Day 219: Follow The Bend

"The river is constantly turning and bending and you never know where it's going to go and where you'll wind up. Following the bend in the river and staying on your own path means that you are on the right track. Don't let anyone deter you from that."   ~Eartha Kitt~

The river of my life has certainly had its share of twists and turns but I definitely feel like I'm on the right path now. When I decided to give Nutrisystem a try I was venturing into parts unknown. I didn't really know much about the program other than the fact that they send you the food you need for 3 meals and a snack each day and that you could choose the food you wanted each month. That flexibility made the decision easy. My 28 day program only includes 24 days worth of food as they have you "flex" 1 day each week and prepare your own meals. I decided at the beginning NOT to flex because I knew I needed some time to learn correct portion sizes and making healthy choices. They have sales on food all the time so it's been easy to order extra items. You can also change the date of your monthly shipments if you're running low or have too much. That flexibility is invaluable to me. I don't flex unless I'm eating out and that hasn't been without its challenges. Portion size and calories are often difficult to judge so I've seen how easy it is to overindulge in a restaurant. I've thought about all the times I've eaten in restaurants over the years and it's astonishing how many calories I was consuming. It's no wonder I put on so much weight ! I was inactive as well and that didn't help. 

In happy news, I lost 2.4 pounds this week ! That is exactly 86 pounds to date ! I'm a whole lot happier with this number. Even 2 pounds would have made me happy. I feel like I'm working really hard at this so I think it will always be a little bit of a disappointment when I lose a pound or less. My mini goal now is to reach the 90 pound mark by my birthday, which is 8-31. So I have 3 weeks to get 4 more pounds off !

Did I expect to be at 86 pounds this soon ? Not really. The program says 1-2 pounds a week and I'm almost 32 weeks in, which would be 32-64 pounds. So I'm ahead of the curve. I need to remind myself of this whenever I have a disappointing weigh in. I'm still struggling with body image and I don't know if that will ever change. One thing that makes a difference is fitting into smaller sized clothing. The problem is keeping up ! I love my size 16 jeans so much that I hate to put on the size 20's that are so loose now. So it's time to buy a couple new pairs and retire the size 20's. I usually wear clothing to the end of its life but it's been fun buying smaller sizes. I don't think I've worn a 16 since I was a teenager ! I also pulled a bunch of size 2x or 22/24 tops out of the closet and put those aside. They're too big for me now and I'm not wearing them, so there's no point keeping them in the closet. Some days I look in the mirror and see, for lack of a better word, a thin person. Other days I look in the mirror and see that fat girl again. I still have a lot of weight to lose so I'm hoping my perception will change for the better eventually.

Breakfast was a 4.4 ounce 180 calorie turkey sausage and egg muffin with cinnamon roll coffee. Second cup was butter toffee. Morning snack was a 155 calorie chocolate shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 3.7 ounce 200 calorie grilled chicken sandwich dipped in buffalo wing sauce. I also had a chef salad with fat free dressing, hot banana peppers and some roasted red peppers. I'm liking salad a lot more with the spicy & colorful toppings ! Afternoon snack was 1/2 cup of cottage cheese (80 calories) and some pretzels (110 calories). This left 445 calories for dinner and an evening snack. Dinner was a 4 ounce 180 calorie artichoke and spinach stuffed chicken breast with brussel sprouts. Evening snack was a 3.5 ounce 130 calorie ice cream sandwich. Total calories for the day are 1065 and I got 64 ounces of water in. 

Today I accomplished a first ! I walked to the post office. I've lived here for 14 years and I've always driven there. I also took the long way rather than the most direct route, so it was probably the equivalent of 8 blocks each way. Not a huge distance but I'm pretty proud of myself anyways. I'll be walking there from now on unless it's raining or snowing to the point where it's too dangerous. I didn't get out of breath and actually enjoyed being out in the fresh air and sunshine. People were probably wondering who I was because I never walk. Amazing what dropping 86 pounds can do for you !

After the laundry was done I headed to Walmart. I only needed a couple things and ended up spending nearly $200 !! They had a lot of clothing on clearance so I picked up 2 sports bras and 4 pairs of leggings to supplement my collection of workout gear. The leggings I've been wearing are pretty baggy and 2 of my sports bras are also pretty loose, so it was time. 2 pairs of leggings won't fit me right now ... they're cute and they're a goal ! The other 2 pairs of leggings are super soft and lightweight so I think I'll love them. I also bought the usual cat food and veggies and more of the Light & Fit yogurt cups. They had a tiramisu flavor that I can't wait to try ! That's in addition to the strawberry cheesecake, toasted coconut vanilla, lemon meringue and caramel apple pie that I already love ! I have enough for 3 weeks. I also picked up a telescoping duster because I noticed I have some cobwebs around my ceilings. I can use it to dust my heating registers too. It works pretty good ! I always go in the wrong door at Walmart though .. right past the display of cookies and other pastries ! I wasn't tempted but it brought back memories.

I didn't get out in the garage today. No reason other than I didn't really feel like it. I did get an afternoon workout in, so I didn't sit on the couch all day. For a change there were a lot of good movies on ! Paramount had the Indiana Jones movies and SciFi had a couple of the Harry Potter movies. I did some online shopping and bill paying while I was enjoying the movies. Jeans are ordered ! I also found some 72" curtains for my bedroom at JC Penney. I think the colors, if they're true to the picture online, will be a good match to my bedding. I had looked at these curtains before but they were $100 a pair so I didn't buy them. Today they were $37.50 a pair so I went ahead and ordered them. To avoid paying $8.95 for shipping I added a big box of K-cups to my order. It has my 4 favorite flavors so it's a win-win ! I also ordered a couple things from Amazon. I guess today was my day to shop ! I've been buying the same eye shadow shade for several years and Walmart no longer has it in store and it's out of stock online. I found it on Amazon and it's actually cheaper, so I ordered a bunch of them. I also needed some spare charging cables for my new phone along with one for my old iPhone, so I got those too. Everything I bought today is shipping for "free" .. but I know the shipping costs are built into the prices. I have everything sent to my mom's house because she enjoys getting the deliveries and I don't have to worry about it being dumped on my door step when I'm not home. So she'll be pretty busy soon !

I had intended to get a second workout in this evening but that didn't happen. I didn't even have dinner until almost 7:30. If I get up early tomorrow I may squeeze a workout in before I go out. I'm picking up mom and one of my nieces and spending the day at camp with my brother and his girlfriend. Camping season will be over before we know it !! 

Time for a shower and bed ! What a great day I had !