Ashley's Story: Resolutions

The holidays are over and life is back to normal (at least somewhat). Hopefully, that means that I actually remember to blog on Fridays like I'm supposed to!

First, I cannot believe it's 2012! I feel like I blinked and the last year has gone by. Since we're already a week into the new year, we've all probably been doing a lot of thinking about resolutions. I can never decide how I feel about resolutions. Sometimes, I think they're great and other times I think they're just a waste of my time. This year, I stuck to my usual routine and not made a new year's resolution, per se, but I have been working on some new goals lately.

Back in December, I started doing some serious thinking about what I wanted and what I expected from my body. I figured out that those two things were drastically different. I wanted to lose 75 lbs. I expected to lose nothing or to lose, but then gain it all back because that had happened over and over again. When I realized that my desires and my expectations were so drastically different, I decided that I needed to overhaul my thinking.

Thinking about losing and keeping off 75 lbs is overwhelming. Even if I lost two pounds a week it would still take me over half the year to reach my goal. And, really, who do you know other than Biggest Loser contestants who have consistently lost two pounds a week every week for half a year. No one, right? So, I decided that my goal had to be smaller...much smaller.

With an expectation that I would lose nothing, I decided to make my first goal to lose only five pounds. To some, that may sound simple, but I haven't lost five pounds since my pregnancy and that was because I was throwing up everyday from morning sickness. Before that, it had literally been years since the scale had budged. So, five pounds it is. And I'm happy to say that I'm half way there!

Looking through all of the advice Lorri Ann has given me and all of the weight loss stuff I've read and studied over the years, I put together some habit changing steps for myself. The first has been one that I've never been great at and one that Lorri Ann pushes big time - eat your veggies! I started aiming for at least 50% of my daily diet to be from vegetables. It's been amazing!

I've been making soups and stews full of veggies, eating huge salads with different lettuces and spinach, and experimenting with ways to work in veggies to the meals we normally make at home. This week, I've lost 2.5 lbs. Word the mamas. I'm excited!! :)

And I'm proud of myself and feeling like this is actually possible for the first time in a long time. So, while I haven't sat down and said, "In 2012, I'll lose the weight for good," I have resolved to make myself and my life better one habit at a time. I'll hope you'll join me this year and change those habits that keep you from being your best self, too!