What Are You Doing?

That has been the question "du jour" for me lately. I have to admit, I am very proud of my weight loss. It hasn't been easy and it actually gets harder. Harder? Yep. The more weight I lose, the fewer calories are burned with the same activities. That REALLY sucks! However, the cool thing is, I can now run for FIVE miles!

Now to the question. I am the last person to be giving advice. I am just as lazy as the next couch potato. However, I had reached a point in my life where it was, lose the weight or keep getting bigger. I certainly wasn't losing much by not changing anything I was doing except eating salads for lunch! I knew that if I were going to do it, it would HAVE to be a lifestyle change. Not just a diet.

I couldn't fathom the thought of joining a group, a club, a gym, or a diet plan. Those things cost money! Money I don't have to blow on special things like that. Not with four children. So, I decided to take my degree in biology and my knowledge of human anatomy and put it to use.

I am using www.livestrong.com to track things. I track the foods I eat and the activities I do. I noticed that half of my food lately is made up of carbs, so, I am trying to cut down on that. It is HARD to do. I usually go over on my daily recommended protein, but, that's ok because I can SEE that I am building muscle.

The most important thing I have done for myself is NOT deprive myself. I have cut down on sweets and empty calorie foods. I rarely eat things like chips or cookies, but, I DO allow myself to have them. I try to eat a good breakfast every day. I make sure I have a good protein source, usually an egg. Lunch is usually very light. Maybe a salad or some raw veggies. For dinner, I eat what the rest of the family is eating, only a smaller portion than I used to eat. I even allow myself NOT to clean my plate :)

Working out is NOT easy, but, I have made it bearable for myself. I use our Wii Fit. When I started, I would do one round of Advanced Step Aerobics, then, try to run, and another round of aerobics. The aerobics I would use for warm up and cool down. I have reached the point now where I can do ten minutes of aerobics and five miles of running followed by another ten of aerobics. Some days are harder than others, trust me!

I was not able to do this until I wanted to do it for myself. I have dieted before, but, I tried to do it just by food. That really doesn't help. I felt deprived and hungry. Now, I am truly trying to make it a part of my life. The rewards are great! My daughter put her arms around me a few days ago. She said, "Mama, I used to only be able to get my arms around you like this" and held her arms out further, grabbing her wrists, "now, I can do this!" and she hugged me tightly grabbing her elbows. That felt so good! The kids are noticing, too! The best part, has been getting to shop in the LADIES section! When I started this journey, I was wearing a 20-22 or XXL in Women's clothing. I am now buying shirts in a 12-14 or a Large. I did get to buy my first shirt in a MEDIUM a few days ago! The first time I tried on a shirt from the Ladies section, I stood in the dressing room and cried. Trust me, if I can do it, so can you :)