Week 24 - Sigh

Stats:  +1lb
Average burn:  2397 (so close to goal of 2400!)
Average calories:  1248

This is a week that I (we) take time to be grateful.  Everyday, I try to think about how fortunate I am and give thanks, but during Thanksgiving, I think about it in a bigger way - not only about my family, friends, health, but also about having a manager who doesn't drive me crazy, or the fact that I have my wonderful mother living with me, or for something that I take for granted - like trash pick up!  In any case, gratitude is in my heart, and it's important to put all things in perspective.

That's why I tried not to be too discouraged by the scale on Friday.  It was the day after Thanksgiving for goodness sake, and I wasn't exactly an angel.  I had all my favorites, plus seconds, and apple pie.  I skipped dinner, but I did have another piece of pie at 10 PM!  I tried to account for it on my food tracker, but I'm sure my total was underestimated - I came out at ~1750 calories, and that seems remarkable, don't they say the average meal is 2000?  But, I have a couple of things that are going for me, and that is that I don't use gravy, and I have some great vegetable sides that are part of my meal.  Anyway, even if I had consumed less calories, I bet I still would have been up a pound because of all the salt.  At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

This week I had two realizations.  The first one is that you can lose 10% of your body weight, and you can feel good about yourself, and you can be happy that you fit into your clothes again, but you still look fat!  It's like when I watch The Biggest Loser.  The contestant has lost like 150 pounds, but he/she still looks fat.  His BMI is probably still obese (at least mine is now merely "overweight").  It's crazy - but the fact is that it's something that messes with your head.  You want to celebrate what you've done, but you realize that you've only made a dent.

The other realization that I had is that I'm going to be at this for more than a year.  I have been focused on this goal so much, and not in the "Ah, I've crossed the finish line, time for a buffet and a nap", type of focus.  I know that I will have to - no, I want to - keep up with my "healthy lifestyle", I've even added it to my workout sheet.  I think what I realized is that my body needs a lot more work than just losing the weight.  I'd like to think I could just be 135-140 pounds and look great, but I think I've abused my body for too long to expect that.  Also, I need to get strong in order to stay strong.  And I want to stay strong for my children, future grandchildren, and, of course, for myself.  I guess part of me was thinking that I could meet this goal then sail into maintenance mode for the rest of my life, but I don't think so.  Maybe it's good that I realized it now instead of waiting until almost the end.

Next week:  Annual trip to Boston, the start of the holiday season, and amping up the activity.