1/5th of the way there

Now that school is over for this trimester and work is a LOT less chaotic with the addition of our newest hire, I finally have more time to focus on myself. Not just in a selfish way, like indulging in a day of laying on the couch, watching Lifetime movies. I also now have the leeway to give myself the attention I deserve on the health front.

Since starting this program exactly one month ago, I'm happy to say that I've lost 10 lbs. That means I'm 1/5th of the way to my goal. Initially, I wanted to lose 40 lbs., but once I realized how fast they were flying off, I decided to tack on another 10 to that number. Rest assured, I have no desire to be skinny. I like my curves, and I intend to keep them. I think losing 50 lbs. is both realistic and healthy, so I'm going to go for it.

One thing I continue to struggle with is exercising. I was never good at that. I played sports in middle and high school, but you would never see me jogging down the block. I hate it, but I make myself do it knowing it will pay off in the end. With school and work, however, I didn't get to the gym much in the last two weeks. And while it hasn't seemed to matter (the weight continues to melt off despite my lack of physical activity), I keep telling myself that I could lose even more if I just went on the tredmill for 45 minutes. So that's my next goal: move my ass! My stomach seems to be the only part of my body that isn't getting smaller, so I clearly need to get going.

I'm hoping to be down a couple of sizes before Rohit's wedding in June. Then there's my sister's engagement party in August... and Gayathri's wedding in September... and Anita's wedding in July '09. Some might find all of this wedding actvity burdensome. But I'm using it to motivate me. So thanks, Rohit, Anita, and Gay, for getting married! You probably don't even know it, but you're partly the reason why I'm finally taking control of my life.

Keeping up the momentum

I want to start off by thanking those of you who are supporting me as I take on this lifestyle challenge. Your comments and encouragement mean the world to me, and it's great to know I have so many friends and family who care about my progress. That alone makes the journey a lot easier. So thank you all very much for taking the time out of your busy lives to tell me that you're proud of me. I couldn't be more honored.

A lot of you have wanted to know how I'm doing so far... Is the program working? Do I like the food? Is it hard to stick with it?

The answer is yes, yes, and no. In the last two weeks, I have dropped five pounds, which I think is great. The food is actually very tasty and filling, even though I've run into a couple of issues with my orders (how hard is it to understand that I don't want beef? Though I have to give Jenny credit - the consultants do address whatever problems arise.). Suprisingly, I haven't found the program difficult to stick with whatsoever. I thought I would always be hungry, but I feel like I'm eating all the time. And I don't have to give up all the not-so-healthy foods I love. Some days I get to eat peanut butter or cheese or cake, and other days I just supplement with fruits and vegetables. Speaking of which, Jenny helped me rediscover the foods I had stopped eating for whatever reason, like oranges. I absolutely love them! Why did I ever stop buying them? Who knows -- probably out of laziness. But now I'm much more aware of how many fruits and veggies I eat and when.

A friend of mine is also doing the program, and she was bummed out the other day because she said she'd fallen off the wagon. I guess she had a rough week and didn't stick with her plan. We had a little chat, and I tried to keep her spirits up. "Don't dwell on it, and don't blame yourself for anything. You'll do great!," I told her. Having her around to talk about the experience really helps me, and I hope I gave her the encouragement she needed, too.

3 down... 37 to go.

I dreaded weighing myself this morning. I hate stepping on the scale, not because I'm ashamed of myself, but because I think there's a stigma attached to actually seeing the number pop up. Since I have to track my weight every week on the Jenny Craig plan, I knew I couldn't avoid it. So after a big sigh of anticipation, I sucked it up and stepped on.

I didn't believe it when I looked down at the first bright red numbers. "That's three fewer pounds than I weighed last week," I thought to myself. "It can't be!" So I tried again... and again... and there it was... the same number... the most amazing number I've ever seen in my life.

The light bulb went off bigtime. "I'm really doing it," I thought.

It's only been one week, but so far, this plan is by far the easiest one I've ever followed. Not only are the meals actually *gasp* good, but I feel like I'm eating all day. Instead of pizza and fries, it's carrots, yogurt, peanut butter and chocolate cake (yes -- cake!!!).

I think I could get used to this...