Happy New You, Everyone

Talk about No Follow Through.  Every year, actually twice a year-after the Christmas holidays and when school starts in August, I tell myself that I'm really going to do it.  I even say it out loud, and to other people.  I say, "I'm going to exercise and get in shape, and I'm going to eat healthier."  Then just like the statistics report, I give up and get lazy after a month or so.

Well, I made myself a promise when I turned 40, wait I never turned FORTY.  I turned 30-10!  Never the less, I made myself a promise that when I turned 50, wait I will not turn FIFTY!  I will turn L.  It a roman number, I like to call it the symbol for 50.  Okay, I'm getting sidetracked again.  I will not turn 'L' and be overweight.  I will not turn 'L' and be closer to having the body that is susceptible to having a stroke or heart attack, or diabetes, or any of the other illnesses my parents and grandparents were susceptible to having and dying from.  I AM BETTER THAN THAT!

On January 3, exactly six months until I turn 'L', I weighed myself.  I had eaten very well and plentiful over the holidays and I gained 5 pounds just between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.  I know it could be worse and I'm very glad it isn't.  If I am to weigh what the charts say I should way, I am supposed to lose 48 pounds.  In order to do that in time, I will have to lose 8 pounds a month.  Whew, that's going to be tough.  I think if I really put a lot of effort into it, I could lose 35 pounds by then, and that's just over 5 pounds a month. 

I have lost weight and gained weight over and over, over the years.  I know I can do it, but I really want to keep it off.  I want to show my daughters that the struggle is real, but the possibility of changing your life to keep it that way is real, too.  So, this is what I need: willpower, determination, goals, and rewards.

I feel like I have the determination.  I have more than enough motivation.  I don't like what I see in the mirror and I want to wear trending clothes.  I want to wear an Ittier-Bittier swimsuit for my birthday on July 3, 2015 when I turn 'L'.

I set my goals with dates and what I want to weigh by then.  I set my goals to lose 7.5 pounds a month, with goal dates the middle of each month until July.  I am realistic about it and I know I may have to adjust them, but I really want to try to achieve them.

I planned rewards.  For every 10 pounds I lose, I get something.  The first 10, I will treat myself to a pedicure.  It's not much for a lot of friends because they get them regularly, but I don't and I like pretty toes.  The second 10, I get to pull down a box of old jeans and shorts I saved from the last time I was thinner.  The third 10, I will treat myself to a massage, where I won't be embarrassed that I'm a chubby naked woman on a table.  Finally, when I reach the 40 pounds loss point, I will treat myself to a pair of trendy and expensive jeans that I see all the skinny girls wear.

I really want this!  I know it's a process!  I have a lot of support, too.  I will be posting updates as a way to keep myself on track.  Maybe in some way, it will be encouraging to you as well.

We've got this!!