I did it!

From May 7, when I had my tonsils out, to yesterday, I have lost 19 pounds! I feel like singing the Dora song when she gets to where she is going. You know the one, "We did it, we did it, we did it, yay!".

Anyway, what I am most proud of is the fact that I did it without any diet aids. I went from a snug size 8 in pants, that had to be hemmed, to a perfect 6 petite. In regular sizes, I can do a 4, but they still have to be shortened. I never realized I was so short, until my pants started hitting at the right part of my body.

So, yesterday, I went shopping. Oh boy, did I go shopping. I spent way, way too much. I ended up taking a lot of it back today, but all together I think I am out over $400. That said, when I added up the regular price of the clothes, before all of the discounts, it was over $800, so I think I did pretty good. You figure, I had to pretty much buy an entirely new fall wardrobe. I literally had 2 pairs of nice work pants that fit. And, for some reason, I have sleeveless shirts galore, but no short sleeve. It jumped right to long sleeve. So, I bought a lot of short sleeve too. I was surprised to see that I went from a Medium to a Small in most of the shirts as well.

In all, it was a very good weekend! I will definitely keep the weight off too. I figure if I keep it off all winter, I may end up selling my nice dress slacks on eBay next Fall. I am afraid to now, although I definitely don't want to gain that back! I really would like to drop about 3 more as well.

In case you are wondering how I actually lost the weight, it was actually pretty simple. I have been eating Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal for breakfast most days. Other days I cheat. I have a healthy lunch, salad greens with chicken or South Beach Diet frozen meals or Lean Cuisines. Of course, there are days I cheat. I don't really deprive myself. In the afternoon, I have a cup of Activia yogurt and some fresh fruit. I usually end up snacking on a few Hershey kisses (the ones filled with caramel) and some actual caramels as well. Then, I have a smaller dinner. I eat whatever the rest of the family is having, although we do try to make them healthy meals. I just don't eat as much or as late. Every weekend, I relax and eat what I want. At first, I really splurged, and there are still some weekends I do. Others, I don't really bother. As for drinks, I don't drink anything except water (flavored with True Lemon or Crystal Light), milk and some juices. I dropped soda a long time ago. Of course, on the weekends, there are the occasional cocktails. Can't do without those Key Lime Pie Martini's!

As for exercise. I have been walking 2.25 miles three mornings a week. I go out at 5:30 am with a neighbor and am back by 6:00 am. Three mornings a week, I also do 16 minutes of other exercises. I do Jorge Cruises 8 Minutes in the Morning to a Flat Belly and his 8 Minutes in the Morning to Lean Hips and Thighs.

That's it. I wish I had done this all much sooner instead of wasting on that money on Lipo 6. What a complete waste of money that was. If I can do it, anyone can!