Month 1 complete; 7.6 pounds lost

Month 1 is complete, and I've lost 7.6 pounds. My fitness pal shows a 10.2 loss because it's calculating from the last most recent entry I made prior to January. For ease of tracking, I'm going to fold that extra 2.6 pounds into my calculations.

I lost 2.6 pounds last week. What did I do differently? I added more fruit; I was trying to eat at least one piece per day, if not more. I ate more in general; I tried to stay much closer to my calorie goal than I was before. I increased my water intake. I tried to avoid bread as much as I could. I had protein with each salad for lunch.

As I was saying, month 1 is complete. I feel good and I think I'm doing well.No sodas, nothing fried, no ground beef. The only thing I drink is water.

I'm ready to start at the Y and get moving. I'm excited about this time in my life because it feels real. With that being said, I'm trying to be very cognizant every day of what I'm doing. This is not the first time I've tried to lose weight. It's not the first time I've been excited about losing weight. It's not the first time I've changed my eating or even given up soda. But it does feel different. Or at least, I think it does. My friend Liza (who has been a great supporter) says she thinks it seems like a stronger commitment than I've had before. I hope so. I don't want to live like this anymore. I won't get into the details today, maybe another day. But there is an endless list of how my life is affected by this weight. I just get fearful because I've said all this before.

As I was telling Liza, this time does feel different because I feel like I have a definite deadline I'm trying to reach. It's one that I didn't set for myself (like "I want to lose 100 pounds by next anniversary" or "I want to lose 20 pounds first"). Kory and Jordan's wedding is coming whether I'm still fat or not. I really don't want to feel self conscious and I don't want to hate the photographs that include me.

Our 25th wedding anniversary is October 10, 2014. Bobby and I have promised each other if we lose the weight we each need to lose, we will go on a cruise for our anniversary. Angie has suggested we put back $5 for each pound lost. Then when we reach our goal, we'll already have the money saved. GREAT PLAN! Now I owe myself $50! SWEET.

What's the plan for this week? Keep on keeping on. Get to the Y.

If you use My Fitness Pal, please send me a friend request. I really need the encouragement and support. My user name is zooreturns.