"Nothing happens until something moves." ~ A. Einstein

Ain't that the truth!  When I sat on my couch eating ice cream and lamenting about being fat nothing changed in my life.  I had to get up and move purposely towards what I wanted.  Losing weight doesn't happen for the passive.

You must be active!

Not just in moving your body, which is obviously necessary, but in making choices in everyday things to be different than you were the day before.  I can't look at my life and say I'm on a diet.  Diets don't work and they're temporary.  I am changing the way I eat because I don't want the things I ate before.  All they got me was fat!

I don't just want to sit on my couch every night.  Now I go to the gym and I move.  Tonight I experienced my first exercise induced high.  There I was, sweating like a dog and feeling absolutely on top of the world.  Never thought my life could be like this.

I love it.  I love my life!

Making Progress

Today I weighed in at 215.4 lbs.  That is 31.4 lbs dropped since January.  During the last 10 months, I have had successes, stalls and back pedaling.  Between July (where I was at my lowest of 213 lbs) and September, I had gained 11lbs.  I have nearly worked all of that off and am on pace for a goal of being 199 lbs or less by Christmas.

Being healthy takes a lot of discipline.  I have to be on top of my eating and exercise all the time or I slip back into bad habits.  I shop on Saturdays so I know exactly what is going to go in my mouth for every meal for the next 7 days.  Doing this is making me successful.  Going to the gym 6 days a week is making me successful.  I am losing weight.

It is hard, but it is so worth it.  Yesterday, I could tell how much smaller I was while on the elliptical.  The shirt that used to be so tight on me is a lot looser.  What a great feeling!

Once I hit 210 I am going to post another picture.  Only a few pounds to go!!!

Dealing with Injuries

So two weeks ago, I lost a pound and the last week I gained a pound.  That was a bit frustrating.

I am not going to let this derail me though.  Yesterday, I bought and prepped my food for the next 7 days.  High in protein, fiber and complex carbs.  If I prep, I am more likely to eat right the whole week.

My only problem now is that I have aggravated my Achilles tendon in my right foot. This means changing up my cardio, adding in new stretches and ice.  I hate when my body isn't able to do something.  It is hard enough to lose weight, I don't want to affect anything by not being able to workout.

Hope I can get past this soon.

Secrets to Weight Loss: Working Out, Eating Right and Sticky Notes

I am trying to stay on the path to healthiness and it is more difficult than ever.  In July, I got down to 214 lbs, my lowest to date.  Then I pulled back on the amount I was working out, I cheated more than I should when it came to dietary choices and before I knew it, I packed on 11 lbs.

It is so frustrating how quickly I can get off track.  Also, I just hate that you can gain weight way faster than lose it.  How unfair is that!

So three weeks ago, I signed back up for personal training twice a week and hitting the gym for cardio four times a week.  No more spur of the moment meal choices for me.  Each week I carefully plan out my meals and shop accordingly.  I still have a sweet tooth so I found an awesome healthy recipe, Vegan Raw Cookie Dough.  Its not really cookie dough, but it tastes just like it!  It is made up of chick peas, almond butter and dark chocolate chips.  I have a tablespoon or two with an apple for an afternoon snack.

With all this effort, I am down 7 lbs.  So besides working out regularly and eating right, what is my other motivation?

Sticky notes.

I have them on my fridge, walls, and doors.  They are filled with reminders of things to avoid, things to strive for and goals achieved.  If I don't have constant reminders....I just fall off the wagon.

One area that I am just really struggling with is the scale.  My trainer has asked me to only weigh in once a week.  Before last Friday, I was weighing myself every day and now I am constantly worried.  What if my eating isn't as on track as I think it is?  What if I am not working out hard enough?  What if the scale tells me that all my work is for nought this week?  I wonder if this is what goes through the mind of people struggling with anorexia and bulimia?  If I'm not hyper focused on losing weight, I don't do what I need to do, but when I am, I am completely panicked about weighing in.

I don't know how to combat that.