Day 22 - Week 3 Results

I woke up this morning excited to do my weekly weigh in.  Then I got on the scale and saw 337.5.  I was so disappointed.  An entire week of diet and exercise, with only one pound to show for it.  But then, I did something smart.  I turned to my friends on facebook and they really helped me get over myself.  I’m still down over ten pounds since I started, and ten and a half pounds in three weeks isn’t bad!  Another friend was kind enough to point out that it’s like getting rid of two 5 pound bags of sugar.  So yeah, that’s worth celebrating.

Another friend wanted to know if I was eating enough.  Since I’ve been eating to hunger, and following the Paleo plan to the letter, I hadn’t been tracking calories.  But, she got me curious.  So, I recorded everything I ate today, which was a pretty typical day.  It came in right at 1500 calories.  For my size, I think that’s fairly respectable.  Not too high, not too low.  I’ll probably chart another couple days just to see if I really am as consistent as I think I am.

Another voice in my head reminded me that the scale isn’t the only way for me to judge progress.  I really hate tape measures (probably because I can’t find one big enough to measure my hips), so I specifically did not take starting measurements.  But, I am anxious to see what my next progress picture will look like.  That should tell me for sure that my hard work is paying off.  I am also going to keep a closer eye on my clothes and see if/when they start to feel looser.

Once I got over myself and decided that I wasn’t a complete failure this week, it was time to get started on the exercise.  I am really enjoying the walking videos, so I decided to do two of them today.  I did a total of nine miles!  Me, who could barely make it through a two mile video without collapsing.  I am beyond proud of myself. 

In addition to the obviously increased endurance, I found another pleasant surprise today.  During the hamstring curls, I realized that the range of motion in my knees was much, much better.  I could actually kick back further without a sharp pain in my knees.  That was totally amazing, and a complete surprise.  I don’t think I will be ready to move up to the really intense workouts anytime soon, but I am actually able to increase the intensity of the workouts I am doing.  That just makes me smile.

So, I am three weeks into the program and getting really excited.  I’m not in as much pain as I was when I started, I’m seeing results in several areas, and I am realizing just what wonderful, supportive friends I have.  Not only can I do this, I AM doing this!