Reflections on 50 down, 200 to go

I find myself in a rather odd position this morning. I have lost 50 pounds using MFP in about 10 weeks. And I also have approximately 200 more pounds to lose. Do I focus on the accomplishment of losing an entire first grader? Or do I focus on the incredible challenge of still having to lose an entire husky undergraduate?

Since my weight has flirted with the 50 mark for several days, I have had the opportunity to do a bit of soul searching and reading. Oddly enough, I found the answer on my own profile. That's where I tell the world (and myself) that I do not know how to lose over 250 pounds. But I do know how to lose 1 pound. With my very next good eating choice, and my very next opportunity to exercise. And if I can do that once, and now, over 50 times, I know I can do it over 250 times, total.

I will take my lesson from mountain climbers. People who have scaled mountains (and that very definitely does NOT include me, thankewverymuch), know that when you are 3,000 feet above the ground, you do not think about your coming ascent at the 8,000 foot level. You remember the lessons you learned from the very LAST step that you took, and you focus on the challenges of the very NEXT step you are going to take. Anything more or less than that is a recipe (sorry for the unintended pun, folks) for disaster.

And so, on this special morning, I now know how film director, Peter Jackson felt in 2002. That is the year he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for the first Lord of the Rings movie, while he was still in the process of directing the second and third Lord of the Rings movies. As I sit here basking in the mini-glory of 50 pounds, I am already planning today's morning meal and exercise so that I have a good start on reaching the 100 pound loss mini-summit in February or March of 2013.

To sum it up, reaching the 50 pound mark is: (1) a reminder that I am right in my strategy, and (2) a recognition that I DO have the willpower, self-respect, and determination to see this through. Those two things, coupled with the unwavering support and affection of my friends on MFP, and Mrs. TheFirstThird, have helped me to reach this mini-summit, on my way to my ultimate goal of losing more than 250 pounds.