It’s been a while since I’ve written a post about my weight loss, so I wanted to publish a quick update. The Shaklee 180 program in which I was participating is officially over and a new blogger program has started, but that doesn’t mean I’ve quit or reversed course. The opposite is true, in fact.
By the end of the 6-month program, I had lost a total of 44 lbs. — an average of a little less than 8 pounds every single month. Today, a little more than 8 months in, I have reached 53 lbs. lost! What does that look like? Here you go:
After losing a little more than 7 lbs. a month while on the program, my weight loss admittedly slowed down for a couple of reasons:
1. Like a lot of people, I was kind of bad about my eating over the holidays and I was lazy about exercising, and it took a while for me to get back on track. I fluctuated in a 2 lb. range for most of January and it was tough to get off that plateau.
2. As my weight has decreased, I’ve also had to decrease my calorie intake so I can continue to lose, and it took some tweaking for me to get it right. At my current calorie level, I should lose 1-1.5 lbs. per week, where I was aiming for 2 lbs. a week while on the program.
3. I’m happy with my current size. Really. All I really want to do now is tone everything up and convert any remaining fat to muscle, particularly around my belly, back and arms. So I need to start doing less cardio and more strength training. But cardio is FUN for me (Zumba, anyone?) and strength training, for the most part, is not. Boo.
Anywho, here are my current measurements:
And a before-and-after shot for comparison:
I’m incredibly happy with my progress and the complete change in my eating habits. I drink water 99% of the time, so much that my husband actually encourages me to “treat myself sometimes” with juice or a smoothie. When I want a snack, I reach for fruit, and cinnamon Cheerios are my idea of a “treat”. And even better, if I had to eat like this for the rest of my life, I’d be perfectly OK with that. I’ve come to regard sweets like cupcakes, cookies and ice cream as very occasional treats rather than staples of my diet. And that change NEEDED to happen.
So I’ll keep going and I’ll let you know how I’m doing, because sharing keeps me motivated 
