Hot Mess Monday {week 6}

It's Monday, so you know what that means....Hot Mess time! 

Original weight:  142.5
Last week's weight:  136.2
This week:

Weight lost from last week:  1.2 lbs

Total weight lost:  7.5 lbs. 

My 120 lb goal seems completely attainable.  It's not just a faraway number I once set for myself.  This is real.  And it could happen.

Biggest challenges this week:  Still feeling okay about myself.  Even though I've lost 7 1/2 pounds, I've felt kind of blah most days this week.  Like my clothes don't fit, like I look completely bloated in everything I wear and like I don't want to go try on any clothes EVER because I'm afraid I'll get depressed and quit the whole weight loss journey all together.  The 7 1/2 pounds I've lost is completely awesome.  I'm so proud of myself.  I feel great most days.  But there's the doubt that creeps up into my head and makes me say "You don't look any different" whenever I look in the mirror.  Listen, I'm not stupid.  I know that this journey wasn't going to happen overnight.  I knew that once I started losing, my pregnancy fat wouldn't just fall off magically.  But I had hoped to feel a little bit skinnier by now.  I'd hoped to be able to put those size 6 jeans on and not have to suck it in a little whenever it was time to button them up.  But this is a marathon, not a sprint.  Slow and steady wins the race.  And one day, God willing, I will feel completely rocking in those skinny jeans.

What I think worked:
{1}  My Fitness Pal.  I've downloaded it, I've tracked my progress for over 20 days, I've talked about it on here.  Seriously people.  Down. Load. It.

{2}  Healthier snacking and lunches.  I've become OBSESSED with the Undressed Skeleton blog.  She's a girl that lived a heavier life in high school and college and decided one day that she needed a change.  She has some great, unconventional foods for breakfasts, lunches and snacks that I never thought about before.....multi grain bagel with bananas and cinnamon, anyone?  Or how about healthier homemade PopTarts?  After taking quite a few ideas from her website, I went on a grocery shopping spree and stocked up on fruits, veggies and multi-grain items that are going to fit in nicely with my new diet.

{3}  Being more active.  This week, we painted at work.  And I mean, really, hard-core painted.  Painting a room burns 288 calories an HOUR.  I feel like I need to go home and paint my entire house.  I was sweating, I was burning calories and it was awesome.  Probably a big contributor to my weight loss this week.

Keep on keeping on, my hot messes.  It's not an easy journey.  You are making an incredible lifestyle change.  This is for your spouse, for your kids....but it's mostly for YOU.  We spend our days wiping butts, rewinding the DVR, cleaning spit-up, don't we deserve to feel awesome too?  Til next Hot Mess Monday all.....