Day 45: Back in the saddle again

Day 45: Weigh-in 172.4

Yes! It's Me! I have in fact posted once again. I'm not going to lie, I got discouraged. I was posting the same numbers day after day, and frankly it was disheartening to keep this up until something changed. Since my last post on Feb. 11th, I have bounced back and forth between 174-176 lbs. The day before yesterday I broke through with a 173.9. I wanted to make sure it wasn't a fluke before picking this up again.

I had a very frank talk with my husband about how frustrated I was that I wasn't losing weight (on the scale), despite my best efforts. He told me matter-of-factly that we women put too much emphasis on weight, and I should be looking for other indicators that I was improving. So I did:

1. The belt I wear everyday: When I was working I had to buy it because all my other ones were too small, and even this one I could only get on the first hole. I'm now on the 4th, borderline 5th (and final) hole. I can actually fit into most of my other belts again, but I continue to wear this one to measure my progress.

2. My clothes from last summer: Last year I was 195 lbs and refused to buy clothes in size XL or pants bigger than a 12 or maybe 14. As a result I know I didn't look as good as I could have, and clothing was often tight in unflattering places. I can now wear all of those comfortably, even loosely, and am working my way back into my old size 10 clothing.

3. My run time: When I first got on the treadmill, I was unable to finish a full 1.5 miles without slowing down and walking. I couldn't continue a 5mph pace without stopping, and the 1.5 miles took 18-19 minutes. To finish 2 miles took almost 28 minutes. I can now do a continuous 5.5mph pace without stopping, and my mile and a half time is about 16 minutes. Two miles takes 23, but that's just speed walking the last half mile (5.5 still takes the wind out of me, even if i can finish it)

4. Seated leg press: I started with 10 reps at 115 lbs. I can now do 15 reps at 175lbs.

5. All my other weights and reps have gone up as well.

6. I have more energy for every day activities, and my knees and shins aren't bothering me anymore.

I'm still working with my trainer, and in fact have a session with him tomorrow. Every time I work with him, he says I did a lot better than he thought I would, and makes the next workout even harder. One of our workouts was a circuit of 8 exercises that I was to complete 3 times without stopping. He thought it would take me about 45 minutes, and I finished in 29:57. The last exercise of the circuit was a 1/4 mile on an incline, and I finished it a few seconds faster each time.

I am going to try to keep this up better than I have been, but instead of daily posts, I will probably only post when I have reached a new low weight. I know I just went on about how I have made progress in other areas, but I still step on that scale everyday, and that's the number that follows me. The number I'm still fighting to change.

P.S. Only 2.4 lbs before I post a new picture of myself =)