176.6 Stuck In The Mud

I'm not sure why that title came into my mind as I typed in my weight for today. Well, of course I know why, because I am definitely stuck. But usually I title these posts after I write them. Do I have anymore to say about being stuck? Let's see.

I've been here before, not at this weight but definitely stuck. I go through all sorts of mind games when I get stuck, telling myself that this is where my weight is meant to be, I need to up the exercise, I need to cut back on the food, I need to eat different food, do different exercise, etc.... I've written these things so many times I think I could write a song about being stuck. Don't worry, I won't.

But you know, when I keep at it and don't give up, I always start losing again. I remember when I hit the 200 pound mark and several friends thought I looked great and suggested it was time to quit. What if I had given in? I'd still be lugging over 24 more pounds everywhere I went. Now that's a gruesome thought!

And this morning when I picked up Jeff at the airport (yes, thank goodness he is home again!), he said I looked like I had lost more weight. When I said no, I hadn't, he said it sure looked like I had. So there you go. I'm hangin' in there for the short haul. It is so close! No slip slidin' away!

188.2 Losing With Lentil Soup

I lost another half pound and I'm not sure why, except that maybe I have discovered a true diet food that enables the weight to just fall away :)! A couple of days ago I made a gallon of lentil soup, from one of those packages that includes the spices. I didn't add the ham or sausage that was suggested because I knew that the soup would contain plenty of protein without it. Anyway, I have been eating 2 to 3 cups a day. It's so delicious, fills me up and it's a great comfort food since I am not feeling very good. Oh, I am also eating other things, but the soup has been a staple over the last few days. What a way to lose weight! Yum!

202.4 The 7,000 Calorie Question

202.4 The 7,000 Calorie Question

I am writing this in Tucson, AZ, which is located about 2 hours south of Scottsdale. We are visiting one of the couples who spent the week in Cortona, Italy with us about 9 weeks ago. One of the first things that JoAnne said when we arrived was that I looked like I had lost even more weight. I have lost almost 9 more pounds since that trip to Italy. It is really curious to me how I have fallen into the pattern of losing about one pound a week. That doesn’t sound like much, but to lose that pound means that I have to eat over 3,500 calories less than my body needs to maintain its current weight every week. I was trying to do the math in my head during a sleepless period last night to figure out how many calories I haven’t eaten that has allowed me to lose 45 pounds. So, 45 X 3500 = 157,500! Now that’s impressive!

Do I want to speed up the weight loss? Can I eat over 7,000 calories less than I need in a week so that I can lose 2 pounds a week? I am working on that question, as I have mentioned before. It sounds daunting, but by upping my exercise maybe I could whittle that number down a bit. Hmmm.