Weight Loss Momentum
Haven't posted much about weight loss lately, mainly because progress has been slow this year. (It's been a bitch of a year, frankly, and so I'm cutting myself some slack for the slowed-down momentum, but it's been hard--which is part of the point of this post.) As of last night's weigh-in, I'm down 56.4 pounds and at a weight I haven't seen in a decade or more. This doesn't make me a sylph, but it's a vast improvement over where I started, and I'm generally pretty pleased with my accomplishment. That being said . . .
During my first year of weight loss, I was averaging a pound per week, more or less. It was enormously satisfying and I felt like I was substantially accomplishing my goal. This year, with the stress, the loss, and the physical uncertainties keeping me from exercising the way I did last year, the weight loss has just been harder. It's come in tiny increments, a quarter to a third of a pound per week. This week, I lost more weight than I have in months--and it was only half a pound. But I also overcame the pain I've been experiencing in my left knee to get out the door and walk. I need to get my knee looked at. Also, I changed my menu--that always makes a difference. The body responds to change.
It's been discouraging to have my weight loss slow down this way. If I do the physical math (portion control plus exercise), then it makes perfect sense; curtailed ability to exercise means slowed progress. But it's really challenging. Staying the course is absolutely imperative, however. Imperative. I won't go back to where I was. And that's what keeps me going, even when I'm feeling bad.
I always told myself that someday I'd be slim and beautiful. (A kind and beloved friend told me recently that I was already beautiful, bless him. My perspective is different from the inside--but I couldn't have been more grateful for the compliment.) But with a landmark birthday coming this year, I'm very aware that I'm running out of somedays. It's now or never--and I'll be damned if it's never.
My to-do list:
-- Get the knee checked out (which means finding a new doctor due to insurance changes).
-- Figure out a way to exercise that doesn't hurt the knee. (My WW leader has suggested swimming. I don't even own a bathing suit at this point, and I'm little uncomfortable with public pools--and with being seen in a bathing suit.)
-- Stay the course.
jaylake says that success at writing takes psychotic persistence. Weight loss, too.
During my first year of weight loss, I was averaging a pound per week, more or less. It was enormously satisfying and I felt like I was substantially accomplishing my goal. This year, with the stress, the loss, and the physical uncertainties keeping me from exercising the way I did last year, the weight loss has just been harder. It's come in tiny increments, a quarter to a third of a pound per week. This week, I lost more weight than I have in months--and it was only half a pound. But I also overcame the pain I've been experiencing in my left knee to get out the door and walk. I need to get my knee looked at. Also, I changed my menu--that always makes a difference. The body responds to change.
It's been discouraging to have my weight loss slow down this way. If I do the physical math (portion control plus exercise), then it makes perfect sense; curtailed ability to exercise means slowed progress. But it's really challenging. Staying the course is absolutely imperative, however. Imperative. I won't go back to where I was. And that's what keeps me going, even when I'm feeling bad.
I always told myself that someday I'd be slim and beautiful. (A kind and beloved friend told me recently that I was already beautiful, bless him. My perspective is different from the inside--but I couldn't have been more grateful for the compliment.) But with a landmark birthday coming this year, I'm very aware that I'm running out of somedays. It's now or never--and I'll be damned if it's never.
My to-do list:
-- Get the knee checked out (which means finding a new doctor due to insurance changes).
-- Figure out a way to exercise that doesn't hurt the knee. (My WW leader has suggested swimming. I don't even own a bathing suit at this point, and I'm little uncomfortable with public pools--and with being seen in a bathing suit.)
-- Stay the course.
jaylake says that success at writing takes psychotic persistence. Weight loss, too.