Goodbye 30 Pounds!

I'm so happy to write that as of this morning I have lost a total of 30 lbs. This is by far the most weight I've lost since I've attempted a bazillion times over the past several years. And it feels really great.

Katie and I played a tiny version of The Game this past week because we wanted to not go crazy in between the end of Round 2 and Ireland. We chose not to play for points, but rather, decided whoever lost the most pounds in one week's time would have to pay for the B&B during our first night together in Ireland.

I lost 5.4 lbs this past week and Katie lost 6.2. So that makes her the winner and me the person who is taking care of the B&B.

It was a tricky week because of the pounds vs. points thing. I realized a few things about the modified version of the game. First of all, not playing with someone on your team is really hard. You don't have anyone else to bring down, so if you choose to stray and lose points, you're only harming yourself. And I have no problem with that. So I need to be playing with other people. Also, because Katie & I said points wasn't going to determine the winner, I barely followed along to playing for points. Most days I didn't even eat five times. I definitely didn't get in all my water. Didn't even choose a good or bad habit to give up or introduce. I just didn't go crazy. I had one more meal off than I should have, but otherwise, I ate mostly decent food. And it clearly worked, which was nice. I liked being able to deviate from the Game On plan a little bit and not go crazy.

By today's weigh-in, I was 2 lbs. lighter than what I was at the end of Round 2. And today it makes it official that I've lost 30 lbs!

I'm so proud of that number. And so excited to see where I keep going with this. It is an amazing accomplishment and while I know I have a long way to go, I feel so encouraged that I've gotten as far as I have.

As I prepare to travel around Ireland for just about two weeks, I know I go back to my favorite place as a different person. It's not about what food I can get away with eating or how much I can drink, or how much I can be in vacation mode. What I'm looking forward to most is having time away to relax and be outside- to rent bikes on the Aran Islands, go running in the Irish countryside, explore the grounds of the Ballynahinch Castle, hike in Connemara...Because this Molly doesn't want to waste all the hard work.

Cause 30 lbs.

Wow.