Three Pounds

'Allo!

Tomorrow is my mini-challenge official weigh-in. I have three pounds to lose today in order to "win".

I'd say that is probably not going to happen, though knowing my body, stranger things have happened, so we'll see.

Either way, I am pretty happy with what I've been able to do this past week. The best part is just totally getting my mindset back to a good – no, make that excellent – place! I am ready to rumble and loving it. I love how I've been feeling and I even love how I look. Proof, a photo at work this morning:

Sun-kissed and braided, happy me!

Could I possibly look any happier? I don't think so. (Yes, I've been getting a lot of sun lately, which could be part of the reason why I am happy! Vitamin D ftw.)

Also: Braids, braids, braids. I wish my hair was thicker so I could do more kinds, but just plain old little girl ones are fine with me. It's a comfortable, easy, and cute style, even for a 46-year-old lady like myself. (If I do say so.)

Food has been working out well today. 

Eating my food earlier in the day! Drinking lots of water!

Fruit and yogurt for breakfast, and Panera soup and salad for lunch – lots of protein! I had Moe's cookie leftover from last week, too. I may still have a banana or a peach by the end of the day, and I'll likely be drinking at least another seven glasses of water. (It's only 2pm as I write this.)

I know everyone has different ideas about what works, and the nutritionist I was working with told me that it doesn't matter at what time you eat your food, but for me? Eating most of my calories before, say 4pm (totally random time, by the way – but sometime late afternoon) seems to work really well for me, even if it is just a mental thing. I like being able to say to myself, OK, done eating today! and just not have to think about it again until morning. More than half of this, after all, is mental, and I feel like the less time I spend having to think about food, the better off I am. 

Of course I don't do this every day, but in general it's the way I prefer to eat – my partner, too.

So, anyway, thinking about what happens when my challenge is over? I'm keeping going, of course! I'm SO close to the 270s now and I cannot wait to reach the 100 pounds lost mark again (272, by the way). And to be in the 260s again??? Gah! Wow! I'm getting there. Below 265 will be all-new territory – at least in the last 18 years or so, and I just cannot wait.

Oh, and I almost forgot! I ended up walking to Panera, which is about 1.5 mile round trip from my office. It was the perfect day for it, and it was nice to stretch my legs (and burn a few cals!).