Disorder! Calamity! Discord!
I fell into a classic mental trap today and didn’t help myself at all. Let me explain. This system of weight control has two mechanisms that reinforce each other. First, I monitor and control my food intake. Second, I weigh myself regularly, which keeps the whole thing honest.
This last week, I have been recovering from some stomach or intestinal ailment. During that time, eating was out of control and it was all I could do to write down and record everything I ate. There was no attempt to stick to my diet. Towards the end of the week I started to claw my way back, and by Friday I was feeling pretty good about it – I went swimming and that went well, my calorie intake was good, etc. I hoped I might even be on track to lose weight for the week and have my lowest weight ever on Saturday.
Did that happen? No.
The Trap
No picture of my happy feet today either – I only post pictures of victories.
I got on the scale and my weight was 264.8. That’s an increase of a pound since last week and the week before. Oh no, have I hit the dreaded plateau? The one I have been saying doesn’t exist? Well, I can think of a couple of more likely problems.
- Still recovering from being ill (intestinal complaint). This is the fluid weight problem. Am I retaining fluid?
- First half of the week was spent eating a lot of food, and all carbohydrate rich foods. Was all that still in my system?
- I have been exercising a lot more than usual the last few weeks – nothing too strenuous, but lots of free swimming in the outdoor pool. Have I put on some muscle? That weighs more than normal tissue.
They all could be true (or none). But the answer to all of these is the same – be patient, keep persevering using the system that has served well so far. These problems should resolve themselves, given a week of steady weight control eating. On the other hand, what if I am in some kind of extended pause that doesn’t resolve itself? In that case, I will probably accuse myself of cheating or not counting all my calories properly. The answer to that is another week or two of very careful calorie counting.
Anyway, I have said many times that if you have a bad day, or week, you should never punish yourself. You will rebel and things will get very bad. Instead, try to learn, focus your attention on getting back into your new lifestyle. Did I do that today? No.
After the weighing, for my meals today, I ate a collection of leftovers and other snacks I didn’t really want. I had nothing to look forward to, I felt a bit paralyzed about my next move and unmotivated even to make a dinner. Was I punishing myself? It sure felt that way. Can you guess the result, based on what I said above? My body rebelled, of course. I had a few pieces of candy which turned into a lot of candy, ice cream, and other goodies. I am nearly a thousand calories over my limit today. All because I fell into a trap I knew was coming.
Can I learn from this? Absolutely! I will start with getting the next week back in order. I will leave now to start cooking and I will make sure to treat myself well from now on. My own eager participation is essential to this system. If I have spoiled the new week already, oh well. I will keep going for two weeks. I will take motivation from wherever it comes. But this is a joyful system, when done right. I will pick up the pieces and build it all up again – it is worth it!
-The Doctor