Week 24

It's coming up to nearly 6 months on this diet. And, I hit a milestone this week. After zero loss last week, my body decided to play catch up with a little whoosh. I lost 1.8kgs bringing my grand total loss to... 40kgs!

That means I'm 80% of the way to my goal!

I have been trying to take stock lately - making mental notes of all the things I can do now with much more ease. Working about the house (even just cooking and cleaning) is so much easier now without all that extra weight dragging me down. I used to get such sore a sore back and hips if I spent a couple of hours or more baking. Now, I don't. I'm so much fitter, and I think it is mainly to do with the weight loss. Sure, I have built a teeny tiny bit of muscle and endurance with exercise, but I know the main different is the weight.

I made a decision part of the way through the week - to move to Maintenance (Only 1 meal replacement per day, 1200 calories). Optifast Australia isn't too clear on when exactly you should move to Maintenance. I remember reading that you should lose your last few kilos on Maintenance, but I think this was just someone's opinion on the forums. I can't find anything in any of their literature or on their website that sets a clear timeline.

So, I have just decided to do what is best for me. I feel that I need 1200 calories. I am hitting 1200 most days that I exercise and feeling just awful about it because I've been exceeding my target by 200 calories almost all the time. But, I'm hungry. And, for the most part, it is healthy food I'm having (and needing!).

As I've said before on this blog - exercise is working for me. It's making me feel really good and giving me goals outside of this diet to think about. So, I'm just gonna eat 1200 calories a day of healthy foods and keep up the exercise and be happy. Done.

It's actually been harder than I thought to plan out 1200 calories in a day. But, when you're not eating junk, you can really fit a lot more "food" in.

I expect my weight loss to be slower. And that's a price I'm willing to pay. I've been beating myself up for weeks now by trying to merge Optifast Transition (1000 calories) with vigorous exercise, and it's just not working for me. So, I'm moving the goal posts a little.

10kgs to go. And only a dress size or two left. If this takes the rest of the year, I don't care. I just need to be happy right now.

WIL: 1.8kgs, 40kgs total!!
WIG: Perspective. I don't have to be perfect all the time. I just need to be happy and healthy.