Two weeks before my birthday (which was Aug 30), I sat at about 188-189. I remember thinking, “boy, if I work really hard, I can lose the next 3lbs and hit the 30lb lost mark on my birthday!” I was excited by the idea. Alas, it was not to be – TOM took away that ability that week, then I got slack in counting points, and ended up wandering off the path for a while. I didn’t end up officially making 30lbs lost until October, after my first week on Core (as documented below). The week in which I made 30lbs was the only week I was able to claim that. I’m now officially 0.8 above the 30lbs mark (which is actually nearly 3lbs from my lowest documented weight), and unofficially another 2lbs above that – I have gained since I last went to a meeting to be ‘officially’ weighed.
I am going in the wrong direction!
This whole time, almost a full year since I’ve been actively engaged in weight loss, I have been losing little bits of weight here and there and maintaining in between. I have generally been okay with the slow rate of loss because really, why should I hurry? I’ve been carrying around the weight for a long time, I can’t expect it to change quickly. But this past month has been the first time I have actually felt my grip on the process slipping, and my weight has been going up. This is not okay! But the million dollar question is, how do you get back to it, how do you re-commit, how do you make sure you don’t end up back where you started?
I’m starting by actively planning again. Not just halfassed-ly thinking about something on-plan for dinner (and not actually getting around to making it). Not just assuming I am eating the right amount of food without actually tracking/counting/measuring.
I’m starting by making sure I get in at least 1L of water – moving up towards 2 as I get comfortable with it again.
I’m starting by tracking EVERY LITTLE THING. The milk in my coffee that usually doesn’t get counted? You better believe I am writing it down. A sugar-free popcicle in the evening? Sure it’s only 20 calories and barely makes a difference at the end of the day, but I am writing it down! It’s these little omissions that turn into larger omissions and suddenly I am not owning up to ANYTHING I eat… it’s a dangerous path to go down!
And I’m starting by going to my meeting on Saturday no matter what I expect to see on the scale. I’ve written a couple posts about this – I end up skipping meetings on weeks I feel I’ve gained, which doesn’t help me get back on track. I need to own up to whatever’s going on with my body. Nobody there is going to judge me. I don’t have to tell people the results of my WI. I just need to go in there and accept it and move forward.
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December 4, 2008 at 6:57 pm
vdaybaby
Awesome job on counting everything! I would say that this is one of my problems as well. I don’t count enchilada sauce because it only has 15 calories, I don’t count condiments, etc etc.
December 7, 2008 at 1:59 pm
xan
Glad you’re getting back on tracik. I’ve been reading your blog and I admire you for sticking to the blog writing. I’ve had similar ups and downs, but I always delete the blog and creep away, only to come back again full of resolve — and minus the posts I made from prior attempts. Tracking is a pain, but I think we need to revisit it, remeasure, check the portion sizes (THAT’s a half-cup?), because, as you wrote, it’s the little omissions that get you.
I’ve been trying to lose weight for more than 30 years, and another thing that always shoots me down is trying to reform overnight, set 20 goals, and attack them full force for, oh, four days, because on day five, something will happen to make me miss one of them and I collapse. There are many ways we sabotage ourselves!
Good luck to you!