23

The warm weather is back, so I gave Banks a short walk today -- maybe 20 minutes -- and did the rest myself.  He and I did a neighborhood loop, I dropped him off so I could ascend a couple of hills, and then it started raining.  I had to cut about 15 minutes off my walk, because I had my phone with me (FASCINATING discussion on Fresh Air about end-of-life decisions), but I'll make that up easily enough in the next couple of days.

There was an extra spring in my step because, for the first time in I don't know how long, I weighed myself.  Remember how long it's taken me to break the 20-pound barrier?  No matter what, I stayed stuck at 17-18?  Well, today I went upstairs to the clinic, and that monkey is off my back.  

For the last couple of weeks, when I've caught glimpses of myself in a store window, I definitely noticed a smaller sillhouette.  On the other hand, it's been a while since anyone at work has said anything about my weight loss, so I didn't know if that was just wishful thinking on my part.  So I took a deep breath, got on the scale, and there it was.  Twenty-three pounds less.  The lowest I've been since the very, very early 80s.

So.....there's about 10 weeks left, and if my calculations are correct, I'm now losing about 3 1/2  pounds a month.  That would bring me to at least 30 pounds.  Thirty or 35. That's exactly what my goal was when I started this. Not worrying about what I ate, just walking five miles a day, and let's see what happens. 

There's a whole lot here about self-image, but that's another blog.  Right now I'm just congratulating myself on finally having the guts to face the scale.