Day 74 - 21 Pounds Down! (219)

Whoo hoo--I've managed to stay under 220 for several days now, so I guess it's official!

Every time I do a post with the number of days and the amount I've lost, it renews my hope.  I don't realize until I do that I'm losing a pound about every 3.5 days--which is exactly the speed at which "they" say we should lose to make our weight loss sustainable--about 2 lbs/week.

Latest assignment from my trainer:  Aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep 90% of the time.

I've already made these past assignments habitual, about 90% of the time:

• No diet Coke (or other foods/drinks containing fake sweeteners)
• Drink water, water, water (but not after 7pm, so my sleep isn't disrupted)
• Take high dose of high-quality fish oil & a multivitamin daily
• At each meal, eat 1 palm-sized portion of protein & 2 fistfuls of veggies
• Try to increase weekly the number of steps I walk every day, aiming to hit 10K
• DON'T QUIT!

That last one turns out to be SO important.  So many times I've started this process and made good progress, only to quit because I "feel skinny", or think "I've got this"--and then I slip slowly back into my old poor habits.

If I can just keep doing what I'm doing, good things can happen this year.

I'm starting to even get excited about the possibilities of doing new and different things--like maybe biking to work in the future, or even running a 5K someday, instead of walking.  (I did mention doing the Couch-to-5K program to Dustin at our last session.  He said I'm better off to try to increase the speed at which I can walk distances rather than trying to run, especially at this point in the process.  Running really doesn't do more for a person's health than brisk walking--especially when they have knee issues.  That was good to hear, as I've never really enjoyed running.)

I bought my 3rd FitBit this month, the "Zip".  I don't really like it; I have to tap it several times to see my step count, and it hasn't been very reliable/accurate.  On Tuesday I had an hour-long training session at the gym, including lots of walking; then I went to the grocery store for a "big shop"; then I picked my husband up at the airport and even walked up and down the waiting area many times to kill some time until his plane got in.  But when I got home and checked my steps, it said EIGHT!!  GAAAAAH!  Dumb thing.  I wish my original FitBit Ultra hadn't stopped working.  :-(  

Just wanted to update this so I could see/record my progress.  So far, so good!

Oh, and I've decided on a reward for myself to work toward.  Once I lose 75 lbs (and notice I didn't say IF), I think I'll get myself the newest iPhone.  It's about time.