Days 1 - 12

Day 1 - Record the advantages of losing weight:

1. I want to have a baby, therefore, I want to get in better physical shape for a healthier pregnancy.
2. I will have more energy.
3. My clothes will fit better (at this time, nothing really fits).
4. I can wear cuter clothes.
5. I won't hate looking in the mirror.
6. I will be more comfortable in times of intimacy.
7. I will feel better physically and mentally.
8. I won't be embarrassed when I run into old friends.
9. I will live a long time for my child (children).
10. I will get more attention and not feel invisible.  Let's face it, the fatter you are, the more likely people will look right through you.  

I am supposed to read these three times per day.  In order to facilitate this, I've decided to read them before each meal and once before sleeping.

Day 2 - Pick Two Reasonable Diets

One diet is the primary diet, and the second is a back up JIK you fail at the first, that way, you have something to quickly fall back on.

Diet Choice 1 for me is a low calorie (1200 - 1400) diet, mainly following Jillian Michaels' Body Revolution meal plan.

Diet Choice 2 for me is Weight Watchers, my sister does this, and she's had LOTS of success, but, I don't want to pay for my diet right now.

Day 3 - Eat Sitting Down

Done!  I never eat sitting up, except when I cook.  So, I need to make a conscience effort to not eat when standing and cooking.

Day 4 - Give Yourself Credit

I have decided that I will reward myself $0.10 for each credit, which includes reading my cards, following my diet plan and working out.  I'll keep up with tick marks in my diet notebook.

Day 5 - Eat Slowly and Mindfully

Eating slowly and mindfully helps you realize when you are full.  I am going to make a conscience effort to do this.  If I eat mindfully and slowly each meal, that's another $0.10 credit!

Day 6 - Find a Diet Coach

This one is hard for me.  I really wanted my DH to be my DC, but, he gets angry with me if I discuss my weight with him, because, for the most part, I'm pretty negative about my fatness.  So, it can't be him.  I'm going to rely on friends Mari, Hillarie and Brooke for support.

Day 7 - Arrange Your Environment

We don't have bad foods at home (at least bad foods that I want), so this will be easy.  The  hard part is work, so I will not bring cash to work to hit the snack machine for that mid afternoon chocolate craving.

Day 8 - Create Time and Energy

I will take Sundays to prepare my lunch.  My decision was to choose only cold meal options for lunches at work.  This way, there isn't a ton of cooking and prep each night.  This will include salmon salad, chicken salad, and tuna salad.  Also, cold breakfast preparations, which include toasted nuts, with fruit and yogurt and a little honey.  Also, I am going to do my best to see about meal preps on Sundays to make meals to go through the week, or crock pot meals.  Not so easy with JMBR, but, her meals are not that hard to make in a quick amount of time, which was her goal.

I am going to do my best to get up in the morning to workout.  But, if I cannot, I'm going to work out once I get home from work, before I make dinner.  This may encourage me to leave work at 4:30 instead of sticking around socializing or putting in just 30 more minutes of work.

Day 9 - Select an Exercise Plan

I am going to do JMBR (Jillian Michaels Body Revolution).  I love her workouts.  Either by the end of this month (July) or in August we're (DH and I) will purchase bicycles so we can ride those together as a family.  The plan encourages spontaneous and planned workouts.

Day 10 - Set a Realistic Goal

EASY!  They kind of tell you 5 POUNDS!!  So, it's 5 pounds, with a reward system when I reach the goal.  For the first 5 lb goal, it'll be a gift under $5.00, then $10.00 - etc.... you've got it right? 

Day 11 - Differentiate between Hunger, Desire and Cravings

To do this, pick a day, and note what you experience before, during, and after you eat.  Note how your stomach feels, and then after 20 minutes, do the same.  This should help you distinguish whether you are hungry or not.  I have picked Wednesday, July 11 to do this, while I am at work. 

Day 12 - Practice Hunger Tolerance

Create a discomfort scale, totally unrelated to hunger.  Then, choose a day to skip lunch.  I will choose Friday, July 13.  Every hour from the time you normally eat lunch until you eat dinner, rate your hunger on the discomfort scale.  Reflect each hour.  They recommend to choose a day that you're busy, not a weekend day.  I'm scared about this!!

So, those are days 1 - 12 in a nutshell.