It's the little things!

Left: 12/31/12 Right: 2/23/13

Early this morning I went to my Weight Watchers location to weigh in. I didn't walk in expecting big changes, honestly, I was expecting to gain a little bit. I had already told myself that if I gained, I was going to take it with pride and move on.

This past weekend we ate out twice and we had my bridal shower. It was a little bit of a rough weekend, but I've done my best the past 3 days, trying to bounce back and stay on track. Whatever happened when I stepped on the scale, I was okay with it and I knew that it wasn't going to stop me from reaching my goals.

I stepped on the scale, I didn't look at it, actually I didn't even really want to know the number. My leader looked at me and said "Hey! A loss is a loss, even if its small!" Woohoo! Even after a little bit of a rough weekend, I still lost! I'm still on my way to becoming healthy.

I didn't lose pounds this week, I lost ounces. I'm okay with that though, ounces add up and will eventually make pounds that will be gone....forever!

This past week I lost .4 pounds, making it a total of 19.4lbs gone (and never coming back) since I started Weight Watchers. Little changes last forever and I know little losses are better then great big ones!

The best part of all is that I can still say I've lost every week since I started, and I'm not stopping here! It really is the little things in this, it's the little changes that count, the ones that will last forever!

Stretching

I've never been good at stretching, in fact, I hate to do it. I know it's good to stretch before and after working out. I know it will prevent muscles for being sore or even getting injured. I completely understand all the pros to stretching, but I hate it.

The only time I stretch is if I'm in a group class and everyone else is stretching, I don't want to be the only one NOT following along. So, I'll stretch, but probably not as good as I should. I don't stretch before walking on the treadmill or using the elliptical.

I've been going to Zumba every Monday since January and I absolutely love it. My knees don't like it very much, but I know that will change with time. I've been thinking that maybe my knees would feel better if I stretched them out a little more. The past couple of Monday's, I've done my best to focus during cool down and really make sure I'm stretching everything and I can feel the burn.

 

There's one stretch that I hate more then anything, I can't do it and it's not because it hurts or because it's a hard stretch. I can't do it because my thighs are literally too big and they get in the way of pulling my foot all the way up. I always know when this stretch was coming up, and I just pass it and start to stretch another muscle. Yeah, I'll give it a try, and it doesn't work so I would move on. I hate it and it seriously would embarrasses me.

I decided today that I would work out at home, change things up a bit. It was a good workout, kind of easy but it was better then nothing. Cool down time came and it was time to stretch my legs out. I knew the forbidden thigh stretch was coming up and for some reason I decided to give it a try. I almost fell over and not because I lost my balance.

I almost fell over because I actually did the stretch. My foot actually came up high enough for me to grab and stretch that muscle out. I didn't have to hold onto a wall, I didn't have to grab the inside of my shoe to bring my foot up, I lifted my foot and grabbed the top of my foot with my hand. I couldn't believe it!

What does that tell me? My legs are getting smaller and my body is getting healthier. It gives me motivation to keep going, it helps me remember why I'm doing this.

As for right now, I can only do the stretch with my right leg. My left knee is a little swollen and sore (one of the perks of being overweight) so to pull it all the way up, really hurts; it almost makes it feel like it's going to bust open from the pressure. I'm okay with that though. One leg at a time and one stretch at time!

The day I hit my first goal!

When I started Weight Watchers, 7 weeks ago, my mindset was a little different. I wanted to take things slow, I wasn't worried about losing weight fast, I wanted to go slow and actually learn to keep it off. I had set goals (big and little) but I was willing to sit back and enjoy the process and let the system work. The first goal Weight Watchers sets for you is 5%, I didn't change it because I knew that goal was very attainable, I just had to work for it.

Every week I've watched the scale move down and every week I was getting closer to my 5% goal. Even though I was trying to be patient and just let things go the way they wanted to go, I was hoping to hit my 5% 2 weeks ago, but I was okay when I didn't.

Last week I lost 3 pounds and was just a little over 1 pound away from hitting 5%. I was determined this week to hit it. I worked my butt off all week, a few days I spent almost an hour and a half at the gym. An hour and half?! I swear I'm not trying to become a gym addict, but working out feels so good!

The past two days, I've been watching the scale. When I weighed myself Monday morning, I had hit my goal, but I didn't want to get my hopes up, a lot can change in two days. Tuesday morning I stepped on the scale and again, I was under my goal (woohoo!). I did everything I could to remain focused all day, I worked out, drank over a gallon of water and prayed that the scale gods were on my side this morning.

