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!

Nice way to start a weekend

You may remember over christmas break, I was in Florida with my folks. They'd asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said I really needed some new pants. We hit the outlets, and they were extremely generous and bought me several pairs of pants. A couple were size 12's, but mostly they were 10's (i started this journey firmly into 14s). I hoped to get a few months out of them, and didn't let my parents spend too much money on me, knowing that these were (hopefully) a temporary stop on my way to wherever I land.

Well, some of the 10's are starting to get roomy. But today was an interesting development...

I had bought one pair of pants (i bought, not my parents) that day, that were too snug to wear at the time, but they were pretty, and on sale for $12, and I figured if I never got there, it wouldn't be a huge waste. I tried them on this morning, and could not believe my eyes.

I looked skinny.

First of all... I should have tried these pants 3 weeks ago. I already need to take the waist in. But the rest of it all fits well in the hips and thighs, so they still generally fit. But I could not believe how good they looked. I felt like an "after" from "What Not To Wear", where the transformation is so huge, it's like a different person. (Yup, there's my shout out to Stacy London, of whom most of you know I'm a huge fan).

I went up to many of my colleagues with whom I'm friendlier and know my story (and read this blog!) and announced, "Look at this! Can you believe it?" and all echoed my observation... these pants made me look skinny.

The other day, when those older pants fit, that was great, but this was different. I'm not even sure I can explain why. It just kind of felt like I'd finally gotten to a new me. Maybe there's more to go, and before long, I may be in 8's or who knows after that. But I know that I saw today that even though I had it in my head that my ultimate goal is 30 lbs, there are going to be plenty of stops along the way that I'm going to look great when I get to.

I'm off to Long Island this weekend, where I'll also see my cousin, whom I blogged about in November. I'm excited that both of us will get to visit our families and we can each show off all our progress towards our healthier goals. I expect he's going to knock our socks off!

Thanks for reading!