Ten Pounds!

Ten pounds plus down, people! Finally.

It feels nice. My first big goal has been to get back down to 350, which was my previous high weight. I have another 11 pounds to go for that, not bad! Once I hit that, I'm aiming for the 10% mark that's supposed to really help for overall health. That would put me at 37 pounds lost, or 335.

Beyond that, I guess I will take things 10% at a time. (Aha! See where my blog title came from?) I do have a strong feeling that this is going to be it – it's going to be the time that I finally succeed at my efforts, and it's all because my reasons for wanting to do this have crystallized in a way that they never have before. It's a holistic thing, it's everything, not just one piece of the puzzle. It feels real, it feels true.  I don't know what weight I will settle on. It could be anywhere from 150 to 250, quite honestly. I know that sounds like a cop out, that 250 number, but honestly the last time I weighed that after losing, it felt like a pretty good place to be. (On the other hand, I can remember when 250 was a terrible, awful number – it was a high that I never thought I'd go beyond at the time. This was 16 years ago. I remember crying about it.)

The real test will come when I'm six months in. In the past, that's been the breaking point in which something happens that causes me to give up, or when I just run out of steam. Fortunately, I have six months of training sessions left to commit to (which will put me at the seven month mark), and I will have my gym membership as long as I have my current health insurance, which pays for it. I have a good doctor who will be there to guide me along and encourage me. I have important health issues to consider.

I feel that no matter what, I MUST make it past six months this time. I am determined.

Last night I had an hour-long training appointment for the first time. I couldn't really imagine how we would fill that much time, not to mention how on earth I would be able to keep going for that long. Long story short, I did it! And I had fun, and I felt powerful. Big props to my trainer, Rick. His enthusiasm and trust in my abilities is a real boon to my confidence and willingness to go a little bit past my comfort zone, without getting hurt. We did a bunch of stuff, like variety hour at the gym! One of my favorite things turned out to be some squats with a kettlebell, of all things. It's amazing what changes I'm experiencing not only physically, but also mentally. On my rest days, I'm starting to miss having some sort of workout, whether it's at the gym or in the garden or a stroll around my neighborhood.

I my gosh, I just want this so bad now. I really, really do.