Straight Tippin'.

So, checking in about my weight loss journey. 

I am super happy to report that (as of last week) I am officially 15 pounds down from January 1st!

Um, I didn't have a good photo for this post so here is a (very rare for me) "selfie" that I sent to my family. I was pretending to dump coffee on my head and looking a little deranged. Because I'm very mature and sophisticated.

I haven't weighed in this week since I did indulge in some pizza on Superbowl Sunday and I want to give myself a couple days to work it off so I don't get discouraged. Even though I'm not at my goal weight or anything, I thought I'd share a few tips from the past month of actually trying to get healthy. (PS: if you also want great tips from someone who is super healthy, my friend Molly is your girl).

1.) Eat at home!

Rhyno and I LOVE to order in and go out to eat. We always have. At our old condo we were only minutes from some of the most delicious Thai, Indian, Mexican, pub, and Italian food. We got into this yucky pattern of ordering in constantly. Once we moved to our house we kept up with the habit, even though our options dwindled significantly. Last year we'd order in at least (and this is embarrassing to say) 4 times a week. 

2.) Water, water

My water intake is going up, up, up. I chug a big mason jar (about 16oz) before every meal and snack. I chug a jar before and after the gym. I try to drink a whole glass before I even get out of bed in the morning (I have a lifelong habit of leaving a glass of water on my nightstand, I can't sleep without it). I still try to drink my weight in ounces daily but when I just can't, I'm trying not to sweat it. 

3.) Distracting myself

 I always wondered how people go through really tough work outs because when I focus too much on what I'm doing I want to give up. And then I do give up. So now when I hit the gym, I put the elliptical on one of the pre-made programs (so it controls the resistance and incline automatically). By doing this I can just zone out to my iPod (which is full of the Nashville soundtrack and Missy Elliot at the moment). I have been MUCH busier at work and it is such a blessing--when I am busy I have less time to mindlessly eat and I fall into a much more solid daily routine.

4.) Making new goals

I've been hitting the gym about two or three times a week (except last week when I went zero times since I was sick as a dog AGAIN). My goal for February is to go to the gym at least four times a week. I love the calorie burn and how awake I feel when I knock out my cardio first thing in the morning.

5.) Get Some Zzzzz's

I have always wished I didn't need any sleep because it feels like such a waste of time (I've been an insomniac since I was a toddler so sleep has never really seemed appealing to me).  I have been trying SO hard to make sleep seem like "me" time. I have been slowly weaning myself of falling asleep with the TV on to help myself fall asleep and stay asleep. I tried quitting cold turkey but I wound up laying in bed wide awake for hours. My new bedtime routine is lotion on my feet with thick socks, a big cup of sleepy tea, the TV with the sleep-timer set on 60 minutes, and a cute sleep mask. I started with the timer at two hours, then an hour and a half, now an hour, soon 45 minutes. I set my alarm for about 5 and am now working on NOT hitting snooze at all.

Cheers to another 15 pounds! What are your best weight loss tips?