Week #4 Weigh-In September 20, 2014

8/24/14 Starting Weight: 347.8 lbs

 

Last Weigh-in: 333.6 lbs

Current Weight: 329.4 lbs

Period Weight Loss: 4.2 lbs

Total Weight Loss: 18.4 lbs

  

 

I woke up this morning feeling like a kid on Christmas morning!  Last week I made a promise to myself to stay off the scale all week long.  I kept that promise (Small Victory #16) and this morning I was excited to see how my efforts paid off.  Another 4.2 pounds lost.  That number works for me.  It's a fair number and I feel liked I've earned every bit of it.

Today's weigh-in puts me at 18.4 pounds in the first month.  Any month that you lose more than 18 pounds is a good one in my book!  This has been a great start.  What has me even more excited is that I am doing so well (on the scale) and I still have room for improvement. 
 
More important, though, is just how I feel.  After a month of transformation effort I can say I feel great.  It doesn't feel like I'm wading through quicksand like past efforts have felt.  It also doesn't feel like I'm burning out; another problem I've run into on some past efforts.
 
An Important Part About Blogging - Helping to Gain Perspective:
 
Normally I post some highlights and lowlights with my weigh-in, but this week I gained a little perspective that I would like to share...
 
On both my restarts I was tempted to wipe everything out and start all over.  On both occasions I chose not to and I'm glad I didn't.  It's part of my entire journey and although my path has gone astray many times, it still offers me perspective and learning. 
 
Today is a great example of gaining some more perspective.  If you go back into my archives you would see that one day my best friend and I started a 30 day weight loss challenge.  I put everything into that challenge and ultimately I lost 17.2 pounds.  The posting of the results to that challenge also coincided with my last blog entry in 2010.  By the end I had become so burned out that I just simply collapsed beck into bad eating habits.  With that came some weight gain followed by hiding from the blogging world because I was so ashamed.
 
Compare those 30 days to my last, where I have felt inspired to be healthy.  I haven't forced myself to suffer all to see a number on a scale.  Instead of counting down the days "till this challenge is over" I'm looking forward to finding ways to enjoy my life as my health begins to improve. Instead of feeling deprived of something I'm questioning why I felt I needed it in the first place.  The focus is clearly much more mental than it is about the physical.  Most people think that if they lose weight it will make them happy.  I wrote an article about this some time ago (original post here), and now I'm beginning to believe it... you don't need to lose weight to be happy, you need to be happy in order to lose weight.
 
In my 30 Day Weight Loss Challenge I suffered through the whole experience.  I was miserable and couldn't wait for it to end.  Ultimately it contributed to me stopping my transformation because I was so burned out.  My reward for those 30 days was the number 17.2.
 
In my last 30 days I have enjoyed my life.  I've discovered some things about me and I haven't felt deprived in anyway.  I have more room to grow and I'm excited to see what the next 30 days brings me.  My reward for the last 30 days was the number 18.4. 

How's that for a little perspective?
 
Stay Strong!
-FogDog

 

 

[Photo: Flickr / Timothy Krause]