Donna:

First, congratulations on making such a positive change in your life - giving up the cigarettes. I've been told by family and friends who are former smokers this is one tough thing to do but none of them regret it for a minute.

Second, congratulations on deciding to make other very positive life changes you are going to love your time on the bike. As others have suggested put the scale away for the time being, it will be there at a later date and will register some very good news for you at that time.

Third, you appear to have a strong sense of motivation for you proved that when you quit smoking. What keeps each of us motivated to climb on our bikes each day? The answers will vary from person to person. Some do it for fitness reasons, some do it to ride with their spouse or SO, some do it because it helps to chase the blues away, some do it simply because it is fun and others do it for the challenges that face them. Your motivation may be one of these, a combination of these or something totally different, it really does not matter as long as you find your motivation and embrace it. Time on your bike will become an addiction of sorts and you will soon find yourself trying to decide how to squeeze in even more time (always a good thing!)

You are heading in the right direction, Donna and have made some very major changes thus far to improve your health and well being. Pat yourself on the back, enjoy your time on your bike and most importantly enjoy life.