Meg’s Diet Dispatch: Four Weeks and Six Pounds Gone

I'm one month in to my weight loss plan, and I am really starting to see some actual PROGRESS. I've lost six pounds in the past four weeks--and if I am being 100 here (and I always am with y'all), I've technically lost six pounds in the past two and a half weeks. I know six isn't a huge number, but it's a step in the right direction; everything I've read about weight loss so far suggests that slow progress is the best progress. So... yay me.

Six pounds GONE. That's awesome, right? I felt like a champion this morning. Why? I was getting dressed and grabbed my jeans. I'd just washed them the last night, so I expected to need a shoe horn to get myself into them; I also thought I'd have to do that wiggle/lunge of shame thing to stretch the jeans out so I wouldn't lose all feeling in my lower extremities from ridiculously tight pants. (Don't act like you don't know what I am talking about here--we've all done it!)

I expected a battle, but NOPE: I put the jeans on and zipped them up without even having to suck in my gut. IT WAS A GLORIOUS FEELING.

My journey so far has been tough. In the past month my daughter has had pneumonia. I had bronchitis, and then I had a reaction to my antibiotics that made me feel like I had the worst stomach virus ever. Like, I'll leave it at that. Being sick and caring for a sick child left me exhausted, and I fell back to some old (bad) habits like getting fast food for dinner. After we got over being so sick, I resumed my diet plan.

I've been sticking to it. I'm proud of myself for that! I follow the 80/20 rule. I eat great 80% of the time, and I am allowed to splurge 20% of the time--which worked out well because MILO'S. I've been doing my best to eliminate carbs from my diet, which is easier said than done. Last night I dreamed about toast--just plain old buttered toast. I miss bread. Sigh. I've been able to make a lot of awesome meals, though!

When I get overwhelmed by cravings, I remind myself that eating my feelings caused me to pack on the pounds. I'm not beating myself up about any of this. I don't hate my body--I just want to be healthy again. I think maintaining a healthy body image is part of the package deal.

I also have one more rule: I only weigh in once a week. That's it. I am not getting on the scale every morning and obsessing over a number. Why? It's just a number. Yes, it's my weight, but I have found that weighing myself LESS actually leads to MORE success. If I weigh every day, I might get discouraged more easily--which would lead to giving up all together or consoling myself with Haägen-Daz. If I weigh daily and see a big loss, I may be more tempted to cheat--thinking "I've earned it" and all. So that's that. Four weeks and six pounds down. I think it's a great start!