The First 10

Finally, finally, I have lost 10 pounds. Part of me is really proud and part of me is downright shocked at how long it took. What they say about getting older and the metabolism slowing down? Um, yeah, there's something to that.

Ten pounds is the equivalent of TWO LUCYS!

I haven't done anything revolutionary. I haven't joined any programs or purchased a fit bit or drastically changed my daily routine. I haven't cleansed or bought a lifetime supply of vitamins or sworn off, well, anything.

I have kept a food journal since mid-May in which I honestly and meticulously record everything (diet and exercise) every day. I only weigh myself once a week - same time and place every week, just for consistency's sake. The first five-ish pounds dropped relatively quickly, but then progress came to a standstill, and around July I began to count calories. (Side note: how did people ever count calories before the internet??) I have to say that counting calories has been a real eye-opener, and definitely led to the next "stage," if you will, of losing.

The weight loss has been unbearably slow gradual for a few reasons, I'm sure, but the main one is that as I'm losing fat, I know I'm building muscle, which weighs more. Since I'm not tracking BMI or fat percentages or anything cray cray like that, I just have to know that that's going on with my body.

I don't think I look much different:

Past

Present

The progress tends to become "tangible" only in random spurts. I will go for a couple of weeks feeling that my body is the same, the very same, as it was a few months ago, despite riding miles and miles on my bike and really counting calories. Then, on a random morning, one of my skirts will be too big to wear anymore (as in, it won't stay up on its own! <--true story) and, just like that, I'll realize that I'm making progress.

That said, even having lost 10 pounds, some of my regular old clothes are just a tight as they've always been, which is really discouraging.

No one has made any comments or asked any questions, which leads me to believe that I don't look any different. I feel different, though. Paying attention to food and exercise helps me control stress in an enormously effective way. Drinking water all the time makes me feel better and more energetic. Exercising regularly makes me feel strong and helps my body to metabolize the adrenaline it produces when I get stressed out. Exercising wears me out and helps me to sleep well at night instead of giving way to a wandering mind. Watching my food intake helps me to feel good instead of overfull and bloated. Methods that were "new" a couple of months ago now feel "normal" and just, right.

And I'm now entering the hardest season - a busy semester. I rocked it last week, riding all the time until I actually got a little sick of my bike, and I have a plan for next week, when all 75 of my jobs will be going simultaneously. If I've learned anything, it's that I have to do something to make progress. If I change nothing, if I do nothing, then I will continue to weigh this amount and my outside appearance won't match my inside personality.

So, here's to the next 10!