If I've lost 60 pounds, how can I still be so fat?

I'm having a mid-loss crisis. Okay, so crisis is a little strong in the semantics department. So, now that I've neared the half-way mark, I feel like I need some extra oomph. I know I said it didn't matter how long it took, but the 'end' is still a long time off. And yes, I know it's a lifestyle change, so by 'end' I mean maintenance. I look at a lot of your blogs and realize that you would be thrilled and close to the maintenance stage if you lost 60 pounds.

Any ideas to get past these feelings? As for my weigh-in, I have to report a slight gain of .4 of a pound. I've had several 1 pound+ losses in the past few weeks, so I knew I'd experience a small bounce at some point. According to my home scale, I've already lost that .4 plus a little more.

Have a great Labor Day weekend! We're off to the lake!

My double chin has hit the floor!

I weighed in this afternoon. I was pretty confident going in since I had hit a new stark-naked low earlier in the week. However, I did not expect a 3.2 pound loss! Especially after losing 2.2 last week, 1.0, the week before, and more than 3 the week prior to that! I'm a losing machine in August! I've already lost more than my goal of 6 pounds for the month. All I can say is GO ME!

Being on a schedule is so much better for me than being on summer vacation. Having three meals a day ... getting back on a regular gym schedule ... sleeping more each night. What a difference a few weeks make!

Laying like Broccoli

I was so exhausted all week I asked Max by Tuesday if we could just lay around and veg this weekend. He was all over that. So, Friday night we made dinner together and fell asleep on the couch. Saturday, he came to school to help me with some last minute back-to-school things, and we went to the gym. He was a good little helper. At the gym on th weekends, he likes to 'be my trainer.' He is a certified trainer, but he doesn't work in that capacity. However, he is totally in charge of the gym on the weekends when it comes to me. He works hard, and I love that I don't have to think. Today, we woke up, layed around a few hours, went back to bed, and then finally I came home for a little while. It was a good time spent with him, and the scale showed how little we invested in the weekend. Literally, when we veg out like that, food is one of the last things on our mind. I always lose a pound or two when I do that. Well, I got home just now. At 2 in the afternoon, my stark-naked weight is down 2 1/2 pounds to 231.0. I hope I can keep that up until Wednesday's weigh-in. We'll see. I'll probably have a hard time getting away on Wednesday morning during my planning period to run over to WW to weigh-in before lunch. We'll see. Sometimes I have to weight until the 5:30 p.m. meeting, but I try not to.

Hope y'all had good weekends too!

I'm a Star!

What a crazy week. Tomorrow and Friday are Open Houses at school when the students and parents come to meet the teachers. I'm ready, but I'm exhausted. I had to move classrooms this year, and with the move I decided to purge like I'm doing to my closets at home. I've taught 3 different grade levels in 10 years (2nd, 5th, and 8th). I've taught almost every subject (math, science, history, reading, language arts, music, health, etc.). I've taught history for the last three years, so I decided to get rid of a lot of stuff that doesn't pertain to what I"m currently doing. I've given away a lot of stuff. I feel really good about it. Also, I've been organizing as I've been unpacking. Usually, there's no time for that during the preplanning week. I've taught in 9 classrooms in 10 years, so you can imagine the horror I've been dealing with.

I snuck away at lunchtime to go and weigh in since I thought I might work really late tonight. I lost 1.0 pound, which put me at exactly 35 pounds lost with WW since February 1. I really wanted to go back for my 5:30 meeting so I could get my star sticker, so I worked my tail off to make that happen.

If I haven't talked about my leader before, let me tell you how much I LOVE her! Her name is Lou, and she's awesome. What a great motivator! Her's is the most popular meeting of the week, and sometimes it's standing room only.

Not only did I get my star, but she knows I lost some weight before beginning WW. Every time I earn a star, she likes to bring that up. So, not only did we celebrate my 35 pound WW loss, but she also celebrated my 54.6 pound loss since I first started out. She even gave me an "I lost 50 pounds" magnet. I was so glad I buckled down and got my work done in time to make the meeting.

I had gotten totally sick of my size 22 jeans. They were so lose and didn't look good anymore. I have an older pair of size 20 jeans that fit me many years ago. They don't quite fit yet. I've worn them around the grocery store twice, but the camel-toe/muffin-top look isn't quite stylish enough to wear around my 8th graders.
So, I went to Lane Bryant this weekend to check out their new Right Fit jeans. I didn't really understand what I was in for, but I got fitted by one of the ladies. I thought I was looking for a 20 Petite, but instead she measured me for a 5 Yellow Petite. I have no idea what that really means, but the fit is PERFECT. I have big hips, but I have no ass. It turns out that the yellow is for people with narrow hips and larger asses, but because I'm the opposite, it worked out perfectly. I've always had to have jeans that fit my waist, but not my pretty small legs/ass. I was so excited I bought two pairs!

