Sorry, not been around barely at all these days. So much going on with work, home and love. But weight and losing thereof remains my number one priority, so will need to look at this.

Anyway, week 94 – week bloomin’ 94!!!! – and I’ve lost 3.5 lbs. I’m doing so well, and it’s because I’m walking my butt off and tracking. It makes a huge difference. I’ve now lost 128.5 lbs in total, over 9 stones. I’ve done it slowly and steadily, and although I know the failure rates are sky high for weight loss, I am pleased to have been doing this for nearly two years. I am fairly sure that this is the only way to lose weight:

- find something you can do for the rest of your life and do it
- time is more important than numbers

Other than that, it’s intensely personal. I’ve spent a lot of time this week reading scholarly articles about what makes the difference with weight loss maintenance, and I’ve adopted them in (or already do them):

- eat breakfast (I always have porridge)
- weigh in regularly (I know weigh in daily – it helps me a lot to chart my losses, and removes the Sunday anxiety; I weigh in once and that’s it, it’s less angsty)
- exercise daily (I walk EVERYWHERE now, and most days I log about 13 k step – that’s a lot, btw. 90 minutes of solid walking)
- don’t take time off from dieting (I don’t do this so much, although I am more relaxed on Sundays)
- track what you eat (this really works!)
- low fat, low calorie (I follow Slimming World nominally; basically I eat as much fruit/veg as I like, and avoid sugar and processed foods – this has evolved over two years I must say)

I don’t drink enough water – I don’t like it. I take a daily photograph, and I would say that is my biggest motivation of all. I love clothes and again that is a huge trigger for me.

I also do a lot of visualisation. I think about myself in twenty years’ time: running and walking and gorgeous and happy, or morbidly obese again and in a mobility buggy. Guess which one makes me cry? I’ve written this before, but if my future self could come back and see me Terminator style, I know 100% she would beg me to give everything to getting to my weight loss goal and maintaining it. Regaining this weight would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And I’ve been through some tough stuff, so I’m not exaggerating. Regaining the 128.5 lbs would be a death sentence.

So, I’m not complacent. This goal is the one I want the most, it’s the one that I am clearest about, it’s the one where I am aware that it’s the most likely to fail. If I want to be one of the tiny number of success stories, it has taken and will take my attention, determination and sheer bloody mindedness. People who have 10lbs to lose (or even a 100 lbs) won’t understand how life or death this is to me.

Anyway, great week again. Love seeing such a big loss again, and hopefully next week I’ll make it to the 130lbs lost!!