Occasionally one needs to pay the piper, or at least acknowledge his presence.To quickly recap, I decided that October 10, 2010 (10-10-10) seemed like a good day for new beginnings, so I decided that it was a good time to seriously work on losing a bit of weight. I found a good website - MyFitnessPal.com - for logging both exercise and calories and set some goals for myself. It helped that Mitchell felt similarly motivated, so we could be supportive of each other - especially in the kitchen and when eating out.
Since then - just over seven months - I have lost 20 pounds. Hoorah!
There have been lots of little successes. I'm down one pants size and on the verge of moving down one more. [Still wondering if the post-menopausal belly will ever really shrink?] People are noticing my smaller size and making nice, supportive comments. I have become known as a regular at Jazzercise, and I have finally found a form of exercise that I not only enjoy, but also look forward to - that's a big change. And, I have gotten comfortable with smaller portions and saying "no" to lots of snacks that I used to eat mindlessly.
About a six weeks ago, however, I fell into the big trap that all of us need to avoid with any behavior change - complacency. My computer was in the shop for a few days and quickly as that I lost the habit of daily journaling. No big deal, I thought. I've been doing this long enough that I can do it without writing everything down. Wrong! I also stopped noting any progress on my blog. Ah... there wasn't any. [Denial, anyone?]
My weight loss stopped. Up a pound, down a pound, up a pound, down a pound. I took care of that by just not weighing for several weeks! [Did anyone see that ostrich?] I was lucky because I was controlling things pretty well without journaling, but I really stopped making progress.
If I were at my goal weight it would be ok to hang in there on a plateau, but I ain't there yet!
So, it's time to take stock and make a new commitment. Daily journaling is a must. The fun has long since gone out of that, but I need to do it.
The bottom line is: If something is important enough, you will do the work. If you are not willing to do the work, especially when it starts to get difficult, then maybe you don't really want it badly enough. This is true in life as well as weight loss!
I want this and I will do the work.
Congrats on the 20 pounds. Plateauing is so distressing. Now that school is out I am hoping to take off my 10 lbs. I added and seem to want to hold on to. Good luck!
ReplyDeletePost menopausal belly...hmmm, is that what that is? I was wondering where that came from.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have been a very good girl changing all those habits and making good choices. I have just begun slowly cutting portion sizes and limiting goodies. Congratulations on your success!
Good for you! And I completely agree, if you're not willing to do the work, then you just don't want it enough!
ReplyDeleteI have finally committed to losing that bit of weight that I've put on since moving to France, it's a pain in the petunia what with all the baguettes shoved in my face in a daily basis, but I've finally said enough is enough with all the complaining, it's time to get serious, and get on with it!
Best of luck with your new commitment :-)