Day 25: I'm Alive?

Breakfast: whole-wheat English muffin w/ apple butter, turkey bacon, fruit & yogurt smoothies
Lunch: tuna on toast, blueberry salad, raw veggies
Snack: no-bake cookies
Dinner: The Easiest Stir Fry Ever, brown rice

Exercise: I vacuumed my house, does that count? I guess something is to be said about getting exercise done early on. I'm taking Randy to the ER in a few minutes, so exercise just isn't going to happen today.

Yes, it has been an emotional day. I've made good food choices overall, but am still working to rid my sugar habit.

Day 24: I met my fruit goal!

Breakfast: whole-wheat toasted English muffin w/ apple butter, 1/2 grapefruit, egg
Lunch: tuna on whole-wheat toast, cheese stick, raw veggies
Snack: 4 cookies, several almonds
Dinner: Pasta Primavera, Blueberry Salad
Dessert: 2 chocolate graham crackers, several almonds

Exercise: 10 minutes of shoveling snow


One of my new goals is to eat 3 servings of fruit each day (not counting any juice). Fruit is nature's sugar, and I'm tyring to "tame" my sweet tooth. (Yeah, I know it doesn't look like that's what I'm doing. Work with me here!) In order to promote this goal, I have lots of fruit set on my kitchen table, as well as some grapes in the fridge. I have definitely noticed that it helps Sydney eat better, too. I've discovered that she loves nectarines. Even after eating 1/2 of a grapefruit with her breakfast, she was begging me for a nectarine...lunch just seemed too far away!

Day 23: Feeling Good

Breakfast: malt-o-meal w/ milk, turkey bacon & a nectarine
Lunch: homemade Cajun Shrimp Quesadilla, 8 cookies--that's the result of being out and about and not getting a snack. I was grouchy & starving!
Snack: orange
Dinner: Kickin' Chicken & Fries, green beans--all from a Zonya recipe, so no, they weren't French fries. Once again, it was really good. We're 4 for 4 on her recipes!
Dessert: no-bake cookies

Here's our dinner. One of the wonderful things...it made enough to feed our family for 2 nights. That's right, the containers are going into the freezer for a night when I just don't want to cook!

Exercise: 35 minutes of snow shoveling...The 6 inches of powder today felt like heaven compared to the heavy, compacted snow yesterday!

My weight was down 1/2 a pound today. It felt good, since it hadn't dropped in 12 days. I still need to focus on eating better. It's late tonight, but I am excited about what I'm learning from Zonya's book (just ask my mom!), and I have so much I want to share. It seems like time is so elusive lately...so hopefully I will have time to post more soon.

Day 22: On Course

Breakfast: leftover French toast & blueberries, cheese stick
Lunch: tortellini w/ chicken & broccoli--from a prepared meal, so it wasn't very healthy
Snack: handful of almonds
Dinner: Broiled Orange Roughy, steamed broccoli, cauliflower & carrots, and a baked sweet potato--Trust me, this dinner was GOOD!!!
Dessert: 1 cookie

Exercise: 30 minutes of shoveling snow--I thought I was going to die after about 20 minutes. The snow had drifted, so it was heavy and packed together. Gave my arms a tremendout workout!

Today has been splendid. I braved a howling storm and went grocery shopping...and of course, I forgot my list. I actually did really well remembering most things. I will run by the local grocery store tomorrow to get the rest. My eating has been good, and I've enjoyed looking forward to my upcoming Zonya menu.

Day 21: Much Better

Breakfast: yogurt w/ granola, egg, Xango juice
Lunch: leftover spaghetti, salad
Dinner: Whole-Grain French Toast w/ Blueberry Syrup, turkey bacon
Dessert: 2 chocolate & peanut butter chip cookies

Exercise: none

There isn't much to say about my eating today, except that I did a good job. Yes, I ate 2 cookies, but in the past I could easily eat a dozen of them. (They ARE good...) "Water With Lemon" is a really good book and I feel like I'm really learning from it. I can't wait to read some more tonight!

Day 20: Ho-Hum

Breakfast: oatmeal w/ milk, turkey bacon
Lunch: leftover spaghetti, green beans
Snack: chips & dip
Dinner: 3 slices pepperoni pizza, 2 breadsticks

Exercise: none

My eating hasn't been too great today, but I've had a busy day here at home. I'm satisfied that I did the best I could, but tomorrow I can do better. I'm enjoying reading my new book & looking through all the new recipes. By the way, although my weight has been pretty stagnant, I have lost 1 inch this past week!

