I taught Lily to ride a bike

This year for Christmas we bought Lily a bike.  We were very excited to get it for her as we knew she would love it and she if finally old enough to enjoy and learn how to ride a bike.  Lily loved her bike, and it was the first thing she said when she came downstairs Christmas morning "ooooo It's a Bike!"  I knew I would have to take her out soon.  We didn't go out Christmas day since we packed up pretty soon after we finished opening presents and went to my in-laws house.  So the day after Christmas I took Lily outside to begin teaching her how to ride a bike while Chloe was taking a nap.

It was tough going at first.  Lily had never been on a bike before and of course had absolutely no idea what to do, so I was holding onto her feet and moving them to show her how to push the pedals.  For the first little while I was actually crawling on my knees moving her feet in a circular motion so she could feel how to pedal her bike.  After a little while, I got up and was hunched over holding her legs and pushing her legs down to move the bike forward.  We were outside for probably 45 minutes that morning and she was starting to get the hang of it.

The next day we went out in the morning during Chloe's nap again and Lily really improved.  We were outside for an hour and I was pushing her, and helping her pedal and running along side her once she got the hang of it!

The thought occurred to me then that I would not have been able to teach my daughter how to ride a bike if I had not lost the weight and made the progress that I have made this past year.  It took a lot of energy and effort to teach Lily how to ride that bike, and it was something I did entirely by myself.  I felt a great surge of accomplishment.  I was proud of Lily for learning so quickly how to ride, by the end of our third session later that same day she was able to pedal and steer her bike.  (she still needs a push to get started and doesn't quite understand how to break).  I was also proud of myself for seeing a need in myself to make a change, and then doing it.  What's more is that I have stuck with it for longer than any other time in my life and I don't ever want to go back to the way I was.
Here is Lily riding her bike, and she got it down the second time we went out!

With that being said, I gained 2 pounds this week, weighing in at 154.5.  Not surprising considering that Christmas was this week and there have been a surplus of food and sweets around.  But now I am ready to kick it to the curb and get back in gear.  I recently bought some new clothes and I was given some super awesome Victoria Secret Pajamas (nice cotton pajamas, not lingerie or anything skimpy, just regular pajamas) from my sister for Christmas.  To motivate myself to get back on track and not fall into the temptation of spiraling down and down and out of control I have decided that I am not allowed to wear any of my super awesome new clothing until I reach 150 (that is only 2 pounds less than my lowest weigh in so it shouldn't take too long if I get back on track right away).

That is super motivating to me!  I love my new clothes and I like the way I look in them.  I want to wear them!!  So that is where we are at.  I am going to start the new year off right.