Daily Bread #93

I am walking again, still gradually increasing, and I did around 15000 more steps this week than I did the week before.  I saw this “gratitude tree” on one of my walks.  On the tags were notes from both adults and children naming what they were thankful for.  I am grateful for my improved health and ability to move.

A friend at church asked me how I felt after my large weight loss.  He wanted to know if I felt weaker because I wasn’t getting enough calories.  I said no, just the opposite, I feel much stronger and have a lot more energy.  I am giving my body what she needs.  With the increasing exercise, I get to eat a bit more each day.  It is all a balancing act, finding what is right for each day.  I eat when I am hungry and sometimes just before hunger hits.  It helps to not be “starving.”  When I get too hungry, I consume more than I really need. It takes a while for the food to get into my blood stream and reach my brain. Timing of meals is important.  My kids hate that I need to eat by 5:30 or 6.  They are 7-8 o’clock diners, but when we go out, the are quite accommodating.  They are proud of my progress in this journey and want to be as supportive as they can.

This week I reached another milestone.  I have lost exactly half of my starting weight. No wonder I have more energy!  I was carrying around two of me.

People also ask me if I am still planning on losing more and the answer is no, because I feel fine where I am – AND I also expect I will lose a bit more over the coming months.  I haven’t really stabilized yet, or “plateaued” as they call it in the weight loss world.  So I expect to lose some more without really planning to or trying very hard.  The beginning of this journey was difficult.  I had a mountain to climb and not much endurance.  Now that I have scaled several peaks, each one gets a bit easier.  Walking in the hills isn’t much different than it is on the flats, if you have mastered the habits of long distance travel. This has been a marathon, not a sprint.

L’Chaim!  This week’s stats: My Fitbit report shows 43056 steps last week for 18.2 miles.   I ate approximately 10381 calories and burned 13641 for a deficit of 3260. My average weight this week is down 2.8 pounds from last week’s average for a total loss of 161.3