Week #4 (and #3)

Okay, this will be a split personality update. I wrote part of it -- the part between the dashes below-- this morning when I was feeling pretty glum. I feel kind of bad subjecting my readers to my unattractive self-pity, but... it's part of the journey, and I think getting it off my chest in written form was cathartic.

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7:10 A.M.

I started slipping this week, especially this weekend. Just little things here and there in between the cracks. Also, I'm having a harder and harder time drinking all the water I set out to drink as part of the challenge. It's just not my instinct and also it makes me have to go to the bathroom all the time and that's getting really old.

Anyway, I don't know what, exactly, is the reason-- eating more than I should, not enough water, cyclical body fluctuations, but Week #4 was the first week I didn't lose any weight. I was up 0.7 lbs.

I didn't lose that much in Week #3 anyway-- only 1.7.

Which means my net weight loss for two weeks was ONE MEASLY POUND.

Why do some people shed weight like molting birds shed feathers and why am I not one of those lucky ones? I noticed that my weight at the beginning of November was about 3 lbs less than where I am right now, back when I wasn't even trying to do anything. It's all I can do to just get back to "pre-Christmas" weight and I don't even feel like I really start getting skinnier "for real" until I drop below that threshold. Like everything I've done up until now doesn't count. And then when I'm resetting my goal on my Wii it suggests that a healthy weight for me might be 153 lbs and I just wanted to cry. That weight seems as far away and impossible as the holy grail.

I need to step back and tighten my bootstraps. But it's winter and I'm tired of the cold and the tights and not being allowed comfort food. *sigh*

Anyway, last Thursday officially marked the 1/4 mark.  I thought I'd be a little more celebratory than I am. This bout of extreme self-pity has been brought to you by the number 1 (stupid lb) and the letter M (for Maudlin and Monday).

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9:05 A.M.

Two hours later and a good chat with my wonderful sister, I'm feeling loads better and my determination is renewed. There are lots of little reasons that probably contributed to this week's plateau, not the least of which was that with the exception of my obligatory 1/2 hour of exercise (+yoga) on Saturday morning I spent the entire remainder of the day being a perfect model of sloth and all things sedentary.

My Saturday of supreme laziness derailed a lot of things. I wasn't productive and not getting something done (usually writing) starts a mini-avalanche of dissatisfaction upon my mood. No matter that I specifically bulked up my word count the previous Thursday in order to enjoy that Saturday "worry free".

So. Once again the perils of navigating weekends. This might seem crazy, but I'm super happy to be back to work this morning.

I was also encouraged by the fact that we did our measurements yesterday-- four weeks after our first round, and I was down at least one inch in every measurement except my arms! (which, I've been doing push-ups, so they're probably more buff than they were before?). Two inches off my hips! That was nice to hear.

Two-week results:

 

The word count number is not included in the combined field. 

Observe how my water consumption rate is slipping. In point of fact, it hasn't been 100% since I began, and it's the only category that hasn't had 100% at least once. So... that's one of my goals this week.

.... *stops to take a big chug of water from bottle*...

Where was I? Right. 100% on water for Week #5. Also, I'm going to try to watch less TV and get more reading and break out the sewing machine this week. And also finish my novel. Did I mention I'm this close to finishing my novel. I would've done this weekend if I had bothered writing anything. At all.

Bring it on, Week #5!