Weight Loss #8: The Thrill of the First Results – A Roadblock All On Its Own

You've lost some pounds. That's good, right? Well, maybe...

It has finally happened. You were able to fight into a smaller size, and it’s not even spandex! You’re on top of the world and you feel as if you can do anything. You know that if you can discipline yourself in weight loss, then you can be consistent enough in everything else.

Well, that’s until you and your friends had a celebratory dinner. You figured, “I’ve lost some weight, what’s one more slice of tiramisu?” or, “Surely, having mashed potatoes instead of the wheat bread would be fine! I can burn it off tomorrow!” The following day, you decided to lounge around and relax for a while. You can hit the dance studio tomorrow. You can brisk walk later. What’s one more cookie, anyway? And you reach for another, and another.

Before you know it, you’ve gained back the pounds you’ve lost in just three days. Doesn’t it just get you down that it took you a month to lose those pounds, and here you are, wiggling your way back into your stretch pants once again?

This cycle goes on and on – and you’ve heard what it’s called – the yo-yo.

Seeing the initial results is worrying because it can go either way. It COULD make you more motivated and stay the course OR lull you into a false sense of security. Oftentimes, it’s not the diet, nor the weight loss activities that we get wrong – it’s the timeframe. If, let’s say, you’re about sixty pounds overweight (or more), give yourself a timeframe of one year (possibly longer) to get to your ideal weight. Stick it into your head so that even if you see that you are losing weight, it’ll just be an incentive for you to go on and not give you a reason to slack off. In other words, pick a weight loss number (in pounds!) and stick to it no matter what.

I try not to be stickler to so many rules. There are those who will say that you should weigh yourself daily. There are those who will say that you should weigh yourself weekly. For my part, I realized that I should never make these numbers the sole factor in determining my mood. I weighed myself twice a month. That way, seeing all those pounds dropped off were such a pleasant surprise. I also found it frustrating when I weighed myself daily. Our weight is bound to yo-yo as our body adjusts and so one day you might be lighter, the other, heavier.

And notice how your clothes will become looser. Regardless of what the scale says, if they’re coming loose, you’re back in town! Whip out that measuring tape and see if you’ve lost an inch from your belly. If you have, you’re on the right track with your health!

In a lot of ways, going through the scenario I described above is also a good experience. It shocks the hell out of you so much that you realize that there’s no turning back. You’ve come out of that depressing, miserable, I’m-so-fat emotional state. Would you really want to return there? Here’s to realizing that, yes, it is true – it’s easier to gain weight than to lose it!