Weigh-In Day

Hello Readers,

After a 3-day holiday weekend, today the scale tells me I have lost 0.4 lb for the week. This is great and I am happy. A loss is better than a gain, and all that.

But I am beginning to feel that I am putting in a lot of effort (in exercising and watching my food) for very little gain (better health and weight loss).

I admit that when I began blogging 3 months ago I said that I wanted a slow and steady loss that would (I hope) be easier to maintain. I have said every single day that this is not a diet, it is a way of life. And that is very true. I have made changes that I am counting on being able to do for the rest of my life. I said I wanted to get healthy. That is still my main goal. But "getting healthy" is not measurable in lbs or inches lost.

We all look to the scale to measure our progress. This is our instant gratification (or instant nightmare). And we measure our waists and hips, have that "skinny" pair of jeans we want to get into, or have 5 people ask if we have lost weight. All these are our gauges.

So my main goal was to get healthy. I set out to do this by setting another goal of losing 30 lbs to get out of the "overweight" range. And by getting some cardio exercise to get my heart stronger. I hoped that by losing weight and exercising I would be able to get off my blood pressure meds and to avoid diabetes. Well, I have lost 15 lbs, am eating around 1300 calories on most days, am walking between 2 and 3 miles on most days, am avoiding most sweets, and am putting much, much healthier food in my mouth.

Yes, I am happy that I lost even an ounce for this week. But I know the scale is not the only gauge, and it's not even the most important one for me. I may never know if this is making me healthier, other than the blood tests I will have at my next visit to my doctor. But I know that it's not hurting. And I know that if I don't lose another ounce or inch, I feel so much better than I did 3 months ago! I look forward to my exercise. I plan my meals. I am constantly reading and asking questions to learn more about nutrition. I am enjoying making new friends in Blogville!

So I am going to keep doing it. And work harder. And encourage more of you. And keep learning.

What are you doing to get healthier? Not just to lose lbs and inches, but to get healthier?