Wednesday, January 29, 2020

The temptation to give up

I waltzed into January with high hopes and dreams.   January was going to jumpstart my stalled weight loss efforts.  January was going to be my month.  I was going to be on fire!  This weight was going to drop off.  This weight loss journey was going to be going full speed ahead!   But that is not what happened.  Instead I have struggled on the scales.  I have cleaned up my eating by quite a bit....but the weight is not dropping.  My body is clinging to this weight...and honestly, I am thoroughly disgusted and so tempted to give up!

I have kept my food intake within the confines of my caloric goal....which is between 1200 and 1550 calories a day.   High end or low end of that goal is still a range that I SHOULD be losing!   Seriously, I am tracking every bite religiously!   There have been one or two random days where my calories were a night higher ...as in 1700/1800 calories.  But those were also days that includes long hikes and extended periods of activity/exercise.   There is no reason!

So in answer to the questions that pop into the mind....

1.  I already imit my complex carb intake.
2.   I do indulge in a sweet treat on the weekend...but track it and account for it....and try to make sure it is on a day where we have hiked or biked and been really active. 
3.  I am moving and try to be active most days of the week...most week days I strive for at least 20 minutes of activity...the weekends are usually quite a bit longer.
4.   This was never this hard before.

So that left me with a few thoughts.  The first thought was going really strict with my food intake.   I know from past experience that I lose better when I am only eating around 1200 calories.  So Should I be heading back to strictly 1200 calories? It makes it tight in my food budget and does not give me much wiggle room for a higher calorie meal. But...oh well.


The next thought was that I have been doing overnight oatmeal every morning recently and I’m debating dropping that....too much carbs?    I recently took the time to look at some of my nutrients...here is a brief look.  

So I can see that I am slightly over the goal on carbs and fat...but it’s not a huge overage!  

And then last week I had another thought...and that was to totally switch up everything in my plan.   Total change!  So I came up with the idea to go back on weight watchers.   It worked before.  I haven’t done it in years so it would be fresh and new.  Could it work?

So late last week I bite the bullet.  I joined online weight watchers.   Attending a meeting would be difficult/a hardship with my current schedule and life commitments.  But if I need to go to a meeting, I can always add that back in.  Jason told me that we can make it happen if we need to.   But right now I’m doing online.   I took the little quiz and I am going to be following the green plan.  I am actually excited to do this.  I’m excited to sit back and follow their plan and trust...and lose weight!  (Surely this will work...right??). 

 In the first few days of being back on WW, I noticed a difference in my attitude and behavior....I don’t want to go over my daily points!  With calories I was always thinking ‘1275 is close to 1200’ and calling it a day!  But there isn’t that wiggle room with points.   This might be a good thing for me!



This weight loss journey is not for the faint at heart!  It takes constant evaluation and constant adjustments.   This is just one more adjustment.  Just as stepping away from WW years ago when I stopped working for me was an adjustment I needed to make.  (Maybe because I needed fresh and new back then and I wasn’t working the program).   To lose weight we need to learn, grow and adjust just as to be an affective person in life we need to learn, grow and adjust.  This is just a new chapter in this weight loss journey.