Back on track - - and feeling fine!

Although it felt like I went a little off the rails in the last couple of weeks, overall I managed to keep things on track.  This week I saw more progress, and even a few nice wins.  To belabour the train metaphor, things just kept chugging along this week. 

This week I lost another 1.9 pounds to bring my weight down to 211.1 pounds, for a total loss of 122.8 pounds.   My BMI is now 31.2, down from 49.3.  Yes, I am still obese, but I am creeping ever closer to "overweight". 

I particularly like that my body fat % is coming down - - when I first got my Withings scale (last July), I had body fat % values of greater than 50% - - just take a minute and think about the implications of that.  Understanding that the body fat % measurements on an electrical impedance scale are directional only, with a value of more than 50% body fat, my body was still largely fat, directional or not. 

Apparently a healthy body fat % for a woman of my delicate years is between 23% and 33%, so I am well on my way to a good place in terms of body fat.  36.9% is much closer to 33% than 50% after all. 

The 1.9 pound loss this week keeps me well on track to hit my goal weight of 165 pounds around the end of January.  So how are things tracking vis a vis the other goals?

More progress this week.  I am within 6.1 pounds of being light heavy, and 8.1 pounds of being overweight.  That will be a significant milestone.  The 46.1 pounds to my ultimate goal still feels like a long way away yet, but it's closer every week.  Tiny steps closer, to be sure, but closer.  I just wish I weren't so impatient, but that's the curse of a Type A personality for you - - a craving for instant gratification.


As for nice wins this week, I have started wearing some of my size 16 clothes (notably a couple of flannel skirts and a pair of blue jeans) and I am getting a ton of compliments on them.  It's amazing what wearing clothes that fit will do in terms of making it obvious that a person has lost a significant amount of weight.  I am still a bit uncomfortable about not wearing my camouflage - - black suits with many layers in a size or two too large - - but having people tell me how good I look is a nice way to gentle me into wearing more size-appropriate clothing. 

It is also making me want to embrace more colour - - I am wearing a red twin set today, and I am mulling over buying a nice spring dress.  It is such a change from a year ago when literally the only things I wore were black suits, or black sweaters with black skirts.  Johnny Cash and Darth Vader were my style icons.  No longer!

Yesterday I was very excited because I was able to button up the jacket of one of my size 18 suits for the first time ever.  It looked good, and I felt good, which is all that matters.  Every week as I lose more weight I am also losing inches, and it is a constant revelation to see how differently my clothes fit over time.  I remember when I was first able to put on my old size 20 suits from the archive, and how excited I was.  And I vividly remember the end of January when I was able to do up the jacket on the size 20 black and white suit for the first time -- what a great feeling!  It was the same feeling as yesterday when I did up my suit jacket - - I felt beautiful and powerful and motivated and strong and all those good adjectives that come with progress. 

Another win this week has been that my excellent blood sugar values have continued.  This is really a month to date win, as I have only had 2 above-normal readings so far this month.  I am well on my way to experiencing my second consecutive month with normal fasting blood sugar values.  And it's all without medication - - I can only thank weight loss and regular exercise and sensible eating for the decline in my sugars.  This is such a major testament to the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. 

It is such a major thing given my family history.  Taking control of my eating habits and working out regularly to lose weight has had so many positive side effects, but this is one of the big ones.  As the Matriarch always says, "you don't ever want to be a diabetic", because the related health issues are significant.  Although I would not entirely agree with the Matriarch that it is easier to avoid being a diabetic than dealing with diabetes once you have it - - I would say my daily routine is plenty difficult, thank you very much - - it's nice to move out of the danger zone.  Prediabetes is really like being a little bit pregnant - - you're in for some major physical changes and nothing will ever really be the same again. 

So it's 68 weeks of workouts in the books, and 51 consecutive weeks without missing a workout - - coming up on a full year.  The last time I missed a workout was on May 25, 2012.  This whole eating well and working out thing is well and truly entrenched as part of my lifestyle now, and I am enjoying the benefits of it. 

I still struggle with food cravings and the occasional binge, but I know that I can work through that, with focus.  Yesterday I managed to pull together another great on-plan day, and my objective for this week will be to try stringing together a full week on track.  I can do it!