Slow and Steady

Progression shots, People!

I failed to document the true "before" mostly because I just wasn't up to having to look at it.

But 3 weeks in I had the courage.

BEFORE (ish):



NOW (one month later):


I know the lighting is different... sorry.

Amazingly to me, that is only a 4 pound difference. I don't know how easily it shows in the pics but I've lost a significant amount of fat off of my torso (thank god!).  I really show every little bit of weight on my frame with my build and apple weight distribution.   I think I definitely look like I've lost weight, now.  I'm down 7 lbs since I started the beginning of January.  I had hoped I'd be able to average 1.5 lb/week but I'll take the slow and steady progress and just keep going.  It hasn't been that hard even considering the last few weeks of stress and schedule disruption with Mr F being out of town and the girls having different school breaks.  I'm averaging 25 miles a week on the treadmill and sticking close to 1300 cal/day.  It's working and I'm trying to just focus on the fact that I'm ready to commit to this and not keep beating myself up for letting it all slide to begin with.  That's probably my biggest hurdle.  But, you know, life happens.

Money Talk Tuesday

You know what time it is!

First, you can review the final poll results to your left. What I find most interesting is that not ONE single person (who stated their partner was responsible for their finances) thought that their partner was maybe a little shady with their finances... yet several people profess to being shady themselves. Just something that made me go "Hmm". (Oh and a shout out to the one brave & honest soul who marked themselves as "clueless"!)


Second.... the meat and potatoes of this week's financial post...

Why are so many smart, educated, people living their lives completely uninformed about their personal finances?
I'm one of you and I'm the first to admit it. Why does it seem complicated? Why so daunting? It isn't really... is it? The truth. The absolute real truth is that it's not. It is no more complicated than any other cause and effect type relationship. And it isn't any different (on many fronts) as, say, a diet and exercise plan.

And yet both of these things... things that require discipline and follow through... are easy to write off as complicated. Why?... because we want them to be. Because if they are then we can't be expected to do them.

Well I'm doing it. I'm really doing it. I don't know what I'm doing but I'm learning. It is time. We are all, clearly, smart enough to figure this out. This is not our accountant's job, or our financial advisor's job, or our partner's job. This is really life. This is our job. I'm doing it.

And I expect you to do it.