5 Reasons Why Its Good to have 100+ lbs to lose..

• You can burn more calories quicker than really skinny people -- after all it takes more energy to move!!
• You can appreciate the excitement that comes from little accomplishments that skinny folks take for granted - like being able to tie your shoes without getting winded..... and put your underwear on one leg at a time (as opposed to dropping them on the floor and stepping into them!)
• You can reinvent yourself as you lose the weight....its not really noticeable if the biggest weight fluctuation a person has is 4 or 6 pounds..
• Its much more impressive at the end of the road... No one ever says "hey I know a woman who lost THREE whole pounds!! She is at her goal weight and she did it in only 2 weeks!!"
• Its empowering. Once the weight is gone you have the boldness and courage to tackle other "huge" goals in your life - like finding work/ life balance, or cleaning out the basement, or changing the way you handle stress !!!

Passing Time

Today I went back to the ocean (er.. pool) and did 65 minutes of deep water running which supposedly burns an impressive 965 calories...

I have heard that running 1 mile in water equals 4 miles on land... and I know 10,000 steps on land equals one mile... I can say that by counting sets of 100 I easily "ran" 20,000 steps this morning in the pool..

I am trying to tell myself what I would tell anyone else in my situation. After starting my efforts on March 1, and losing 7 lbs I was devastated to see the scales go up this week by 3 lbs. There is always this gnawing temptation that its a losing battle (pun intended) and that I can only succeed at gaining, not losing. But the reality is, I was still a full 4 lbs lighter than when I started.... and for a nursing mom that's not a bad thing.

The bigger issue is mentally being convinced that the effort is worth it. I know today will pass whether or not I eat healthy, whether or not I chose to go back to bed after the 4:30 feeding... (and I do feel exhausted after choosing not to!)... And I don't want to be a year older wishing that I had made the little daily decisions differently.

One thing you can say for those numerous octogenarians who seem to be ever present in the pool in the early hours -- they are there. They may not all be in great shape, but the fact that they CAN get up, get out, and get in a pool to get active, well that says something in a day and age where too many folks are unable to even think about accomplishing such an act.

I may not be back to my prepregnancy body by the time my son walks but I hope to be a lot closer than where I am now... and I can only get there by making the daily decisions that help me pass the time while the time is passing.....