Motivation Mondays #4: The first 5lb mark!

I've reached what I would call the first official milestone of my weight loss - the first 5 lbs! It's a small milestone in the grand scheme of things (especially since I want to lose about 40lbs overall - 5 times what I've lost thus far) but it's an important one all the same. I'm starting my 4th week, which means I've been losing 1 lb a week fairly consistently - well, actually I only lost 0.5 of a lb the first week, so technically that means I've lost more than 4 lbs in only 2 weeks! I feel this is a healthy rate, but also fast enough that I'm staying motivated. I'm hoping since the ball is now rolling, weight will start to come off faster in coming weeks.

I didn't exercise as regularly as I would like last week but I didn't do TOO too bad. I went for about a 45-60 minute walk in the park with my friend on Tuesday after work and did an hour of yoga on Friday, plus a few small walks here and there. But I also went out for supper Tuesday night (pasta), Friday night (fried fish and sweet potato fries, eek), and Sunday (stuffed fish and veggies, but a large amount of pita bread plus some dessert, double eek). However, in between this eating out, I did quite well - I didn't eat a lot and didn't eat any junk food. It's a good thing because I probably would have gained otherwise! Damn you, Mother's Day and friend's birthday!!

Still struggling with fitting exercise into my schedule regularly (ugh). My plan to get off the bus at an earlier stop and walk the rest of the way to the office has been foiled by our stupid city workers who have had the walkway on the highway overpass (which I HAVE to walk over, no other way to go on foot) closed for the past week! So, I've had to take my usual route and that means no extra walking for me. Thanks alot, HRM. However, I do still have the option to get off at a later stop and walk from there, which is a different route, but the same difference in the end.

And this week is going to be even more tricky - I am going to the gym today at lunch (or else!) because it's too rainy/cold for a walk, but tomorrow I'm not going to be in because I have a job interview @ 1pm, then am driving to Yarmouth (about 4 hours) with a colleague for a work thing all day Wednesday, then another of these sessions back in Dartmouth all day Thursday. So, pretty much no exercise for me Wed or Thurs and a lot of sitting. However, I plan on taking my gym stuff to Yarmouth and heading to the hotel gym Tuesday night, so that will at least be something. I must try to get for a walk Friday after work to get another bit of exercise in, plus it's my co-worker's last day and we're going out for chinese food, plus having cake (triple eek!!). I guess I will try and make myelf order something small for lunch and forgoe cake, but we'll see how the rest of the week goes.

Good news about Saturday is that I'm going for a hike in Truro (about 1 hr from Halifax) with a group, so that will be great exercise! Not sure how long the hike will be but probably a couple of hours (stay away rain!!). So, this will certainly up the cardio quotient for the week! Fitting regular, sustained exercise into my schedule, however, continues to be my biggest challenge.

Another note - I've actually stopped recording my food every day. I found doing it for 2 weeks got me into the groove and I didn't really feel it was necessary anymore. I probably should be doing it, but I don't find writing it down makes me better at sticking with it at this point. I know what I'm NOT supposed to eat, it's just a matter of NOT eating it. For anyone starting out using the WW method though, I would recommend that you write your food down for at least the first couple of weeks as I did find it helpful to SEE what I was eating in a tangible way and to get me into the habit of eating right. Everyone's experience is different, I'm just sharing mine, but I just decided this wasn't something I really needed to do. Honestly, I found it to be more of a nuisance than anything after doing it for a couple of weeks. I still have the list of foods, so I can look up points values if I want to eat someting and I'm not sure if I should.

I'm sort of "gung-ho" about doing really well this week because I went for a fitting for my MOH dress on Saturday and the top is still a bit too tight. So frustrating. I really need to lose 5 lbs for it to feel comfortable (there is no more material to let out on the sides) so that's my next short-term goal - lose 5lbs by the wedding June 5th. I really hate to sound vain but it's not just about looking nice, it's about comfort. I don't want to feel sucked in all day and have to sit funny. I don't want to worry about my dress at all if I can help it; I want to umm, you know, ENJOY the wedding?! If I can do this, I will be really proud of myself because that means I'll be at the 10lb mark!

So, life keeps trucking along! Considering I have a job interview tomorrow, and my friend's bridal shower Sunday (plus planning the bachelorette for the end of the month, all with an extreme lack of funds) perhaps I will drop a couple of lbs thanks to stress! Nothing like your stomach eating itself to drop pounds hah.

Wish me luck for reaching the NEXT 5lb mark! How are your weight loss goals going? Have you reached a milestone this week?

Starting weight: 173lbs
Current weight: 167.4lbs
Weight lost to date: 5.6lbs