Sorry guys, life has been crazy!

I run a freelance writing business and I'm the Primary president at my church (Primary being the organization for the kids) and things have just been CRAZY.

After spending a couple of frustrating weeks on a pleateau, I've finally broken it! Woohoo! I was down 2 1/2 lbs yesterday from where I was stuck.

Best of all, those 2 1/2 lbs must have come from the right places because I've also lost some inches from where I was. Yippee!

And miraculously, although I've worked the natural, unprocessed starches back into my diet (potatoes, rice, whole oats...NOT bread, pasta, etc.), I still don't have near the sugar cravings I had before. I've tweaked things a little and I'm staying off the carbs (except fruit) during the day and only having them with dinner. That's working well for me. I've had a treat here and there but that hasn't hurt me or sent me into a tizzy for sugar. As long as I'm careful about that I think I'll be fine.

At dinner I have made it a point to eat in the following order: Salad first, then steamed veggies if we're having them, then protein, and carbs last. That way I'm too full to eat too much starch (which would make me get hungry an hour later) and I'm sure to get my veggies in. If I do get hungry after dinner, I'll eat what I feel like; sometimes that's cereal or something (think oatmeal), sometimes nuts or fruit.

My clothes are getting too big, which lets me go shopping in my own closet for clothes that I used to wear. The other day I pulled on a pair of jeans I haven't worn in ages! Wooooo!!

I hate Aunt Flow

She showed up a full week ago and I've still got water weight hanging around. Every time with me, it seems like I can't lose anything for several days before, then I stall while she's here, then at the end I actually put on more water which stays for several days after it's over.

I hate it. It's discouraging even though I know the cause.

But I'm not gonna let it get me down! I did so well in C1 and I'm not gonna let AF ruin it for C2. Just gotta keep on keepin' on and let it come off.

So, I don't really know what I've lost now, but hopefully in a few days I'll have a better idea and actually see the scale move below where it was before my stupid monthly (or whenever she wants these days) visitor.

Day 17! Last day of Cycle 1.

This actually makes me a little nervous. I'm totally familiar with what I'm doing and now it's time to change it some. However I'm totally looking forward to things like OATMEAL and BROWN RICE. :)

I've lost 11 pounds, but dear Aunt Flow showed up yesterday so I'm sure that is affecting the scale. I was really hoping I'd lose 12, but I guess cycle 1 isn't officially over until tomorrow, so I could still make it. I probably would have without dear AF. But, I also told myself I'd be happy with a 10 lb loss in the first cycle, so I'm good. I'm 11 pounds ahead of where I'd be if I hadn't done this.

Well, time for breakfast. :)

Drumroll please....

I got stuck for a few days, but as of this morning I've lost 10 1/2 pounds since August 22nd.

Doing very well on this. I did cheat the other day by eating a cookie. :P Good news is, after that I actually didn't want any more. A few weeks ago I'd have ended up eating several.

It feels so good to know that sugar doesn't have that much power over me anymore!!

I will be on this cycle through Wednesday. I was really hoping to hit the 12lb. mark, so I may still make it. But if not, I'm still pretty proud of myself for the way I've stuck with it.

The only power that stuff can have over you is the power you give it.

Total weight loss...

8 pounds so far! Actually, from my heighest weight about a year ago, I've lost 26 pounds. :) Too bad it took me so long to lose the first 18 (well, 20...but then I bounced around for a while).

Man, I guess I just wasn't totally ready or something....

I've also been super busy! But I'm back now. I won't promise daily posts but I'll at least try to check in once a week. I'm the primary president at church, and I've got a good freelance writing business going. Add that to a family and a home, and well, you've got a busy mom.

I started back on the diet bandwagon on Monday, August 22nd. First day of school for the kids, and first day of new habits for me. As of today, August 27th, I have already lost 7 pounds! I know it will slow down and that's fine. Nothing like getting off to a good start though!

I've said before that I'm a total sugar/carb addict. Well I've just got to stop that. It finally dawned on me in one of those DUH moments that, good grief, it's like I'm sitting around here WAITING for my body to change. But that was never going to happen unless I MADE IT HAPPEN. Why it took so long to realize that I don't know. I've realized that before and lost 60 pounds because of it, but that was about 10 years ago. I guess I forgot, huh?

