21 Pounds!!!! What?!

It's true ladies and gentlemen!!! I have now lost 21 pounds since February 9th!!!!!!! I nearly fell over when I read the scale. I've been sick this week and haven't been able to exercise at all so I figured I'd maybe lose 1 pound...at most...but I totally kicked 3.4 pounds to the curb!!! It turns out that not being able to taste food is helpful to weight loss :) Now don't think that I haven't been eating because I have been. I've been making sure to eat my daily points and I have been drinking loads of water. AND...I'm only 11 pounds from my 10% mark!

A hilarious tidbit about me...I am ridiculously motivated by the little rewards that Weight Watchers gives out. They have this cute key ring thing that you get when you lose 10% and then you get charms to add on to it as you lose 25, 50, 75 & 100 pounds as well as when you've attended 16 weekly meetings and when you achieve your ultimate goal. I am WICKED stoked to get my key ring!!!

I have surprised myself with how much I have missed my walks! I seriously wanted to go walking...snotty face and all...but my friends, who are sensible, talked me out of it! I seriously can't wait to get back into it though! It feels great to stretch my legs and breathe in the fresh air. I have also noticed that my stride has gotten longer and looser. I am remembering what it felt like to walk before my surgery and all of the stuff afterwards. It is liberating!!!

For goals for this week...I'm pretty much going to revive what I had set for this past week...simply because I've been laid up and I want to get my can back out on the sidewalks of San Jose! So here they are:

1. Lose 1.5 pounds
2. Walk twice
3. Replace some under things
4. Drink at least 64oz. water daily
5. Use my pedometer daily, walking at least 8,000 steps a day
6. Be kind to myself daily...and I mean actively thinking kindly about myself

OH DANG! I forgot to write my successes!

1. I can sit Indian style again (please forgive the non-PC name!)
2. I got permanent storage boxes for my snacks and labeled them with point values
3. I tried some new snacks: fruit bars from Target (3 pts....and super tasty) and kettle corn (also 3pts. and super tasty)
4. Figured out how to track my walks on the world wide web
5. Found a cool online site where you can virtually walk across the US...sign me up! Webwalking USA

5%

It's true! I have lost 5% (plus a bit) of my start weight!!!! WAHOO!!!! I've been thinking about how I feel and I am really proud of what I've accomplished. At the same time, I look down at my belly and still feel so, so very fat. It's hard to keep present what I have accomplished when I have so far to go. I am going to work on setting up a photo log for each weight benchmark so that I have a visual reminder of where I have come from.

Side note: Since October I have lost 34 pounds!!! I can hardly believe it!

I've also been thinking about some outdoor activities I would really like to do. One thing I'd love to do is climb Half Dome. I know, I know...those of you who have known me for a while will say, "What are you talking about? You are terrified of being up high and feeling like you might fall!" It's true, I am terrified of the feeling of a possible fall. I mean, paralyzed afraid of it! It's a horrible feeling! I want to get over this fear of mine so I have come up with a plan. (Of course!) When I have lost 100 pounds I am going to take some rock climbing lessons...indoor of course...and then I am going to train for climbing Half Dome. Once I feel secure in myself and my own strength I will be packing a car and heading to Yosemite...with a passel of friends of course...to celebrate!!!

My weekly goals are coming along! I have succeeded in drinking enough water daily for a week now! I have also been walking at least twice a week, if not more, and I have been doing arm exercises. I'm looking forward to walking a 5K in June and I am loving the walking with friends!!!! I've discovered that counting exercise points towards food points doesn't work for me and I worked really hard over the past week and a half to keep strict track of my points.

My next quest is regularly replacing clothes. My jeans and under garments are getting a bit too baggy for me to feel at all attractive!

Goals to reach by 4/20:

1. Lose 1.5 pounds
2. Walk twice
3. Replace some under things
4. Drink at least 64oz. water daily
5. Use my pedometer daily, walking at least 8,000 steps a day
6. Be kind to myself daily...and I mean actively thinking kindly about myself

Not a win, Not a loss

So...I didn't lose anything this week but I didn't gain anything either. I am super frustrated being so close to my 5% goal and not reaching it. I really wanted to stamp my feet when the numbers came up on the scale. No matter what I know (I've lost every week for seven weeks) I am still frustrated and really working on not going crazy about it!

Naturally I have been thinking all day about what I can do to make the difference that I want to make. One thing I thought about was how I ate a lot more of my weekly allowance points because I increased my exercise (I have 44 daily points and then an additional 49 weekly allowance points that I can eat.) It seems to me that, for my body, the points are not equal in the exchange so I am going to stay within my daily points this week and see what happens! I have also purchased a Weight Watchers pedometer that will give me accurate activity points. Fingers crossed!

My clothes are fitting better and better every day. I haven't re-measured yet but I am pretty darn sure that I've lost more inches. My t-shirts have been dwindling daily as I get rid of the clothes that are too big for me. Some serious shopping is in my near future :)

I don't think I mentioned this before but I am walking a 5K on June 11 and I would love some company. You can register by clicking this link for the Henry Coe 5K Walk. The walk is fairly easy, through a meadow, and you get a cool t-shirt! Let me know if you register!!! This walk is my way of motivating myself to exercise and it's also a great way for me to get in some socializing as I train for this walk. I also want to do a 10K in the fall so get ready for that!!!!

Goals for this week:

1. Go for at least two 2 mile walks- 4/8 with Kaija, 4/11 with Kathi
2. Lose 2 pounds
3. Do two arm workouts
4. Stick to just the daily allotted points (I will allow myself 5 allowance points if I really need them)
5. Make a new list of successes and healthy changes I've made