End of Week 2.

I have successfully completed my 2nd week on the Take Shape for Life program. It seems like it's been longer than 2 weeks but not in a bad way.  I got a little discouraged and down on myself in the middle of the week, but I'm chalking it up to bad weather and crazy scheduling due to the hurricane that was supposed to hit the area. I ended up being off work on tuesday and wednesday, the whole town was shut down.  Those 2 days off threw my schedule way off.  On top of that, I went against my plan and was weighing myself.  And I was doing it in the middle of the day when I was at my heaviest so of course the numbers were off but it still made me feel terrible.  3 days with no weight change and I thought about giving up.  I didn't though.

It took a lot for me to stay on track this week.  Normally I would eat whatever, feel like shit, throw a pity party, and then jump back on the wagon.  I didn't want to lose progress so I did whatever I could to make sure I didn't fall off this time.  I held on, and at the end of the week saw that I actually did lose weight. I just couldn't see it.  I lost 4 lbs this week, a total of 9 lbs so far.  I can't remember the last time I lost 9 lbs, or how long it took me.  I'm very pleased with my progress physically and mentally.  I can feel myself getting stronger and I know that if I stick with it, I'll be able to meet my goals. 

With an average weight loss of 2-5 lbs per week, 4 lbs isn't bad.  I did slack off on my gym sessions a bit, I only went on Monday and Friday...and I only did about 30 minutes of cardio on those days.  So 4lbs with limited effort is a pretty good result.  I know I could do way better, and my goal for next week is to do just that.  My work schedule will be back to normal so it should be easy.

If any of you take anything away from this post let it be these things:
1.  Don't become a slave to the scale.  I'm not saying not to weigh yourself but put the scale in a place that's really inconvenient.  Somewhere you can't see it, or you'll be tempted to step on it.  I had mine in the hall closet, I'm going to move it since I go in that closet everyday.  And if you do weigh yourself, make sure it's first thing in the morning.  If you do it in the afternoon or at night, your reading will be off. 

2.   Don't give up on yourself.  You are the only person that can be responsible for your weight loss.  No one else can lose the weight for you.  You have to realize that even the smallest slip up can send you into a downward spiral.  You get stressed or upset and you allow yourself one cheat.  Then you feel guilty about that cheat, and then you have another.  It's a slippery slope, but you're the only one that can pull yourself back up. When you're feeling some kind of way, sit down and figure out why.  Find a way to redirect those feelings. If your usual response to stress is to eat, find another activity to take the place of food.  Relax in the bath tub, read a good book, talk to someone that makes you feel happy.  But it's up to you to keep yourself on track.  Be your biggest fan.

My relationship with myself is getting a little better.  I'm going to continue to work on it until it's back where it used to be.  And I'm going to keep on moving forward and keep improving.  I'm aiming for 10 lbs next week, so we'll see how that goes. 

Until next time....