Gaining (losing?) ground

I just realized, after doing some formulas in my weight loss tracking spreadsheet, that I have let go of 26.8 pounds of weight since February when I started tracking.

That is just under 10% of my starting weight I've let go. It's almost all fat - my muscle mass has fluxed about a pound either side of 90 pounds the whole time. If I can keep this muscle mass as I continue to let go of the fat, I'll be right where I want to be when I'm at my goal weight of 175 - and I may be able to go higher than that.

I tweaked my spreadsheet because of something Dr. Rory said Friday night. He asked me if I'd really thought about about what my weight loss means to me, how it really impacts me. When he asked me, I hadn't thought about it. What does letting go of the weight mean to me?

Letting go of the past. Letting go of the toxins that have been stuffed in my body, mentally, physically and emotionally. Letting go of the things I've let hold me back in the past.

What am I gaining? My physical health. I'm physically stronger, have more endurance and cardiovascular health. My acne is pretty much gone. I'm more interested in being active, in trying new things, or in the case of martial arts, going back to something I've been interested in for a long time. I'm also gaining some confidence as well.

Long term, what does that mean for me? As I continue to let go of the fat and gain strength and confidence, almost anything is possible. I re-gain some control over my life, even if it's just an illusion. An illusion can be as real as I want it to be.

One of my first goals on letting the fat go was to hit 250. That is easily within sight now, just a couple of weeks away. I'm better understanding what I need to do to let go of the body fat. Part of it has been following what Bristolcone set up for eating patterns and food. Another part is learning more about the Primal/paleo lifestyle, which is based on the work of Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories. (High protien and high fat, low carb diet like our primitive ancestors ate.)

The next part is to get back to more primal exercise. I've been reading Mark's Daily Apple, the website tied to The Primal Blueprint. The more I read, the more it makes sense to me. The food choices are right in line with what I'm doing through Bristolcone. The exercises get back to the basics, like bodyweight exercise (squats, lunges, pull-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks). So, time for me to do the same.

I've taken the last two weeks off from lifting. One of the last self defense classes left me with bruised knees, so I took the week off to heal. Then I took another week off to see if I could let go of weight without doing any exercise. Didn't let go of any weight the first week, did the second. Now to add in the bodyweight exercises and see what happens.

Listen to my body. Eat when I'm hungry - truly hungry, drink when I'm dry, sprint when I feel like it, lift heavy when I want to, take a nice walk daily otherwise. This is something I can do for the rest of my life.

Now, my body is hungry, so I'm gonna go make some supper.