You want the good news or the bad news first?

First the good: I went to my doctor last week due to some issues I’ve been having. It turns out my PCOS has almost gone away! My symptoms have greatly improved. It turns out the problems that brought me to the doctor are actually all good signs that my PCOS is hitting the road. I always had some doubts that it would improve. I’ve always been given discouraging news regarding the disease, and even doubted I would be able to lose weight with the surgery. But, here I am, almost PCOS free.

More good: This picture was taken this past Saturday at The Limited (obviously). This photo represents my first purchase in eight years at a store that doesn’t specialize in plus sizes. To my surprise (and delight) I was able to wear a size large. I went in thinking I would be an XL, but low and behold, I was a large. I had two fabulous friends (Nicole and Jessi) who provided me with honesty and good judgment. Even the saleswomen were jumping in and bringing me outfits to try on. After about two hours of four people using me like a Barbie, I started to feel a little overwhelmed. It was very weird to be in a regular store buying regular sizes. Sometimes I think I lost weight so fast my mind hasn’t caught up to my actual size. Sometimes I think I will always be fat in my mind.

Well, with the good comes the bad. My two weeks off of work were good to me and my weight loss, but I think I actually ended up setting myself back a bit. I worked so hard during my time off to reach my first goal of being less than 200lbs, I hit a plateau. I’ve only lost about 3lbs in two weeks. This is super disappointing to me, since I’ve been doing so well. I usually lose about 3lbs a week. It especially frustrating because I’ve still been doing everything right as far as my diet goes. I’ve also still been going to the gym five or six days a week. This morning there were donuts at work, and I had to watch everyone eat them during an hour meeting. My treat to myself? I had 15 almonds with my protein shake instead of my usual 10. Tell me you wouldn’t be disappointed when you constantly make decisions like that and don’t see too many results.

Unfortunately, I know what the problem is. I need to work out more. I’ve reached a point where it’s not just the diet. I could get away with 45 minute to an hour workouts before, but I need to do more. My body is getting used to my diet, calorie intake and workouts, so I’ve got to change things up. There’s not a lot I can do about the food thing, but I can change my workouts. It’s not that I necessarily need to workout longer; it’s that I need to do more effective workouts.

I’m meeting with a personal trainer on Wednesday and also attending a bootcamp class on Saturday morning (at 7a.m.!). I know it sounds intense, but now is the time to push myself. I need to tone areas and must work harder to burn fat. My doctor assured me slowing down is normal, but man I don’t want it to. It’s so nice to consistently lose weight, but I’m glad to be doing it right. Slow and steady wins the race, right? I knew all along this point would come, but I’ve been dreading it. I still have 55lbs left until I reach my goal, and it’s going to be much harder than the weight loss before.