Week 6 weigh in

I had my first wobble this week after the weigh in. Which considering I lost another 4lbs this week seems ridiculous. I mean I've lost 49lbs in six weeks. But after the last two weeks of losing 7lbs each time, four pounds seems like a blow, considering that I have stuck to my eating plan 100%.

I didn't mention my feelings at group as my fellow slimmers would just think I'm nuts complaining about a huge loss, which in reality it is, but the four pound loss still affected me. I have talked in earlier posts about how I am an emotional eater and that I used to use food to help cope with situations I didn't or couldn't face. Today was the first time I considered using food to treat how I was feeling.

I didn't reach for the chocolate biscuits or pizza though, I faced the problem and talked it through with my lovely wifey. She reminded me of how I was six weeks ago, how proud she was of what I have achieved and that I'm starting to return to my old self. To put the loss into perspective she encouraged me to go out to buy twelve, two liters of pop so that I could see for myself what 49 pounds looked and felt like.

One liter of water weighs one kilogram and body fat weighs about 0.9kg per liter. For the sake of a quick demonstration a full two liter pop bottle is close enough in size to see what 2 kilos of fat would be like. So I loaded up eleven and a half bottles into four carrier bags and lifted them up, but only just. I know that the weight was distributed over my whole body and not concentrated on my hands, but it was still shocking to feel all that weight put back in one go.

My wife then challenged me to carry the whole weight upstairs. On my first attempt I didn't even make the first step. I could only manage half way up on my second attempt before I gave up, sweating profusely. This was the thing that snapped my out of my destructive thoughts. The craving for junk seemed to disappear as I put the bags down.

So for next time I get upset over a weigh in that wasn't what I was expecting I need to remember the following list;

• Body weight fluctuates daily. If my weigh in had been the day before, or the day after, I will weight a different amount.
• I'm exercising more. As I get more active, my body composition is changing. Sore muscles hold on to water, so if I pushed myself to exercise harder, my weight may not be 100% accurate that week.
• I'm feeling better and experience less pain from my spine.
• Get the scales out and fill up my back pack with the weight I've lost so far, then try carrying it, it's a great wake up call.

I need to make sure that I focus on how good I feel from the weight I've lost and the healthy food I'm eating. Whilst the numbers on the scale give me measurable goals to work towards, how I feel each day should be my reward and incentive.