7 Pounds

Seven pounds gone. That's the goal I set for myself after finishing the Myrtle Beach Marathon. Why 7 pounds? Why not five or twelve or eight? I don't know. I just know I want to lose some weight and the number seven popped into my head as a reasonable goal. 

I didn't even know my weight when I decided to lose the seven. We don't keep a scale in the house and I'd been avoiding the scale at my trainer's. (Irony: I only weigh myself when I'm pretty sure I'm thin.) When I got on the scale last Monday for the first official weigh in, I was a pound or two lighter than I expected. No matter. I still want seven gone. 

I've hesitated about writing a post about this. First off, I'm not a big fan of losing a "set" number of pounds. Bodies differ in how they hold weight and there's muscle vs. fat, how your pants fit, are you healthy, how you feel, etc. But I know what my weight's been for a number of years, I know what my "thin" weight it, I don't plan on adding 10 pounds of muscle, so I think the seven is a pretty reasonable goal. Maybe not even enough.  

The real reason I hesitated to post though is because what if I fail? But I thought about it and decided some public accountability can't hurt. (This is your permission to slap the chocolate out of my hand if you catch me with any.)

I'm off to a good start. On Monday I weighed in 3.5 pounds lighter. That's a week of watching portions and trying not to snack (my downfall). Don't get too excited. I think those last 3-4 pounds are going to be stubborn. Also, I have to hold the 7 lb. weight loss for three weeks running before I can claim to have lost the weight. That way I can be sure it's real weight loss and not some random, albeit kind, scale fluctuation. 

Naturally, now that I've decided to lose weight, all I can think about is food. But I'm taking it day by day, sometimes minute by minute. I have forged a new bond with carrots. And don't worry that I'm starving myself - not even close. Blair and I went out for Mexican on Saturday and I cleaned my plate. I enjoy food way too much to ever deprive myself on a serious level. I'm just trying to be a little more sensible in how often and in what quantities I indulge. 

Cheers,

Dena