Yo, I'm here

and I've lost 19.4 pounds total. I worked too hard then had a brief vacation. And now I'm struggling to get used to it being dark when I leave for work.

Update

It's been a while. August, allergies, and slow slow movement. But I'm down 16.6 so in spite of dead slow, it's moving in the right direction. Next plan: develop a regular yoga practice.

Sleep

is amazing. I usually run on about 5 hours during the week and catch up a bit on weekends, but I'm always tired. I took a long weekend to do nothing much, caught up on sleep, and dropped a bit of weight as a bonus. I'm down 15.8 lbs. and I'm pretty pleased about it. I'm past that first burst of enthusiasm and still hanging in.

What A Surprise!

I was slogging along gaining and losing the same 2 pounds and all of a sudden, whoop. Nearly 4 lbs. down. Now I'm trying to remind myself of the importance of persistence and tenacity. That, I believe, is the lesson for the long term. For now, though, I've lost 14.6 pounds and I'm quite pleased about it. It seems like beyond the range of normal fluctuation and on the right road.

A Long Weekend

with sun and pool opening and a NEW BICYCLE. Yes, I'm out of practice. It has been a long time since I went everywhere on a bike. And I'm quite ungainly with a bad knee to boot. Be that as it may, I've been a few yards every day. Well maybe more than a few yards, but not many.

Oh, and I lost a few pounds. I've lost 7 since I started Weight Watchers four weeks ago, 12 since I decided to get serious about getting healthier and feeling better. It's interesting that I can feel 5 or 10 pounds lost. Why didn't I feel 5 or 10 pounds gained? Because I really didn't notice? More likely I was ignoring all of those signals, how my body felt. You can't get to be 100+ pounds overweight if you're noticing how lousy it feels all the time.

Interestingly enough, I've thought a lot about how I feel. It's difficult to do so becausse I feel so narcissistic. On the other hand I've paid enough attention to the needs of others over the years. I'm due a little narcissism. Back to the point. I think I felt the best in my life when I was 11. I was strong and free and smart and puberty hadn't messed all that up yet. I wandered about, walked and rode my bike and swam miles just because it felt good. I realized that I've totally lost that feeling. I want it back. Even when I'm not so comfortable with what I have to do to get there.

Hence the bike. That looks like this:

(That one isn't mine, although it is the same brand and color. That one belongs to and was uploaded to Flickr by Melly Bee. Mine has a removable basket. It will have panniers when I find some I love.

Yo, Something New

I started going to Weight Watchers two weeks ago. I hate the meetings but I figured it was time to switch up, to try something new. As you can see I'm trying lots new.

Turns out I've lost 5.4 pounds in the last two weeks which gets me past the 10 pounds lost threshold. It's hard to think of that as substantial when I have so much to go, but I'm working on it. And I'm celebrating with a massage today. And a new button over there on the right. (Thanks Diana.)

Insight. Duh!

After struggling for a week to take my lunch to work every day I figured out that I should buy stuff at the supermarket to take. Sometimes my stupidity amazes me.

Treadmill Test

I've been struggling with knee pain, new orthotics, and what not. The pain has been much less for the past two weeks so I gave the treadmill at the nearby gym a very easy test. Ten minutes at a very easy pace. I got there and got back. And am pain free. If I'm still pain free tomorrow, I'll try again another day.

Not Good

Seriously, what's the matter with Australia that they think this is the ideal look. In case you don't know, this is Australia's entrant into the Miss Universe pageant. She is 6' tall and weight 105. Can we have a little sense here?

Hither and Yon

I made two significant trips this week, both close to home.

On Wednesday I went to a Weight Watchers meeting. I'm not a social sort, so the idea of all of us there together isn't appealing. On the other hand, the meeting, according to the Blessed Google, turns out to be 2.4 miles from my house. I don't have the too far or too inconvenient excuses. It was upbeat and cheerleady but not so much that I barfed. And I signed up ahead of time for a month on line, so I might as well show up for a while and see how that goes.

Wednesday was my birthday. So instead of cake I gave myself Weight Watchers. I was really proud of myself.

Today I went to the gym, did three whole minutes on a stationary bike which sounds ridiculous even to me. Then again my allergies are in full flower (ha ha) and after three minutes I had no breath. Instead of skulking off, discouraged (which I was) I did 1/2 hour of weight training. Yay me!

I think my main goal at this point is just to do anything regularly -- anything at all. The habit is so important and the distractions so great.