RESULTS FOR MAY 2008

Well, as predicted, I don't have much in the way of results to share. My eating has been all over the place. The good thing is that I didn't gain. I actually weigh exactly the same as I did last month. Oh well....onward!

April 2008 results

Well, there have been some visible changes, but not much in the way of pounds lost. I did weigh myself on April 25th, and I was 1.5 pounds down from the beginning of the month. I weighed myself today (May 1st), and I gained .5 back. So basically, I lost a total of one pound for the month of April. Oh well. At least the scale is going in the right direction, albeit slowly.

More Results

Woohoo! It's starting to show. We visited our families in PA this weekend, and the first thing my mom said was, "you can really tell you've lost weight!"

I saw my sister the next day, and she said the same thing.

I see my mom about once a month, and my sister probably every other month, so they are a good guage.

Also, I'm fitting very comfortably into my jeans right now. This is one size smaller than I was wearing in the beginning of the year.

MORE RESULTS!

This morning I wanted to wear something a little on the casual side, and I noticed a pair of black "docker-style" pants in my closet. I had bought them a couple of months ago and they barely fit...mostly tight in the hip area.

So I tried them on today....whoohooo! PERFECT fit! I'm psyched!

In addition, I tried on a pair of jeans I had bought at the same time that were too tight. They fit fine now. So I know I've lost a jeans size.

Results for March 2008

WHOOOOOO! I'm a very happy girl right now. I lost 4.5 pounds in March!!! I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but I feel good about it.....especially since I haven't starved myself. The bigger news is that it's starting to show some. It's subtle, but it's coming.

Grand total of pounds lost in 2008: 12.5!

FEBRUARY RESULTS

Well, I weighed myself today (March 1st), and I lost a total of 2.5 pounds since February 1st. Not exactly amazing progress, but I guess it's still going in the right direction. I can't say I wasn't a little disappointed, but I know my eating is definitely in need of improvement. There's way too many days I'm eating French fries!

When you add that on to January's results, it is a total loss of 8 pounds since the beginning of the year.

January 2008 RESULTS

Well, I weighed myself today. Since January 1st I've lost a total of 5.5 pounds!

As far as inches go, I don't know. I'm just not very good with measuring myself. I do know that my jeans are definitely looser. Not hanging off, but loose. Also, my face doesn't seem quite as full.

Mini Results Post

I have a really hard time seeing my weight-loss successes. I guess I'm just not that observant. Heck, I didn't even realize it was going on! But here are a few things that happened in the last few days that make me think what I'm doing must be working:

• DH came into the bathroom Saturday morning when I was dressing and said, "I can tell you are losing weight." This man is nothing if he's not blatantly honest, so I have to believe him.
  
• When I went to visit my parents that same day, the first words out of my mom's mouth were, "Hey! You're losing weight!" I had last seen her at Christmas, so it hasn't even been a month yet! My mom is a lot like my DH. Blatantly honest. Must be the German in both of them!
  
• Today when I was going through my skin-care routine I noticed that my face looked "better." I couldn't figure out what it was and then I realized, I'm losing some of my puffiness. My face is typically very small, and I have to be at my heaviest before I gain any weight there. But they say when it comes to weight loss, "last hired, first fired." I hadn't gotten a double chin and puffy cheeks until my most recent weight gain, so it looks like that's coming off!
  
• I think my jeans seem a little looser. It's so hard for me to tell, though. I'm sure the next time I wash them, they won't be so loose!
  

Anyhow, I'm very excited that I've had this much success in such a short time! My second weigh-in is February 1st, so I guess I'll see if anything registers on the scale!

Okay, I have finally caved

So, it seems I must do this. I've finally decided to start a blog. I'm not sure why this was necessary, but I do kind of like the idea.

The main reason I'm starting this is to get myself back on track with my workouts and a sensible eating plan. Several years ago, I lost 50+ pounds simply by doing exercise videos (The Firm, Cathe Friedrich, SlimSeries, etc.) and journaling my food intake. I also walked quite a bit and went biking with my husband.

