Wow!

All I have to say is that this last week has been awesome! Though my last post was extremely negative and brutally honest, it was the best thing I could have done for myself. It is like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders. My appetite has decreased substantially... In fact, I only took about 1/2 the amount of food I would normally eat on Thanksgiving, and I only ate about half of it. No joke! It was the first time I've ever decided to stop eating on Thanksgiving before I got full... and I truly had no desire to eat more!

Also, tonight I got together with somebody I haven't seen since I was at my lightest and didn't fall into my normal pitfalls... I wasn't worried about what she would be saying about me in her head... When I saw how fit and healthy she looked, I didn't get jealous, rather I was motivated to once again feel the strength and confidence she exuded... After she left, I didn't get all depressed about how much I'd let myself slide, but was extremely excited about how much I'd improved mentally. Hallelujah!

We've made a few changes at our house that I feel have helped me immensely, in addition to my mental shift:

• I created a full page of "distractions" and pinned it to my fridge, so when I am a bottomless pit and know that I am eating out of boredom, I can find something on the list to distract me. It has worked amazingly well. I'm getting projects done instead of eating, AND it's making me feel more productive, which in turn makes me feel better about myself, which helps tremendously with my emotional eating.
• I had a serious discussion with my husband about needing his help and support and he has agreed to eat healthy-er with me! This is a huge step, folks! We created a 4-week menu with 3 meals and 2 snacks and have been working hard to stick to it. It's not 100% healthy, but much healthier than we have been and I don't feel deprived.
• We painted our living room yellow. I know it sounds minimal, but it is amazing how much it has brightened up our house and our moods. Before, our walls were tan and our house was always dark (we don't have much natural light), but now it's like sunshine 24/7. It is so great! Bold, but that's the way I like it :).

I'm praying these changes stick with me through the holidays! I'm not going to beat myself up if I eat poorly, but I am going to do my best to remind myself how good I feel when I eat healthier.