Day 19: Encouragement & Special Delivery

Breakfast: Succotash Omelet
Snack: applesauce
Lunch: leftover meatloaf & veggies/beans (from Mexican smothered pork chops)
Dinner: spaghetti, salad, green beans
Snack: fruit & yogurt smoothie

Exercise: 7 minutes of floor exercises

My sister, Tiffany, called me this morning. She was concerned about my eating the past few days & just wanted to encourage me. She also is in the process of losing weight, and has done really well so far. Thanks for the call, Tiff.

I am really pleased with my eating today. I got some good veggies and fruits in. I also survived the day without eating ANY junk!! Even my after-dinner snack was healthy!

I also received my Zonya books in the mail today. I've been able to look through the cookbook, and it looks amazing. I am so excited to get my menu set up for the next 2 weeks using it! I'll probably start reading the other book tonight, too. Hooray! It's been a great day!

Day 18: And then evening hit

Breakfast: orange-pineapple juice, Malt-o-Meal w/ milk, turkey bacon
Lunch: leftover turkey veggie cobbler
Snack: tall glass of hot chocolate, 1 cocoa lava kiss
Dinner: Mexican Smothered Pork Chops
Dessert: smore, chips & dip, no-bake cookies

Exercise: 7 measley minutes

I didn't weigh myself this morning...not because I didn't want to see, but because I actually ate breakfast before 11am! I normally weigh myself when I shower, but I figure my metabolism needs me to eat sooner, so I just ate when I first when downstairs. Things were feeling slightly better today. I ate well...until after dinner. I'm almost wondering if I'm just hormonal, because my eating is out of control. I tried to come occupy myself with things I need to get done on the comupter, but Randy needed it. I was stuck downstairs watching TV & wanting to eat...and I did. I sure hope I can make it through this! Thanks to all of you who have commented with support. I really do love it.

Day 17: A New Day...or Not

Breakfast: yogurt w/ granola, egg
Lunch: leftover Turkey Vegetable Cobbler, salad
Dinner: elk steak, green beans
Dessert: Baked Lays w/ green chile dip, no-bake cookies

Exercise:7 minutes of floor exercises...at least I'm being consistent with doing it everyday.

I started out feeling much better about things today. My weight was at 132 this morning. Not bad considering yesterday, but I need to not go up at all. Then, evening hit. I'm just in an emotional/mental slump. I sat down to watch TV after dinner...and kept eating. Ugh! I'm hoping to get my Zonya book in the mail very soon so that I can get a renewed focus. It's not worth it to just come this far and quit, but I'm needing help.

Day 16: Rebellion?

Breakfast (at 11am): fruit & yogurt smoothie, 1 slice turkey bacon (thanks to Sydney), 1 slice of whole wheat toast w/ my homemade apple butter
Lunch: no-bake cookies w/ a glass of milk
Dinner: Turkey Vegetable Cobbler
Dessert: 6 M&M cookies

Exercise: 7 minutes of floor exercises

I've got a lot swirling through my mind today. I'm not feeling very well, and therefore, not much seemed appetizing. I didn't have to eat cookies for lunch, but nothing else sounded good. So I made a 1/4 size batch (yes, I have it down to a science), and ate all but a few cookies worth, warm out of the bowl. Not nutritious at all...and oh, so fattening! Especially not what I need when I'm battling a cough & cold!

Today my weight was still the same. I was disappointed because I had done really good with my eating yesterday. I don't want my weight to stop here. So what do I do? I sabotage myself by eating the cookies twice. Part of me wants to move on and forget that I ate the cookies & just do better. That's what I should do. But another part of me wants to forget it all. Of course, I really don't want to go up in weight, so I know what my choice will be. I know it shouldn't be about the number. I should simply be satisfied that I've fed myself healthy foods. I struggle with letting that satisfy my mind, though. Soooo....there it is. Not sure why, but I'm just feeling emotionally exhuasted. I feel like I just need a day by myself to sleep, clean, and just be lazy. Maybe that's what it's all about. I am an emotional eater, but I want to overcome that.

On another note, I am going to get back to the gym. I'm going to go with my friend, Tammy, but the girls and I need to get over our colds before we head out to face the rest of the world and the gym's daycare. Even though I know I'm terribly out of shape, I look forward to being able to run 3 miles again and feel good.

