Attention, Internet. I have an announcement: I am but a hair away from reaching my first weight loss goal.
This week I shed another 3.5 pounds and if I lose just under one more pound I will be at my 20 percent mark, which – let me tell you -- feels absolutely fantastic.
Losing a pound or two per week feels good, but getting to see something a little more – pardon the pun – LARGE is so satisfying.
So what is my "goal"?
Well, I'm trying to lose 100 pounds.
Sounds like a lot, but the truth is I should lose considerably more than that, but in order to stay positive and optimistic I've decided not to approach this weight loss the way I have before. No, this time I refuse to look at it as one big lump of weight. If I do, then I'll never be able to make it, so I'm setting my first goal at 100 pounds. When I hit that then I will try for 50 more.
Breaking it up helps me see the finish line. And brothers and sisters, let me tell you, when you're looking at such large numbers it's hard to keep yourself from feeling like it’s a hopeless situation. If I focus on 20 pounds at a time it feels WAY more doable. It didn't seem so insurmountable. It suddenly became something very attainable.
Also, I've decided that if I don't lose the entire amount of weight I need to (according to my height and age) its okay. Because isn't the battle what its all about? If my weight loss stops right now, isn't it better to be 20 pounds lighter than when I started? Isn't this really about improving ourselves?
I think so, but can I get an AMEN from the choir anyway?
Oh, and I have to clarify something regarding the bet with my father.
Okay, so the bet isn't a bet, really. Its more of a propistion. After having a rather rough time of it around the holiday's I proclaimed: SCREW THIS, I AM GOING TO LOSE 100 POUNDS, BUY A BATHING SUIT AND GO TO THE CARIBBEAN NEXT CHRISTMAS.
To which my father – who is truly sympathetic because of his own battles with weight loss – said: "If you lose 100 pounds by Dec. 25, 2009, then I will pay for your trip. I will give you $1,000."
He was so happy to hear that I was willing to try and do something to make myself better, that he offered up a reward. And lets be honest, he had to think it was an empty promise because if I haven't lost the weight in 28 years then what are the odds I'm going to do it now?
So this conversation originally unfolded during the last week of December while driving cross-country with my parents. Before I knew it, a couple of months past after I returned home from the holidays and admittedly I had done nothing to start losing weight. Daddy's money seemed very, very safe.
A couple of nights later, over a bottle of fine screw-top wine, the Aggie and I started talking about life, having children and growing old together. I don't know if it was the booze or divine intervention, but something amazing happened that night: We realized that we were on a self-destructive path with our weight and decided to attack our issues together, as husband and wife.
A week later we were enrolled in Weight Watchers.
Now it's been one month and I've lost 19 pounds and the Aggie has lost 10. At this rate, we will have lost 120 pounds and 70 pounds, respectively, by December.
And my father? Now finds himself scraping his pennies together because – in his words – "It’s the best grand I've ever spent."
Raise your glasses, Internet. Here's to shamelessly taking my father's money in reward for addressing an issue that's long over due. Cheers.
This week I shed another 3.5 pounds and if I lose just under one more pound I will be at my 20 percent mark, which – let me tell you -- feels absolutely fantastic.
Losing a pound or two per week feels good, but getting to see something a little more – pardon the pun – LARGE is so satisfying.
So what is my "goal"?
Well, I'm trying to lose 100 pounds.
Sounds like a lot, but the truth is I should lose considerably more than that, but in order to stay positive and optimistic I've decided not to approach this weight loss the way I have before. No, this time I refuse to look at it as one big lump of weight. If I do, then I'll never be able to make it, so I'm setting my first goal at 100 pounds. When I hit that then I will try for 50 more.
Breaking it up helps me see the finish line. And brothers and sisters, let me tell you, when you're looking at such large numbers it's hard to keep yourself from feeling like it’s a hopeless situation. If I focus on 20 pounds at a time it feels WAY more doable. It didn't seem so insurmountable. It suddenly became something very attainable.
Also, I've decided that if I don't lose the entire amount of weight I need to (according to my height and age) its okay. Because isn't the battle what its all about? If my weight loss stops right now, isn't it better to be 20 pounds lighter than when I started? Isn't this really about improving ourselves?
I think so, but can I get an AMEN from the choir anyway?
Oh, and I have to clarify something regarding the bet with my father.
Okay, so the bet isn't a bet, really. Its more of a propistion. After having a rather rough time of it around the holiday's I proclaimed: SCREW THIS, I AM GOING TO LOSE 100 POUNDS, BUY A BATHING SUIT AND GO TO THE CARIBBEAN NEXT CHRISTMAS.
To which my father – who is truly sympathetic because of his own battles with weight loss – said: "If you lose 100 pounds by Dec. 25, 2009, then I will pay for your trip. I will give you $1,000."
He was so happy to hear that I was willing to try and do something to make myself better, that he offered up a reward. And lets be honest, he had to think it was an empty promise because if I haven't lost the weight in 28 years then what are the odds I'm going to do it now?
So this conversation originally unfolded during the last week of December while driving cross-country with my parents. Before I knew it, a couple of months past after I returned home from the holidays and admittedly I had done nothing to start losing weight. Daddy's money seemed very, very safe.
A couple of nights later, over a bottle of fine screw-top wine, the Aggie and I started talking about life, having children and growing old together. I don't know if it was the booze or divine intervention, but something amazing happened that night: We realized that we were on a self-destructive path with our weight and decided to attack our issues together, as husband and wife.
A week later we were enrolled in Weight Watchers.
Now it's been one month and I've lost 19 pounds and the Aggie has lost 10. At this rate, we will have lost 120 pounds and 70 pounds, respectively, by December.
And my father? Now finds himself scraping his pennies together because – in his words – "It’s the best grand I've ever spent."
Raise your glasses, Internet. Here's to shamelessly taking my father's money in reward for addressing an issue that's long over due. Cheers.
4 comments:
19 lbs is an AMAZING achievement! You'll have to start posting pics! I am thrilled for you both...and doesn't it feel WONDERFUL to know your beating the hubs because weight loss tends to be easier for those who speak Martian. :0)
Keep up the good work!
jennie
AMEN! You go girl...I'm geared up for tomorrow night to get back started...Valentiens day is gone, so are the birthdays for a few months so I'm safe to go at it with no interuptions or get off tracks!!!
I am SO PROUD of you! You will get that hundred--- I just know it!
plus, there isn't anyone else on this earth who deserves it more.
You should totally put your weekly weight loss into an Excel spreadsheet and then it will generate a line graph to show your progress! It's very satisfying. Congrats!
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