The DietBet Begins

...but, before I get to the DietBet, have you heard of Dillard's New Year's Day Sale? Well, apparently, a lot more people know about it this year than last year because our local Dillard's was packed. My friend Angela and I were there before the doors opened.

I went to the shoe department first. There was a line just to get your shoe size. People were carrying around shipping boxes full of shoes they wanted to try. It was madness. After waiting for 20 minutes, the lady brings me a box with two left shoes in two different sizes. And, she had the nerve to get an attitude when I asked her to check for my size again.

Anyway, after that and my difficult time getting dressed in the morning because I felt like everything looked too small, I wasn't too much in the mood for shopping. Angela racked up! I bought a pair of shoes, some bras, a necklace, and a pair of earrings. No motivation to try on clothes.

I was feeling defeated and called my husband. He encouraged me, reminding me of the recent goals I set for weight loss. He's so sweet. So, instead of shopping for clothes, I ended up going to Old Navy and shopping for workout gear after getting an email about their sale on activewear.

I racked up and got some motivation again towards my weight loss goals. And, then I logged into the DietBet and saw that the pot was $1070, then a few hours later it was $1360, then $1500, and this morning....

...and it''s still growing! So, to begin the DietBet, you're given a word that you put on a piece of paper to put next to the scale as you weigh-in, for verification. In addition to taking a picture of the scale, you also take a full body picture on the scale. Here are my weigh-in pictures.

I'm up a few pounds since I last posted my weight. I definitely splurged this last week. I also had the hubby take some pics of me for my official starting weight pics. Because I know I'm going to know where I started when (not if) I hit my goal!

And who doesn't love a great weight loss story. Lately, I've been stalking a couple of blogs with awesome weight loss stories for motivation.

Molly @ Where We Can Live Like Jack & Sally started at about my same weight and is now lower than my goal weight. The big difference is that her weight was due to a baby. Not the same case for me...

Then there's Elle Noel. If you need some on-the-go motivation, you should definitely follow Elle Noel on instagram.

Just a little motivation for today...as I continue on this weight loss/fitness journey, I'll be sure to share some of the other inspiration I find in the blogsphere! 

It's not too late to join the DietBet! Click here if you're interested in joining! Shout out to Desirae @ Going with the Flow for starting this DietBet! I'm linking up..

...and I'm off to the gym!

Time to Change this Number...

Wow! I can't believe I just posted my weight (and my feet) for all to see. It's not that number so much that bothers me, though; it's this one (or should I say these)...

And again, I guess it's still really not the number, but the fact that as I continue to shop and buy clothes, I'm starting to get to the point where the highest of these numbers will not do anymore. I'm at the point where I can't comfortably wear clothes that are in my closet anymore.

I've usually maintained around 145 - 150, without much effort. Over the pass three years, that number has slowly increased. I was okay as long as I could fit my clothes though. I  guess I've been doing too much of this...

Source

Other than the clothes, there's this one other motivator...my husband and I are considering kids in the near future. (Did I just write that? Woah!) Anyway, I think the average woman gains about 30 pounds during pregnancy. I would much rather add that 30 to a lower weight than the weight I'm at right now. I also imagine that if I get in a healthy habit now, it will be easier to lose the weight after pregnancy.

So, what am I going to do about it is the question...

1. Set a goal! My goal is to lose at least 5 pounds each month for the next five months. That's 25 pounds total by the end of the school year...Done!

2. Accountability...Done! I just posted my weight for the world to see. I hope to continue to update my blog with my progress...maybe join a weekly blog hop. Another measure of accountability will be the DietBet that my co-workers have decided to join. You can read more about DietBet here. My co-wrkers and I plan to start our first DietBet on January 8th. Click this link if you'd like to join us! The more who join, the bigger the pot! (Angie, I hope you're ready! No more excuses!) I also joined a Dietbet with Desirae over a Going with the Flow since I found about Dietbet from following her blog.

3. Work Hard! I'll have to work hard to eat healthier and to exercise more. I don't think I'll be joining any fancy diet programs or exercise regimens. Actually, I need to cancel my membership to Weight Watchers while I'm thinking about it. I know what works for me:

• In the past, I've followed Michael Thurmond's Six Week Body Makeover. It worked for me and both my parents. The results were amazing. There wasn't anything new or amazingly different...just healthy, small meals throughout the day, cooking without salt, and drinking plenty of water (The picture above was a result of this eating plan.)
• I already have a gym membership (which has hardly been used in the past six months). Recently I ran across Les Mills Pump on Beachbody.com. I remember doing this as a class at Gold's Gym for years. I used to love it and saw great results. The gym I'm currently a member of does not offer the class, so I'm considering buying it for my toning and sticking to doing my cardio at the gym. This low weight, high repetition toning workout, paired with cardio has worked for me in the past. I don't know for sure that I'll invest in this, but I do know that I need to do toning as well as cardio to get results.

So, instead of looking for some silver bullet or diet pill, I think I'll just stick to what I know has worked for me in the past. I hope blogging about it will help keep me accountable and constantly remind me of my weight loss goals.

Linking up:

               

The Diet Bet

Kim:  Have you heard of it?

You:  No.

Kim:  Well, let me share!

For those of you who aren't able to watch the video, it's basically 'social dieting.' A group of people join a bet...putting money in a pot. Players then have 4 weeks to lose 4% of their weight. Everyone who meets their goal splits the pot! How cool? This may be the answer to the upcoming absence of Fantasy Football and my 'need' to lose weight.

I stumbled across this site when reading Desirae @ Going with the Flow's blog. She has started a Diet Bet group and the pot is currently at $80...only a $10 buy-in. I am seriously considering joining or starting my own DietBet group. What are your thoughts? Do you want to join? Here's the link for Desirae's New Year New You Diet Bet, which begins Jan 2nd.