Week 60. The last one...

Happy Birthday to Me! I turned 40 yesterday, and so it's time for the big report out!

Let's start with the numbers, all in:

Total Weight loss: -25.1 lbs. (15.7%)
Total Body Fat loss: -7.5 pts (17.7%)
Total BMI reduced: -4.5 (16%)
Total Bust inches lost: -6" (15%)
Total Waist inches lost: -8" (22%)
Total Hips lost: -7" (16%)
Total Dress Size: -6 (or -3, if you only count even sizes)


Pretty consistently, across every measures, I'm down around 16%.


First of all, even though I didn't make it to 30 pounds, I'm really excited and proud of myself that I made it to 25. And, I am sure that I'll zag up before zigging back down again, and that's just going to be my cycle. What I've learned is that my weight isn't always going to go down, but it's also not always going to g back up again. I've learned a lot about how i can influence my weight, and that it's just always going to be a thing for me. I will never be a "skinny" girl, but I also don't have tot be a girls who always thinks she's fat, and can't enjoy a doughnut. I'm somewhere in between, and I'm okay with that.

Second of all, I have so many people to thank:

• My husband, for finding lots of ways to be supportive during all of this, and understanding that what motivates HIM isn't necessarily what motivates ME
  
• My closest friends, like Liz, who always go out of their way to make healthy and diet friendly meals whenever we're together and keep me on track
  
• My great friends all over the country who not only read my blog, but take the time to post encouraging notes for me, both when I've had successes but also failures. These in-real-life friends and internet friends were a huge part of my support system, and I thank all of you!
  
• The girls in the pilates classes who saw me transform throughout the year and always made comments about how great I looked!
  
• The great professionals who helped me at the gym, either directly through instruction or through their general encouragement every time they saw me: Laura, Michelle, Andrea, Amy J, Ryan, and most of all, Maria.
  
• The people whose journeys inspired me and made me believe I could do this, like the Joneses and my friend, Tracy and my cousin, Russ, and old friend from college, Lisa Spodak, who shared her journey with the whole world
  
• The people who have taken the time to tell me that *I* inspire *them*, which only reminds me that, I'm not just doing this for myself sometimes; other people can find their own inspiration and journey by reading about mine

I look back at the last 14 months and feel like it's whipped by. It wasn't that it was easy; it wasn't always. But it was EASY to make it important, and EASY to make sure that, every day, I could do SOMETHING good for my health. Even if I didn't get to the gym or make the best choice with my food that day, I could always find a way to make it count.

I know that blogging is a weird thing. It's narcissistic and selfish. I'm not sure why anyone would think that anyone else out there cares about what they fill blogs with each day. But this was a way for me to stay honest, to share what I was feeling with friends, and to get support along the way. I don't regret it, and I think it really helped. I won't be continuing with the blog anymore... I think it served is purpose, to get me to my 40th birthday on this path. I thank each and every one of you for reading, whether it was every week, or once in a while, or maybe this is the first time you're reading it.

Last word: If you're thinking about making a change, do it. If you're thinking you can't, you're wrong. You just have to figure out what's not working, what COULD work, and be open to tweaking it along the way. Bad days happen. Good days return. And if you've got the right support, like I did and do, anything can change for you. Good luck!

I'll close with some of my "Biggest Loser" type pictures... thought those would be more fun than my side by sides (which, if you want to find my last set, from 10 weeks ago, can be found here.)

Quick PSA

Due to a death in the family, I may not get a chance to post pictures and final post until Saturday.

Thanks...

Why Thirty Pounds?

So. as this sixty weeks comes to a close, and I am hoping to achieve my modified goal of 25 pounds, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about the 30 pound goal.

First, I'll tell you where it came from. When I started this, and I needed a goal to shoot for, I thought back to when I thought I looked my best. (not my HEALTHIEST, just LOOKED the best.) I thought back to grad school, and how I looked, 30 pounds lighter than I was when I started this thing. When I was in grad school, probably in 1993, I REMEMBER being my smallest, and liking how I looked. Now, I can't imagine I was healthy. With no money for food, my boyfriend and I ate lipton noodle mixes with a can of tuna mixed into it most nights for dinner, except on Thursdays, where $8 would get us a pitcher and all the wings we could handle at 10 cent wing nights at Sutters. I was under a lot of stress, as grad school can do, as all of my friends were getting jobs and I wasn't. I *was* in a city with big hills, so I probably did a lot of exercise, but that's kind of it. All in all, not the healthiest of lifestyles, and certainly not a model of "inputs leads to outputs" to really say it was something to strive for at this point of my life. But I was there, and I remembered I liked how I looked, and out came "30 pounds". Almost 19% of my body weight, up for the chopping block.

And there was a realisticness to the math, right? 30 pounds? 60 weeks? Half pound a week? That seems doable, right? I didn't anticipate months of plateaus, let alone small gains here and there.

Now, I'm not going to say it would have been completely unattainable. I could have done it. I could have gone to the gym 5 days a week. I could have counted every calorie and let it take over my life. I could have made some choices about how to live differently, indulged myself less, tried a cleanse or a fad diet here and there, and I actually think, as unreasonable a goal as it was, I could have done it.

But that is NOT how I wanted to do this. I wanted to, NEED to, do it in a way that my lifestyle could change in a way that was attainable, sustainable, and didn't make me feel like I was living an abnormal life. I needed to make my health a priority, without making it my ONLY priority.

And that is what I did.

I knew when I started this that 30 pounds was a great goal to get me pointed in the right directions, something aggressive, because that's what I needed. I'm not sure I ever REALLY thought I'd meet it.

But, the fact is, I'm not sure I would have thought that 25 was all that more attainable. That's 15% of my original body weight, a tad more, even.

Now that I've gotten to 25, I know that getting to 30 actually is potentially achievable. But what I know now about how I lose weight, I know it would take 6 months, not 6 weeks.

I feel and look great now. Could I lose more? Sure. I still have a gut (not as much as I used to!) and that will always annoy me. There will never be a bikini in my future. That's okay. And, now, where I used to have fat underarm/triceps area, I now have more of a muscle/flabby skin scenario, which seems even more unattractive than the fat in the first place, especially in the gym in front of the mirrors... waving around like flags.

But I think the future for me will just involve doing things I like, and get value out of, and seeing if that continues to get me positive impact, both from how I look and my overall health and strength. Pilates has been awesome -- my instructor, Maria, last night was saying how proud she was of me and really how noticeably STRONG I've become over the year! I'm also liking BodyPump so far, and thinking that this will be great for bone density and the kinds of things that 40 year old women should be thinking about. And, the Couch to 5K program was a great gimmick to get and keep me focused on cardio health. When I think back to my 5k the other day, the only time I suffered was when I had to walk up the hill because my legs were to tired to run it. It wasn't because I was out of breath, like I would have been months ago. I think I can and will continue to try and incorporate this stuff into my life as I can, because I can see where the real health value is, and can really see what a difference they've made in every aspect of my life.

Okay, this was a long and rambling one... thanks for staying with me.

I've got one more post in me on Friday -- I'll do weight loss, pictures, measurements, and final thoughts.

Thanks for reading!

Guess what i did!

Okay, this post is not about a weigh in (i'm up about a half pound from last time I reported, but that's okay).

This is about what I did this morning.

I completed Couch to 5k. I ran an actual 5k. One that I had to sign up for. And pay for. And got a tshirt for.

It was a 5k I saw on the interwebs a couple of months ago, and decided to sign up. I knew it would be in my last week of this journey, and, if I kept training, I might be able to do it. I didn't even tell my husband until about 3 weeks ago.

The route was listed in the paper YESTERDAY, so last night, we drove by to check it out. I learned there would be a really big hill i'd have to ascend, both ways. I decided then and there that I was going to walk the hills. Those were just going to be out of my reach. But that's okay. That would be about a half mile total. The rest I could run. And, for the most part, I did.

My husband was great at supporting me -- getting me ready before I started, meeting me at the half way point, and meeting me at the finish line (this route had a number of loops, so he could easily just go start-middle-finish without being on the course).

It was in the high 40's this morning, so that was freaking cold, but I warmed up well and gave him one of my shirts when I got to the half way point.

There were only about 100 people total, a mix of runners and walkers.

I only finished ahead of one of the runners, but I finished ahead of all of the walkers (I think). The only runner I beat was an 83 year old man. I'm okay with that. I think he was hoping to catch me, but that didn't happen. He was nice. We commiserated over oranges at the end.

I told my husband when I started that I thought it would take me an hour, give or take 10 minutes. But it didn't. In fact, I dreamed that I could do it in under 45 minutes, and I did. Just, but I did.

