Back On!

Last month I had family in town, 3 birthdays celebrated and a Halloween with too much candy!!  I've gained some weight back but I'm back on!  Be ready to hear of more weight loss soon!

32 pounds!

I've lost 32 pounds!  Things are going well.  I go through spurts of major motivation to allowing myself a little too much.  It's so interesting to me how personal dieting has to be.  I am fine with allowing myself treats here and there, but I've learned that I can't keep it stocked in my house.  

I LOVE Lindor Dark Chocolate Truffles so when I go to the store at the check out I grab one or two for a treat.  One day I thought that it would be cheaper in the long run to just buy a bag of them so I did...big mistake.  They went pretty fast.  They were so yummy!  So for now I stick to grabbing one or two at check out.  :)  

The same goes for baking.  I made cookies last Sunday, which I've had to avoid at all costs because I know I'll eat lots of dough and cookies!  Well, I gave some to the hubby and kids, ate a little dough, a couple cookies, then gave the rest of the cookies to a good friend.  I knew if I kept it in the house I'd eat them, so why get them out and have an excuse to visit a friend?  It worked out great.

This dieting thing is tough, but I love it.  I love feeling better and happier.  I love feeling like I have accomplished something difficult and wonderful.  I love knowing that I can do hard things.  I love believing that I can lose more.  I love feeling the love and support from my family and friends.  Thanks to all of you for your comments and even just checking my blog.  I love to hear that people read it.  

Thanks again and keep checking for updates!!

30 pounds!!

I've lost 30 pounds now!  I'm so excited and feel great! 

I can't wait to lose more!

28 pounds!

I've lost 28 pounds now and going strong!  YEA!!

Motivation

The picture on the left is of me around the time I started my diet this year.  The one on the right was taken when I lost 40 pounds in 2006.

Fight the Urge Moment by Moment.  This has really helped me in the past and is keeping me motivated now.  This helps me to not be overwhelmed by how much weight I want to lose but to know that I can do it as I take baby steps and fight moment by moment.  I am so excited by how well I'm doing and can't wait to lose more.  As of today I've lost 26 pounds!  In the past couple weeks I've lost a pound every 3 days.  We're going camping this weekend so if I want to keep that up, I'll have to be really good.  Wish me luck!!  

I'm Back!

I'm finally back on track.  I have now lost 25 pounds and am feeling very motivated!  I'm excited to lose more and feel healthier.  My goal right now is 75 pounds total although I read on websites that if I want my BMI to be in the healthy range, I should lose anywhere from 116 to 82 pounds!  Whew!  I'm working on 75 for right now.  

21 pounds!

I'm a third of the way through my first weight loss goal.  Phew!  Much more to go but I'm really proud I've gotten this far.

I'm still watching portions and the things I am eating.  I snack in the day which is really good for weight loss as long as it's healthy and low in calories.  This really helps me because it keeps me from getting to hungry which leads to me overeating.  I eat within an hour of waking up and stop eating at least a couple hours before I go to bed.  This has really helped as well.

One thing that I'm sure has helped but I definitely don't recommend is having kidney stones!  Last Friday I was in a lot of pain and by Friday night my husband took me into the emergency room.  We found out there I had a 5mm kidney stone.  They sent me home with pain medication and told me to call a urologist on Monday.  Saturday was the worst!  I can't believe how extremely painful it was!  Luckily my wonderful husband was home and he took care of the kids.

I was still in pain on Sunday, but not so bad.  I called a urologist on Monday and they sent me in for a CT scan and made me an appointment for that day.  After having the CT scan the doctor told me a had a 6mm x 5mm stone lodged  in between my kidney and bladder.  She also said that I had 4 or 5 2mm stones still in my kidney.  She then told me that I would have to have a procedure done at LDS hospital.

The next morning I checked in just after 7:00 and had the procedure done.  She broke up the big stone by ultrasound while I was put to sleep but wasn't able to break up the smaller ones.

That day and the next were uncomfortable but bearable with pain medication.  The day after that I had a migraine all day that the med student told me was a delayed reaction of the anesthetic and even my super pain meds were hardly even touching.  It was awful.  The next day (yesterday) I felt a little pain in my back and this morning I've been feeling a lot more pain.  I'm thinking I haven't passed the smaller ones yet.

