New year, new goal

I had wanted to post this Sunday morning, but I didn't sleep well and was driving for 3+ hours to visit friends for New Year, so I haven't gotten a chance to post until today, but this is an exciting one! 

Happy New Year, y’all!

Last week, I wrote a post about how these stupid frozen drinks have a mental/emotional hold on me.

Fast forward 7 days and guess what?!?!?!

I DID IT!!

I FINALLY had ONE DRINK this week! That’s it! 

I’ll be completely honest…everyday was a struggle. Whether it was walking by a Starbucks in the grocery store thinking, “I need a peppermint mocha frappucino” or going to a bagel shop that was close to our local Panera and thinking, “I’ll just go afterwards to Panera for a frozen mocha…”

I had more hot chocolates this week to cover for it (2), and I know those aren’t really “healthy”, but the sugar/cal count vs. the frozen drinks completely makes up for it (at least in my mind). I also actually drank some water during the days, too—which is another goal I will be working on soon.

It feels so good, and I’ve already noticed a difference!

I’m not talking in terms of weight, inches, or even large physical differences; think…smaller.

I had the frozen drink Monday morning, and usually by Wednesday, I would have had one, then another Thursday-Saturday. I DIDN’T do that and randomly looked down at my legs Thursday morning.

**NOTE: Let me make this absolutely clear. I hate my legs with a burning passion. I hate looking at them, I hate knowing they’re there, I detest these ugly, misshapen blobs that make me move. I never moisturize them because, to be honest, I wish they’d just fall off. **

For some reason after getting ready Thursday morning, I looked down at those gross things attached to my body and instantly noticed a small difference. My legs (mostly ankles/calf part of the leg) are always swollen because of my weight, and over the years, I’ve gotten used to it but haven’t let it deter me. When I looked down, I looked at my calves, looked up in surprise, and looked back down. 

My calves didn’t look as swollen as they usually do. I looked a total of 3 times to make sure I wasn’t just being extra hopeful. But no, each time proved what I had originally seen. My swollen legs were finally starting to slowly return to a more normal leg shape.

Another new "feeling": my pants are getting big in the back. I am down about half a pant size in "comfy" pants (these are just black pants with an elastic waistband). I used to be a 4X, but they are getting really big in the back and keep falling down, so I am down to a 3X with a little snugness in the front.

So, yeah, lesson learned: taking care of yourself makes you feel GOOD.

New goal?!?!?!!? Finally?!?!?! YES.

Since my previous goal was more of a dietary change, this week, I’m adding in a little exercise.

Goal of the week 12/31/17-1/6/18:

get to gym 1 day/wk

You might think…1 day this week? That’s all? Well, here’s the deal: I know. I think about it everyday. I’m taking ridiculously small baby steps that shouldn’t really account for anything. But here’s why I’m doing what I’m doing. 

I have talked to many doctors about weight loss. While I haven’t told them that I write about my experience traveling through this, I have talked about nearly EVERY aspect of my weight loss journey with them. I’m not shy when it comes to questions. I’ve learned over the years (especially recently) that asking questions, no matter how embarrassing, stupid, or repetitive they are, is the best way for me to get the most out of each doctor visit. So, yes, I’ve talked to professionals who know what they’re doing. The doctors I visit are:

General Practitioner

OB-GYN

Diabetes Management Specialist

Cardiologist

4 separate doctors, all who have discussed how to go about losing weight. All of them agree—starting small is best.

So, yes, one workout this week, along with one frozen drink this week. Doesn’t seem like much, but one is better than nothing!

See you next week!

New Year's Resolution

Here it is, the morning of the last day of the year...and I have yet to come up with a solid New Year's Resolution. I find myself questioning the whole idea of a 'New Year's Resolution'. What is it for? Is it an opportunity to 'start over'? Or do people make these annual resolutions just to feel better about themselves, knowing that they have 'set goals' for themselves to become better people? Now I'm wondering how many New Year's resolutions truly fail...

I researched this, and according to the University of Scranton's Journal of Clinical Psychology, published December 13, 2013, the top New Year's resolutions are:

1. Lose weight
2. Getting organized
3. Spend less, save more
......
(Click those dots to see the webpage)

Looking over the top 10, I can remember trying at least 7 of them (I don't smoke, so that's out, and I've never set a 'goal' to fall in love).

Scroll down, and you'll see that only 8% of people who make New Year's resolutions are truly sucessful. 49% of people setting New Year's resolutions have 'infrequent success', and nearly one quarter (24%) of people who set New Year's resolutions never succeed.

I can honestly tell you that I am in that 24% who never succeed. Many years, I set lofty goals: lose 100 lbs, become a better person (yeah, that makes sense), get organized, save money, etc...I have a rough time following ANY New Year's resolutions!

This is why I abhor this time of year. Now people want to know: what are you going to focus on bettering in your life? My answer: I don't know! There is so much in my life I want to better!

After this rant (thanks for listening), I don't know if I have a specific New Year's resolution in mind..Here is a general New Year's resolution:

My goal is to lose 50 lbs. by January 1st, 2015. That means I should be 380 lbs. by 1/1/15. That's approximately 1 lb. a week.

This might not be specific, but it doesn't need to be; my weekly goals during the year are more specific for me, and I will use those to strive toward my New Year's resolution of -50 lbs.

Good luck on your New Year's resolutions!