Happy Surprise

This morning greeted me with a happy surprise. . . TWO POUNDS gone away.  YES!  Only 2 more to go to hit the big 4-0.  I still get nervous getting on the scale. Every time I step on the scale my heart beats a little faster and I think what is it going to tell me today?  Though tomorrow is May 1st and I was hoping to be at the 40 pound mark by today...I'll take this progress.  Just means that I have to meet my a goal of 12 pounds for the month of May.  Thinking back to a short time ago when I carried around the 27pounds of sugar...I think I would die right now trying to carry 38 pounds of anything around.  Yes, there is a little more pep in my step and I'm doing the happy dance right now.  Just think. . . I'm almost half way to my goal of 100. 

A little side note, yesterday I have one of Lauren's friends a ride home and when she got in the car she said "Lisa, you look so tiny"...I thought that was just about the sweetest thing. 

Still hate shopping

I have to wonder if clothes shopping will ever become an enjoyable experience.  Almost 40 pounds lost and all of my pants are way too big.  I went to three different stores yesterday to try to find new pants and nothing fits quite right. Seems like I'm at some kind of inbetween stage. Find pants that fit in the waist, they are too long, some brands fit in the leg and not the waist, some just don't look right.  It's highly frustrating.  So I guess for now I have to walk around in the old ones and hope my pants dont fall down.

Almost there

Finally,  another pound gone.  I hate when I go a couple of weeks and not lose.  But I am happy that I have been maintaining.  I've reached that difficult point now where it's going to start coming off a bit slower, I will just have to be patient with that and just keep plugging away.  I've only got 4 more pounds to go to reach that big 40....that's a pretty big number and very exciting.  Hoping the weather is somewhat nice this weekend so I can get back to my walking. I've been on the Eliptical machine but I have just lost interest in that.  I really have to force myself  to keep going on it.  I love walking, I could walk for hours and it's so easy to change your scenery walking.  Unfortunately, I'm somewhat of a diva with the temperatures.  It has to be just the right temperature for me to be out walking...hmm, something I just need to get over.  So bring on the weekend and the walking weather and let's see what I can get off this weekend. 

On a side note...I was told today that my pants are looking pretty baggy.  I really need to go shopping and get some clothes that fit a bit better.  I walk around all day pulling up these darn jeans, I think I'm still afraid of shopping but I know I can't go much longer until I do it.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

The DC Adventure

I'm back from my four day adventure to Washington DC. My friend asked me yesterday...How did you do with the food?  The best answer I could come up with is I did "fair" with the food.  It was extremely difficult. Everything was fast food.  Now the positive news is that I maintained my weight.  That in itself is a small miracle.  I wanted to come back having lost a pound or two.  But the mere fact that I did not gain is something I'm very happy about.

We left on Thursday morning there was a breakfast stop at Mcdonalds. I had my usual there...the Egg McMuffin, no egg.  Those who know me well, know I won't touch an egg.  Lunch stop was at another rest area where there was a food court and the best choice for me was Quiznos so I had a sandwich.  Dinner that night was at yet another food court at a mall and I ended up with Chinese food of which I only ate half.  The following three days breakfast was at our hotel, but the choices were limited to eggs, sausage patties and fruit. This was ok as I would have a bannana and some OJ.

Friday we again visited a food court for lunch...had some chili from Johnny Rockets.  Dinner that evening was on The Spirit of Washington dinner cruise it was a buffet, Mac and Cheese, Chicken, Pulled Pork, Rice and salad. So I had myself some salad and a piece of chicken. 

Saturday lunch at the American Space Museum...you guessed it another food court...This time there was a choice of Mcdonalds, Pizza or Boston Market, so I went with the Boston Market and had the chicken.

That evening Dinner was hamburgers at Fudruckers.

Traveling home on Sunday more food court food.

I eat out a lot but it would normally be once a day, not three times a day.  When I'm in charge I go to places where I know I can be in control. This trip was definately out of my control where it came to the food. I made the best choices possible. The sad thing is that I did not enjoy one single meal.  Especially the dinner cruise, I hardly ate a thing that evening because the quality was just not to my liking. In fact When we got back to the hotel the girls and I were hungry so we had a pizza delivered. I had a half a piece, it was one of the worst pizza's I've ever had. 

If I'm going to eat I want to enjoy what I'm having.  This is more important to me than ever since I'm watching what I eat.  If I'm going to eat it, it needs to be good otherwise it's not worth my time.

I realized a couple things on this trip.  The first thing is I wish I could pack my scale and bring it along with me on the trip.  I've become a bit obsessed with weighing myself every day to make sure I'm on track.  I thought about my scale often on this trip.  I couldn't wait to get home and get back on it so I could know what I was doing. (I know what you're thinking....who is this person and where is the real Lisa)

The other thing I realized is that I'm already seeing the difference in the things I can do since I've lost 35 pounds.  I truly believe I would have had a harder time walking the streets of DC.  I know I would have had a very difficult time walking in Arlington Cemetary as it was very hilly.  I am more than positive I would not have been able to tackle the 58 steps up to the Lincoln Memorial.  (I could have definately gone up those steps more than once.)  And even though I'm not at my goal weight, I can out walk whiney 14 year old girls. 

