One Year till Graduation

       Hello! For those still following this blog - sorry for the delay. School has taken up 99% of my life/time but that doesn't mean I don't have thoughts that I desire to discuss. This spring I was determined to be healthier and lose 30 lbs. I figured that I had moved out of my parents, I was able to control what I ate and when I ate it as well as get to the gym regularly. I did pretty well for about 6 weeks then it went to crap after spring break. It was the exact same point in time in the fall semester that the stress of midterms overwhelmed my life and I didn't care what I ate or if I made it to the gym. I had stopped drinking my Shakeology breakfast that I had been doing and eating random items or not at all until the end of the day. Really unhealthy behaviors overall.
       So here I am, contemplating what can I do each semester, each day, each hour regarding my food choices. I look at my daily choices and they are not good - eating croissants, pizza, Mexican food, etc without a care. In fact, I have a whole bag of Shakeology I haven't touched! That is terrible since that mix is not cheap. Also I can't remember the last time I weighed myself nonetheless tracked. What's tracking?!?!?! I couldn't even tell you how many points a food has. I have done nothing to help myself so I don't complain to anyone about my lack of progress. It's 150% of my fault.
      I have been thinking about how good I felt at my college graduation. In one year I will be graduating from Dental Hygiene and I want to look as good as I feel. It took 9 months for me to lose 40lbs while following WW pretty closely. Granted I was in college and on a budget so there really is no excuse for me to lose 50-60lbs. That would be the minimum weight loss goal but I'm going to aim for 8-10lbs/month. I'm starting tomorrow with planning my meals; I'm going to have 2 Shakeology meal replacement drinks since I have so much of it! I make it with almond milk and half a banana so it's not too dense but satisfying. My snacks will be string cheese, fruit, hard boiled eggs, and yogurt. I'm going to prepare my food weekly each Sunday evening so I don't have to think during the week. I have summer school 3 days a week so I think this plan is feasible, plus I'll be able to re-charge and work out 4-5 days/wk. I'm excited about doing this; it's a day in/day out process.   
      Here's a "Before" picture that was taken last Friday at graduation for the class of 2013:

                                                                        June 7, 2013

     What's interesting to me is that I don't feel that big. I don't look at my reflection and see this person; I see a smaller but still curvy version of myself. Most of the weight I have gained is in my abdomen, legs, and booth which isn't good whatsoever. I don't know why I have a distorted view of myself....hmm, time for some real therapy!
      Time to put in work!!!