Day 71 - Ten Week Results

It’s hard to believe it’s been ten weeks already!  In some ways it seems like I’ve just started, and in others, it seems like forever.  But, I am officially down 18.5 pounds.  I was hoping for a bigger number, but I really am happy with all the non-scale progress I’ve been making.  I really enjoy being able to do more things, I know my flexibility is greatly improved, my blood pressure is down, and my so is my stress level.  There are so many different ways to count progress, and I have to remind myself that the scale is just one of them.  And, pictures are great too.  Here is this week’s progress pic – I can definitely see the difference!

My parents came to visit for a couple hours today.  They haven’t been here since the beginning of the year, so it was a big deal.  We had done a major renovation this spring – we replaced all the carpeting downstairs, the steps, and in the hallway upstairs with wood flooring.  We also repainted the whole area.  It looks so much nicer now, and I really wanted them to see it.  Even though they could only stay a short time, I wanted it to look great.  So, my first hour of exercise for the day was aerobic cleaning!  Between the frantic decluttering, cleaning the kitchen, vacuuming and dusting, I got quite a workout. And, it was worth it.  They liked the way everything looked, and Michael had fun showing off.

The second hour of exercise was more traditional – a four mile walking DVD.  It felt good today.  Maybe it was just that my muscles have mostly healed from Wednesday’s class, or that I was happy that the house was in order, or something else entirely.  But, no matter what the reason, it felt really good to do the video and just move.  By the time I got to the stretching at the end, I felt great.  It was nice to feel good at the end of a workout instead of my standard exhaustion!
I need to work on my patience.  I want to see the scale move for me like it does on TV.  I do know that’s not realistic, but it’s hard to not hope for it all the same.  But, so many people keep pointing out that I am building a lot of muscle.  I have been going to the muscle challenge class twice a week, doing yoga three times a week, and doing a ton of cardio.  All of that is going to build muscle, which does weigh more than fat.  And, it’s more metabolically active, so that’s a good thing long term.  I just need to keep my short term goals in perspective.  God, please grant me patience, but hurry!