nothing else. :)

ADDICTIONS

Wow, you never realize how addicted you are to something until you try to go without it!

I, for instance, have become addicted to soda! For Jeff, watching a movie isn't worth it unless you have treats. And treats = soda, popcorn, and candy. So there's usually soda in our house. One of the first goals I made for myself was to limit my soda and candy intake. That alone should probably make a big difference. But it's HARD!

Maybe part of it is that we only had soda on special occasions growing up, and if you didn't grab it when it was there, you didn't get any. I don't know, maybe that's silly. But I like soda and right now I want it ALL DAY LONG! :) But there aren't any of my kinds in the house (sprite and root beer. I LOVE root beer) so if I can just leave Jeff's alone, I'll be ok. But it is there, staring me in the face, tempting me.

Needless to say, I've been drinking a lot of water. I guess I'm trying to trick my psyche that it actually tastes as good. :) At least I'm getting lots of water.

Today is the Day!

I am officially back into the world of weightloss! Rebekah is 6 weeks old today and my postpartum recovery period is finally over! Yay! I am so excited to start exercising and losing weight! again!

The first thing to do is take some stats.

Weight: 240.0

Neck: 13 1/4"

Bust: 44 1/2"

Chest: 40"

Upper Arm: 15 1/2"

Thigh: 29"

Calf: 19"

Waist: 42 1/2"

Bum: 49"

Well, there you go. All my fatness right out there for the world to see. :) It's pretty horrible that what my thigh today = my waist in high school. But I'm feeling optimistic.

The next thing to do is set some goals. Here they are:

• be under 200 by the time we move into our new house (April or May)
• work out 5 days a week
• drink soda/eat candy only on date nights
• eat better- and figure out specific goal for this area :)
• weigh and measure myself every Monday morning (extra incentive not to break over the weekend!)

Today I started my morning with Leslie Sansone's "Walking At Home" video found on youtube here. I love youtube. I think it's a great workout for me to start with. Especially since we can't really do anything outside for a while.

I am so pumped and ready to do this.

Bring it on!!