16 pounds!

I have been working like gangbusters the past two months on my Weight Watchers plan and have rejoiced to lose about a pound a week for a little while.  I started WW last summer and initially lost a little (about 8 pounds) but because of the chaos of moving and traveling and settling in, it took a backseat a little.  I really started tracking and paying attention again at the beginning of January and especially the last month have been pushing hard.  Today I hit another 5 pound marker and have lost a total of 16 pounds - 1.5 down from last week and a lower weight than I was even before my first pregnancy!  I can't help but dance around the house at these victories!  My mother-in-law pointed out recently that a box of butter is a pound of fat, so I can picture that when I lose a pound.  When I see things like the losses people have on Biggest Loser, one pound can feel trivial but when I see that box of butter in my fridge it reminds me what a significant victory I have had.

The scale doesn't always seem to reflect my hard work, since I sometimes have a weigh in day where I have apparently lost nothing.  I started tracking my size measurements in January and those non-scale victories have kept me plodding along on those weeks, since I have consistently lost size.  I had to get new jeans a few weeks ago and I am down just about another size now.  I have lost a total of 5.5 inches at my waist!  And have to punch a new hole in my new belt already!  That's the biggest loss but I have lost almost three inches at my bust, an inch at my arms, etc.  I am getting rid of some clothes that I will hopefully never need again - even with another pregnancy, I will hopefully not be as big as I have been the past year.  All that data keeps me going and I am so glad I decided to track measurements to make things more concrete and encouraging for me!

It is hard work, but I have been tracking everything I put in my mouth, so I can make informed decisions about my eating.  I have found some great and encouraging WW blogs, some with recipes, some with other kinds of daily information and encouragement.  Since I am not going into town to go to meetings, I have to rely on what I can find online, along with my friend who is also doing WW.

The strange thing about weight loss is that it is easy to separate it somehow from my faith, as if it was unrelated to my walk with the Lord.  But I have been slowly realizing how interconnected it is, that is is an area of discipline in my life that needs to come under His control.  Body image, health, care of my body - the whole point of these things is to better use my body to serve Him.  It is a daily struggle for me to rely on Him for help with self-control, discipline, and success and I need to continue bringing it before Him, when I have "good" weeks and "bad" weeks in terms of my weight loss goals.