It's beyond frustrating to me that a week of excellent effort can be virtually undone, at least according to the scale, by one day "off" from plan. My official weigh in this morning was 210.3. On Friday I was 207 and feeling good about it, certain I would knock off another lb by this morning. But after I got home from a Panera dinner with a friend that actually came in under 500 calories (via their nutrition site I consulted and chose from prior to going) I had a few unplanned and off-plan items. My total was probably 1950 for the day rather than the 1500 I planned. Not terrible given my 1870 allowance for maintenance eating.
Then yesterday I just slowly "decided" to eat my maintenance number of calories as established for Allan's challenge, instead of the again 1500 planned. I overshot, stamped and sealed by the fact that I stopped writing down the food after lunch. Today will be 1500 calories. Damn it, it WILL.
Maybe if I hadn't weighed Friday I wouldn't be AS discouraged. I'd lost a pound from last Sunday - now I'm up 2 from then, but 3 in the last 2 days. Jeeze - how much do I want this?? A lot.
I'm getting ready to go for a long walk that must be on a route with plenty of bathroom access given the volume of water I'm drinking. All I can say is this woman gets tired of not being able to let up for even a day without several pounds finding their way back. Discouraged, but not down. I'm very motivated to get a 1500 calorie day today. And I'm also motivated to smash my scale with a sledge hammer. But I'll be a big girl (okay, a bigger girl) and let it peacefully stay in the bathroom. But it better start spitting out some better news soon.
I have decided not to weigh for a while, as that number gets too far inside my head. Boy, do I understand your frustrations! I want this to be easy, dammit. I want every little thing I do to garner immediate rewards. I want! I want! I want!
ReplyDeleteI put together a good day yesterday and have already been to the gym this morning, so I am hopeful. I'm doing my best to avoid unnecessary temptations and for me, that means having a plan for the evening - which is the "witching hour".
Sorry, Leslie, I didnt' mean to write a post on YOUR blog. Enjoy your walk today and know that you are starting the day out right.
I have often found that after a gain that is out of proportion to calories eaten, that a day of staying on track and drinking lots of water brings the scale back down. There is a lot of sodium in restaurant food and I'm guessing that most, if not all of that extra weight is water.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Mary
Oh, I feel your pain! Family Thanksgiving meal yesterday...a few splurges...scales showing a 4 lb. gain this morning!! Incredible! I know it has to be fluid, but just seeing that number on the scale is frustrating! Hang in there Leslie, we can do this!!!
ReplyDeleteremember this: what you ate has weight..once in the body it adds to the # on the scales.
ReplyDeleteCarbs help to retain fluids..Panera is OMG GOOD CARB CENTRAL.
Don't weigh so often. If you know you ate out or off your calorie goal, why are you punishing? That being said , I'm trying to figure this out for myself and like Roxie, I'm not weihing much these days just weekly.
I've always in a joking manner that the scale is the devil. It can make or break your day. You can stay at 1500 calories today! You can do it! Try and stay positive.
ReplyDeleteUm...yeah. You didn't gain "weight"...seriously. And I am with Roxie...I haven't weighed myself in over a year and it was one of the best things I have ever done for myself. So liberating! And I have lost weight (I just don't know how much). It's been a paradoxical shift: not focusing on "losing weight" has helped me lose weight.
ReplyDeleteDitto what Baby Stepping said. :)
ReplyDeleteYou know, now that I got my official doctor's scale that does NOT change weight every five seconds, I am nowhere near as obsessed with weighing as I was.
I think the fact that I was never entirely sure if the scale was accurate--you know, since it could vary 5 pounds in 5 seconds--was just enough anxiety to keep me getting back on it. Like worrying a sore tooth.
I was wondering if maybe there is an offcial scale you could weigh on a couple of tiimes a week. Like one at work? Or a free weigh in at the MDs office if you drive by it regularly?
Regardless, you've been doing so well. Go back to the new air you breathed when you first bought Notey.
Deb
I hear you Leslie. The whole two steps forward, one (BIG) step back is so frustrating!
ReplyDelete~South Beach Steve
You have not failed. Eff the scale. You had a fabulous week overall and you know it girl! We all know it's from the sodium. Forget about it...and move onto 1500 cals. One day at a time...I can't stress that enough. That next weigh day will be here before we know it....so just take it one day at a time...do what's right for that day....and we'll worry about the scale when the time gets here. I'm proud of you for the week you had. I believe when you posted about Notey the first time, you joked about this week's calories were going to be better than the 3000+ you HAD been eating. Progress...not perfection. And you ARE making progress. Be proud of you...I sure am. Big Hugs...love you. :)
ReplyDeleteThe number on the scale is information, not judgment. We give that damned thing far too much power, or at least I know I do.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a question. Is 1870 the number you need to maintain your goal weight or your current weight? If the answer is goal, why are you shooting for 1500? Just curious. I'm intrigued by the idea of being able to lose weight eating that much, and scared to death to try it, considering I've maintained my current (too-high) weight on far fewer calories.
I think you let that number on the scale sway you too much. If you didn't know that you were down, you couldn't be upset if you were up. If you only weighed yourself once a week for your challenge, you would see the overall picture. As you know weight goes up and down every day... which can mess with your head - or give you thoughts that you have freedom to eat more and it won't hurt, etc., etc.
ReplyDeleteThis is just my two cents so go ahead and tell me to eff off if you want. I'm only saying it because I've been reading you for a good while and this is what always seems to happen. At least think about it!
Can't say it any better than the others above - hang in there this week!
ReplyDeleteHugs!
Biz