Not much to report in, I am down another .4 pounds to 183.0, with 182.8 flickering in there, too. Slow and steady losses at a slightly lower rate than at the beginning seems to be my lot. That means it will likely take me a full 40 day course to get at or near my goal, which is not what I wanted but it seems to be what my body is happy with. The difference is just a few days, I can make it. Maximum, I have 13 more days on a VLCD before transitioning up to normal calories with high protein, fat, and fiber, but no sugar or starch. It's so close I can taste the steak ;)

Inches are still coming off appreciably. I am not sure they are easy to measure, as it seems the spots I measure are changing minimally, but I am losing in more than just those select data points and the overall effect on my shape is pretty dramatic. I'm nowhere near my goal and still technically obese until the 160's, if I recall, but it's quite the vast visual and health improvement from class three morbid obesity I started out with! The entire thing is a slow, necessary process, and it takes vigilance to maintain it, but I'm ready. My head has been sorted out and my choices are clear, so now it is just a daily working and waiting game, to get the weight off. We'll see how well I stabilize in P3. My next goal is to keep my fluctuations on the scale to the minimum range and really reset my weight there, and I'm eager to get started. But the psychological difference of maintaining in the range of the 170's as opposed to the 180's is huge and worth sticking out a few more voluntary days on this diet.

It is worth noting that the food, especially well seasoning, is far from miserable on this plan. It is healthy and satisfying. My desire to move off the VLCD is less to do with the food I can eat and more a desire for some of the things I can't. More core eating will remain similar - slow eating, smaller portion sizes, food heavy on nourishing components like vegetables and animal protein/fat, with the condiments and accoutrements being things like berries or the occasional chocolate and rice when I hit P4. But the underlying basis of healthy, low-glycemic-impact nutrition with a focus on satiety and hunger cues remains. Ironically it is the way I began this weight journey, with the Don't Go Hungry Diet, and it is the way I will end. Those principles and recommendations, by and large are the same as what I have decided to maintain on. It was and is an excellent diet with solid advice and in the low-inflammation, Paleo vein of thought. Even when I began it, it worked very well for making me healthy and aware of my nutritional needs. The problem was that I maintained on it but didn't lose well. Losing is my problem. But now that I have a vehicle to lose weight, having a healthy maintenance plan already in place is a huge boon to me and will help me immensely down the road.

I say all this to explain that weight loss and health are journeys, and not straight shots down a highway, either. They are winding, with detours and scenic routes and rest stops and even a few blown tires here and there. But everything we learn, every place we pass, has something to teach us. And those lessons that we're learned back in the past are all a part of our progress and can be necessary to us in the most unexpected ways in the future. Coming somewhat full circle over the course of three years is hilarious to me, honestly. And I am SO grateful that the Lord guided me on this path as he did, where I was fortunate enough to begin my weight loss with sensible advice, adjust it with more sensible advice, and come across this section that ties it all together and supplies the missing piece I needed to make the earlier part of the journey work with the destination. HCG has been incredible for me, learning to measure and log food has been such a boon for my awareness, and learning to watch and listen to what my body is telling me regarding nutrition and my emotions, as I first began, is still as wise and useful as ever. That the nutritional approach I was sold on way back in the beginning and moved away from somewhat, in the quest for lower calories, has turned full circle to be my path for maintenance with only minimal adjustments?

Well, let's just say I'm as confident as ever that I don't do this by my own power, but through diligence and perseverence prayed for and received. God is faithful in our challenges, and though His ways don't always make sense to us at the time, it is always for his glory. I am losing weight to be a better steward of my body and a more able servant in my home. It is good to be reminded of both why I am doing this (family), where the journey ends (standing accountable before the throne of God), and why I am here at all, in the midst of trials (to bring glory to Him). For me, at least, the pounds are important, but they pale in comparison to the real reasons for my working in this and other areas.