Day 3: Encouraging Signs

 

I've been up and down but I'm not giving up. I might have been close to rock bottom but I held on tight and started the climb out. I can't look back and I can't change the past, but I have full control of the future when it comes to my weight.

It's Thursday and it's Day 3 of this last-ditch effort to get the weight back off. I was awake at 5:48 am but lingered in bed until the alarm went off at 7. It was 23 degrees and still a bit windy but we hadn't had any more than a few snow flurries overnight. I started the day by reupping my satellite radio plan. If you're not on a "promotional plan" with them the rates are ridiculous. I've been paying $5.99 a month and that is reasonable, even though I really only use it on the weekend when I go shopping.

Although my shoes were on and my shake was made, I did not get on the treadmill at noon. I opted to wash the sink full of plasticware and clean the litter boxes. I was able to consolidate the litter into 2 boxes and I'm hoping Minnie is ok with the change. The ultimate goal is to get down to one, but that means *I* have to commit to cleaning it every single day. Right now, I know that won't happen, so I'm ok with having 2. It felt good to get those 2 tasks done and, as always, the goal is to keep up with it!

Work was busy but I didn't feel very productive. I was kind of bouncing back and forth between different tasks and that tends to slow me down. Nevertheless, I was glad when 5 pm rolled around!

I didn't document what I ate yet today! Breakfast was 160 calorie waffles with sugar free syrup and an 80 calorie yogurt. Lunch was a 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was 90 calorie Alyssa's cookies. Dinner was green beans and a 190 calorie spinach & artichoke chicken breast that I cooked in the air fryer. By 6:30 I was hungry again. 😕 My evening snack was a 140 calorie chocolate cupcake with whipped cream and a 130 calorie mint ice cream sandwich. It was the last one and I only had it because I was short on calories today. Now I'm left with my 2 favorites: lemon zest cake and chocolate cupcake.

As expected, I was a bit sore today as a result of my snow shoveling adventures. However, I wasn't as sore or stiff as I expected to be! Taking 2 Tylenol last night may have helped and I took a couple more tonight.

I checked in on my bank account and my bills earlier today and realized I hadn't scheduled my Visa payment! Lucky for me it's not due until Tuesday. I get text reminders so I'd like to think I wouldn't have missed it, but you never know. I've worked hard to pay off debt and achieve an 850 credit score, so I'd like to keep that for a while! I also need to write the check for my water bill, which is due on 3-31. I always drop that off at the Village Hall.

I took a shower shortly before 8 and decided to weigh myself afterwards, just to be able to compare an evening weight with a morning weight. To my surprise the scale read 265! That is a loss of 4 pounds! I'm not going to get too confident and think I can "cheat" here and there. You always lose what they call "water weight" in the beginning and my corned beef dinners probably contained an incredible amount of salt. Still, 4 pounds is 4 pounds! I'm happy and encouraged and committed to keep this going.

I did not get on the treadmill today and I'm out of excuses for avoiding it! The kitchen is spotless and the litter boxes are under control The rest of the house is in pretty good shape too and there is no snow outside to shovel! Right now it's more important to get my eating under control, but exercise is critical for long term success. It will also help my aches and pains. So I do need to put more effort into it. I know that. It seems to be my biggest challenge!

I've been going to bed a little earlier so there is less time to think about eating and I feel more rested as a result. I also unwind with Cookie Jam or Cookie Jam Blast on my new tablet. I'm so glad I treated myself to it. I didn't use it a lot right away because I didn't have a screen protector. Now that I have that I don't have to worry about damaging the screen. The tablet is in a nice book cover style case, but I still wanted a tempered glass screen protector on it.

So what is going well here on Day 3? I'm eating according to plan. I'm showering every day. I'm doing skincare. I'm brushing my teeth. I'm getting the house shaped up. I'm getting dressed before work. I'm making my bed. Tomorrow is Friday and the plan is to make it to the treadmill, but once Monday rolls around there will be no more excuses. So I will give myself grace for the next 3 days. That doesn't mean I won't try, it just means I'm not going to wring my hands if it doesn't happen. Overall it is going well but the weekend worries me a little. I always get in trouble at the grocery store. The goal for this weekend is to buy NOTHING "extra". I don't really need any of the specialty items that I usually get at Wegman's, so I may just take a quick trip to Walmart. I have some baby food to return and a I need wet and dry food for the strays. I might also need a head of lettuce and maybe some yogurt. That's about it. I could get some Fresca and Diet Coke as well. See how the list grows when you start to think about it!!! 

My next Nutrisystem order will process on Monday so I made sure to order gift cards from Costco tonight. With the savings I end up paying $2.54 per item in my monthly order. It's only for 24 days worth of food, but that equates to only $10.16 per day. I used to spend more than that on lunch alone when I was still working downtown. I buy food ahead so that I can eat Nutrisystem every single day, so in a 30 day month we're talking $304.80. So basically my Costco savings ($60) pays for the extra 6 days of food! I'm actually on a very old Nutrisystem plan. Their newer plans cost a lot more, so I'm very lucky! I'm able to order all of favorite food except for the lunch burrito. For some reason I can't get it with my plan, so I will just continue to order those when they have a sale. I'll have to pass if they have an Easter sale because I still have a lot of food. I have a dozen or so burritos so I'm good for a while! Which reminds me, I need salsa and low fat sour cream!

It's nearly 9 pm so I'm going to add some ice to my water jug and head for bed. Onward to Day 4!