Many thoughts went through my head when I stepped on the scale this week. 176.7? What? A 1.1 pound GAIN? What did I do wrong? Did I workout enough? Did I eat too many calories? Why did I gain weight this week? What is wrong with my scale? Do I need a new one?
I quickly blamed myself, became negative and hard on myself, and put myself down. I felt like such a failure and that I could not possibly write a blog post about my own failure. How could I possibly motivate or encourage anybody with this kind of information?
Just the day before, a friend of mine had posted her own frustrations on Facebook - "I feel like I gained all my weight over night so I feel like I should be able to expect results over night. This long weight loss roller coaster seems never ending. It is quite frustrating to lose 3lbs and then gain 2. This two steps forward one step back thing is for the birds." I had understood so well how she was feeling and quickly gave her an encouraging response (much unlike the very negative response I had given myself.)
I quickly blamed myself, became negative and hard on myself, and put myself down. I felt like such a failure and that I could not possibly write a blog post about my own failure. How could I possibly motivate or encourage anybody with this kind of information?
Just the day before, a friend of mine had posted her own frustrations on Facebook - "I feel like I gained all my weight over night so I feel like I should be able to expect results over night. This long weight loss roller coaster seems never ending. It is quite frustrating to lose 3lbs and then gain 2. This two steps forward one step back thing is for the birds." I had understood so well how she was feeling and quickly gave her an encouraging response (much unlike the very negative response I had given myself.)
I know all to well the battle of 2 steps forward and 1 step back. I can look over my weight loss journey (see chart above) and see so many peaks and valleys. What was it that kept me going when I gained weight? The answer was actually reading through other people's struggles that they had pushed through. I would read weeks or months worth of somebody's blog (usually Mama Laughlin's) and see how they would finally lose weight after continuing their journey through a plateau or even some weight gain. Those posts about the struggles she faced WERE encouraging to me! She faced ups and downs, too, but she made it through and met her goal weight in the end!
I may not like sharing the weight gains and the struggles, but those things just might be what encourages somebody else. It might just help somebody else to stay on their weight loss journey if they see that I am staying on my journey even though I am struggling. So I am here to admit that I DID gain 1.1 pound this week, but that in spite of that, I AM still going to eat healthy and do ALL of my workouts this week!
I still don't know the answers to those questions I had for myself, but I can give myself the encouraging (rather than negative) response that I gave my friend - "Hang in there girl! Trust the process and know that it takes time.... Keep doing what you're doing and the results will follow... Look at the positive!"
So maybe it's not actually a new scale that I need, but a new way of thinking!
I may not like sharing the weight gains and the struggles, but those things just might be what encourages somebody else. It might just help somebody else to stay on their weight loss journey if they see that I am staying on my journey even though I am struggling. So I am here to admit that I DID gain 1.1 pound this week, but that in spite of that, I AM still going to eat healthy and do ALL of my workouts this week!
I still don't know the answers to those questions I had for myself, but I can give myself the encouraging (rather than negative) response that I gave my friend - "Hang in there girl! Trust the process and know that it takes time.... Keep doing what you're doing and the results will follow... Look at the positive!"
So maybe it's not actually a new scale that I need, but a new way of thinking!