Things I should feel good about

With the frustration of the recent weight gain I've been trying to keep reminding myself that in the grand scheme it's not that big of a deal. I actually have a lot to be proud of even if it's hard to see it sometimes.

Monday I went and did some metabolic and aerobic capacity testing that I had purchased through Living Social several months ago. I wound up hurting my back about a week after I purchased it so I just now got around to it. I found out my body fat percentage is now 27.2, down from god only knows what. But it's now within normal and acceptable ranges (typically 25-31%). I scored within the 70th percentile on the aerobic capacity test which means I'm quite a bit more physically fit than average. This is without having done any exercise besides walking in months too. So, I may be overweight still by a little bit, but I'm still in pretty good shape. That's something to be proud of. I also found out that I am actually nearly 5'3" when I have thought I was only 5'2". Not that I had anything to do with that, but it means I'm slightly less overweight than I thought. I think I'll change my goal weight by a few pounds to reflect that.

I should also feel good about the fact that I have kept off over 55 pounds for more than a year. I may have lost most (but not all) of it without specifically trying to, but keeping the weight off has been through quite a lot of effort on my part. I should also feel good about the fact that I have been taking the medications I need to function, even though they make me feel not so great for a while at first, and I get acne and dry skin. It's not easy to make myself sometimes, but I have seen how quickly things change for the worse when I stop taking them. I know it's something I need to do.

I didn't wait until the s--- hit the fan to start taking them again this time either. I'm doing better with getting back on track before things really go south. I'm recognizing small changes in my mood before they get to a dangerous place. I know I shouldn't stop taking my meds ever, and I will try to do better with that. It's too important.

And I don't feel like I shouldn't deserve any credit for losing the weight in the first place. I did feel that way for a long time. But I was taking care of my health by taking my medication, and sometimes taking care of your health results in weight loss. I had the choice not to take them, and at times I wanted to quit, but I didn't. I should feel good about that. I should be proud of what I've accomplished. My health and my fitness have improved in so many ways because I made the choice to take care of myself . That's no small accomplishment.

In other news, we've been working on getting the living room looking nice before my daughter gets here, since part of it will be sectioned off for her "room." I painted three of the four walls, and plan to do the last on on Sunday. It already looks so much cleaner and better. I also have to put in some carpet tiles. Right now there's just concrete and it's gross. We're also in need of a sofa since the dumb cats tore up the old futon, which was frankly really old and nasty anyway. We decided on one of these:
It's from Comfy Sack. I can't believe how inexpensive they are! We don't know what color we're getting yet. Jeremy ordered some fabric samples to look at. It's so cool though. I can't wait to get it. My daughter's going to go nuts over it, I'm sure. I'll be so happy when it's all done in there. I haven't wanted to have anyone over because it was just a total crap hole in there, plus there were all these boxes because there's no point in unpacking until the carpet is put in. I'd just have to move it all. I hung up some of my art collection on the walls I already painted, and it's starting to look like a real home now.