Focus

My diet bet ended yesterday, and I'm sad to say I didn't win. I will be completely honest and say that I just lost focus. I did GREAT for the first week, and then... I don't know. I just lost track of my goal. And by the time I tried to get back on track it was too little too late. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not beating myself up over it either. I know I can do this. I'm just not doing it for some reason. I need to get out of my own fog.

I'm am happy to say that my mom lost well over the amount she needed to lose to win. I think she went over her goal by 2 pounds! In all honesty, if only one of us could win it, I'm glad it was her. Hopefully this will be good motivation to keep her on track. She even put a pedometer on her Mother's Day Wish List, so here's hoping!

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One thing I have been able to focus on was my crochet habit! After I made Moose's moose, I made a golf club cover for Greg's friend Casey.

I'm planning to type a tutorial for it later. I'm hoping to have a red and a blue one finished by the time Greg and I have dinner with Casey and his wife this weekend. I have tomorrow off, so it shouldn't be too much of a task. Famous last words, I know.

But I'm also done with Melissa's April Hat! I started and finished it Sunday evening. That's kind of rare for me. Usually it takes me a few days of stalling. :-) Now I'm just waiting on payday so I can mail it to her. I promise to have a pattern review posted soon.

Diet Bet

Today was Day 3 of the Diet Bet. Technically I weighed in on Saturday, but the game didn't start until Monday. It's been good so far. I've been pretty well with my eating. I went a little over yesterday, but not too badly. And I still logged everything I ate (which I've been bad about lately). I'm not mad at myself for it.

I made it a goal for this week to hit 10,000 steps on my pedometer each day. I knew it was going to be difficult, but the only day I didn't make it was yesterday (noticing a theme?). Greg and I went for a nice little hike on Sunday. We were going to take a walk at a local park, but the trail was closed for construction. We ended up taking a hike around the property behind his house. His family has a lot of farm land behind his house, and I'd never really explored it. Plus there's a wooded area that we wondered through. It ended up being about a 3.5 mile trip. Monday and today I did a walk-at-home video to hit my goal. 

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Amy and I were talking about how we didn't realize how much weight we had gained until we started losing weight. We were looking at pictures from our trip to New England, and then it was obvious. Today she made me this to keep me inspired in my progress...

I remember I was trying to sit up straight and draw in my stomach. I was so self-conscious, and I still didn't realize how big I'd gotten. It's nice to see that I have made progress towards my goal.  The only down side is that I have remained pretty stagnant since the after picture which was taken almost 9 months ago! But the diet bet should help me head more towards my goal. 

A-Weigh We Go

Welp, it's official. I've submitted my weight for Hannah and Olivia's Diet Bet Challenge. My official starting weight was 210.8 pounds...

Everyone is given a word that has to be in the scale picture.

That means I need to lose 8.4 pounds by April 14. It's a little over 2 pounds a week, which I think is totally doable. I'm a little bummed at myself that my weight is back up (I had been down to 201 at one point), but hopefully this challenge will help me refocus my goals.

Mom and I have spent some time going through all of our healthier cookbooks. We have quite a few! I would say at least 12 that are just low calorie, low fat, healthier cooking... Let's not even talk about my "regular" cookbooks.  My name is Jen and I'm a cookbook hoarder.  Anyway, we're really just trying to get some ideas. I love healthier foods, I just get in the habit of making the same ones and get burned out.

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My phone is acting up again. It had been charging without a problem for the past few weeks, so I was thinking the ghost was out of the machine. But I woke up this morning to a completely dead phone, and now I can't even get it to register that it's plugged in. I'm going to order a wall charger and spare battery from Amazon, but I have to wait until I get paid on Thursday. Hopefully I can get it to charge, at least a little, between now and then. July's upgrade cannot come fast enough! Although, I'm kind of tempted to see what I can make work until November and leave for Straight Talk. Anthony and Amy both have it and like it. And I could still get the phone I want I'd just have to pay full price for it. We'll have to see.

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I guess I need to run to the store! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Losing Bets

Oy. I am worn out. I feel like this has been my theme song for the past few days.

Side note, PicMonkey is so fun!

I started to say that I'm not sure what is wearing me out, but that's a lie. I need a day off. I have gone in early almost every day this week so I can train on the managerial side of my new position. Plus, I've had to work the past 3 Saturdays and my few days off have been full. I just feel exhausted from the time I get up in the morning.

Luckily, it's not combined with another low period or I probably wouldn't be able to get out of the house. My mood is fine, I'm just exhausted! I was thinking about going in on Saturday to help organize the stock closet, but I don't think I'm going to now. I'm just going to try to enjoy my day off and get some stuff done around the house. I know, really restful. ;-)

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Today I registered for a bet. I follow MyFitspiration, and last week they made a post about a diet bet.

DietBet - Have Fun. Lose Weight. Make Money! from DietBet on Vimeo.

After talking to Amy (she also follows the blog), we decided we would both register for the game. Even our moms are getting in on it! That will definitely help me since my mom and I live together lol. And shucking out $25 will make sure I stay on track! I'm going to try to spend some time tomorrow looking through my cookbooks and making menu plans for the next few weeks. I'm not sure if I'm more excited about the competition or the chance to try new recipes.