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 was my long day - 12.5 hours at work. My first class is at 9am and my last ends at 9:30. Although I have a 1 hr break at lunch and a 3 hr break in the afternoon, it makes for a very long day to start my week. On a positive note, I received no less than 4 compliments on my outfit today. WOW! I pulled the sweater out of the back of the closet. It is a size M and I haven’t worn it in at least 3 or 4 years. I thought, “what the heck” and tried it on. Surprisingly, it fit. I was complimented by 2 workers, my boss, and the English teacher down the hall. Here’s the sweater:

Eating was OK today. I’m trying to get serious again about points. I do pretty well throughout the day, but when I get home after long days like today, I am famished and end up snacking myself into oblivion. Here’s today’s damage:

This is what a 2o lb loss looks like. I know I can see a difference, but I can’t wait until it is more dramatic. I’m not complaining about 20 lbs, but I can still see the problems and if I analyze the pictures too long, I start thinking there really isn’t much difference. This is about 7 months of work and a change in size from 16/18 to 12/14. Most importantly, it represents a positive change in eating habits and a start to a healthy BMI and taking care of my body.

Today’s food: