Slow but steady week.

Not too much movement this week:

This weeks weigh in: -0.2 lbs.
Total weight loss: -20.3 lbs.

Still the right direction! And body fat percentage is down 6.5%... happy to still see that one going down, but that needs work.

One thing that was a little different this week is that I had my "splurge" day on a Friday. Lunch out with friends, dinner out with my husband. It was a little unusual for me to do my points splurge day before the weekend. It meant I had to be a bit more conservative on the weekend than I normally am. Obviously, I got it under control (or we'd see a + and not a - up there), but it was a different kind of work. I'm not sure I can do that very often and still maintain that focus through the weekend, when there is less structure to help me.

Another positive is that I made it to the gym 4 times last week. Adding in yoga and an abs work out the last 2 weeks helped. I think they're changing the schedule at the gym for April to make that yoga and abs section a hot yoga (and no abs section) class, so, not sure if I'll keep that in April, but we'll see.

This week, we have Friday off, so we'll head to NH on Thursday night. Another week to manage the unusual, but I'm really looking forward to the day off and potentially having some beautiful weather (the 10 day forecast shows Saturday as sunny and 70 degrees right now!) and maybe using that opportunity to get active outdoors.

Hope you all had a great weekend and have a good week!

Thanks for reading!

What makes me successful so far

I thought I'd take a minute to reflect on some of the things that have been key to my success so far, in no particular order.

• Weight Watchers. Anytime people ask what I'm doing for a diet and I tell them I'm on WW, they say "I have heard such good things about it... everyone I know who did it had success."
  

• Power Pilates Class in NH: This is on the list not only because it's a good class, but it because it got me committed to working out, even on the weekends where we were at our "vacation" spot, where working out might not be top of the list...

• Pilates Reformer Class with Maria: I list this one for 3 reasons. The first is because the workout itself is fantastic, and I can see great results from it. The second is because Maria is awesome -- she challenges us and she is great at commenting on our progress. The third is because I like the women in my class -- it's like I have a mini-peer group, and we are all increasing in our skills together

• This blog. Knowing people are looking for updates from me has not only kept me focused and kept me honest, but it's given me a fun and creative way to express all that I'm working through on this journey.

• Zumba Mix Class with Amy J: Anyone who ever had an interest in taking Zumba should be so lucky to take her class. The workout is great, with a really good cardio session, but her creativity (she introduces a whole new dance every week!) and her energy and enthusiasm is absolutely contagious. She's really supportive, and I think this class has done a ton for my self-esteem at being able to be in group classes, too.

• Van Heusen outlet in NH near our place: A funny answer, I know, but the fact that I've been shrinking in pants sizes means that I'm going through my wardrobe pretty quickly. Being able to find appropriate dress pants that fit me, that aren't too expensive, and that I can buy conveniently has helped me look good at every step of this so far. No matter what size you are, having clothes that fit help you look your best.
  

• My gym isn't full of meatheads: It's a nice gym, and the people are respectful to each other, and you don't feel like you're walking around in a total pick up joint. It helps make the experience one I don't dread...

• FiberOne products. Yes, they're engineered food. But they've really helped me find easy to eat and good for me (in most ways) products that fill important gaps in my diet. And they're yummy and guilt-free.
  

• The support from my friends, both in real life and in virtual worlds: I can not tell you how much having positive reinforcement and feedback from people helps. The support I've gotten from people who make comments on this or on boards, especially when I've posted something about a struggle, have gotten me through lots of tough days and weeks. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  

• My husband, who continues to tell me how great I look, deals with my eating habits, and even goes to some classes with me once in a while, even if he doesn't feel so comfortable. He's done a tremendous job of being supportive in all the right ways.

I hope you can all find your list of things that make you successful in meeting your own challenges... it's important to remind ourselves of what works!

Thanks for reading!

Into the dark and scary closet.

I was able to make it "official" this week:

This week's weigh in: -1.0 lb.
Total weigh in: -20.1 lbs.

Sheeuw! Made it!

As part of claiming my success, I took on my closet. I don't have a large closet, but it does have 2 rods, and so I keep lots of things out of sight on the back rod, and it's a bit of an abyss in there. Lots of things deposited back there for "not now, but maybe some day" status, and never seen again.

I took eeeeeeverything out of my closet, dumped it on the bed, and tried it all on. Even stuff I was sure would work.

Some things (especially some dresses I'd held on to, with hope, for years), look fantastic now.

However, many things... 3 shopping bags full... are going to be donated. A dozen pants. A dozen skirts. Many blouses. Even a few suits. (WILL DONATE, UNLESS ANYONE KNOWS ANYONE IN THE BOSTON AREA WHO WEARS A 14P or 12P?)

NOT A SINGLE THING in my closet was too small for me. I can't tell you how many years it has been since I've been able to say that.

It's great to be able to revisit my wardrobe and reclaim some things, and get the distracting things out of my way. I don't have to worry now, when I go to put something on, if it will fit or not. And I don't have to get upset that I've got these things that obviously don't work for me (in one direction or the other) still cluttering up my closet, and my life.

It was a nice "beginning of spring" activity, and a nice celebratory one, too.

Thanks for reading!

How to make sure that I don't just settle at 20....

First of all, thank you all again SO MUCH for all the great support and feedback about my pictures and the progress that they really show! I am proud of myself for posting them, and feel so fortunate to have such a great support network out there! Thanks to all who commented and sent me notes in other forums... it means so much!

But, 20lbs isn't the end goal, and I have more to do... With my recent focus on getting to 20lbs and trying to make sure i keep moving forward, I have been revisiting my points watching on Weight Watchers.

The past several months, I really haven't been counting points religiously. My eating had changed enough that I was feeling okay about being in the right ball park, plus between activity points and flex points for the week, i certainly wasn't going over. But I know that there are days I don't eat enough points (not a good thing) and then days where I blow by the points. I decided to commit the next 3 weeks to getting back to tracking all my points again.

The other reason? Well, the downside of losing 20lbs means that my points got recalculated, and now, I get 18 points a day. When I started WW, I got 20 points a day. It may not seem like much, but it's worth my time to focus on it and see just how much of an impact it makes.

It's a good reminder to me to make sure I'm really watching what I'm eating, both to make sure I get enough on the days I tend to eat less, and making sure that I'm not splurging TOO much on my splurge days.

On the other hand, I've been very good at getting to the gym the last few weeks, too. I've consistently been able to make it 3 times a week the last many weeks, and I'm hopeful that, now that Spring is here, it will be easier for me to supplement that with some outside time. I think between the focus on the activity and the renewed focus on what I'm eating, I'll have enough momentum to make sure I don't just settle in at 20 lbs lost. I still have much more I want to accomplish.

It's not just about getting to bathing suit body. It's different than that. I want better cardiovascular health. I want better muscle strength so that I can do things that I enjoy at higher levels and for longer periods of time. Losing weight and gaining muscle both help me with that a lot, but there is more to do, and I'm excited about keeping it up and going forward.

Hope you're enjoying the beautiful first weekend of Spring out there!

Thanks for reading!

Well, I found the courage I didn't think I had.

Okay. Here goes. I'm puttin' it all out there.

My "Before" and my "So Far" pictures... not quite "Afters", yet... (Start in purple, today in Peach/Orange, if you couldn't tell!)

Half way there...

First of all, as expected, though I got to 20lbs lost on Friday (normally my lowest day of the week), I'm back up a little today.

This week's weigh in: -1.0 lb.
Total weight loss: -19.1 lbs.

I am okay with this, and know I'll be back below 20 soon enough, and for a more permanent status.

I took measurements tonight, and I had some progress on that point, too. Each of the bust, waist and hips were down a little, for a total this 10 weeks of -3.5 inches. That brings my grand total of inches down to -13 inches since the beginning. That's about 11% of my inches, which seems like a good amount. I still have more work to do there, but I feel good that it's still going in a good direction.

So, I'm half way through this thing. It's a great time to reflect on all I've done. I'm pleased with all I've done, and know that I could work much harder (and will need to) in order to stay focused toward my ultimate goal. But I know it's a lot easier to lose the last 10 than it is to lose 30, so I've got that going for me.

I feel good, I look good, and, to be honest, I can't believe how doable this all was. If you're looking for an excuse to try to meet your own challenge, believe me. Set a reasonable goal, do a fair amount of work that feels balanced, and find your own self-discipline, and you can do it, too.

Thanks for reading!

Ugh. So easy to make a bad choice.

I met an old friend today for lunch. We met at a convenient place, and the options were Cosi and Qdoba. (Apparently Upper Crust pizza was also an option, but I didn't see it until after Qdoba.)

Pressure to order quickly, I tried to decide what to get. I decided I'd do something with meat, and that would be my protein for the day. I decided that a grilled quesadilla sounded like I could do it in a simple way. I could get cheese but half of what they'd normally use. I wouldn't get anything extra, other than salsa. And I wouldn't eat the whole thing. And I did all that.

Then I came back and looked up the nutritional info on what I ate. Are you kidding me?????

Now, I didn't eat the whole thing, so I can cut some of the details out of it, but suffice it to say I probably ate more saturated fat in one day than I normally do in a few weeks combined. In terms of points, I didn't go over for my day, but I also didn't have much of a dinner... Really, the fat was out of control, though. I can't imagine what other people eat in a lunch at Qdoba on a given day.

I'm glad I didn't indulge and eat the whole thing, and it's a great reminder that, when I leave myself open to meals without planning and forethought, I can get in trouble.

Good thing I went to Zumba tonight! I'll recover from this, and it won't get in my way, but it's a reminder that it's easy to lose sight of the hard work if you're not careful.

Thanks for reading!

It's not official, but still worth noting...

I weighed myself this morning and there it was. Twenty Pounds.

My Half-Way mark on my 60 weeks is this coming Monday, and I met my goal of "get to 20 pounds lost by week 30".

It's not my official weigh in day (Mondays) and who knows where I'll be at by then; could be up, for sure. But, I'm putting this one in the "Win" column in terms of my goal.

I've been getting a lot of compliments about how I look, and someone yesterday said to me:

"You look great. Do you feel great?"

And I just beamed and said that I did.

Honestly, even though I have been lighter in my life, I think in terms of my over all style and appearance, I think I probably look the best I ever have. I'm feeling very comfortable in my skin these days, and that's a great place to be!

Thanks for reading!

The best way to 2 good weeks is to make sure you start with 1.

I have to tell you, I was a bit surprised this morning. I was all prepared to just tank this week 30 goal of 20 lbs, thinking that I didn't eat healthy enough this weekend (not too bad, really, but not enough protein and more on the carbs side, I believe), to make much of a difference. But I had a good weigh in this week, and it keeps me motivated to work hard this last week and MAYBE get to that goal... Not a given, and will take a really dedicated week, but, just maybe....

Anyway, on to this week's numbers:

This week's weigh in: -1.6 lbs.
Total weight loss: -18.1 lbs.

In bigger news, as far as statistics go, I hit a big milestone in the "BMI" world. I officially have squeaked into the range of "normal". Now, not everyone thinks that BMI is an accurate measure of weight, let alone anything else, and it really doesn't take into account frame and other things. But it's certainly something to measure against, and I like that sort of thing. So, I could set a goal, and I could achieve the goal, and I did.

So, I do hope to make it to the gym 4 times this week, and I hope to keep my eating squeaky clean in order to do whatever I can to get to this goal. But I do know that there's no real failure in not getting 2 lbs this week, considering the success I've had so far.

Stay tuned to see how I do during this week, and what next week has in store: Week 30, including measurements, and the official half way point on my journey!

Thanks for reading!

Sweating again is good!

Thursday night, I made it back to Zumba since before I got sick. It was a great work out, and I got right back into it. A few dances I was a *little* rusty on, but for the most part, I was back into, right in the front row. Amy (instructor) was happy to see me back after a few weeks, and was really supportive afterwards. And, catching glimpses of myself in the mirror isn't as scary as it used to be -- I look like I know what I'm doing, and I look good doing it! :-)

Tomorrow morning, I look forward to going back to the power pilates class up in NH... that one, I haven't been to in a while! I expect it will kick my butt, but in a good way. It will also help me stay focused during my "downslide" weekends that I seem to have.

I'm starting to get a lot more comments at work about how good I look. Some people see me every single day and don't necessarily see the big change, but the ones I don't see as often are noticing and saying something. I can't tell you how much reinforcement and encouragement that gives me! It really helps to keep me motivated for the next several months ahead.

I hope those of you trying to work on your goals are finding the same kind of encouragement in your own world!

Thanks for reading!

Is it better to know or not to know? That is the question.

Yesterday was a busy day, and didn't get a chance to post this. Thanks for checking back!

I'm feeling okay about this week's weigh in, and upon reflection, I'm also glad that, even though there isn't TOO much movement, I'm past that plateau I was at throughout January and moved down about 2 lbs from there. So, while it may be slower for me to get through every next pound at this point (I've lost more than 10% of my body weight after all - that next set of pounds only gets harder!) I'm still relieved to be making progress, even if small, to continue to break through next levels.

This week's weigh in: -0.4 lbs
Total weigh in: -16.5 lbs

Not bad, really... though I wish I were closer to my week 30 goal (2 weeks from now... lose 3.5 more pounds).

I weigh myself every morning. (Once a day, that's it). What I've learned through that is that I really am my lowest weight on Friday mornings, after a good focused week post weigh-in, and then I shoot up a bit over the weekend. Weighing myself on a Friday gives me great confidence, but destroying it (even if by a pound) over the weekend makes me feel like I squandered an opportunity. So, should I keep weighing myself on Friday or not?

On Friday, I was a little more than a pound lower than I am today. It also meant I was about 2 pounds away from my next goal -- felt like I should be able to capitalize on it and get some momentum. But my weekend away visiting family (good food, noshing snacks for dinner both nights, not working out) all contributed to slipping on that pound. I didn't go crazy, and gaining a pound is CLEARLY not a big deal... it just feels a little bit like a wasted opportunity.

But I'm wondering, what if I DIDN'T know I was down that far on Friday? How would my weekend be different? Would I have made different choices? Did it give me a false sense of security, or one I thought had more leverage in it than it did? I'm not suggesting I stop weighing myself each day (and, other than getting rid of the scale, I can't imagine I have that kind of discipline at this point), but it's something to think about... does knowing help, or does knowing hurt? Any thoughts?

So, anyway, back at that goal this week, and I'm starting to put into perspective that I either have to seriously buckle down this week and next to make my goal in 2 weeks (3.5 more pounds could be doable) or agree to being okay if it takes 3 weeks (or longer), given my overall timeline and progress. I'm not yet anxious to let myself off the hook so easily, so, this week will still be a "let's see if we can pull this off" week. :-)

Thanks for reading!