Nailed It!: Week 14 Check-In

Double score this week: I hit my goal of 148.4 pounds, which was also the 30-pound mark. Yay for me! Somewhat coincidentally, I also got a new cell phone this week and lost my weigh-in history from my phone app. But that's okay, because I'm starting a new goal: losing 12 more pounds to reach 136. 

My two goals both have a very practical basis: they're set points that I know my body sticks at for a while. I had two babies in my early forties, after which I stayed within a couple of pounds of 148 for nearly a decade; and throughout my 30s, when I ranged from 132 to 136. I would say that 148 pounds is both a healthy and - as I have just proved - an attainable weight for me. And 136 is an even healthier and probably also an attainable weight. If I find I can't get there, though, I'm not going to beat myself up. Staying below 150 for the rest of my life is my overarching goal; if I can drop another 10 or 12 pounds, all the better, but not a huge deal if I can't make it. 

Yesterday was also my 16th wedding anniversary, and my husband and I went out to dinner with our kids, our niece and nephew, and our niece-in-law-to-be, which meant an excuse to dress up. Which meant an excuse to try on all the dresses in my closet that I've been hanging onto for years in the hopes of fitting into them again (or at least, looking good in them again). Instead of the 2 or 3 nice dresses I've been able to wear for the past few years, I had my choice of a dozen or so! I opted for an old favorite, a cherry red, high-waisted, clingy surplice dress. In a size 8. And I don't mind saying that I ROCKED IT.

But more important than looking good, I am FEELING good. I mean, think about it: thirty pounds is like two Thanksgiving turkeys. Imagine going for a walk carrying a full-sized turkey under each arm, and then putting them down. How much lighter and stronger would you feel? My kids are both BSA Scouts, and when they go backpack camping, the recommendation for maximum pack size is 20% of your body weight, so a 150-pound person should carry a pack that weighs no more than 30 pounds. Now, hiking while carrying a 30-pound pack is a lot. I had basically been "hiking" through life with a full backpack, and now I've taken it off. 

This Monday is Patriot's Day here in Massachusetts, and part of our local celebration is a reenactment of the historic battle in Concord, the famous "shot heard 'round the world." A regiment of Minutemen from our town marched to the battle, a 7-mile trek, and our local reenactors recreate that march every year, accompanied by my son's Scout troop, the Isaac Davis troop, named for the captain of that regiment, who was the first officer to die in the American Revolution. My husband and son have made that hike a number of times, but this year my daughter and I plan to join them for the final 4+ miles. A year ago I wasn't comfortable with the thought of keeping up with a bunch of teenage boys for 4 miles, but now that I've "dropped my backpack," I think I can do it.   

That's why I'll be happy even if I never lose another pound. I've found a place where I feel good, I'm eating healthy without depriving myself too much, and I feel like I could continue eating this way for good. Could I drop another fifteen or twenty pounds if I really had to? Probably. But I've found a balance between looking and feeling healthy, and enjoying the foods I love. And that's a great place to be. 

Quote for the Week:

I'd rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size zero.

- commonly misattributed to Sophia Loren (who did say "All you see I owe to pasta.")

Not a size zero, and gorgeous