The First 5 Pounds...

...have eeked themselves off! I weigh 195 pounds now. (This does not count the EXTRA 5 I gained and then lost since starting at 200 pounds.) And, weirdly enough, this small amount actually makes a difference in how my clothes fit. How'd I do it? Well, I've been exercising more, especially with my weekly pole dancing class, and occasionally running except as thwarted by my recent bout of illness. That pole dance class is no joke- and it's not like other forms of cardio aren't just as good a workout, but this makes me move muscles I never do otherwise, especially in the midsection. And although I've not been too regular at the gym I have been doing arm weights with dumbbells at home here and there. Food-wise I'm not being totally austere yet, but after cutting out the hoards of chocolate and eating less overall with making better food choices most of the time, it is gradually working for those early, often water weight, easiest pounds. It won't continue that way, but I'm grateful for the start. Now, before those of you who struggle with weight loss even more than me fly off the handle (especially my one dear friend who will want to kill me after she reads this) you must know that I have an advantage in the weight I need/want to lose. And that advantage is, I'm apple fat. As in, you know the body profile comparison where they say most women have their extra weight primarily in their butt, hips and thighs, and most men carry it in their middle (see any man with a beer gut that looks pregnant)? Well, I'm apple fat, like a man. And the advantage of apple fat is it burns off easier than pear fat. (The disadvantage is it'll kill you much more easily.) Also, the reason I wear size 16 (that is now too big, but I'm not comfortably into a 14 yet) is because of my middle, needing a wider waistband, only, the rest of pants that big are too much fabric and make me look goofy. It's been a problem.

Anyway, it's not implausible that I'd get away from weighing 200 simply by not doing the things that got me up to that weight. However, even when I wasn't quite as bad with my eating, I still weighed somewhere between 190-193 pounds, so I suspect that when I get to that number my body will see it as a setpoint and try to settle there, without a further push to fully count my food intake by WW points. For now, I'm relieved to have gotten the first 5 out of the way, and hopeful that this small success will push me forward to continue, instead of making me complacent and slipping back as has sometimes happened with prior success. Only between 9-11 more 5 pounds' to go! ;)