-75

Whoot whoot!  After a week and a half in Denver with no scale to speak of, I arrived home and weighed in yesterday, having lost another 6 pounds and officially hitting -75 pounds lost since surgery.  I’m still in a little shock over how far I’ve come in such a short time.  Every time I seem to feel my progress has slowed, I look back over the prior 30 days and I am always amazed.  I’m plugging along and progress is being made.

It’s funny.  When I travel, I am very methodical about my eating, but my exercise tends to go by the wayside a bit.  My hours are all messed up and that makes getting in the rhythm feel more difficult.  When I’m home, I don’t seem to be a regimented about my eating but my exercise is spot on.  So, I guess it’s a balance.

The question I get most often is “what advice do you have…”.  I certainly do not profess to have any answers to anything, but I do have some personal insights that I can share.  Things I’ve learned and tried apply personally along the way.

• It really is a marathon.  It is not a sprint.  Progress takes time to see, feel, and believe.
• “Bad Days” are going to happen, but really, is it a bad day, or a bad choice?  And if it’s a bad choice, can’t that be offset by two or three better choices?
• Treat yourself like you would a good friend.  I know I personally am not outwardly critical when someone is struggling.  Why, then, do I think it’s okay to be critical of myself?
• Back away from the scale.  Obsession with the numbers will be defeating in the end.  I personally vary in weight from hour to hour, day to day so what’s the point in weighing every day or ever hour?  Zero.  If I weight a week and weigh in on the same day, at about the same time, I tend to see a shift in the scale in the downward direction…and even if it’s just a few ounces, it’s worth celebrating.
• Which brings me to celebrating.  I prepared a list of small celebrations for every 5 pounds and then bigger celebrations for larger milestones — none of which are food related.  I really look forward to hitting those marks.
• Indulge along the way.  I am not a purist.  I have had Recess peanut butter mini-cups, a few at a time along the way.  But I will tell you, I’ve had far more broccoli than Recess.  It’s about balance.
• Measurements and how I feel far outweigh what I weigh.
• Invest in a few items of clothing in each new size.  Before starting I swore I wouldn’t invest in a whole wardrobe until I reached my goal, and I still hold to that, but I have bought a few new jeans/tops/workout clothes.  I realized that when I was wearing over-sized clothes, I couldn’t see the changes in my body and I was feeling deflated by that.  Wearing clothes that fit my new body have helped my brain adjust.
• Find a person, people, or group to support your healthy journey.  I have my people and then I have my blog.  It helps me to  work out stumbling blocks and celebrate successes when I am not keeping everything to myself.  I don’t know where I’d be without my peeps.
• Every day is a new day.  Complete with new challenges and successes.  Yesterday is full of lessons, not mistakes.  Embrace the journey.

So that’s what I’ve learned in my -75 pounds journey.  I have a whiles to go still, but not nearly as far as I had to go when I began.  I feel incredibly blessed to have my health restored and my energy level returned.  So many wonderful adventures to look forward to.  There just are no more words.