Even though I didn't come back with a weight loss, I still feel successful.  It's these small successes that keep me going.

Off To D.C.

I'm leaving in the morning for Washington D.C. I have to be honest, I'm a little nervous because this is going to be the first time I'm away for a length of time while dieting.  It's my daughters 8th grade school trip and it appears to me that I'm going to be faced with a lot of fast food options. I don't eat fast food any more so I'm going to be challenged.  Since I was unable to do my weird weight loss tip experiment from last week (taking photos of everything I eat) I think I will combine the two.  I will take photos on this trip of the food choices.  I'm hoping to come back with a loss of a couple pounds if I'm successful.  There will be a lot of walking involved, of course, the exercise room at the hotel and I will have to watch my choices very carefully.  I have five pounds to go by the end of this month to stay on track.  This weekend is going to be crucial.  So here goes.....I will report back on Monday.  

The Unthinkable

I have done it, the absolute unthinkable....while I was out doing errands I got a phone call from the only other person in the world that loves ice cream as much as I do....my daughter.  She wanted me to stop and get her some ice cream and bring it home.  My first thought was oh God, I've been avoiding ice cream shops like the plague.  I can't do it.  I can't order ice cream for her and none for me.  But just because I'm on a diet doesn't mean she has to suffer so I said yes I would get it for her.  As I was driving there many thoughts were going through my head.  Do I want ice cream?  Maybe?  I haven't had it in a very long time.  I am going for a walk when I get home.  I just ate dinner, I'm really not hungry.  It's kind of cold for ice cream.  Do I really want ice cream?  What am I thinking.  I really don't want the ice cream, I'm just nervous about ordering this and thinking I'll cave and get one for myself and eat it when I really don't want it and then have ice cream guilt.

  Yes, I really did think all these things.   As I pulled into Eskimo King I saw the unusual short line and thought about calling her and telling her the line was too long to wait.  I didn't.  I got out of the car, I ordered her ice cream and took it home to her.  I did the unthinkable, I ordered someone else an ice cream and got nothing for myself. 

I won't lie, I did have a taste of hers but that was very satisfying. I did not find myself wanting more.  I just thought about all the hard work I've accomplished to date and how I'm going to feel at the end of my journey. 

I made a concious decision to hold off on having ice cream until the heat of the summer when I will really enjoy it.  I have cooled down my relationship with ice cream, there are things that are more important to me. 

Busy week

I've had a very busy week this week and last so I haven't been able to blog.  I am postponing the picture takeing experiment to start on Monday.  Fear not I am here and well and doing great....holding at 35 pounds.  The goal is to get to 40 or more by end of month I know I can do it.  I have a new walking goal if the weather warms up just a tad bit.  I will be driving over to the bike bath and walking from Del's to Colt State park, I need to figure out the miles but my guestimate right now is 3 miles there. I'd love to try that this weekend.  Getting ready to go on a school trip to Washington DC.  Going away is always a bit of a challenge but will make for a great blog I'm sure.  I'm confident that all will go well, as DC is a great walking place and I know I'll get plenty of that in.  Bringing healthy snacks will be key of course.  I'm off to work and will check back in very soon.

Amazing week

It's been an amazing week already and it's only Tuesday.  On Friday, I went out to dinner and to the mall with Matthew.  I don't know what made me do it but I walked into Macy's and went into the "regular" clothing section, not the plus size and I saw a top that I liked and decided to try it on.  To my amazement it fit.  You better believe that I bought it...I haven't bought something in the "normal" section in many many years.  Last night I took all my days frustrations out on the eliptical machine, was a very intense workout but it was so good to get it all out in a healthy way.  This mornning I got on the scale not expecting to see much of a change as I lost 2 pounds last week.  Well, I am happy to report that as of 7am this morning I have lost 35 pounds.  Guess we are up to 7 bags of sugar now. 

Weird weight loss tip follow up

The weird loss weight tip experiment seems to be working as i've consisently lost weight...down another 2 this week brings me to the 32 pound mark.  This past week, when I had the urge to snack I followed the tip of smelling mints...it really did work.  So if you are trying to lose weight, carry a box of mints if you feel like snacking, just take that box of mints out and take a whif....i didn't even want to eat the mints, just enjoyed the smell and it really did trick my brain.  This week's tip....

Skip the food journal—take a picture.
Writing “salad with blue cheese dressing” in a journal may not be as effective as showing a photo of the salad, heaped with creamy cheese. Keeping the photos and looking at them before you eat again can make you think twice about over-indulging the next time.

Easy done...beginning tomorrow, i'll take a photo of everything I eat.

My goal for April is to lose another 10 pounds.  With the warm weather approaching and my new 3 mile walk habit, I think this will be "a piece of cake".