A kick a** January is in the books

Whew!

This month was the first full month of working out and eating on plan since I recommitted myself just before Christmas, and I was really curious to see the results.

Well, the results are in, and they're fantastic. 

I lost another 2 pounds this week, for a total of more than 10 pounds down for the month - - officially one of the larger monthly losses I have experienced in two years of working out.  I am down 148.1 pounds overall, to 185.8 pounds.  That's right - - mid-180s.  This is the girl that thought she would be trapped in the 190s forever.  Maybe it just felt like forever (it did, it really did).

You can definitely see where things fell off the rails in the chart above, but also where they got back on track.  My cardio + weights program has really been working now that I have reduced my wanton snacking, thereby reducing my daily calories to around 1,600 - 1,800 (from 1,900 - 2,200 when I am in snacking mode). 

I am frankly losing a bit more than I was expecting for someone 2 years into their workout program, but my current routine is pretty intense, and I am being moderately-to-very virtuous in the eating department, which is 80% of the battle.  I'm not an angel every day (that would be impossible), but I am pretty good most days, which is really what the goal is here. 

And no, I am not looking a gift weight loss in the mouth or trying to sabotage myself - - I have earned every damn pound of those 148 pounds in sweat equity, thank you very much. 

As for my measurements, I think I am right about where my body is going to end up, around a size 12-14 (depending on the clothes) - - well down from the size 26 I started at.  I have lost more than 5 and a half feet worth of inches since I started working out, which still just blows my mind. 

I tested my cholesterol this morning and all my readings - HDL, LDL, triglycerides and cholesterol - - were normal.  It's nice to see those numbers staying green.  Likewise, my fasting blood sugar readings have been really great this month, with many readings under 5.0 mmol/L (in other words, solidly normal, rather than high normal).  Wahoo!

After this month, I am sooooo close to reaching my next goal of being a middleweight - - less than a pound to go! 

And only 17 pounds to go to a normal BMI - - that's just fantastic.  Another 2 or 3 months and I may be there!

In the spirit of celebrating these great results, I got a haircut:

It's a little tough to see in this angle and crappy lighting, but the new cut brings out my cheekbones.  We'll see what the matriarch thinks tomorrow at shopping - - I didn't mention a haircut the last time we met so she may be surprised. 

For comparison, here's what I looked like last year at this time:

I was 53 pounds heavier in this photo, and I can definitely see it.  I love visual reminders of how far I have come!  I only wish that I had more "before" photos, but, alas, like many Class III Obese people, I shunned cameras.  Bigfoot has more pictures than I do from my heaviest.  Ah well.  Them's the breaks. 

We'll see what next month brings!  I predict more sweat, but that's hardly a stretch...