Stalled

I haven't posted about my Journey to Better Health for a while.

I know you are all beside yourselves with wonder about how things are going.

They are in a word somewhat....stalled.

I seem to have hit a plateau here in the past month or so.

As it stands right now I have lost a total of 18 pounds. I have 4 more to go to hit the weight recommended by my doctor.

I think the stall started on vacation. I did not watch what I ate. I did not eat a ton, but my choices were frequently of the cheeseburger, pizza realm. (C'mon! I was in New York! How am I supposed to go there and NOT eat a slice. Or maybe two. Not at the same sitting however!)

Our hotel did not seem to have a gym, so I did not exercise as I have been. I did however do a MASSIVE amount of walking. This kept me from gaining while on the trip.

I think the problem has been that since returning I have not been quite as vigilant about the eating as have been the past few months. I have lost a little, but am nowhere near what I have been losing. I continue to exercise as I have been the entire time.(Except for this week. I had to take a few days off. I had some issues with my knee, of the limping miserably variety. Rest and Motrin seem to have done the trick. Thank goodness, I was getting worried!)

So methinks it is time to shake things up a bit. I guess I have to go back to my vigilant calorie management, and I think we need to make some changes to the ol' exercise routine. I am going to add an extra 10 minutes a day. That may not seem like much, I know. I have some DVD's that have very intense short cardio/toning workouts. It is like a 30 minute work out in 10. Did I mention that they are intense? Ohh those DVDs are from hell. I hope that this will help get things moving again.

I also have almost maybe definitely decided to go for it and get down to what I consider to be my best weight. It is not that far past what the Dr. recommended and I really like the idea of having a cushion.

Now on to some more positive things. I am soon going to have to buy some new clothes. I have a lot that is really way too big. A few things that are absolutely past wearing any longer, and more that will be that way soon. That is pretty exciting.

I am also really happy about how elevated my mood has become. This has been a pleasant and unexpected bonus. I have frequently felt very irritable, cranky, and out of sorts over the past 6 months to a year. I have had a few points in time where I began to think that it might be time to seek some uhh..professional assistance. I don't feel that way any longer. I am glad. It is no fun to feel eternally irritable. No fun atall.

It is interesting to hear people's reactions to my weight loss. It is pretty noticeable now I guess. I have had many people say that they never would have guessed that I needed to lose 20 plus pounds. Which is good I suppose. Not sure what I did to disguise it, but whatever it was worked.

So the journey continues. I hope that in another month or so I can share that goal one (Dr. recommended weight) has been met.

I think I need to reward myself with something when this is all done. I have a few ideas, but would be interested in your thoughts. How would you reward yourself for such an accomplishment?

And no.. I do not plan to take myself out to an expensive calorie-laden meal.

But maybe some ice cream.