Looking back so I can look ahead

I came across one of my first notebooks for tracking my weight loss the other day. I'm very glad that I did some tracking back in the beginning (I'm sorry I didn't start journaling a little sooner). It's been interesting to see how far I've come.

My notebook starts when I was 193 lbs in March of 2002. This wasn't my heaviest, but it's when I realized that I needed to get organized and put a plan together to be successful. When I was 214 lbs, I just cut down a bit on food and tried to be more active. It's a great way to start, but at some point, I needed to be specific on knowing what I ate and how much I was working out.

I've always said that calories are like money. If I don't know how much is the checking account, I will bounce checks. If I don't know how many calories I'm eating and burning, I will gain weight.

One of the consistant things I've noticed is that it really is a slow process for me. Part of me resents people who can lose 10 lbs in one week, or drop 50 lbs in 6 months. I haven't been able to do that. Even in the beginning, when weight usually is easier to lose, I was very slow to lose weight. I also have to remember that it's not a contest, even if others would like to make it into one.

I think that the main reason I'm glad I've been journaling is that it does remind me that I do eventually lose weight, just not as fast as I would like. So as I get frustrated with the slow weight loss (and I will), I just need to remember that it takes me a while to lose it. To not give up, but to just keep plugging away. After consistantly doing this for the last 3 years, well, doing it seriously for 3 years, I have lost 50 lbs. If I lose 20 lbs a year, that's a hell of a lot better than most people in my age group who average a 2-3 weight gain a year. If I can weight 60 lbs less at 36, than I did at 30, I certainly can weight 90 lbs less at 40 than I did at 30. That's the goal.