5/28/16: Week 3 Results

Weight:  157.0

I am done with Week Three of Operation Re-Start and the results are in - weight and photographic results, that is.  We aren't doing measurements until the end of Week Four.

Start weight:  163.4
Today's weight:  157.0

I've lost 6.4 pounds since I started my Twelve Week Challenge on 4/16/2016, so that is about a pound a week.  I have seven pounds left to lose and nine weeks left in the challenge.  That is totally doable!

I had to take three weeks off of exercise right after I started the challenge because of my minor touch up surgery, therefore, during the six weeks since my start date weigh-in, I've only been able to exercise for the last three.  Hence, Operation Re-Start.

I am very happy to be back into a serious exercise routine and I am starting to feel and see the results.  Here are my Start Photos compared to my Three Week Photos.

The most noticeable difference, to me, is in my waist.  You can really see it from the back.  It's just incredible what a difference a few pound plus serious exercise makes.  I can also see a little more muscle definition in my legs.  Overall, I feel better:  I am more alert, stronger, happier, more balanced (physically and mentally), and more on top of my game.  The exercise is so critical to my overall happiness and well being.

I read a passage in Younger Next Year that made a lot of sense to me.  It's encapsulates an idea I was trying to convey to my sister, though I'm not sure I articulated my thoughts very well.  I am not sure the passage I am about to quote explains it very well, either, but it resonated with me because I am living through this:

From page 240, Younger Next Year:

"Okay, time for a little shift in emphasis.  Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all, if you lost twenty pounds or whatever it would take to get back to your true weight.  No rush.  And no diet.  It will just take care of itself, because once you start exercising seriously, you'll see yourself differently and you'll start to feel a little odd being overweight.  You probably feel a little odd now, but that's not what I mean.  Once you get in shape and get into the business of working out, it will start to seem, oh, inappropriate to be overweight.  I don't know quite how, but it just happens.  Then, whether gradually or in a plunge, your weight starts to drop.  You really could lose twenty pounds.  Without going nuts and without going on a diet.

A good trick is to have the right picture of yourself in your head.  Exercise makes that much easier.  Working out, you automatically have the picture of your young self in your head.  It feels natural to get rid of the excess that just doesn't belong there...like putting down a package you've been carrying for too long." 

I now feel exactly this way when I am even a few pounds over 150.  It's as if that extra weight just doesn't belong there.  It's not so much that I think I look bad, five or ten pounds doesn't make that much difference when it comes to how I look.  It's how I feel.  At 150 - 153 or so, I just feel right; like I am the size I am supposed to be.  More than 150 and I feel like I take up too much space.  It's weird and I can't quite put a finger on it, exactly, but it is as if my Self is saying, "Hey, you don't need to be carrying around this extra weight anymore, get rid of it, will you?"  I didn't use to have this self-regulating mechanism.  I have it now.  I attribute that all to exercise - specifically strength training.

Don't get me wrong, I know cardio is important.  It's just that I know that strength training is also important.  They are equally important, one is not more or less important than the other.  So many people I know focus on only cardio exercise because they believe that is what will help them burn calories and lose weight.  Cardio is great for your heart, respiratory system, circulation, and yes, for burning calories.  I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy strength training but I know it's important so I do it.  Strength training is great for muscle strength, tone and definition; your nervous system; your balance; and your self-image.  Strength training makes me feel strong!  I love the way it makes me feel!!

I am looking forward to the next nine weeks.  I am excited about having documented evidence of the physical changes that occur with just 12 weeks of exercise.  I look forward to sharing it with all of you.

Next Saturday:  Measurements!!  Should be interesting.

I hope you all of an enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend.  Around here, we're taking it easy.  I hope you get to do that, too.