Marvelous Monday

I woke up this morning and felt like I hadn't slept at all (which I didn't sleep much at all last night, and it wasn't even Elly's fault), and so I wasn't too sure about even wanting to start my day. So I got up and started my usual morning routines, weigh myself (about every 3 days), showered, got Ashlyn up, etc. But to back up a ways, I lazily walked into the bathroom to weigh myself and as I was standing there thinking, "it's probably the same, no change at all, it was the weekend," I glanced down and to my surprise I was down 2.5 pounds.

So I hurried out to the Wii so I could weigh and graph my measurements. So I checked my graph and we started weighing on there seriously after the new year. It hadn't changed much, but then on February 4, is when I started to drop. So in 18 days, I have lost 10 pounds and a couple ounces. I can't remember how many. But this past week alone, I have lost anywhere from 4-5 pounds. If I was on the Wii I could me more exact.

I didn't do all this on my own motivation, I had the help from Jared. It started off as me counting points, like weight watchers. I thought "I've done it before, I can do it again." But for some reason, this time it wasn't working like it had the first time. Jared was losing steadily, and I was getting upset that he was and I wasn't. I would lose a pound in a week, but my weight would fluctuate throughout the week. I finally said something to him about how its not fair, and he said "Well what's working for me is counting calories, and seeing what's really in a portion, and writing it all down." He showed me his chart he put together (did lots and lots of research) and how it worked. So I asked him to put one together for me, and he did. (with even more research) I thought to myself, "I wont' be able to eat anything, I am going to starve!" I started writing down the number of calories I ate each meal and tried to stay within what the chart says. At first it was "this is not going to work" and now I say "IT REALLY WORKS!"

We just don't count calories, we work out every day. I feel so much better when I work out and it makes me feel better about myself. I love the compliments I get from Jared and the energy I have. I have Jared to thank for being my motivator and for always being there for support. We do some of our workouts from P90X together and its a lot of FUN!

Just to give you an idea of what I am able to eat during the day, I will tell you about yesterday's food. For breakfast I had a bowl of bran flakes and a mini whole wheat bagel and that came to 190 calories. Before we went to church, the girls had a snack so I had a 90 calorie granola bar. For lunch after church, we had roast beef, potatoes, gravy, and beans. I looked online at calories in beans and for the ones you bottle yourself, it was about 34 calories a cup, 150 calories for 3 oz. of roast beef, 150 for 1/2 cup mashed potatoes with milk added, and then the gravy was 20 calories for 1/4 cup. And when you measure all of that out, its a lot of food. I used our food scale to weigh the meat. Then last night at my Mom's I had ice cream, chips and salsa, and some cheese with jam on it. So my total calories from yesterday were only around 1200 and I could've had around 1400. So I ate a lot for little calories and I wasn't even hungry.

Anyways so I am going to have a good day, because I feel healthier, better about myself, and I have more energy. It's amazing at what 10 pounds does to your body.