My One Year Report

Today marks one year since I started this blog. One year since I started working out at Curves again. Just now I decided I better look back at what my goals were in my first post. A word of advice - when you make goals and write them down, you should probably look at them every once in a while. Lets see how I did.

• Work out at Curves every day M-F

I did pretty darn good with this one. There have been very few days that I have missed. This consistency is sometimes the only thing that saves me.

• Lose 72 lbs by August 27, 2014 (that would take me down to 150, and I haven't been there since before high school)

Not quite. I started at 222, and yesterday I weighed in at 175. Which feels amazing! So I lost 47 lbs in one year. I know that I could have done better, but this has been a very financially and emotionally stressful summer for my family. My diet choices have been more limited than I would have liked. Not anywhere near my ideal. 

• Drink only water or skim milk for the entire year

I have done very well with this. At home I only drink water and very little milk. I have nothing against drinking milk really, except that it has calories and doesn't fill me up any more than a glass of water would. I usually ask for water when I go out as well. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've had soda in the last year. 

• Drink at least 64 oz of water every single day

For some reason this is harder to do on the weekends. But I have been pretty faithful drinking between 64 and 80 oz of water each day. This and the consistency in my workouts has been saving me from gaining weight again. 

• Follow the Curves "higher protein" diet

I did this really well during the first two months. Then I didn't. My biggest problem was that I stopped planning ahead. I do so well when I know exactly what I'm going to eat long before I'm hungry. I know that, but it's still a challenge to sit down and take the time to make the plan. Planning ahead is a new goal for this year. 

• Learn to cook 30+ healthy dinners that my family will love

Yeah, I can definitely say that I know at least 30 healthy recipes that my husband and I love. My two year old is a different story. To her credit, she does try new things before spitting it out and proclaiming, "Don't like it!" She loves broccoli though. And sweet potato. She can't get enough. I have lots of healthy recipes filed on Pinterest that I can reference, as well as the recipes in the Curves book. 

• Keep this blog faithfully - I would say daily but this mom of 2 girls under 18 months can't make that promise.

I haven't written as much as I would have liked to, but at least there is a post in every month. My discouragement this summer kept me from writing, and I'm sorry about that. There is lots I should have written about. More updates, more sharing yummy recipes, etc. 

• Don't feel guilty about the expense of new jeans when the time comes. It's a reward, not a punishment.

I did buy new jeans last week. My sweet mother in law sent money for a new pair, and that was what I used it for even though I was sorely tempted more than once to buy pizza instead. 

So there you have it! Looking back I feel really good about the progress I made with these goals. Working out is a habit that I couldn't live without. To have gone to the gym and be home and showered before 8 am makes me feel human. Yes, I'm a mother of two toddlers, but I can still take time to shower every day and feel human :) I didn't lose as much as I wanted to in the year, but I still feel better than ever. And I am not so discouraged by what I didn't accomplish that I can't keep moving forward. 

Here's a pic of me before I started this journey, and one of me today in my new jeans.

My new goal is to lose the remaining 25 lbs to reach 150 by Christmas. 25 lbs sounds almost easy after losing close to 50. 

A major milestone!

There's been something I have been meaning to do, but it's hard to build up my courage. See, I know that my one pair of size 12 jeans is a little big. But those jeans are also a couple years old and they are used to me, you know? But I felt like I needed to try on some size 10s. Just to see how far away they would be from fitting. So I went to Target because I figured their size 10s would be pretty average. I don't know where might have an honest pair of size 10s so I figured average would have to do. What do you think? 

Obviously it's not the best photo. They make that impossible in most fitting rooms. But seriously? Those jeans are not just on. They fit. They are not the perfect jean for me but even so they look dang good. I didn't want to take them off. It's a good day when you are giddy in the fitting room. Usually I suppose people buy the article of clothing if it makes them giddy but I am unfortunately in a bit of a tough spot right now. I need a new wardrobe and I can't even afford a single pair of jeans. But I'm hoping that will change in the coming weeks. 

Sorry it's been so long since I wrote an update. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. In about 2 1/2 weeks the year I intended for this blog will be over, but I plan to keep it up until I reach my goal. Stay tuned for the full one year report coming soon!