Working my Ass Off (literally)

Hello everyone!

I apologize for my absence of late, but you see I've been rather busy losing a bunch of weight! Yes indeed! Today I weighed in at 191.2 pounds! Here's my 12-week progress on Weight Watchers. You can see the ebbs and flows (of note, I started Weight Watchers at 214, not my highest weight of 229):

Impressive, huh? When I was last here, I was still in the 200s. So, what have I been doing? A lot!

First, I've been extremely active. Swimming a lot - I even swam a 5k a couple times! Walking a lot. Ellipticalling a fair amount. None of it is obsessive - I'm just doing what I enjoy. When I enjoy exercise I'm far more likely to do it. So I prop up my iPad on my elliptical and watch a show. Or go to the pool and let my stress melt away as I do lap after lap.

I've also been eating well. One of the things I started to do was actually eat all of my WW weekly points and even some of my exercise points. I had been pretty bad about that, fearing that eating more would slow my weight loss. But it actually helped.

But - and this is key - I don't spread those calories evenly through the week. I've started a modified calorie cycling, where I have a couple bigger meals during the week, and they seem to help keep my metabolism going. For example, this past wednesday I'd been lingering around 193/194 for a while and I decided to have a big meal of Indian food - absolutely stuffed myself. And my weight moved again in the next couple days. There's a lot of science to back this up - will post more about it in the future.

And finally, I've conquered travel. I've always had a tough time traveling and keeping on plan, because I tend to eat out a lot and not get enough exercise, and sometimes I get in a mentality where I think anything goes. But I've tried to remain on plan while allowing myself a few indulgences; I've also found ways to stay active. I'll post more about my tips to stay on plan while traveling in the next week.

All in all, these changes are helping a lot! I love seeing the scale move, and I'm more motivated than ever to keep it up!