I was really proud of myself for finishing. Well, once I could breathe again, I was proud. I'm glad I did it. It was a huge goal of mine for this journey to be able to run (mostly) a 5k before this was all over. And, 6 days before turning 40, I did it.

Yay me.

NOTE: I won't post my weight again until Friday, my birthday, but I do hope to post one more time before this is all over with some of my thoughts and reflections.

You guys are awesome for being with me all this time!

Thanks for reading!

Nudged off the plateau...

Nice to have some better news to report today, but I'll keep it brief.

This week's weight loss: -1.6 lbs.
Total weight loss: -23.9 lbs.

Okay, that's kind of cool.

I'm feeling a bit more hopeful that I'll get to a full 25 pound loss by my birthday (which is in 18 days).

As a process reminder, for those of you interested, because my birthday is technically at 59 weeks and 4 days, I'm going to do my final weigh in on Friday, October 8th.

It was a busy week last week, and I'm planning a run tonight and another later this week. No pilates tonight, because my instructor is still involved with the last of the BodyPump class launch. Not sure when BodyPump will be added to the full schedule at the gym, but I plan on checking that out a bit more regularly.

Thanks for reading!

A story of inspiration... want some motivation? Watch this man's journey...

sooooooo, BodyPump...

This weekend, my gym is launching BodyPump classes. My pilates reformer instructor, Maria, also runs all the class offerings for the gym, and she's been talking to us about this since early spring. She and a number of trainers and instructors from the gym have all been working for months to get certified, and today was the first of the demo days. I decided I wanted to try it, mainly because I know I need to get some weight training into my regime, and I've heard such great things about it. I know a number of my blog readers take it and really love it.

If you don't know what BodyPump is, it's a choreographed class where every song for an hour focuses on a different body part through weight lifting exercise with a bar and a variety of options of weights you'll put on the end. In addition to the warm up, there are a song each for squats, lunges, shoulders, biceps, triceps, abs, and probably something else I'm forgetting.

So, I went, and one good thing is that they had all the staff there to help out with form and things as you go, so I feel like I got great attention to make sure that I was doing things correctly.

I can see how a program like this would totally work for weight training for anyone, me and women alike, and it gets your heart rate up quite a bit, as each song really goes through a full regimen of exercises for each body part.

By the 3rd or 4th song, I just wanted to cry. I'm serious. Many times, especially towards the end, I was choking back tears.

I don't know why. Yes, it was extremely hard for me. Yes, there were times I didn't think I'd make it through the whole song. But I think, for whatever reason, it was just an emotional response to working so hard and at times feeling proud of what i was accomplishing and at other times feeling like i was so overwhelmed and in over my head. I really couldn't pin point why I was emotional.

At the end of class, I straightened out my station and headed straight to the locker room. I needed to get out of the space.

After the locker room, I walked out and ran into a friend from my pilates class, who also took the class. We were chatting about it, and she said, "Hey - I saw your poster!" What? My "Success Story" poster was hung and I hadn't seen it? We walked over and she showed it to me. I couldn't believe it! It's just the front facing pictures from the blog you've all seen, with some information about how I got from "before" to "after", but even I was like, "Wow! I really have changed".

I have to say, seeing that poster after going through BodyPump and thinking I just wouldn't make it was enough motivation for me to go do it again. Though, next time, I'm dragging Robert with me.

Oh, and my hair's a compete mess, because I can't lift my arms to fix my ponytail. The world is just going to have to deal with my rat's nest today. :-) Tell me it will get better????

Thanks for reading!

Another flat line

Seriously... no movement on the scale this week. Again. Zero. Still stick on -22.3 lbs.

I just don't really get it, but, as with last week, I made enough bad choices mixed in with good ones that the fact that they cancel each other out isn't so terrible, I guess...

I've got a week ahead of me! My folks are in town briefly (they come in today, and leave Wednesday). Tonight, we'll go out to dinner somewhere, tomorrow, we'll spend the afternoon visiting friends and then we have dinner reservations at our favorite place. Then, by midnight Wednesday, I need to finish a paper and spend a bunch of time in the discussion groups online for my classes.

On Saturday, I'm going to go check out the launch of the new BodyPump classes they're starting at my gym! I'm excited, but nervous, as I hear it can be exhausting. But I'm giving it a shot.

On Sunday, I have a 3 hour timed midterm to take (already!) so I have to plan around that.

