I've Come A Long Way, Baby!

This morning I'm here drinking my coffee and in a state of half-shock, half immense joy. I had another very good weight loss this week and I now, dear readers, weigh 164 lbs. Yup, it's true. I am just a mere four pounds from my initial goal of 160 lbs. Which makes it 14 more pounds left to lose before I am at the finish line: 150 lbs. Healthy at last. Where did all the time go? It feels like this has just crept up overnight. But no, this has been a long journey. Longer than I ever thought when I started, back in late March. So my baby brother nailed it on the head after all -- expect 8-12 months to get the 90 lbs. off. I'll never doubt him again.

If you have just stumbled upon my blog, let me clarify that I have a terrible metabolism and a thyroid disease and this caused my slow loss rate. But Optifast did/does indeed work for me. I just needed to hunker down and see this thing through, with strict compliance and adherence to the clinic's guidance. Nothing more, nothing less. My unwavering commitment to getting healthy again drove me the whole way. It was never about looking good in skinny jeans. This is about saving my life.

On the food front: While the in-laws are here for the holidays, the clinic is allowing me to have two dinners per week. One can be at a restaurant. It remains restricted to fish or chicken, vegetables, and salad with low-cal dressing on the side. I have purchased some Walden Farms zero calorie dressings and they aren't too bad. So far, I am handling things fairly well. Side-stepping all the tempting Christmas treats with not much of a problem. My personal goal is to come out of the month of December with continued average weight loss of 2.2 lbs. a week. My mom says it might be more practical to expect a net 1-2 lb. gain, but I'm feeling more optimistic. We shall see.

I should have a current picture up next week. The clinic will be taking some and doing my measurements. I'm very excited to see where I stand. Almost home. At last!