Day 15

Breakfast: bran muffin, turkey bacon, yogurt
Lunch: leftover sausage & peppers penne
Snack: 4 cocoa lava kisses
Dinner: breakfast burritos--whole wheat tortilla, egg, lots of veggies, fat-free sour cream, and cheese--hash browns, tomato, and orange pineapple juice

Exercise: Shoveled snow for about 30 minutes. I'll likely do my floor exercises tonight, too.

My weight was still at 131.5 this morning. At least it's not up! I'm feeling good about this week and look forward to losing a few more pounds. I will jump up and cheer when I get below 130...just because. I had a nice time at lunch for 2 reasons. 1) My parents stopped by to eat on their way home from Idaho, and 2) they helped me finish my leftovers...finally!!

Day 14

Breakfast: old-fashioned oatmeal w/ a sprinkling of sugar & milk, egg, applesauce
Lunch: tuna on a slice of bread
Dinner: Chili beans*, 1 corn muffin, carrots (all made by my wonderful Randy)
Dessert: 2 chocolate chip cookies

Exercise: nada--Sunday!

Today has been a weird day. I didn't snack because I was sleeping a lot. I've got a cold & have just been really tired. I also didn't weigh myself this morning because I knew it wouldn't be great news after last night. I need to focus on keeping it at my low weight so I'm not battling back and forth.

*Chili beans may not appeal to you, but they are something that our family enjoys & beans are great for you. Mine are pretty simple & I pretty much just throw stuff together. Here is basically what I use.

3 cans of beans, drained & rinsed (pinto, kidney, black...whatever you want)
1 can of Ro-Tel (tomatoes & chile)--makes it a bit spicy
cooked ground beef or turkey
water--however much you want in the pan, obviously not tons
dried minced onions
salt
pepper
ground cumin
chili powder

Day 13

I've noticed that I'm really not getting all my dairy servings in each day. I need to remedy that.

Okay, so don't wait until 11am to eat breakfast and/or have dessert sitting on the counter. I was so starving that I went for the easiest thing there was. I'm so grateful that Randy came down the stairs, saw what I was eating, and was disappointed. He pointed out how it would have only taken me a few minutes to cook some healthy oatmeal on the stove. He then told me that he was throwing the rest of the dessert away. I'm grateful that he cares. :) Today definitely hasn't been my best eating day. It was our first try of McGrath's, and it was really good. I'd recommend it. It was nice to get away this evening, even if the girls were with us. I also love being out with Randy!

Breakfast: Magic cookies bars & milk
Lunch: tuna w/ fat-free miracle whip & pickles on a slice of toasted whole wheat bread
Snack: banana, V8
Dinner: McGrath's Fish House--2 buttered slices of sourdough bread, 1/2 of a cajun shrimp quesadilla w/ pico de gallo & several small slices of avocado, garden salad w/ honey mustard dressing on the side, candied sesame teriyaki salmon (YUM), mixed veggies (YUM), 2 slices of tomato, and 1 coconut shrimp. Yes, I was stuffed!! Geez, writing it all down makes me realize that I ate a ton! We hadn't done anything like this in a while, so I think it was worth it. We'll see what the scale says tomorrow...

Exercise: 5 minutes of floor exercises. I know Zonya's recommendations are to just slowly increase my exercise each week & build a habit, but I'm itching to do some running at the gym. I hate to give up my evenings by going to the gym, but that's what has worked best in the past. We'll see what next week brings.

Day 12

Breakfast: turkey bacon, yogurt w/ granola, a little over 1/2 of a banana (gotta love sharing with my kids)
Lunch: leftover meatloaf & butternut squash
Snack: 1 cocoa lava kiss
Dinner: leftover sausage & peppers penne
Dessert: Magic Cookie Bars. I probably ate 4-5 servings worth. Overboard, I know. I also know that eating something like that on occasion isn't going to kill me, though.

Exercise: 5+ minutes of floor exercises

Day 11

Breakfast: small grapefruit, All Bran w/ milk, egg
Lunch: leftover sausage & peppers penne
Snack: 1 cocoa lava kiss, V8
Dinner: Lean Meatloaf, Cinnamon Butternut Squash
Dessert: milk, 2 cocoa lava kisses

Exercise: 5+ minutes of floor exercises at 10:40pm...yeah, I almost forgot

Day 10

I can't believe I've done this for 10 days already! As I was savoring my breakfast this morning, I thought about how good healthy foods can taste. It's amazing what herbs, spices, or whatever can do for food! My taste for sugar has definitely declined. Do I still like it? Sure. Do I crave it? No...thank goodness! I like this feeling!

