Quick update

Hi guys, just checking in to say that as of this morning I'm now down 15 pounds! Last week was very hard for me, I struggled with staying in my budget every day. Some days I didn't succeed in the slightest. However, I pushed back and now I'm down two more pounds since my last post. I hope I can keep it up!

Well...

Here I am, guys. I'm back again. A lot has happened in the year and a half since I last posted. If you've been reading my main blog, Under the Crescent Moon, you know what most of it is. The one thing I haven't talked about there is my weight. In the time that I was gone from here, I've gained about 20 pounds. Yikes, right? Well, here's a look into how that happened.

 After we moved to the new house in NC, I quit taking my daily walks because of how busy the highway in front of my house was, not to mention there were more than a few not-so-friendly dogs in the neighborhood. My weight slowly crept up. A few months back I went to the doctor, only to discover my thyroid was acting up, but not enough to actually be medicated for. When I went back to have my thyroid retested, the doctor discovered that my vitamin B12 levels were too low. I made a few attempts to get back on track, but my heart just wasn't in it. Then we found out that my husband had gotten a job offer in Montana, and also our house in NY went under contract, so I just didn't have the time or the patience to deal with being healthy. Besides, food was one way I could comfort myself when I was under stress. Then the move was over, and here came Christmas with its delicious cookies and meals. I knew I should be careful, but I just didn't give a crap.

I was having trouble fitting into all of my clothes, I had some pretty bad swelling going on in my hands. When I finally had the courage to step on the scale just before the start of 2014, my weight was the highest it's ever been (not counting when I was pregnant) - 186.4 lbs. I won't lie, I thought it would be worse, and I was a little relieved, but that still didn't mean it was good. I couldn't continue down this track, and I knew it. I'm over 30, I've had a kid, and I have borderline hypothyroidism, so losing weight won't get any easier. Anyway, it might be cliche, but on January 1st, I used freedieting.com's Daily Caloric Needs Calculator, and using a notebook and The Calorie Counter, I began tracking my calorie consumption. It's a lot of math, but so far it's been worth it. As of today, I have lost 13 lbs.

That may sound like a lot, but I'm guessing that about 8 lbs. was water weight, because it came off almost immediately, and I lost a good bit of bloat around the middle, and my hands aren't as swollen. The other five pounds have taken me nearly four weeks to lose, but fortunately, my numbers seem to be steadily coming down. When spring gets here and the sidewalks are clear, I intend to start walking again. There are more hills here, so it will be good exercise. The only dietary changes I have made besides limiting my intake are drinking more water (between 1 and 2 liters a day), and cutting back on the soda. I used to drink a 12-pack of  Pepsi a week. Now I drink one 12 oz. can on Sunday as a reward for keeping it together all week.

While I'm encouraged by my progress, this is still the hardest undertaking for me. There are SOOO many times when I've just wanted to plop down with a jar of Nutella and some graham crackers and just go to town. I'm sure you know the feeling. I have a sneaking suspicion that the struggle between being responsible and overeating will be with me for the rest of my life. This is not to say that I will never indulge again (I totally have plans for Valentines Day), just not everyday, or even every week.

So anyway, there it is. I'm back on the journey. If you'd like, you can walk with me a while.