Girly

I've just recently caught up with some Switch brothers and sisters of mine who were in Brazil the same time as I was. Their before and after pictures are amazing!! I am so happy for them and honestly, the tiniest bit envious. I can't wait to be "near normal", but I know if I keep at it and do the right things, I will get there. At lunch today, I did a little number crunching and I seem to be losing around 4.5% of my body weight each month. Instead of looking are pounds lost as a measure, I am going to keep my eye on that number as I know your average weight loss per month decreases as you lose weight, but I should be able to keep up my percentage loss in line.

I have been having weird poop issues. Lots of constipation and I'm not sure why, I'm not eating any cheese and have been fairly consistent in my eating. I have been eating some leaner than usual meats, ham steaks were on sale at Kroger so I picked up a couple of packs. Tasty, but pretty low fat. Also, chicken, believe or not is a big clogger of the innards and it's not even breast meat. What seems to work the best for me, if I get a good mix of different consistencies of foods throughout the day. If I start the day off with a protein shake, that seems to set the tone for the day and helps prevent issues. My pattern as of late is to fluctuate between the same 2-3 lbs for several days, then drop like 3-5 over the course of the next 3 days. It's a little frustrating as I'd like to be more consistent, but hey, as long as the trend is downward, I'll take it.

Today I weighed in at 343.2 lbs, I suspect (hope) the scale will show a bigger than normal loss tomorrow. We shall see. I get the sense that I am in the middle section of my weight loss journey where all the big changes and adjustments are behind me. Am I kidding myself? I don't know, but I do feel like the things to come are more along the lines of dealing self-perception issues. I am also starting to get a little impatient about the whole thing. Looking at the before/after pictures I mentioned before reminds me that I still have a ways to go. I've lost 170+ lbs, but I still have 140-160 lbs to go, sometimes it feels so far away. I know I won't lose the next 160 lbs in 8.5 months like I did the first. I just have to stay committed and try to be patient. I have to keep reminding myself of this and just remembering that each decade I drop out of, is a decade I will never see again. I know I will never 350 lbs again. That is a good thing and just one of many little things to hold onto.

Anyway, three weeks til I go home. I can not wait. I'm allowing myself some freedom food-wise while I am there. There are a few very specific things I want: my dad's barbecue, cheese & onion enchiladas, baked macaroni & cheese, Earl Campbell sausages. Yum. Notice no sweets. It's weird, but I have all but lost all interest in sweet things. That is definitely one thing I did not expect.

Well, tonight is support group night and boy am I excited! I love, love, love my support group and my friends there. I can't wait.