Okay, let's try this again...
So it pretty much took me about 4 months to get to my goal. I slowly lost weight starting from June-September and got down to 161 because I made some small, healthy changes in my diet. I when I started running in September I dropped down to 152 in about a month and a half. I used to eat pretty unhealthily being so busy in college. I ate fast food maybe every other day as well as college campus food. Now I eat Kashi high protein high fiber cereal in the morning with a sprinkle of dried cranberries to add a bit of sweetness. For lunch I make myself a yummy salad which consists of romaine lettuce, carrots, feta, apples, dried cranberries, and almonds with a bit of light balsamic vinaigrette. I try to go light on the feta, cranberries and almonds as they can add a lot of calories. I'll also eat a turkey hot dog or add some grilled chicken to my salad for some protein. For dinner I make something from a Jenny Craig cook book. My mom works for Jenny Craig, so she sent them to me. I'm not on the Jenny Craig program, but I understand how the diet works and I really like their recipes. Some nights when money is tight, though, I'll have my salad with a grilled cheese made on wheat bread and lowfat cheese. For snacking I'll grab some fruit or a cliff bar (I work at a wilderness outfitting store so we have a bunch of those and they are sooo good!) Also sometimes I'll have a couple of those Carr table crackers with some brie (oooh how I love brie!) I also drink a TON of water. I carry around a bottle with me at work and try to drink it at every meal. Sometimes I'll want something a little sweeter, so I will mix some guava juice with some sparkling water. It tastes like a fruit spritzer (and it's cheap!)
For exercise I run 2-3 miles a day (like I said, when I started this I dropped 10bls pretty quick). I need to start weight training because that will help with toning. Other than that, that's pretty much it! I don't try to count calories because I get discouraged whenever I don't meet some goal I set for myself that day. Discouragement is your worst enemy when it comes to weight loss, or at least for me it is. I've had to learn to accept the fact that my body won't do everything that I want it to. I need to forgive myself if I end up gaining a pound back because I had a bad day where I went and ate fast food or something. I mean, I definitely get cravings for that stuff still, not as often as I did, but I still do and it's totally okay to indulge once in a while. I just can't make a habit of it. And, you know, I'll add another mile on to my days exercise on those days. Getting into a positive mindset is really the big thing that helped me lose the weight. The diet and exercise stuff comes easy if you don't get discouraged and just try to stay motivated. Because if you keep it up you will lose the weight! I still have a long way to go, but I hope I've been able to help you guys a little bit! Thanks for all the comments and encouragement!
I hope you all had a great holiday and a fun New Years!