Back on track

So far so good for this week. I think that I am going to have an astounding weigh in next Wednesday. At least I am hoping so. I have been on the elliptical every day for at least 45 mins. Today I stayed on for 55 mins. When on the elliptical I have been doing intervals where I go at resistance 2 for 4 mins. and then down to resistance 1 for 2 mins. It is killer but I can see the results.

In fact just today I was told by someone that they can really see how my running is paying off because my legs are skinny! What get out of here, skinny used in a sentence about me. That is just insane to me. But I do have to admit that my legs are looking darn good. But then again I have always had nice legs. That was always my favorite body part. Back in highschool I got hit by a car on the school parking lot and was thrown about 15 feet and then had my leg stuck in the car's bumper. I have had 8 surgeries on my left leg. When that happened I thought it was some cruel joke by God to damage the one part of me that I liked. I have sense come to terms with it and don't really even think about my leg or notice it too much. I have a horrible scar and lost quite a bit of muscle so my left calf has a chunk missing out of it. I also have a metal rod in that leg and one day I do plan to have it removed and get some more plastic surgery done. I was supposed to have more surgeries but the insurance company ended up denying it.

On weigh in day did I mention that I found that my home scale is off by 8lbs.? I thought it was off just 5 lbs. but nope it is off by a whooping 8! I was not going to weigh everyday but just find it so hard not to jump on the scale. So far by my home scale I am down 4lbs. today. Guess we will see come next Wed.

I have been very good with my eating and I am back into the right mental state. Nothing is going to make me waver. I just love the results so much more than I love the food. It just is not worth it to me.

I know readers have expressed concern once again about my 1000 calorie diet. You do not have to worry because the Doctor is still monitoring me. I would not ever advise anyone to go so low calorie wise without being under a Doctor's care. The way my Dr explained it to me is if you eat the right foods and get your nutrients you will be fine, especially since I am already carrying around so much extra fuel already. I also take supplements and vitamins. I get extensive lab work done to check everything.

Like I have mentioned before I have hypothyroidism and that has always made it extremely difficult for me to lose weight. If I kept my calories at 800 a day and did no exercise at all then I would lose approximately 2 lbs. a week. Instead I have increased my diet to 1000 and I do exercise almost every single day. This works for me.

Also I just wanted to let everyone know my philosophy on diets vs. healthy lifestyle. I truly believe that the word *diet* has received a bad rap. To me diet means what I eat. It does not mean some quick, get thin with no work, type of fix. It is instead a way of life to me. I just do not like the terminology of healthy lifestyle all that much. I have used that term myself because really it is just that "in" but to me it is just too politically correct and a fad term. But who am I to judge? I do want to be healthy for the rest of my life so I know that the term is accurate.

I also believe that when we go through weight loss we are going through many stages. What I do now to lose weight is not what I am going to do to maintain. And as I lose and hit plateaus then I will have to change things up then too. When someone asks me if I can manage at 800-1000 calories a day for the rest of my life well my answer is probably since I am really not hungry but I am not going to want to lose weight forever. Once I get closer to where I want to be I will have to adjust both my calories and my exercise to see what works for me.

All of us are different and I do not believe that what works for me will be what works for you. That is one of the biggest problem with the "diet" industry. They try to create and sale plans and claim they will work for anyone. That is not always the case. Weight loss is very individualized and there are so many factors that weigh in (no pun intended).

I do know that I am loving my new lifestyle and I feel terrific. I really like learning more and more about nutrition and fitness and I am considering switching my major from psychology to nutrition. At one point I was planning to be a nurse but a lot of things went in to changing my mind on that one. But I do still love science, anatomy, math and everything health related, so I think it would be a good fit.

Well goodnight everyone!

Rock it, live it, own it!

Lisa