I ate 500 extra calories today. Yesterday I went on a date and managed to stay within my limit (I may have been over a bit). I've been doing so well, and enjoying the process, and then I decided to eat too much. I know why. Will this knowledge help me to succeed?

I ate too much because I lost faith in my plan for just long enough to consume 2000 calories. My starting weight of 209 is a few weeks old, and may not have been accurate. I took it at the end of the day while fully clothed. Today, having eaten the right amount of calories and worked out for a full week, I stepped on the scale (that I now have in my home) to find that I am 205. Granted, I stepped on the scale after lunch, but still--I know that I cannot attribute the 5 pounds that I was hoping not to see to breakfast and lunch. No, it isn't reasonable for me to have expected to lose 10 pounds in a week, and I didn't, really. I expected 209 to have been wrong--I think I'd convinced myself that the original scale (not the one I used today) was 5 pounds off, and I think that is why 205 feels like no loss at all. Ugh. Too much eating!

I am so impatient about weight loss. I know I shouldn't be. I don't think I'll genuinely become less impatient, but I will better manage my impatience. One pound a week is frustrating right now, but it adds up, so I will be grateful for each pound lost (especially as I see lower numbers and a healthier me).

I have been feeling really healthy during the past week, and I think that had a lot to do with the fact that I was eating 1200-ish calories. This week: I will make sure to do cardio AND strength training.

Oh--the other thing. I've felt like I am more fit. And less fit. I feel that I look, well, more trim, I suppose, but I am realizing how far I have to go. This was especially clear when I did the belly dancing workout video--it was much harder this time than when I first used it years ago.

Patience. Drive. Understanding. Accountability.