Weight Loss Update

Just a quick note to let everyone know how we are doing on our weight loss.

I finally reached the 50 pounds lost marker this week after struggling with no weight loss for three solid weeks. Gary was continuing to loose every week, while I was stuck, and even gaining a few ounces one week. I tried not to be too hard on myself as I was unable to exercise much due to a fall on some slippery steps and I had been fighting a cold. So two weeks were basically shot as far as exercise was concerned. And, no, I did not hurt myself seriously. I badly bruised my tailbone and am VERY lucky I did not break anything. I still can't lay on my back, but I can sit pretty much with no real pain now, so that is progress. The bruise is horrible to look at, but it does feel better everyday.

So last week, I sat down and really looked at my eating journal and felt like I had been a little too lenient in some of the foods I had been eating over the past two weeks. Maybe I felt I was entitled because I was injured, but I really didn't want to waste all our hard work on that. So I was very diligent about not going over my Weight Watchers points each day and was able to get a good long three mile walk in on one day and I was rewarded with a 6 lb. weight loss. I wonder if some of the weight had been due to water retention or swelling of my lower back as I haven't had that much of a weight loss in one week since the beginning of the program. Regardless, I am happy I reached my 50 pound loss goal a full two months before my goal. The next 50 pounds are going to be a lot more difficult, but I am up to the challenge.

I guess the point of this post is to not get yourself down when you have hit that plateau. It's important to realize that you can maintain your weight during those times and not really gain any. That in itself is a great accomplishment and we shouldn't take it lightly. Because you are still in a weight loss mode, does not mean you have failed if you stay at the same weight for a few weeks. Muscle weighs more than fat, so it could be that you are gaining muscle. Water retention is a possibility for women, especially. Hormones have a huge impact on your weight, which is why it's so much harder for women than men. The fact that I weigh 63 pounds lighter than I did this time last year makes me very happy (we both lost 13 pounds before officially starting Weight Watchers on November 1, 2008).