So our company is doing a Biggest Loser competition and I weighed in on their scale at 178 pounds. I have 13 weeks to lose as much as possible and I did the math. At 3 pounds a week I can be at 139 on the final weigh in. My goal has long been somewhere between 135 and 140 so 139 is perfect. At 3 pounds a week the weight loss will be healthier and permanent. It is also an easy goal. I lost 3 pounds last week without dieting at all and only worked out 4 times. Once I actually put in effort, which I’ve been doing all week, I will see great results. I’ve been eating healthy. I cut my sodas from 5 or 6 a day to just 2 in the past 3 days! That alone is huge. I’m drinking a lot of Crystal Light Peach Tea. I pulled my back muscle on Monday but it is feeling good enough for me to hit the treadmill tonight. I have no reason not to do this. I can be at my goal before Thanksgiving and possibly win a $100 in the process. My gallbladder has been hurting me and that only motivates me more. My back can no longer take the strain of the extra weight.

It is helping that everyone around me is doing the same thing. No one went to Stratos for lunch today! That is a company wide tradition. The dish we all love to get is chicken and veggies on a skewer with a side of rice-all of which gets drowned in butter. It is so good and so bad for you. I wanted it today but no one else was going so I had tuna on a bed of spinach leaves. That was a much wiser choice and now that I realize how simple it will be to get to my goal I’m glad I chose to go home for lunch instead. It was better for my pocket book and waist line. So there it is; a goal of 3 pounds a week. I’m not going to be too strict or hard on myself. I will limit soda, beer, and sweets but indulge occasionally so I’m satisfied. I want this to be a sustainable lifestyle change. I’m going to be walking 2 miles a day at least to get ready for the 5K I’m walking in with my company. I’m excited to be doing all this. I’m glad my company initiated the programs. My company is small and group mentality takes over quick. Having the group focused on getting healthy is making it so much easier for each of us to accomplish our individual goals.

I’m finally getting on a roll. The weight is starting to come off and I am adjusted to eating smaller meals. It’s funny how people react when you only eat half of your food. They look at you like you did something wrong and then ask if you are feeling okay. This has to be a side effect of the whole “there are starving children…” speech our mothers were so fond of. We have a society that is set up to gorge whenever possible. All this excess is why we are fat and broke. Ah geez, I’ll get off my soap box. I just get frustrated sometimes. I lost 9 pounds over the course of November which is really good because it is the month famous for gorging. I am happy to report I only had one plate of food at Thanksgiving and one dessert despite my aunt repeatedly telling me to get more food. At this pace, I will be back in my size 12’s by New Year’s which is wonderful because that is the size of most of the clothes in my closet!

So I shot up to 189 but I must have been retaining water because I was 185 this morning. That is 4 pounds from where I was when I decided to start back on weight watchers. Given that I had bronchitis for two weeks and went to a lot of Halloween parties I think that is not too bad. It is funny that I feel so defeated by 189 but not by 185. I managed to stick to the diet completely yesterday and so far today. I am just going to take it one day at a time and never surrender. I should do just fine until December when people start bringing in brownies and such to the office. I am keeping breakfast bars and 100 calorie packs in my desk drawer so I don’t hit the vending machine when I get hungry. I will work out 3 days this week. I should have a good weigh in on Monday. Time to get serious.