Beautiful Behaviors - End of year 2016

My name is Molly, I live in Phoenix, AZ. I'm a SAHM to a 5 year old and an 18 month old, both boys. I'm just starting a prep for my second bikini competition in April. Beautiful habits I'd like to lock down this year are:

drinking my water, at least .75 gallon a day to start,

keeping up on my twice-a-day stretches to improve my flexibility,

rein in on my propensity to overeat (and I mean REALLY overeat!) when we go out to eat, or on cheat days

and prep all my meals for the coming week every weekend to help keep me on track.

And this one isn't fitness related, but also to do my Duolingo lessons every day, and become at least 90% fluent in Spanish. (50% as of right now)

Beautiful behaviors--excellent idea! Jess, this is absolutely what I needed for 2017. I have been on MFP since May of 2012. I lost 40 pounds after I started here but over the years have lacked the motivation to keep it up. One of my MFP friends passed away due to health issues linked to her weight and from then I've been on a downward spiral. My latest logging streak-1001 days-is about the only consistent thing I have been holding on to right now. Today is day one again. I am going to hold myself accountable and log all of my meals, drink my 100 oz of water every day, and stick with my diet and fitness plan.
I am a happily married (20 yrs) mother of two: 17 and 19 yrs old. I work full time and am in my last quarter at Savannah College of Art and Design for my bachelors degree. This year I will finally get that piece of paper! My son also graduates valedictorian of his class this year. So many things to look forward to and so many changes on the horizon.

@woznube7 - great resolutions! Not only do not let people get under your skin - don't even allow negative people in our inner circle. I have been doign this for 12 years!

Welcome Molly - what a competition! You are a brave woman and you have my admiration, girl!

Anna - congrats on the 40 lbs lost - that is a lot of hard work! So sorry to hear of your loss. I just finished my doctorate degree a little over a year ago - understand how much time and effort it takes. Congratulations on starting your last semester - it will fly by!!

Jess - Woot Woot!

I splurged last evening for my birthday. A friend and I went to watch My Fair Lady in an historic theater and then we went to Harry's. I had crab cakes, red beans and rice, 7 fried pickles, and half of a key lime pie and still stayed under my calorie allotment for the day. My nutrients were definitely off - like salt, total carbs, total fat. I enjoyed the meal, the movie and the company! And I did log every bit.

Have a great day everyone!

Paige

Hey everyone This is a lovely thread.

My name is Ell, and I am beginning again. This is my third time trying MFP, and I'm hoping that this time will be the last. The difference between this time and the others is that I am trying to address the reasons why I have put on weight. I love food, but am an emotional eater with very poor confidence, so this is going to be an all-round attempt, where I try to sort out these issues also.

Like you said in the opening post, it is not just about the physical weight and we are not just about our physical weights either. So this year, I want to work on my confidence and sense of style. But I also want to have fun! Too often, my self consciousness about the extra weight has held me back and I haven't done things that I know I would enjoy. So I would like to return to things that I love this year, and put a bit of balance back into my life again. Swimming lessons are top of that list.

Thanks for the thread, it's very thought provoking!

@jessiquoi Thank you!! I'm "supposed" to be working right now, but I'll make sure to come back later and introduce myself properly

I hope you're all having a lovely day!

Hi all! I've been reading through this thread and have loved all of your stories!

My name is Michelle, I'm 30, English but I currently live in Italy. I live with my wonderful partner, my beautiful furry-faced companion, Lili, who is a Czsechoslovakian Wolfdog (and is currently boring a hole into the back of my head waiting to go out for our daily run!) and a second, smaller furface (Dave) who is probably asleep somewhere being a cat

I have been on MFP since 2012, I initially lost about 40Ibs and had around 10-15 to go when everything changed! There was a death in the family, that looking back on it, changed everything. I realised how unhappy I was in my life and went about changing it for the better. This involved getting a divorce, moving to a new country, quitting my job, starting my own business and getting a dog.

In all of that, I got injured (being stupid) during a pole session and had to take 8 months off. I lost motivation (since I live for pole and weight lifting!) and gained all of the weight back (plus some). The food in Italy didn't help that (yum!)

I was cleared to do the things I love again in May 2016, but I've been a bit slow getting on board and sorting myself out.

This week I want to work on building a relationship with food that isn't based on boredom, or habit. I am going to make nutritional choices that benefit me, my goals and my body.

I also want to work on looking in the mirror and not flinching at how "fat" I've got and stretching daily to rehabilitate a rather angry hip muscle!

Here's to a happy, healthy 2017!