end of the month success

I’m two months in a row for meeting my monthly goals! At the end of March, I said I wanted to lose five pounds in April. I knew that with two family birthdays (including mine) and Easter chocolate temptations, it would be difficult to lose much more than that. Well, in April I lost six!

The scale this morning read 200 even. The number was so good to see. I know that with the next pound I lose, I will be under the 200 mark for the first time in nearly 20 years. It is going to feel so good!

Also this month I passed the 2/3 of my overall goal. Having lost 68 pounds since I started in August, I am more than two-thirds of the way to losing 100 pounds.

I must admit that counting my calories and logging my food is probably a large factor in my success over the last couple of months. What has been working well for me are three meals and two snacks… a 200 calorie breakfast, a 400 calorie lunch, a 500 calorie dinner and two 100 calorie snacks (give or take a little here and there obviously, as I can’t make it that precise every time!) Following those rough guidelines, that brings me in at 1300 calories per day.

I didn’t mention it before, but I have been using the Wii Fit Plus for a little over a week now. My sister and I traded Wii games for a two+ week period ending Mothers Day. She is trying out my Wii Active and I get to use the Wii Fit. I love the step aerobics on the Wii Fit! That is my favorite activity, but I’m also trying to use the Yoga, Strength and Balance parts of it too, because every time I do a Body Test, it tells me that my center of balance is a little to the right and I need to gain strength in my right/left sides evenly to have better posture and balance. (I did know this already, but it has been helpful to be reminded of it. Incidentally, the Wii Fit Age that it comes up with for me is 41, so since I am actually 40, I thought that was pretty good!)

A couple other things that the Wii Fit is telling me are:

1. Pretty soon my BMI will be under 30!
2. An ideal weight for me would be 140. (I guess rather than the additional 20 I said I would like to lose after the 100, I should be considering an additional 28. But, believe me, if I just get to the 100, I will be so happy.)

So, since it is at the end of the month, I have to come up with a goal for May. I’d like to make the goal for May be six pounds. That would put me at 194 by the end of May. I am choosing a slightly higher goal for May for these reasons:

1. There aren’t as many birthday dinners or other celebrations that would get me off track, so sticking to the plan should be easier.
2. With warmer weather, I can be outside more and vary my exercise more easily — gardening, playing with the kids, walking the dog, etc.
3. With 31 days in the month, that’s an extra day available to accomplish the goal!
4. Getting below 200 in the coming days will be so inspiring that I will have positive mental energy helping to propel me.

Tags: counting calories, EA Active, goal, Wii Fit