The Odyssey Continues - End of Summer Update

Hello to all my Weight Loss Cheerleaders!

It is time for an update although I really don't have a lot do share.

When I finished the school year in May, I was very afraid of the effect being off for the summer would have on my weight loss journey.  Just after school was out, I logged my best-ever home weight at 214.  I went on 2 vacations in June during which I pretty much ate whatever I wanted to eat (within reason), but I also walked a lot on those vacations.  By the end of June, I had gained about 5 pounds = 219.

For the month of July, I was back home and back on program.  On Wed, July 20, I logged 215 pounds (-45 total) at the weekly WW meeting, and I was thrilled by that!  That was my new OFFICIAL WW low.  The month of August has not been good.  I've bounced around between 215-220 fairly liberally.  My Aug. 31 weigh-in at meeting was 217.

I guess, over-all, a net gain of 3 pounds for the summer isn't too bad considering what it could have been, and it is better than I feared.

Now that I am back in school, I feel like the routine is going to help me start losing again.  It is also going to help that the humidity is down so I can start walking outside again.  My goal is to get up to 1 hour a day - right now I'm typically at about 30 min a day of dedicated walking.  Today, Hubs and I walked to the park up the street, and I did 3000 steps in 30 min.  (Gosh, there were days on my Maine vacation when I EASILY did 15,000-18,000 steps!  Seriously! So, I know what I am capable of.)

My next big goal is 199 - Otherwise known as Onederful-99.  Can I make it by Jan.1?  Stay tuned!

I have to say that being part of the weekly WW support group and also having Cheerleaders who are not part of the group is a huge help to me.  Several of the women in the group see me as an inspiration.  One friend who started with the group in April has now lost 40 pounds in 4 months!  She looks AWESOME!  Knowing that I am an inspiration to others helps keep me motivated to continue my work.  Not only do I not want to let myself down, but I don't want to let others down either.  One thing I've learned is that a huge part of this journey is mental/emotional.  The pounds drop fairly quickly at first, which is motivational and fun, but once the losing gets harder, it is necessary to find motivation anywhere I can get it!  Thanks to all of you who are rooting for me!!

Thanks for reading - I'll be back again before you can say Chocolate Chip Cookie!

:)Amy