I had a hard time falling asleep last night, I was nervous! I knew I was going to hit my goal, but was nervous for some odd reason. I woke up this morning and got on the scale. It was playing tricks, I stepped on it about 4 times and each time the number was different. Damn machine! I got ready and headed to my meeting location.

I took off my ring, glasses, shoes and Activelink, stepped on the scale and wanted to puke. I was so nervous! My leader did her thing with the computer and then printed my label. We looked at it together and the we had a little PARTY!

I HIT MY 5%!!! I REACHED AND DESTROYED MY FIRST GOAL!

5% at a time and slow and steady wins the race.....EVERYTIME! I'm celebrating for the day but tomorrow it's time to focus again to reach my 10%!

Week 6 Wrap Up

Week 7 starts on Wednesday, I'll weigh in at 6am and I pray that this week I'll hit my 5%. This time it's different, this time things are for real. Normally by now I would of had a week or two where I gained weight, I know there's nothing wrong with that, but this time around I have yet to gain at all. I hope the same continues this coming week.

I did a little shopping on Friday and I went down a size all the way around, it felt so good to know that all my hard work is paying off. I originally started Weight Watchers again because I went to buy new jeans and size I was wearing would no longer zip up, but on Friday, it was a different story. Those pants zipped right up and felt so good on me. I could not believe it. I stood in the dressing room for a few seconds and just looked at them before I walked out and showed my sister.

During the week I also had my final wedding dress fitting. I love my dress, I bought it over a year ago and I still love it. Every time I wear it, I remember why I chose that dress. I wish I could post pictures, but I don't want to ruin the surprise. When I had the dress on earlier in January, it fit me but there were spots that I wish it looked a little better, like my shoulder area, I hated how my "back fat" hung over it so much. When I put my dress on this time, there wasn't so much "back fat," I could tell it looked better. It was one of those moments that I knew I was doing something right.

One of the things I'm doing different this time around is tracking my water intake. My goal is to drink 100+ ounces of water. We have a water dispenser at home so that makes it very easy to make sure my water bottle is always full. The Mr. and my sister give me a hard time because they say I drink all of it, considering somedays I drink over a gallon of water. I think drinking so much water has the key my success so far, I believe it's really helping me achieve my goals.

I keep finding it kind of ironic that I'm inspiring people to work out and achieve their goals. I'm not a pro at this, in fact, some days I think that I don't know what I'm doing. I know I'll learn so much out of this and eventually I'll have to change things up and do different activity, but what I'm doing now is working. I love that so many people are cheering me on and have my back. All of the encouraging words and the "keep goings" seriously make each day so much easier. At the same time, it's so intimating having so many people cheering me on, I don't want to disappoint anyone or fail at this journey.

Everyday I remind myself that it's a new day and everyday I am thankful to just be alive and breathing.

Success and Determination

                                                                Source: 24.media.tumblr.com via Abigail on Pinterest

A month and a half ago I started my weight loss journey....again. I've accepted the fact that two other times I have really put my heart and soul into losing weight and those two times I failed. This time it's different. This time I have a different determination, this time I'm going to succeed.

I weigh in every Wednesday morning and then attending Weight Watcher meetings the same evening. I joined a gym a few days into starting my life change and I've been working out 5 or more times a week. Sometimes I can't get to the gym, so I'll do a walking video that I bought one of the other times I was attempting to lose weight.

Since January 1st, I have lost 15.4 pounds! I am 1.6 pounds away from losing 5% of my bodyweight! I am so close to my first goal that I can taste it (no pun intended). On week 4, I decided it was time to start tracking my measurements, I have yet to remeasure myself, but I plan to do so soon.

I have yet to be open and honest about my starting weight, putting important numbers like that for the world to see is a big thing. Once I hit a certain weight, I plan on sharing it with everyone. It will be a big step for me, but so many people are watching my weight loss, I'm hoping maybe it will keep me in check. 

I really want to be better about updating my blog and keeping a "diary" of my weight loss, maybe I'll change my name and make it more lifestyle like. We'll see, I'm so horrible at keeping up with my blog. Clearly becoming a famous blogger is out of the question!

Of course through blogging and social networking, I have found a ton of weight loss blogs, Facebook pages, inspiring Twitter feeds and awesome Instragramers. These people have kept me so motivated over the past month and half, I love reading all their words of wisdom about weight loss and lifestyle change. One of my favorite things to do is browse through Pinterest and find inspirational quotes, they help me stay focused and I go back and read them all of time.

Everyday I find something new to be excited about for this healthy life I'm creating, what's even better is that The Mr. is doing it with me!