Overwhelmed, in all the right ways

I have the most wonderful friends and family.

I've always known this, but the struggles and triumphs of this journey have really driven it home. My friends and family have been there to support me, cheer for me, and catch me when I fall.

And on a night like tonight, they're here to freak the heck out for me.

Tonight was an evaluation, and as evaluations go, it was phenomenal. Sometimes in evals, I'll make great strides in lifting. Other times, I'll lose more weight.

This time, it was all about inches. In fact, I'm so excited about what I did with my measurements that I'm going to rock some table-fu and recap all the measurement goodness.

Date	10/13/11	11/21/11	12/21/11	1/30/12	3/6/12
Neck	15 5/8	15	15	14 7/8	14
Upper Arm	17 1/8	16 3/4	16 3/4	16	15 1/2
Chest	44 1/2	44	45	42 7/8	42 1/8
Waist	41 5/8	41 7/8	41 1/8	40	40
Hip	55	51 3/4	51 1/8	49 7/8	47 7/8
Thigh	29	28 3/4	27 1/2	25 7/8	25 1/4
Calf	19 1/8	19 1/8	19 1/4	18 7/8	18 1/8
Weight	238	230	226	216	208
BMI	45.4	42	40	39	38.6

Can you tell where my body stores fat? Can you?? If you said "hips and thighs", you win a low-fat protein cookie!

They're not very good. I'm sorry.

Seriously... seven inches off my hips. It's ridiculous. I want to go get on an airplane right now, just so I can settle into a seat and thrust my fists into the air to proclaim victory at finally (finally!) not needing to share awkward thigh-space with my neighbor.

I have a hunch I've lost more off my waist than is reflected here; it's a difficult spot to measure, since it's nigh impossible to remember how much air I had left in my lungs for last month's measurement. What I do know, though, is that in October, I was wearing size 20 pants and I was an inch away from buttoning them. I'm now in a size 18 and they're almost falling off me.

These measurements aren't a science. They're a comparison. They're good enough.

Oh, yeah, and you see that line there that says "Weight"? You can look at it again, if you want. I keep looking at it. And giggling.

Thirty pounds lost. I haven't been below 210 in years, and here I am, at 208. In nine pounds, I'll be below 200 for the first time in nearly a decade. Cripes.

I'm getting all emotional now. Time to move on.

I made improvements on my weight lifting. J got tired of me hitting 40 reps on my leg presses, so he jumped the weight to 285lbs. He had to help me get the weight off the ground.

It was heavy. The ugly face started on rep number four.

I completed 25 reps before my legs gave out. I shoulder-pressed... well, I forgot what I shoulder-pressed. Whatever it was, I hit 40 reps. Let's say it was something impressive.

I shoulder-pressed three thousand pounds.

Lat pulldowns were the killers this time. We set the machine for 85lbs and I only completed 20 reps. My back is a real weakness for me, which I've always known. But it'll get better.

Sit-ups and push-ups both declined. I finished 51 push-ups to last week's 52 (and dang it, if I'd have realized I was so close I would have sucked it up and grunt-yelled out another two!) and was somewhere in the mid-50s on my sit-ups, to last week's 61.

In the world of not-big-deals, this is the leastest-big-deal ever. Things fluctuate. According to J, I'd already set the bar pretty high, and it's okay if I can't meet it every time.

He's so nice to me. I try not to tell him this too much, because I think it makes him think of creative new ways to make me hurt.

Trainers are dangerous.

My 12:00 run was exactly the same as last eval's, finishing at .94 miles. I wish I could have finished better, but I got one of those nagging low back cramps around minute nine and just couldn't shake them. Such is life.

So there it is. Another eval is on the books. One week from today is the five month mark, and I'm excited to see how I'll finish it. Another pound or two would be wonderful and put me on track for my big, exciting, six-month goal.

Every day, every rep, every step matters. It all adds up. In the end, it's all worth it.