Heck yeah! One week down. As of this morning, we have officially reached day 7.

What am I seeing on the scale? (0.0)

I’m melting! I started at 181 pounds and I’m down to 176 pounds. FIVE pounds in 7 days!?! I have this in the bag. Weight loss is so easy. I feel great.

Oh boy, here I am again. Reality.

Two weeks ago, I was not actively thinking about what I am putting in my mouth. Yes, I had that tiny voice that would pop up now and again, telling me I should try to get to a healthier weight. I would shut her up with something sugary.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not logging my food now. Even though, I know it helps keep you accountable. Slaps you with reality, really. Most people think they know what there eating in a day. Let me tell you my friend, if you ever take the time to weigh out your food, it’s probably going to be a rude awaking.

I have lived this lifestyle in the past. Did you read my first blog? I was crazy for fitness. Exercise was life. I also weighed out every morsel that would hypothetically enter my mouth. Oh yes, I would get on My Fitness Pal (great app/ website) and structure my food over and over until my macronutrients were balanced, and my caloric intake was spot on.

Why don’t I do that now? Time, energy, motivation.. MyFitnessPal has a great barcode scanner now. It does help to speed up the process if you’re eating premade packaged meals. I’m trying to eat as much raw fresh produce as possible. Now I can go in and look up every item in the search bar, but you’ll see a lot of variable information. As people manually enter their own “bell pepper” they can put 1 oz has 120 calories. That’s not true. I would spend a lot of time trying to decipher what nutrients listed are correct. Again I can minimize this hassle by searching “USDA Bell pepper” and I would get less variable info, but it still is time consuming when I’m adding a lot of different veggies to everything I eat.

I recommend tracking your food 100%. Since I did log my food religiously for years, I have a good idea of what I’m putting together. This is where I hit motivation. I eat between babies crying and running errands. I shove something in my mouth most of the time with a baby at the breast. Two weeks ago, it would have been something handy. My biggest pit fall was driving out to get my oldest from her AFJROTC class. I would have awkward time to kill. So drive thru it was! Babies would normally be napping in their car seats, and Momma would hit Chick-Fil-a for nuggets, fries, and lemonade. I could eat in peace sitting in my ultra sexy minivan in the parking lot. From now on, I simply keep driving. I make a decent breakfast in the morning, with babies in highchairs watching and I bring my book I should be reading for my book club anyway.

Energy? Who has energy really? Just keep swimming. Put your shoulder to the wheel. It’s easier to keep going, than to stop and restart. Etcetera, Etcetera.

Yeah, sure, I drank water. I only drink water as a matter of fact. I got in at least 3 cups a day… While breastfeeding twins… If that’s not a reference for you. 3 cups isn’t even a drop in a bucket. I will do better. I’ll add my doTERRA oil to flavor my water. Set a reminder on my phone. Just get more ounces in. I weigh 176 pounds, so it’s recommended I drink 88 ounces in a day. Bottoms up.

The reality of all of this is, the first week, your body is in shock. It’ll release water weight, maybe some fat. Week 2 however, that’s when things get real. Your body might freak out. Try and hold on to everything you eat if you’re not eating enough. We’re trying to reach a deficit, but too much all at once will throw our bodies into survival mode. Inflammation might occur if you’re just starting to workout. Sore muscles (D.O.M.S.) = water retention. Not everyone is the same. For some people they can hit the ground running and never look back. Some people need to take baby steps.

Here’s hoping Week 2 is productive. We attack our healthy habits with the same gusto as we did the first week. Don’t get discouraged if we don’t continue to lose weight as rapidly as we did the first week. Weight loss is long term. It has different phases. Right now, a lot of us are just starting, and that means we have the bulk of our weight to lose. As time goes on, it will be necessary to adapt and put in more effort for the same results.

This blog is my way of talking myself through this “journey.” I have the knowledge. I need to apply it. Sometimes I need to remind myself of that.