Balance In All Things Pt 2

The of last couple of weeks have brought with them a series of ups and downs.

I'd developed the habit of weighing myself every morning upon waking, which I began doing about 60 days into this adventure. I did this in large due to info that I'd gleaned from several studies involving people in extreme weight-loss situations. I ignored the conflicting data that suggested doing this wasn't the most healthy practice, and proceeded to bind my perception of my success primarily to the readout on the scale each day.

The trouble with this is that I'd begun to ignore the other physical data that continued to show progress, even when the numbers on the scale seemed to contradict it. A wave of discouragement began to build, and it eventually crashed over me in a way that I wasn't quite prepared to deal with.

I missed a workout here and there, but never stopped. I didn't count calories or macros - even ate some sweets, and had meals after my 5 pm cutoff.  For a period of almost a week I didn't exercise the discipline that has gotten me all of the positive results I've gotten thus far.

I didn't gain any weight.  But I didn't lose any that week, either.  But the most significant thing that happened?

I felt like CRAP.

Physically, my energy level dropped, some of the food cravings I'd eradicated began to return, and my quality of sleep deteriorated. Mentally, I let a lot of nonsense that otherwise wouldn't stress me out really get to me, and I got down on myself for letting it all  happen in the first place.

I never lost sight of the underlying reasons for which I started this journey. And I began to realize that, despite not strictly adhering to the plan that I had in place,  I still made fitness gains during that low point because of the work I'd put in beforehand.

And so, on Monday, I got right back on track. I also made a promise to myself - no more daily weight checks. In fact, I won't step back on the bathroom scale until January 25th, which would signify 4 months in.

Sometimes you've just got to stop for a moment, take a deep breath, and get over yourself.

It's important.