236.6

Good morning. Here I am again and thankfully I have good news. I keep thinking the scale is broken but at the same time, same scale with same amount of clothes, it appears something is working.

I am not jumping up and down yet, because I have been down this path before and then get stuck on 230, but I will be happy and I will see this as a victory.

I learned several things this week from starting this electronic journey...

1. I have amazing friends. People that I see every day to people that I see once a year. Everyone willing to help me here. I want to thank my whole lunch crew for not ever judging me on what I eat for lunch, but considering my journey when making decisions. I hope I don't offend the others in the group, but I have to really thank Sarah. Thank you for not telling me what to eat and thank you for asking me what kind of support I want.

2. I have learned that I have no problem disappointing myself, but I hate to disappoint other people. Hilario, your message may be the point in time that changed my path. Knowing that people aren't just reading this to help me, but looking at this for some form of inspiration makes me know that I have to do this.

So how did I do this so far? I didn't start P90X or watch the Biggest Loser, didn't follow the latest diet and certainly didn't starve myself. Knowing I want to be at 180 in a little less than 2 years helps me know that this is not a sprint, but a marathon. I need to start slow, really slow.

I drew my inspiration from the show Hoarders Buried Alive. It is amazing to see what happens to these people. There always seem to be some horrible psychological problem that sets them off. Then they start holding on to things for some weird reason. Then more stuff is coming in than going out and viola, there house is a mess.

That is me. I just realized it is something in my mind that makes me take in more than goes out! I stop and think, I would eat everything that was on my plate. I would be at a point that I could not breath but I love the taste of food so much that I had to take another bite. I hated the thought that I would not be able to enjoy every last bite.

So this past week, I just lowered (by a tiny bit) how much comes in. I didn't give up all kinds of food, hell I still stopped at Whataburger one night. I still ate Liz's homemade cookies. But instead of going for the large, I stayed at the basic...instead of 8 cookies, I just ate two. Remember, it just need to make the small change for now. When we went to Carino's, I left half my food on my plate. No drastic changes that make me hate trying to lose weight, just little things that allow me to feel like its still me, just less packed in the house.

Then I exercised a little. I didn't run around the neighborhood, I didn't hit the gym, I just did Zumba twice for 30 min and did the elliptical twice for 30 min. Not P90X or Insanity, but enough to just move a few things out of the house.

Little by Little. I once heard that the journey of a thousand miles does not start with one step. It starts before you even take that first step. I've taken the first step with you guys, but I fell I have prepared myself best this time. A few things in the keep pile, a little more in the junk pile and we will have this house in order before too long!

Thank You!