I thought I was going to hit it this week kids. I really did. But sadly the scale is still bouncing daily between 201.2 and 203. I just can't seem to get it to budge any lower.

Not that I've been giving it optimal conditions to do so. I can't REALLY expect to enter Onederland haphazardly - maybe exercising, maybe eating properly, maybe getting 8 hours of sleep a night and 8 glasses of water a day. There is no MAYBE at the gates to Onederland. You gotta seize the reins and conquer Onderland. Take it by siege and never look back. THAT'S how I want to enter Onederland. And right now, I'm too doped up on dreamy dates to concentrate all that much on taking anything by storm. Really. Something about a Trojan Horse and a beautiful woman that made the warriors stupid in the head...I'm feeling like a blitzed warrior right about now.

But the good news is that my spirits are so ridiculously high because of this gushy giddiness that I'm not super depressed about it taking since April to lose a "measly" 13 pounds. For anyone following my progress from last year - that's a LONG time for me. Well maybe not so long. I've lost track. Did I mention I have a new man in my life? Haha.

So here's what "sucks" about finding new love whilst attempting to also achieve a HUGE personal goal:

- New love is all about sleep deprivation. Lots of late night talks on the phone. Lots of long dates talking about everything under the sun. Lots of cuddle time, forgoing sleep to stay awake with each other just a little while longer

- New love is all about dates. Marathon dates, short dates, bar dates, car dates - most all of them assuredly involve eating - and not the stuff you PLANNED on eating, but yummy restaurant food eating

- New love is all about alcohol. It's the dating thing - dates are more fun with social lubrication, so glasses of wine and bottles of beer and a cocktail here and there have certainly crept into my daily nutrition calculator more than I would like them to

- New love is all about new schedules. When do you see each other? When do you stick to your regular schedule? And no longer having weekends completely to myself has made me understand just how much I was using my weekends to plan and prep for the week ahead and catch up on sleep and exercise

But here's why I'm not actually complaining about ANY of the above (and why it couldn't possibly suck any less):

- I have found a man who I adore talking to, who is interesting and smart and educated and foreign, and not at all hard to look at! Who I would give up all the sleep in the world right now to talk to for just one more hour. I will catch up on my sleep - eventually. But for now we are negotiating a relationship, and that is just as important as sleep to me.

- I have found a man who excels on dates. He makes me feel like the only woman in the entire world every time I am with him, both in public and in private. He showers me with affection, and treats me like the lady that I am - more often than not picking up the tab for dinner, drinks and the rest. I LOVE dating him because he makes every time I see him so special.

- I have found a man who supports all of my efforts here wholeheartedly and is proud of all of the accomplishments that I have made so far and who wants to see me go even further for myself. Not to mention he's into all the same stuff I am. He's a runner, having completed a number of half marathons, he's a biker and bikes regularly to work like I do, he has competed in strong man competitions in the past and has a mind for fitness and health - EXACTLY what I want to have in a mate. But he also wouldn't care if I didn't change a hair. He likes me right now for who I am, not for who I might become (but I can't say that he won't like who I might be a year from now, cause I'm pretty sure he'd like that too).

So I'm not losing as fast as I could be if I were still single. That's ok. This is life - and this is an important part of life, and I have to be able to live it. And the achievement will come, soon. And when it does, I now have someone to really celebrate it with. And that's really cool.

The best part is that everything I'm doing or not doing right now is MY decision. Sure dating is fun and I tend to over-indulge because I only get one chance to do this with this guy, so I'm going to enjoy it. But there is no pressure from him to eat or drink or skip exercise. In fact, it is the opposite. If I want to order water with dinner, he's cool with that. If I want to stay in and cook dinner instead of going out - even better. And I'm looking so forward to our planned fitness dates in the future. We have already started talking about training for a half together. He wants to run another one, and I want to get to that distance this year, so I think we're going to start running together pretty soon. And we're excited to go biking together and hiking together and are planning a camping trip for the long weekend that I couldn't be more thrilled about.

But until then, I'm just going to keep holding down the fort and making room for this new thing in my life that I wasn't sure if I had space for (but now I know I do). If Onederland is going to continue to be elusive for another week or so that's ok. The rest of my life is worth it right now. And I'll be ready to stampede across that threshold when I really do get there.

In the meantime I've had a couple of big non-scale victories this week including a couple of people commenting that I look thinner from even last week, and standing in a fitting room tonight trying on BIKINIS!!! Sadly the loose skin has really started to accumulate around my abs, so I know it's going to continue to be an issue from here on out. But I was incredibly proud of how I look in a two piece, and so I bought it! Onederland or not - I look better than I have ever looked. I'm healthier and fitter and prettier than I have ever been and it's only going to get better from here.

Bring it on life! Onderland, The Elusive...I'm coming for you! In a two piece bathing suit!