Some changes...

I never really like to say I'm accomplishing something until I'm near the end. I feel like I set myself up for failure by announcing my successes and triumphs early in the game. But changes are a funny thing - they can go be a success or failure which is why I feel "safe" mentioning a few changes to my lifestyle.

For one, I'm measuring out 64 oz. of water in a pitcher...it helps me monitor my water drinking throughout the day. The weird thing is that I wouldn't even come close to drinking that much water if I didn't measure it out but when I measure it out, I easily consume more than that. Strange. But drinking the "required" amount of water each day does make me think better and I feel better, more healthy and alive for sure.

I'm also making more thoughtful decisions about dinner. I LOVE food...and if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, you already know that. One great thing about me is that I really don't like to eat out. I find the food subpar, both in quality and for the price and I always feel that I make a meal 10 times better than most places. I also don't buy junk on a regular basis so having stuff like candy and chips is easy to avoid when you don't have access to it. Anyway, I've really made more of an effort cook healthy recipes from my Cooking Light mags (I only have 10 billion of them sitting around) and they make a point of measuring out portions. It's insane to know that my average portions are easily double what Cooking Light's portions would be BUT the CL portions fill me up just the same! Check out Cooking Light online since you still have access to all the recipes without having to buy the magazines.

Physical activity. I won't lie...I'm either one extreme or the other. I'll be finishing up my "Couch to 5K" running program only to find myself a month later doing absolutely zero activity. But I do love running and so I've started the program back up. I would love to be able to run an average of 5 days per week when all is said and done...I want this to be a lifelong habit. Oh and my most fave ways to get a home workout done is through FitTV. We have DirectTV with access to this channel and it simply is awesome. My fave program is the All Star Workout. Different workouts every day by different instructors with different fitness levels. So on my off days from running I'm doing one of their workouts at home. I also have plans to meet up with a personal trainer at the gym since I just got a membership there. Should be interesting but I love a challenge and I love variety.

So, what did we have for dinner last night? Another delicious creation from Cooking Light (March 2010)!

Vegetable and Spicy Sausage Soup with Cheese "Crackers" with a Baby Green Salad

Week 1 - Weigh In

Alright, so here is some info.

Height: 5'2"
Weight: 137.6
Goal weight to lose in 1 week: 2 lbs.
Total weight to lose in 6 weeks: 10 lbs.

I started Day 1 of Week 1 for my "Couch to 5K" running program. I did awesome with this last year and don't know why I quit after completing the program. So here is to a new start!

I drank more than 64 oz. of water yesterday (go me!) and I ate sensibly throughout the day. I cooked a recipe from Cooking Light and it is one of my faves (the recipe is linked to the CL recipe)!

Farfalle with Lamb Ragu, Ricotta, and Mint with a Baby Greens Salad

The beginning of a new me!

I've known for a while that I needed to do something about the pounds that have creeped up on me, but I saw myself in a picture the other day and said something's gotta change! I belong to an online community of fellow photographers and somebody stepped up and decided to start a weight loss group. I jumped on the bandwagon and thought it would be such a great motivating force for me!

Anyhow, I thought that I might document what I'm doing here...and start sharing some of my fave recipes, workouts I'm doing, whatever! The online weight loss group is going for 6 weeks but I hope to keep it up forever with the new healthy changes.

I had my husband take "before" pictures of me and I can tell you right now, those will NOT be shared yet since I'm grossed out by them but I do hope to do an "after" picture here in 6 weeks and then post the "before" and "after" pics side by side.

So what is my goal? 10 pounds in 6 weeks...it's definitely do-able! I'll be back to post a quick summary of all of my stats later. I can't decide if I'm going to do a daily summary or a weekly one. I do know that I will definitely feel more accountable by sharing it here.

Here's to success!

I miss this place...

Wow, two months. I can't believe that I "abandoned" this comfort of mine for that long! These past two months have been just a whirlwind and other than the "I'm so busy" comment, I have no excuses!

If I'm not working for TRENDY, then I'm doing photography stuff or trying to clean my messy house or hanging with my family...there is just not enough time in the day!

So, I'm going to see what I can do about this sad personal blog of mine. I miss sharing our "every day" here! Oh and yeah, I let my 2nd blog anniversary just slip on by! Remember last year's Happy Birthday Blog post, complete with a cupcake? I feel like a bad spouse that has forgotten our anniversary.

But the good news is this: I blog pretty frequently on the photography blog so if you want to see plenty of pretty pictures, head on over there! Otherwise, I'm going to make it a point to stop by here and share our life once a week. I do have plenty to talk about!

Oh and guess what's getting to burst in my backyard????

My beloved red bud tree! This was taken March 8, 2009 and guess what? I don't have one single bloom yet but it's getting there. This crazy freezing, snowy weather has made all of our plants sleep just a bit longer. Can't wait to see this tree in it's glorious state soon!