May - 5.5 lbs Lost

This month, I lost 5.5 lbs. (Today's weight was 180.8) I didn't meet my goal, but that's ok. The scale is still moving in the right direction, I am still putting in the effort and my clothes are fitting better.

There were a couple obstacles this month, such as 2 occasions where there was cake, 3 weekends where I ate out mostly. It could have been better, but it could have been worse. I did what I could and feel like I have made this weight loss journey into a lifestyle change rather than a diet. That's a good accomplishment- the mental aspect is such a tough hurdle to get over.

I worked out 28 out of 31 days. Most of the time I did the elliptical, but other times I did DVDs or ran/ walked outside. I didn't do much running because the weather was bad a lot. The weather sucks here; either too cold or hot or rainy.

June is going to be tricky. I will be moving at the end of the month, so I might not be able to work out as much as I used to. (July will probably be even worse). I might have to eat out more often, maybe do fast food. There are a couple things still up in the air as far as plans, so we'll see how it goes. I have the right mindset, and losing weight and not wasting time is important to me, so I am confident I will be ok.

June goal: AMAP (as much as possible, probably around 5-6lbs)

Attitude of Gratitude: I have been feeling uncertain about some things in my life, but in less than 2 weeks, I will have many of these questions answered and can sort things out and start really planning.

April - 11.7 lbs lost

Last month (at 198.0), I said that my goal for April was to lose 10 lbs. Instead I lost 11.7! I am 186.3. Very proud of myself!

This was a very good workout month. I worked out 28 days out of 30. My mentality has been that if I don't have a concrete reason not to or some real time constraint, then I do it. Just gotta do it.

These little stickers kinda help because I'm like a first grader - I feel better when I get a sticker.

Also my eating was good this month. I stayed on track pretty much every day I think. In general, I have been giving food less thought. I don't write my food or track it anymore, sometimes I count it up in my head, but I just try to eat healthy and stay away from carbs and processed foods. (Of course there are also those days when it's a pain.)

My goal for May is to lose 10 lbs again. I'd say 8 just to be safe, but why be safe? Having another 10 lb goal will push me to keep working hard. I'll be happy with 8, but still going for 10. I'm worried a plateau might be coming honestly. But I will work out every day that I can, still do the C25k thing, and eat healthy. So I'll say it; by June 1st, I will be 176.3 or lower. Hopefully.

Attitude of Gratitude: Osama Bin Laden was killed by our troops! Proud to be an American!

March Recap - 10lb Goal: Shot to Hell

So this month didn't go quite as planned, now did it??

My goal for March was to lose 10 lbs. Instead I lost 5.3 lbs. (198.0 as of today). Boo.

First, I took a few days off for my birthday at the beginning of the month, which ruined that week. And then I was away for a week and ate horribly. Then I came home for a few days and went away again. It was a very busy, not so great month.

I worked out 16 out of 31 days. You can see on the calendar the days I was away and didn't work out.

Ok so anyway... how about in April I blow 10 lbs out of the water? I have no distractions, so I'll be able to do it. I should be able to do it even when life gets in the way, but I guess I'm not there yet.

Here is my new goal and proclamation to you all... By April 30, I will be at least 188 lbs. I better do this. I need to catch up with my goals. Any suggestions of what I should do?

Attitude of Gratitude: I have still lost 50 lbs and am not letting a semi-bad month get me down and make me want to give up like I might have in the past. Onward and downward.

February - 10.6 lbs lost

I was definitely on my game this month. Last month, I made a goal to lose 10 lbs in February, and as of this morning, I have lost 10.6 lbs in the last month. Yay, I did it!

As far as goals, I feel like it's kind of hard to set weight loss goals because personally, I don't really know what my body is capable of losing. I know I can eat right and exercise, but don't know exactly what influences what the scale will say at the end of the week.

But I can control what I do, so here's what I've done this month...

• I blogged about how much I hated drinking water, and ended up getting a ton of very helpful responses that persuaded me to drink more water. Now I know how important it is, so I drink about 100 oz. a day.

• I worked out 26 out of the 28 days. I typically did 60 minutes on the elliptical and/or a workout DVD. Working out is a habit now. I feel like I have to do it, especially if I don't have a reason not to. I do believe in taking days off, so I will probably drop it to 6 days a week soon.

• I tracked the points of everything I ate, writing it all down, and staying within my daily points. I didn't use many weekly points at all. I have been eating healthy foods and hardly anything processed.

• I blogged pretty much every day and have gained support, encouragement and advice from so many amazing people! Thank you, thank you!

Attitude of Gratitude: I met a goal I set for myself and it feels awesome!

January - 7.9lbs lost

My January weight loss was 7.9 lbs. I'm happy with that. It could have been better, could have been worse. Here’s how the month went. I started back on my weight loss plan on January 2^nd. Not the 1^st like most people simply because my family was cooking a lot of good foods on New Years Day and I didn’t want to be all bummed saying no to everything.

Then I started all gung ho, eating well and working out… for two days. Then I have to admit that for the rest of that week, I failed big time. I blame it on my sister because she was still home for college and eats like it’s her last day on Earth, every day. She wants to snack on good foods, make cheese fries, brownies, have happy hour, the whole thing. Seriously, when I’m with her, I feel like on one of those temptation challenges on The Biggest Loser. I get jealous because I gain weight so easily and she just stays thin no matter what… so I said screw it for the week. But then she went back to school and it was a lot easier to eat well and work out, and the 1^st week back on course, I lost 5 lbs. Then my sister came back the next weekend, and when we’re not doing anything all weekend, I swear to you, she eats all day long, the fattiest, best tasting foods. And she suggests things for dinner that are really high calorie, and my parents will make whatever she wants because she’s just home for the weekend. It’s so hard to eat well with her around and then I just get bitter and end up sabotaging myself.

I shouldn’t let someone else's eating habits affect me, but especially since I'm just starting out again after taking a 2-3 month break, it's extra difficult. That week, I only lost 0.9 lbs because I kinda let it affect the rest of my week. But such a measly weight loss that week made me more dedicated and this past week I lost 2.2, for a monthly total of 7.9. I am happy for that loss, but keep thinking it would have been much better if I hadn't taken the first week off and hadn't half-assed it the third week.

My January workouts - pretty good this month!

My goal for February is to lose at least 10 lbs. I think that's a realistic goal if I stick to the plan of working out and eating right.