And somewhere in all there, I'd like to find time to run at least once, if not twice!

I don't know if it will all get done, but those are my goals for the next week.

Hope you all meet your own goals for the week!

Thanks for reading!

Whoa. My birthday is a month from tomorrow. That's real.

Finally, an update! Whoo hoo! I'm watching the calendar tear by me, and see the end in sight... and what do I have to report?

The bad news: I haven't lost any more weight.

The good news: I haven't gained any more weight.

I'm still at a total loss of 22.3 lbs and holding... and holding...

I have about 4 and half weeks left (i've decided that I'm going to do my final weigh in on the morning of my 40th birthday, Friday, October 8th). And, I really would like to see that 22.3 be 25. But I'm not so sure that will happen. Not going to dwell on it right now. Let's catch you up!

1) I started an online program at Boston University. This is sucking up as much time as they said it would (about 15 - 20 hours a week). This is impacting my ability to work out, and my ability to blog (you are the unfortunate victim in this scenario, and for that, I apologize). But, I did get to run twice this weekend, and I'm still doing my best to work out in some fashion at least 3 times a week.

2) I kind of hurt myself last week. I pulled something in the pelvic region (whichI don't recommend, if you're looking to pull something) in my pilates class, and it really took several days for me to get past pain when walking. I took it easy for several days, and reminded myself that I'm very lucky I haven't had more significant injuries on this journey

3) I am still determined to finish Couch to 5k by my birthday. I am on week 7, which is basically all running, no walking. It's gross. But I'll get there. By the end of "week" 9, the run is for 45 minutes or something like that. I can't even imagine you crazy people out there that enjoy that sort of thing (yes, husband; I'm talking to you)

4) This part I like... I was asked to be a "Success Story" for my gym for promoting one year since they launched pilates reformer. They'll include me on a flyer for the promo, including my before and after pics. Now, that's kind of cool, don't you think?

5) I bought cute running shorts. The kinds that have a built-in liner. They didn't bother me at all, and I wasn't uncomfortable. They didn't make me fall in love with running, but that was probable expecting too much from one garment. And I just bought a hydration belt (a belt that holds small water bottles) so that I can run outside without wanting to gnaw on the side of a tree for moisture after running for a mile. That's the sort of thing that will get you humped by a moose in New Hampshire, I think. Which, to be clear, is not my goal...

Thanks for reading!

Lazy days of summer?

Well... My face is red. Has it really been 10 days since I posted? How embarrassing...

First of all, nothing to report, plus or minus, in the weight loss department. If has been pretty steady. I am not sure why. I haven't been eating excellently. I haven't been working out a lot (3 times in the past 10 days). My energy and mood has been all-around lower. I am grateful not to have lost ground, but I am not sure that is for any reason other than luck.

I think part of it is in already knowing I won't make 30 pounds, so there is a small aspect of just knowing already there is some failure there. But some of it, quite frankly, is just plain laziness. I am not proud of it, but it is true.

I am using C25k as a vehicle to get back on the wagon. Doing Week 6 over (before heading into Week 7, which is all running, no walking) to rebuild a bit more endurance back up, and moving forward with completing the program before this 60 weeks end (shouldn't be a big issue, given that I have about 6 weeks until my birthday.) But I know I need some discipline to get back on track and keep moving to the end goal.

Whoa... 6 weeks until my birthday? That's fast!!

Thanks for checking in again to see if I have updated, and thanks for reading!

Just a quick update.... more tonight...

Just so I can get a quick note in on my weigh in -- more about the weekend and my challenges when I've got time to post tonight.

This week's weigh in: -0.2 lbs.
Total weight loss: -22.3 lbs.

In case you're wondering, I'm very happy about this being a negative, even if only a smidge, after the weekend I just went through! The key was, even though I ate poorly, I didn't eat a lot of the bad things... bad food + portion control = not as much of a train wreck as it could have been!

More later, and thanks for reading!

Not too much to talk about... but challenges ahead

Kind of a boring week... nothing too interesting to talk about, I'm afraid.

This week's weigh in: -0.4 lbs.
Total weight loss: -22.1 lbs.

I've been very focused on getting my husband ready for his big 12 hour mountain bike this weekend.... My next personal challenge is getting through a weekend of camping and hanging at a big festival of mountain bikers surrounded by lots of crap food and lots of beer.... Hoping not to do too much damage, but I expect it will be very difficult to find healthy food and stay focused when in the middle of the woods for most of the weekend! There will be barbecue there for dinner for the event, and most of the rest of the time, eating will be whatever I packed for our campsite. It's been hard to find things that work, that are okay to be unrefrigerated or in a cooler, and don't need to be heated or cooked in any way. I'm still working on it.

