It's MY year!

2013 is the year of the snake, meaning it's my year. I think that it's a sign that I need to stop with the start and go dieting and really shift gears in my way of thinking and my lifestyle.

My husband and I have both decided to MAJORLY decrease the amount of fast food we eat. It's only been a few days into the year, but we are already feeling better. Unfortunately for me, this shift came right at my time of the month so it's been a pretty miserable past week. But, if I can get through this without caving I can get through anything.

I finally caved and weighed myself and what to my horrified eyes did appear but 166.2 and I screamed out "Oh dear!" I just can't believe that I've put back on all the weight I lost for the wedding. It is discouraging, but also tells me that I need to choose a path and stick with it. Stop yo-yoing and start giving my body consistent and healthy nourishment.

I started calorie counting again today and it is amazing what that does to my psyche. I don't think, "Eh, it's only one piece of candy/one can of Coke/etc." I think, "How many calories is this and is it going to put me over my limit?" I started the day with a plan of what I was going to eat. I at an apple first thing and boy was that effective. It was sweet enough to offset my cravings, and hearty enough to keep me going until lunch time. It was MUCH better than my coffee and pop-tart breakfasts of old and came at a significantly lower calorie count. A nice discovery :)

When I came home, I did 125 sit ups (I think I need to start pushing to sets of 100 though because I just start to feel the burn at 50 which is when I end my current sets) while thinking of what I wanted for dinner. The hubby and I went shopping this weekend and really stocked up because having food around the house is ultimately what makes or breaks our diet. I figured out what I wanted, actually cooked it (which I loathe) and even had a dessert of pineapple and cottage cheese which, lucky for me, I really prefer to ice cream etc.

New year, better me, right? I have been reading a lot about juicing and am going to do a 3 day cleanse this weekend. Nothing but fruit and veggie juices and water for 3 days. It will be interesting and I really hope it is as great as what I've read it it (some woman lost 7 lbs!) I have also looked into the psychology of weight loss and decided to start visualization. Imagining me with this body:

in this swimsuit:

on my birthday. Last year I was VERY pleased with how I looked on my birthday, and I hope to be even better this year. I have 21 lbs to loose and it's 20 weeks until my birthday. At just a pound a week, I think it is going to be a breeze.My only concern is that I won't actually get the weight off due to muscle mass. I gained some weight (5-7lbs) after I started riding my bike on a regular basis and think that weight might stick on. Hurray for muscle! I just have to tell myself that it's healthy weight and not get discouraged if I don't see that magic number on the scale.

In the meantime, I will keep this in mind:

So here's to this crazy thing called life and my renewed efforts to improve mine!