8 WEEK CHECK IN

Have faith and be patient are two things I have never been good at especially when it comes to the battle with the scale. This check in is a perfect example.

4 weeks in and I was down 8-ish pounds and I was delighted considering it included traveling for Christmas, New Years and a week business trip in Vegas. When I got back from Vegas I was truly able to focus on my plan and for 2 weeks followed it religiously. I measured each bite and tracked every macro staying within my allotted daily allowances. I worked hard to hit 10,000 steps each day. Since I do not have a scale in my hybrid home, I eagerly awaited my weigh-ins on the weekends.

At the first week, I think I gained a pound. The second week I was still around the same. No loss whatsoever. Totally devastating.

Not gonna lie, that busted my focus. I hate tracking and weighing food so to put in maximum effort for 2 weeks and see nothing, nada, zilch... I definitely thought, fuck it.

I didn't completely blow up the plan but I did stop tracking. I even forgot to take my medications a few of the days in the next 2 weeks. I enjoyed Crumbl with the family on weekend and didn't shy away from temptations here and there.

The first week I was up a smidge but thought it would be far worse considering my lack of effort.

During the next week, Aunt Flo made her visit and I assumed the worst. I was totally preparing to see a massive regain. Would I have gained back all 8?

I held my breath when I stepped on the scale thinking about how my first checkin with the Dr would go later that afternoon and how I would explain my disappointment.

BUT...

Somehow I had lost not only the few pounds I was up but 213.6 was the lowest I have seen on the scale since before I started my Masters program in fall of 2022. And while I thought maybe I was dehydrated or the scale was broken, my Dr weigh in reflected the same and today I was at 213.1 so it is moving in the right direction.

One thing I have been questioning is the caloric intake the Dr assigned me. I have always felt it was low. But I didn't want to question it and wanted to be all in on this program so I tracked to that amount. I still wonder if my body reacted by holding on and when I loosened up it started burning again.

I really don't know. I expressed my thoughts to my Dr and he just reiterated that I should be tracking to the original amount he assigned me. I have never been a rule follower and think I know better so I am really torn on following his plan or taking my foot off the gas just a bit.

I am seeing him for help and in total, I am down about 10 lbs in 8 weeks which is the best I have done since my 45 lb loss from 2019-2021. Oh, he did tell me that the expectation is to lose 8 lbs in 3 months so I am already doing better than the average.

I am also supposed to start weight training 3 days a week. I have been dragging my feet. I still get knee pain and in May started with elbow pain so I have been avoiding weights. Getting old is frustrating.

So for now I will just enjoy this hill and figure out what to do tomorrow.