Status quo

Staying the same can be a Good Thing, if you look at it the right way. Let's call it "practicing maintenance" instead of "not losing even one damned pound in spite of working out an average of 93 minutes daily and eating 1300 calories daily."

Seriously, though, I lost four pounds last week. I didn't expect a loss this week. To continue playing mind games with myself, I've lost an average of two pounds a week for the last two weeks.

So there.

I did my long, 6.6-mile loop yesterday in 92 minutes. That's only four minutes slower than my best time for that distance, which was on a fairly flat route at my daughter's. I wasn't even trying to run fast, but I ran steadily [except for the uphill parts] almost the whole time. I felt strong and healthy while I was running, and I'm not even very sore this morning. [You understand that when I say 'run' it's really a 'jog,' don't you? I thought you did.]

I finished knitting the Diamond Patch a couple days ago. I still need to press the hem, and then I'll post a photo of it. I have six grams of ribbon left, after crocheting around the lower edge. Heck I could have done another half diamond! What was I worried about? Seriously, six grams of this stuff is about a quarter of a cup in volume. It was pretty touch-and-go there toward the end. Will she have enough? Should she order more? Is there enough time?

Deadline knitting sucks.

I promised my daughter-in-law [Hi, N!] three bibs for her co-worker's new triplet sons, but that hasn't worked out so well. I did one yesterday but it didn't look gift-worthy at all. I think some little beanie-type caps might work out better.

In rereading what I wrote yesterday, it almost sounds like I want to relax and rest on my laurels, such as they are. My year's not up; I'm committed to at least a year of hard work, vigilance and discipline regarding diet and exercise. As Greta commented, after six months I've replaced some bad habit with better ones, and I'm not going to return to my evil ways at this point.

At dinner last night, the Spousal Equivalent and I agreed to continue eating the way we have been since January. This is a manageable lifestyle, perfectly doable for the long haul. He's my biggest cheerleader and understands that achieving this goal is my number-one priority. He also understands that achieving it doesn't mean it's over; it means figuring out how to stay there!

One of the [many] things that stopped me from succeeding over the past several years of trying and failing was telling myself I didn't want to work out as hard as I did the last time I lost a lot of weight. I'm so over that. I don't know what it looks like to work out when you're 70 or 80, but I think I'm going to find out.

At least I hope so.