I have been thinking what will motivate me to get to that “finish line”. I have been OP for about 8 months now with a modest loss of about 21 lbs (out of 45 to lose). I know that I could have been at goal by now, but I’m satisfied with the progress I’ve made and I’m really looking forward to getting back into a routine and less stressful semester at school which makes eating right a whole lot easier so I can start posting some more weekly losses.  I would love to be at or nearing goal by the time I turn 30 (in a little over 4 months) but more realistically I will be happy with another 15 lbs or so (approximately 1 lb per week) and then “cross the finish line” sometime in the summer.

Since I need a little motivation . . . here are some of the things I want to “reward” myself with:

1. Family Photo - our family is small . . . just me, the hubby and the dog. We have only had one professional portrait taken in our nearly-9 years of marriage (besides wedding photos) and I don’t like it. I had pink-eye and even though we got the mutt in it and looking at the camera, the photographer had us on such a dark background you can barely make out the dog. It’s basically just a pink tongue. This was taken about 4 years ago by some no-name photog. There is a local husband and wife photographer team that does beautiful, award-winning work. They are also expensive. When I get to goal, we are scheduling a family shoot and ordering a huge print for the wall. 

2. Sinful Dragon jeans: I love these jeans. They are outrageously expensive (for me) at $170. Besides, hubby thinks they are totally hot. :)  I totally do not need $170 jeans which is why they will be a one-time purchase to celebrate an accomplished goal.

What about you? Do you have any personal rewards for meeting your goals?

Not a very exciting title .. I know.

My Christmas was great and I hope everyone else’s was, too. I love being with my family and hubby’s family (who live less than 1 mile apart). We hop between houses enjoying each other’s company, playing games and, of course, eating good food. I did enjoy all of my favorites (including pie, “funeral” potatoes and Dad’s nacho dip) but tried to limit my portions and drank lotsa water. The scale was up the next day, +1.6 from last week and +2.5 over my lowest. I guess that is to be expected. I am counting points, but we still have New Year to get through, then I really expect to lose! I’m also looking forward to getting back to Irish dance after a few week break for the holidays!

I was spoiled rotten this Christmas, especially by my husband. He bought be adorable clothes … of course in the wrong size He bought me size M tops, but they were from the “teeny-bopper” stores which means I need at least an L. He also got me some jeans that we exchanged. Can I just say that whoever invented low rise jeans could not possibly have had an ounce of fat on their body or even the hint of a curve. I could get them on fine, but honestly, who wears these things in public? Forget sitting down and maintaining any level of modesty! My you-know-what was barely covered … and muffin top doesn’t look good no matter what size you wear! Hubby thought they would “look great on me” but agreed that they were “no good” when I tried them on. They were from the Buckle (Woo! Can I actually shop there now?) so we exchanged them for similar pair of mid-rise jeans, which I felt GREAT in!

I am cooking up fajitas tonight and then taking all the leftover treats that are hanging around to the break room at work tomorrow. Even though I haven’t lost much in the last 3 months I am feeling great, and I know that compared to a year ago, I look great, too! Here’s a comparison from this year (color) and last Christmas (b/w) .

Today begins the 2 day feeding frenzy! (well, hopefully not…) We are off to my mom’s tonight for dinner including sweet potato pie and the chocolate fountain. Tomorrow morning we will have breakfast casserole at the in-laws, then leftovers and more treats throughout the day. The scale still says 173-174 which is my lowest and I’ve been maintaining it for a few weeks. My goal is to make it through Christmas and stay in that range. I’m going to enjoy myself and have some of all my favorites, but with the new habits I’m in I’ll be drinking lots of water instead of egg nog and sodas, and have one satisfying portion of everything I look forward to once a year instead of 2nds and 3rds.

I am very thankful for my life at this time of year especially when I know there are so many who are struggling emotionally or financially. I am looking forward to the treats and the great meal and the gift exchanges, but more importantly, I look forward to time off to spend with my husband and visiting family and Friends. I am very grateful for my Savior and for my family at this time of year. Merry Christmas everyone!

I felt like I was reading about my own life when I read Roni’s post about being just as busy with the semester over as I was before. I also teach at a college and I am on break until Jan 4! I have been trying to wrap up the Christmas shopping and going to the many fun, but time consuming, parties, recitals, and events this time of year.

My WI was yesterday and I was down -0.7 ! Pretty good considering the extra treats and eating out this time of year.

I found out I got an A in one of my classes this semester (still waiting on grades for the other course.) :) This was one of the last two classes I needed for my M.ED. Now I just have to finish my creative project (in lieu of a thesis) to graduate in the Spring. This class was challenging because it was all about creating websites - something I had never done. My website turned out alright if I do say so myself - it’s not fancy, but all my links work and I even embedded a YouTube video of myself. That is my NSV for the week - totally unrelated to health and weight loss!

On the weight loss front.. I am up 1.6 today. I’m not too worried about it since I’m still in my temporary “maintenance phase.” I have been fluctuating within about 3 lbs for the past 2-3 months. At first I was discouraged that I was having a hard time focusing on losing, but given the stress of finishing my Master’s program and my crazy work schedule this semester, I am glad to have maintained and not gained! Now that school’s out I am going to get back to counting points more seriously and eating out less and exercising more!

This past weekend was full of holiday parties and stress eating as a finished my final homework assignments. It started on Friday with my work party, then to a family party. I was also stressed out trying to finish my 25 page final paper for one of my classes so I just ignored points and ate! :p

I tried to do better today which wasn’t easy to do as my students kept bringing in plates of treats. I enjoyed one gingerbread cookie, but want to save my points this week for my husband’s company Christmas party tomorrow lunch with a friend at the Cheesecake Factory.

I must say that this is one of my very favorite snacks. I buy the smallest bananas they have so I can count one as a point then I  cut the banana up into about12 slices and eat them sandwiched in an All Bran cracker. So yummy! Sweet and salty together plus I get in a fruit and some whole grain.

-3 lbs.

The weight gain / water retention from Thanksgiving is officially gone. Yeah baby!

I ordered a pair of American Eagle jeans the day after Thanksgiving on a rocking sale with free shiping and they finally arrived today. I ordered a size 12 knowing they might be too small, but was pleasantly surprised when I could get them on an zipped. They actually looked OK. In 5 more pounds and they’ll look GREAT!  The pooch-of-great-size wanted to be in the shot with me:

These are my “Big 5″ personality test results:

I’m a O59-C64-E42-A38-N37 Big Five!!