Day 43 - Countdown...

Well I only have 4 days left of MS Level 1 before my recovery period, one week before the halfway point of my mega-mission and only 2 weeks before the end of Mission 1 so I think I need to be really strict in order to make my goals. Here are my stats for today:

Weight: 155 lbs (loss of 2# this week, 11# overall)
Bicep: 11.5" (loss of 0" this week, 1" overall)
Chest: 35" (loss of 0" this week, 1.5" overall)
Waist: 29" (loss of .25" this week, 2" overall)
Stomach: 32.5" (loss of 0" this week, 2" overall)
Hips: 38.75" (loss of .25" this week, 2.25" overall)
Butt: 41.5" (loss of .25" this week, 2" overall)
Thigh: 25.25" (loss of .5" this week, 2.5" overall)
Total inches lost: 1.25" this week, 13.25" overall

I have definitely been losing weight one week and not the next, must just be a side effect of the nutrient cycling, if so I lose more weight on low carb than I do low fat but I wouldn't be able to stick to low carb if it wasn't for the upcoming low fat days so it's like a catch 22. That's okay, I'm losing, that's all that matters, and I probably would have been even less had I not done dessert three times last week but hey, it's the holidays! Not that I am unhappy with the results, but my goal is to be 150# by the end of Mission 1 so I still have 5 more lbs to go. At the rate I have been going, that doesn't seem likely, but actually I guess I won't be that upset about it, as I said in another post, because I can see the results in my pictures, I feel better, and this is a lifetime journey. As long as I'm making progress there's no reason to get upset about reaching or not reaching a certain number. I did think that those goals were attainable, though, but I have all of Mission 2 to make up the difference because those goals are a little less aggressive. And the other little monkey wrench in my plans is that I have been battling a neck injury and it is pretty bad today. I think that I did it from having the olympic bar on the back of my neck for squats with no cushion. My own dumb fault, I know, but it's not like I squat that much weight. It's only on one side, so I think I must have slightly pinched a nerve or something because the pain goes from the back of my head, into my shoulder, and down my trapezius at times. Sometimes it's fine and other times it flares up, depending on how much exercise I do. I thought after my two rest days from weights it was fine but I must have done something because I can hardly move my head this morning. And I did lunge squats yesterday but I guess maybe just holding the weight pulled it again or something. I don't know but I had to have Motrin before I could even get out of bed. So I think I am going to take it easy today and maybe by this afternoon it will have subsided enough to get in my workout but I don't want to push it. So that will put a damper on my progress, but I will overcome that by eating as clean as possible. Monkey wrench #2 is that on Dec. 6 I am going to NYC for my birthday with my mom, sister, and best friend, and I was going to indulge some at lunch that day, but you know, thinking about it, I don't really feel the need to. I guess I'll see when I get there, but I would rather save it for my real birthday when I go out to dinner with my husband. At any rate, all of those days fall within the recovery period which is supposed to be normal eating so I think what I feel like is indulgence will probably still be at least maintenance calories, if not lower, because my metabolism should be safely raised up by then. You know what, I'll cross those bridges when I come to them, I want to plan ahead but for now I will just take it one day at a time and just keep it in the back of my mind that they are coming up.
Anyway, that's what's going on with me today. I'm off to put a heating pad on my neck for a while and have some hot tea and see how that goes. I do have to get some work done today but it's still early here so hopefully I can start to feel better quickly and get going.
Here are my comparison pics - I would have never realized how far I've come had I not taken pictures. I would even have been able to rationalize the inches lost, but the photos just don't lie. So so so so so glad I took them even though the day ones were painful...just makes today's even sweeter!