Anyway, even though it seems as though these kidney stones may have helped with a couple extra pounds, I'm not sure it's been worth it.  I'm not drinking Diet Dr. Pepper anymore.  The doctor thinks I got the stones during pregnancy but I don't want to take any chances.  I'm sure I'll have a soda every once in a while but for now...no.  I'm too nervous.  I never want to go through this again.

Thanks for listening!  I'm really excited I'm losing weight and am even more excited to lose more!!

17 pounds!

I hit a nasty plateau for a while but I'm back on track!  It drives me crazy how easy it is to put on the weight and how hard it is to take off!  I don't have a lot of tips but here a couple things I've realized in the past few weeks.

#1 I can't let myself get too hungry.  Healthy snacks in between small meals are the way to go.  If I get hungry it becomes too easy to eat too much of something I'm not supposed to.

#2 I can't let myself get bummed about the weight I'm at or how long this process is going to take.  I need to be patient and take it one day at a time.

#3 I struggle with eating too big of portions so I've learned to keep extra food further than arms length.  This way I have to think about getting more rather than mindlessly serving myself more food.

Thanks to everybody for your support!  It helps so much!!

12 pounds!!

I weighed myself this morning and I have now lost 12 pounds!!  I'm so excited!  Last night I really wanted to eat more than I should.  It was actually really hard to resist but I did and I am so happy this morning that I did so well!

There are a couple things I do to help me in times like those.  The first is what I mentioned in my last post, Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper!  I feel like I'm cheating when I'm really not.  I know, it's not great for me, but right now it's really helping my fight my temptations to eat stuff I'm not supposed to.

The second is Ice Breakers Ice Cubes gum.  My favorite are the Kiwi Watermelon and Raspberry Sorbet Flavors.  Any time I'm tempted I have one of those and it really does help.  I keep them in my kitchen cupboard so when I'm doing dishes or making dinner and feeling tempted to snack, I pop one of those in and feel better.  They're so yummy so I kinda feel like I'm getting a treat.

I'm so excited I'm still losing!  YEA!

How I do it

I've been asked a lot how I've lost my 10 pounds in such little time.  First of all, I have a lot to lose so the first little bit is coming off faster than I'm sure it will later.  I know I need to eat lots of vegetables cooked the right way and not dipped in fatty stuff, eat the right kind of fruits (not the too sugary ones), exercise 30-60 minutes a day and don't eat super fatty stuff.  Ideal, right?  Of course.  But to make that kind of change in a day is very overwhelming to me, so I'm starting off small.  

I'm cutting down my portions considerably. I've stopped snacking on cookies and candy.  I spoil myself with diet cherry Dr. Pepper!!  YUM!  I know it's not the best for me, but it helps me get through days I want to majorly cheat.  If I feel like a snack, I'll have an ounce of Almonds (Blue Ribbon Almonds with sea salt are my favorite).  Since I get tempted to overeat, I'll put what I'm going to eat on a plate or bowl and put the food somewhere else.  Out of sight, out of mind.  I love Slim Fast and I know that this is a lifestyle change and I'm not going to have Slim Fast for my whole life but it's been my friend lately.  If I wasn't great that day, I'll have one for dinner.  If I know I'm going out and want to eat just a little more, I'll have one for lunch.  I also have one first thing in the morning.  I know you're supposed to eat within an hour of waking up so since I have to get up to feed my baby, it's a perfect time.  I then eat a piece of wheat toast with peanut butter on it when my girls have their breakfast.  I also make sure I have healthy snacks in between meals.  

Well folks, that's how I'm doing it.  I hope to gradually get healthier and eat better, but as of right now, I'm taking baby steps.  This is really helping me to not get discouraged.  I can do this!!  

And so it begins...

Just over 4 and a half years ago I decided that I needed to get serious about losing weight.  It was June 19th and by the time I found out I was pregnant with my first child 7 months later I had lost 40 pounds.  I promised myself I would never be as heavy as I had once been, and here I am, 4 years and 3 amazing kids later, even heavier than I was then.  I'm frustrated with myself for letting me get this way but motivated to get skinnier and healthier!!  I finally got serious about it last month and have already lost 10 pounds.  Thanks to everybody for their motivation and positive messages.  You have no idea how much that helps.  I'm excited and motivated to lose more and feel better.  

 April 2006

 Me wearing those same pants in January 2007

 So proud!  

January 2011

And so it begins...