Goals, shaving, and some cute shoes!

I am very proud to announce that I made it yesterday on the elliptical for 30 mins. straight. It didn't really start to get to me until I hit around 15mins but by then I knew that I was halfway done and would make it. I thought about stopping once I made it a mile but I told myself no that I had in my mind 30 mins. and I was not going to quit. I felt so good afterwards.

Shortly after that I did 30 mins. of strength training. I could really feel it in my arms. I can already tell that my abs are getting stronger. I think maybe all the crunches are working because I have a feeling that they are what caused me to all of a sudden lose some inches. I love crunches! No I am not insane, well maybe I am but it isn't because I love crunches. I just love how much better I feel with a stronger core. I have been concentrating a lot on having better posture. Not only when I stand but also when I am sitting. I will catch myself start to slouch and immediately make myself sit up straighter. That is something my mom has been telling me to do for years. I guess it is time I got around to listening to her.

Oh, and another change that I love is the fact that I have been able to wear some of my high heels. My mom bought me some really cute shoes 2 summers ago but they are high wedges and I just could not wear them much at all. I have hated to only wear flats but heels just killed my feet too much. With just the weight that I have lost so far, I am finally able to wear the shoes. I was not in any pain at all and could have walked around for hours with no problem. Jeremiah had better get ready because I have a feeling there will be a lot of cute shoes coming home with me in the near future. Luckily he can not get too upset with me because he is a shoe-aholic himself.

Last night I was thinking about many of the changes that I have gone through already. I never really realized what all I was giving up or dealing with by staying at my size. I was in the shower and shaving my legs when it suddenly occurred to me that it was much easier to reach down to my legs. I can't even fathom how different it will be once all of this fat on my stomach is totally gone. I am starting to see why people who lose a ton of weight talk about everything that they could not do when they were fat. You just don't see it when you are that size, at least I know that I didn't and still do not. I am excited to see what else gets easier for me.

I'm also very excited for the LHAS weigh in on Wed. All along I have been counting my calories but this past Friday I started a journal where I am writing down everything I eat and how much I exercise. I have always been good at remembering every little thing I eat so I have not had any surprises or a-ha moments where I realize that I am eating more than I thought. It is just now I am actually writing it down. It is nice to be able to look at my diet in black and white and go over what I ate for the entire week. I have been staying in my calorie range, which is 800-1200 calories. I know many of you will freak at that amount but I am under a Doctor's care and I do take my vitamins. I have hypothyroidism and it makes it very very hard for me to lose any weight. The last few days I have been staying closer to the 1000-1200 range. I figured with increasing my exercise so much that I had better increase my calories as well. I can not wait to see how this week has gone. I am so ready to be out of the 230's and into the 220's.

Ok, I am going to wrap this up now. I am leaving you with some pictures of the shoes that I mentioned above. As you can see I am in desperate need of a pedicure. I am thinking that if I do hit the 220's then maybe I will get one to celebrate. Keep up the good work everyone and remember no pain, no gain (or lose in our case)!