Update - weigh in #5

Today is day #36. That leaves 57 days until my goal date (July 5th).

Today is also weigh in #5.

Another 2lbs of PURE FAT gone! And another decrease in body fat by 1%

I am absolutely blown away. I just can't wrap my head around it. I have lost a total of 7lbs of fat in 5 weeks. At this rate, I will hit my goal of 15lbs sooner than July 5th!

Now I believe her when she told me she thought I would hit the 10lb mark by end of May with this new plan of keeping my calories at 1500. I honestly didn't believe that I could do it when I was sitting in her office. Thinking about losing 10lbs in 2 months when I hadn't been able to lose an ounce in 4 years seemed almost impossible.

It's not. I am doing it!!

When I felt like I had exhausted all the options. When I felt like I had done everything I possibly could. In the back of my mind I knew. I knew the ONLY WAY it was ever going to happen was to get serious in the kitchen. I was serious in the gym, but that was obviously not going to cut it. After training very hard for a year with no weight loss results (***mind you, I DID see results in the form of muscle gain, and that was also a goal***), it was apparent that everything you read about abs being "made in the kitchen" or not being able to "out-train a bad diet" is absolutely the truth.

But I also think that it depends on where you are in your journey. If you are overweight and usually sedentary, just starting an exercise routine will help you make changes in your body. Or just changing the quantity and quality of your food. At my stage of the game, I'm used to pushing myself in the gym. But I could never work harder and harder and harder to see fat loss. Nope, it had to start coming from diet. I am so close! And the closer you are, the more difficult the struggle. The tighter you need to get with nutrition.

Now, by no means have I been perfect. I have given in to temptation several times. I have not cut out wine entirely, although I have seriously cut way back. I have eaten no-no foods (in small amounts), I have gone over calorie budget a few times, and I have skipped several days of workouts in a row due to injury & illness. And yet I continue to make progress! See!! YOU DON'T NEED TO BE PERFECT TO SEE RESULTS!! If you did, no one would.

And after 5 weeks, it seems almost effortless. I hate to use that word, because it certainly isn't without effort. But it has been surprisingly easier than I expected. Because the longer I go, the more comfortable I am getting with this routine. New habits are forming and I don't feel like I am being deprived of anything (except feeling like crap). And when the motivation starts to wane, and it has (hello, 3rd week, big time dive), all I have to do is put on a pair of pants that used to be snug and bask in the glow of fat loss success. I am doing it! And that is the spark I need to reignite my motivation.

There is NO BETTER FEELING when you have been struggling for so long, than the feeling of your clothes fitting you better. It's pure bliss :)