Goal!!!   I reached the top of my goal range (170-175) for the first time
today.  Boy does that feel good!  It's been 20 years since I've been near my
"ideal" weight.

After 6 weeks of hovering between 176-181, I was wondering if I was setting
my goal too low, as the last few pounds just don't seem to want to come off.
But, after some careful examination, I've realized my choices were not as
good as they had been, so I finally got serious again and eliminated all the
SF candies and LC ice cream from my diet.  Funny thing about this stuff...
when I don't eat it, I don't crave it, nor do I miss it.  Once I start, I
can't stop.  I'm not sure if it physical or mental...  I think it also has
helped that I've been more faithful to get in the daily 30 minute walk.

This has been a very interesting journey, and it has surprised me how it has
gone.  For me at least, my weight losses have rather looked like stairs, not
a straight line.  I'll hover in a 4-5 range for a long time, and then "step"
down to a new range.  The whole time there are subtle changes going on in my
body, especially in my measurements, and how my cloths fit, my energy level.
I guess all of this is to say that my perception is that my body is striving
hard to maintain a weight (a set point),  by varying the metabolism,
retention of water, and digestion.  It seems to me, but this could be my
imagination, that it's related to weight levels where I've spent a lot of
time at in my past.  Then, it's like it finally concedes and says, ok, I
can't hold this level any longer, so we'll go down to the next 3-4 pound
level.

I weigh every day.  I know this is controversial - most advice I see says to
only weigh once per week.  But, after a lot of work to get past the mental
aspects, I try to look at it strictly as another input of information to
help me learn how the body works - the scale is my friend, not my enemy.  It
has been really important for me to understand the normal fluctuation of the
body weight throughout the day as we drink and eat.  Just the weight of the
water we drink (8 lbs/gallon) and the food we eat really affects these
swings.  I've gotten "in tune" enough with what I'm eating, etc., to guess
within a pound each morning what the scale will say.  All this to say, that
I've learned a lot on how my food and exercise choices effect my weight.
This WOE is a huge change from my previous WONCWIEBUWMW (way of not caring
what I eat but upset with my weight)!!!

The other comment that I have is this.  I want to encourage everyone in the
group.  This WOE works, despite all the smack the media is throwing around.
I've never eaten so healthy in my life - GOOD FOOD.  Now, almost zero
manufactured or prepared food.  I used to take a Pepsid AC every day.  On
LC, it's been months since I've had heartburn.   I know there are a lot of
folks out there with a lot more to loose than I, but we all want the same
thing - to feel good about ourselves, and to be in control of our body.  At
the end of the day, the numbers don't matter.  It's the commitment to a new
lifestyle that will continue to IMPROVE OUR HEALTH for the rest of our life.
Enjoy the ride!

Blaker
196/175/170-175/9-27-03