Sunday, April 12, 2009

30 Days

Today is the end of my first 30 days. I'm not sure what I expected to happen on day 30 or where I expected to be weightloss wise. I have a clear goal (120 pounds) and a deadline (June 20), but I didn't set a goal for the end of this first 30 days. I probably won't get a workout in today given that it's Easter Sunday, and we have plenty of family obligations today. We'll see, if it's nice out, maybe I'll go for a walk/run... that's a big MAYBE, though.

To my credit, I have made progess this month, and I thought I would celebrate some of that here:

1. I have been working out consistently. On average, I've worked out 5 or 6 days out of seven for the last month. Some weeks I even mananged to work out 7 out of 7 days.
2. I have kept track of my caloric intake in a food journal, and for the most part I've made healthy food choices, eaten lots of veggies, and drank lots of water.
3. I've lost about 7 pounds since February when I started working out again consistently.
4. After complaining about low energy early on in this endeavor, I have noticed recently that I have more energy.

For those of you following along at home, I realize that February is longer than 30 days ago. Although my official "re-start" day for this blog is March 14, I had been working out regularly prior to that. I never stepped on the scale until the day I started re-posting on this blog on March 14. That was the day I was SHOCKED to see that I had regained virtually all the weight I had lost last summer/fall. Even though the first weight I recorded here is 143 lbs, I'm giving myself credit for losing an additional 2 pounds from mid-February to mid-March, before I started posting.

I have been reading a number of other weight loss blogs, and one thing that has struck me about what others have written is how long it takes to lose weight. Reading other people's blogs I realize that most people who are trying to lose weight "the right way," i.e. by eating right and exercising regularly, don't lose 20 pounds overnight. It takes a lot of dedication and plenty of perseverance to lose weight.

Obviously, on an intellectual level I know all of these things, but I am the kind of person who needs "instant gratification." In my experience, there is nothing instantly gratifying about losing weight. I think part of the reason I get derailed in my efforts to lose weight is because I want to see results, and I want to see them now. I've re-read a few of my posts from the last 30 days, and I see how frustrated I am with the number on the scale. I keep hovering between 138 and 140 pounds. While I'm not happy with the numbers I keep seeing on the scale, I am happy with my efforts of the past 30 days. I need to keep going and not get derailed, again. I think if I keep doing what I'm doing, eventually, I will get to my goal.

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