One month later...

Actually yesterday was one full month, but I didn't weigh in then so today is gonna have to do. It's been a month full of highs and lows emotionally and of course that affects things physically for me as well. I wasn't as strict as I would have liked to have been with my calorie counting and exercising. I feel like I did alright though. Last week I came in weighing the same as the previous week but having just dealt with my period among other things I was trying not to let that get to me. This past week, well I didn't even weigh in on Tuesday like I normally do. 

My family decided to go out on the lake with our boat this past weekend and spent a lot of time swimming, etc. Well I was really enjoying that because I knew swimming burnt a ton of calories and it was something I loved to do anyways. My ears kinda felt funny but I didn't really worry about it too much. Sunday I could tell there was something going on still though since my hearing was fading in and out most of the day. Monday morning I woke up and instantly knew I had an ear infection. I made it to the doctor that afternoon and was prescribed some ear drops with antibiotics to treat me for swimmer's ear. Things slowly got worse from there and by Tuesday I was in utter agony all day long. I was in tears more than a few times over how badly I hurt. I had to take my daughter to the dentist that day though and had to ride along with my dad since I don't have a license right now. Well he had promised my sister to take her kids to tutoring in the complete opposite direction of where Bethany's dentist appointment was so we had to go drop them off then go to her dentist appt then drive back to pick them up and take them home. It was a very long morning with several hours spent in a car full of people when all I wanted to do was lay in bed and hug my pillows. My fiance is still staying with a friend looking for work so I didn't really get much peace having to take care of the kids on my own. Wednesday things were slightly better than Tuesday. The pain was still there but not so bad I was crying all day anymore. Yesterday was just an annoyance and today... well I still don't have full hearing back but every so often my ears kinda pop a little bit and I can hear again for a second so I think by tomorrow or the next day I will finally be back to normal. Just waiting for the swelling to go down I think. 

Anyways, with me being completely miserable this week I did not work out much at all. In fact, the only workouts I really got were yesterday and the day before when I went to pick Jett up from VBS. I put him back in to another week of vacation bible school this week. This time it is at another church not too far from here. It's actually 1.6 miles from my house according to the car's odometer. Well, I finally ordered the coupler piece that went missing from my bike trailer so I can attach it to my bike again and it came in last week. Wednesday was the first time in a couple years that I was riding the bike and pulling the trailer behind it again. It felt great but wow so hot and sweaty! I was pulling 18 lbs of Bethany for 1.6 miles on the way to get Jett and then her plus 40 lbs of Jett on the 1.6 miles back home. So I guess I biked a little over 5k both days. I would have gone again today but it was raining. I had intended to go all week but it was raining Monday as well and by Tuesday... I wasn't doing anything I didn't have to that day. Feel awful as I did I ate pretty much whatever I wanted. The bright side of being sick though was that my ear hurt so badly it was affecting my throat and jaw so I couldn't open my mouth to take big bites of anything so I stuck to mostly liquid diet. I was drinking all day long because I felt infinite thirst and dehydrated no matter how much I had. I also ate things like soup or soft foods like avocados so as to not irritate myself any more than I had to. I did not count calories but knowing what I ate, I think I still stayed within a good range on most days, possibly under on a couple though.

Man I get kinda long winded when I don't update for a few days at a time. lol. On to today's topic. It's been one month since I started back for good I feel and I've definitely had more good days than bad. I stepped on the scale this morning and saw this number. 

246.2! I had been stuck at 250.4 for the last couple weeks it seems and so I was not expecting that number and was so relieved when I saw it. My last weigh in here at the house was Tuesday of the previous week, but I did weigh in at the doctor's office on his scale and even saw 250.4 there as well. I was totally bummed when that happened because I was secretly hoping my scale was just messed up. lol. It's been showing me the Lo signal for the last several months now. I need to get a new battery for it soon. 

I am pretty excited about this number. I'm now only 1 lb away from my first goal this time around, haha. I  am down from 257.8 starting weight which makes 11.6 lbs total so far. When I was losing so much back in 2011, I averaged 12 lbs per month so this number pleases me just fine especially because I know I messed up on quite a few days. Next month is going to be better for me because I'm going to do better. I'm seeing improvement in not only my weight on the scale but elsewhere in my life too so I'm using that as motivation to keep trudging forward and to stop quitting when it gets tough. I'll be stricter with my food choices and more diligent in my exercising habits. When I checked in with MFP it also asked me to update my measurements and I noticed that I am already down half an inch in my neck, an inch in my waist and an inch in my hips. Hooray! Here's to starting off Month number 2 with a bang!

I'll leave you with a couple pictures of myself from last night. :)

Getting ready to attend family night at VBS

Fixed up my hair and makeup both for the first time in a long while. lol