Taking Control

I joined a free calorie counting website called myfitnesspal.com and I love it so I thought I'd share the goodness. I have been doing it for about 3 weeks with a goal to lose a pound a week, and I've lost 3 pounds!

Yeah, I know 3 pounds doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm stoked about it! For the past couple of months I have just felt like my weight has just been slowly but steadily increasing out of my control, so to see it in the reverse and actually be making a habit of exercise! (ME!) is pretty exciting stuff. Trust me. I think I could actually become addicted to it, and I have never been a fan of physical exercise. Not the 'I'm doing this just to get exercise' kind anyway. Now I am more open to that - better than doing nothing!

I set a goal for myself to exercise every weekday for at least a half hour. I've been riding my mom's recumbent bike which hasn't been a problem for my knee, and which shows you how long you've been going, how many miles, and how many calories you are burning. This has been great for me because you can enter than info into my fitness pal, and as I've been tracking myself I quickly became motivated to go longer than a half an hour to burn more and more calories. I like how my fitness pal tells me 'You've earned x amount of calories from exercise.'

Tracking what I eat has been really good for me. I like good food, but am not much of a snacker, and don't indulge in all the candy and junk I used to when I was a kid. After having Lily I lost all the pregnancy weight I'd gained. Then I found out I had graves disease. Hyperthyroid and breastfeeding are probably what helped me lose that weight, because I didn't even try. When I was going forward with the thyroid treatment the doctors kept telling me I would gain some weight. I thought if I was careful to watch what I ate that wouldn't happen to me. After stopping breastfeeding, having radiation treatment and taking thyroid supplement to raise my thyroid to normal levels my weight has increased. So I honestly kind of felt like my recent weight gain was largely the result of my thyroid condition and therefore somewhat out of my control.  So rather than just blame my weight gain on all that - it's been so good for me to see just how many calories are in the different foods and drinks I was eating and see that I can take more control over this part of my life than I was trying to before. So far I haven't made too many changes to what I eat, but I don't eat out as much, I cut out a lot of juice, am more aware of portion sizes, and am making more effort to balance what I eat each day to stay under my calorie goal. And I'm motivated to exercise so I can either lose weight faster or eat more delicious things - depending on the day.

It is nice to think of how the choices I make one day at a time will help turn me into the person I want to be. It makes me feel like a day without exercise is a day wasted towards reaching that goal. I'm glad I am exercising in addition to watching what I eat, because I want to feel stronger and have more energy and endurance not just weigh less.

I just want to remind myself of a few things I've been experiencing with this lifestyle change that I may tend to forget, and that might help motivate myself and others who are trying to do the same thing:

Exercise actually feels really good once I get going. When I exercise I often get more energy!

Taking charge of my weight makes me feel more in control and more positive in other aspects of my life. (It's not just 3 weeks and 3 pounds it's been an unexpected boost to my self-esteem.)

I'd rather be fit and feel good about myself than indulge in delicious food right now that isn't even good for my body.

My choices will have an effect on Lily and the choices she makes to shape her life.