W33, Day 1: Making progress

Whew!  Weigh day already--where does the time go?  I feel like I've been on the go, go, go since last week was the first week back at school and I spent the weekend with family in the foothills.  First, the work scene.  Last week (and so far this week), I got up every weekday at 5 a.m. and made it to the gym.  Some days were easier to get up than others, and by Friday I was really tired.  The advantage though is that I don't have to hit the gym when I get home, which was perfect because I was super tired at the end of each day.  However, the last two months of gym time must be paying off because I've lost 2% of my total body fat (a mere drop in the bucket) and two inches off each thigh.  More importantly, I feel stronger.  Though you can't really see it, I can feel the muscle in my arms.

This Saturday we went hiking with family.  We visited a lake, which was crowded but beautiful, and I just really wanted to hike.  I felt strong in my legs and mind.  The lake hike was moderately difficult and was 4-5 miles.  The tricky thing about it was that it was very rocky and was easy to step wrongly and jar your ankle.  Nonetheless, I was really pushing the pace so that we averaged 28 minutes per mile.  It's not that this is a great or incredible pace or anything, but I feel proud of myself because I knew I could do it and it felt good to exert my body that way.  It was physical activity and fun.  Imagine that.  :)

On the downside, I didn't eat the way I should have this weekend, being over my calories on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Whew!  It was a lot of extra calories!  But I weighed in today at 204.0, which is minus 1.0 pound for the week.  This is the third week in a row that I've had a loss and I'm feeling good.  I've been a bit nervous leaving WW behind, but I'm really loving the calories approach.  Hopefully my body'll keep up the progress!