Week 11 Weigh-in

Yaaay!  A drop, a palpable drop.

Not a huge one so don't get excited but a "proper" drop nonetheless.  Yes, today I stepped on the scales (slightly gingerly as usual) to see 14.7.8 lbs flash up.  That is a drop of 1.2 lbs and leaves me a tantalising 0.2 lbs off my stone off.

Okay, so I was a little lighter than that a few days ago before Saturday's excesses kicked in, but, I didn't ping back to a STS  and I have had a drop.......finally!

My cyber dieting pal Caroline has been chatting to me via email last week (and I've mostly been too busy to send back proper replies).  In one of her emails, she was musing over the difficulty of dieting in a slow and gradual way.  That, when you're barely dieting, the problem is that you barely drop weight as well. There is no leeway and one bad (or good) time can cancel out a big chunk of the small drops you have achieved over several weeks.

Well, that is true to a point but I think the trick is to find the balance.  The point when, although you're not DIETING as such, you are also not PRETENDING to diet.  I've done that in the past;  seized on the few items which I've cut out to "prove" that I'm dieting but not noticed all the other goodies which are sneaking in.  Then, shocker, I've been surprised and letdown when I haven't dropped any blubber.

This time, I am genuinely sticking to a plan 90% of the time.  Okay, the plan is quite relaxed but I am sticking to it.   I have had the cold showers, the black coffees, the morning exercise and the 3 hours' wait before my first meal almost every day for 11 weeks (cold shower EVERY day).  I've substituted salads and soups for sandwiches and jacket spuds nearly every lunchtime.  I've cut back on booze, really, okay not on Saturday nights in the run-up to Christmas....  I've hardly snacked at all and, even when the odd snack has been taken, it has been a lot smaller than previously.  For example I have discovered (very belatedly at 43!) that ONE biscuit can do the trick!!  Who knew?

And the proof of the pudding is in the metaphorical eating - I have slowly but surely dropped (almost) a stone and I have not gained weight once during that time.  I'm wearing jeans today (I'm working from home) which were tight a couple of months ago and are now almost dropping off me.  I am back to exercising regularly and I approach food and drink in a markedly different way.  I am starting to be able to say "no" without feeling sulky and deprived and as though I'm missing out; it's just one of those things.

I genuinely have no idea why, this time, out of all the other attempts, it seems to have clicked.  I feel a bit scared and presumptuous even saying that after all the false starts.  But 11 weeks of slow and steady progress with no setbacks worse than a STS is a good indicator that it has clicked, isn't it??

I've achieved quicker progress on other diets, of course I have.  Lighter Life, Slimming World, Atkins, even Weightwatchers (once).  But then, the mindset was different and I was putting my life on hold while I self-consciously dieted with a view to dropping weight and then going "back to normal". 

This IS normal and it's working.

So, with fingers crossed and nothing taken for granted, I'm going to keep on keeping on.