Today I write to tell you that since the middle of February, I have lost 25 lbs. and moved down 2 sizes.  

I feel great.  Things are heading in the right direction. I’m 1/3rd (or 1/4th depending on how aggressive I am feeling that day) of the way to my overall weight-loss goal. As I write that, I still cringe a little, thinking of how bad things got and how much more I have to go. But, it’s done, I’ve been there, done fat, and I am moving on. Day at a time, meal at a time, progress not perfection.

How am I doing it?  Common sense, and sweat. More details? Ok, here you go:

• I track my calories usually every day on Livestrong.com’s “My Plate.”
  -There have been consecutive days where I haven’t, but they don’t happen too frequently. When they do, I simply start again.

• I go to the gym @ least 4x a week
  -3-3 1/2 hours of cardio weekly – I have been doing most of mine on the elliptical, time to branch out! Zumba? Spinning? Wait and see my friends…
  -Half-hour TRX/Kettleball sessions 2x a week with trainer.
  -This breaks down to about 8-10 different weight bearing exercises, 2-3 sets of each, for 45 seconds of effort for each set, and a 15-second break.

If I were my 16-year-old self, I would think “um, you must not be working hard enough – 25lbs in 3 1/2 months doesn’t seem like a lot.” This is the 16-year-old self who wouldn’t eat anything all day long, except for maybe an English muffin or some granola and yogurt at lunch, and spent free periods smoking Marlboros in the Butt Lounge during HS. Maybe I’d eat some chicken & rice for dinner. I had some weird, unhealthy thoughts (and behaviors!) around food then.  And it has taken years and many detours along this crooked path to rewrite those behaviors and beliefs.

I am slowly but surely doing that, one day at a time. And not excoriating myself when I inevitably do not do everything around food/exercise perfectly.

I can say that this “slow and steady” approach is probably the healthiest, simplest way I have ever lost weight. Most importantly, it appears to be the most sustainable. It is actually DOABLE. It’s not Deprivation-based. It’s “balance-based.”

More on that later. Now, I make the oatmeal.