Week 4 recap

I lost another two pounds in week four, which makes for a total of 12 pounds lost. I'm happy about the weight loss so far, but I still have a long ways to go and sometimes that feels frustrating. But, when I see a pound bag of sugar or something similar, I try to remind myself that I was carrying twelve additional pounds on my body and that this is a huge success even thus far.

I'm doing pretty well on the diet front. My nutritionist urged me to work harder at getting more protein into my diet, especially on the weekends. So, I really focused on that this weekend. I went over my fat range a little bit on Saturday by trying to get enough protein in, so I watched that today and tried to figure out how to get protein in without a lot of added fat. It's all very tricky to get it right.

My workouts have been going really well and I got up to 68 seconds on the plank. So, J. changed it up a bit and had my lifting up one arm and placing it on the opposite shoulder while I held the plank position. It was quite difficult.

Tomorrow, J. will take my updated measurements and we'll see how that goes. I can already tell that my body has changed. This weekend, I pulled out a pair of jeans one size down from my current jeans (which were getting really loose), and they fit! I was so excited to see that. And J. asked the other day whether I'd gotten a new workout shirt, and I told him that I hadn't - it was the same shirt I'd worn on and off throughout the program so far. He said that it looked like it was a lot looser, and it is. So, I'm definitely on my way.

Today, L. and I took in a nice couples massage at a local salon. We had a 50-minute massage with chocolate-scented lotion, a scalp massage with peppermint oil, a chocolate-sugar scrub, and a swiss shower. After all of the hard work that we've both been doing to lose weight, it was a nice indulgence for both of us. My muscles and his muscles were both very happy afterward.

Next weekend will be interesting. I'm going over to eastern Washington to visit my family and celebrate my 30th birthday a bit early. My cousin and I have our 30th birthdays a month apart, so we're celebrating in the middle with everyone. I already know that I need to plan my meals for the weekend, and pack the kinds of healthy snacks that I can eat while we're away. I also know that I won't be able to have cake (probably the only birthday ever where I won't have cake), so I'll bring my yummy Greek high-protein yogurt and some fruit for my dessert. We'll put a candle in that :)