Weight LOSSSSSS

Okay, I honestly have no clue what "week" I am on...I've lost track!
What I DO know is that I've lost TWENTY POUNDS!!!!

I am SO excited to be at my next goal!  When I started back in March, I decided I would take it 10 pounds at a time.  The first ten came off so quickly, but these last ten have been much harder.  I'd love to lose another 10, but not sure how long that will take....  But my recent thinking is "Who cares?!"  My exercise and eating routines have become such a lifestyle change for me, that I know if I continue to eat healthy and workout, the weight will come off (even if it is more slowly).  You see, I've had a big shift in my thinking.  The beginning was full of eating less, feeling hungry, and feeling guilty when I ate something I shouldn't.  But I've really started thinking that the key to maintaining this weight-loss is what I am the most interested in.  A little history....

I've been up and down in my weight since about the age of 16.  Got heavier and heavier towards the end of high school, and went off to college at 185 pounds.  Luckily, I contracted a nasty stomach bug/infection my freshman year and I lost 30 pounds in about 3 weeks.  With that jump start, once I started feeling better, I began working out with friends (working out is such a social activity in college!) and lost another 10.  Came back after my freshman year - all of my friends had gained their "freshman 15", and I looked like a totally different person!  Of course, I couldn't take all the credit....nothing like a stomach virus to get you looking great!

Met my honey my sophomore year, and throughout our dating I gained about 20 pounds.  LOTS of nights out, indulging in yummy meals, ice cream dates, etc.  We broke up for about 6 months and I lost 15 pounds.  Back together, gained.  Engaged, lost.  Married, gained.  Lost before having the baby (about 15 pounds).  Pregnant, GAINED.  Do you see my pattern?  I'm so TIRED of it!!!

What makes me excited now is that I've never lost this much weight on my own before.  Feels like a giant accomplishment to me!  It hasn't been by any crazy means....just doing stuff that makes sense.  Working out 3 (sometimes 4) times a week.  Watching portion sizes.  Making healthier food choices.  Recently, trying to cut out as much processed foods as possible (within reason and within budget).  Eating whole grains.  Incorporating protein into my breakfast.  These are things that I can keep doing.  And I hope that I can stop this endless cycle of weight gain and weight loss. 

So, enough chit-chat.  Do you want to see my 20 pound pictures??

I'm gonna keep-on, keepin'-on.  I know that my weight loss has hit a bit of a plateau, but I think if I change up my workout routine a little I can get things jump-started again. 

If you are on a weight-loss journey, keep at it!  You can do it!  I know what it feels like to cry because none of your clothes fit, to look at pictures and not recognize yourself, to avoid mirrors, and to feel like you are destined to be heavy.  Now, I'm not skinny by any means, but I do know that I feel healthy these days, and I feel good when I look in the mirror.  And that is so much more important to me than numbers on a scale or the size of my jeans.  You can get there, too!