Weekly Check In #2 for my Personal Weight Loss Challenge

Saturday, November 19, 2011
Okay, so it seems when I first start concentrating on something it backfires. That old knee jerk reaction of setting myself up for failure comes charging back into my life. Little voices in my head start saying a phrase I have heard many times before- "You don't really think you can do this, do you?" The good news is, I do feel I can do this, this time around....just not with out some fits and starts.

This past week I was way too over indulgent. Birthdays do that to me. My daughter's 24th birthday was on Monday. We celebrated with a dinner party for her on Saturday. That is when the eating began. Her menu is always- Fried Chicken (the real homemade kind), mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans with ham hocks, with the ultimate prize being a from scratch German Chocolate Cake with french vanilla ice cream. Holly smokes! It was all delicious mind you, even if I do say so myself. I have gotten better about fixing less of everything so there are not too many leftovers. I also only make this meal once a year, for my daughter's birthday.

I gained 3 pounds. Yipes! Then the excuses kept piling up as I ate a little more than I should have each day...and drank red wine. I am so good at that! Fortunately, my good-to-me voice started getting louder and louder saying- "you don't really need this extra food and you really do want to succeed!" So I am slowly getting back on track.

The only way I really know how to get back on track, with complete honesty and knowledge of what I am doing, is to track what I am eating, counting portions and calories. Yes, it is a bit of a nuisance, but I don't have the kind of eyes or mind that automatically knows what are the "right" amounts to eat. So I have started logging my food again. I started yesterday...went way over 1800 calories, but at least I counted and had to recognize what I was doing.  Counting does shock you back to reality.

In order to control what I am eating through the holidays, I am going to have to log everything this year. I may even be able to lose a net couple of pounds from my low last week before Christmas. What would be really cool is not to gain any weight through New Year's. That would be a first! That way, when the New Year begins and I am ready to really work on losing weight, I could start in a better place, bringing my weight down a net 10 lbs which is my goal as I look to next summer and doing my first 30 mile ride!

If anyone has some good insight or advise to share, I would love to hear it! I know I am not alone in this journey!

This week my goals are-
To log all my food, even on Thanksgiving
To exercise each day, even on the weekends
Consciously drink more water
Substitute hot tea for my red wine in the evenings (cold beer isn't working now because of the cold weather outside)--this will be my hardest challenge!

Wish me luck!

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