156 pounds. Another pound down. I woke up this morning slightly dehydrated, having that sucked in feeling (from one pint of beer– yes, i am a cheap drunk). Somehow i am able to tolerate less and less alcohol these days… but it’s ok with me because it means less calories and more money in my pocket. Anyway… what i was going to say was that when i woke feeling less than great, i weighed 154 pounds. Somehow that made me feel great… but i knew that as soon as i ate and drank some water and let my body restore itself that the weight would jump up. And it did. I went for a bike ride (60km hills), on this beautiful Saturday morning through the empty roads outside of the city and just felt… blissful. I came home, took a shower, and then re-weighed. 156 pounds. I’m happy. I think I can do this, finally. THIS being losing weight.  I think i can hit bumps in my life, eat chocolate, have an emotional melt down or two, and then pick up and keep on going. I don’t think losing weight is linear in time or weight. I think it can take its ups and downs and its slow times. We’ll see! Hopefully i’m not speaking too soon and keep losing on my road ahead. I’m just a little excited to be sub-160… finally.

I feel so hungry all the time. Even when i eat, i feel hungry right after! It’s difficult not to just give in and eat more, but knowing that feeling hungry is part of the process and my metabolism must be up from the activity. This week, some of the highlights of my plate were home-made mixed-bean soup in a vegetable base… mmm, it was good. I also made quinoa and black bean salad in a curry-vinegar sort-of base.  I’m not going to pretend to know anything about cooking… I’m a terrible cook.  This is just me trying to eat a healthier range of foods on my time off.  I find that I’m eating more vegetarian foods… partly because meat is expensive, partly because I can’t seem to cook meat so that i want to eat it, and partly because there is so much variety and flavor in vegetarian dishes that i want to explore.

SO I’m back on the bike. I rode with a friend and her friends the other night. i wanted to DIE. they were so fast… they just dragged me up those hills.. up up up… i thought it would never end…. and then down…. ahhh, yes. It was a challenge and a reality check more than anything to tell me how unconditioned I am. It’s tough though. If my goals are to be balanced and just have fun doing a variety of activities– well then of course i won’t be as fast as a seasoned rider like my friend. I wanted to vomit when i got home. But i had fun. A new experience like that is always (well, usually) exhilarating.  I told myself this morning, as i was listening to my tunes on my ride, that i really really love this- and why don’t i do more of it?  I think if i ride more, i can keep my metabolism up and lose the pounds easier.  A 2-3 hour ride does a lot more than a 30 min run.  Hmmm… how long can i keep it up? Hopefully through the summer while the weather is nice.  Time is an issue too.  But I guess it comes down to priorities.  Doing 2-3 hours 3 times a week of something i find blissful is worth it i think.  I can do other activities on the days in between.  Yes, i think that sounds good.  Sigh, i am sleepy and i deserve a good sleep tonight! I’ve worked hard!