Weigh-In Wednesday-#1

Alright y'all... I am PSYCHED! After my 'Commitment Issues' post, I was more dedicated than ever to focusing on eating better and losing this weight. However, if we're laying all the cards on the table here, I have to honestly admit that I wasn't holding out much hope that I'd persevere. I've hit so many stumbling blocks over the past few months (which I chronicled in the aforementioned post) and I just didn't know how I was going to get past them... but I knew it would be such a disservice to my family, and to myself, if I didn't give it at least one more try.

This past week was my first week with my new commitment to 'being good'. Even with my skepticism that I would succeed, I somehow developed this zen peacefulness towards the diet this week. I thought it was going to be so hard to stick to it, but instead it seemed like all the decisions came easy. Even the times I thought about whipping through Dunkin Donuts or joining the kids for lunch at McDonald's, the desire was fleeting. Where normally I would cave, this time I was resolute. It was GREAT! And as a result, stepping on the scale this morning showed a... {drumroll please}... 6.6 lb drop!!!!!!

You saw right! 6.6 POUNDS!!!! I AM STOKED!!!! {And that's without any exercise!!}

I know it wasn't all due to 'eating right', because I  wasn't uber-perfect. I still cooked with butter, I added full fat half-and-half to a few dishes (I mean, come on! I'm dieting... not DEAD!) But even so, I still managed to drop that considerable amount and I couldn't be happier! :)

I did decide to make a few changes to the way I do things when it came to menu planning, grocery shopping, and the like.

1. I started running my weekly menus from Wednesday-Tuesday. I know this seems weird- it makes much more sense to run a weekly menu from the logical beginning of the week (Sunday or Monday). But I just had such a mental block regarding these two days and could never seem to get my act together! The weekend projects we did around the house inevitably kept me from getting the grocery shopping or cooking ahead done on time, which then would put me further behind for the week, and by the time Monday rolled around I was already defeated and ready to give up! Since I've started my menus from Wednesday, I've found I'm much more relaxed in my planning and shopping and have even managed to carve out some time on the weekends (projects and all) to make snacks and small meals ahead. Yay me!
2. I started eating my largest meal at breakfast and my smallest meal at dinner. Most people probably already do this, but for some reason I always did it backwards! I read somewhere though, that when trying to shed unwanted pounds, that you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. That really resonated with me and once I read it, it was like 'EPIPHANY'! And then I wondered how it took me 33 years to never figure it out for myself... so, yeah.
3. And I didn't deprive myself (or the fam) of things that made us truly happy- like dessert. Don't get me wrong- we didn't have it every night or anything! But we did have it on more than one occasion. I tell ya, it's amazing how satisfying a simple scoop of strawberry ice cream, rolled around in some crushed up chex cereal with cinnamon, can be. I mean, knock off 'fried' ice cream CAN'T be bad, amiright? And amazingly, it's not that bad for you! But gosh it's soul satisfying!

So, I know I still have a long road ahead. Don't get me wrong, 6.6. pounds is nothing to shake a stick at, but until I break that 11 lb. ceiling I'm never going to truly feel I've gotten a firm grasp of the situation. But, as I tell my kids, I've just got to put my head down and keep on trucking. I've got to add the exercise back in- that will definitely help and I've got to make sure I stay on the straight and narrow. I know there will sometimes be slip-ups, but I can't let it completely derail me like it always has in the past. And when I fall off the horse, I have to give it a good swift kick in the arse to show it who's da boss, and then jump right back on again! Otherwise, I'll never see results.

So, until next time friends... may the fork be with you!