Confessions of a Veteran Dieter

It’s called the Stomach Virus Diet. After two days of eating nothing yet still finding something to expel from my body (at least only one time it was out the mouth — sorry for the gross image), the scale says I’ve lost 10 more pounds — putting me at a grand total of 20. Now, the logical side of me says, “It’s all water weight. You’re gonna eat a salad tomorrow and gain it all back.” But the irrational side of my is jumping up and down like a crack addict who hit the motherload of all fixes yelling, “Ohmigod! Twenty pounds!”

Next week is the PMS/Monthly Visitor Week, and that didn’t bode well for weighing last month, so we’re not going to try that this month.

Therefore, after weighing this morning, I handed Hubby our bathroom scales and asked him to hide them for two weeks. He looked at me funny at first. Then I told him, “Because I know I’m going to weigh myself every morning to see if that 20 pounds is still gone, and when it starts creeping back up, I’m going to get frustrated. And next week is time for the monthly visitor.”

Without another word, he took the scales from my hands. I don’t even know where he went because I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

I’ve never been a belt wearer. I figure, my jeans were tight enough without one, and god knows I’m not tucking my shirt in so any one can see a belt — why wear one?

Well, now I have a need for one. I haven’t had a wardrobe malfunction yet, but some of my jeans are getting rather loose — to the point where they need to be adjusted if I’m lounging on the couch or the bed in them.

I also noticed this morning that my favorite pink shirt fits even better than the last time I wore it. It’s a simple button-down stretch shirt (gawd, I’d just LOVE to kiss the person responsible for weaving lycra into jeans and dress shirts and pants and everything else!), and when I first wore it, it was just slightly snug around the belly. Ladies, those of you who are thick in the middle know what I’m talking about. Shirts that sort of cling to that bulge that hangs over our jeans. Well, this morning, there was no clinging. My shirt now hands bulge-free. Well, not counting my boobs, of course.

Of course, I’m still not tucking my shirt in yet!

First off, I’d just like to say how I looooove my digital scale. Why? Because it give half-pounds.

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that the morning a couple of weeks ago when I weighed and the scale said I had lost a total of 11 pounds (after weighing the previous morning and  it said I had lost a total of 8 pounds) was a fluke. It was water weight; it was something other than true weight loss.

So this morning I am at 10.5 pounds gone. Doesn’t that sound so much better than just 10?

All in all, I’ve set out to do what I wanted to do in the month. I’ve exercised three to five pounds a week. I’ve kept my calorie intake inline with what’s on SelfDietClub.com. And I’ve lost ten pounds.

So now that I’m in month two, I’d like to lose another ten pounds. This past week I wasn’t an angel when it came to food, but I didn’t totally gorge either. So I’ll be approaching next week with renewed focus on my meal plan. Exercise is a no-brainer. I just get up and do it. Meals take more planning, so I’ll be spending some time this weekend evaluating what those meals need to be this week.

I shouldn’t have weighed today, but I did because I’ve been so good. Nothing. It’s still saying that my total pounds lost is 9 instead of the 11 from almost two weeks ago.

I feel like throwing the scales out the window. I know, I probably shouldn’t weight at all, but different “experts” say different things (isn’t that always the case?). Some say you should weigh everyday. Some say once a week. Some say never; just let your clothes be the judge. While some outfits do fit better, it’s not as much as I’d like.

All I think is that I’ve hit a slow spot, but I thought that would come later — like maybe after the first 20 or 30 pounds, not the first 10!

It’s just so freakin’ frustrating.

Wow, it’s hard to believe I’m up to week three now! Despite my best efforts this week — exercising FIVE mornings in a row, even when the monthly visitor showed up, and eating responsibly — I haven’t lost anymore pounds. In fact, the scale has been saying I’ve gained anywhere from 2-5 pounds!

But I’m trying (hard!) not to get discouraged. The whole monthly thing could be adding some bloatage (not a technical term, I know ), and a couple of people have suggested that even though I’m mainly doing cardio right now, I could have built up a little muscle and that, of course, weighs more.

So I’m focusing on the good stuff I’ve done this week and trying (hard!) not to think about what the scale is saying.