I kept the weight off for several years until my husband and I started to build our new home. Well, we didn't build it ourselves, but we came to the site every single night to make sure it was going okay. Between that and working full-time and going to school part-time, I fell off of the wagon. Badly. Now I want back on. I think that journaling my food intake and workouts on here should be helpful.

My diet, even at its best, is never great. And it doesn't need to be great. I just want it to be better. And I want to lose this weight for good.

Also, I love to keep records of what is going on in my life. Being childfree, my husband and I have a lot of, well...FREEDOM. So we fill our lives with what we find interesting. I love to read, and therefore will probably blog about the numerous books I either read or listen to (audiobooks are a guilty indulgence of mine). We both enjoy traveling, and get to go to some exciting places very spontaneously. We also enjoy making this new house our dream home. So that means decorating, furnishing, buying window treatments, etc.

In addition, my husband (being the handy guy that he is), is finishing off our basement. In about a year (since he's working on it all by himself), we will have a whole other floor of living space. This will include a HUGH JAZZ workout room with a sauna. Can't wait! (For now, I do have a very nice separate room upstairs to do my workouts in. It will become my office once I move my workout equipment downstairs.) Also, he is putting in a family room (yeah, we ARE a family...who says you need kids to be a family?!), a den for him, another large bedroom for guests (or us if we want another room to go to), and a full bathroom. Of course, we will keep a portion of it unfinished for storage and utilities. I'm sure I will be blogging about this process as it's something that we are both very excited about.

Some other things in my life that make me happy (and will probably hit this blog):

• Baking and cooking. I'm getting better with this. I always could bake pretty well, but cooking was more of a challenge. I'm working on it! I have a WONDERFUL kitchen that just beckons you to come in and use it, and I am. I enjoy going to www.allrecipes.com and trying out all of the highly rated recipes. Also, a friend of mine recommended The Best Recipe, and I'm learning a lot from it (thanks, Patty!) DH is very happy about this, BTW!
  
• Skincare, makeup, hairstyles, and grooming. I'm kind of a girly girl in some ways. I like to look nice. That said, I'm not into manicures and pedicures, and I like to do my own beauty-care for the most part. Also, although I like to have nice clothes, I'm not like many women who have to buy new clothes every season. And I'm not a shoe or purse girl. I'm odd that way. But I get really excited about ordering a new skin care or makeup kit.
  
• Cats. I love mine. I love others. They are one of God's best gifts! So I will have to comment often on my little furry feline friends.
• Movies. We watch a lot of movies. DH has fashioned a way to get the big-screen experience right in our home. We have a double-story living room with a wall that we have kept blank for the purpose of projecting movies onto it. I'm sure our neighbors think it's hilarious. It's a good thing we don't watch porn. We also go see movies fairly often in the winter.
• Work. Yeah, well, maybe it doesn't make me giddy-happy, but I do like my job. I've been at my company for over 14 years and have really gotten myself into a great position. I'm the marketing manager and the employee relations manager. I've got a nice office (close to the corner office) with a wonderful view....so it makes going to work not so bad. I'm considering taking my SPHR certification this year (Senior Professional of Human Resources), so I need to put some thought into that.
• Childfreedom. Yeah, it's a weird topic sometimes. I just think it's an option that more people should consider. I'm not a "breeder basher." I really don't care if you want to have kids. That's your business. Just like not having kids is my business. But our world is soooo PRO-natal that I would like to highlight (often) the benefits of choosing a lifestyle that, until recently, was hardly ever considered. Being DINKS (dual income, no kids) has offered DH and I a lifestyle we could never even dream of if we chose to have children. We are financially secure with next to no debt (the home we built two years ago is practically paid off), and either one of us could quit our jobs and we would be fine. I don't think we would have ever been able to take some of our trips (Hawaii (twice), Orlando (thrice), Vegas, Cancun, Lauderdale, countless road trips, etc.) if we would have been saddled with kids. I'm not saying it isn't possible....I'm just saying it's so much easier without them. For some people, all they ever wanted was to be a mom or dad. For others, it might be worth considering some alternatives.

Hmmmm.....I think I'm going to like this blogging thing!