Numbers never lie

Yesterday was my monthly measurement day and I had pretty high hopes. I recently bought a pair of size 8 pants! And they are too big in the waist now.
Sadly, the numbers didn't seem to show that. If there is one thing I've learned by watching The Biggest Loser, however, it's that it is harder to lose weight as you get smaller. You burn less calories when you weigh less - so to lose weight you have to work that much more. Which is kind of funny: Your reward for losing weight is the need to work harder to keep losing weight.

So is that why am I losing these last 5 pounds so darn slowly? Nope. I can't exactly blame the not losing weight on my weight loss (did you follow that reasoning?). In my situation, it's the fact that I'm not as vigilant these days in my calorie-counting. And that's all there is to it.

Thanks to Sparkpeople, I can look back at my calorie expenditures during the last few months.

Do you see the trend? September and October have been all over the board.  Why? Because I gave myself permission to relax. At first I was going to write about this as a bad thing, but after thinking about it all day, I've changed my mind. I'm not quite sure what to think of this. I'm still losing weight - just not exactly at a pound a week.

I love the freedom of eating a piece of pizza (just one is plenty!) when I'm just too tired to cook fresh vegetables or forgot to thaw that day's meat. I love sharing some fries with Kevin when we go to a bar to watch the Cowboys play. I never wanted to be that snobby eater who turns her nose up at normal America life - as long as I balance it. One piece of pizza is about 250 calories - and it's plenty filling with a salad and glass of milk. Heck, even fries aren't evil so long as they don't accompany a big, greasy cheeseburger once a week.

That's the point, right? This journey hasn't been about deprivation and complete denial. It's been about learning to eat foods in reasonable quantities and balance the good with the bad so that I can live a healthy, happy life.

But here's the question: Am I ready? Numbers never lie ...


_____
My Measurements
Weight: 146.2 pounds ... overall loss of 48.8 pounds (SOOOO CLOSE!)
Waist: 28 inches ... no change from last month
Hips: 38 inches ... no change from last month
Thigh: 19.5 inches ... 0.5 inches smaller than last month
Calf: 15 inches ... no change from last month
Arms: 11 inches ... 0.5 inches smaller than last month

Last Month's Measurements:
Waist: 28 
Hips: 38 
Thigh: 19.75
Calves: 15
Upper Arm: 11.5

Starting Points:
Weight: 195 lbs
Waist: 40 inches
Hips: 47.25 inches
Thigh: 28.5 inches
Upper Arm: 15.5 inches
Calf: 17.25 inches
Push ups: 4
Crunches: 15