Goal 1: Accomplished!

Well, I can't believe I actually met my 10 lb goal, and a few days early at that!  I was a bit shocked when I got on the scale this morning, and I am sure tomorrow it will be up a couple of  pounds because I thoroughly enjoyed myself tonight at my parents house.  Two glasses of wine, steak, chips, and ice cream cake.  Oops!  Tomorrow I hope to get a walk in and eat a little healthier than I did today.  I was glancing at some pictures and have really noticed a difference in my face...

This was taken July 2, courtesy of Lucy Rae Photography (LOVE LOVE LOVE them)

This was taken today, July 24

Only one chin in the second picture!  Yay!  I am feeling more and more comfortable in my own skin as I lose the weight.  I was so uncomfortable before.  I still want to lose 10 more pounds (give or take a few).  I know these last 10 are going to be a lot harder, so I will need all the encouragement I can get.  Random text messages telling me to work out would be appreciated.

Obviously  I have noticed the loss in other areas too.  Buh bye love handles!

Yikes.  I hate looking at that first one but I guess it is necessary to see the progress.

Now I get to feel comfortable and confident in my big bro's wedding on Saturday.  I am so incredibly thrilled for him and his beautiful fiance, Calla.  They are an adorable couple and I wish them a lifetime of happiness together.

Happy hump day everyone!

Feeling Proud!

Well folks, I am finished with my homework, the house is clean, and my sweet girl is sound asleep.  Time to update!

Morgan is having so much fun this summer at playgroup (and I am too!).  We have had an excellent showing lately and the kids are so adorable together.  See?

Poor Waylon

4 out of the 5 of these kiddos were born within 2 months of each other.  It is very interesting to get them together and see how each child has their own unique quirks.  Waylon is always a hit though, and bless his heart, he tolerates a lot.  I am so proud of him.  Not your typical nippy chiweenie!  The mommies have a great time chit-chatting about the kids, their husbands, etc. and it's a fun, free way to entertain the little tikes for a couple of hours.

Operation LOSE WEIGHT BEFORE YOUR BROTHER'S WEDDING is going really well.  I have logged into the My Fitness Pal app very consistently for the past few weeks and have been exercising a lot more than my normal (which was not at all).  Today I stepped on the scale and was down...

8 pounds!!!!

That is huge for me.  I am only 5'3" and with about 15-20 pounds to lose total, 8 is a good chunk (both literally and figuratively).  I have two more weeks until my big bro gets hitched, and my goal is to lose 2 more pounds by then to make it a nice, even 10 pounds down.  I think I can I think I can!!!  I have definitely had my slip ups with my eating, but I am trying to balance the mistakes with healthy choices and cardio.  I am currently reading an AWESOME book that I highly recommend...

http://www.amazon.com/Naturally-Thin-SkinnyGirl-Yourself-Lifetime/dp/1416597980

I am not a huge housewives fan or anything, but Bethenny makes some great points in this book.  She is not big on counting calories or dieting, just making your nutrition and health balanced.  Don't like to exercise?  That's okay, but you will need to eat less.  Love cardio?  Great!  You can eat more.  This is definitely a fun read if you are looking for the motivation to get healthy and are sick of dieting (although I completely admit to being on a "diet" right now).  If you want to get this book, get it off Amazon.  Barnes and Noble is an outrage.  I paid $4.00 TOTAL (used, good condition, including shipping).  B&N wanted $16.00 before tax.  No thanks.

My ultimate goal is to get to the weight I was at on my wedding day, 129 lbs.  Isn't it funny the ridiculous stuff you remember?  I couldn't tell you what I ate that day, but Lord knows I have a mental image of 129 on that scale.  I remember being so happy because I was in the "120's".  Silly, I know.  But we all have our own goals, and this is mine.  Here is what 129 lbs looks like on me...

And here is what 173 looks like, HAHA...

YOWZAS!  I know, I know.  I was almost 39 weeks pregnant here.  I had Morgan 2 days later. I miss that big ole preggo belly!

Okay enough ramblings for tonight.  Much love!

Diet Update

So I know it's only been 2 days of this new "diet" (I hesitate to call it that because I know it's technically supposed to be a lifestyle, but let's just call a spade a spade shall we?), but OMG this is tough.  Yesterday was awful.  Not so much because I wanted to pig out on junk food, but because I genuinely felt like crap.  I was nauseated, dizzy, tired, and a little down in the dumps.  Last night I tossed and turned half the night because I felt so bad.  True to form I jumped on the scale this morning, hoping that my one day of misery would result in a magical transformation.  I am down 3 pounds, which I am assuming is all water weight.  This makes sense, as I made at least 40 trips to the potty yesterday.  I am trying to do around 1200 calories a day, using the My Fitness Pal app.  I totally recommend it.  It's completely free, and you can scan your food items and it pops up with all of the nutrition information.  But back to the point...1200 calories is not much.  I think a small Blizzard from Dairy Queen is about half that, and I used to eat those on the REG!  So I believe the feeling like crap yesterday was my body going into shock with the fewer calories and the healthy food.  Kind of sad, right?  Fortunately today has been a thousand times better.  I have felt pretty good overall and I am hopeful that I can stick with this for a while.  Brad is eating healthy with me, so that helps a lot.  He of course will lose 15 pounds by cutting out potato chips and dessert.  Don't you hate that?!

I also want to thank those who have shown so much support for me while I work on getting myself healthy.  It is amazing and motivating to me at how much this topic resonates with others.  It is a reminder that we are all imperfect creatures!

Now, I am going to pop some 100 calorie popcorn.  Yum!