On another note, I got a surprise invitation at the last minute to go to the Justin Timberlake concert here in Atlanta last night (for free!). I went and had a blast! What an amazing display of showmanship. I also happened to sit, literally, right in front of two former students from three years ago. Depsite my fears, I think they actually enjoyed hanging out with my friend and me for several hours.

Hope everyone's having a good week, and that you're less frazzled than I will be in the coming back-to-school days!

Sunshine Day

First of all, Atlanta is hot as Hell today. Temperatures nearing 100F all week. Yuck.

Today was really fun, despite the heat. It was the first day back for teachers. I got so much positive feedback about how good I'm looking. Lots of comments. Lots of questions. The most interesting question was when people asked how much more I want to lose. That seems quite invasive to ask, but since I've been very open since the beginning, I answered pretty honestly. I don't think they intended to overstep boundaries at all. I think that helps me stay responsible. I've said (out loud) what my expectations are for myself. Everyone will know if I fail. On the good side, though, everyone will know when I've made progress. I loved it today.

My relationship with Max is progressing. We had our first tenseness/argument/problem. Turns out he found one of your blogs in the history of his computer, couldn't resist temptation, clicked around until he found mine, and read the damn thing (really just the parts about him). First, I've been very careful to make sure everything is deleted from his history, but I must have messed up once. Now, we've had some long discussions about some of the things I said about him (like when I said he was a little 'rough around the edges'). That's a conversation (or three) I could have done without. I'm hurt since he specifically knew that he wasn't allowed, but I have no question about his devotion to me at this time. First, he fessed up immediately when he saw me. Second, there was total fear/sadness/mortification in his eyes when he thought I might break up with him over this. I know he will not make that mistake again. I wasn't sure if I should blog about this, and your comments won't make me bring it up again with him. I promised myself that I would get passed this, and at this time, I think I have. He's done his penance in my mind.

I'm going out for a yummy dinner with my best friend at my favorite restaurant in Atlanta (Kyma Greek food on Piedmont Road). Points be damned ... I only go there once or twice a year. We've decided to go all girly and wear dresses, so I've got to go do my hair now. Opa!

P.S. A big shoutout and thanks to Spidey who mentioned me as this week's Weight Loss Winner on his blog. I didn't know there was such a thing. Thanks Spidey! Can't wait to see who wins this week! I hadn't read his blog before, but it's awesome. Check it out.

P.P.S. I was also in first place for my team the Fit and Fabulous this week on Kim's Weight Loss Challenge. I'm so glad to be contributing finally, and I hope to make a good effort with Wednesday's weigh-in also.

I think I can, I think I can

I had some unexpected results at my weigh-in yesterday. I lost 3.6 pounds this week! Woohoo! I've been doing so little toward losing, but I guess my body is ready to get moving again. I'm crossing my fingers for that.

I worked a half-day at school yesterday. Most of the teachers are up there already -- even though we don't actually have to be back until Monday. It was good to see everyone. They think I look amazing, and that is huge motivation for me!

I'm looking forward to grocery shopping this week, because it will be a bit more typical of what my school year meals will be like. All the little snacks I buy as part of my lunch will actually be held off until lunchtime ... as opposed to summer, when they're just laying around calling my name.

I'm going to do my best to catch up with all of you over the next couple of days. I know I've been really lame lately. I apologize, but only just a little. I just needed the time 'off' from focusing only on my weight. I've updated all of my tickers now. Even though I've been bouncing around the same numbers most of the summer, this is my lowest in years. I had hoped to lose about 20 pounds this summer. I only lost 10, but seeing the struggles I had, I'm very pleased with that.

Is it too early to set an end-of-year goal? With the start of the school year, I think I'm going to set a goal for the first semester. That's five months. During the school year, I was averaging about 7-8 pounds a month. Thinking I've slowed a bit, I still think I can average about 5-6 pounds per month. Thirty pounds over the next five months is a lofty goal, but I'm going to try to make that. That will have me just over 200 pounds to start 2008. That's what I'm going to try for. I know having you around will be helpful. Also, I know that Kim's 12 week challenge that ends in October will get me moving.

I think I'm back. My motivation is whispering in my ear. Thanks for not giving up on me!

Kim :)