Deflation in Progress

Good news!!! I feel some deflation going on now. The scale was down another pound today. Monday will be my "official" weight recording day. But I have been checking in the mornings hoping to find some encouraging news. I can feel some of the bloat receding. One thing I realized this morning is that having a plan, even if I do not stick to it perfectly, is working much better than not having one at all and "winging" it. So each day I will make my little plan and do my best to stick with it. Since exercise may be the missing link for me in months past, my daily exercise plan is now as important to me as the food. It is nothing elaborate, just something I know I can do. Perhaps loftier goals will follow.

Today's exercise plan was a walk with Charley, which I did at ten thirty tonight after coming home from a visit at a friend's house, plus some ab exercises, stretches and back exercises. I did those in the afternoon in my room. I was up and down the stairs cleaning and doing loads of laundry. I went to my favorite produce store and stocked up on vegetables and fruits so I am prepared. I did something really unusual today, too. I packed snacks to take with me when I visited my friend. And I planned ahead, and cooked veggie burger patties with cheese to have on hand today for a quick meal. This little bit of planning and preparation made my day a success. My friend has a seven week old baby and a seventeen month old toddler. She is too busy to cook for us, so it was easy to blame the snack bringing on that, but I told her I was trying to get back to losing weight. I had grapefruit and a cheese stick. It felt so good to take care of myself. I had a great visit, too. I helped her with the kids, taking the baby for a walk (more exercise!!) while she had bedtime with the toddler. It was a breezy evening after a steamy day, so the night air was refreshing.

So today was a success in the food and the exercise areas. I feel like I can do this again. I am not craving anything right now. I stayed busy so much of the day I hardly had time to eat the food I needed to eat. I like days like this. But I also love the luxurious, relaxing kind of days like the one I am hoping for tomorrow.

One thing I want to do is let go of my feelings about my lack of working out for the past year. It is not that I did not work out at all. What happened was that for about a year and a half I had worked out regularly at the gym near my house. I was doing great with it, but I was still eating way too much food. I lost ten pounds that year without making much difference in my diet. But I felt better and I was feeling in better shape than I had been in for a long time Suddenly in mid April of last year I found myself in a depression and I stopped going for a few weeks in a row. After that I just never got back into it. I did swim regularly last summer, and I had intermittent trips to the gym, but nothing like the year before. It probably hurt me more psychologically than anything. Now I want to move on, forgive the past, focus on the now. So tomorrow may bring another letting go ceremony. I am ready to get over it. In fact I am starting to annoy myself with it, the same self bashing kind of thoughts over and over. It just isn't productive. I have balloon hanging around the house, just waiting to be liberated, too.