Losing 20 Pounds/Update Week #2
I feel really great about last week. Week one was difficult, I battled some major junk food cravings, but week 2 went smoothly. I didn’t really have any unhealthy cravings, I focused on trying to drink water and worked out on the days that I had time. Honestly, I feel with the strides I made last week, I should have seen a lot of movement on the scale but I didn’t.
I’m kind of glad I didn’t because I really want to show ya’ll the tricks the scale can play. You see the above picture. Obviously there are little changes in each photo from week to week and as you look through the photos on this page, it’s clear to see that I’m headed in the right direction. BUT if the scale was the only tool I was using to measure progress, I’d be so disappointed right now!
I don’t know about you, but when I get within 20 pounds of my goal, scale changes are minimal week to week. When I had over 100 pounds to lose, I had weeks where I’d lose 6 pounds. Things change when you have little to lose and you’re working out. It’s important to not give the scale power over your actions.
Working out puts stress on the body and it can cause you to retain water and sodium. If you are just starting to workout and you’re not seeing the scale change, I wrote a blog post about it! CLICK HERE!
The fact of the matter is that when you embark on a journey like this, your #1 goal cannot be weight loss because what happens when you don’t lose any weight? I know for me, I’d get discouraged and feel like “what’s the use?” This feeling usually leading me to revert to my old patterns of behavior which were not healthy.
My mindset had to change. I had to want to change for other reasons and accept that if it didn’t lead to weight loss, it was okay. I had to trust the process and focus on the positives, more energy, more stamina, clothing fit more comfortably, my skin looked better, my depression began to fade, and I had more motivation.
The number on the scale is just a number. Sometimes it’s a motivating gauge of progress, other times, it’s not. I am only weighing myself right now to show ya’ll that weight loss is not the be all end all.
There are so many other ways to measure progress; use photos, use inches, or don’t use any of those things at all! You know yourself best. If these gauges are more of a hinderance than a motivator, there’s no need to use them at all.
After all, does it really matter what the numbers say as long as we’re taking care of ourselves and feeling good?
I will continue to take and show ya’ll my numbers because I feel it’s important for you to see that I’m not some magical unicorn who can drop weight at the snap of my fingers. I go through ups and downs and the scale reacts in ways that I feel like it shouldn’t too.
On February 25, 2019, when I launched back into this thing, I was 152.2 pounds. You can read about that in my first post, click here! Here is last week’s progress:
- Monday 149.8
- Tuesday 149.2
- Wednesday 147.4
- Thursday 147.2
- Friday 147.2
- Saturday 146.8
- Sunday 147.8
- Monday 149.2
If you haven’t read my first post in this series yet, click here!
It just seems like everything is going wrong. I just keep on trying 2/3. Holding onto 30 weight loss and intending for 30 more. Your clean recipes gave me back a belief in myself. So much that I kicked caffeine from an all day long strong black Starbucks with a double shot espresso. I reallize now (with your influence) habits can be broken.
Yes, they can and even if we revert back to old habits we do not have to stay there. It’s definitely a journey, not a destination. Thank you so much for sharing your story Jeanie! You’ve got this!
How do I get on board, I need some help.. 🙁 I j just don’t know how to begin sometimes. eeeek!
Another great post! I remember when in my weight loss journey the”scale got stuck.” I got kind of stubborn and dug my heels in to see if maybe I had a magic body that would not lose weight even if I kept at it. I kept at it and the weight WENT. Now I still weigh in everyday because it is good to see how much it can go up and down each day AND I like to stay on top of things before I have too much weight to lose..again.
These pictures are so inspiring. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought you’d lost 10 pounds in the last 2 weeks. Thank you so much for being so open and honest!
This is why I always weigh myself on Fridays!! I never weigh myself on Monday 😂 It just made me laugh to see that with your numbers and feels good to know I’m not the only one who enjoys the weekend… sometimes a little too much! Haha Thanks for all you do! You’re always the one I go to for inspiration and realness. 🙂