Monthly Accountability

When I first stepped on the scale today I was a little disappointed.  I have the best fantasies about how easily and quickly this weight is going to just fall off of me.  And you know, it could, if I was a bit more disciplined.  If I looked at this as a diet and was always adjusting and scolding and starving, I could definitely drop some fast pounds.

The last three days I've really been thinking about this "diet" thing.  I know we give a lot of lip service to whole idea of a "lifestyle" change as opposed to a diet... but truth is, we're all geared towards dieting when we first start out. Just about every magazine seems to try to reach to both ideas.  One article will talk about making small changes, while another will scream "Lose 10 lbs in 10 days with this miracle food!"  At this point... I think I am finally ready to say "ENOUGH".

Diet with deprivation ("no, I can't have that, it's too high in calories, fat, etc") seems to be good for me for only a short time. I may see great results, but it seems like I can never hold on to them long enough to really get a chance to enjoy and build on it. 

So.. before I go further .. let me give you the statistics for my first month of 2007:

Original Weigh in (Jan 5, 2007)- 227.8

Today's Weigh in                        223.6

Total Lost for January:  5.2

Total inches lost in January: 7.5.... to include 2" from my hips and 1" from my waist.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this entry, I was not thrilled to realize that I had only lost .9 lbs since my last weigh in (Jan 19).  In fact, I was unhappy enough to debate passing on taking my measurements.  I was worried that there would not be enough of a difference to keep me going forward. You know, the whole "why bother" argument.

But I knew I needed the accountability.  So... once I finally talked myself into it, I was actually quite pleased with the measuring. Especially since I'm pretty convinced that this is all just in the last two weeks (since starting the Walk Slim program) BECAUSE before then I was really not exercising at all.

At any rate, after much pondering and debating with myself, I've decided to put this whole month into the "win" column.  I did lose weight.  More importantly, I lost reasonable weight (according to my fat percentage machine 2 of those pounds were fat).  I didn't really ever feel deprieved this month. I managed to balance the "fun" food with the "healthy" food in a way that allowed for loss.  And the exercise most assuredly helped.

So I think I'm going to continue as I have started, placing the emphasis on exercise and making healthier choices when I can on food, and kind of watching the overall calorie count.  Maybe I am ready to make that "lifestyle" change that really does bring about permanent weight loss.