Battling my frustration this morning, I had a bit of an epiphany. In my mind I saw a picture of the tortoise and the hare. And it occurred to me, that in weight loss, slow and steady really does win the race. Now mind you, I can't complain two much because a 50 lb weight loss in 9 months (really 7 because I can hardly count December and March) is nothing to sneeze at - it's a good solid loss, perhaps not for Atkins specifically, but I have been trying to do a modified version to be able to truly live the low carb lifestyle. averaging out to 5-7 pounds a month is actually an excellent rate to lose. But I still long for the 9-11 months I had at the beginning.
But I need to look at things and see the positives and realize how much things have changed. In the beginning I was unquestionably morbidly obese. My need and goal was to lose nearly 30% of my body weight. I have already lost 20%.
I am a different person than I was when I started 9 1/2 months ago. The person I am today needs (wants) to lose only about 15% of her total body weight. I was busting out of size 20s 9 1/2 months ago, and now I am fitting into 12s. Was a plus size, now I am (for a woman almost 5'9" tall) in a decent size - not, not NOT one I should settle for and be willing to stay in, but one that is very respectable.
I know I still have weight to lose- there are still too many soft places on my body that aren't supposed to be soft, but the closer I gt to goal, the more patience and (gulp) effort it's probably going to take, but if I just keep holding on to the tortoise mindset, the one that is willing to foucs and do what needs to be done daily, consistently, I WILL get there... eventually.
Weight: 194.4 both days. Not going to lie, I was hoping for something different... well specifically a drop, I was hoping for things to move faster than they are with some of the great workouts I've had.
Feeling: I am beyond relieved that I somehow managed to avoid the headaches of a sugar detox going back into the low carb lifestyle this time. All I can think is a month wasn't enough to create a huge problem. Phew! (wipes forehead with back of hand.)
Eating: I've been good, my mind is in the right place, ate the cheese and pepperoni off the top of pizza at a moving party yesterday, had a few Atkins meals, been eating low carb yogurt, etc. I seem to be fluctuating between small and large on the ketosis scale. I think I am fortunate enough to have a high critical carb level.
Moving: Saturday evening I found myself hanging out around the house alone, so I repeated Friday's yoga/ running/ Zumba workout, though I actually added an extra five minutes to the run on the trampoline (yes, I am saying TRAMPOLINE and not treadmill. I run in place in my living room and the trampoline eliminates painful impact.) Sunday however, I did NOT want to workout AT ALL. But I made a commitment to 60 days of strict diet and exercise, and even though the promise was only to myself, because I have made myself accountable to anyone willing to listen, I knew I had to do something. I for a moment considered counting the moving party as exercise, but quickly decided that wiping down a few shelves and some light lifting really didn't qualify enough to let me off the hook, so I took a brisk walk around my neighborhood before bedtime last night. I even extended it a little from the norm. It wasn't rigorous, but it got my heart pumping and it qualified as keeping my commitment. :)
Good news: Chronic pain is a difficult thing to gauge changes in. My experience has been that usually what happens is all of a sudden you notice one day that you haven't felt it in a few days and then you realize you're better, you miss the actual process. I think I am getting closer to the pain free days with my shoulder - that or my tolerance level is getting higher, but in faith I am believing for the improvement. I think that the daily yoga stretches are what I have to credit the progress to. The pain seems to be changing, it doesn't go as deep, and it's even shifted in specific location and the "oh dear God help me" moments of intensity seem to be fewer and farther between.
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