The first week that I was back on Weight Watchers I lost 3 pounds. It was the week after my family vacation and I was thrilled. My thoughts went something like this: “At 3 pounds lost per week, that’s 3, 6, 9, 12! Perfect! I’ll average a 12 pound weight loss and be back to goal—-heck, I’ll be below goal in no time!!! I love this!!”” Week 2 was harder because the some of the euphoria and newness had worn off but I was still determined and gung-ho. Friday (my weigh day) came and I was excited to receive my 3 pounds down reward. I stepped on the scale and I was up a pound!!!!! As the kids would say (so I’ve been told, I’m sure my kids don’t text like this😊) WTF??? I followed the program. Let me repeat, I FOLLOWED THE DAMN PROGRAM!! I know all about BLTs (bites, licks and tastes) and how to “cheat” on Weight Watchers, BUT I DIDN’T CHEAT!! I’m no Tom Brady!! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist saying that out loud🏈) As I stood on the scale, I felt like a child wanting to scream as loud as I could. All this rhetoric started running through my head faster than I could even reason with myself ……….”Oh my gosh, what if it doesn’t work for me this time? The 75 pounds I lost was 14 years ago, maybe I can’t do it again. Maybe I’m too old? Maybe I should make up my own ‘program’ and eat even less. I wish they would hurry up and come out with that magic weight loss pill so I don’t have to go through this. Maybe I gained muscle? Oh, but I didn’t lift any weights besides carrying groceries, so that’s probably not it. Geez, am I glad I didn’t write all this on my blog! What if I keep gaining and never get back to goal???” That’s just a sampling of the mental torture that occurred the morning of my week 2 weigh in. I think you get the picture😢 Here’s the thing, when my tantrum was over I had two choices. Quit and slowly continue to gain weight as I’d been doing all summer OR start a new week and do the program again. When I settled down, I realized that I felt good, which is probably why the gain was such a shock. Being in control of my eating, being organized in my meal planning and having some healthy boundaries FELT GOOD both mentally and physically. Even though the scale said up one pound, I was still down 2 from where I started and I knew I felt less bloated because I was no longer over eating repeatedly. I’m so fortunate to have good, good friends from Weight Watchers who also reminded me of this and encouraged me to just keep going. So that’s what my message is to you in this rainy, September Friday morning. If you know you’ve made healthy changes and you know you are following the program, JUST KEEP GOING. It’s a lifestyle. Find a way to fit in the things you love and keep going. I’m happy to report that my weight loss has been steady since that gain but that’s not really the point of the story. I know a gain for no reason of my own could happen again. The point is, we have to change upstairs—-meaning change our thought—this is our life—there is no turning back!!!! Weight loss this week or no weight loss this particular week, let’s choose HEALTHY and know that it WILL come off if we live like this consistently. Have a fabulous weekend!! I’ll be cheering on my son, Chase, and the Kaneland Knights football team tonight in Olympia Fields!! Wooohoo🏈😄👏🏻👏🏻 All is well❤️ Terra😄
Terra,
Everything you post here rings true! I do the same mental games about losing so much per week. I used to come to your meetings but retired and moved to Florida last year. Now that I am FINALLY back on the program again (since mid June), I haven’t missed a single meeting. It has taken me 12 weeks to lose 10 pounds. I have had a few weeks with a slight gain and it is really disappointing. But I keep picturing my grandsons learning to walk, crawl up stairs, ride a bicycle. They don’t just give up when they don’t get it on the first try….no, they just try again immediately until they get it right. Why do we think we must be perfect? I just get keep on trying and think of them. Thanks for your great blog. It is so nice to feel like you are on this journey with us. We WILL get there!