Newfound Motivation

Hello friends!  Today is December 4th.  How close am I to my 30lbs loss goal by the end of the year?  23 pounds away..... I've lost seven pounds in three months.  Not my best efforts, by far!  But it's time to get back in the game.  I don't care that we're in the holiday season, I don't care that I will be tempted almost daily by some sort of baked good or hot, cheesy dish.  I will resist most of the time and give in some of the time.  I want (and need) this to be realistic for me, and saying I'll never "indulge" is not realistic.  However, it's my definition of indulgence that I need to work on. 

I talked to my doctor last week about wanting to have another baby sometime next year.  I expressed to him my intentions of losing a bit of weight before getting pregnant.  I would like to be 20 or more pounds less than I was when I got pregnant with Owen, which puts me right about 30 pounds from now.  I feel this is very realistic, and if I find my inner-exercise goddess I hope I can lose that in 4-5 months.  I would LOVE for it to take less time than that, but I'm trying this new thing where I don't set myself up for failure. ;) 

I joined a weight-loss challenge on FB called Last Loser Standing.  There are 500 spots and I snagged one of them, silently having an anxiety attack while clicking the "Join Group" button.  I don't know what I was thinking, except that this might be the motivation I need.  This challenge involves a weekly weigh-in, and if I don't lose or maintain (within one ounce of the previous week's weight) I get disqualified.  I'm excited about it for many reasons, but the main reason being that I can focus on this "journey" on a week-to-week basis and not the big picture.  The big picture scares me.  It's a lot of weight to lose and I can't think about it without getting discouraged and wanting to throw in the towel before I even put a dent in it.  So here I am!  I think it's a good challenge, uncomplicated and very doable, if I can just stay focused. 

So that's where I am at this point.  I'm still seeing my trainer once a week on Tuesday mornings (getting up out of the chair after this post will be difficult).  I've really slacked off on cooking healthy meals and most days I struggle to get my arse on the elliptical, but I'm determined to get in 5 sessions of 35-40 minutes on the elliptical each week on top of the work out with my trainer.  I also intend on doing another session with weights at home once per week.  Just typing this makes it feel like a bigger commitment than I want to make.... soooo let's say 3-4 days of elliptical.  Then if I do more I can pat myself on the back.  :) 

In addition to all of that I scoured my cook books and manilla envelopes of recipes for some healthy, clean meals to cook.  I pledge to cook three healthy meals per week.  Including leftovers, this should only allow room for one "indulgence" meal per week and I intend to eat that meal the night after I weigh in for the challenge, then I have a whole week to sweat it out.  :) 

I need to hold myself more accountable, and one of the ways I'll do this is by posting once a week with my weigh-in results, meal ideas and exercise results (miles, hours, etc.).  (I'm borrowing this idea from my friend over at www.2012losingit.blogspot.com :)

Below are my new "before" pictures.  They were taken about a month ago when I tried to squeeze into a dress that's about two sizes too small in the belly/ass areas.  I thought it looked GREAT but boy am I glad I got out the camera to see what it thought.  I saw something completely different after uploading the pictures than I saw while looking in the mirror.  Funny how that happens. 

 Starting weight: 247

 

 Side shot- note the 5mo pregnant-looking belly...

 

Rear-shot..... no words....

 

 

There you have it!  Wish me luck!  3408024570845th time's a charm, right??  ;)