Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Challenging Myself

I want to send out a huge thank you to the amazing, tenacious, and inspirational Tammy of From Fat To Fab for starting up a new weight loss challenge! This is exactly what I need to get me through the next little while and I am so excited to join her, and many other fabulous bloggers, as they work towards a goal of losing ten pounds!

I am actually a couple of days late posting about this, but I have had so many things percolating in this brain of mine that I really had to write about some other stuff as it came up. Even now, I still have a number of topics rattling around in my mind that I want to get to. But, I just couldn’t let another moment go by without mentioning this fabulous Summer Challenge!

I think that at this point, as I have just crossed over my posted goal of 150 pounds, it is time to reevaluate. I knew that the time was coming, but am still shocked that it has arrived so quickly! I never thought I might be reaching my goal weight so soon!

So what’s next? Well, I have written before about how I just sort of choose 150 pounds as a nice round number to aim for and that, subsequently, I was pretty certain that I would continue to lose a bit more before reaching a comfortable weight to maintain. I still don’t know exactly what that number will be, but I do love the sound of 133. That would be exactly half of my highest weight and is nicely entrenched in the middle of the ‘normal’ category for the body mass index.

If my losses had slowed down to a crawl by now, I would be much happier calling it quits at this weight. Yet I have continued to have pretty significant drops week to week and I think that is indicative of the fact that I still have quite a bit more I can trim off. I am reluctant to choose a precise number because I want the tail end of this part of the journey to be a natural process, but I also know that I work well with specific goals in mind. And, as I already said, I also like round numbers. So…

130. There it is. That’s my new goal! I am changing my tracker and everything!

Wow! I am actually really excited! I didn’t think I would be this thrilled to move onto a new goal so shortly after reaching my original one. I really believe that it is achievable and I think that’s the key. If I thought it was something I would need to do a big push to accomplish than I would be far less likely to set out for a whole extra twenty pounds. But this? This feels good and right!

Another important element is going to be ensuring that I continue to listen to my body. If, in just five pounds, I find that there is a dramatic decrease in my losses obviously I will need to reevaluate again. If I don’t make it to 130 I definitely won’t be heartbroken. If my body is meant to maintain at 145, 140, or 135 than so be it! The fact of the matter is that I have met my original goal and I am really, really proud of that! Whatever else I lose from this point forward is just gravy!

Still… it never hurts to have a plan. And that’s where the Summer Challenge comes in (I knew I’d get to the point eventually)! I have no idea if I still have it in me to lose an entire ten pounds in a month. My average losses suggest that I can do it, but my recent slight tapering in the weigh-in department would actually leave me a bit short. Nevertheless, I intend to try.

I am not going to do anything different apart from attempting to be a little more diligent with staying on track with my food and exercise. But, if I am careful to stick with my plan then it is possible that I just may finish this challenge victorious – actually, I think simply attempting it means that I am successful by default even if I don’t quite drop a whole ten pounds. At this point it is so much less about the numbers and really more about just continuing to strive for excellence, overall fitness, and good health. Regardless, I am excited to take Tammy up on her offer to join this fun contest and to see where it takes me! I just love a challenge!

12 comments:

  1. I think it's healthy to reevaluate and be realistic about our goals. I think you are doing that, on both counts.

    I'm wondering, What the Heck are you doing woman? Do you have a post that I've missed with your workout schedule? What do you eat? What has been most important to you in your journey?

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  2. Wow thats a good weight to aim for...
    I started at 180lbs last Feb and 6 months ago I reached my goal weight of 132lbs....I struggle to maintain that weight so go between 132 - 138...I'm happy with that as I know this is what maintaining is all about...

    I look forward to following your journey, but wont follow you with trying to get to 130lbs...when I did, I looked very gaunt and thin, and landed up in hospital cause i started doing still stuff like not drinking water while working out as I wanted to get a good weigh in...I became obsessed with the scale...
    That visit for 11 days in the hospital put me back on the right road...I now am wanting a balanced life.

    GO FOR YOUR GOALS...I AM HERE TO MOTIVATE YOU ALL THE WAY....

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  3. Only you know what feels right and healthy, and you have consistently made excellent decisions (evidently!) throughout this journey thus far. It makes perfect sense to keep doing what you're doing, and losing weight! You obviously feel better than ever. I believe you can trust yourself to recognize the size and weight you prefer.

    Go for it!!!

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  4. oh my gosh i can't wait to see this new segment. it's been so wonderful seeing you change! you KILLED it! <3

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  5. You are totally my hero! I began at 255 lbs and am going for 150, also (maybe once I get there I'll have the courage to strive lower also?). You give me hope! You look A*W*E*S*O*M*E!

    ~ Angie

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  6. Hey there! I just came from Tammy's blog, where I heard you had reached you goal weight! I just wanted to say, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Way to go!!

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  7. Are you gonna start lifting? When I get lower I really want to work on muscle tone. OR do you already...
    nosy nelly out.

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  8. Whoa! Great comments tonight!!!

    Journey Beyond Survival, I put it all out there! Every scrap of food I eat and every stich of exercise I do is recorded on this blog. For me, the biggest thing has been making sure that what I am doing is right for me and is sustainable! I am loving what I am doing and that would have never happened if I was on one of the many diets or restrictive programs that I tried over the years. We each know ourselves and I think looking at what we can stick to for the long term - while bringing in good habits slowly, of course - is a big key to being successful on this journey!

    Marcelle, thank you for sharing such a personal account! I am so glad you are not chasing 130 any longer. I will keep this in mind though I do genuinely feel like I have a good mindset about this. I will not go beyond what my body tells me is natural and right!

    Chris, I may incorporate some serious lifting in at some point, but for now I think I am actually working a lot of those muscles doing the dragon boating. I would like to see where that and my jogging goes before I make a decision on committing to weight training!

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  9. I believe you can trust yourself to recognize the size and weight you prefer.
    home based data entry

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  10. Good luck. I'm happy to hear that you will listen to your body when it comes deciding where to stop. You're smart.

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  11. Hey girl!!!! I'm just tickled pink that you joined the challenge...and I have no doubt that you'll drop another 10 lbs this month...your weight is still falling off in such big chunks that I feel sure you'll make it! :)

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