WEEK 4 WEIGH-IN

When No Weight Loss News Is Good Weight Loss News

I dodged a bullet this week, and learned some lessons.

Ever have “one of those days”?

I sure do. Not as often as I used to, but this past Sunday was one of those days for me. A day when I just couldn’t find my on switch. When my battery was drained. When for the life of me, I could not get up and go.

So I chose to give myself permission to not get up and go.

I set aside all plans to accomplish anything for the day. I told the kids it could be a full-on do-whatever-you-want day (they were just fine with that).

And what did I want to do? Apparently I wanted to sprawl on the basement couch, watch six episodes of Love Is Blind… and eat whatever.

And by “whatever,” I really mean whatever. Random handfuls of nuts and chocolate-covered almonds, plates of cheese and crackers, a bowl of ice cream.

So you can imagine that I was expecting bad news when I stepped on the scale this morning. It was the price I was willing to pay for a day spent recharging my battery.

But guess what happened instead?

No news.

I did not lose any weight this past week, but I also did not gain.

I don’t know why. I deserved to gain. Historically, a day of eating like that has resulted in a two- or three-pound uptick on the scale. But for whatever reason, that didn’t happen.

Phew. And also, thank you, Fitness Universe, for giving me the mulligan I desperately needed.

But do I think that gives me free rein to stuff handfuls of chocolate almonds in my mouth every Sunday?

Nope. Not at all.

What I think is that I got lucky this time around.

And also that there’s an opportunity here to think about why I woke up on Sunday with cement blocks on my feet.

Why did I feel so run down? And what can I do to prevent the feeling from recurring?

A few quick thoughts on the matter:

• I have a tendency to make impossibly long to-do lists and go hard from Monday to Saturday afternoon; the result is very often burnout
• I had been procrastinating on a significant personal project, and I know that procrastination drains my energy (I have since given myself a longer deadline on the project)
• My body was sore from not stretching properly after a vigorous workout on Friday night
• I had stayed up too late for a couple of nights in a row, and still woke up at my usual worm-catching time of 5am or so. In short, I don’t sleep enough
• When I get tired and run down, I crave sugar. It is therefore in my best interest to avoid getting tired and run down

Of course, it’s okay to take the occasional day to do nothing and eat whatever. It’s clear to me that I needed it.

I just don’t want to do it too often, and, as I say, I’m grateful that the scale was forgiving this morning.

I don’t expect the same kind of grace on an ongoing basis.

Lesson(s) learned, and I’m prioritizing balance between productivity and rest this week.

Week Four Progress Report

• Pounds lost this week: 0.0
• Net loss: 3.0 pounds
• Pounds to go by August 31, 2024: 27

Thanks so much for reading, everyone. Please stay tuned for my regular Tuesday updates.