Me by Me

Once again, I have not finished a book for this Friday's post, so I decided to review-- me! Last year, I decided I needed to do something about the *mumble murmur* extra pounds I've been carrying for a very long time. So, I got a Fitbit, a fancy little pedometer thingy, found a weight loss tracking program that works both on my phone and computer, and began using the elliptical again. It worked. I lost over 12 pounds. And then...

Well, the usual happened. I didn't feel like exercising one day, and that turned into two, and three. Eventually, I wasn't going up there at all. And then the eating went way off track. Now, we are not in any way, shape, or form low-fat or lean eaters. But I know from experience, that you can control what you eat even with butter, full fat cheese, and red meat. It's a matter of portion control. Smaller pieces of meat, more fresh veggies, less carbs. Oh, and that last one! "Hello, my name is Mary Alice and I am a carbaholic." Bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, crackers-- all of it is so very hard for me to stop eating. So here I am, at the beginning of the new year, and some of the weight has crept back. Not all, but too much. As of right now, I'd give myself 2 stars.

 I started being a bit more careful a few weeks ago, but I really mentally knuckled down and decided to get back on track starting this month. For the month of April, I will:

Not scarf down every carb in sight. This is going to be hard, but I've done it before.

Eat more fruit and fresh veggies. I know I don't get enough of those two, especially fruit, anyway.

Exercise more. Hey, I've got both an elliptical and a Bowflex sitting upstairs. Next weekend, we are going looking at bikes. No promises there, though. The BaldMan wants to get one and start (eventually) riding to work a few days a week, and he suggested I look at one so we can ride some rail trails or bike paths sometimes. I'm not sure, but I'm going to look and try one out.

Not drink alcohol. This one has always been important for me in losing weight. I can eat the not-so-low-fat diet we normally do and still lose weight (if I'm careful not to go overboard) but what I can't do is sit watching TV and have the beer. I used to not drink on weekdays and have a few on weekends, but all that did was have me lose a pound during the week and gain it back on the weekend. Not productive. So seltzer water and plain water for me. Oh, there will be times, I know. We are going out to dinner tonight for my birthday, and I will probably have a glass of wine, and most likely another one at Easter dinner. But for the most part, April is going to be alcohol free.

We'll see where that gets me by the end of the month.

Apologies to those who didn't want to know all this, but I feel that getting it out in (some sort of ) public will help keep me on track. I'll feel like everyone who reads this is watching me. If you are, poke me when I slip. Toss an extra slice of lime in my water when I do good, ok?