Alas, the journey continues. I am feeling good. My energy and spirits are high, and my jeans are fitting slightly looser than the last time I wore them (YAY-small victories!)
My weight loss journey began months ago but officially began on February 23, 2015. This is important for me to note as it is the first day of the rest of my life. In the last few weeks, I have been I working hard to make life long changes and am finding habits are hard to break (duh!). Some important observations I’ve made:

• When I am tired my appetite increases, and I think more about food, which then motivates me to eat even if I am not hungry. I am learning to ensure instead I am rested. This means if I am tired I rest, even if that means rescheduling a workout to do so. I’m thankful for wellness rooms at work and the flexibility to use them to capture the rest I need. The problems that I had with sleeping have been addressed, and my quality of sleep has dramatically increased in the last six months. At times I continue to experience challenges with sleeping and not getting enough sleep but am working on it. This has been critical to my weight loss journey.
  • I have begun listening to my body. I have always listened to myself-intuition, my aches and pains, but my hunger and appetite have not always been cared for. I am learning to listen more to my stomach. When I am hungry I eat (healthy choices) and when I am beginning to feel full I stop. This is a new experience for me (again duh!) but as one who has tended to eat larger quantities than necessary this is an important step for me.
  • I need less food that I thought I did. Preparing my meals (especially lunches) has never been a strong suit and often I have prepared more food than I needed thinking it had to provide me energy for many hours. Also, I thought options are important. What if I didn’t feel like eating that??
  • When I get overly hungry, I make poor food choices, junk food, fast food, etc. Keeping myself nourished is essential.
  • I am reframing the relationship I have with food. No longer is it a comfort for me but a source of nourishment. If I am eating junk food, it is not nourishing my body; it is being used for other purposes. Those to be discovered during this journey.
  • I feel better when eating many smaller meals days. Case in point, I ALWAYS eat breakfast. For me, if I do not eat I get cranky (snickers commercials anyone-that’s me totally). I eat snacks in between meals and enjoy fruit and nuts that will sustain me.
  • Fruit has become a way to curb sugar cravings. Desert used to be a mainstay for me, and I would even enjoy desert after breakfast some mornings. I like most people LOVE sugar but detest the spike in blood sugar I experience.
  • Results and numbers are important to me and am motivated by them. This is wonderful for the weeks I weigh myself, and I’ve lost weight. However, this will require me to adjust my reaction during those weeks the scale is not reflective of weight loss. I need to prepare myself that this will occur, in fact, it is completely normal.

In addition to the above mentioned, I have begun reading A Course in Weight Loss: 21 Spiritual Lessons for Surrendering Your Weight Forever by Marianne Williamson (a recommendation by a special person).

My journey is mind, body, and spirit induced and am finding this book to be an important element of my journey. I’m confident It’ll help me in changing the scripts I hold in regards to my thoughts, feelings, and actions I take regarding my food choices that ultimately affect my weight loss.

Now, to be completely honest these last few weeks have gone well, I would be remiss if I weren’t completely transparent. Most days I eat well, exercise, and follow my plan; however I did make a choice to eat more Cadbury Mini eggs than I should have last night. For me, beating myself up is a typical consequence but someone important reminded me today that I was not perfect, my choices will not be, and I am slowing making lifelong changes.

Here’s to another day, more revelations to come, and striving to be the very best of me I can be!