Goal achieved - 30 lbs down and under 300!!

299.6!!!!!

I am OFFICIALLY under the 300 lb mark. I will NEVER see a "3" as the first number on the scale AGAIN! EVER.

Last week's weight: 301.2
This week's weight: 299.6

Total LOST this week: 1.6 lbs

29.8 pounds lost since June 2010

My weigh in is a little less than scientific this week, as I was out of town this weekend. I used a different scale this morning and it weighed me as 296. That seems a *little* optimistic to me, so I weighed myself after dinner tonight and I was at 299.6. So I'm officially weighing in at that number, knowing the number should be a little lower in the morning.

I've been thinking about this post for weeks now. How will I feel? What will I want to say?

In all honesty, this is just the first milestone of what I hope to be a handful more, so while I am ECSTATIC to be at this milestone, I know I have a lot more fight left in me. When I started this blog, I wanted to start simple with a goal I knew I could attain with a little bit of diligence and hard work. Now, here I am - 30 lbs lighter and UNDER 300!

If you remember my first post, my two goals were to:

- Lose 30 pounds by the end of 2010

- Run my first 5K by the end of 2010

Unfortunately, I folded my second goal after having some back issues 4 weeks into training to run the 5K. And while my running dreams are on hold, I'm walking 13-16 miles a week; training to walk my 2nd half-marathon in February. Out with one fitness goal and in with another! And I attained my weight loss goal 40 days ahead of my deadline.

Rewarding a goal achieved
My first choice of reward was to rent a bike from the new Nashville Bike Share program. They just started this program this year where you can rent a bike - for free - at two locations in Nashville - one downtown at the Riverfront and one at a bike trail.

Unfortunately, I found out 2 weeks ago the program is seasonal and closed last Saturday. I was crushed since I was REALLY looking forward to getting on a bike after all these years. So instead, I will be treating myself to my first ever facial courtesy of Groupon.

Part 2 coming soon
I've learned a lot these past 6 months and I am already brewing up my next weight loss goal. Should it be more challenging? Should I stick with what is working? I will share more of what I've learned about weight loss and myself, along with my next plan of attack, tomorrow.

I like to eat food

I'm not sure just how to start my first post here in blogland, but here goes nothing...

So what do you do when you don't get something that you've wanted more than you've ever wanted anything else in life? Start a blog, of course!

I went through the Biggest Loser season 10 casting process with my head held high and my hopes held higher. Needless to say, that didn't work out so well...so here I am determined to get healthy and lose a few lbs.

I start with a new scale set up in my bathroom and Biggest Loser's 6 Weeks to a Healthier You sitting beside me. I checked the book out from the library out of curiosity, I'm not using it as my bible or anything, but I can tell you what I am going to do:

- Commit to exercising 3-4 times a week for 30-45 minutes

- Tone down my binge eating fits and learn a new way to interact with food, it's just not right to eat a whole loaf of banana bread in a day

- Start with a calorie intake of about 1900. This is just to START. I will decrease my calorie intake with every weight loss milestone I come to.

How did I get this number? Well, I didn't pull it out of thin air. I took a weight management class a few years back and found I was eating on average about 2400 calories/day. Beginning by cutting 250-500 calories from my daily intake allowed me to lose 40 lbs (I've gained about 15 back).

So here's where I start. Now, where do I want to go?

First, I don't have an overall weight loss number I am holding myself to. My main goal is to get to a healthy and active lifestyle where I feel comfortable in my own body. I will set small weight loss goals for me to work towards, but whether wrong or right, I won't set an overall one and let myself feel like I haven't made a difference in my life if I don't get to it. But here are two goals I'm starting with:

- Lose 30 pounds by the end of 2010

- Run my first 5K by the end of 2010

We can't start without a weigh in, right?

Shopping for scales. Can you believe this one (not the one I'm holding) only weighs to 300lbs?
That's ridiculous for a BL branded product.

I had to go out and buy a scale (I've never owned one) because my roommate's didn't have the capacity to weigh me. Talk about frustrating/embarrassing! I settled for this Taylor Memory Scale, which reads to 400lbs.

So without further ado, my starting weight is: 329.4 lbs!
(it just seems better with an exclamation point)

If you haven't been keeping track, this means with my 30 pound goal, I will be under 300! Something that hasn't happened since I was around 15!