My chest is now bigger than my gut!

I glanced down this morning and realized that I could see my chest, but not my gut!

It's a slow journey. Last week I put on a pound, this week I took it off. And I really wanted it to be a couple of pounds, so that I felt like I had made up for the gain. I wanted it through magical thinking. I had not tracked my food, I did get dinner from a box instead of preparing it myself a few times too often and that box of digestive cookies that was supposed to last for a few months lasted a week. Sigh. So, that was the stuff I did that did not support what I WANT in terms of a healthy body.

But still, today I notice that my belly has shrunk enough that it no longer protudes past my bust.

I ate ONE chocolate bar last week, not 20. I ate half a loaf of bread over the week, not 4 or 5. I ate at least 6 portions of non-starchy vegetables and fruit every day. I ate breakfast every day. I drank two cans of gingerale, not 12. Plain steamed vegetables now taste tasty! They don't need butter, cheese, and salt to be palatable.

I swam 4 times this week and I swam hard. I'm wearing a new swimsuit because the one I bought in January (a two-piecer that went to my knees) had gotten so big that I was in danger of inadvertently swimming naked.

I've lost five inches off my hips. Which means I fit into theater seats and airplane seats. Tightly, but I fit - I don't have to sit on one buttock and tilt myself up anymore.

Underneath the fat, I can feel new muscles from all the swimming, including my stomach, as I am doing V-sit sculling.

Winter clothes from 2010 (when I had dropped 75 pounds on Spark) are starting to fit me. According to the scale I have at home, which is the one I was using in 2010, I'm 30 pounds away from my lowest point on Spark. Although the WW scale that I am now using as my official measurement puts me 18 pounds heavier!

Even with a badly sprained ankle, I've worked out a minimum of three times a week for the last 3 months.

I signed up for an art class, because I deserve to spend money on something that will truly nourish me. I need to replace the idea that food is my "treat" and enjoy some other treats.

I decided to book a vacation in late February in Vancouver, where I can enjoy friends and the first buds of Spring instead of feeling depressed and grim about how long the Ottawa winter is.

I lost my family doctor in one of the most unpleasant interactions of my life late last year. I finally found a new one - and I really like his approach AND he is walking distance from where I live.

This weekend, I'm going to take advantage of my husband's business trip to sit down and do my taxes (overdue!) and pay the fine. Because there will be a fine. Which means I've given up on the idea of getting a fireplace installed this year. But I'll start saving now to get one for next winter.

Part of me gets so damned impatient. It's going to be such a long journey to take the pounds off, and it's going to be an even tougher one to maintain the loss. But all I REALLY need to do is to get through TODAY with a certain amount of physical activity and staying on track with my food.

When I put it that way, it doesn't seem so tough. I don't need to think about the weight of years ahead, I just need to think about getting through the next eight or nine hours until bedtime. Easy peasy...