~Canning~

Tonight I'm canning away! Six pints of wax beans in the canner right now; six pints of pickles waiting their turn for the stove! Besides that I have basil to make into pesto and zucchini to do something with (pickle? freeze? I'm still trying to decide).

~Weight Loss~

Well, I've done it! I reached my goal weight - and have maintained for the past two + months! I lost a total of 40 pounds and dropped four sizes! I feel so much better - I have so much more energy, more endurance for physical activities, and hey! shopping for clothes got a whole lot easier!

I originally set out to lose 50 pounds, but when I hit the 40-pound mark, I maintained for a month. When my doctor told me that I didn't need to lose any more weight, I decided that I was at my goal weight! :D It seems to be the "right" weight for me.

It took me from July 2013 to May 2014 to lose these 40 pounds, with a ton of focus and accounting for every bite of food that entered my lips. I was so fanatical about counting calories that once or twice I spit food out when I realized how many calories I would be consuming! From where I am now, I can tell you that all that calorie counting was SO worth it!

It was really hard but rewarding to work on my weight! For years and years I had allowed my weight to creep up. I didn't have the dedication, the know-how, or the ambition to lose weight! When I tried, I would use exercise as my (only) tool. But that didn't work well - about 10 years ago I worked out for six months total and only lost 15 pounds. When I quit exercising as faithfully I put it all back on, plus some. But one day, I said, "enough is enough" and loaded the app "Lose it!" on my Kindle. I think the first four weeks I started counting calories I was constantly hungry! I couldn't stop thinking about food! I didn't realize what a vice food had over me! If I was sad, food. If I was stressed, food. If I was lonely, food. If I was bored, food. If I was upset, food. If I needed a reward, food. You name it, food was my answer!

So now, I maintain! I'm excited to share part of my journey with you today, thanks for reading!