Realizations

Okay… it's official. My stomach must have shrunk and my body is now accustomed to less food. A few days ago, I finally joined My Fitness Pal for help in counting/tracking calories. Based on my current weight and my own math based on internet searches, my estimation of how many calories I should be eating to lose 2 pounds a week is right on with what My Fitness Pal suggests. They suggest 2050 calories a day. So, I've been tracking calories. On Sunday, I was below 1200 calories and it warned me I was not eating enough calories and I might be putting my body into starvation mode. Monday, I realized I was on the same track. So, I ate out of sheer principle. I was soooo full! My daily intake was still about 1325. But I was full! It took about 6-7 hours before I felt hungry enough to eat something again. Granted I kept drinking water… but still. I had kinda chalked it up to the weekend… my typical schedule for meals is all thrown off on my weekends. But, today I was eating dinner and calculating calories in my head and I realized that I was still gonna be low on calories (and I don't mean lower than 2050, but like below 1200), so I added a small bowl of cottage cheese and fruit to my meal. My total  intake for the day was 1416 (again about 600 calories lower than my 2 pound a week limit). And again… I'm FULL! Like almost uncomfortably full. I'm really glad to see my body becoming accustomed to less food (to the point that it feels comfortable to eat less… it doesn't feel restrictive anymore). But I must say I'm a little concerned as well. It seems as if there is something wrong with the fact that I have to force myself to eat more than I'm comfortable eating just so I don't put my body into starvation mode. 

I keep wondering if I'm not logging accurately and unknowingly eating more than I realize. But if I am, it is completely escaping my attention. I try to be very conscious of what I'm putting into my mouth and pay close attention to portion sizes. So, I'm not sure what's going on with that. 

Anyway… So in addition to realizing that my stomach is shrinking… I realized something else. This one is even more interesting. I was talking to my sister this morning and she mentioned she was trying to get back on track with diet and losing weight. Which that wasn't interesting in and of itself… every so often she will do that. What was interesting is that she mentioned that I was her motivation. With 14 pounds down… its not enough to really notice a difference in how I look. Especially for someone like my sister who sees me everyday. But she has watched me for 5 weeks stick to a healthy diet and workout faithfully. And I think she figures that if I can do it… she can do it. 

Which, honestly, I'm not sure my family really believes I'll stick with it. My sisters love me. I am the youngest… so I'm their baby sister. They love me. They have watched me grow up. They know what I'm capable of. But they know me and my weaknesses as well. And I would bet good money that none of them really think that I will do this. They believe that I CAN… I doubt that they believe that I WILL. And I would bet really good money that this particular sister is beyond stunned that I've kept it going this long. So, I think she figures that "if Shanon (of all people!) can do this… I can!" Which is very interesting to me. Who would have thought that I would end up being a motivation to my family? I guess I really can do hard things!