Day 51

So, I weighed myself this morning....and....(drumroll please)...I lost a total of 10 lbs!! I know it might not sound like much, and 10 lbs in almost 2 months doesn't sound like much either, BUT If you think about it, I've been doing this for 7 weeks now, I only started working out about halfway through, and the "diet" itself isn't super strict...so considering all that, 10 lbs is fantastic! I love that I'm making such good progress. I'm now at 181 down from 191...but what's sad is that I remember when I used to weigh myself and be in the 170's, the 160's and even the 150's...I was there and I just need to get back there! I mean as much as it seems like progress I hate that I was much thinner and just took it for granted because it's so much work to lose weight. I do admit though that in addition to losing weight, I am noticing changes in my endurance, energy, and tolerance for physical activity. That in itself is a huge achievement! I'm not going to quit anytime soon, and while I don't eat perfectly every day, I at the very least 1) exercise regularly (and enjoy it) 2) Don't drink anything other than water, almond milk, unsweetened iced teas and coffee (and I've pretty much cut out alcohol as well...I haven't had anything since the 2 beers I had (those were EXACTLY a month ago!) 3) Eat smaller meals and don't eat any less than 3 hours before bedtime...I'm definitely making progress and I have a much easier time accepting my mistakes...for the first time I'm being REALISTIC with my goals and with my eating habits. I will never be successful on any commercial structured diet plan (Atkins, Weight Watchers, etc)...not because they're not effective but because they aren't right for ME. I also wouldn't be successful in any plan that is very strict or that eliminates a food group (i.e. no carbs, or just eating plain grilled chicken with a vegetable). I'm so happy right now, happy that I've learned myself better, and happy that I've been able to really take this seriously and stick with it this long. It's also been really nice to see people coming out of the woodwork to support me...it only makes me want to keep going! So thanks, everybody, for your support!

Now as far as food is concerned, I would like a little more structure for myself, because I seem to have allowed myself a lot of freedom this week. Maybe I can just keep everything in line Monday-Friday and kind of have fun on the weekend? I don't know. I went out to dinner today with a friend and totally let go, and I really did enjoy myself, but I would like these kinds of days to be less frequent. On a positive note, I'm going to go play tennis AND go to the gym tomorrow so I can work off what I ate today haha...which is the following:

Breakfast:

-1 packet plain oatmeal with half a banana
*still really good and keeps me full


Lunch:

-2oz whole wheat penne with 3 chopped asparagus spears, 1/2c stir fry veggies (no seasoning), 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp grated parmesan cheese
*This was so boring. haha

Snack:

-1/2 california roll w/ soy sauce
*Always good!

Dinner:

-2 slices of appetizer bread and 1 butter patty
*haven't had bread and butter in so long, it was SO good!
-1/2 of the barbecue ranch chicken salad (grilled chicken, lettuce, black beans, fried onions, ranch dressing, bbq sauce)
*OK so online this salad has a whopping 959 calories...BUT I only ate half (480 cal), and boxed up the rest. Whether or not I eat it tomorrow hasn't been decided yet haha. Really, the worst part of this was the dressing, bbq sauce and fried onions
-1 glass unsweetened iced tea
*I actually didn't drink any of this though!

Dessert:

-1/4 slice chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake
*Online a slice of this has 1,079 calories!! CAN YOU EFFING BELIEVE THAT?! Well my friend and I split it and TOGETHER we only managed to eat half. So 1/4 of 1079 is about 270 (I'll round up to 300 for good measure!) So in actuality it wasn't as bad as I had suspected. I'm glad I didn't finish anything in its entirety!

Snack:

-2 italian layer cookies
*these were the last in our house. I was supremely disappointed because they were on the table, not in the fridge and the fact that they were room temp changed their taste dramatically...oh well :(

Not the best day but you know what? The bottom line is I'm happy, I'm doing really well, working out and losing weight and I just want to keep with it. I just need to make sure that I keep the eating in check! It's so hard to go off track (especially when you're bored) but I know I have the strength to make it happen.