Finally!

This is what I've been waiting 9.5 months to see :)

My weight goal was 135 pounds.

This was me at 174 pounds:

This is me today:

This has been one of my motivations for months--written on my bathroom mirror.

My heaviest was 174. I'd been trying to lose weight for over a month when I weighed to officially start at 171.9.

I will be trying to lose 5-10 more. But I am so excited I finally made it here :)

"Before" Picture!

Okay, so I am all into being healthy with my weight loss but I also wish it would go faster. I keep finding these three day diets or these week diets and wish I could do them. I don't think three days will kill you and I wouldn't do it over and over. But the problem is that I'm picky.

Yeah, I could do the day of just fruit just fine--but not the vegetable day. Or the meat and vegetable day. I'm feeling at a stand still and a few pounds that fast would kick-start me feeling better about it all.

So I was looking through pictures the other day to compile the best ones from 2012. I came across one that I can't stop looking at. I've said before that I didn't take a before picture. I didn't really want to see what I looked like and I didn't want to remember it and I didn't have a bikini to wear so I could see the changes :)

Well, now I have one. Spencer took a picture of me with my nephew when we were babysitting him in April. I remember seeing it and thinking I looked gross but I didn't look too hard. Didn't really want to see. Looking back I can't believe I didn't see how bad I looked. Haha, it's making me self-conscious now that I think I look better but I really still look bad...

The following picture was taken the last week of April. I didn't really start dieting until July 9th. Ew. I really couldn't find very many good pictures of the last year because I was so chubby for so many months. It's hard for me to think about.

This is my before picture. My pants are too tight. My stomach hangs out. I  have a double chin. I was not comfortable in my own skin. I am ashamed of this picture.

So, I decided to take a new picture. I am not one to take pictures of myself in the bathroom mirror. Believe me. But it was my best option. I took the following picture November 26--Monday afternoon. Dieting and exercising 4.5 months and having lost 24 pounds.

I am still not where I want to be but I think it's an improvement. I am wearing a belt that sticks out--so it's not all stomach :) But I have lost the double chin and my stomach has improved greatly. My pants button without a problem--the belt isn't necessary to keep my pants up but it helps that annoying pucker in the back...

Dentist...

Okay, I don't even know what to write. I just have time these days and want to :)

My job is seasonal so I have five weeks off and can start again January 2nd. This is both good and bad. I am excited for the break--especially over Christmas. I can enjoy all the holiday stuff without feeling like I don't have time to do anything. I want to start some projects like sewing and selling stuff online and writing my book. But I'm also going to miss having something to do. I liked feeling productive. Work gave me a paycheck and eight hours a day of exercise. I went from losing 1/2 a pound a week to 1.5 pounds a week--when I started working.

Now, more than anything I'm worried about being home to snack during the holidays and not having built in exercise. This is the time of year people gain weight and this is when I'm home and working out on my own again. Oh boy.

So, not weight related but I went to the dentist today. I haven't been in four years. When I went all the time I always had cavities. Every. Single. Time. Well, about a month ago I randomly noticed that there was a hole running down my back tooth. It freaked me out a little bit. But then, I didn't have time to go in and--of course--didn't want to call.

I was eating on Friday and I don't even know what happened. It didn't hurt, I didn't feel anything, I just noticed that half my tooth was gone. And it was sharp and digging into my cheek. It was almost to my gums. That really freaked me out. I stopped eating on that side and waited till Monday since it was a holiday weekend. I called my dentist on Monday and they were booked till January. I don't think well on the phone and maybe they could have done something if they knew how bad it was.

So I went to my husband's dentist this afternoon. Amazingly he filled it like a cavity but said it was so close to being a root canal. He said he could see the nerves under the base of the tooth--at the bottom of the hole. He barely numbed me and did it right then and my tooth feels normal. So happy :)

I need to start going regularly though :(

Four Months

Okay, I know it's been two months. Life's been crazy. But since yesterday was four months since I started trying to lose weight, I thought I'd post.

A lot has happened in the last two months. I got that job at Scholastic Book Fairs! I love working with books but the best part is the exercise. I work in the warehouse and build table tops for the fairs. There's a lot of lifting and moving books and boxes and pulling heavy loads and whatnot. It's also put me on a schedule of eating small amounts every few hours. Haha, hard to snack when  you're working :)

I am happy to say I now weight 149.9! That's 22 pounds down from my starting weight of 171.9. I have lost 13 pounds since I started my job. I really think this is the best job for me right now :)

 I am over half way to my goal weight! Just 15 pounds to go!

