Personal Accountability

If there is one thing I know for sure it is this: weight loss isn't easy. There are two things I struggle with the most when it comes to weight loss: an undeniable love of food and personal accountability. I wouldn't necessarily say this is the reason why I'm fat, but I would say they are to blame for why I'm STILL fat. There is something that takes over whenever I tell myself I'm on the right path. Some could call it self-sabotage, and they would definitely be right, but I see it as a lack of personal accountability. I like to think that my life is all in order, and truthfully, I'm very blessed. Here's the thing though, everything except my health is in order. Sure, I walk around like I'm confident in my skin but it's a lie. (I say fake it, until you make!) Speaking of lies, I tend to tell myself quite a lot. Okay, maybe not lies but I tend to break promises to myself a lot. I promise myself that I'll stick to this or that and about half way there or when I start to see some progress, I somehow fall off the wagon.

Treat yo'self!

While everyone (myself included) is a work in progress, I tend to take my missteps a little hard. I don't particularly like when I've failed or haven't met my own standards. As I've been on this weight loss journey, I've done a lot of reflecting and this is what I've decided: I am going to treat myself like I would any of my loved ones. As a mom, I often put Presley first and while I will continue to take care of her to the best of my ability, I'm going to take care of myself in the same way. 

Side Note

Presley, my two year old, is an excellent eater (read "What my toddler taught me about eating"). The minute I started to feed her whole foods, I knew she was like a blank canvas and the kind of food I put into her would greatly affect her eating habits. This is the care I should be taking with myself as well.

A couple of things I'm going to do for myself

1. Take time to be active at least once a day. 

Whether that means dancing in the morning, walking at lunch time, or squeezing in an afternoon workout, I am going to take that time alone to be active.

One day this silhouette will be more svelte.

2. Find ways to eat nourishing foods.
I LOVE food. (Yes, the caps are required.) Unfortunately, the majority of what I eat on a regular basis isn't that good for me. As a magazine addict, I subscribe to numerous health and food magazines. Over time, I've ripped out articles, exercises and recipes to save for later. Well, later is here! I've pulled out some healthy recipes and am going to experiment with my taste buds. I feel very positive about it and because of my love of food, I think this step is going to be easy.

Olives stuffed with garlic (My coworker brought these to work and I think I practically ate them all with little help from her.)

3. Celebrate accomplishments
If I'm going to be true to treating myself like I would my loved ones, I have to start giving myself a little praise. I will need to be my own best cheerleader (Crystal must have known this all along). A couple of weeks ago, Crystal and I measured ourselves. I wasn't really expecting to lose anything but I lost 4.25 inches! Not bad for just two and half weeks.

Measurements

8/8/12                                                                                8/23/12

Chest: 43                                                                           Chest: 43

Waist: 38                                                                           Waist: 37

Lower Abs: 46.5                                                                Lower Abs: 44.25

Hips: 47                                                                             Hips: 46.25

Right Arm: 14.5                                                                 Right Arm: 14.25

Right Leg: 26                                                                     Right Leg: 26

                                                                                         Lost 4.25 inches!

4. Take one day at a time.

I know it's been said many times but remembering to take one day at a time isn't easy. I gained weight one bite at a time, so I'm look at each choice I make as one bite or one step closer to a healthier Nikki.

Ironically, I opened this in a fortune cookie. Couldn't have been better timing.

- Nikki