5 pounds and I'm feeling good.

9lbs in the first five weeks. 5lbs in the second four weeks. I seriously cannot complain especially when you keep in mind a few things:

1 - I did really poorly with my diet especially at my weekly small group when there is an assortment of wonderful food.

2 - I had to modify my cardio because of an unstable ankle and knee.

3 - I definitely put a lot of attention into strength training and I'm developing muscles to show for it.

4 - I'm two months into a change in my lifestyle. Who knows how my body and my metabolism are adjusting to these changes.

So, two months into my three month challenge and I am one pound from my Stage One goal - not bad :)

Last chance workout today.

When I started my summer of healthy living, I decided it would be better if I just weighed myself once a month. Any more than that and I might drive myself crazy. So, I weighed myself on June 30 and in those first five weeks, I lost 9 pounds. I was really proud of myself. Now, it's July 31. I'm getting ready to head over to the gym for one last workout before I weigh in.

I'm nervous. This month was hard. Since I upped my workout, I decided to up my calorie intake by a little. However, I also started experiencing pains: chest was sore so it was hard to breath, my left ankle hurt and so did my right knee. Because of those little "injuries" and an attempt to prevent a real injury, I didn't go as hard on my workouts as I wanted. However, I didn't adjust my calorie intake for my lesser workouts. In fact, I ate even more this month. That's what happens when you have a very social month. Lots of hanging out with friends means lots of food.

So, I'm nervous. I keep telling myself that my original goal was 3-5 pounds a month for the first three months because I wanted to lose 15 pounds this summer. This goal is still easily attainable. It's just that beautiful, special 9 pound month spoiled me.

My pep talk: Take it easy, Melissa. You are doing great. Steady is the key here. Making life changes is the key here. Remember the number doesn't matter as much, so long as you are seeing changes in your body. And you are!

I've been missing a pair a jeans for a while. I wasn't sure what happened to them. I haven't worn them since before my Kaiser family vacation in early June. Well, I found them. Turns out they were exactly where they were supposed to be. I just didn't look carefully. And today, I put them out. I was literally jumping up and down with excitement and high-fiving and hugging Timmy. You see, I've been working out and trying to eat better. I've been really committed to getting healthy and losing some weight. I don't necessarily see the change day to day. I see little things here and there. I hear what my family and friends tell me. But not wearing one of my favorite jeans for almost two months and then putting them on definitely helped me see. And it was so stinkin' exciting!!

When I killed my mac mini earlier this year, I was preoccupied with one thing - save my music! And we did. But I just realized what else was on there that wasn't saved....all my IM conversations with Timmy when we first started dating. Included in that was the IM conversation that lead to the realization that this guy was "the one." I was remembering that night and that conversation. I was remembering how I was pacing around my room, saying to myself "no way! really? he's it. oh my goodness." Then I remembered how I wanted to scrapbook that conversation and that it was saved on....oh, wait! It was saved on the computer that I killed earlier this year. So sad :(