Lucky #7s

It may be Hump Day, but it seems that I have finally gotten over the weight-loss hump. I stepped on the scale today for my weekly weigh-in and am pleased to share that I have now lost a total of 7.7 pounds since I started keeping track in mid April.

(That's me and my coworker Natalie at the Cubs game last night)

I dreaded waking up this morning and said a little prayer before I stepped on the scale that the number would be lower than last week. It would have been a huge blow to my motivation if there was no change—I had been stuck at the same number for two consecutive weeks and a third straight week with no change would have driven me to binge on something bad for me out of anger.

To my surprise, I was 3.7 pounds lighter! I jumped up and down and clapped my hands like a 5-year-old who has just been given a new toy. I haven’t been on this end of the scale since I came back from the Dominican Republic a couple of years ago with a parasite and was forced to go on the BRAT diet, eating nothing but bananas, rice, applesauce and toast for more than a month.

For someone who hates math, I’m pretty numbers driven when it comes to results and motivation. I know the number on the scale doesn’t always tell the whole story, so after the disappointment last week I dusted off my Curves experience and began measuring myself (waist, thigh, hips and bust). Since then, I’ve also dropped a total of 1 ¼ inches.

I’m also incentive driven. Usually I would set a reward for myself, like when I reach the magic number of 10 pounds lost (2.3 away!) I would celebrate with an ice cream sundae. Now, that idea doesn’t appeal to me anymore. This journey has definitely not only been a physical transformation but has also led to a huge shift in my mentality. My incentives no longer involve food or taking days off from running or the gym. I’ve built a different reward system: Last week I bought myself a really cute dress at H&M—it was not on sale and more than I would ever buy a dress for normally—but I decided I deserved it because I saved money by not eating lunch or dinner out in weeks and I had a right to showcase my new figure.

When I reach Lucky #10 I will not erase all of my hard work by reaching for ice cream or extra calories. I will be getting some cute new sandals to match my cute new dress.