The power of ONE. One more pound. One more workout. One more bottle of water. One more good food choice. One more step towards a new-and-improved ME. One more fantastic challenge on shrinkingjeans.net.

It all boils down to ONE. Only one person has control over my weight, only one person can be strong enough to break the destructive cycle and choose to live a better, more healthy lifestyle, and that one person is ME.

As I start this challenge today 12/29/10, I am 270 lbs. I have lost 25 pounds so far. That in itself is a HUGE accomplishment for me. I still have 90 pounds to go, I know that means I still have a long way to go. But every pound I lose, every new shirt or pants I buy in a smaller size just solidifies the fact that I am doing a good job.

Ive slacked off these last two weeks, I really need to get back on track and be more serious. Although I tried to make good.. umm.. decent? food choices, I found m

yself enjoying food a little too much through the Holiday

s. And as much as I want to say "Oh well, I can start over on counting calories and I didn't do too much damage to myself" I know in my head that I did sabotage myself a little bit. I need to get over those negative thoughts and move on.

I look forward to this new challenge for many reasons. But I think I am looking forward to it most because it is total personal accountability. You won't have a team average on weigh in days, you have to push yourself to do the best you can do. And, you also wont be held back by team members who hadn't taken the challenge serious enough to stay with it. So I look forward to beating myself each week!

I am including pictures that were taken on Dec 16th. I did not take pictures today, but I took these on my birthday, I figured they would be a good baseline to go by, I cant wait to take pictures on my next birthday and see how far I've come in a year! Maybe I should start taking them every week and create a slide show.. hmm..

*sigh* I suck

Well, this is what I get for taking 4 days off and completely not caring. I gained back all the weight I lost last week. I am so not happy. I thought I wasn't doing too bad, I avoided some stuff, didn't other stuff. Either way, I feel like crap about it all. Id like to say that the fact I've hit some depression and am bloated for some unknown reason has played into the weight gain. But inevitably its ALL on me. Apparently the cookies Ive been eating for breakfast the last 2 days weren't my best decision. One step forward.. 3 steps back. I need to get back on track, and quickly.

Holiday Hoe Down, week 4 check-in

I have no idea how Im doing this. Ive lost 3.6 lbs this week! And to be honest, I slacked off a little this week on the water, and my exercise has been severely inconsistent and yet Ive lost over 3lbs. I'm counting my calories, Ive been busy in the house, baking and cleaning, but not sure that accounts to this much of a weight loss.. I suppose I shouldn't be complaining though! It will be interesting to see how this week goes for me. I have decided not to log any of my food Thursday through Sunday. I have a very busy 4 days ahead of me, including a birthday, a basketball game, a night without the kids, a day of power shopping to finish Christmas, and a trip to the in-laws for our Christmas with them. I will still make a semi conscious effort to make good food choices, but I plan on enjoying myself this weekend, and if a calorie laden meal, or a few too many baked goods happen to find their way in, so be it. I will start back Monday with exercise and fewer calories.

I'm going to have my husband (or child) take a picture of me tomorrow, better than the pictures I had taken by myself.. so I have a better picture to compare to in a couple of months.. although I have been losing weight for a few months now, I feel that my birthday is a good day to create a new baseline picture! Not sure what 'new' thing Ill try next week.. Ill have to think about it and blog later.

Wishing everyone that happens to read this a fantastic Holiday!

OCD weigher

For most people, the scale is a dreaded item in their bathrooms, an ominous reminder of what they aren't doing to lose weight.. For me, it's something I look forward to every morning. I wake up, I go to the bathroom and I weigh myself.. every morning. I know, most things you read say, weigh once a week.. well pfft. I want to see! I get excited with a .6oz drop lol. Sometimes I even weigh before bed to see what Ive gained throughout the day and how much of a difference it is in the morning. Yep, I'm obsessed with it. Today was one of those thrilling days! I knew I was close yesterday.. I was just dying for this morning! I weighed and I am officially the lowest weight Ive been in 5 yrs! (And now only 5 lbs more than my husband - I have it in my head that a woman should weigh less than her husband.) Seeing that this morning gave me more incentive to keep going, to keep counting my calories and to keep losing this dreaded weight! My goal by New Years is to weigh less than Bryan.. and I WILL do it!