Of course, me sticking to my diet is no way near as challenging as my husband riding in a 12 hour mountain bike solo! Yep, about 8 and a half mile loop, over and over again, for 12 hours, by himself. Pedal pedal pedal!!

A post of minimal value

Honestly, I have nothing very interesting to say... I've just decided that, when my blog gets clicked on, by you or by me, my "BEFORE" picture shouldn't be the first thing aaaaaanyone sees.

So, my aim is to provide a posting here that is long enough to bounce the picture a little further down the page.

Have you read "The Monster At the End Of the Book"? It's been a favorite of mine since I was about 3 or so.

It prepares the reader for the scary monster at the end of the book.

This post prepares you for the Monster on the next post.

(No... I don't think of myself as a monster... it's just a little startling when it's the first thing that shows up on the page!)

Thanks for reading!

Starting Me vs. Week 50 Me... the Pictures!

Week 50... Ten more to go!

Not much to add in terms of thoughts since yesterday's post below, but here are the numbers:

This week's weigh in -0.6 lbs.
Total weight loss: -21.7 lbs.

It was another week where my Friday morning weigh in was the lowest of the week (down another quarter of a pound or so), and I worked hard to make sure I didn't gain too much back over the weekend. Heck. If i lose a half pound a week every week left, my final weigh in will be almost -27 lbs, which is nothing to sneeze at!

As for measurements... I'm struck by 2 things:

1) Total inches (remember, I just do bust/waist/hips): -4 inches this time, -19 inches in total
2) I have lost more than 6 inches in each of those areas! That's crazy!!

I'll post some pictures tonight.

Thanks for reading!

Staying focused as the home stretch appears, and the height of summer abounds

My husband and I realized this week that we have plans to be up at our NH place probably 9 of the next 10 weekends, including this one! While on one hand, this is a great thing, I can't help but notice that pretty much aligns way too scarily with my last 11 weeks of my countdown, and it can be easy to get distracted by weekends away up in NH. Too easy to say, "Oh... it's the weekend... I can have another beer... another container of popcorn... some ice cream... another piece of that crumb cake... " But if I do it EVERY weekend left, I will undo so much good work.

So, I decided that I was just going to have to grab it more forcefully, starting with this weekend. Yesterday, went to the gym for a class the schedule called "Metabolism-boosting pilates" which is code for "we didn't pay for the license to use the term 'BodySculpt' ". This morning, I did my C25k (I'm into week 6... remember, my efforts don't match an ACTUAL calendar), and I will do some WiiFit to continue to stretch from some of the weight work from yesterday. It is clear to me that the easiest way for me to stay committed is to make some efforts early in the day, and set the tone for the rest of the weekend from there.

I won't be able to do it every Saturday and Sunday of the next 10... there will be weekends in there where we've got other stuff going on, and it just won't be as easy. But I'm going to try. Hard.

Tomorrow is the weigh in for Week 50. Measurements and pictures. I'm hoping for at least an inch... it's hard at this point to continue to make impacts on that part of it, but I'm hoping to get a little bit of reinforcement. Pictures... we'll see how that goes!

Thanks for reading!

Not too late to try new things

Here we are after another week, and I'm okay with the results...

This week: -0.2 lbs.
Total weight loss: -21.1 lbs.

A fine week. I was down a little more, even, on Friday, but gained some back over the weekend, as I usually do... but still relieved that I'm about where I was last week, and didn't lose any ground.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to try to take a strength training class. My pilates instructor suggested the classes would be a good next step to add to my weight loss and fitness gain. As my skin gets a bit looser from losing weight, the weight training should help, even if just with some body sculpt classes once or twice a week. In theory, can also help with weight loss, but not sure how much you have to do in order to get to that point. But it is something new to try, so I'm up for it!

Next week is week 50. (Yikes!) Pictures and measurements. I am hoping for another inch or two around the measurements... hard to make too much impact on that at this point. But I'm hoping for a little reinforcement! A little goes a long way...

Thanks for reading!

20 + Teaser + 100 = Reasons to be proud!

Cryptic title, I know. I'll walk you through it.

