NEXT EXIT 7 MILES

This year, I have been losing and gaining the same few pounds. My body seems to be in maintenance mode. I still have 7 pounds to get to the top of what Weight Watchers considers my healthy weight range for my height. Reaching this weight will remove the “Overweight” label on the BMI chart. 

I have been on this weight loss journey since January 2014. I have lost 85 pounds on WW. I lost 10 before beginning the program making a total of 95 pounds from my highest weight. I am struggling with WHY this last stretch of road is so difficult.

I spoke with my WW leader at my last weigh in. She mentioned that maybe I am in maintenance mode because this is where my body should be and that I should not fixate on the number. If I am having such a hard time getting to the number, how hard will it be to stay at?  If my doctor feels this is a healthy weight, I can get a note and be considered at goal. On the flip side, she mentioned that often times once people get to goal, their weight loss will restart and they begin losing again. Maybe this is psychological because we relax and quit stressing on reaching our goal number.

I am not opposed to a doctor’s note but in my heart, I feel like getting to the top number in my suggested goal range is (and should be) attainable. It is 27 pounds over what I weighed when I got married. It is not an unrealistic number. In my twenties, if I would have weighed it, I would have started dieting. Funny how that works. 

Now, it is time to take a closer look at what I can change. I refuse to do anything drastic with my eating because this is my new lifestyle. I know I could get this off quick by going on a restricted diet but the weight will come right back on the minute I stop that regimen. Nonetheless, I know there are things I can tweak. It is time for me to figure it out. I have some ideas. Am I in a rut with my food choices? Is it time to shake it up with exercise? Add weight training and different cardio other than walking? This week, I will try to figure out the best route for traveling these last 7 miles to my goal exit. Stay tuned.

—Monica