Weight Loss Milestone!

Today is kind of a big day for me. After 9 weeks of being REALLY conscientious about diet and exercise, I have hit a weight loss milestone... 10 lbs gone! I am currently half way toward my goal of losing 20 lbs. This is pretty huge for me, as weight loss in my 40's has proven to be ridiculously difficult for me. I have struggled like anything, losing and gaining the same 2-3 lbs, for literally YEARS.  Prior to this, I have mostly lived life as a thinner person, but as I creeped into middle age, the weight really started piling on and seemed to have no inclination to leave, even as I was exercising regularly and eating a whole food, vegan diet. While I started to get almost comfortable with my increasingly widening body, I was starting to end up with some early warning signs of some health issues. My cholesterol was getting into the higher range (due to genetics, as I don't eat any cholesterol) and I have a history of some blood sugar issues, so the additional belly fat I was carrying was not helping matters. I decided it was time to get serious and get healthy.

So how did I finally get the ball rolling? First thing was to make a conscious effort to really cut calories. Yes, this seems obvious, but I had been living under the lie that if what I was eating was healthy, it didn't matter how much I was eating. Well, it did matter. I started using the My Fitness Pal app to track my calories each day, and I'm definitely eating much less these days. I won't lie... it's hard, and sometimes I get really hungry. But, I know that I need to do this, for me, so I'll feel better. I saw a loss of 2.5 lbs the first week, which really motivated me to keep going. It's been up and down a bit since then, but overall I've averaged about a pound a week.

The other important thing I've been doing is trying to move my body, everyday. Mostly I walk, but I've also been doing a bit of yoga a few times each week. It's been about 5 years since I've done any kind of regular yoga practice. so it has been a little bit of a challenge to get back into the swing of things. But I'll get there. Baby steps.

Even with still 10 lbs to go, I'm feeling SO much better... less sluggish, stronger, healthier. I even feel like my head is a little clearer. I'm very much looking forward to sliding into Summer feeling healthy and strong.