That's the spirit!

I stepped on the scale over one year ago.
Probably haven't made this attempt for a year before that.
As a working mother of two, in my mid thirties, I found myself at a plateau. I did my hour at the gym two to three days a week, PLUS I joined my sons karate school, and worked my way up to green belt.


Well, back to the scale.

I was preparing to go on vacation soon, to Hawaii, and knew I was going to probably be in a bathing suit most the time. I felt the scale was going to tell me how much harder I needed to work on myself before Hawaii comes.
Honestly, I thought maybe five or so pounds extra to lose, but oh how I was awakened! Twenty-five pounds OVERWEIGHT!
Thirty-five pounds over what I thought I actually weighed!
How off could I be? How long have I been lying to myself?
Forcing myself into jeans and skirts that I'm sure I was "muffin-topping"
and popping out of the seams. What was I thinking? Was I blaming the dryer?
Did I turn the "other-cheek" when I stepped out of the shower?
How did I not notice the seat belt squeezing my stomach in half every time I buckled up?
Well enough was enough!
I knew I had to make a serious effort and it wasn't only exercise, it was paying attention, CLOSE attention to what I put into my mouth.
I went on line and decided to do a little math. Challenging, but fun math. I insisted that I count EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth, count what might go in my mouth, like if I were on my way to a restaurant, and even measure everything I drank and ate to get a feel of how much I was really eating.
Now this might sound like "not fun", but I made this a challenge. A game per say.
It wasn't hard to do. Infact with my husbands help with his handy iphone, no matter where we were we could look up calories for anything with the help of The Daily plate.com. In no time I was in control of my food in take and still found the room for the things I really loved. Like, a refreshing drink with my girlfriends on the weekend, some dark chocolate here and there, and Yogurtland were all still on the menu. By simply removing the bread from my sandwich to enjoying egg whites and turkey in the morning I regained control of body and how I wanted to fit in my clothes. In one month I lost over ten pounds in six months I lost thirty five. I know how to keep it off and have found a new "habit" that will take me through the rest of my life!
The first step is taking that close look at yourself. See the signs. Don't make any excuses. Decide what it is you want from your body, and take control. It's both mental and physical but it's the spirit that truly prevails over all.