How’d that happen?

OK, so I was feeling a little crappy yesterday: a little lightheaded, a bit flushed. The side of the building I work in is quite warm, so it was a bit of a change from being in the training room all day where it’s much cooler. Even though I had thought about running, I opted not to just in case I was getting sick. And I knew I had two hours of swimming ahead of me.

I did laundry after work, had some dinner and then went swimming. I actually felt pretty good in the water, although I was still quite wound up when I got home and couldn’t get to sleep until after midnight.

I slept in this morning (until 7AM), as I didn’t have to teach, so it didn’t matter what time I got to the office. It was still tough to drag myself out of bed, but somehow I managed. My period started today, which generally makes me a little bloated, crampy and cranky, although only for the first day.

But then what a lovely surprise I got when I stepped on the scales: 169.6 lbs! A full POUND lost since yesterday’s weigh-in! I have to confess that since I’ve bought this new scale, I’ve weighed myself every morning, just to get a baseline (yeah, right). I had been so frustrated with my lack of progress in the last few weeks that I wanted to see what was going on with my weight on a daily basis instead of just on my normal Monday/Friday weigh-ins. Since I bought the scale and had my initial weigh-in of 170.8, I had managed to drop by 0.2 pounds here and there, but had also re-gained 0.2 pounds just this week. I think I’m fairly well-hydrated, so hopefully the one-pound loss isn’t because of that.

I’m also still weighing myself on my old scale, just for comparison purposes. That one (you know, the one that always has me weighing 1.8 pounds lighter and only displays in full pounds) showed me at 168. That’s still not a new low number (yet), but it’s the lowest number I’ve ever been at since I first had the courage to weigh myself nine years ago!

I keep reminding myself: I am not my weight. A number on a scale does not define me. And to he honest, I’m not really using it to judge myself; but I am using it to judge my progress against my weight-loss goals.

The pants I am wearing today are all baggy on me. The same goes for all the other pants I wore this week (hmmm, maybe time for some new pants?). Many people have commented to me on how I appear to have lost weight (even my creepy landlord who looked at me in stunned disbelief last week and asked me if I was OK because I looked so thin in the face). But just to clarify, a 4.2-pound loss in about six weeks is neither rapid nor drastic weight-loss. And I hardly look emaciated or unhealthy. I always lose weight in my face first, so that’s what people tend to notice. I also lose it in my hips/thighs, which, I’m sure, is great for some people, but for me it’s my gut that is in the greatest need of slimming down. Most women’s clothes are made for people with pear shapes and I am an apple, so if I buy something to fit my waist/abdomen, it always bags and sags in the hips, thighs and butt.

Speaking of new clothes, I have to buy a dress for an event I am going to in two weeks. The cool thing about this event is that it’s a reunion of people who used to work together at a company that has since been purchased (coincidentally, by the company I now work for). I haven’t worked with those people in 12 years (and 67 pounds) and I’ve only seen one or two of them since then, so they are all going to be in for quite the surprise when they see the “new thin me”!

I went out on a shopping trip at lunch that was totally demoralizing! Note to self: don’t go shopping when you feel all crampy and bloated and your hair looks like shit. I couldn’t find anything and the few things I did try on looked like crap on me. I’ll have to plan to go when I actually am feeling (and looking) a bit better and I have more time to poke around.

Speaking of feeling all crampy and bloated, I my final swim session tonight. Actually, being in the water felt pretty good; being in the water in a bathing suit with a bunch of people: not so much! But I made it through. I got really good feedback on my stroke and I already know what I have to continue practicing. I may go back to the pool once a week starting next week.

So, I'll take that one-pound loss, thank-you-very-much, and continue on with my current strategy.

Plans for tomorrow: 60-90 minutes on my bike trainer, then I'm getting together with some friends in the evening to go roller skating!

Sunday: my final long run in preparation for the half-marathon I'm running on November 6th. CL and I are going to run 22K and then I can start my taper. In the evening I'm going over to KH's house for dinner.

Happy weekend!