Week 8 - Settling in

So at the end of month #2 on Weight Watchers, I am down a total of 15.2 lbs and 17.75". I have a follow up at the dr on Friday, so I'll be curious to see how much I'm down at my appt. I was down about 10 lbs according to their scale when I went about 3.5 weeks ago. I'm down another 6.6 lbs during my at home weigh-ins, so I'm curious. Either way, she'll be happy to see me still moving down. I do plan to ask about my hip/thigh pain if it's still bothering me at the end of the week. I'm sure it's over-training, as I've been pushing myself hard. I want to keep pushing for 5 mile run/walks, but don't want to do so at the detriment of my tendons & muscles.

The good news is that by staying consistent (great lesson for the kids!), I'm starting to pull away from the trending curve by my last weight loss attempt. It's very gratifying as I'm slogging through this journey that it's only MY hard work and MY dedication that is contributing to this loss (well, and being on meds LOL). No short-cuts, no gimmicks, no "miracle" pills. Just sweat, water, fruits, vegetables and eating appropriately for my size. I've cut back on treats (mostly), but when I have them, I keep track of them and move on.

My jeans are super loose now, they actually fit well right out of the dryer, and I have a decent waist-line back. I have a ways to go to be in good shape and look good, but every bit helps! I'm definitely stronger and my endurance is improving greatly. On my 5 mile run last week, I ran 31 mins and walked quickly another 30 mins and a 10 min cool down walk. The reason for running 31 mins? I was .2 short, so I sprinted 1 min at 6mph. :) Plus, I'd been doing weight training DVD workouts after run/walking 5Ks during the week. I'm scaling back a bit and doing one or the other.

I need to remember that I'm 31, have had 2 babies and my body is not the same as when I was 26. I need to think about the growing and stretching my body did to bring two beautiful kids into the world and be forgiving of the stretch marks, the saggy baby bulge, the droopy breasts, and weaker joints. I find something new to love about my body every day - my collar bones are starting to come back, my shoulders are getting more definition from my upper arms, my ankle/calves are becoming more toned, my legs are strong, my abs are getting firm and I can do good sit-ups, better than pre-babies even!

So as I go through this journey on a somewhat competitive level against myself at 25-26 yrs old, I am keeping in mind that I have a different body, I am doing this to be truly healthy, not just to have babies, and I have two little sets of eyes watching what I do and asking questions. They are curious about my workouts, about my diet. They try the veggies (granted they usually say yuck), they like to eat fruits, they drink water, they run around, ride their bike/trike, dance, play and emulate the healthy lifestyle I'm trying to create for this family. How can you not be happy to see hard work coming to fruition?!? :)