The numbers. Do they matter?

... sometimes. Sometimes they do.

I'm recapping for a minute. And the reason I'm doing that is because I use LoseIt to track my weight loss and changes, but it doesn't give me an exact chart of where I am at based on previous weigh ins.

Anyway - I'm looking at this and yes, I started in January officially with friends that are doing a challenge (we have two more weeks left, if I could even POSSIBLY hit 10 lbs before those weeks are up I might cry. But again, it's not about the numbers. Only today - for this post - it is!).

So. I weighed in this morning and am .6 lbs down. It's minimal, but I'm happy. I'm PMSing and I'm lame after a non-workout filled few weeks. And yet it still went down. So? I'm elated.

And last week I lost a pound. 1.6 down.

Week before? 1.2 lbs down = 2.8. Before that? 2 lbs. Total = 4.8.

January 29th I weighed in and stayed the same. It stung a little bit, but I still felt good. At least I hadn't gained, right?

Go back a week and I was down 2.8 lbs. Total = 7.6.

Week before that? 1.2. 8.8? Impossible. And yet - there it is. 8.8 pounds down since this challenge started. It's not 20. It's not 15, even. But it's closing in on 10! And do you remember my goal of 12 for the year? 12 before I turn 40? I hope to hit that and maybe then some. AND keep it off. Which is honestly even more important. But I digress ...

And before that? Before this challenge was "official," and I started some personal food charting? I went up almost 2 lbs, and gained back what I initially lost. Bummer, right?

 But look at how screwy the body can be. I weighed in on December 5th, and gained 7.5 pounds since I had last logged my weight in October. I was going through some physical stuff at that time, so it didn't surprise me, although it made me sad. Then I stepped on the scale on December 15th, ten days later, and dropped 5.5 of it. Amazing, isn't it? Believe me. That change is probably what prompted me to get on track. Isn't it amazing how the number means a lot, and sometimes when it goes up - which is when we should focus on CHANGE - we say to ourselves, screw it! And we move ahead and don't care. Or pretend we don't.

When in reality that's when we care the most.

Instead I waited to see that bloat or whatever it was start to go away. And it did.

So, in reality I'm probably just under 15 pounds down since early December. I'm elated. Shocked. Happy. Thrilled. But I'm also briefly focusing on that 8.8 number. With hopes I can get rid of 1.2 more pounds in the next two weeks, just to say, for the first time in YEARS, that I did a weight loss challenge and actually lost some weight. A good amount.

Now, how much weight do I have to lose to go down a size? Can anyone remind me?

Now, back to me for a moment. 8.8? It isn't much. It doesn't look like an exciting number.

But for someone like me who is always at it. Always working and hoping and wishing and losing steam in the middle of all of that ... well, for someone like me 8.8 might as well be flashing in bright lights over my head. Might as well be tattooed on my arm. (In henna, of course!)

And after an entire post about numbers and why they sometimes matter - I leave you with this image from Pinterest, I'd love to provide you with the actual url, but when I click through it brings me to a google images page. Boo. I'll try to find it, though!

Yes. YES I AM.

And so are you.

Peace out, my friends. Stay healthy and stay motivated!

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