The best gift ever!!!

(I am really tired, but I wanted to get this out. If it sounds like I'm rambling, I am. I promise my next post will be better.)

So it's been a while since I have blogged. I have been quite busy with holiday preparations. During this time I have stayed on my plan and have been doing really well. I am stronger. I am killing my workouts and food has no control over me. I am in such a great place. I have went down 2 sizes. This lifestyle change has really happened. My family and friends have been so supportive. I am truly thankful to God for what is happening in my life.

The scale and I are friends again. I found an app on my phone that allows me to track my weight loss. It has allowed me to get over the whole 5 lb difference. Now I just step on the scale subtract 5 lbs and plug into my app. Sounds simple now, but it took a lot to get to this point.

Well, this Christmas has been different from every other Christmas. I was not excited about any gift under the tree. My excitement came from the realization of the gift I had given myself. I am finally making me first. I am taking care of my body. I am feeling good about the way I look. I am excited about the gift of me! Because of my lifestyle change I will live longer and enjoy more in life. It's better than anything I could ever ask for.

My 2 month pictures are below. To date, I have lost 46.4 lbs (I took these pics yesterday). I only need to loose 3.6 more lbs to reach my goal of losing 50 lbs in 2011. I got this!

Taking a Break From the Scale

So I have decided to take a break from the scale for awhile. It all started last Saturday. My scale which read 283 lbs (total loss of 37 lbs) started to give me an error message. I went to WalMart and bought another scale with a few more bells and whistles than my old one. Well, when I got this scale home it said that I weighed 288 lbs. Oh no, no, no, no, no! So I called the company to see if I could change the reading so that I could stay on track. They took me through the process of caliberating the scale only for it to add ANOTHER pound. Needless to say, I took it back and exchanged it for the exact same scale that I had before. This one was 3 lbs off but doable.

Now some may say, "It's only 5 lbs. Why don't you just subtract 5 lbs from whatever the scale says?" While this is quite logical, I can't do it. I know that I lost those 5 lbs and I want the satisfaction of seeing those pounds gone. What my eyes are seeing is not lining up with what my mind is computing and this really bothers me. So as I'm thinking about how big of a deal I have made these 5 lbs, I realize that I have negated all of the other successes on my journey. This is not just about weight loss. It's about my quality of life getting better.  So I began to list other measurables of success:

1. At 320 lbs there were only 4 towels in my house that I could use that could wrap all the way around me. Now there are many towels that I can use.
2. Sunday I wore a pair of jeans that I hadn't been able to wear (and they were baggy).
3. There has been chocolate in my house for about 2 weeks and I have not touched one bit!
4. My endurance level has skyrocketed. My recovery between exercises is so quick.
5. I wore 4 inch heels on Sunday. Normally, I would have come home hardly able to walk. With the extra weight gone and the strengthening of my knees wearing the heels was FAR less painful.
6. I have dropped 2 jean sizes and 1 shirt size.

I've got alot to be proud of and I won't overlook these things because of a scale hiccup. Therefore, I will not be weighing in again until my 2 month anniversary. I will measure my success through my clothes and how I feel. I will work on my mind and gain a healthy relationship with the scale. I have a plan. I am working that plan. The scale has no power over me!