Halfway There!

Today I hit the halfway mark! 35 pounds gone!

It was a really good week, because I lost 5 pounds and also got back on track for my overall loss. The grey line in my graph shows how much/how fast I need to lose to get to my goal weight during my time in the program.

Between vacation and a few tough weeks, I was behind on the goal (you can see that early on I was actually ahead of the game, my weight was under the required grey line amount).

But today I can say I am back on track, and feeling good.

What helped? Here's a list

• Journaling- can I say how often I thought I had so many calories left in a day until I checked out my online journal (we get access to an online tool called 20/20 Be Well) and realized I was done, or close to done. I surely saved a pounds worth of calories by accurately journaling.
• As you may recall, I went back a bit in my eating plan. I was having trouble controlling my fruit. I was eating about twice the amount of fruit I needed per day. Now fruit alone isn't terrible, but it seemed to trigger hunger. Maybe it was the natural sugar in fruit? Anyhow, controlling my portions on fruit has helped
• Water. As always, when I drink more water, I lose more weight. Skinnybuns always tells me how this is one of the easiest things to do, and she's right.
• Fish- who'd have thought? I ventured into the world of fish after my friend (who I shall call Cowgirl Slim, as she has lost over 20 lbs this past few months and looks fabulous. She's full of great tips) talked me into trying fish. I made it terrible the first few times- I tried grilling and ruined it. I tried cooking stove top and it was a disaster. But I am no quitter, and finally got the hang of it. Have I mentioned I am cooking impaired, unless it involves frying or desserts? Anyhow, the fish lifesaver is Costco Tilapia and lemon pepper, which I apply liberally.
• Workouts- I am lucky to still be in a phase which allows me 3 visits with my trainer per week, because I know that working out is so important. I made sure my two independent workouts (Tues and Thurs) were good ones, I went 45 min- an hour and really kept a good pace.

It's funny, the steps you need to take never really change- as I read this entry over I realize "this is the same stuff I've been doing since the start of June" but let's face it- I didn't get here because I had good habits. So maybe sometimes we have to get a bit off course to have the chance to grow.