Lose 30 pounds

It feels unreal, I can’t believe I actually lost 30 pounds. It took a lot of hard word, determination, and patience. Patience was the most important thing of all, because if you want the weight to stay off, you have to take it off slowly. I also lost almost 10% body fat, went from a size 10 to a size 4, and I feel much more normal.

It has been such slow going lately, but I am trying to be patient. My workouts are increasing, but I’m having a hard time balancing my calories. Am I eating enough? Do I have a big enough decrease to actually lose weight? Very tough. And so very very close now.

Between January and February I lost about a pound a half of fat, and gained a quarter pound of lean. I’ve lost almost 1% body fat.

I’m also having a hard time letting go. As in, letting go and just being a normal person. If I miss I workout, I beat myself up. I’ve become a slave to my calorie counts, and I spend a lot of my time doing macronutrient research. 30 pounds no longer seems like enough. I guess you never really get over an eating disorder.

Weight is creeping down pretty slowly, but still coming down. And so very close! Only about a pound and a half to go, I can practically taste it. I’m being more diligent about getting all my workouts in, and I can tell its making a difference. I’ve also changed my strength training. I switched from plain lightweight stuff to more heavyweight stuff. Still only 15 minutes for each session, but it kicks my butt a lot more. Maybe another week and I’ll be at my goal.

My weight has been fluctuating a bit the last week, but I think it is a downward trend. I hope it is! I added strength training this week, which I previously had not done any of. Nothing major, just 15 minutes 3 times a week with dumbells and my own bodyweight and stuff. I’ve also started tracking my body fat % using my scale. Even though it says not to, I do it first thing in the morning. The directions say not within 3 hours of waking, eating, drinking, or working out. That doesn’t exist for me, so I just do it in the morning when I get on the scale. 24.9% I don’t know how accurate it is, so I’m just using it as a starting point to make sure I’m not losing muscle as I continue to train for my triathlon.
Honestly, body composition cracks me up. I did this thing online with height, weight, and waist measurement that said I was 1.2% body fat. Obviously flawed. Calipers say I’m 18%, but that’s off too, because the sites where they take the measurements aren’t where I store my fat! So I take the actual number with a grain of salt, and just watch for downward movement. My goal now is to keep decreasing body fat, inches, and pant sizes.

I’m a bit frustrated right now. I’ve been working out consistently, and keeping my diet right on track. Right number of calories and good food. But I just can’t seem to lose weight right now. I guess its a bit of a plateau. I know they just happen, and it can just take time, but I’m so frustrated. I’m doing everything right! I’ll just keep trucking along, and tracking my weight with the graph. Maybe I am still losing, just very very slowly. The last 5 pound really are the hardest of all.

Wow, only 3 more pounds until I can mark this goal as completed. That is completely unreal. Of course, the 150 was with some clothes on, and now I weigh myself at home in the morning in the buff. So does it still count? I hope so, because I have been working really hard to check this off my list.
At any rate, my weight started dropping really fast this past week, and I guess it is because I ramped up my workouts a bit. More time on the bike, you know? I am afraid that my weight will go back up a bit, that some of this is water weight, but still, I am very close. I lot closer than I was at the beginning of this journey. I used to be sitting at 146 for months, just hoping the pounds would sort of fall off my body. Now I work really hard, and count all my calories, and I am so proud of myself. So close!

I managed to lose weight over Christmas! It took a lot of determination and careful calorie counting, but I did it! The weight is still coming off pretty slowly, about 1.5 to 2 pounds per week depending on how much exercise I do. I’m finding at this point that I’m eating between 1150-1300 calories a day. I’m also finding that my exercise is playing a more and more important role. If I spend a week slacking off, I see the difference in the scale. I really have to work hard now to see the numbers I want. But I’m really happy and I hope to reach my goal within the next month or so.

After who knows how long bouncing around between 129.? and 130.? I finally reached 129.0
Yesterday I was 129.4, and today 129.0, marking the first time in weeks that my weight went down two days in a row. I really hate plateaus. I’ve been making a more concerted effort with my working out this past week, with 2 runs and 2 training rides. This week I hope to get in 3 of each. I’m still taking in between 12-1300 calories a day, as 1400 seemed to be too high still. Maybe when I have longer workouts I’ll be ready for more food. Funny how people always underestimate the number of calories they eat, and overestimate the number of calories they burn.
Anyway, here’s to marking my renewed march downward. I really hope it doesn’t get stuck again.

2/3 of the way there. I’m pretty excited. Sort of. I mean, my weight has been bouncing up and down the last week, so for all I know it will be back above 130 tomorrow. But today, I’m below 130, and that means I’ve lost over 20 pounds. Only 10 more pounds to go for this goal. It has been pretty tough, and the first 15 pounds were easier for sure. I’ve had to start eating more, closer to 1400 calories, as my exercise has increased. Here’s hoping I have a steady march downward for the last 10 pounds.

Wow. It has been a hard couple of weeks, but progress is still being made. The first 15 came off much easier, and now it seems to be slowing down. I have to work harder for every little pound that comes off, and it is a bit frustrating. But oh so gratifying when they do come off. Almost 2/3 of the way there, and won’t that be a fine day to post. My jeans are way too loose, I’m sure I’m down a size. I’m going to wait until I just can’t wear them at all until I buy new ones though. I want to just be amazed, you know?