Weight loss update - down 13!

I am down 13 lbs total for the year so far - yay! I have been very devoted to both exercise and eating right. I feel great, though I have had a day here and there where I was just beat - tired. I've been trying to make sure I get enough sleep to re-energize after a day where I exercised hard. I've been really pushing myself, and enjoying it! It feels great to set a goal and reach it. I really enjoy saying I'm going to do a hard exercise for 30 minutes and push myself to do it - when I get to that part where I want to quit, but I keep going, it's a real rush to finish!

I have been drinking lots of water, trying to get the 8 cups a day - no pop at all, and I don't miss it a bit. We're eating more fruits and veg, especially fruit for snacks, and veg snuck into every meal whenever possible. I wouldn't be doing as well without the SparkPeople website. Having goals like eating 5-6 servings of fruit and veg, or 8 cups of water, and then tracking those goals, really motivates me. And cheating on my 'diet' is not a problem, because it's not a 'diet', it's a lifestyle change. I like tracking my food daily, and being able to look at charts to see how I am doing in the long term.

This is my calorie intake for the last month. The steady upward climb was on purpose. I was concerned that staying at the bottom of my recommended calorie range was actually causing my body to hang on to fat a bit, since it was such a big change from what I was eating before - I'd estimate with pop and chips, I was mindlessly eating about 3000 calories a day! I have been trying to land more in the middle to upper part of the recommended calories. They say eating too little is bad because your body will resist losing fat if it isn't getting enough calories. But if I'm close to my calorie limit for the day and I feel I need a snack before bed, I'll have a snack like canned peaches and cottage cheese (one of my favorite new snacks). The hundred calories isn't going to kill me, and I'll get a good night sleep and wake up relaxed. So I'm watching the calories closely, but not being crazy about it.

So that's how it's going so far. I feel really good, I enjoy the exercise, and I'm trying hard to eat right and change my habits. I actually want my loss to be slow and permanent. I'm in it for the long haul.

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