Yesterday marked 25% of the way to my wedding weekend (hence the countdown), from when I started seriously tracking in December. Here are some of the results and realizations from the first 66 days: 

  1. I've lost 7 lbs. In the grand scheme of things this is not a lot, but it is real. It's not water weight or only during a certain time of the month. It's real and I'm owning it.  
  2. I'm down 10 lbs from this time last year! I'm very happy with this! Better to be going down slowly than up slowly! A lot of my struggle involves learning to live and eat with my boyfriend fiancé, and to know that this past year I implemented good habits over the long term is really important to me.
  3. I was under my maintenance calorie needs for 51 of 66 days. This turned out to be the most important stat for me. It showed me that even when I didn't have a big deficit, say 400-700 calories, even a small deficit of 100 calories was moving in the direction. It was another day that I wasn't gaining weight. It was another day that my body was getting used to smaller portions. And doing that 77% of the time worked, while still allowing me to celebrate holidays and live life. Most of my days are good days and that means I feel much less guilty about the bad days.
  4. I had 7 days that exceeded 500 calories over my maintenance. This period included Christmas, New Years, Mardi Gras and a trip to NYC to see my sister. For a time of year that is heavily food and alcohol oriented, having only 7 truly extravagant days was not a worst case scenario by any means.
  5. I've lost two KickStarters and two rounds of a Transformer. So it turns out that maybe the money isn't that much of a motivator for me? I'm not sure. I really like the community and the positive reinforcement, but I'm finding I'm just not willing to make the drastic changes in diet and exercise that would get me there because I'm not interested in doing unsustainable or unhealthy things. I want to eat healthier foods in smaller portions and have regular indulgences. But that does not win me my money back, apparently. ;)
  6. I didn't add any exercise.  This is a bit misleading, because I already have regular exercise in my life. I walk the dogs every morning, I bike commute to work which is about 20-25 minutes each way, I (try to) go to the gym about twice a week, etc. But I didn't add any additional exercise. I'm really trying to live more by the motto that "You can't outrun your fork." I love exercise -- biking, yoga, running, etc. -- but I do them for different reasons, not as weight-loss mechanism.
  7. Tracking was key to keeping me going. This is the longest I've ever tracked and sustained a weightloss regime. Having the numbers there day in and day out really makes a difference to me. It makes me feel like I'm progressing even when I don't see the scale move. It's exciting to see small victories add up and motivating to get back on track when I slip. 

 

If I keep up this slow-but-steady pace I will be about 10 lbs over my original goal come September...but I'll have lost about 25 lbs and be roughly the same weight I was 10 years ago. I know I didn't think I was particularly skinny back then (and I wasn't), but it was the last time I confidently rocked a tank top. And to get married at age 33 at the same weight as I was at 23...I'll take it. :)