Monday Weigh-In

Time for an overdue weigh-in:

Today's Weight:     131.8 lbs (lowest yet!)
Total Weight Lost:   38.2 lbs

I'm excited to finally see some actual progress! Over the last month, I've been averaging around 133, with some upticks to 136-137 following the NC/WI vacations. In between the two, I got back down to 133, only to be back up at 136 a week ago. The next few weeks should be more normal, so I'll hopefully be seeing the 130 soon!!

Since the beginning of July, I've actually stopped counting calories, which is a pretty big deal after 6 months of counting every single one. I decided it was a good time to test out my ability to maintain my weight just by making healthy choices, picking healthy recipes, etc. and so far, so good! That's not to say I wouldn't be at 130 by now if I was still religiously sticking to 1200 cal/day, but I'm happy with my current situation. It definitely saves a lot of time to not have to add up the calories for every recipe, every night. I really wanted the changes I made to be a lifestyle change - not just a diet - but I definitely didn't want to be counting every calorie forever! I definitely credit the calorie counting/meal planning as the main factor in my weight loss success, so I'm not at all trying to say it's not helpful - I was just a little burnt out and okay with slowing down progress a bit! So we'll see how it goes over the next few months.

Yesterday was my longest run since the half marathon - 8 miles! It was pretty hot here, and I didn't get out early enough, so I took a water break every 2 miles, but I was still thrilled to do 8 miles total. That will be my longest run before my 5k "time trial" on Aug 20th, but afterwards I'll starting adding more mileage when half marathon training kicks off. I can still remember not being able to run 1 mile, so I am definitely excited/thankful that I can even be talking about 8!! For those of you just getting starting, be encouraged that if you stay consistent, you will make progress (even though it might be slower than you'd like - it was for me!).

Hope you are all doing well and thanks for reading :)