If you’ve ever done Weight Watchers, or really any weight loss program for that matter, you know that for every 5 lbs you lose, you’ll probably see your weight fluctuate at least 1 or 2 pounds throughout the week. Am I right?
If you’re like me, that means you weigh yourself every morning and have a total meltdown when you discover that you’ve gained a pound since yesterday.
Pretty much.
Source
Yes. I know. This isn’t healthy. I’m slowly driving myself crazy by weighing myself everyday. But I tell myself, it totally keeps me on track that whole day knowing I have to work THAT MUCH HARDER to make sure the scale goes in the other direction.
I’ve been officially back on Weight Watchers for almost three weeks. You all know this. This is old news. It’s also old news that this like attempt #5,568 to lose the 40+ lbs I gained in college and after (I don’t have any excuse anymore… I graduated almost 6 years ago.) For the first two weeks, my weight went down every week. I was pumped. I could say I had lost almost 7 lbs in the first two weeks and that made me oh so happy.
Tomorrow is weigh-in day. So like every morning, I hopped on the scale to make sure I would be semi close to under last week’s number. HOLY CRAP I WAS UP ALMOST 2 LBS! Yep – pure panic mode. The first thought that went through my head was… I have to lose 2 lbs over night. This is not going to go well.
After panicking, fretting, prepping today’s food, and then talking to Molly (my go-to health guru) and getting a bit of tough love, I came to the conclusion that a) I was literally driving myself insane by checking my weight every day and b) I needed to be stricter when counting points.
Yep – you read that right. I slack about counting points on the weekend. I let Friday (my weigh-in day) be my splurge day, and then I tend to be lazy and not count for the rest of the weekend. I tell myself I’ll watch what I eat/drink and I’ll be okay. Which is never the case. I’m always up on Monday AM instead of down, or the same as Friday.
So for all of my freaking out, I know she’s right. I can’t eat clean and in portions, while counting points for 4 days a week and then just assume I’m doing the right thing for 3 days a week, and expect to see my numbers change. I have to be fully devoted 24/7 in order for this to work. If I stay devoted, the number will go down. If I go off track, the number will go up. It seems so simple. So, time to make some more changes.
So what is my plan of attack?
1. Stop weighing myself daily – it seems so minor, but it’s become part of my routine. My scale is next to me every morning. It’s become a no-brainer to step on it in the morning. THIS HAS TO STOP. Weigh in’s will only be on Monday AM (for a competition at work!) and Friday AM (for weight watchers). That is it.
2. