I am very, very happy to announce that after three torturous months, I seem to have broken out of the plateau I was in. I just couldn't seem to get out of the 270s for the life of me. With my extra efforts the past couple weeks, I have made some good progress and finally hit 268 at my weigh-in on Saturday. It was a real thrill, truly.
Now that we're in a new month, I'd like to set some goals for November.
• Since I would like to lose 20 pounds by the new year, I need to lose 10 each month. This might be pushing it a little bit, but I also think I can get really close if I continue my focused efforts. I feel like I am on a roll and want to carry it through to 2016.
So, I'd like to see 260 or less by the end of November.*
(In correlation to that, I expect that I'll be able to publicly wear a pair of size 20 Old Navy dress pants that I have never been able to wear before – I guess I bought them the last time I was losing weight but never got there. I do wear one pair of size 20 jeans from Avenue now. The ON ones I tried on tonight for the first time in a while and was amazed I could get them zipped and buttoned... they are just still too tight to wear out respectably. Ten more pounds should do it.)
• It looks like I might be finished with physical therapy by Thanksgiving. I was told about four more weeks by my PT and that was last week, so... yes, I'd really like to be finished with it by the holiday. I must be diligent with my exercises. I tell you what, my butt and legs are feeling pretty rock solid lately. That's a good sign.
• I will continue to get at least 30 minutes of sweat-inducing exercise at least five times a week, every week. That has been going well. I'm in the habit now.
• I have a plan in place for Thanksgiving, which I talked about with my partner who is also losing weight. We decided to only have the things we really, really like: A farm-raised turkey, sausage stuffing, a traditional sweet potato casserole, southern-style green beans simmered with a ham hock, homemade cheese bread, homemade cranberry sauce with orange and ginger (that one's for me – mmmm!). We'll make a much smaller portion of mashed potatoes than usual (they taste best the day of anyway), and we're getting pie from a local restaurant that is to DIE for.
For better or worse, we've both decided to go on an austerity budget, eating-wise on the few days before Thanksgiving to help mitigate the damage. I suppose you could compare it to the 5:2 diet thing, or intermittent fasting. It's not something I would normally do, but since Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and one that I want to fully enjoy, I think it is a fine trade-off to take that approach.
In addition, I plan to do my 2nd Annual Personal Turkey Trot! Since I will be busy cooking that morning, I won't be able to attend the real Turkey Trot in nearby Buffalo with my friends, but I do plan to do either a 5K or 4 mile distance later that afternoon – walking or running, whichever I can do at that point. I did it last year for the first time and really enjoyed it and thought it would make a great tradition for me, and a way to burn some cals and get out of that turkey coma I'm sure I will be experiencing!
* NEW! I just figured out that the last weigh-in for ToF at Fleet Feet this session is going to be December 5th, and in order to get the 5% reward (two $25 gift certificates), I'll need to be < 259 or so. I really, really want to meet this goal! It's sort of an extended November goal going into December, but that is OK. I'm going to work really hard to get there, Thanksgiving be damned.
***
So how'd I deal with Hallowe'en? Well, I didn't really have to as we are one of those Scrooge-y houses that turn all the lights off and don't participate in the whole trick or treat thing. Of course that means no snack-size candy in the house. Instead, though, I had a planned indulgent day yesterday that included pizza, Smartfood popcorn, gelato, and chocolate, plus a bottle of sparkling wine – some of my favorite foods. It was somewhat controlled in that I stopped eating by around 5:30pm. Other mitigating factors included two hours of exercise that morning, plus drinking tons of water all throughout the day and into the evening, as well as the mindset that I would absolutely get back to business today – and I did! It is also my intention that until Thanksgiving, I will be sticking to plan fairly strictly. I really want to reach my short-term goal.
Breaking things down, I am aiming to lose two to two and a half pounds each week, and that has been happening the past two weeks once I started following Mindy the dietitian's suggestions. Depending on where I sit at the new year, I'll see whether I need a little break and work on maintaining at around 250, or continue on right away.
Beyond that important 250 mark, I'm looking intently at 230, a weight where I last remember feeling like I looked pretty "normal". Wow – it's not that far away anymore! I am super excited for the next six months to see where I end up.
In the meantime, I must focus on the day to day effort and not worry too much about what lies that far ahead.
One step at a time.
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