Breakfast: bran muffin, fruit & yogurt smoothie*, turkey bacon
Snack: Quinoa muffin w/ butter...thanks for the invite, Amy!!
Lunch: leftover arroz con pollo (can you tell I eat a lot of leftovers?)
Snack: 1 Cocoa Lava Kiss, banana
Dinner: Spicy Sausage & Peppers Penne, salad
Dessert: 3 Cocoa Lava Kisses, glass of milk--that was for you, Erin :)

Exercise: 5 minutes of floor exercises & stretches

*My fruit & yogurt smoothie is simply 1 c. yogurt and 1 c. frozen mixed berries/bananas. I process the frozen berries first, then add the yogurt & process. It's yummy and could even be used as a summer dessert!

Day 9--Give me some love!!

Comments, anyone? Ya'll have been on a dry spell!

Breakfast: yogurt w/ granola, egg
Lunch: leftover Arroz con pollo, salad
Snack: V8, applesauce
Dinner & Dessert: 1 1/2 California Wrap, 5 Cocoa Lava Kisses...Yum!

Exercise: 5 minutes of floor exercises.

My weight this morning was only 1/2 lb up from my low of 132. Finally, I think I'm working off the weekend & last night! I've tried to drink lots of water today & feel good about what I've eaten. I've even felt stuffed after lunch & dinner, which is a good feeling for my hungry tummy.

Also, have any of you checked out my recipes? If so & you actually dare to try them, let me & the others know what you think.

I added some links to the blog on Saturday that I have found helpful. Feel free to check them out.

I'm anxiously awaiting...

...the delivery of my 2 new purchases. I ordered Zonya's Lickety-Split Meals, as well as the book she co-authored, Water with Lemon. I have sampled some of her recipes online and they're great. I'll give you a review once I get them, but for now I'm just excited.

Day 8

Breakfast: turkey bacon, bran muffin, fruit salad
Lunch: 2 slices French toast, glass of milk
Snack: V8, applesauce, Baked Lays & Green Chile dip (2 servings worth)
Dinner: Arroz con Pollo, salad, 2 Hershey's kisses

Exercise: 5 min--I'm taking Zonya's advice and will be doing just 5 minutes of exercise for this first week.

So today...it's been a weird day. I think I'm either lacking sleep or hormonal because I've felt quite grumpy. I started my day eating well. Lunch was just leftovers that I ate before rushing off to the grocery store. I didn't buy any "junk" for myself, but I obviously helped myself to the treat I got for Randy--chips & green chile dip. I got started on dinner late and was starving about an hour before it was ready, so Jenna and I ate some of my homemade applesauce. (It was my first time eating it, and it was SO good! I'm definitely going to have to make some again next year.) After checking dinner and it still not being ready, I ate the chips & dip. This is the first time I've ever found this dip here in Utah, so I just had to get it. Although it could have been much worse, I do feel like I binged tonight. Luckily, I only ate 2 kisses after dinner...I wanted to make or eat much more! The game plan for the rest of the night? Drink lots of water while I relax in my room and get to bed early. Hopefully I can shake this grouchiness tomorrow. My weight has been up from the weekend. No wonder, Panda Express and pizza...and I didn't get enough water. I really need to concentrate on drinking more water and keeping my body fueled so that I don't go on another eating rampage.

Day 7

Breakfast: oj, yogurt w/ granola, turkey bacon
Lunch: turkey & veggie wrap w/ cheese on whole wheat tortilla
Dinner: 2 slices French toast, Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing, scrambled egg

Exercise: none--It's Sunday!

Day 6

Breakfast: bran muffin, 1/2 grapefruit, 2 eggs (I normally only eat 1 egg, but I made one for Sydney and she wouldn't eat it. Since I'm trying to take in a few more calories to keep my milk supply up, I went ahead and ate it.
Lunch: banana, V8, shot of Xango
Snack: small piece of carrot cake, handful of almonds
Dinner: 3 (small to medium) slices of pepperoni pizza, salad...There wasn't much avoiding this. I had been at Randy's aunt's house all afternoon, then went to Chuck E Cheese's with his family for a birthday celebration.