Week #3 Weigh-in and blog.

Another week down.. Another 2 lbs lost! A girl could get used to this! As of today, I am 271! I was hoping to be under 270 this week.. but thanks to mother nature (Bitch!) I am bloated like mad this week :( *sings "All I want for Christmas is to be under 265" LOL*

I am thoroughly convinced that counting calories is the BEST way to lose the weight. A couple years ago I did the cottage cheese for breakfast, salad for lunch and a small dinner - worked out everyday diet and I did great on it for the first month. I lost almost 30 lbs in 30 days. But what I learned is, 1) that fast a weightloss isn't healthy and 2) I really, really hated salad and cottage cheese. Then I gave up... and gained it all back - quickly. I can't say enough good about myfitnesspal.com they have made it so easy to keep track of my food and my exercise and they give me numbers that I can keep track of.

Although Im thrilled that I am losing weight with this new challenge at shrinkingjeans.net , I am a little frustrated that our team will never win a weekly challenge. Isn't that the whole point of joining a challenge? To win? (and don't say, "oh its not if you win or lose, but at least you're having fun" - I was a soccer coach. Losing sucks, you play to win!) We have ladies in our group that have never posted on the forum, and for all I know, have never weighed in once. We have one that dropped out today to focus on family.. and I can certainly understand wanting (needing) to focus on family, and I wish her all the luck with any focus she can find this time of year, but when you commit to something, you should see it through, for better or worse. I am so proud of my good friend Lori who's in our little group with me.. She has come so far on her weightloss journey and she is looking great! I only hope I can be half as successful as her (Well, I will be half as successful as her when I lose another 4 lbs! LOL) We may all have our bad weeks, make our bad food choices, go off and eat that huge pile of spaghetti, or those extra donuts.. but its all in how we recover from that that will make us win this battle!

On a side note.. I'm still DYING for a bodymedia fit meter! GRR - Maybe my MIL will give me $ for my birthday/Christmas and I can buy it myself ...

Before.... and now.

Ok, you can say it. I'm a copycat.. lol. My good friend Lori was brave enough to post her before and as-of-now pics and it got me searching my pc for the self picture I took the day I started the Shrinkvivor challenge over at shrinkingjeans.net, and then I ran to the bedroom to take my own as-of-now pic.. They are horrible pics, the kids didn't want to help me take a pic.. brats! But I can see a difference! Picture on left is before, on right is as of today. I've lost 20 lbs so far.. Please overlook the messy bedroom!

Keep on keeping on.... track that is

So as part of our non-fitness weekly challenge in the Holiday Hoedown at shrinkingjeans.net we have to outline 3 things we will do this month to stay on track with our weightloss goals. I have been thinking about this for days and am having a hard time thinking of anything different. We don't go to holiday parties, so I don't have to worry about limiting my party appetizers or alcohol intake. I do bake, but I give most of it away, or hubby takes it to work. I guess my 3 things will be the same as I have been doing so far,

1. Continue to exercise, I have slacked off the last couple of days.. oops. I need to get back into it starting tomorrow. (Not feeling it today)
2. Avoid bad fast food choices when out Christmas shopping. I know I'll be stuck going to McDonald's at least once when we go out shopping, and I know its all bad there, but some choices are better than others... I'll try my best!
3. Continue to drink the water.. I see and feel the difference when I drink the amount of water I'm supposed to each day.

I really wanted the bodymedia fit meter for either my birthday or Christmas, but that doesn't look like its going to happen :( Hopefully I can pick one up after the new year. I think that will give me even more motivation, and I'm really interested in seeing how many calories I burn doing the normal stuff I do every day!

End of week 2- Holiday Hoedown - And I lost!

This last week has been so entirely hectic! Basketball practices, a whole day of prepping for Thanksgiving, a house full of family on Thanksgiving, traveling to mother-in-laws after Thanksgiving.. Its nice to get back to the 'normal' routine this week! I ate, and I ate, and I even had pie..and soda, but I also worked my ass off! And it has paid off, 2 pounds lost this week! Can't beat going through the most food laden holiday of the year and coming out weighing less than you were before it! Now to survive Christmas!