I have really been thinking the last few days of what my journey has been. There has to be a reason that I have been stuck at this weight for the last year.

I'm going to start with the Ugly:
I really thought about it and realize that I cheat myself when it comes to my choices. I convince myself that I am making good choices as I do for breakfast and lunch, but then dinner becomes a free for all if we eat out. I generally start with a Cosmopolitan, have one or two glasses of wine with dinner and, many times, end with a Cosmopolitan or some Irish Whiskey. If I don't end at the restaurant with the after dinner drink, I will continue at home. If I have a glass of wine at home, I will generally continue or change to Vodka and Lemonade. This is a whole lot of wasted calories. I do not measure so I don't believe I am accurately writing down how many calories I have actually consumed.

Solution: I have made a very conscious attempt to cut this out. I haven't had any alcohol for 3 days. We did go out for lunch yesterday before the barn and I didn't order a drink. Further, I have decided to keep a food journal very much the same as my exercise journal. No matter what I put in my mouth I will write it down. It is not always easy to track everything on here, but when you lay out everything you have eaten/drank in front of you, it is pretty hard to pretend it isn't there.

The Bad:
Stress, Stress, Stress...
I drive myself crazy. I can consume myself with stuff that I can't change. I keep going through the "what ifs". I find that I get upset all of a sudden with other stuff when I am supposed to be having fun. Of course, the stress is what leads me to the ugly.

Solution: Learn to let go of it and follow the model below:

I have to focus on the positive. I am starting to write 5 positive things down every day!

The Good:
Exercise. I have actually learned to enjoy it. I do not go into each day with a plan, but I know I have to get some form of exercise in before lunch as it is hard for me in the afternoons. I will generally do Walk it Out and the treadmill or Leslie Sansone or a combination of all three. That is my go to workout. Some days, I throw in Exerbeat, but I have been staying away from that lately to challenge myself on the treadmill.

I also have my JC days. I learned that I have to do a warm up even on him as it take time to get his rhythm. Once I do, then we do a lot of trotting for a high calorie burn. That horse
is an AB workout on his own. I have never ridden a horse that works your abs like he does.

Nutrition: I have been really conscious of what I am eating lately. I have added more healthy foods like oatmeal and flaxseed into my diet. I have also added more whole grains.

Once again, I think the food journal will help me keep on track with the eating. Also, my husband has agreed that we can get the Fitbit Aria scale. That posts straight onto the fitbit site, so maybe having something accurate will help. The scale we have is awful so I use the Wii Balance board, but that is not digital so I kind of have to guess part of it.

I will be successful in this journey and not let anyone or anything derail me!