Checking In, Resolutions, and January's Goal

I've been unable to log in the past few weeks between house sitting in the middle of nowhere and rebuilding our new home! I may disappear again, but I thought I'd let everyone know how things are going:

5 Bites: Not going well. I'm firmly in the realm of Intuitive Eating right now. Between holiday eating, a bachelorette party, having no kitchen due to the move and construction, and lots of alcohol, I haven't been able to maintain 5 Bites and my happiness. On the other hand, I've done a great job of listening to my body and limiting my portions to the range between what my body needs for fuel and what I want emotionally.

Weight: 189.4! Whoo! Through intuitive eating and happy portion control, I've broken 190. This is a really big deal, as I don't know the last time I was below 190. Perhaps my high school graduation?

Body Fat: 29.6%, At the beginning of November I was at 31.3%. Almost 2% during the biggest eating months of the year isn't too shabby in my book.

Weight-related Resolution: Get down to 150. It's a lot of weight to lose, and if it doesn't happen, I won't be heartbroken, but I like having a goal to work towards. I'll be very angry with myself if I'm not down to 175 by the end of the year.  I spent most of this year gaining weight as I experimented with different diets and have spent the last few months finally losing all that dieting weight. This year will be different. I'll lose weight the whole year, instead of gaining and playing catch up. I simply need to lose 1.3 pounds per month to get below 175. At that rate I could do 5 Bites one weekend a month and just work hard to maintain with Intuitive Eating the remainder of the time and hit my goal.

Blog-related Resolution: I'd like to get back in to posting a bit more often, both on Ditch the Excuses and on Homesteading in the Dust (my blog about homesteading in Southern Arizona). In addition, I think I'd like to start setting monthly weight loss goals. The November Challenge was great and very motivating, though a little stressful.

January's Goal: I want to be at 185 by the end of January. I lost almost 8 pounds in November, so 4.4 pounds in January should be more than reasonable.

As construction (most of which I'm doing myself) is still underway, I probably won't be checking in again until mid January.

Measurement Monday: November 24th, 2014

This week was  once again mostly about Intuitive Eating, but I certainly managed better than last week.

Abdomen: 42.75 (-.15)
Waist: 33.5 (-.3)
Bust: 43 (0)
Chest: 36.2 (-.6)
Hip: 45.25 (-.25)
Left Arm: 14.1 (-.2)
Left Forearm: 10.75 (0)
Left Calf: 15.75 (-.25)
Left Thigh: 26.7 (-.1)
Right Arm: 14 (.3)
Right Forearm: 10.5 (0)
Right Calf: 15.8 (-.4)
Right Thigh: 26.5 (-.2)
Neck: 14.2 (0)
Current Weight: 191.8 pounds (-1.2)
Inches lost: -2.15
Running total: -3.45, -4.2 pounds

I finally am at the weight I started dieting at! Whoo!

6.8 pounds down, 13.4 to go! Will I reach my goal by the end of November? Nope. At least I've lost almost 7 pounds this month!

Breakthrough!

I'm almost in the 180s! I woke up this morning, hopped on the scale expecting to be disappointed because I ate nothing but salt yesterday and low and behold I was down to 191.4! I can't remember the last time I weighed that. Possibly at my high school graduation?

7.2 pounds down, 12.8 pounds to go! 12.8 pounds in 11 days may be overly optimistic, but I'll certainly start December in the 180s!

Measurement Monday: November 17th, 2014

This week was more a regression to Intuitive Eating than 5 Bites.

Abdomen: 42.9 (-.1)
Waist: 33.8 (.3)
Bust: 43 (-.5)
Chest: 36.8 (.2)
Hip: 45.5 (-.4)
Left Arm: 14.3 (.3)
Left Forearm: 10.75 (0)
Left Calf: 16 (.2)
Left Thigh: 26.8 (0)
Right Arm: 13.7 (-.6)
Right Forearm: 10.5 (0)
Right Calf: 16.2 (.4)
Right Thigh: 26.7 (0)
Neck: 14.2 (-.1)
Current Weight: 193.0 pounds (0)
Inches lost: -.3
Running total: -1.3, -3 pounds

No weight lost. Bummer. At least I lost some inches. Next week will be better!

5.6 pounds down, 14.6 to go!

Measurement Monday: November 10th, 2014

Not a great 5 Bites week, but I tried. Regardless, my weight when down and that's the most important part.

Abdomen: 43.0 (-.6)
Waist: 33.5 (-.25)
Bust: 43.5 (0)
Chest: 36.5 (-.9)
Hip: 45.9 (.2)
Left Arm: 14 (-.5)
Left Forearm: 10.75 (0)
Left Calf: 15.8 (-.2)
Left Thigh: 26.8 (.3)
Right Arm: 14.3 (.3)
Right Forearm: 10.5 (.5)
Right Calf: 15.8 (-.3)
Right Thigh: 26.7 (-.6)
Neck: 14.3 (.1)
Current Weight: 193.0 pounds (-1.4)
Inches lost: -1.95
Running total: -1.6, -3 pounds

I don't have a lot to say about this week. I over ate a few times, and it's obvious what effect that has on my weight loss. At least I lost almost 2 inches this week, and I'm thrilled to be only 1.2 pounds from my starting weight.

5.6 pounds down, 14.6 to go!

Week 1 of The November Challenge

One week down and I've lost 3.8 pounds. It's ridiculous, but I'm a little disappointed. I was hoping to lose 5 or 6 pounds this week.

I think my brain is broken. Almost 4 pounds in a week is crazy! I have no reason to be disappointed.

Maybe Monday will be better.

End Goal: May 1st, 2015

I think setting a solid goal will help,so here it is:

I want to be 135 pounds by May 1st.

58 pounds in 25 weeks.

58 pounds in 176 days.

The weight tracking app I use has a trend line, and predicts your estimated goal deadline. At the start of my 5 Bites journey it predicted I'd be at my goal weight August 20th. Now it's down to July 13th. I love seeing the date get closer to my actual goal date.

I want to be 164 by February 2nd.

I'm so excited!