April Challenge + 50 Reasons

This morning I woke up before Piper woke up. This has only happened a handful of times in the past 14 months. I like to get all the sleep I can get, however, some mornings it is nice to have some quiet time to sit and reflect and of course, write.

Today is the first day of April. It's a new month and so comes a new challenge. But first, I want to share with you a list that I made this morning. I took some time to sit {drink some coffee} and reflect on 50 reasons why I want to lose 50 pounds this year. Below is the list I came up with, in no particular order.

1. I want to live a long and healthy life for myself and my loved ones
2. I want to be there for Nick and Piper
3. I want to feel better in my pre-pregnancy clothes again
4. I want to look better in my pre-pregnancy clothes again
5. I want to be able to sit on the floor without much trouble getting up
6. I want to have less pain in my knees
7. I want to be able to keep up with Piper in future years
8. I want to sit with Piper on rides at amusement parks
9. I want to feel better in my own skin
10. I want to add years to my life, instead of take them away
11. I want to stop having to suck it in to buckle seat belts on airplanes
12. I want to not have to worry if a seat belt will fit
13. I want to not have to wonder if I will fit into certain chairs
14. I want to not have to worry about fitting in tighter spaces
15. I want my weight to not be a burden to anyone else
16. I want to feel more comfortable physically
17. I want to move more freely and easily
18. I want to be able to shop from a bigger selection of workout clothes
19. I want to be able to shop from a bigger selection of clothes in general
20. I want to get out of the plus section in stores
21. I want to be able to shop at more stores for my clothes
22. I want to not have to worry if stores will have my size
23. I want to have less pain walking down stairs
24. I want to have less trouble picking up my knees in jazzercise class
25. I want to be able to move more easily in jazzercise class
26. I want to be able to better keep up with the moves in jazzercise class
27. I want to have more room between me and the driving wheel in cars
28. I want to feel more comfortable in small chairs
29. I want to be faster
30. I want to be able to have more range of motion
31. I want to run again
32. I want to be free to do more exercises without pain
33. I want to have less fat putting pressure on my bones
34. I want to have less fat putting pressure on my organs
35. I want to not be so winded going up and down stairs
36. I want to have less pain in my feet
37. I want to have less pain in my back
38. I want to not feel the weight of my stomach on my lap
39. I want to not have to miss out on anything because of my weight
40. I want to be able to bend over with less trouble
41. I want my body to feel better when I get out of bed in the morning
42. I want Piper to be able to sit on more of my lap
43. I want to be able to play with Piper more easily
44. I want to stop running into things with my stomach
45. I want my stomach to be smaller for when I have to reach for something
46. I want to go down in dress size
47. I want to go down in bra size
48. I want to look more healthy
49. I want to be more healthy
50. I want to be more free

Making a list of why I want to lose the weight and what a difference that will do for my life really helps spark any dwindled motivation I may have had. In doing this, it made me sit down and take some time to really envision myself 50 pounds lighter, and realize what changes that would mean for me and my life. It made me want to make the change, even more.

Now that I know why I want to lose the weight, I'm going to make a list of 5 things I'm going to do this month to help make it happen.

April Goals:

1. Drink 100 oz of water per day
2. Treadmill or outdoor walking 2x per week
3. Jazzercise 1 - 3 times per week
4. Track calories via food journal on Instagram (IG: foodofgoaloflosing)
5. Weekly weigh-ins

I am starting out April at 247 lbs. My goal is to be down to 240 lbs. by the end of the month.

April challenge starts NOW.