Unconscious Eating

My New Year's Resolution seems to have stuck.

Every year, I make the same resolution as millions and millions of people - this year is the year I'm going to loose weight and get healthy.  And every year, I'm lucky if I make it to Valentine's Day before I find myself faced down in a cheesecake (preferably a nice, dense New York style one with sour cherry topping.)

On January 2nd (because diet resolutions have to start after the grease and Coca Cola intake following a really fun New Year's Eve), I swore that girl in the pictures taken on December 31, 2012 would be gone by the time the next New Year rolled around.

Before...

See, that girl was sad.  She didn't like how she felt.  She didn't like how she looked.  She didn't feel pretty and couldn't imagine how her husband could think she was.  She was tired all the time.  She didn't have any energy or any desire to get off the couch.  She was heavier than she had ever been outside of pregnancy and she wasn't being the Mommy she wanted to be.

So I started paying attention.  Paying attention to how much activity I was getting.  Paying attention to how much water I was drinking.  Paying attention to how much I was eating.  Paying attention to what I was eating.

As much as the exercise is important, the biggest thing for me is being aware of what is going on my plate and in my mouth.   I love all kinds of food - healthy and unhealthy.  And to be honest, I haven't changed what I eat as much as how I eat.  I eat one serving at supper now.  If I'm having something high calorie at a restaurant, I'll eat half and save the rest for the next day.  I don't just mindlessly snack - I eat when I'm actually hungry.  I measure my food.  I track my calories.  I am a conscious eater.

Getting there...

I don't manage to do well everyday and there are still times that after I have eaten something I don't know why I did it,  but my good days outnumber my bad days and my progress has been steady.  Because of that, I'm in the home stretch now.  I'm down to the last few pounds to reach my goal.  And when I get there, I might go a little lower - but not because some chart or article says I should be a certain weight.  If I do, it will be because I like the girl I see in the picture now (although I still can't figure out how to take a picture without that double chin!).