In the face of adversity

Fifty four days into this journey; 54 lbs lost.

Realistically, I know that stats tell me that the weight loss will begin to slow, and that I'll have to work harder and smarter to continue making what I deem to be acceptable progress towards my goal. But I can't  help but to be encouraged by the progress that I've made thus far.

This week has been a challenging one, for a number of reasons. One of the biggest potential stumbling blocks has been staying true to my clean eating plan.  From the Thanksgiving luncheon at work, to preparing meals for the rest of my family long after I've begun my evening/nighttime fast, I've seen my willpower and resolve tested like at no other point over the past 2 months.  But I've held up - as of this morning I weighed in at 276.

Initially I was discouraged, but it didn't take me long to shake that off.  Number one - progress is progress.  Number 2 - I've seen added muscle gains, which will offset to some degree a large drop in the numbers on the scale.

And Number 3 - I had to punch a new hole in my belt loop to get my pants to stay up!  I have to give credit to the wife for that one, actually...  I'm notorious for sagging, but I don't think that she's a fan of it at all. Were it left solely up to me, I'd have likely tolerated the situation until left with the choice of either getting a new belt or walking around with my trousers around my ankles...

I'm a firm believer that your life is what you make of it, by and large.  I'm rediscovering much in the way of my own personal philosophy that I hadn't connected with in a long time.  The physical challenges haven't been nearly as daunting as the mental ones.

I've still so very far to go, but the future is looking bright.  I feel dialed in right now - there is no limit that I can see on the horizon to how far I can take this.