Deviations: Payin' The Piper

The culprit? If you don't measure, yes!

Well, let's see. How does Melissa feel today? Grrrr. I can't seem to budge off of a morning weigh-in of 171 lbs. and I feel like I've been here for weeks. Has it been that long? Who the heck knows. On the one hand, I'm certainly in that "new normal" range I set for myself of 168 - 172 lbs. (Morning weigh in, not clinic weigh in, which is in the afternoon.) Roughly 10 lbs. over goal. But it's no secret everyone -- I want that scale moving down, just as it did when I was Optifasting. Every week, down, on average, 2.2 lbs.

I'm not going to kid myself. I even caught myself yesterday fantasizing about Optifasting again, even though I know deep down that's not an option for me because I know how to maintain, I am maintaining, and frankly I'm very happy with my current eating schedule. But the fantasy is alive and well. So "grrrrr" some more.

Let's look at this straight up: Medicine adjustments automatically put 5 lbs. on me. That took me up to 165 lbs. I believe it would be extremely difficult if not completely impossible to take that off without Optifast, or some similar very low calorie diet. So what we are really talking about here is shedding about 5 lbs. Five stupid pounds.

Now, I'm going to get honest here. My current eating regime has been "adjusted." As you know, I have the oatmeal breakfast; turkey sandwich/cottage cheese/V-8 lunch; apple/cheese stick snack; and dinner I prepare emphasizing fiber, low calorie, low salt. But here's the kicker: I started getting bored with my evening Fiber One concoction, so I've started having a bowl of Shredded Wheat and Bran with skim milk. Sometimes two bowls. I do not measure it. And then before bed, I have a Fiber One protein bar. Oops. Might this explain part of the 5 pound weight gain? Sigh.  

So we are left with the following conclusion: This current eating pattern and my exercise of walking 1-2 miles a day keeps me in my "new normal" range. Period. I know for a fact I am not going to go back to eating those sparse dinners. Forget about that. That may have kept me closer to 165 lbs., but believe me, I was suffering emotionally. I also know that if my history is correct, I will naturally shed some weight come December and throughout the winter months. So if I am on some "plateau," I won't be here forever.

But there is some room here for improvement. Specifically, the night eating of Shredded Wheat and Fiber One Protein bars. Me thinks I am going down a slippery slope...I am going to try to "tighten up" this week and see what happens. I ran water over the Shredded Wheat. Haven't ditched the Fiber One bars yet. Maintenance. Grrrrrrrrrrr. I don't like you today!