Weigh-in

After my gain of 0.4 last week (putting my weight to 144.6), I was really hoping to see 143 point anything this morning. Well, I didn’t see 143. Or 142. I saw 141.3! I lost 3.3 pounds this week! I can barely believe it – this is the most weight I’ve lost in one week! So now I have 1.3 pounds left to reach my goal weight of 140 which puts me at a healthy BMI for the first time in a long time.

I can’t believe that I could see my goal weight at next week’s weigh-in. That sure is motivation to eat healthy and exercise all week. If I don’t see my goal weight, I won’t be disappointed. How can I be when I’m so close and if I don’t see it next week, it could just as easily be the week after!

I have been considering adding a new goal of weighing 135 pounds. Because I’m so close to my goal weight, I have a pretty good idea of how I’m going to look when I get there – 1.3 pounds more lost isn’t going to change anything drastically (unless it ALL managed to come off my tummy or thighs or something). I think 135 will put me in a comfortable place. And considering that the weight is still coming off easily, I think my body will allow for it. I definitely wouldn’t try for 135 if I was posting small losses each week, or posting gains frequently.

So my game plan is this: I’m going to stick to what I’ve been doing with healthy eating and exercise since it seems to be working well. But I’m giving myself a deadline for getting to 135. If I’m not there by May 1st, I’m sticking to whatever weight I’m at on that date. I think May 1st is reasonable – it means I would just have to lose about a pound per week for the next month and a bit. I think that goal is attainable.

I’m also going to start thinking about a maintenance plan. I’m most likely going to start adding calories back in slowly so my body doesn’t go crazy. I already have some simple ideas that won’t involve a drastic change to my eating and will increase a couple hundred calories a day back into my diet:

• switching back to full-fat cheese instead of low-fat
• using 2/3 c skim milk in my oatmeal every morning instead of all water or only 1/3 c skim
• eating full-fat yogurt instead of low-cal, low-fat stuff
• always having a serving of fresh fruit or veggies with lunch
• having lean beef at dinner some nights instead of always chicken or fish

So I think even small changes will be effective and I’ll have more room for the occasional splurge. Obviously I’ll have to play around with things to make sure I’m maintaining and not still losing each week. But I think I can do it