Grateful ...

As some of you know, I've been on a low-carb/low-sugar diet since the first of October. I was happy to see that I didn't gain any weight after Thanksgiving dinner last night. In fact, I lost two-tenths of a pound. I know that's not much, but it's better than gaining. I was good though and stuck to my diet even on Thanksgiving. I substituted mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes. Of course, I was the only one who ate the faux potatoes, but that's okay. I love them and now have leftovers for tonight. I skipped the stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, and pumpkin pie. That might sound sad, but believe me, I had a plateful of food and was plenty satisfied. The only thing I really missed were sweet potatoes. This is the first time in probably all my life that I didn't have them for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm the only one who likes them though, so it was pointless to make them this year. Maybe next year -- when I'm at my goal weight.

A couple of weeks ago I went through my closet. I've had a stack of jeans and pants sitting on the floor for nearly 2 years. Some of them I've never even worn. I must have bought a bunch of clothes when I was at this weight, but then I put more weight on. I was pleasantly surprised when I tried those pants on and I could get them ALL on! Some fit better than others, mind you, but I could at least get them all on. Today I'm wearing one of those pairs of jeans and I have to keep pulling them up. If I keep up with this program and continue to lose more weight, this stack of new pants will be too big. That's just a chance I'm willing to take -- ha! The other day I was doing school with the boys and we were talking about how much weight Rick has lost. So far, he's lost about 33 pounds. Neil looks at me and says, "You look like you've lost a lot of weight, too." That made me feel really good, considering it came from an eight-year-old boy. I can totally change the color of my hair and sometimes they don't notice for weeks. So, for him to notice I've lost weight made me feel good. I've lost 23 pounds, so it's not as much as Rick, but that's okay. He started off with more -- snort!

I know weight-loss is a pretty vain thing to be grateful for, but this is a big deal for me. After having four kids, losing weight has been really difficult. I got down past my high school weight after having the girls, but then I put it all back on after having the boys. It's just crept up and up since then. I'm on high blood pressure medicine, which I'm sure was from my weight. I hate taking the medicine because it makes me light-headed and dizzy quite often, especially if I stand up too fast. So, one of my goals is to get down to a healthier weight to get off this stupid medicine. Having a big stack of jeans I can fit into is a nice bonus, too!

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!