Happy New Year! We have had a crazy couple of weeks around here and I got so busy I missed my usual update post on January 1st. So here it is along with an overview of my last year, and a plan for the coming year.

On January 1, 2018, I weighed 217 pounds and on January 1 this year I weighed 187 pounds. That’s a difference of 30 pounds… but it feels like *so* much more!! Of course, I am down 71 pounds since fall of 2017 so that is surely why I feel so much better. I spent most of 2018 eating lower carb and smaller portions. I was taking phentermine for about 7 months of the year, and I was not doing any scheduled/organized exercise except walking, swimming in the summer, and a little biking.

Here’s a picture of my weight in 2018.

I hit a low of 178 pounds in October, gained ten pounds in November for a lot of reasons (car accident, stress, holidays) and spent December maintaining between 187 and 189 pounds. Now I feel ready to get back to actively working at weight loss. I’m in physical therapy now, starting to bike again in 5-minute bits, and hope to be given some more strengthening exercises at my appointment today. I also have a new granddaughter who was born this week (yay!), a family birthday to celebrate today (cheesecake), and some amazing leftover prime rib and mashed potatoes to enjoy for dinner.

I often am asked what my goal weight is, and the truth is I don’t know. I do want to get the regained weight off (9 pounds to go) and the lowest weight I have seen in decades was 175 pounds back in 2010. My doctor wants me to stay out of the “obese” weight category and said that even if I can maintain around 170 pounds she would be happy with that. She suggested my ideal weight is around 155-160 pounds, but that is kind of unimaginable for me so I will just see how I feel as I reach new, lower weights down the scale. I lost 30 pounds last year so it might be good to lose 20 this year. I can’t imagine being in the 160’s… it has been so long… but it’s definitely a possibility!

I will see my endocrinologist this month and we’ll talk about what’s next and whether or not I should go back on the phentermine for a bit. I feel good and my main plan for the year is to get stronger! Now that my weight is in a reasonable range, I can focus on conditioning my body for a better quality of life. I’m excited to see where this year leads!

Source link