Day 19: The Dieting Doldrums

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It is a reality that dieting (or as I euphemistically refer to it, "healthy eating") loses its appeal after a while. I mean, nobody likes dieting, but at the beginning, when the pounds come off pretty quickly, there can be a motivating factor. Eat less, and the scale rewards you. It is usually pretty exhilarating for me. After about two weeks (which is where I am now), the weight loss slows down quite a bit, and it turns into a slog. You watch others eating and drinking freely, and you try to stick with your plan, but the rewards from the scale are not as stunning. Not stunning at all, when you realize that after exercising your heart out almost every day and eating healthfully for most if not all meals, you have only lost a pound or even a fraction of a pound, or even gained. 

So, that is where I am now. I was pretty good this weekend. Exercised every day, stuck with healthy eating for the most part, and yet when I weighed myself this morning, I was up a pound from my official weigh-in on Friday. I did eat cheese at the Mena's, which we brought over to mourn the loss of Dr. Steinwald. And I drank a bit of wine. But I didn't go hog wild, truly. (I tracked my eating honestly, and stayed within my calorie allotment all days.) And yesterday, Pete and I went out for breakfast. But while he ordered chicken and waffles, I ordered a lox plate, eating only one-half a bagel, with a meager shmear of cream cheese, but lots of cucumbers, tomatoes, and lox. It couldn't have been more than 400 calories. 

Anyway, it is at this time where "healthy eating" becomes tedious, and you begin to question if it is worth it. It is this time, in particular, where you have to dig down deep and remember what it feels like to fit into ALL your clothes, and what it feels like to see pictures of yourself and not be flabbergasted by your "Degener chin" or poochy tummy. I will stay on this road. But it is frustrating. 

I am happy to have my class at the Y, which is back up and running, and to have the camaraderie of folks on the same path. We can do this!!!

(Picture above is from The Phantom Tollbooth when Milo is stuck in The Doldrums.)

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