How the first couple days went

So I know I was going to post stats a couple of days ago but of course, I've been really busy and not had time to blog, or measure, or find my measuring tape. I have however found the time to get on my treadmill two days in a row (today will be the third). I did weigh myself on Saturday morning and every morning since then. I know that there are a lot of schools of thought on using the scale excessively, most of them saying don't use it but occasionally, but I use it several times a day. Here's why; If I am not constantly thinking about my food choices and how they affect my goal I easily slip into "oh, it's just a cookie, it won't make a big difference". Since I am following a formula I KNOW works, I like to watch my progress and get encouraged daily. I also use it as a check when I do decide to eat what I want one day (ie- a celebration may be cause to scrap the diet completely and just have fun completely no worrying about carbs and protein etc...although I will still try to set of my carbs with protein, more on that later). I usually see that I will gain a 1/2 lb (or more) back, I'm sure somewhat from retaining water but none the less, that's all it takes for me to snap back into my routine, with out a lot damage done. Now, not everyone can have a healthy relationship with the scale so if you know yourself, follow your own advice and throw it out. As with everything in dieting I think you need to do what works for you.
Saturday and Sunday were about the same as far as my diet went. Mostly good, only one major slip up; waffles on Saturday and Sunday I can't remember, I think it was waffles again? I've started re-training myself that if you mess up on a meal or snack, don't sweat it, just get back on track with the next MEAL not the next DAY (like my default MO :) ) I can definitely tell you that blogging has already made a difference, I don't want to come back and report a complete failure, I've publicized that I'm doing this so I can't put it off another day so I make my choices accordingly. I've already had thoughts that maybe I'm fine for now, I did just have a baby and I can start when I'm done nursing in a few months but then I think do I really want to go and tell people that I'm not doing it after all?
I got some good exercise in. I'm only shooting at doing 20 minutes a day on the treadmill. It keeps it realistic and completely DO-able, it's hard to tell myself that I can't find 20 minutes in a 24 hour period to get on the treadmill. In fact, the first time around all I did was 20 minutes on the treadmill and that's what got me back to my pre-preggo size (granted I didn't have the same shape and muscle tone I did when I added weights and more cardio the second time around). The point is, it doesn't take two hours a day to make a difference. I just add intensity as I get in better shape to make the most out of that same 20 minutes. Consistency is key!

The results
So I promised I would be completely honest so here's the report for the first few days. On Saturday I weighed 181.5 lbs. (down from my high of 200, 2 weeks after the baby!). Today it was 180.0, pretty encouraging start...I'll keep plugging away :) I really want to get a tape measure because it's fun to watch as many numbers as possible go down.

My goal
I was 142lbs and like 22% body fat when I got pregnant this time. I'd like to get there again. My first goal is to get under 180 (pretty soon I'd say :))and then under 170, etc. I like to have as many check points as possible so there are lots of reasons to celebrate and keep going. 10 lbs at a time is reasonable given I have about 40lbs to lose. Once I get to 155 I have lots of cute clothes to wear so I feel much better about myself :) I try not to overwhelm myself with the task at hand and since I am completely mental and have to "trick" myself often times, I have 155 as my "mental" goal. This may sound weired maybe even hard to understand but trust me, once I get to 155 I won't be happy and be rejuvinated to get the rest of the way down to 142 (just an fyi, I was 135 most of high school).

Next time...measurements, progress, and pictures (within a few days :))