My hormones are changing (good old menopause that shows up way early in my family...I'm only 36) and that has made things difficult, and helped me put on flab in places where I haven't had trouble before. But that's no excuse.

I am getting my carbs exclusively from fruit. No sugar, no starch. In about 2 more weeks I'll slowly start adding some whole grains back in and kind of go back and forth from day to day, to try and avoid a carb-addition cycle again. I am actually following the 17 Day Diet by Dr. Mike Moreno. I've read the whole book and it makes a lot of sense.

As you can see from previous posts I've tried a lot of different methods. Problem is, I've never stayed with anything very long before I've become frustrated and given up. This plan goes in 17-day cycles where things change a little, which will hopefully keep things varied enough that I don't get bored & frustrated. There are 4 different cycles on the 17 Day Diet, each lasting - you guessed it - 17 days. The first 3 cycles are for weight loss, the 4th for maintenance. I promised myself I would at least give it one round of those first 3 cycles, and if I've had good success (and I really think I will), I'll probably do at least one more round before I hit my goal.

Wow, it's been a while...

Over the past few months I have been on and off the wagon.

Happens to us all, doesn't it?

BUT...I am down 7-8 pounds since I made some changes Feb. 4th! During this time I've MOSTLY stayed on the wagon. Gee...I wonder how much better that loss could be with 100% commitment. Yeah, I think I'm trying that starting today.

I've made adjustments to my diet. I'm eating fruits, veggies, carbs, meat, eggs, nuts...all the good stuff. The only stuff I'm staying totally away from (except when I've fallen off the wagon or just decided to have something) is sweets. I LOVE the way I've been eating. It fits me, and the way my days go very well. So for the most part, it's been easy and I know I'm getting better nutrition than I've probably had in a while.

I still go to Zumba at least 2x week (I found another FREE 3rd class on Thursday nights I might start going to). When I'm not going to Zumba I've been doing quick interval workouts on the treadmill and just started adding some short yoga workouts. Yoga is harder than it looks but it feels really good! Zumba is an hour and includes some strength training, but on the other days I keep my workouts to about 30 minutes or less.

If you have an iPhone or Android (which is what I have) there are workout timers you can download for free. You can set whatever time for your own work/rest intervals, and create your own workouts. My phone is also an MP3 player, so I set my music, start my timer, and the whistle sound of each interval comes in over the music so I know when to speed up or slow down. It makes timing my workouts really easy without those expensive timer gadgets or having to watch the clock on the treadmill. Highly recommended if you have a smart phone!

Overall, I'm 20 pounds under my highest weight, which was probably sometime in late August. The last 10 pounds has come off within the last month. Even better than that, the inches have finally started coming off again, including the most stubborn part of my body...those dang hips!

So I'm still here...I've just been busy since they made me the Primary President at the end of November! I will try to post more often!

I've been busy...

and just kinda maintaining for the last little while. But since the beginning of this week I've been more serious about this whole thing.

And this morning I reached a lowest-in-recent-memory number on the scale. Funny how that works huh?

My heart rate monitor also died on me, which was a real bummer. But I have a new one now, and it's always motivating to know how many calories you're burning during your workouts.

So I'm back, just in time for Thanksgiving. LOL

This is a great one too!

She has you pointing your toes a little outward whenever you extend your feet and pull your heels back together, like 1st position for a ballerina. So your inner thighs really get worked, as well as the rest of you. It doesn't look real strenuous, but believe you me, it's amazing & burns major calories. Great challenge to your balance as well, which of course tightens the core and helps in not being a klutz. We could all use that. ;) Here is a clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehfKr7o4DGo

:) :) :) :)

Wow.....

That's what I said when I got on the scale this morning.

You gotta love those "a few pounds lower than I thought it would / should be" moments. LOL It must be the workouts!

That motivates me to be extra healthy and see it move down some more!

Time for Skinny Sculpt!! I got some 2 lb weights, so hopefully I won't have to put them down at all today.