Bike season approaching.

I think I'm returning my scale soon. I'm tired of it being a teenager to me.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate myself on not gaining weight over the holidays! I believe that is the first, and I know if I lasted through this one, I'm sure to last through more. I did indulge a bit in some wine on New Year's and drunkenly ate chips and queso like I had never eaten before, but I'm not beating myself up. It was really difficult to resist the rainbow chip cupcakes my brother made for my nephew's birthday. They were impressed, though.

That's why I'm doing this. I'm doing this so my family can see that change can happen, even in the small things. I want to show my mother that she doesn't have to end up like her mother, bless her heart. She's not doing so great and it is tearing me up. Some people just never get it. But I get it. I want to show my mom that she can play with my children one day when she's 85 and not sit alone in her assisted living apartment unable to move much. That broke my heart, but I can't dwell on it.

I'm learning so much just by observing things and the strength to refuse things politely. People understand more than I had ever imagined. I'm taking mental notes of how much change I've made, and it is so nice to have friends who encourage and support me. Some of them keep me in line, so that's nice, too.

Exercise wise, I've done about
30 minutes of car dancing and
30 minutes of walking.

Chuck is moving to a house down the street (or so he thinks), and I walked to see him yesterday. It was a nice, little stroll over there and back. It's about 6 blocks, so it isn't bad at all. I hope he moves there because it will be a nice motivation to be active and see my new best friend.

I've thrown myself into cooking more lately. It feels good. It tastes REALLY good! I hope I don't get lazy, though. Laziness is the root of all evil, or at least, for me it is.

Oh, and I should be getting a bike soon! I'm excited about that.

First week, not too bad!

I told all of my friends here what I'm doing and why I'm doing it, and everyone is fantastically supportive. I've been trying to spend time with people actively instead of just sitting in a cafe, doing whatever. It's been really nice.

This week I have. . .
walked for an hour with Gina,
walked for 30 minutes with Jillian and her dogs,
and I have danced for about 20 minutes with Lilia, Siobhan, and Claire.
So far, so good!

I cheated a little bit last night on SBD, but I only drank about half of the special mocha with Bailey's and Kahlua, and I only ate one slice of ESP pizza. I also had 3 glasses of wine. It was my birthday, so I'm proud of myself for not going overboard!

I weighed yesterday and I'm down to 251.9. That is so great!

The thing that I love the most is how great I feel. I'm not in a bad mood, I don't wake up feeling bad, and my energy doesn't run out very easily. The question came up last night why I'm doing this and why I'm committing, and I couldn't help but mention Sarah and how she and I have such a great friendship to help each other be active and potentially change our fates. People were most certainly excited for all of the changes I am making, the mindset I'm doing them in, and my level of commitment overall. It's difficult to work in an establishment where it is super easy to mark out a pastry and eat the whole thing before someone notices. I've been there and done that, but now I picture leg amputations and the like in order to picture that in reality, every choice I make leads to another, and I have to make the right ones. I have to do it for me right now, and continue to do it for others later. I'm excited to see what will come of this in the future. I'm sure that I will be very satisfied.