And I've started to be able to see a difference in my weight. That's the best part. A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went to the Crystal Hot Springs. I was so excited when I put on my shorts with my swimsuit. I hadn't worn them since the end of July and I remember how tight they were. I still can't get over how great it felt to have them loose! My legs have really slimmed and I can only imagine it's from all the walking at work.

I also finally got up the courage to try on my old jeans. The ones that haven't really fit since March or April. If that. They fit! They're a little tight, but they fit. And the clothes I've been wearing are getting harder and harder to fit into. I'm kind of in between the bigger ones and the smaller ones. It's been rough--haha, in a good way :)

Anyway, so excited for the snow! Putting up Christmas decorations this weekend! Have Christmas smells in the house and I'm making pumpkin chip cookies and listening to Christmas music today :)

The cookies might not be too good for the "diet" though... :)

Feeling good today :)

Feeling good today :) Weight down to 163.0. Interview at Scholastic. Cloudy weather. Great day yesterday. It's starting to feel like fall...And I don't even know all the reasons. I'm just happy.

I'm kind of amazed with myself for staying motivated so long. I've been trying to lose weight for over two months now. I'm down 8.9 pounds. Slow and I can't even see a difference. I have these quotes taped up all over my apartment. I love quotes. I read them sitting on the couch or while I'm doing my hair and make up or getting a meal ready. They're on the TV, the mirror, the cabinets, the light switches, and the fridge.

I also chew a lot of gum. I'm still learning to control the urge to snack for no reason. I go through a lot of gum. Though, I have found that I don't crave unhealthy food as much lately. Yeah, cookies sound good. One sounds like enough though. I can have just two or three pieces of chocolate or candy corn pumpkins. Last night we decided to pick dinner up on the way home. I'd been wanting to eat out but when I really thought about actually doing it--I didn't really want to. Nothing sounded worth the calories. None of it stuck out.

I got Wendy's. Man were those fries good. It's been 6 or 7 weeks. I've also gotten used to water. I don't even want soda. Juice is alright to taste. I don't drink milk anymore. I really, honestly just want water all the time. It's kind of exciting :)

163.4

Lowest weight yet this morning. I was 163.4! That's 8.5 down from where I started. Hope it lasts. I've been thinking lately that I wish I had measured myself before I started trying to lose weight. I didn't really want a picture of how chubby I really was--aside from the fact that I don't have anything revealing enough to see just how bad it was nor would I wear something like that...

Some days I almost feel skinnier. Most days I don't. Yet some how there are 8 pounds that have disappeared from somewhere. I wish I knew if my legs or arms or stomach had shed some centimeters--or whatever is reasonable for this much weight.

So, I've been sick. Just a cold--sore throat, headache, achy, etc. Not fun. Luckily I have nothing to go do with my life and can sit at home being sick. Seriously though. I haven't really been able to exercise. I did have a job interview on Tuesday. It was for a part time mail clerk position at Emdeon. Still haven't heard back. I've applied for a whole bunch of  jobs and this is the only interview I've gotten. I have received several emails saying companies were going with someone else though.

Distractions

Alright, so, I just felt like getting this out. I was sitting here trying to get the motivation to work out--thinking how I didn't need to do anything or talk to anyone if it would make me feel stupid. I've only worked out a half hour this week because of such things. It's been one of those weeks where I feel like crap because of a million things and I take it out on myself. Good thing we don't have anything too unhealthy for me to binge on.

Anyway, I'm about to get up and start exercising when the phone rings. I hate the phone. And I hate when numbers I don't know call. And I hate that right now, I have to answer them. I've been applying for a bunch of jobs and every phone call is a hope that I could get an interview. It's also very, very scary. I have yet to get an interview but I've had at least 4 calls about furthering my education. Seriously! I JUST finished my education.

I've figured out that it's just because they are sneaky and stick their forms right after or in the middle of a job application and I get in this mode. I fill out every box one after another of the same information over and over and over and I hardly look at what it's for anymore. They are very smart. Getting me to put in my information at a time they know I'll answer every phone call in hopes of a job. It is killing me.