Photo: January 5, 2012
"So....how's that weight loss thing going?"
"Are you still doing that diet thing?"
Oh if only I had a dollar for every time I've been asked a question like that in the last month. I'd probably have enough dollars to treat myself to a nice dinner out. Only, I can't really eat a nice dinner out right now. What a fun little thimble of irony that is.
Weight loss update. I figured since the month of January has now officially come and gone, it's only fitting that I give a little sneaky peek into whether or not I'm still on this crazy "I'm going to lose weight" resolution that so many people make and then give up after they realize they can't eat cheeseburgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and they discover that sweating on purpose really sucks.
Yup, I'm still at it.
At my 4 week mark, I had lost a grand total of 19 POUNDS.
Nineteen freaking pounds, yo. One pound shy of twenty freaking pounds. That's 9.4% of my body weight....GONE. I would have rocked a Biggest Loser weigh-in with that kind of percentage!
So first and foremost, GO ME!! Big pat on the back for yours truly.
But.....I need to take it down a notch. When I entered my weight on my Weight Watchers Online account last Saturday, I had a huge box pop up on my screen that basically said, "Way to go! You lost weight! Now knock that s**t off!" Ok, so it didn't really say that, but it did point out that I was losing weight to quickly. It's true that I've been going a bit extreme in the name of de-fattifying myself, so I haven't been eating all my daily points and I haven't even touched my weekly allowance of "bonus" points. Bad Sarah.
February is a new month and I'm going to go forward with a more healthful goal in mind. I'm not just in this to lose weight, but to adopt a new lifestyle and way of living and eating that will give me a better relationship with food and set me up to be healthier in the long run. I need to get it in my head that food is not the enemy. Food did not make me fat. Food is the fuel my body needs to function and not feel dizzy all the time (a fun little side effect I developed recently that made me feel like an idiot).
I think part of it is that I still feel like I need to be punished for letting myself get this way. Kind of like that priest in The DaVinci Code who strips naked and whips his back and twists the nasty metal thing into his leg.....only with food. Yeah, they're not the same at all, but I do know that I struggle with the feelings of guilt for allowing myself to get to the point where I need to lose more than 60 pounds. Perhaps January was my penance. February is about putting that behind me, adopting a healthy attitude, and continuing to lose weight at a healthy pace so it will stay off.
And I'm serious about that 5K. The Wisconsin State Cow Chip Festival is September 1st and I know nothing says "You're amazing! You lost weight!" like running a 5K and then slinging some poo.
Good times.
