My Weight loss Journey

       I finally did it... the thing I thought impossible. I hit the big "200" on the scales.  Then I swore of the scales. Maybe it was a bad day, right?  To tell you the truth, as I'm writing this, I'm not even certain what I exactly weigh.  

      The turning point: I need a couple of new dresses. Yes, I need them - because I don't have many clothes that still fit. I have gone up 2 dress sizes since I last went dress shopping. Not only that, but I am now in the last size that is in the regular line of clothes in department stores. I refuse to have to shop in the plus-size department. I am not disapproving of women who shop in the plus-size department; my mother did for as long as I can remember, and I think she was beautiful! But I already don't feel as good (health-wise) as I remember feeling when I was even 20 pounds lighter - I want to do this for me.
      I also have done a good job of convincing myself that I'm not as big as I really am... and I was going for a nice reinforcement of that lie so I visited mybodygallery.com (you type in your body info, height, weight, size etc and it produces pictures of real women your size). I think this is a wonderful website, so many people view themselves as "fat" and that is so far from the truth - it's great for those who need a positive self image. Except in my case... it made me think oh my gosh, is that what I look like???

      First Goal: to loose 15 pounds! I found this blog and was amazed at the difference 15 pounds can make in a woman just like me. 15 pounds is something totally attainable (and a nice perk is that it is about a dress size difference). I still hope to eventually reach my goal of weighing about 145 - 150 (as listed on my 101 blog), but that will take time and work... little steps.

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      My current DIET plan, mostly derived from my various pins on Pinterest (my weight-loss board "No food tastes as good as Skinny Feels") and what I know will work for me more so than any actual scientific research done on my part.

• Guzzle Water - Drink 1 glass of water every hour (I'm pretty good at drinking water at work, so that would roughly be 7 glasses a day). Make it ice-cold water (your body burns calories to bring it back to body temperature)
• Divide Portions in half - I'll mostly do this using smaller plates. 
• Eat at home... hey it'll save money for new clothes too, right?
• Start a blog - well I'll start blogging about it here.
• ** Tweet your weight **
• Eat more veggies, nuts, grapefruit, yogurt
• Brush & floss more
• **Trade your car for a bike**

        I'm not going to actually start tweeting my weight, but I am going to start texting it to several of my close friends once a week. I trust them enough to know that they will support me and encourage me, but not tear me down if I have a bad week or slip. I need the accountability - someone to check in and say "hey - it's Saturday and I haven't heard from you??"

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    My current EXERCISE plan - if swimming worked for Amanda, then it will work for me. I'm going to make a call today and see if one of my friends will Ok me crashing her pool several days a week. : ) I hope to swim 3 nights a week for an hour and a half (pretty sure that will either kill me or come close the first few times I do it...). Then for another 3 days of the week I plan to ride a bicycle... that I need to purchase.

I think these exercises will work for me because they are both things that I have enjoyed doing in the past when I was in good shape. I hope to regain these pleasures.

       My ultimate goals for these exercise routines: I want to take John camping later this summer and be able to swim across Lake Meridian!

The summer before my senior year of high school (when I was in prime shape), several of my friends and I swam across the lake on a whim. The lake is long and narrow, but let me assure you - "narrow" as it may seem in the picture... it's still quite the workout, even "back when".

As far as the bike riding goes. My dear sweet husband who is much better at this whole fitness thing than I am (and unfortunately my bad habits rub off on him rather than his good on to me) is quite the runner. He has lost roughly 20 pounds and is in great shape (my hottie!)! (He goes through these cycles, and looses a bunch of weight and gains a little back, and looses it etc. These cycles are usually my fault because he slips back into my bad habits)... He is currently training for a half marathon and has been running from our house to my Dad's neighborhood and back to our house (15.4 miles!). I want to be able to ride my bike with him on these runs! It sure won't happen overnight... but with time and training! (for those who question, why not just run with him? I'm not a runner... I tried to train for a 5K... and failed - I think maybe the swimming I will do will help me be able to try again, because I'd really like to run a 5K but we've got to whip my asthmatic lungs back into shape with something less strenuous than running)

       Here's to a change! : )