First, the 20. Well, I did it. Last night, I jogged for 20 minutes straight. No breaks. Okay, one 15 second break after 10 minutes because I haven't quite figured out how to run and to drink water from a water bottle yet without smashing my teeth, so I hopped up on the rails for 15 seconds to hydrate a little. It wasn't a fast run, but it was kind of my standard jog pace I've been trying to do during Couch to 5k training, 4.1 mph. (I know, you runners out there probably walk at that pace). All in all, that is 1.67 miles, about, 2.7k. I'm officially running more than half a 5k at this point!

I've never run that long, that far, without stopping. It's a huge deal for me (obviously). I was really proud of myself for not quitting, as it crossed my mind a million times. At minute 8, I knew I was past where I'd done it before, and realized I still had that much and more to go! At minute 10, I remarked that I was half way there, and I could probably do all that time again. At minute 15, I figured I only needed to get through 1 more song. At minute 16, I started to think, "Well... 18 minutes would be a great accomplishment, too, even if it wasn't 20." At 18, I knew I could do 2 more minutes, but they were a loooooong 2 minutes. At minute 20, I thought, "Honestly? I could run another minute if I had to!" I didn't, since I needed to do a quick cool down before pilates, but it was really surprising to know I felt good enough that I could have done a LITTLE more....

The Teaser. I've been doing pilates reformer (the torture machine with springs and pulleys) in a group training session (3 core people, added a 4th a couple of months ago, and occasionally a 5th will add, so it's small and semi-private) for 9 months now. Our instructor, Maria, is awesome, and she continues to increase her own ability as a teacher as we've learned, as well. She keeps incorporating new things she's learning herself into our classes, most of it Reformer 3 and keeps challenging us to get to a next level in our own abilities each week. About 3 sessions ago, she started to encourage us to try, if we were comfortable, moving from one our moves to get into "Teaser" pose. (didn't do the moves after teaser, just getting into "teaser" was a big enough move for us to try). One woman was able to do it week 1 without a problem. I didn't even try. Last week, I tried, but there was no way in heck it was going to happen. Last night, with the best of intentions, I got up on the first try! Sure, I wobbled when I got there, and she had to spot me coming back down, but I did it again, and did it solidly. (here's video of someone else who clearly knows what he's doing, so you can have a visual of what I'm talking about.) It was a huge accomplishment for me -- such a demonstration of balance, strength and courage I hadn't really gotten to before in my pilates class. Also helps that I have such supportive classmates and an instructor along the way!

And, what does 100 mean? Well, this is my 100th post on this blog!! I can't believe it! I have to admit, I didn't really realize this until yesterday. I was reading someone else's blog and she was commenting about her 100th post, and I thought to myself, "that's a big deal... I should really have a sense of when my OWN 100th post will be." Imagine my surprise when I saw that my very next post would be number 100!

I was e-mailing with a dear friend recently about how important blogging had become to this whole thing. Sure, the diet and the exercise are the WORK of it all, but I really could not have done any of this without the blogging. First of all, of course there is the accountability. Knowing that I have people who will be tuning in to see what happens next, and seeing if I am following through on proclamations is honestly a big motivator, both from a "I have people I can share success with" and from a "I will feel guilty if I skulk away from all this and people know" point of view. (I guess those are the two sides of the accountability coin.)

The other aspect of why blogging has been so helpful is the intellectual and creative outlet it has been for me to be able to process these thoughts I have about all of this, the good and the bad, and be able to keep them all in check. Being able to look back and read where I've been, where I came from, different goals I've set for myself and achieved has been a tremendous tool. In that sense, it's really just a journal that I've happened to make public, if people want to read it, and there's obviously value in that exercise for me, whether or not there's an audience.

But 100 posts is incredible, especially since am not even 50 weeks into this yet. I don't know that I ever thought I'd hit 100. Not sure I ever gave it much thought. But now that I have, I'm really proud of this last of 3 accomplishments I wanted to share today.

I hope any one of these accomplishments in my little life help to inspire YOU to set a goal today worth achieving, and worth sharing your pride once you do!

Thanks for reading! (Thanks for reading 100 times!)

The end in sight is starting to be scary... but weeks like this help!

Well, I'm not sure what was particular special about this week, but it's in the right direction, so I'll take it!

This week's weight in: -1.0 lbs.
Total wight loss: -20.9 lbs.

