Feelin' Groovy

Things are going pretty well these days. The return of the evil voice inside my head was short-lived and after a little bump in the road (a.k.a. the 4th of July and all of it's traditional calorie-laden barbeque festivities) my net loss as of this morning was 55.6 pounds.

I sure do love a barbeque. I think I'd have an easier time not cheating at Christmas dinner than I would at any gathering involving grilled burgers and macaroni salad. I tried really hard to be good on the 4th, though. I ate a veggie burger (who knew those things were so good?) on a multi-grain deli flat rather than a "real" hamburger on a bun, and much to my friend Stephanie's dismay, I tried out a recipe for diet deviled eggs. Even she had to admit that at 34 calories apiece they were pretty dog-gone good. Oh, and I used light beer in the beeritas. :) Hey, even a girl on a diet gets to have some fun on the 4th of July.

Last week was awesome! It was the end of our Biggest Loser Style Weight Loss Challenge at work, and I WON!!!! The first weight loss challenge we had ran from the first of December to the end of January, and then we went right into another that ran through June 30th. When we weighed out on July 1st, I posted over 58 pounds lost since that first weigh-in in December. It worked out to something close to a 19.7% loss of body weight. I've lost almost 1/5 of me! That totally blows my mind.

To celebrate, Teri and I took Friday afternoon off and went to Wichita where I spent my winnings on new bras and some cute new clothes. I actually enjoyed trying on clothes! I don't really remember the last time I could say that. I also learned that what I've heard is true: it's hard to stop thinking fat. I kept pulling out clothes that I would've worn 50 pounds ago and feeling surprised when they didn't fit. It's a really weird sensation to actually hear myself say, "I wonder if they have this in a smaller size?"

Please don't think I'm bragging or getting full of myself. I realize that I have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to get where I want to be. I'm not slacking off just because the weight loss challenge is over. I have pounds and inches to drop and a skinny inner-me that's just waiting to get her chance at the world. And I intend to give it to her.