Making sense of weeks that don't make sense

Two weeks ago, I had an okay week.  I worked out hard, but my food choices were only so-so.  There were a few too many indulgences, and I was very lazy about measuring my portions.   Lo and behold, I lost 3 lbs that week.  Odd.

Last week, I was hit with a yucky stomach bug.  For three days I had nothing but water, hot tea, and a handful of pretzel rods.   When I started feeling a bit better, my eating resumed as normal.   When I weighed in on Tuesday night, I was down .3lbs. 

Excuse me?
And a hearty WTF?! for good measure.
I didn't eat for three days and didn't even lose a pound.

And here for me is one of THE biggest challenges in my weight loss journey.

How do I deal with  weeks when the scale does not reflect reality?  How do I not get discouraged when the scale doesn't confirm the good things I've done, or perhaps more detrimental in the long run,  the mistakes I've made?

First of all, I am VERY glad that I did not lose the 4-5lbs I expected to lose after being sick.  I knew that wouldn't be a real and lasting weight loss, and I would just be worried about not showing a big gain the following week.   On the other hand, I can not figure out how it is humanly possible that I weighed (nearly) the same at the end of the week that I did at the beginning. 

But what about those weeks when you are just a weight loss star?  Killing it at the gym.   Avoiding temptation at every turn.   Filling yourself with reasonable portions of healthy, whole foods.   Then you take to the scale and......

That hurts!  And it's confusing, and  makes you second guess EVERYTHING.  What am I doing wrong?  And if you are like me there is that thought...."Well Eff It All!  If I'm going to work so hard and lose nothing/only x, then I might as well eat those Oreos/Doritos/cake/chips."  That thought can easily turn into a very destructive course that can derail you from your goals.

But what about those other weeks?  The weeks where you're a bit off - eating bigger portions and more indulgent snacks, having a few drinks with friends, not working out as much, sneaking some of the kids' leftovers after dinner and....Bam! You actually lose weight.

Honestly, I think these are the hardest weeks for me.

Oh, don't get me wrong! They feel GREAT when they happen,  kind of like winning a little weight loss lottery.

But these happy surprises can also bring their own destructive thoughts:  Hmmmm, maybe I don't have to work quite so hard? Maybe I can cheat a little bit more and still lose?  And the unspoken mental game I start playing with myself...How far can I push this and still lose/not gain?

When I give in to these thoughts the outcome is always the same - push it a little more each week and then eventually stop losing and start gaining.  And that brings me right back to the whole  "Well Eff It All!" line of thinking and licking the double stuff off a whole box of Oreos. Or standing over the kitchen sink stuffing Doritos in my mouth so quickly that I'm actually poking myself with the sharp edges (truth).

This is bad, my friends.  Bad, bad, bad!!


Ideally, effort would always equal results on the scale. It is so easy to be discouraged if that number is surprising, inexplicable, frustrating or otherwise wacky. 

Maybe you had too much sodium?
Maybe you didn't have enough water?
Maybe the body gonna do what the body gonna do?



Don't let that number get in your head.  Let it go, and keep moving forward.


You can analyze this stuff to death.  And for those of us with food and weight issues, we probably have.  We've got to stop.

I can say that every time I have failed when trying to lose weight it's been because I 've lost sight of the big picture and let one moment - one failing, one weird weigh-in - have too much sway.


I refuse to do that any more.  I do find weekly weigh-ins important  because of the trends they help me see over time. But a single weigh-in?  Nope! Just like a single high calorie meal or even a weekend foodfest it does NOT mean much in terms of your long term goals.   Every time I convince myself otherwise, it's nothing more than self-sabotage. I've got the power here - not the scale.  Consistent effort will be rewarded.  That is a fact. 

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” ~Robert J Collier

Since that surprising Tuesday number, I am happy to report that I have gone about things as business as usual and have not given in to head games.  I've stayed on target with both eating and working out.  Hopefully, the scale will reflect that next week.  If it doesn't, then I will soldier on until the scale can't ignore my efforts :-)