I can't say I have too much explanation, other than getting back onto the routine. My one splurge day was dinner out with my husband for his birthday at Clink at the Liberty Hotel, and even though the weekend we had a house full of guests up in NH, all the eating was very reasonable in terms of quantity and quality.

Approaching a house full of guests this weekend, especially mostly men who will be biking 100 miles in one day, but still being healthy, was a challenge, but I was up for it! Here's a sense of what the eating had for me this weekend:

Friday night, dinner at the Red Parka Pub. I had a beer, shared 1 popcorn with my husband (less than I would normally do), and the salad bar. Saturday, I had friends over who are vegetarian! I made gazpacho, a green salad, and watermelon/goat cheese/mint salad.

Saturday evening, there would be 7 of us. Appetizers I served crudite (including some CSA veggies -- fantastic!) with black bean dip (the weight watchers recipe) and a bit of cheese and crackers and chips. I had a few chips, but not an indulgence. Dinner was burgers (i didn't have one), marinated chicken tenders in white wine, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, the watermelon salad, and macaroni salad, very light on the mayo. For dessert, we had a Dairy Queen cake for Robert's bday, which I had a TINY slice of, but also I made applesauce granita, which is literally unsweetened applesauce and juice of a lemon, made into an icy texture -- very guiltless! Sunday, some egg sandwiches, which we served on bagels or deli flats (me) with turkey bacon (I didn't have any of that). So, lots and lots of food, but all healthy choices, and portion control was our friend! It's great to be able to indulge in a weekend of fun and great eating, but not feel like there was too much damage along the way!

I also managed to get back to the gym twice this week, and still making progress on C25k, though my NEXT session is the scariest so far: 20 minute jog, no stopping. My last one had a running session of 8 minutes run, 5 minutes walk, 8 minutes run. I handled the first 8 minutes okay, but the second one was more of a challenge. By 6 minutes into it, I was convincing myself that pride alone, and the accomplishment of saying I did it without cheating, was the only driver for completing those last 2 minutes. I completed them, with all the sense of pride and accomplishment I bargained for, even only having run at a pace at about 4.2 miles an hour (quick math: could run a mile in 15 minutes or so, but, um, just one of them at a time. ) So, 20 minutes of uninterrupted jogging sounds scary to me. But that's next!

Overall, the math is starting to escape out of favor. I am 70% to goal, but 80% of the way to my timeline. I'll admit that the notion that I'll be able to lose 9 pounds in the next 12 weeks seems kind of impossible to me at this point. I know it's not mathematically impossible, but at the rate I've been going, even with picking up some momentum the past few weeks (for which I'm grateful!) it's not enough to keep me on that path alone.

But I always remind myself that my goal wasn't just about getting a smaller number on the scale. It was about getting healthier and getting in better shape, and I'm hard-pressed to say I won't be declaring victory on that part of it, for sure! I won't be losing my focus the next 12 weeks... 9 pounds might a real stretch, but 4 pounds, even 6 pounds is attainable, I know.

Thank you for all your support, especially in this home stretch! I need all the support I can get!

Thanks for reading!

Midsummer break... getting back on track

Hello! Nice to be able to get back to normal here again... working full weeks for the first time (not that that is so great, but routine is a friend to my weight loss, I know) and, for the most part, the indulgence events associated with my friends' wedding and my parents visit is over. Last big event... taking my husband out to dinner tomorrow night for his 40th birthday dinner. But after that, no big events on the horizon putting temptation in the spotlight for a while, and normal work schedules making my gym workouts a bit more what I'm used to.

As for weight loss this weel, I'm back in the 20 pound loss mark (ish) and hopeful to stay below that line.

This week's weigh in: -1.0 lbs.
Total weight loss: -19.9 lbs.

Interestingly, I didn't exercise much last week, but I also was good about eating, so I think they've offset themselves a bit. It was very hot in the northeast this week; the only exercise I could muster was angling myself in front of the fan :-).

Tonight, I'll head back to pilates reformer, and I plan on getting back into the C25k for cardio right before it, and I anticipate that the week plus away from C25k means a step back in progress, but that's okay. Getting back on that horse, as it were, is important for me to get focused again, and not let my brief hiatus become a stand still.

I've only got 13 weeks left until my birthday, and still determined to make as much progress against my goal as I can. Even if the full number is not attainable, I'm got giving up where I'm at!

Hope you're all managing to stay cool and enjoy the midsummer excitement!

Thanks for reading!