Weight loss

When I stepped on the scale yesterday I was excited to see that I was down to 165 pounds. Throughout the day, though, it occurred to me that I was 167 the last time I weighed in. Therefore, I have only lost 2 pounds. It's been a month since I last weighed.

In a lot of ways I was bummed about only losing 2 pounds. I eat right most of the time, and I exercise as much as I can. Yet, it doesn't seem to be enough. Then I got to thinking. This month we spent a week at my parent's house while we were dog-sitting. We purposely didn't keep to as strict a diet because we knew life was going to be hectic as it was. This month Daniel went out of town with my dad, and they experienced some problems that got them back a day later than expected. I didn't eat well during that time, either. This month has been stressful for student teaching. I haven't gotten in as many days of running as I would like.

Overall, it's been a rough couple of weeks. I've decided to celebrate the 2 pounds of weight loss and be glad the scale is still moving in a downward motion. There are going to be plateaus and bumps in the weight-loss journey. I have to remind myself there were weeks at the gym when the scale didn't move at all, then it would shoot down a pound or two over night. Sure, I would have liked to see a 2 pound weight loss in a week instead of a month, but I have to give myself a break at some point.

I do think that I will be going back to a more strict diet, though. It is so easy to say that I will JUST have this ONE candy or handful of chips. It is really easy to say that I will eat something occasionally. Once again, how is occasionally defined? It's really easy to loose perspective of "occasionally." So, starting today I will be staying away from sodas, juice, and alcohol drinks. I won't be drinking calories. It's too easy to lose track of what is being consumed when it's in liquid form. Just dropping those calories should be enough to get the scale moving again.