Left 2009/ Right 2011
I've averaged 2 pounds/week for the last 4 weeks! Slow, but steady!
My favorite day of the week!  I get to document my progress.  I a down another 3.5 pounds.  That makes 4 for the last two weeks and 13 since July 15.

Healthy choices this week:  I skipped several desserts that I watched my family eat.  (I may have tasted a couple bites).  I mostly had high fiber choices for cereal and breads.  Carrots and some fruit for snacks or with meals.  Not sure it it was this week that I had zaxby's zalad, but I've cut my lite ranch usage to half a pack from 1 1/2.  I eat about half of the salad without any dressing which I am developing a taste for.  Then, I use half a packet for the rest.  I've done that with other foods for a long time now, like sweet potatoes.  I like my sweet potato plain sometimes, and other times I want the toppings.  So, I get the toppings on the side (cinnamon, brown sugar and butter).  Eat it plain and then add a little sweets if I want some that way.  I also skipped the bun with my pork once or twice.  I was careful to weigh portions.  We had smoked pork meat to eat this week.  I think I would have lost more weight if we had a leaner meat, but that's what we had and I still lost.  I think I will try to smoke some chicken wings next.  My son just bought two jumbo bags of uncooked wings (by mistake).  He was suppose to get some precooked, skinless, frozen wings that you just reheat.  They were so tasty and good on the calories.  Not sure how these will turn out.  I hope they are skinless.
This is my husband and I, August of 2013. We were on an Alaskan Cruise.  This Sept, we will be on another cruise, this time to Hawaii.  I was planning on wearing the same dress for formal night, but I hope I look much better in it this time around!  I am looking forward to doing a comparison photo.  I only weigh about 5 pounds more there than I do now, so I better work hard these next few weeks to actually see a difference.  Now, that's some motivation.
I've lost 9 pounds since last Tuesday.  However, it's only 3 pounds since July 3.  I had put on some weight over the Holiday, and traveling to and from STL.  So, basically, I am down 3 pounds, which is wonderful still!  But that is not what I am celebrating today.  Today, I have tracked my calories for a week.  That means I have "cared" about what I was eating.  I have thought about it, before I consumed.  Decided whether or not I wanted to "spend" calories on a particular food.  That is the first step for me to losing weight and something I have to stick to in order to lose weight or maintain.  Otherwise, I am like a shopper with no cares about money.  I shop like crazy and before I know it, my wallet is empty and I owe money.

I've made some healthy choices over the week:  higher fiber, smaller portions, carrots for a snack, grilled chicken strips from Chick-fil-a, instead of crispy, no bacon or mayo on my sandwich.  I've also had some unhealthy choices: bites of 5 cheese mac and cheese, waffle fries, chocolaty Rice Krispy Treats,  and some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bar that my daughter made.  Probably too many unhealthy choices to keep losing weight with, but the point is that I budgeted for them.  I only went over on my calories one day by a couple hundred,  but was under on the rest.  By tracking, I knew what I was doing.  I had a successful week and am off to a great start at achieving my goals of losing weight.

Most importantly, I made the choice to care.  Everyday that I care about what I eat, I have achieved a monumental goal.  That for me has been the biggest hurdle. I am so good at pushing off the start of this weight loss journey because I am in terrible shape already.  What's one more fattening meal going to do?  It's going to keep me where I am now!  And I am obviously not happy where I am now, why else would I keep telling myself that I need to lose weight. That is why I am choosing to care!  Choosing to track my calories! Right now, I can celebrate this victory!
Well, it's been a while.  Too long.  I keep trying to restart what I did successfully in 2009 and have not been able to stick to it for more than a few days usually.  I had a few longer go's at it and I even managed to start 2014 at a lower wt than I started 2013.  Yearly weigh-in's that's what I need to focus on :)  Just kidding.

Actually, I am proud of the decrease from one year to the next.  I'd like to continue that with at least 30 pounds off this year.  More would be great, but I'd be happy with 30.  That would mean I need to weigh-in in Jan 2015 at 207.  That is an attainable goal.  Then, how about weighing-in at 190 for 2016.  And, 175 for 2017.  That would put me a few pounds lower than I was in 2009 before my pregnancy/miscarriage.

That is pretty slow progress which has been disappointing to me in the past (not losing quickly).  I think, though, maintaining and not allowing myself to go on a "I don't care" road, would be a huge achievement.

So, how do I get there?  I love competitions or a buddy that is actively pursuing wt loss with me.  It's very motivating for me.  I am trying to get my sister to get back at it.

So here is a picture of us a couple weeks ago:



I'm the one with the multi-colored shirt for those of you who do not know me.  Sharon, you know who you are :)  Do you accept this challenge?  To quote you, "there really is no reason why we can't get all the way to our ideal weights".

My 4 y/o, Jessie, was sitting next to me as I opened up my blog page. She says, "Hey, you have 3 mom's on there. (Looking at my pictures at the top of my blog page.) So, I just had to ask her which mom she liked the most. She picked, just as I thought she would, the one from Nov 2009. But, she followed up with the fact that she liked me now better than any of those pictures. Then she sang me a beautiful song of all the things she loves me more than :) She is so precious and a very good reason for me to be healthy and active!