Week 7: February 25 Weigh-In

Food column: 6 Fs and 1 sticker. MAJOR FAIL!! I was in total rebellion this week. My mood was all over the place. I was making bad decisions….and making them consciously. This is easily my low for the week.

Exercise column: 5 Fs and 2 stickers. FAIL!! One of those stickers was my crowning achievement this week though. Normally I’m on the elliptical for just over 30 minutes. On Saturday, I was on it for 1 hour and 15 minutes! I have never exercised that long on the elliptical before. It was a major mind breakthrough and it proves I am able to do more than I thought I could! It’s definitely my high for the week.

Lose 2.2 lbs this week?: No. I actually gained 2.2 lbs this week. ANOTHER MAJOR FAIL!! I have so many feelings about this week: embarrassment, guilt, sadness, acceptance... But my trainer helped remind me this morning that today is another day full of new choices. I don’t have to wipe the slate clean; it was new when I woke up today. I just need to make different choices and I will get different results. I refuse to waste any more of this week mourning last week. That will only extend all the bad feelings and compound the bad results. I have learned from my mistakes and I’m going to make good choices that will help me achieve what I want.

This week is very important, it is a make or break week. I only have four weigh-ins left and I have 17 lbs to lose to reach my goal. That means I need to lose 4.25 lbs per week for the next four weeks to reach my goal. I am not going to stack four weeks of pressure on my shoulders today, but I do know if I don’t lose 4.25 lbs this week I will not be able to catch up the following three weeks. That means if I don’t lose 4.25 lbs this week, I will not reach my goal 4 weigh-ins from now. It’s that simple.

Losing 4.25 lbs this week will be tough, but I believe I can do it. In week 4 I lost 5.25 lbs. It can be done again! It’s times like these I am thankful I have been keeping this record because I can look back at my habits in week 4 and see why it was so successful. That’s valuable info! That week, I got 6 stickers and 1 F in the food column and all stickers in the exercise column. Using that as my guide, my goal for this week is all stickers in both columns.

Contrasting my best week to my second worst week reminds me of a poem called “If” by Rudyard Kipling. There’s two lines that I can really identify with:

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same”

I like the idea of Triumph and Disaster being thought of as impostors. I think it’s important to pay attention to both, but where I run into trouble is when I try to wallow in either for extended periods of time. They both deserve their due, but neither is a definition of life since life consists of both. They’ll both trick us and tempt us into trying to live there, but they’re each a season.

It’s funny, even as I’m writing this, I’m tempted to treat only Triumph as an impostor. That might be very telling. Do I have feelings of unworthiness hiding? Interesting…

Total weight loss: 7.35 lbs

Week 6: February 18 Weigh-In

Food column: This week was a disaster on just about every level. I got 4 Fs and 3 stickers in this column this week.

Exercise column: I got 4 Fs and 3 stickers in this column also.

Lose 2.2 lbs this week?: No. F! I lost 0.4 lbs this week and when you look at my food and exercise column this week, it’s no wonder. I’m not sure what the problem was this week. I didn’t have the excitement or drive that I’ve had the past couple of weeks. I need to change that this week though!

I have 5 weigh-ins left including my first milestone date of 3/24. I’m definitely behind on my weight loss, so when I recalculate how much I need to lose, here’s how it comes out. I need to lose 12.8 lbs to reach my goal on 3/24 and I have 5 weigh-ins left. That means I need to lose 2.56 lbs per week for the next 5 weeks to get back on track. That also means I need to be strict about my eating and exercising. I think I may throw in a couple of longer workouts this week. Let’s see where that gets me!

Total weight loss: 9.55 lbs

Week 5: February 11 Weigh-In

Food column: I got 5 stickers and 2 Fs. I swear that stupid candy dish sprouted legs and stalked me this week. BUT I was able to resist and I still haven’t had any. My two Fs were from having a handful of tortilla chips one day and having brown rice another day. The tortilla chips are definitely not allowed in The Maker's Diet, and although brown rice is allowed in Phase III in small increments, it proved to be too much for my body to handle right now. I think it delayed progress a bit.

I haven’t touched on water much yet, but I normally drink roughly 64 oz of water a day with an absolute minimum of 32 oz a day. I don't think I was drinking enough water over the weekend and I ended up a bit dehydrated. I know that will affect weight loss too.

Exercise column: I got all stickers in this column this week. In fact, this morning was day 18 in a row of exercising. I’m going to give myself a pat on the back for that one.

Lose 2.2 lbs this week?: Yes! In fact, I lost 2.4 lbs. Not as fabulous as last week, but I am actively remembering that my weekly goal is 2.2 lbs. I exceeded that goal. That will get me there!

It was still hard not to weigh in the middle of the week. I spent most of the week thinking I did lose weight, and the other part worrying that I hadn’t. When I was finally able to get on the scale, I was afraid to find out the result. I’m hoping this week will be better as I have more faith that my food choices and exercise habits will continue to move things in the right direction.

Total weight loss: 9.15 lbs

Week 4: February 4 Weigh-In

Food column: I got 6 stickers and one F. Much better than the last couple of weeks and it has paid off! I gave myself the F because one day I had celery and peanut butter instead of celery and almond butter. That by itself doesn’t earn an F, but eating the peanut butter (which is not allowed in Phase I of The Maker’s Diet) made me sick to my stomach and affected my body for two days. That could have hindered progress and that does equal an F.

Exercise column: All stickers in this column! I’m feeling great and this morning was actually day 11 in a row of exercising. It doesn’t feel like a chore anymore and it is definitely helping the scale move in the right direction.

Lose 2.2 lbs this week?: YES!! I actually lost 5.25 lbs this week! Can you believe it?! I am thrilled. If that’s not motivation to keep up with the food choices and exercise regimen I don’t know what is!!

I have to say it was a huge struggle not to weigh myself in the middle of the week. I really believe if I had, it’s possible my weight loss would not be 5.25 this week. My emotional eating brain would have thought, “I’m doing well, I don’t have to be quite so strict.” And that is a slippery slope I have been down many times. Nothing good is at the bottom.

Total weight loss: 6.75 lbs