Does the camera really add ten pounds?

So I have been going along, losing weight, feeling pretty good about myself, but this week, two different things happened to remind me that I still have quite a ways to go.  The first is that I found myself in some pictures that my sister-in-law took at a family event, and when I looked at them, I thought, "Wow, that is NOT what I see when I look in the mirror!"  Isn't it amazing how your perception of yourself changes when you see a photo of yourself?  Yes, I have lost weight (26 pounds as of this morning!), but I still have plenty more weight to lose.

The second thing that happened is I started my on-line weight loss challenge.  This involves posting my stats on a private blog (so no link to it...sorry) each week.  My first post had my weight and height, as well as measurements of my bust (big), waist (big), hips (SO BIG), and thighs (interestingly, they are an inch different in size).  After seeing other people post "before" pictures, I decided to do the same thing.  I took a frontal and a profile view picture of myself in my bathroom mirror Sunday morning, and all I could think was that I was pretty darn lumpy.

Here's the interesting thing.  In the past, when I was in a less Zen place, this would have been enough to send me right to McDonald's or the Ben & Jerry's case at Wegman's, but I have been successfully following this new way of eating since January 4, which is almost FOUR MONTHS!  This is unprecedented for me.  I don't think I have ever gone this long without falling right off the bandwagon.

Anyhoo, let's get back to the good stuff.  As of today, I have lost more than 25 pounds!  YAY!  And in 1.6 pounds, I will have lost 10% of my initial body weight.  Also YAY!  At work yesterday, one of my co-workers made a Big Deal over the fact that I have lost weight.  It feels so good to have people notice!  And when I was holding an 8-pound baby at work yesterday and thinking that I had lost a bit more than three times that amount of weight, I couldn't help but think about how much pressure I have taken off my knees and ankles and how this is such a good start toward better health and fitness!

Today, I start my second round of W1 or C25K.  I sort of want to go out and try out W2, but I decided up front that I wanted to do W1 two weeks in a row, and I am going to stick with that.  I haven't jogged since Friday because I worked the last three days (and the twelve-hour shifts only leave room for sleep in my life), but for the last two days, I have been absolutely itching to get back on the treadmill.  I can't believe how obsessed I am with the idea of getting going on with this thing.  I am heading to the gym now, and I am really looking forward to my workout!

This week will be challenging because it is my birthday week.  On Thursday, I will be flipping over to a new year and turning 34.  YIKES!  I am planning a trip to the Farmers' Market on Thursday to buy all sorts of healthy foods (there is a stand that sells lots of local stuff that I want to check out, and I would also like to see if I can find some humanely-raised chicken and beef to try out), but I am also going to buy myself, at the Amish bakery, a whoopie pie.  They are among my favorite treats ever, and it will be my actual birthday, and I am planning this splurge.  I will only buy one (instead of the three I usually buy), and I will not buy anything else from the bakery (like the cream-filled donuts that they sell that are AWESOME but somehow involve lard, I think), but I am treating myself on my birthday to a whoopie pie.  My husband and I are also going to grab some dinner that night at our favorite local-ish sports bar, where they sell my favorite wings.  I usually get a dozen wings when I am there, and I love them.  I am not sure yet what I am going to go about that.  They do offer a half dozen option, so I could get that and a salad, which is probably what I will do.  I could skip the wings altogether, but I don't really want to.  And I definitely will not get the fries that usually complete my meal.

The second challenge is that my coworkers on Saturday are planning a little birthday celebration for me!  I am so happy to have such awesome coworkers who care enough to do this.  I work the weekend program in a NICU, and as result, two of my three shifts each week are spen with the same five women, all of whom I love.  It is so nice to truly be friends with the people that you spend the bulk of your work time with.  The other nice thing about them is that I can 100% trust in them as nurses, and that is important when you work in a NICU.  And we make an awesome team, which is also nice because you never have to worry about being left hanging when an admission comes through the door.  We all get together and get the job done, and we are good at what we do.  The fact that we have a lot of fun together is an added bonus to our great teamwork ability.  Anyway, there will be cake involved, but one of my coworkers is bringing in a fruit and yogurt parfait in a trifle bowl, because, as she put it, she doesn't want to sabotage my success.  How nice is it that she cares enough to do that?  Anyway, because my weigh-in day is Saturday for my challenge, I am not too concerned about Saturday because even if I do indulge a little bit, I have the rest of the week to "make up for it."

Anyway, gotta run (literally)!  Make it a great day!