Under 200!

I've hit my first major goal. I'm down from 235 to 195. That's 40 pounds! Quite the achievement!

I've upped my calorie intake from 1300 to 1500 and it has made a major difference in me being able to meet my goals. It gives me some space to adjust my plan as the day goes on so that I'm still near or under my goal, where as when I was eating 1300, if I was over and there was no hope of saving it, I would just keep eating.

I'm meal prepping. I don't know if I've mentioned this before. I make big batches of food, divvy it up, and freeze it. I'm sick of shrimp this week, though. I made a big batch of rice, broccoli, and shrimp with sweet chili sauce, and I just don't want to eat it anymore. I'd rather eat that than the spaghetti squash I still have languishing in the freezer from last month, though.

Being able to grab something, heat it up (I finally got a microwave, and that has been a game changer, too), and eat it, has made a huge difference. I figure out the calories by inputting all the ingredients into a recipe in myfitnesspal and then figuring out how many servings it is. I try to keep the calories per serving under 450. Sometimes they're lower (turkey tacos with tofu, cauliflower, and corn were 300), but sometimes their a bit higher (550). I don't sweat it too much and just try to jigsaw everything together.

I'm still making egg casseroles (I'm almost done with what I have frozen so it's time to make a new one). Up next on that list is roasted red peppers with feta, kale, and ground sausage. I'm excited for that one.

I've also been making overnight oats. I have my recipe down pat, now. Half cup oats, half a container of vanilla chobani, quarter cup whole milk, quarter cup water, two teaspoons brown sugar, and one teaspoon cinnamon. Yum yum. Makes me happy in the morning. I missed oatmeal.

I'm also making some life changes. The overnights finally got to me. Tonight is my last one. I gave me two weeks notice... two weeks ago. I'm going back to waitressing. I can only imagine this doing me good. No more yo you sleep schedule (daytime schedule three days, nighttime schedule four), and I'll be moving way more, probably making at least the same amount of money if not more. With the overnights, I'm sitting in awful, back cramping chairs 7-8 hours a night. I'm so sedentary it's not even funny.

I'm also thinking about making a couple of other major changes.

I'm thinking about canceling my gym membership. When I have been exercising, I've been exercising at home. Bringing back the workout DVDs! I just ordered some new ones to mix up my program, too. Balance ball and kettlebell. Should be good.

And then there's the internet. I'm paying way too much a month, and only use it for Netflix, which I can watch on my unlimited phone. If I need the internet on my computer, I can just go to the coffeehouse.

So that's me. First goal met, making some changes, meal prepping.

Next goal, 180. Here we come!