Chugging along...

Man I forgot how hard the first week (or two!) of dieting and exercise can be when you are totally out of shape and overeating! It's really put things in perspective for me as to how big my portions of food have been. No wonder I've had such a hard time losing the weight! Plus, it has been a detriment that I lapsed on taking my levothyroxine (the medication for my thyroid) every day as I was supposed to. Since it has a direct effect on my metabolism I shouldn't be shocked that everything has slowed down. Anyway, it's been pretty tough since I've felt hungry the last few days but I'm trying to eat foods high in fiber and protein along with drinking lots of water to help. Even in just a few short days I've noticed that my will power is getting better and I'm being more selective and savvy about my food choices. Yay! For the most part I'm staying within my guidelines on SparkPeople in regards to my daily calories, carbs, fat, and protein. I think yesterday was the first day that I had all four categories within the limits selected for my weight and height. Some days there were things that were over and some days where things were under. It's definitely going to be a learning process for me to find out what foods are good for me to eat and which ones aren't (outside of the obvious choices)... you know like which foods provide the best nourishment tailored to what I need. Biggest health bang for my buck.... sort of. Hopefully in the next week or two my stomach will get used to the smaller, normal size portions and I'll start to feel more satisfied. :)

As far as the fitness is going... well it's started but I'd like to do more. I feel so defeated most days from working a full time job and then going home to two young kids, cooking dinner, doing housework, and then still not getting adequate sleep at night. There are not enough hours in the day!! I have managed to get in walks every day at work during my lunch time for 30 minutes and I end up walking about 1.5 miles a day. I'd like to increase my speed to make it 2 miles a day. That's 8 laps around a track. I think I can manage that... :) I was also going to start my Zumba on Wednesday but my kids were cranky and laundry was calling so I didn't end up getting around to it, but I told Aaron that I'm doing it tonight no ifs, ands, or buts. Even if I look like a total dork dancing in the middle of my living room. Heck, maybe Aaron and Jayden will even join in. Aaron's not the dancing type unless you call Dance Dance Revolution "dancing" so that should be entertaining, but I do have to applaud his efforts. Heh, he said he'd take cardio any way he could get it.

I also noticed that I weighed more than I thought when I started. I was closer to 179 than 177. I'm at 178 right now, but I'm still sticking to my goal of losing 4 pounds by the end of this month and then 5 pounds minimum each month after until the end of July (my 25th birthday). I don't want to lose any less than that a month, but I think it's feasible and it's much healthier to lose it slowly and steadily than a major drop at once.

So for now, I'm just chugging along. I plan to do my weekly weigh-ins on Sunday mornings so I will have an update on Monday in regards to any changes this week in weight. Wish me luck! Oh, and if you have any good health tips, feel free to pass them along!!!