A Cycle Emerging

Good evening dear readers and my apologies for the absence of posts for the past week. I've been terribly busy getting ready for the California trip (we leave in four days). Things were also very stressful at work, but everything is winding down now so I'm more relaxed on that front. So now a brief "Melissa Maintenance Update"!

Well, my plan to keep away from the scale until my weigh in at the clinic in two days isn't going too well. I hopped on the scale four days ago, after eating pizza, and saw that my weight "rose" about 6 lbs from my "comfort weight range" (155 - 160 lbs.). But no, I did not freak out this time. I am getting wiser. I have learned my body is very sensitive to extra sodium, and this type of "gain" is water retention. By this morning, I was down 3 pounds, and more loss will follow. So in two days (Wednesday) I should be back, more or less, around my morning weigh-in of 159 lbs. last Wednesday.

In a nutshell, my cycle/pattern is pretty much this: Be at comfort weight mid-week; loosen up the reins a little bit and take in more sodium; see an increase in weight; the weight starts coming back down in about 5 days; and to supplement/facilitate this I tighten things back up with a high-fiber/lower sodium diet. Now, for me it is more than just seeing my daily weight number rise and fall through a tracker. I needed to understand how the pattern came to be, why it is the way it is, what dietary steps are needed to keep this cycle I have now intact. To calm down my anxieties, I need this added information, these specifics. Millie has provided all of this, and I'm so grateful. I sleep easier at night.

I was very proud of my ability to go a week without weighing, but this past week I felt I "had" to see. I don't like that, because, as you know, the swings in weight got me very upset in the past. I guess the takeaway is I am optimistic that as these weeks continue on, and now that I am getting closer to mastering my cycle, I will get more comfortable to begin distancing myself again from the scale -- just doing the weekly weigh in at the clinic. I just need to trust myself more. That takes time, particularly when I used to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and just shut out the fact I was obese and unhealthy.

I see positive things for me on the horizon. Heck, positive things have been happening throughout my entire Optifast journey! I'm going to try not to fret too much. Life's too short for that. So with all this said, bring on California. Westward ho!