Baby Steps are for the Birds!

Me singing the National Anthem at the Tennessee Smokies baseball game
a couple of weeks ago.
Weight: 280lbs.

Ok, so the end of August is closing in...I mean, AUGUST! Can you believe it is almost September? I can't! I'm absolutely floored that fall is upon us. If you remember, the goal of this blog was to wrangle myself into some good habits by January one, and January one will be here in 132 days!

AHHH!

In some aspects, yes, I have managed to develop some good habits and have made some MAJOR changes in my life for the better. But on the weight loss front...uh, it hasn't been a very good run to say the least!

I'm still not exercising, still not changing any of my eating habits and have certainly NOT been making an effort to do so either. I've been claiming that I just need, baby steps. But d'ya know what? The time for baby steps is over! It's time to HIT IT HARD, GO FULL THROTTLE, TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS, LAY THE RUBBER TO THE ROAD, PUT THE PEDAL TO THE METAL!

Now THAT gets me pumped up!

The thought of waking up tomorrow and going full force is way more exciting that just saying, "Well, today I'm going to try my best not to drink any soda. That will be a good start. And I may try to walk around the block....baby steps you know." Ugh! (eyes roll) What gets me going is saying, "Tomorrow I'm going to wake up at 6am and walk one mile, maybe two, come in, do some ab work and lift some weights, eat a low-cal, protein filled breakfast, get a shower, get dressed, drink water with lemon and go on with all of my other mommy/ housekeeping/ wifely duties for the day being very careful not to overeat and snack." Now that is a goal! And quite honestly guys, it's all I have time for at this point. I've wasted too much of the year to do any less. I have to "JUST DO IT!"

But I'm keeping in mind what Chantel Hobbs says in her book "The One Day Way." She says, "One day is all the time you need to lose all the weight you want!" The whole idea of the book is to focus on the day at hand. Meet your goals (whatever they may be) for that day and that day alone. Don't look at the mistakes of yesterday, don't worry about meeting lofty goals in the future, just focus on today. And that's the approach I'm going to take. Now, there's nothing wrong with having some goals. Goals keep us on track and give us something to look forward to. If I'm going to be honest with ya'll, I must admit that I'm not very good with achieving weight loss goals (duh). But I want to more than I've ever wanted anything. I feel like if I can come out a winner in this, I can succeed at anything! This is by and large THE issue of my adult life; discipline, self-control and resisting my stubborn will. I feel like if I can master those areas, there's no stopping me! And it just takes one day...and another day...and another day. I love that concept!!!!

Awesome book! READ IT!

So, here are the cold hard facts ya'll. I'll be 35 in November. Yes, I said it...35! It will be a personal failure for me to hit this number and not have made some progress. My ideal would be to be in a size 18 before that day (November 25th). I have just 95 days! Just to give you an idea (although you may be confused like me), I tried on some jeans today and um...various sizes seemed to fit. First, I put on a pair of 22s and they were a little snug, but zipped up ok. I could probably lose 5 lbs and they would fit nicely. But then I tried on a pair of 26s! And they fit like a glove! Yeah...I was confused too! I didn't even know I had a pair of 26s in my closet! Now, these jeans are different brands, so that may be part of the problem. The jeans that I wear every day are those weird Lane Bryant jeans that are sized by colors and numbers. I'm wearing a Yellow 4 and they absolutely FALL OFF! I have to wear a belt with them. If I were to lose ten lbs, they'd be WAY too big. So I guess I should just settle somewhere in the middle, on a standard size and say that right now, I'm wearing a 22-24 (which is what most of my dress pants are) and leave it at that. So, getting down to a size 18 in 95 days is reasonable, right? I think so. I haven't been an 18 since like the year 1998, 12 years ago! It'd be awesome to shop on regular racks and buy a nice outfit for my birthday in a size out of the 20's! And guys...baby steps aint gonna cut it! I've got to make some decisions about what I want and how I'm going to get it, and for heaven's sake, FOLLOW THROUGH! One day at a time.

So, tomorrow my plan is to do just what I said above. Get up early, walk a half mile to a mile, come in, do some work with my 5 lb. hand weights, do some ab work, eat a good, healthy breakfast, shower, get dressed, plan out healthy meals for lunch and dinner, and get on with my day with pride.

I'll let you know how I do!

ps....prayers are appreciated!!! Love ya'll!