mumma8082 Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 I knew this would be the biggest challenge for me and it is. I have been 100% compliant with my food, and I did hide my scale, but I decided I wanted to know how well I was doing. I know, I know that is whacked logic for this plan but a carryover from decades of dieting. So what happened? I stepped on that *!!!** scale and I had lost only one pound. I can't tell you how that affected me emotionally. I really thought I was immune to it because previously I weighed myself several times a day (yes, you read that correctly). But I was SO, SO, SO wrong. I am now second guessing everything I have eaten and of course, want to eat less fat and protein. For just a bit of background, I am 56 years old, about 100 pounds overweight, have been a professional dieter for the past 40 years and have been a yo-yo over and over and over. So I know I have a lifetime of healing to do but of course am impatient. I will re-focus on all of the benefits of this way of eating and have banished my scale back to it's hiding place not to see the light of day for a long time. This was a hard, but good lesson for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFChris Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 Tough lesson, indeed. It's a mind-shift to focus first on how you're feeling vs. the numbers on a scale. 15 or 30 days isn't going to erase the past 40 years, but think of it as a beginning of a new, healthier relationship with food. You might find this article interesting as well. http://everydaypaleo...addicts-part-2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kb0426 Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 Indeed this was a hard lesson, but I want to thank you for sharing. What you experienced is the very reason people should not weigh themselves. Your lesson serves as a reminder to others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Maryann Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 So, you've been a professional dieter for 40 years, huh? Bet you've lost tons of weight, quickly even, only to gain it back, right? And most likely you analyzed every thing you ate, counted every fat gram, carb, calorie, point, etc., cut out so much that you were constantly hungry and all you could think about was what time is my next meal and what can I eat, right? How's that been working for you so far? I know what you've been doing, because I was that person, too. This is a sea-change for many of us. Basically, you have to step out in blind faith and trust the process. If you try to tweak it to squeeze a few more pounds out of it, you defeat the whole purpose, and you will sabotage yourself the same way you have on every diet you've tried over the last 40 years. Who cares if it's only one pound so far, if it is one pound that is gone for good this time because you are finally learning to eat for your health and not some magic number on the scale? And after that one will come another one, and another one and another one. And as long as you practice the healthy habits you are learning here, they are never coming back, without ever counting or measuring again (except for sizing up your thumb and your palm). It took me several tries to make it stick, and eventually I had to do a Whole100 for the lessons to become part of my life. The hardest part was learning not to view it as a 'diet', but as a way of life. A 'diet' is something you jump on to get a certain result, then jump off and go back to the habits that got you fat in the first place. Trust me, I know this firsthand. A change in lifestyle is something else entirely. Don't be discouraged. You are probably just a ball of systemic inflammation from years of yoyoing. It may take you 30 days or more just to start calming down your body's attempt to protect you from all the bad food over all the years. Many people with a high level of inflammation don't see or feel any weight loss until almost the last few days. It takes that long to calm down the conditioned response your body has developed in reaction to food. Just relax, have fun, enjoy some new recipes, and most importantly, stay away from the scale! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumma8082 Posted June 24, 2013 Author Share Posted June 24, 2013 Thank you all for replying. I really am loving this program and will absolutely stick with it. I know I will need more than 30 days to let my body and mind figure this out. Until then, I am back to enjoying the whole foods and moving ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brat Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I am on Day 17. I too made the same mistake this morning and lost only 3 lbs. Since having my two kids (4 & 2) I am just as over weight except at 28 years old. I have always been a yoyo'er as well but have never been this big. I did it becuase I felt like my belly looked smaller and expected better results. Very disappointing but I'm certainly not giving up now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsRobinson Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I too am a lifelong professional dieter and know how much is bound up in those numbers. But I also know how much they vary. My sketchy scale has given me four different numbers in the last couple of days. I know I am not gaining and losing three to four pounds in a 24 hour period so it is finally getting in my head that this number is a general guide and not an absolute rule of success. I have lost 64 pounds so far. Not a terribly impressive amount of that has been lost in the last couple of months, BUT what I am seeing is a total change in my body. (I have not yet started my Whole 30 but I am already sugar and wheat free, and have been for nine months.) Even with modest shifts in weight over the last few weeks I am seeing appreciable changes in the composition of my body that I have never seen before. More than that, I have eliminated a host of other complaints outside of weight issues and feel as energetic as I did in college. That number on the scale will change when it changes, but good things are happening to you EVERY DAY when you eat this way. And you can be assured you are giving your body what it needs. I have 140 more pounds, roughly, to lose but I'm not sweating how long it'll take because I know that I'm taking care of myself every day, not stressing and starving myself or poisoning myself like I used to. I think we lifetime dieters have bought the fantasy of the 'fabulous endpoint' and keep thinking there will be some sort of magical day where our bodies are transformed into what they always should have been. My reality at present is a body which carries some very curious battle scars from being 200 pounds overweight that I'm just going to have to live with. I'm not going to walk into my 25th class reunion like Olivia Newton John at the end of Grease. But I might climb a few mountains this summer, BECAUSE I CAN. And that beats black satin hot pants any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Maryann Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson! (Sorry. Couldn't help myself.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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