Weekly weigh in and Winter Onederland

First things first:

Today's weigh in put me at 211.8, for a weekly loss of 2.4 and a total loss of 32.0.

Meg at Grande Skinny Latte has put out a challenge. It's the Winter Onederland Challenge. In the weight loss community, there's a place that many of us shoot for known as "Onederland", meaning a weight that starts with the number 1, rather then 2.

Initially, I hesitated to commit to this challenge. I generally prefer to set goals for things I will do, rather then things I want to happen. Losing weight within a certain time period is something I want to happen which depends on what I do.

Having said that, I am starting to get so close to Onederland I can taste it. When I am really honest about my food intake, and I track it, my weight loss tends to fall into the 1.5 - 2 pound range per week. This is an average. Some weeks I lose a bit more, some less. That means that Onederland is not so far away.

The goal:

Lose at least 12 pounds in the remaining 9.5 weeks before New Years. (Meg is shooting for Christmas, but I'm giving myself an extra week since I have more to lose.) This requires an average loss of 1.3 pounds per week, a very realistic amount.

The method:

Track my food every day
Stay within my calorie range of 1400 - 1800
Continue running 4 days a week, and swimming 3.

There are other things I consider important to get and stay healthy, but when I was setting my monthly goals, I found I was starting to make the list too long and overwhelming. I'm endeavoring to keep it short and simple. Those are realistic strategies that shouldn't be hard to stick to.

So, bring on Onederland!