Day 51: Looking Back with No Regrets

Yea! I'm back!

I haven't been neglecting this blog on purpose, but a couple of issues came up which demanded my full attention - I've been sick the past couple days (thus the lack of my normal Monday post), a certain son has required extra attention (requiring me to be away from the computer more and leaving me more exhausted at the end of the day), and it's tax season (as a bookkeeper, I had a lot of work to do).

But enough of that! Here are my stats from the end of Week Seven:

Days remaining: 172
Pounds remaining: 141.0
Inches lost/gained: -2.0
Pounds lost/gained: -3.5
Percentage weight lost: 1.19%

As you can see, things have picked up a little bit since last week's slow-down and I thought it would be interesting to look some bits of information and morsels of progress from the Ruth Cooper Project. Most of this has happened in the past 24 days... something interesting to keep in mind.

-I have been following the Flat Belly Diet (with the inclusion of one planned-indulgence day per week) for 24 days. The cover of the book proclaims it is possible to lose up to (emphasis on the "up to") 15 pounds in 32 days (!!). Being slightly skeptical of this claim, I have put them to the test... with eight days remaining in the advertised 32 days, I have already lost 12 pounds! We'll see how the next eight days do.

-Inches lost has been an encouraging area. From measurements taken in twelve different areas, I have lost a combined total of 11.75 inches from the first week. Of that number, 66% has happened since going on the Flat Belly Diet. All but three areas (arm, torso, and knee) lost between 0.25 and 2.0 inches, with an average of 0.94 inches lost in each area... all in 24 days!!

-My short-term January goal was to be able to wear my wedding and engagement rings on the proper finger by the end of the month. Although January has ended, my rings still do not sit at the base of my left hand's fourth finger. A bit disappointing? Yes. What is encouraging, however, is that the rings are actually being daily worn on that finger and they do currently fit BELOW the first knuckle (something I could not do initially). My current guess is that it will take losing another ten pounds before the rings will fit at the base of the finger.

-Exercising at the YMCA has become almost a habit... I was right on the cusp when I fell ill on Sunday night. With a goal of working out five days a week, I started with an average of two to four days each week. When I started, I would do my weight training at the level I had left when I stopped going - around 23,000 pounds lifted per session. In the cardio department, it was all I could do to walk for 30 minutes on the treadmill and usually at a speed of 2.5 or 3 mph.

Last week, I worked out all five days (praise God!), my weight training session has been upped to just almost 31,000 pounds lifted per session, and my cardio now includes three 45-minute treadmill jaunts at 3.0-3.5 mph and two fat-blasting 35-minute walks at 3.0-4.0 mph! I wasn't feeling super challenged at the end of last week, so everything will be upped yet again. Again, these stats are for the last 24 days.

Progress is being made and if I hadn't been keeping records, I'd probably be more disappointed in my progress. I didn't realize how much had happened in the last 24 days and had been feeling as if everything was going too slow. Now I realize, it hasn't been all that bad... even though it IS slower then I'd like things to go.

So... now you're updated and I have returned, once again, to blog of my adventures in the Ruth Cooper Project.

Thank you for reading! Your comments do much to cheer me on!