Goal Achieved and random thoughts, of course ;)

I obtained my 1st weight loss goal today.  I've lost the 1st 10 pounds!  I'm really excited because I've been trying to lose weight for years, as I was saying in a recent post.  What I'm doing is really working and I'm going to keep doing it.  I have a goal in sight and I will make my actions match the outcome I want to achieve.  The ultimate goal is to weigh between 115 to 120 pounds.  I really don't want to say at this point what I do weigh, but suffice it to say I have a way to go. My plan is to break down my goal into 5 pound mini goals. I've negotiated with my hubby to give me $100 for every 5 pounds lost, sort of as an incentive for me.  Really though, I think the main reason I asked him to give me $100 dollars was so I wouldn't feel guilty spending money on myself. 

I'm actually beginning to enjoy the journey and the pleasant surprises along the way.  Like last night when my husband came into the bedroom after eating corn chips, at first it smelled like "feet", but then I realized oh that's a corn chip smell.  I think my sense of smell is improving as well as my taste buds.  A month ago those chips would have smelled good to me & I probably would have munched on a few and I still would if I had really, really wanted some.  However, I didn't eat any because I have a goal insight that I want to achieve and to me that's more important than a few seconds of pleasure from the chip, that's surely not going to do me any favors.  However if it had been my favorite dessert, banana pudding southern style, I would have definitely had small amount & not felt guilty at all. 

I think my husband thinks I'm going through a midlife crisis of some sort.  I think he is too though, and I'm honestly not sure where it's going to take us.

Tonight I went to the gym while my oldest daughter was at gymnastics.  We came home immediately after her gymnastics practice & he was none to happy that I hadn't fried the eggplant & okra from our garden.   In his defense he was probably looking forward to it because I've definitely honed my okra frying skills.  After the 1st bite, almost everyone raves about them.  It took me about half a summer one year to get the recipe like his mama's, and the bad part was I couldn't ask her because she was deceased.  Am I planning to snack on any when I cook them?  Nope. 

I've had something else on my mind today too.  Last week a good friend of mine went back to work after being a stay-at-home mom like myself.  With our kids getting older, the youngest being 4 1/2, I plan to go back to work when the youngest enters elementary school.  So I've started thinking about what I want to do as far as a career.  I think the answer occurred to me today.  In every job I've ever had, I excelled in one area.  Management always put me in this area, I felt very comfortable doing it, and always received the very highest praise from senior management in this capacity.  Now I'm not saying I was a perfect employee, far from it.  What I am saying is this is one aspect of my job I enjoyed the most, found the easiest, and the most rewarding.   My main career before staying at home was as an assistant manager and senior loan officer in a bank and also a loan officer at a credit union.  Oh and I also was in sales at another bank.  People really trusted me, which I think was the main reason I was successful in sales because I'm not a pushy person at all.
This area that I had much success, fulfillment and joy was in a public relations/almost negotiator sort of role.  I loved going to Chamber of Commerce meetings and functions, speaking with local business owners, and being on the front line drumming up business or just talking with folks about their family, health & what's important to them.  Honestly though talking to people on a personal level made the business deals a piece of cake.  I also really enjoyed telling people no in a positive way.  Never tell them what you CAN'T do, tell them what you CAN do.  Now, what job that is in today's market, I have no idea?  Thanks for listening to me ramble like this. 

Anyway this is what I ate today:

breakfast:  O.K., I've been on a roll with this one lately & it just doesn't get old.  Old fashioned oats, (instead of cinnamon I used pumpkin spice & it was really good), peanut butter, Sun Crystals, apple,  & Garden of Life Super Seed.  Unless your spouse dislikes the smell of peanut butter, you'll love this.  My hubby fusses when he smells peanut butter in my oatmeal, so I try to eat it at a considerable distance away from him. 

lunch:  This was just heavenly.  Food For Life brown rice tortilla, hummus, lettuce, carrots.  I lightly toasted the tortilla, then folded it all up like a taco.  Yum-O!

dinner:  Salad (romaine, carrots, cucumbers, Bragg's healthy vinaigrette)  You may not see cucumbers on the salad...well, I actually ate those while making dinner ;) .  McDougall's black bean and lime soup (see below)

 

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I didn't cook much today, usually don't on Mondays, which are very busy for us, but I don't like to eat at fast food restaurants too often as well.  I didn't plan on it being a vegan day, oh well. 

my littlest pumpkin before taking her to dance class today.

 

 

Question of the day:  How has you spouse or significant other reacted to your weight loss, positively or negatively?

Thanks for listening everyone.  Hope you had a fabulous Monday.

Be healthy.  Be strong.

Take care,