Know yourself, set realistic goals

I'm almost 20 days into this journey and despite reporting more weight loss last week, my grand total for these past 3 weeks is 1.5 lbs. Not bad, but I definitely expected more and it's easy to see how someone could get discouraged. I kept stepping on the scale this morning just to make sure it really said 166. The scale really can be a dangerous place and I have to keep reminding myself that real change will take time.

I also have to admit the limited loss is probably because I haven't been giving it 110%. Not because I don't want to, but because I want this to be a lifestyle change and if I treat it like a diet or quick fix, I'm scared any weight lost will just come right back. I've actually seen a lot of websites, pins and posts online of people who lost all of their weight in 2 months, 4 months or even 6 months and now look like different people. These people are inspirational. I want to be one of those people, but I do not really want to cut out alcohol and carbohydrates from my diet permanently. I'm okay cutting out junk food, (over)processed foods and limiting my empty calories (those foods that often are high in calorie, but don't contribute any sort of nutrition to your body), but I also want to be realistic.

Last night for example we had grilled fish, zucchini and I made my husband mashed potatoes. I had set my mind to not eating any of the mashed potatoes, but they just looked so good. Had I been on a no-carb diet, I would be beating myself up for eating 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes. Instead, I just looked at my calories and determined that it was something I could afford. I realize without those I might lose weight quicker, but without those I'm on a diet and this is a lifestyle change and there is a big difference.

I also had some hard cider last night (which was pre-planned because I knew we'd be socializing). Most of these blogs would tell me that I should've stuck to water and avoided drinking my calories, but the idea of restricting myself that much just makes me want to eat more. Whatever lifestyle I proceed with, I have to be able to eat/drink the occasional hard cider, glass of wine, half cup of ice cream or delicious cupcake. Maybe I won't lose weight as quickly, but it is what is going to work for me as a lifestyle. I don't want to feel like I've failed every time I eat one of those items and I don't want to deny my cravings and end up caving in and binging. I know myself....it will happen.

Ok, time to hit the gym. At first I didn't want to join a gym, because we move in three weeks and I'm traveling all next week (which will be another struggle to deal with), so I really only have 2 1/2 weeks left in New Haven, but I realized that was just an excuse. So here I am off to the gym, on my bicycle, ready to burn some calories!