A New Start

I'm back on the bandwagon. After what feels like a long time of eating pretty much whatever I wanted & missing workouts, I have put 6 lbs. back on. I visited with my good friend Kathi and talked about what we both wanted to achieve moving forward. It was a great visit. Thanks Kathi. I love you too! I think we both came away with new insight. I knew what "things" I needed to do to bring the weight down. But what I was able to talk through was how to solve some of the situations that trip me up.

One area in particular was lunches. I found that I don't prepare for lunch early enough so that when I get hungry I can eat right away. The other thing Kathi brought up was that it really didn't take that long to prepare some of these things and why wouldn't I want to do this for myself. When I first get fresh veggies home I need to plan to eat them within the first 2-3 days. Yes, that requires a plan and prep work. So, this morning I made my taragon chicken salad to take with me to the gym for lunch.

My goal is to keep my calories between 1200-1250. Although yesterday I had 1306 calories and still lost weight. So, if I go up to 1300 I'm not going to get twinked out. I think this broader range will enable me to include some very fun food and still lose weight. My first goal is 119. I have absolutely no deadline on my weight loss. Every time I do that I feel a sense of failure coming on and then eat because of it. I need this to be more of a lifestyle change.

One of the biggest things I needed to address was my need for accountability. I will be texting Kathi every day with my morning's weight and the total calories from the day before. I will also text her on my way to the gym for my workouts. I know when I go into hiding I'm eating. I need to keep up progress out in the open, being talked about.

Rachel will begin accountability with me on Friday mornings to ensure she's making her menu plans for the week. I'm also going to have my plan ready to ensure I'm doing the same thing.

Here's to moving forward!

Wardrobe Building

Last Saturday I met with Lynn at Nordstroms. She had everything set up for me and kept bringing armfuls of clothes for me to try on. She's very good at her job. I went from an empty closet to one that has choices and color. The capris and skirt I'm not certain about yet. I have a return to make today of a cardigan and pair of capris that are a duplicate for me. I have been writing about what I have in my closet and what new things are coming in to be sure the new clothes fit into the color schemes I already have. I really enjoy doing that. I've also written out my dress wardrobe, my black and brown color capsules. I have a lot more clothing in the black matching outfits, but brown is my color palette. I tried to buy tops that would mostly go with brown and then some to match black to finish out outfits that weren't complete. I'm pleased with the result.

After the capris are decided on (I'm going to put them on for Robert and see which one's he likes too, I'm having problems deciding which look better on me) I'm going to need to look at shoes and sandals for the summer next. I want to try to stay with flats, 1" heels and 2" heels that way they'll be able to work with the pants lengths I have in my closet now. Not the easiest things to do, but it really saves on the number of pants and shoes you need to own. It's definitely worth the effort.

To get the color capsules to work you need to be able to match your 3 chosen colors in both bottoms and tops. It is much easier to find black and white tops and bottoms than it is to find brown or tan. I thought I'd add french blue to go with the brown scheme, I found a top but no matching pants, capris or anything for that matter. So, what's the catch here? Do you have to buy mix and match geranimals to get this to work?

I think I'll be easing into the brown, beige and french blue color palette over time and see if I can get it to work. The process continues...

The Plan

I'm falling behind due to these allergies. I need to look at what needs to be done, so I can come up with a plan on how to keep moving forward. Robert could help this weekend perhaps.

-Budget withdrawal for next week
-Bank: budget envelopes
-Max's birthday card & gift: over to their house
-Groceries: WalMart/pharmacy, Trader Joe's, possibly Whole Foods
-CostCo: next week, Tuesday maybe? (check with Kathi)
-Budget

It looks like the areas to address are budget/money and groceries to fill up the fridge. The groceries also allow me to continue eating well, so this is critical.

Plan:
-Max's card/gift: Robert can drop off tomorrow morning
-Bank: Robert can go on his way home from the gym
-Budget: Saturday or Sunday
-Groceries: WalMart/pharmacy (meds before Sun)

This gives me a starting place. I'll move forward from here. Chow!