lose 100 pounds

There’s something naturally slimming about Europe. I’m not sure if it’s something in the air or maybe just the shocking lack of lifts in the ancient mountainous cities. Whatever it is, I was pleasantly surprised to return from my recent vacation to find that the last 10 or 15 pounds that have been stubbornly refusing to go had magically vanished.

I’m going to have to remain vigilant for the next week or so to make sure that I properly readjust to the more sedentary American lifestyle without regaining the weight, but I think I feel safe enough for now to mark this goal as complete.

And now the hard part begins. Reaching this goal has still left me on the wrong half of “overfat”, so there’s still quite a bit of weight left for me to lose.

I’m actually fairly freaked out that it is even possible that I can adopt this goal. I had no idea that I had let myself go so far. Progress so far has been slower than I would like, but that’s mostly because until recently I really hadn’t been focused on it. Now that I’ve already completed a chunk of it, I feel more confident in publicly adopting the goal and make a more concerted effort to accomplish it.

I think things started rolling after my trip to Amsterdam in October. Even though I was eating those vlaamse frites (fries and mayonaise) almost daily, and not to forget those amazing Belgian chocolates, this all seemed to be counterbalanced by the extra walking and climbing stairs.

When I returned back to the States, I gradually started cutting down on snacks, stopped drinking soft drinks with lunch, and tried eating better food. Then I renewed my efforts to walk to work each day, continuing all the way instead of waiting for the bus to take me up the final hill.

Last week I was drifting closer to the 25 pound mark and then drifiting away without ever crossing it. To finally push myself over the edge of this milestone I decided that I would walk at least 10 miles each day of this long weekend. That seems to have done the trick and I think I can safely say I’ve made it through the first 1/4 of the goal.