So, if you haven't figured this out by now, I am stubborn. Sometimes to my credit, sometimes not. I am stubborn and pretty resistant to change that is outside of my control, although I suppose it's less about change out of my control so much as change I am simply not ready to make. Some things change and I really couldn't care less. Well, how I lose weight and when is something I do care about.

Based on how things have happened for me in the past, I have devised my own little set of rules that I like to follow in my weight loss efforts. None of these rules are set in stone and I definitely add and alter as I go along. I read and learn and maybe I will add to what I am doing, maybe it doesn't sound right for me, maybe I just don't wanna do it right now.

This is some of what I am doing now:

1 - Drinking water. I proved to myself years ago that this absolutely helps me lose weight. My challenge is getting it all in on the weekends when I prefer to sleep late or maybe we run around and the last thing I want to have to do is worry about finding a bathroom. But during the week while I am at work is generally much easier. It helps that I love water, especially ice water. (No fruit in my water please. That's just weird.) Still, sometimes it can take me all day to get it all in so that cuts my ability to drink anything else and that sometimes bugs me. My other favorite drink is Arizona lemon ice tea, so I try to get in at least half my water before I start drinking one of those. But once I do, it may be harder to drink the rest of the water because I'm not a fish, people. I just don't want to consume so much of any beverage! Still, I do try.

2 - No eating after 9 p.m. This is no big deal probably for people who go to bed by 10, but I am a night person and I want to stay up until at least midnight just for the principle of the thing. I unwind at this time because the kids are MOSTLY down for the night and if you are a mom, you can probably understand valuing ANY time you get to yourself, even if you're sleepy. I can just chill. I watch my favorites shows on Hulu or Netflix and I wanna snack. But if it's after 9, I gotta make a concerted effort not to. Sometimes I win, sometimes I live to fight another day.

3 - No weekly weigh in. Now, this alters depending on what I am trying to do. Right now I wanna get 10 pounds down before my vacation at the end of July, so I am scale watching a little closer than usual, but overall too many things make my weight fluctuate - a little bloated, PMSing, birth control. No matter how good I am trying to be, there could be something else affecting my weight that I can't even help. So every 2 to 3 weeks is what I prefer and no way do I go near that scale during that time of the month.

4 - Speaking of weighing myself, I do it at the same time in the same way every time. If you go to your doctor's scale it may be different from yours, partly because you are dressed to some extent, partly because no two scales are the same. So the number doesn't matter so much as the difference in weight from one weigh in to the next. So I don't watch doctors' scales. Only mine and I hit it before or right after I take a shower, before I consume anything at all and no clothes whatsoever. Can't get any truer than that I say.

5 - Exercise at least 3 times a week. Ona bad week, it's 3x a week, 30 minutes on my treadmill. On an inspired week, it's anything from 4x that week, 30 min each to 30 min twice a day plus my hand weights. Depends on my energy level, mood and if i have to do something that will get me home late at night. To me, as long as I am movin', I am groovin' and I won't beat myself up for moving less some weeks than others.

So that's it for now. I have other rules for my little game, but I am at work now and can't take the time to think of what they are. :-D More to come!