Bring it on 2012!!!

I LOVE New Years.  I really do feel like, for obvious reasons, it's a great time to start fresh, with new goals and a new outlook on life.

2011 was a great year and like all year's it had it's up and downs.  More ups than downs, so that is good.

To be honest I didn't exercise as much as I anticipated with all the craziness due to the holidays.  I just felt like my time wasn't my own, running here and there, going to functions and trying to fit sleep in there too!!

So yesterday I got back on track.  I am down 1.6 pounds.  I definitely gained weight over the holidays and splurged a little or maybe a lot knowing that New Year's was around the corner. 

I know this may sound crazy, but with only one day under my belt I do feel fantastic.  I am just anxious and excited for the future.  I was reading an article last night about weight loss and this comment really gave me comfort.  The lady featured in the article lost 115+ pounds and she said that it seems over whelming to think about how much you need to lose, but just focus on 5 pounds at a time and before you know it, you've reached your goal.  I really like that idea.  I need to lose 50 pounds by August for a family reunion and my daughter's 2nd birthday - I didn't reach my goal for her 1st and I really regret that.

50 pounds sounds like a lot to me and it is, but I got myself here and I need to fix it!!  So I am just going to focus on losing 5 pounds at a time and see where that gets me.  Even if I only lose 5 pounds a month that puts me at 40 pounds down and I would be ecstatic with that, so would Michael, so would my daughter and so would my mother - my health is at jeopardy with my high blood pressure.

On Monday I was cleaning my room and hanging up all my clothes and was getting totally depressed.  My size 16 pants are getting tight, my shirts are too tight and don't fit like they should and when I am not at work  I just wear my mumu because that is what fits me and I am totally comfortable BUT super unattractive.  

This may be too much information, but Michael sometimes notices - when I am not hiding or changing in the dark - how tight my bra is on me and the red marks it leaves from wearing all day, it's embarrassing!!!!! 

The sad thing is I have gained 27 pounds after the birth of my daughter - what!?!?!  I know, I know!! Most people lose. 

After my daughter's birth and up until now I never turned down a piece of cake or chocolate, then when I was done breast feeding I made up for lost time and drank lots of beer!! UGH!!!
I am going to contribute this to being a little depressed after my daughter was born.  We lived with Michael's brother, his crazy girlfriend and her 3 awful children and it was horrible for so many reasons.  My daughter gave me so much join, but my stress eating went out of control.  We had to share a kitchen so there was really no way to prepare healthy meals and if we did we didn't eat until really late after the hooligans downstairs were out of sight.

Anywho,  I am really looking forward to 2012, it's the year of "Get My Shit Together!!"  Eat healthy, exercise, be more organized and less stressed!

Cheers!!