Weight Loss Journey

It’s nearly midnight, and it’s the last day of May.

I’ve been putting off writing this post for the past week or so, because I haven’t lost any weight. I’ve been getting on the scale each morning hoping to see the numbers go down, but they’re not.

I have absolutely no weight loss to report for the month of May, which is disappointing, but I haven’t actually been doing a great job this past month with my eating and exercising, either.

Reasons it was difficult for me to lose weight during the month of May

Reason #1: I went out-of-town twice this month. And while I did a fairly decent job of choosing mostly good foods, it’s always a challenge for me to eat healthy when I’m away from home. I’ll be going out-of-town twice in June, too, so I need to try to have a better strategy for next month.

Reason #2: My dad came to stay with us for nearly three weeks, which was great! But while indoctrinating helping him to make changes in his diet and coming alongside him to monitor his food intake, food choices, doctor’s office visits, etc… I was very sporadic on the Shaklee 180 weight loss program. I had a shake here and there and the snack bars were great for a quick pick-me-up, but I wasn’t consistent with the program all month long.

I spent a lot of time talking to my dad about food and how it affects our bodies. I also spent a bunch of time in the kitchen, cooking meals and soups that were healthy and satisfying. I made vegetable soup, potato leek soup, and a really fantastic black bean soup. Somehow though, I managed not to lose any weight over the past 3 weeks, even though I was focused on trying to eat healthy when I could. 😉

Reason #3: I may have hit a plateau? I’m not sure, but after working on losing weight for over a year now, I think I may have hit a bit of a plateau. I feel like it’s getting more difficult to lose weight. I weighed 248.5 lbs. in December 2011, and I’m down to 182 lbs. My body used to let go of around 4 pounds a month by simply making wise food choices. Now, it seems like that’s not the case.

The positive side
Sure, I didn’t lose any weight, but I didn’t gain weight for the month, either. I’m at 182 lbs., and there’s a brand new month ahead of me. I’m going to work hard this next week to get back on the track with the Shaklee 180 program and continue on with eating healthy. The treadmill is calling my name, too…

May Results

Here’s what my weight loss progress (or lack thereof) looks like for May:

Beginning weight: 192.5 lbs.

Current Weight: 182 lbs.

Goal Weight for 2013: 152.5 lbs.

# of total pounds I want to lose in 2013: 40 lbs.

# of pounds to go until I reach my goal: 29.5 lbs.

Total # of pounds lost to date: 10.5 lbs.

I’d love to know how you are doing on your weight loss journey. Did you lose any weight during the month of May? If you’ve ever plateaued while trying to lose weight, what helped you kick the weight loss back into gear?

P.S. On Saturday, I’ll be sharing a video update. I’m going to talk about one thing I like about my body and encourage you to think about one thing you like about your body. Stay tuned for that!

This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support, and incentives for participating in the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. My opinions are my own. People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

I stepped on the scale this morning, and I weighed 182 lbs.

That means I’ve lost 3 pounds in the last month!

I’ll admit that I wish I had lost more weight, but I’ve learned to understand the way my body drops weight as I’ve been on this weight loss journey for well over a year now.

Basically, my body lets go of the pounds very slowly. BUT when the pounds are gone, they’re gone. They don’t return, and I’m happy about that.

Motivation

Two things happened this past month that have been huge motivators for me. First, I finally got my wedding ring resized because it was too loose for me to wear. You may have noticed that in recent pictures of myself, I was never wearing my wedding ring. We made a special trip to the mall, and after walking around to different jewelry stores and getting quotes to compare prices, I settled on one particular store and handed over my ring.

They brought it down to a size 6. I think my wedding ring had been a size 8 (its been almost 12 years…so my memory is fuzzy), but I was surprised that when the woman measured my ring finger, it was now a 6. I’m thrilled with that change, and my husband (and I) are both happy that I’m back to wearing my ring. 🙂

The other motivating thing that happened this past month that was I purchased my first pair of size 12 pants in 12 years!

And they fit!

I needed to buy new clothes for the conference I’m attending this week, and this time, clothes shopping was actually enjoyable. Well, as enjoyable as it can be when you’re shopping with five kids, which means it was stressful at times. 😉

I ended up buying one pair of size 12 pants, two dresses, a shirt, and two blazers. I’m stepping into unchartered territory when it comes to the dresses and blazers. I’ve never purchased blazers before, ever. And the dresses are sleeveless. Crazy. I don’t ever wear sleeveless anything in public, but I’m going to step out of my comfort zone and do it. Sort of, I did also buy a sheer, short sleeved piece to put on when I wear the dresses. Baby steps, right?

Shaklee 180

I’ve been continuing on the Shaklee 180 program, and it’s going well. I love that this program fits nicely into my lifestyle right now. I tend to have a meal bar in the morning and a shake in the afternoon. I was having the shakes in the morning along with my morning coffee, but that turned out to be entirely too much liquid in the morning. The librarians (I go to the library to get work done 3-5 days a week) were probably wondering why I was headed to the bathroom every 15 minutes…

I’m going to take my meal bars with me when I travel this week, and I’m going to focus on making healthy food choices, too. I truly DO NOT want to come home weighing more than 182 pounds, so I’m going to work hard at being self-controlled while I’m there.

Results

Here’s what my weight loss progress looks like for April:

Beginning weight: 192.5 lbs.

Current Weight: 182 lbs.

Goal Weight for 2013: 152.5 lbs.

# of total pounds I want to lose in 2013: 40 lbs.

# of pounds to go until I reach my goal: 29.5 lbs.

Total # of pounds lost to date: 10.5 lbs.

I’d love to know how you are doing on your weight loss journey. What motivates you to keep going?

This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support, and incentives for participating in the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. My opinions are my own. People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.