Inspired by the Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl

Total lost: 3.2 lbs.
Next goal: -15 lbs.
To go: -15 lbs.

OK. I've been at this diet/lifestyle change/Weight Watchers thing officially for over 4 years now. I did great when I first started. I lost every week for the first 16 weeks or so (I can't tell exactly, because I can't find my first weigh card at the moment). But I went pretty strong there for a while, and after 11 months or so, I had leaped way beyond my 10% and lost 37.8 lbs. That's about 10 shy of halfway to my goal. Pretty damn good. Then somewhere along the way, I fell off the wagon. I usually use my aunt's passing as the turning point, since I wasn't able to exercise or eat very sensibly during the time that I was out of town for the funeral, but looking back, that's not really the case. I hit my all-time high after she passed. Like, 5 months after. I'm not sure what really happened, but I lost my mojo. And I kept losing it, and losing it, and losing it, until I got down around my 5% goal. I swore I wouldn't let it slip beyond that point, but old habits die hard, and my lack of discipline took over. I'd already stopped going to the gym regularly a while before that, because they messed with my schedule (they switched kickboxing from Tuesday to my Weight Watchers night, then started rotating another instructor with my favorite one who taught on Saturday mornings). I had formulated a plan to get around that, but I never put it into play. You can guess what happened after I swore I wouldn't gain beyond a 5% loss... yep, I did, and I got to about 10 lost. Again, I swore I wouldn't fall below a 10 lb. loss, but I did. The pounds slowly crept back on, to the point where I am now at a net 3.2 lb. loss. It's good that I haven't gained it all back, but I still shudder to think I had been 34 lbs. lighter. I had bought new pants. I had old pants that were so loose that I could pull them on over my hips without unzipping them. And I felt a lot better about myself. I had more confidence. And I rarely had fat days or moments when I felt fat. That is what I am aiming to recapture.

Here's the goal - lose 15 lbs. by the end of April. I figure that will create a 3" loss around my waistline, and the shirts I bought to wear last summer will fit for the first time. (I had refused to send them back or return them to the store.) In order to work toward that goal, I will plan more meals and try to snack less, or at least snack on better things. I will get my butt up and moving more - to the gym, to the living room floor, whatever. I'll start at 2-3 times per week for 30 minutes and work up to 4 times a week for at least 30 minutes. I'll add in some weight training once I feel like I've got a decent loss under my belt (pun intended). And I'll stop using Tuesday night as a "free night" where I can binge because it doesn't count anyway - I've already weighed in! (There's some lethal logic.) Hopefully this blog will serve as a good motivator to keep me on track, particularly if people (i.e. friends) actually start to follow it and make comments.

Here's to forming good habits (again)!