5 pounds down...long way to go.

I weighed in yesterday for the first time in a few weeks and I was surprised to see that I was down 5 pounds since the last time I had weighed in. I felt really good that I had actually lost some weight, but I also realized that I really do have a long way to go. I've been avoiding taking pictures of myself for my "before" pictures because I just don't want to face it, but eventually, I just have to do it. I really regretted not taking any official before pictures when I had lost weight prior to getting pregnant. It's a lot harder this time, I feel like my body has totally changed so it's going to be really difficult for me this time around. I've been consistently over in my calories the past week that I've started logging again, but I'm giving myself some time to ease back into it. I feel like if I all of the sudden change everything in my diet, it'll backfire and I'll be back to square one. If I learned anything about what actually works for me, it's to not be so hard on myself and to not put any crazy restrictions on what I eat. I also learned this: there is no quick fix. Losing weight takes time and work, it doesn't happen overnight. What works for me is slowly making subtle changes and switches in my diet, for example: instead of using regular milk in my coffee etc I switched to almond milk. It's not a huge difference for me, but it's a lot less calories and less fat. I'm also trying to reduce the amount of coffee I drink, after the baby was born and I had a really odd sleep schedule I was drinking about 3 cups a day just to get through. I'd love to stop drinking coffee all together, but I just can't do it so I figure if I can get down to just one I should be in good shape.  Small, subtle changes.. it may not be the fastest/easiest way, but it's what will work.

As for exercise, I really have to start getting out there and running again. Running a half marathon is really important to me and it's one goal that I want to accomplish. If I can do this, it'll prove to myself that I really am a runner (not saying that everyone has to run a half marathon to be a runner but that this is my personal goal for being considered a runner). It'll be a little easier when spring is actually here and it isn't 4 degrees outside.  I have a jogging stroller so once I feel comfortable I can always bring the baby with me on my runs, which will be great and really helpful for both of us.

So there we have it, day by day; calorie by calorie.