Labradoris

Between January 20, 2010 and April 18, 2010, I lost approximately 33 lbs (not counting the 15lbs lost through September-December without much conscious effort). 

Let me just stop for a second and say:  WOO HOO!!!

Between April 18, 2010 and May 11, 2010, I gained approximately 6 lbs.  Within those 24 days or so, I stopped working out, started stressing out, began eating badly again, and had my endocrinology system adjusted via medication (still be adjusting by my medical group) which is slowing down my metabolism.

I'm 26 years old.  In September, I will be 27.  I can't procrastinate with this any longer.  I need to, have to, will, AM getting back on the weight loss train and getting off at healthy central.  I do not want to be in my thirties and forties repeating this same conversation over and over again.  I get tired of hearing it from other people - why would I want to hear myself say it?  (That said, sorry you have to hear it from me!)

So, here are my weight loss goals:

May 12-May 24:  down 7 lbs (no foreseeable problems here - I can drop weight quickly when I make major changes like I need to do)
May 25-June 7:  down 4 lbs
June 8-June 28:  down 7 lbs
June 29-July 26:  down 6 lbs
by August 15:  down 4 lbs

Matching these goals will be put at exactly the weight I was last at as an undergraduate (before my disastrous senior year which I think I've talked about before - in terms of weight gain). 

Here's where I'm starting from, today (sorry for the crappy pic):

But, here's where I started from (August 2009 - 42 lbs above where I'm at today):

I don't even recognize myself.  Isn't that sad?  I look so bloated and big.  In my mind, that's not at all what I looked like!  But, it made me realize that I needed to look at myself and my life very differently, and when we were in Singapore, I was very inspired to ratchet up my efforts to be healthy.  I didn't want to grow old and have a useless body after being fit and athletic for so many years.

Since January 18, the day after we arrived back from Singapore, I have lost 31 pounds. 

This is no small feat given how much I travel, how much I like to eat, and how much stress is in my life right now.

I was losing fairly steadily there at 2-5lbs per week and being diligent about exercising and not eating out; however in the past two weeks, it's been very difficult to not eat out and easy to avoid exercising.  To be completely honest, I haven't felt like myself (whoever that is, whatever that feels like) in a few weeks.  I've just kind of been on autopilot.  Sometimes things amuse me, other times I feel very melancholy, and then other times I feel like I really don't care.  So, waking up early in the morning to workout is one of the furthest things from my mind right now.  It just sounds horrid.  But, I make a commitment to work with Trooper and Cosette everyday, so I am getting some exercise in.  Occasionally we'll go hike and we've been taking them water retrieving at least every other day. 

So, I lost 20 pounds very quickly by just reducing caloric intake and upping the exercise.  I lost another 11 pounds by keeping an exercise regiment going.  The past two weeks, I've stayed fairly stable, but I've also been very, very, very, very stressed about my dissertation.  Weight loss just seems difficult right now, and in my mind, if it happens, it happens; however, that's NOT the goal I started with or the set of mind I'd like to have.  I'm hoping returning the latest draft to my dissertation chair will help alleviate some of the stress of uncertainty and make forward progress. 

Weight loss is hard when it isn't our first priority.  I have a goal to lose six more pounds by April 8th, but I don't think I'm going to make it unless I hightail it into the gym.  That's two weeks, three pounds a week.  I could do that, right?

Hmm.  Writing this down has helped.  Today I am going to watch my portion sizes and try to be outside a little more.  It looks like it will be a beautiful day outside.  Thanks for reading.  Knowing that someone is reading and holding me accountable (in a way) helps.