Exercise: I learned some GREAT ab exercises on Zonya today & did them. I'm excited to do more of them! Other than that, I really didn't do much in the way of exercising today.

Soreness

Okay, it's late and I should really be in bed, but yes, I'm hanging out on the computer. So, I just have to say that my abs (does that include all stomach muscles? I'm including ALL stomach muscles) are SO sore today. I tried to show my mom some simple exercises I've done this week and it just about killed me. I couldn't even do one rep! Hopefully tomorrow I can get some real exercise in, but I've got a busy day, so I'm not going to count on it.

Day 5

Breakfast: yogurt w/ granola, turkey bacon
Snack: 1/2 banana
Lunch: orange chicken, fried rice, veggies from KungPow chicken (Panda Express)
Dinner: leftover zucchini soup--it's finally all gone. Yea!

Exercise: shopped for 3 hours--walking through the mall, pushing a stroller, carrying 16 lb. Jenna in my arms for one of those hours, squatting...you get the picture. Shopping wears me out!!

Recipes

Since several of you have asked for recipes, I'm going to start posting some of my recipes on Recipe Swap. If I haven't posted the recipe, it probably wasn't fantastic. I will still share if you want them, though. I've gone back and linked my diary up to this point, so go check the recipes out and let me know if you enjoy them!

Day 4

Breakfast: oj, bran muffin, 2 scrambled eggs w/ 1 T. cheese on top
Snack: yogurt
Lunch: leftover stroganoff (larger portion than normal to get more calories in)
Snack: chocolate & caramel Santa...I'd better not make a habit of this!
Dinner: leftover Zucchini Soup, shot of Xango

Exercise: 15 minutes of floor exercises & weights. I was up for an hour during the night, so this is all my pre-nap body could muster.

Seeing Progress & Changes Needed

My weight stayed at 133.5 lbs today. It's fine that it didn't drop because, my goodness, I DID lose 4 lbs in 2 days! I had taken my measurements on the first morning, so since my weight was the same, I decided to retake my measurements. Boy, was I surprised! I measured in lots of places, and I've already lost 6 inches!!! I can't believe it! I'm so happy.

I have noticed that my milk supply seems to be going down, and neither Jenna nor I are ready to quit nursing yet. So...I think I need to add some calories back into my diet. The key for me is to add healthy calories and not junk. Hopefully my supply can get back to where it needs to be for poor Jenna. Despite this small change needed, I can't wait for the days to unfold and for my measurements & weight to go down. Hooray!!

Getting Easier

Today has been much better than yesterday. My weight was down 2 lbs this morning, and I actually woke up with energy. After my breakfast, I felt full, which hasn't happened since I've started eating healthier. That was a nice feeling. In the afternoon, I probably waited too long for a snack, because I really wanted a graham cracker. 1 cracker is 1/2 of a serving, 70 calories. In the future, I don't see anything wrong with eating it, but it has refined sugar in it, and for now I'm trying to avoid that. Somehow I was able to look at a different pantry shelf and select something better for me, a reduced-sodium V8. You know, it's so difficult to make good food choices, yet so easy.

I've thought a lot about my eating habits. Ever since I lost the initial 20 pounds a few years ago, I really do cook healthy meals for the most part. My biggest downfall is definitely the snacks & desserts I choose to eat. It's difficult for me to want to pick up a fruit to snack on. My sweet tooth needs to be retrained in that direction, though.

I have also really been focusing on not watching TV while eating. I used to turn it on and watch something while I ate both my breakfast and lunch. The past 3 days, I have yet to turn the TV on during the day. It's wonderful.

Day 3

Breakfast: 1 egg + 1 egg white, yogurt w/ the best homemade granola ever! (AND it's healthy!)
Snack: banana
Lunch: leftover Skinny Chicken Stroganoff, salad
Snack: grapes, V8
Dinner: Zuchinni soup, slice of buttered bread (instead of the hot chocolate I wanted)
Snack: 1 Hershey's kiss. I'm refusing to feel guilty about it because I used control in not eating more. :)

Exercise: shoveled snow for 50 minutes...yes, we've been getting a lot of snow!

Energy, anyone?

I think I worked myself harder than I realized yesterday. Last night, I must have slept like a log because each time I woke up, I had numb body parts from not moving. I also had lots of vivid dreams, and I had no clue when Randy left for work...all signs of me being VERY tired. I felt like I was dragging today. I even resorted to a nap. Tonight, I'm feeling a bit better. I think my body is shocked by the calorie drop. I just hope I'm eating enough to keep my milk for Jenna. I have tried to eat an extra carb each day versus what I would do if I weren't nursing, so we'll see.

