4 Month Weight Check In

There is a small canvas on my bedroom dresser that reads, "She Believed She Could, So She Did."  My friends Emily and Carrie gave it to me years ago.  Last September, my friend, Casey, gave me a set of three rings with the inscription reading the same words.  Those words have been my mantra for the past four months.  It's been a long, long, long journey...and I know it's just the beginning of the marathon.  I'm just warming up.  Because I believe I can...so I'm going to do it.

April was overall successful.  There is something about the spring time that fills me with a sense of renewed hope.  I embrace the warm weather and love feeling the sun on my skin.  I think starting a diet...healthy lifestyle...in January is good - start of the year and all - but it's so depressing with the cold weather.  I was eagerly anticipating this change of season.

I hit a MAJOR milestone this month with reaching the THIRTY POUND MARK.  When I stepped on the scale and saw that number...I was relieved.  Honestly.  More than excited, I was just relieved that I was able to get to that mark.  It gave me a sense of hope that I could continue to soldier on.  I am overall 6 lbs down this month.  I'm happy with the number, though I wanted it to be closer to 10.  I know that I'm at the point where I'm probably not going to be hitting the "big" numbers each month.  In the beginning, losing 12 lbs in a month was incredible, but I am realistic that those numbers are not going to be here every month.

Some Thoughts:

• I still love yoga.  It's a lot easier than it used to be.  I was able to hit this one pose that I had been working on a couple weeks ago and was pretty stoked.
• After yoga, the Y usually has a class called "P20".  It's 20 minutes cardio, 20 minutes weights, and 20 minutes core work.  It is intense.  Like, what have I done to myself intense.  BUT, I love the feeling afterwards.  It's a rush to make it through the whole class!
• I anticipate trying to walk a little more this month outside.  It's finally pretty and warm again. There's been so much rain the past few weeks that walking really hasn't been an option, but as the sun stays out, hopefully I will too.
• Smaller portions have been something I've focused on.  Not necessarily on cheat day (ha!), but throughout the week.  
• The network of support I've gained in this journey has been incredible.  Living in a small community, several of my students have been in my workout classes.  Where as that might be a little awkward to some, I embrace it and let them cheer me on as I sweat it out!

Hopefully May will continue to be a good month.  I really want to reach my 40 lb goal by the end of the month!  Thank you for reading, thank you for supporting me, and thank you for all your kind words of love and encouragement!

WEIGHT LOSS THIS MONTH: 6 lbs

OVERALL WEIGHT LOSS: 32 lbs

GOAL FOR MAY: 8 lbs (overall 40)

I don't usually take pictures of myself.  I had a hard time finding a "before" pic that showed how heavy I felt before this journey.  The picture on the left is from my sister's wedding in October.  The picture on the right is one I snapped before prom a week ago.  I think I can finally see a little bit of a difference!