Weight Loss and Swimming

I have been swimming in an effort to shake up my workout -- for the benefit of losing weight. I want to:

- get healthier
- continue to build up my endurance/cardiac abilities
- lose weight
- become more muscular
- see less loose, flabby skin on my body

I have been swimming now for 3 months. (Coincidentially, I have been gaining weight for three months.) I have been noticing some changes over the last three months that are very interesting. When I first swam for 30 minutes, I walked every couple of laps. Today when I swam, I walked only two laps and finished 40 minutes of continuous swimming. Wow. Big difference from the first time I jumped in the pool. Here are some changes I noticed:

- my endurance is better
- I am building more muscle under the fat (if I even lost 10 pounds, I would be much firmer then the last time I weighed 10 pounds less)
- my cellulite is smoothing out
- I am more muscular on my back side
- I feel more powerful
- I have the desire to eat for performance (I don't always do this), rather than just fun
- I can not wait until my next swim - it is not as depressing/as much "work" as a regular workout (I work my butt off but my perception is very positive which is different from the monotonous boredom I feel when I go to the gym)
- I am shocked that I love it so much despite the fact that it kicks my butt

I can not say enough about swimming and I can't wait until I see the results in the form of weight loss. I feel so powerful when I swim, it simply has to be helping me on the weight loss front. At the very least, I am getting a better body!