Weigh-in Week 30

Starting Weight: 216.8
Weight Week 27: 206.0

Weight Week 28: 208.2

Weight Week 29: 207.4

Weight This Week: 209.4
Loss These Past Weeks: -3.4
Total Weight Loss: 7.4
Pounds Still to Go: 24.4
Trendline Estimate: 205.0 (stopping at Week 30)

I'm back after a break of three weeks, and absolute failure. From the time period from the beginning of this year, to my birthday, I've had a total loss of only 2.4 pounds because of this last second gain of 5 pounds. What were the reasons? I can say things like stress, not going to the gym for various reasons, and my brother returning from med school and so parents have been buying and making all kinds of food that he's been craving, but in the end it's just my failure.

The only good thing about it is that even in failure, I still lost weight. But I didn't get myself the birthday present I wanted to get myself. In the end, my birthday was just... almost... another arbitrary number. As you can see there is already a new graph up, this time ending at Week 52. We'll see what kind of number I can reach after one year.

What I can say is that I did well on counting my calories both on Monday, and today, my birthday. Will power back, determination back, progress will continue. 

Weigh-in Week 27 - There goes another gain

The Numbers

Starting Weight: 216.8
Weight Last Week: 204.0
Weight This Week: 206.0
Loss This Week: -2.0
Total Weight Loss: 10.8
Pounds Still to Go: 21.0
Trendline Estimate: 203.7

Ok, so the 206.0 is just an estimate.  I woke at 5am on Monday to finish up and print a paper and forgot to actually weigh myself.  However, I did weigh myself on Friday (206.6) and weighed myself today (205.8), and making a guess that I weighed around 206.0 on Monday.

With that said... it's a gain.  I've only gone four weeks in a row once before showing a gain, and most the time it's been three week.  This week's gain showed followed that exact pattern.  And the reason?  I still don't know.  I was working a night shift last week on Tuesday, for the Census, and I brought a lot of snacks, and some energy drinks to keep myself awake.  I ate more than I should on a couple other days as well when I was finishing up the research for my genetics paper.  Is it just coincidence that these kinds of things come up when I feel like I should be taking in more calories?  Or am I looking for excuses to take in more calories than I know I should be doing?  

I don't think it was overconfidence this week... I had a feeling I'd be gaining weight which is why I weighed myself on Friday.  But is my body resisting that three pound drop I made a couple weeks back?  I don't know.

What I do know, and what I've said before, the excel sheet and tracking my progress every week is the greatest change I made in this go around for losing weight.  The absolute hardest thing about losing weight is to maintain motivation.  It often times takes a support system, and encouragement, or a gym partner, or a personal trainer.  My support system in this process is very minimal.  It's pretty much myself, believing I have the ability and understanding my goal is attainable.  Motivating yourself is a hard, hard thing, and that's where the excel sheet is coming in.

It's been over six months!!!  Half a year.  Progress is slow.  It's going up and down, and especially because I was able to lose 30 pounds in three months before, it makes it seem all the more slower.  But being able to remind myself of my actual progress.  Of being able to see those patterns in my results.  And being able to see when I need to give myself a good kick.  Those are incredibly beneficial things I'm gaining from simply plotting my progress.  

The downward trend is an unspoken pep talk, the jumps in weight are those occasional scoldings I need, and the impartial nature of it allows me to believe what its saying, rather than resisting encouragement because it isn't capable of softening its response cause it doesn't want to hurt my feelings.  It tells me how it is, and not what it thinks I should hear or what it thinks I want to hear.

Weigh-in Week 26

The Numbers

Starting Weight: 216.8
Weight Last Week: 204.0
Weight This Week: 204.0
Loss This Week: 0.0
Total Weight Loss: 12.8
Pounds Still to Go: 19.0
Trendline Estimate: 203.5

There we go. 204 still. No gain, no loss. But that's great! I started work training for the Census this past week, and for sitting around for about 8 hours a day for three days... it made me hungry. I was afraid I was going to see a gain in weight when I stepped on that scale today. And that was after I was already wary that I might gain some weight because I just lost over 3 pounds the previous week. I knew it was something I was afraid of happening, and still I felt like I ate more than I wanted and would see a gain in weight.

But it turns out that while I didn't meet the goal of losing 1.8 out pounds like I said I wanted to last week, I did meet my first condition of at least not gaining anything. I'm happy with that. No regrets. I still want to drop below 200, and beyond, by my birthday, but this week I can put in the win column.