A short walk up a steep hill

Okay...not quite *that* steep. ;-)

There is a fairly steep hill at CSEMC leading from the cafeteria to the office building I work in. In the past, I would go over the river and through the woods to avoid this hill. I had a route mapped out from that area of the campus to my office that was the easiest possible route, though it was longer.

There were a few times I had to walk up that hill because I was meeting with someone and we were walking together, and I would never want to disclose what a load I was (as if they couldn't tell- LOL), so I would huff and puff and wheeze my way to the top of the hill, praying they would carry the conversation because there was no way I could talk - it would send me into an asthma attack each time.

I haven't attempted that hill in over a year. I'm just used to avoiding it, so it never occurs to me to use it. Today, I had some unplanned events arise in my schedule, and I found myself walking up that hill with a colleague. I had absolutely no trouble at all, and I couldn't believe that I used to have such a struggle with that hill!

When we arrived in the conference room, a young woman on my team, who appears to be in excellent shape, mused that she was horrified that walking up that hill made her winded. I told her I couldn't believe it, because for me, it was the first time it didn't make me winded! What an awesome NSV! First, the hill, and then, the feeling that my lungs may be in better shape than someone who is much thinner than I am, thanks to all the benefits of exercise!

That is exciting for me.

I wore my black suit again today, and I had a lot of comments about how much weight I'd lost. That is always nice. Someone asked me how much weight I was up to now, and I told her I was down about 160. She knows I was at 150 6 week ago, so to lose under 10 lbs in 6 weeks is slow for me at least. She asked me if it was frustrating to be on a plateau since I'm still working so hard, and as I shared with her, it honestly isn't.

I feel fantastic. The weight isn't coming off as fast as it was, but my body continues to shrink, and I continue to have NSVs that just propel me forward. This is a new way of life for me. I'm not on a diet that I'm going to go off. This is it. I'm someone who eats healthy and exercises for the overall good of my health. My weight will fall in line.

If I don't start losing again within the next few weeks, I'll meet with my MD and nutritionists to see if they have any advice, but it takes the body a while to adjust to a major loss like the one I have had, and I'm okay with that. Progress, not perfection. :)