Thank goodness it's a New Year

I hope this post finds you all looking forward to the new year without too much trepidation. I'm excited to see what our new president will do when he finally has the power to make some changes. I hope you're all looking forward to making some changes of your own. As for me, I get to start over. My goodness the holidaze were hard. As you can see by my ticker above. :(

So, what did I learn from this experience...

• I must always track what I'm eating, (even when I'm breaking the rules of the game - at least THEN I am aware of what I am doing and might stop sooner.)
• This gain took over 2 months. That's 10 pounds a month, about the same rate I am losing weight...that's a HUGE success over prior losses/gains. In the past, gains have been more than double the speed of the losses. So I've made some positive changes here. (Like not wearing any stretchy pants - EVER!)
• I have to, have to, have to stay hydrated to the max. The more water I drink, the less room I have for food. I'm less comfy in my non-stretchy pants and hunger isn't happening. (I have known for quite some time that thirst sometimes masks itself as hunger.)
• I have to exercise. Haven't been on the bike for a while now. Gotta get some warm cozy bike riding gear so there aren't any more excuses.

I'm tracking, I'm drinking, I'm making better choices and back on track. It was fun to forget about the plan for a while and the other positive thing that's come of this is that I am finally over thinking I've made it. Let me explain:

I have lost so much weight, I see photographs of myself and I think, wow, I look pretty great these days. (Got a little full of myself and my new found Hotness. LOL) And while I KNEW I hadn't yet made my goal, my brain was pretty happy with where I was. Hence, I was STUCK.

This gain and has made me aware that I ain't there yet. :) I've got work to do and my brain has adjusted to seeing my body as it IS rather than as it should be...and that's a healthy adjustment.

I'm still stuffing myself into the clothes I started wearing back in November when I was at 168, so I'm spilling over and out at times, but I refuse ABSOLUTELY AND COMPLETELY to wear clothing up a size. I put me here, I need constant reminding that I need to head the other way.

This is how people at healthy weights do it, they wear their clothes and their clothes tell them when it's time to cut back or increase their intake a bit. I've spent a lifetime ignoring that...no more.

Say it with me now... NO STRETCHY PANTS!!!!

and Happy New Year everyone!