Welcome 2011!

Well, it's finally a new year, and past time for a new post. I know...I'm a giant slacker. What can I say...I'm a busy girl! Just like everyone else, I have some resolutions for this new year. However, I've put a lot more thought into them this year than I normally do. I wanted them to be attainable. Not something that I'm going to ditch come February. So, here they are....

1) Love Myself. Unfortunately this is something I've struggled with for a long time. Like many people, I'm my own worst critic. That added to some lovely character traits like being a perfectionist and slight over achiever don't make for the best self esteem all of the time. This will probably be the hardest of my resolutions.

2) Enjoy Life More. Don't get me wrong...I absolutely love my life 95% of the time. I have an amazing family and amazing friends, and I live in one of the most amazing cities in the country. This applies more to my stress levels than anything else. Thanks to some genetic tendencies towards anxiety, along with some of the lovely character traits from resolution #1, I stress myself out very easily. I used to be a lot better at getting a grip faster, but in the past 6 months or so I just feel like I've been spiraling. It makes it a lot harder for me to enjoy life, and it makes me not so fun to be around sometimes (I thank God that I have a roommate who is so good at putting up with my crazy and making me feel better). So I'm trying a few things to try and alleviate some of that. Like playing music again. Working it out in the gym. Writing it down in a journal, etc.

3) Finally Winning My Battle With My Weight. Considering my less than positive mental state the past 6 months, I've made some great strides in this. However, it's time to really kick it into gear and just take care of it. I'm uncomfortable in my own skin, and I have been for a long time. I don't want to feel that way anymore. I'm back on South Beach, and I got the Zumba DVD set for my birthday, so I've started that as well. I think as I work on resolutions 1 and 2 I'll have a much easier time with my weight. As of the end of December I've lost 16.5 lbs. In the next couple of weeks I'm hoping to finally get to that 20 lb. milestone.

So there you have it, Sarah's 2011 New Years Resolutions. I'm ready for you 2011...bring it on...

Holiday Hiatus

Not that you hadn't already noticed, but I'm going to be on hiatus for the holidays. I'm doing this for multiple reasons. Mainly because I just don't have time as I'm busy at work and trying to get things done before I travel West for Christmas. Secondly because with finances being tighter during the holidays it's harder to stick to the diet since good food is expensive. This has caused some yo-yo-ing in my weight that'd I'd just rather not talk about!

That being said....have a wonderful holiday season everyone....see ya in 2011!

October Was a Rough Month...

There was a lot of stress in October after I came back from vacation. We had some staffing changes in the office that more than doubled my workload. I'm currently spending more time at work than I am at home just about every day.

With all of that stress came a lot of yo-yoing with my weight. I lost, then gained, then lost, then gained. Mostly because I just didn't care. I opted for easy rather than healthy. Lack of funds also makes it difficult to buy things sometimes as well.

That being said...I'm still super stressed out, but trying to get myself back on track. I did lose this past week, so that's good. Only 5 more pounds until I hit the 20 pound mark. That will put me at the weight I thought I was when I went to the doctor and got a wake up call. So hopefully I'll be able to get to that milestone in the next couple of weeks.

Back From Vacation Hiatus...

And somehow I'm 3.5 lbs. lighter! Please don't ask me how, because I'm pretty sure my mom can attest to how I didn't give a damn about what I ate or how much of it I ate the whole week I was home! I guess I'll have to attribute it to not feeling well upon returning to DC and not eating a whole lot, but I honestly don't know that it made that much of a difference.

So a loss during vacation....apparently it is possible!

Vacation Time!

Well, I was able to get rid of a half a pound of last week's 2 lb. gain....baby steps....

Honestly though, all I can think about right now is vacation! I leave DC Wednesday morning and head west to AZ for an entire week! It'll be the the longest I've been home since I moved, and I'm very much looking forward to it. So long story short...I'm sure next weeks post will be about another gain, but I'm really okay with it. I'll sacrifice a couple of pounds this weeks if it means I get to eat real Mexican food! So, 2 weeks from today I will likely take myself back to Phase 1 of South Beach and reset my system after what is sure to be a week of binging.

In other news, today is my parents' 30th Wedding Anniversary. My parents are amazing, and I don't know what I would do without them. They are a wonderful example of what a good marriage is, and they're proof that marriage can work despite the obstacles that life throws at you. If you'd like to know more about how awesome my parents are, you can read about them on my mom's blog.

I don't anticipate blogging while I'm away...so I'll see you all in 2 weeks!

Not Every Week Is Successful

Well, I've had my first unsuccessful week since starting the diet. I gained 2 lbs. last week. However, I have no one to blame but myself, so there's that. I hate horrible all week, so honestly, I'm shocked to have not gained more than that! Normally I cook 5-6 nights a week, and I think this week I only cooked one night, and that was my downfall.

I'm still working on motivating myself to get to the gym. It somehow always works out that I find something else to do when I get home from work, and by the time I'm done it's late and I'm tired. So we'll see how that goes this week.

I've also finally gotten my violin all fixed up so I can play it again, so that's also on the list of things to do this week. I haven't played in about 2 years, so I need to really get back into the swing of it. Once I've gotten my skills back to where they should be I'll start looking for a community symphony to join. I'd love to be playing new music again and performing in concerts. I miss it, and if I could do it for a living I definitely would. I know this has really nothing to do with the diet or weight loss, but it's what makes me happy. And I'm a firm believer that you're more likely to succeed when you're happy.

Okay...I'm illegally posting from work since I don't actually have work to do, so that'll be all for now. Have a great week everyone!

One Month In...

So, it's been about a month since I've started the South Beach Diet. I've lost 11 lbs. in that month, which is a giant relief. That means it's working! I was also proud of myself, as I attended a wedding over Labor Day Weekend, and I didn't even attempt to follow the diet really, and I only gained one pound. So that was encouraging as well.

I've slowly started to add things back into my diet. I added fruit back in a long time ago, which made everything a lot easier. I've also started adding back things like corn tortillas and whole wheat pasta. I still don't fully trust my body to do well with them, so I won't eat them often, but at least I have them and can use them for some variety.

Now that I have the diet down to a science, I really just need to work on getting to the gym more regularly. So that's the next step in this whole thing....