Weight Loss Update

You might notice I've gone a bit quiet on the weight loss front. This is not because I've fallen dramatically off the wagon (despite the muffins, croquetas and other delicious morsels I've been rustling up in the kitchen), there have just been other things on my mind.

To date, I have lost 1st 5lbs, or 19lbs total which I am very pleased with. However, I would, ideally like to lose another 2½ stones, depending of course on whether I start looking worryingly baggy in the skin department.

I'm still not about to publish my actual weight, suffice to say that according to body mass indexes and all that junk, I am still about that much overweight. That said, I'm not a big lumpy elephant-shaped thing and I'm probably quite muscular for my size, so I may cut myself a little slack on that front.

I've reached a bit of a plateau and haven't lost any more for about a month which is a little frustrating but in fairness, I haven't gained anything and I have been probably stretching the Paul McKenna rules a little bit (ie continuing to eat when I was full).

Anyhoo, I've been pondering the weight loss issue and have come up with some thoughts.

Reasons I am glad I have lost weight
1. Lots of lovely comments
2. Yoga, spinning etc, are all noticeably easier
3. It's actually fun going clothes shopping
4. My clothes fit better
5. My feet/back/body don't hurt as much after a hard day's walking (okay, shopping)
6. Better skin
7. A renewed vigour for activity which usually results in me attempting swing-dancing on my own in the kitchen after Strictly Dance Fever
8. I feel a lot less guilty about eating "naughty" foods
9. Times when I feel like the fattest girl in the room are less frequent

Things I do not like about having lost this weight
1. My boobs have shrunk
2. Stretchmarks
3. People constantly ask me about how come I keep making muffins if I'm on a diet
4. Sometimes the compliments are a bit back-handed and suggest I was a bit of a minging heffalump before (I wasn't, I was an attractive curvy girl who needed to lose a bit of weight)
5. When I tied my hair back for the gym the other day I looked about 12 years old which I feel is too young (haven't been asked for ID yet)
6. I think I might be getting a bit too vain
7. All this weight loss business is all getting a bit time-consuming and I'm now at the gym for some reason or other about five days a week which is cutting into my busy schedule of watching television (or, starting work on some more short stories/my first novel)
8. The people who were supportive at the beginning seem a bit concerned when I tell them I still want to lose a couple of stones (they think I might be overdoing it)
9. Despite everything, my thighs are still roughly the same size as a tree trunk and I might be getting minor bingo wings.
10. I have a terrible fear that when eventually I do reach the weight I want to, I will have extra, unsightly skin.

I know it looks like there are more negatives than positive, but generally, I do feel better and there's nothing quite like being told how good you look. I still have a long way to go but I'm not about to start exercising manically, inducing vomiting and diarrhoea or fasting.

That said, I may need to start doing some weight training.

More on that story later.