I knew last night that my weight would be down because I had eaten very well and had drank a lot of water. I'm hoping for the same tomorrow. I have to applaud myself on a few things today. After lunch, I really wanted a cherry cordial, but know that I want to avoid refined sugar right now. So, I opted for a slice of buttered bread. I know--butter--but it was better than the alternative, and went well with my soup. I also did my pilates when I so wanted to take a nap. I'm just glad that I got it in. I'm sure if I had someone pushing me, I would have done more than 25 minutes. I still need to figure out how to really push myself beyond what I want to do with exercising.

So, all in all it's been a good day. I'm doing RS visits tonight, so I won't be hanging around the house wanting to snack, which is a good thing. I've stuck with it for nearly 2 days now. I'm hoping it gets easier as I go, but at least I've started. By the way, if ANY of you want to join in on my action and have some support, let me know. I can share with you what I know works & what I'm doing. (Really, nothing more than healthy eating & exercising). I'd love to help you & get some support in return!

Day 2

Breakfast: 2 slices turkey bacon, 1/2 grapefruit, homemade bran muffin
Lunch: leftover turkey veggie soup, slice of wheat bread w/ butter
Snack: yogurt
Dinner: Skinny Chicken Stroganoff, salad

Exercise: 25 minutes of pilates

Day 1

Although this may not interest you, I want to keep a food diary. The fear of actually putting down that I ate 17 cookies in one day (or whatever) may actually keep me from doing it.

Breakfast: egg, oj, All-Bran w/ milk
Lunch: homemade chili (healthy), salad
Snack: V8, orange
Dinner: Turkey vegetable soup, slice of whole wheat bread w/ butter, cheese stick & a shot of Xango

I also thought I should keep track of my exercise. I heard something I liked last night on TV. To paraphrase, "Improve your health by 1 mile." I think that's a really achievable goal for anyone.

Exercise: shoveled snow for 45 minutes

Something that won't be shared...

I wanted to have a good picture of where I'm starting from. In addition to stepping on the scale and taking my measurements, I...took "Biggest Loser" style pictures of myself. Yeah, it was disgusting. I won't be sharing them here! However, I am thinking about printing it out and posting it on my mirror...maybe. I don't want to hate my body. So, do you think it would be a good move to post it for myself to see, or do you think it would be detrimental? Give me your thoughts.

The Beginning

I think I've finally hit rock bottom again with my weight. To give a bit of history...I was never overweight as a child. In fact, I thought I was "fat" my senior year of high school when I weighed 112 pounds. My freshman year of college, I weighed 118 lbs. I'm not really sure of my weight past that point, except that I think I probably was around 120 lbs when I got married, but I was probably in the mid-120's right before I got married, and then after. After my pregnancy with Sydney, I got back down to size. By the time she was 10 months old, I had gained weight and was up to 140 pounds, my all-time non-pregnancy related high. I then went on to lose 19.5 lbs within a period of about 3 or 4 months. Then I got pregnant again, miscarried, and got pregnant with Jenna, so I haven't been at that weight for a few years. I gained a lot of weight with my last pregnancy, but got down to 126.5 lbs after a while. Here I am again, with Jenna about to be 10 months old, and my weight has been on the rise...again.

Now, I know some of you are thinking you'd give your right leg to be that size! Let's remember that we're all different builds and heights. I'm short. I've got a small-medium build. My ideal weight should be somewhere between 110 and 115 pounds. I know it's not so much about the number, either. It is a pretty good measure of progress, though. I want to be healthier. I want to have more energy. And, of course, I want to look better!

So, I know I can lose weight. I've done it before. In the process, I've adopted some really good habits, but I've also retained some not-so-good habits. My hope is to bring more of the good into what I'm already doing. My mom is truly my inspiration. She followed Dr. Phil's weight loss plan. 4 years ago, she lost 40 pounds just by eating healthy...and she has kept it off! Eating healthy is really the biggest key to losing weight. Of course, physical activity is necessary, and I plan to improve on that too.

I plan on making concrete goals (& changes) to help me achieve this weight loss, so stay tuned...that is, if you're still reading! I know that weight loss is not achieved by will power alone.