I forgot to mention one change; I have now become the go to person for most of my friends about anything concerning health and weight loss. Now, I will not claim to know everything there is about health, in fact I openly admit that there is A LOT I don’t know, but I will say I DO know how hard it is. The most recent conversation I had about weight loss was about plateaus. My friend asked if I ever had a week when I didn’t lose. I quickly replied, “Girl, I’ve had weeks when I have gained!!!” She looked at me with a bit of disbelief and responded “Really??? How did you keep going?” My response went something like the following:
Well, it wasn’t easy, especially the first time it happened. I had been soooo good, hadn’t deviated at all and I went up a pound. I’m pretty sure I bawled. Jan (my consultant) explained that there were a lot of reasons why our weight might fluctuate. Water retention is the main reason that I fluctuate and there are a million reasons why we retain water; Injuries, change in barometric pressure, stress, lack of sleep, starting a new exercise regimen, illness, the list goes on and on. So on days when my water weight was up we would measure. I ALWAYS saw a drop in inches and that would keep me going.
After a while I got really irritated with my waters affecting my weight. I started getting extremely frustrated, and the inches just weren’t having as much of a redeeming quality so I had to do some major soul searching. Upon a lot of introspection, I came to a realization; weight loss isn’t just about weight loss. (At this point my friend looked at me like I had lost my mind, so I continued) What were the benefits to losing weight? Was it just so the scale would show a smaller number? Not for me. I had decided to lose weight for many reasons and the fact that I wouldn’t have to lie on my driver’s license was NOT one of them. Here is my list: Better health, feel better, have more energy, improve self- confidence, decrease pain levels, wear a smaller size, to never hear “you have such a pretty face” EVER again. None of those reasons have anything to do with the number on the scale.
Please, don’t get me wrong, the scale is a crucial part of this journey. It is a wonderful tool to show progress. Do I love being able to say that I have lost almost 100 lbs??? YOU BET I DO, wouldn’t you? But I love having more energy, wearing a smaller size than I did in High School, feeling more confident, living a healthy lifestyle and all the other wonderful benefits even more.
So, the next time you feel like giving up. When you have done perfect all week and that scale doesn’t reward your hard work with a lower number, PLEASE remember the scale is only one factor in this journey. Don’t give up because you are reaping many more benefits. That scale will be kinder next week.
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