Eating Intuitively

I have lost 83 pounds on NutriSystem Advanced!  I’ve reached two milestones.  I am now below 275 pounds which was a short-term goal I selected.  I have also lost more than 80 pounds, and I will be getting another NutriBear!

On one hand, this is great news, because I lost weight over the holiday season.  I credit the extra exercise and smart eating.  For the most part, I stayed on track with the NutriSystem Advanced plan.  I did enjoy some great food at some holiday dinners and parties, but I limited the extra eating.

EatingIntuitively.com is a paid affiliate of Nutrisystem, Inc.

On the other hand, my math mind had to evaluate the numbers.  My last short-term goal was 300 pounds.  It has taken me 15 weeks to get under 275 pounds.  This equates to an average weekly weight-loss rate of 1.90 pounds. 

At one point in time, I was losing weight at a rate above 3.50 pounds, and my overall rate since I began is 2.86.  Obviously, progress is progress, but I would love to see a number higher than 1.90.  I know the higher number was a little bit artificial, but I was hoping to settle somewhere between 2.5 and 3.0 lbs/week.

Anyway, I plugged the range (1.9 to 2.86 lbs/week) into my handy-dandy spreadsheet to estimate the date ranges for my next few short-term goals.  Here they are:

• 250 pounds:  03/02/2009 to 03/30/2009
• 225 pounds:  05/04/2009 to 06/29/2009
• 200 pounds:  06/29/2009 to 09/28/2009
• 180 pounds:  08/17/2009 to 12/14/2009 (I’m not sure if I’ll go this low.)

Now, I need your help with a reality-check.  Am I overreacting to the lower rate of loss?  I have gone from 300 on 09/22/2008 to 271.5 on 01/05/2009.  Should I be concerned by the lower rate?  Or should I just attribute the lower rate to the holidays, the amount of time dieting, extra eating, or something else?

Body Weight:  271.5 pounds.  I have lost 83 pounds since I started NutriSystem Advanced on June 15, 2008.  I weigh 88.5 less than my all-time high of 360 pounds.

Breakfast:  Lemon Poppyseed Muffin; Egg; Banana; Bread, pumpernickel; Morning Coffee

Morning Snack:  Crabmeat; Banana

Lunch:  Pasta with Beef; Cabbage, raw; FF Dressing

Afternoon Snack:  Honey Mustard Pretzel Sticks

Dinner:  Mashed Potatoes with Meatloaf and Tomato Sauce; Brussel Sprouts, cooked; Mandarin Oranges; Oil, canola, olive, peanut, safflower; Couscous, cooked

Dessert:  Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar

Drinks:  Crystal Light; water

Exercise:  30 minutes on recumbent bike at 138 bpm.  That’s 16.67% of weekly exercise goal.

Pedometer:  ?