Motivation comes from the strangest places sometimes...

Hello all! I hope you are having a spectacular Tuesday. I have had a productive morning and I'm now on my lunch hour. I figured it never takes me a full hour to eat so I might as well devoted half of my time to blogging.

I had a rather enjoyable long weekend. I got to spend some long overdue time with friends, the weather was spectacular, I made serious headway on some projects I have going, I watched a few episodes of Six Feet Under (I'm officially hooked), and I got to sleep in for 3 mornings in a row! I don't know if it's the cooler weather or if my brain is starting to like me again but I slept really well (for me at least) this weekend which is something I haven't been able to say in a while. I felt really good getting out of bed this morning and was really happy about that. I think sleeping better is going to help me in my attempt at early morning work outs.

Speaking of working out, I have been having this recurring dream and I want to share it. My title speaks of motivation stemming from strange places well, dream world is where my newest motivation is coming from. As you know, my sister is getting married next fall. I would really like to lose some weight before that time so I'm more comfortable in my bridesmaids dress. Anyway, I've been having this dream about Karla's wedding lately where I go in for my dress fitting and the lady tells me I can't order a dress because the style Karla picked only goes up to a size 50...50!?!? And then I look down at myself and I weigh like 893 pounds. So I tell the woman to order a 50 for me and that I know I can get down to that size by the wedding. So the wedding day comes and I am in a dress, I have no idea what size it is, but as I get ready to walk down the aisle I am standing next to the best man who is this tiny little guy...seriously it looks like I'm a horribly obese Dorothy in Munchkin land. Anyway, this itty bitty guy grabs my arm and we go to walk down and everybody is pointing and laughing, I don't know if it's at me or this tiny, tiny man next to me but they are pointing and laughing just the same. Of course, this is when I wake up all panicky and think to myself 'oh hell no!'

Now, while I realize that I am more than capable of fitting into a dress much smaller than a 50 it is a good motivation to make sure I lose weight before Karla and Justin's wedding. I want to look and feel beautiful when I'm walking down the aisle. I don't envision myself being all tiny and svelte, I know that is not realistic, but I want to be able to look back at pictures of me on that day and think that I look good. I've already started making progress towards this goal. I met my five pound goal for the month of August and now I'm working towards the same goal for September. I probably could have lost a little more in August considering the last 10 days of the month I didn't really work out as planned and my eating was questionable at best, not so much in quantity but it's more a reflection of quality. I told you last month that I want to have a monthly goal. For September, I want to keep working at getting my morning work outs accomplished plus I need to address some of my issues with eating. Because of some unexpected expenses and dealing with some student loan things I am on a very tight budget for a while. I'll be fine, it just means that unnecessary expenses have to go. One area that I can really cut back on is food expenses. I need to stick to my shopping budget and I simply cannot afford to eat out. It's amazing how easy it is to not eat out when you literally cannot afford it. While I wish I would have a little extra money it's actually a good thing that I can't eat out. I really think that this time will help me to form better habits of eating. Not to mention, it's always a good thing to make improvements in ones spending habits.

At the risk of sounding random I have to mention that I LOVE the new yogurt that I've been eating. Have you tried Greek yogurt? A while ago, on the recommendation of a co-worker I tried Oikos organic Greek yogurt with honey. I bought a 4 pack, tried one and hated it. I brought the rest to work and let other people take it because there was no way I was going to eat it. Recently, everybody I work with has been eating Greek yogurt. I told them that I tried the stuff Steph recommended and they told me to try the Dannon brand instead. I did, and it is wonderful. There are many pros to eating Greek yogurt over standard. First, it's naturally fat free and unlike the standard fat free yogurts which are usually sweetened with artificial sweeteners, this is sweetened with sugar, which I prefer. I've been trying to cut back on fake sugar as there is real evidence suggesting that higher intake of artificial sweeteners leads to higher sugar consumption in general. There is also less sodium in Greek yogurt. I think the best weight loss benefit is that there is over twice as much protein in Greek yogurt when compared to the regular varieties. It is well established that protein breaks down and is metabolized slower than carbohydrates. The intake of protein helps us to feel satisfied for longer after consumption. This will ultimately help to reduce between meal munchies which will keep caloric intake in check throughout the day. There are usually a few brands to choose from in the store. I tend to buy the Dannon Plain Greek Yogurt with Honey on the Bottom. I really like honey and I think it goes well with the tart yogurt. There are some fruit on the bottom flavors as well. Julie likes the Oikos Caramel on the bottom variety. Anyway, if you get a chance you should try it. I would definitely recommend that you just buy one of the single serving cups and try it before you buy more. It's definitely a different flavor and you may or may not like it. I just thought I'd share with you.

OK, I think that's good for now. Have a great week and enjoy the beautiful fall-like weather!