Down 15lbs as of this week! 5 more to go until I’ve reached my goal and I was giving myself until the end of June. (When my gym membership is up.) At the rate I’ve been going it will probably take until then to get the last five pounds off. The difference between this weight loss and the one from 2008 is that I worked for this one – worked my ass off, literally. I am a lot more muscular and toned this time around and it feels really great. I want to look like an athlete even though I have never been and will never will be one. 
What this has whole thing has taught me though is that it’s possible to lose weight no matter what. You just have to have commitment and willpower. A lot of people think there is going to be some miracle that is going to come along and help them out with the process but it’s not true and it really hasn’t been as hard to lose the weight as everyone makes it out to be.
It’s exactly what every article or (decent) trainer has ever told you without trying to sell you something. Burn more calories than you consume. Get outside, get active just for a little bit of time per day. I’ve got people noticing that I have lost weight and when jealous people say things like “what are your plans for the rest of the day? you going to the gym for three hours?” Well no, I am going for the normal hour I go that you would be sitting on your ass watching TV or sleeping… you just have to get into a routine and not deprive yourself of things when it comes to food you like. That’s the other huge mistake women mostly make. No carb, or no chocolate, or drinking protein shakes in place of whole meals. That is so stupid and if a trainer is telling you to do that, I’m sorry but they are wrong. You may lose a little weight initially but the fact of the matter is, as soon as you go back to eating the way you were before (and you will) all the weight you lost is going to come right back. You have to make a permanent change, something you can live with. I still eat ice cream, chocolate and fried Chinese food. Instead of eating a whole bag of chocolate in one sitting or a whole sleeve of cookies, or the entire dinner (which is like 4 servings) I just practice some self control, portion things out to what they are supposed to be. You can have those things in small portions, maybe sacrifice a little something else later. I struggled for the first 4 months and even still sometimes now when other people at work were eating something that looked good but was super unhealthy and then the couple times I gave in I felt terrible about it. It wasn’t worth it to me anymore. I think for a long time I was one of those people using really unhealthy tasty food as a comfort type of thing. And I was definitely a bored eater. So when I get bored now, I work out a little or take the dog for a walk instead of eating. It’s been so simple. And the changes I have made are something I can live with permanently and that makes me excited.
WHOO HOO! I’ve gained 10 lbs since you last saw me.