25-Pound Milestone: Week 12 Check-In

Oops, I missed posted last week. But it's been a solid couple of weeks. I broke out of my plateau and have continued losing, albeit a little slowly. 

I passed the 25-pound loss mark, which is particularly impressive when I confess that I've been loosening up my food restrictions a little. But that's not necessarily a bad thing; it's serving as a kind of test to see how it feels to move from a weight-loss regimen to a weight-maintenance regimen. 

Which isn't to say that I'm ready to be done. Although my original goal was to get back below 150 pounds - which feels reasonable, since after my kids were born my weight hovered around 148 for quite a few years - I'd be delighted to be able to continue losing weight until I reach about 136 pounds, which is what I weighed throughout my 30s, before my kids. 148 is a healthy and reasonable weight; 136 is a healthy and near ideal weight. I'm not convinced my body is willing to get to and stay at 136 pounds, but at this point I'm not convinced that it isn't. So when I reach 148, which I expect will happen in mid- to late April, I can decide if I'm willing to continue with the strict diet until I get down to 136. 

I do have moments of cravings, especially during this past week of cold and rainy weather. Nothing makes me want to drink mug after mug of hot cocoa and to stuff my face with comfort foods like mashed potatoes and gravy, carb-heavy casseroles, and every form of bread ever invented like dreary grey skies and rain. But I'm continuing to focus on truly enjoying the foods that I do choose to eat, eating slowly and savoring each bite, and evaluating my choices in terms of trade-offs and caloric value (no wasted calories!). It does mean that I allow myself a few extra calories when there's something that I really, really want to eat, but it also means that I think about each choice before I make it. 

I continue to feel better: I have more energy, my clothes fit better, my joints ache less, my blood pressure is down. The positives by far outweigh (ahem) the negatives. I don't regret giving up anything. So I'll stick with it as long as it feels this good and I'm in a healthy place. I can do this! I AM doing this! I WILL do this!

Quote for the week:

"Eat clean to stay fit. Have a burger to stay sane." - Gigi Hadid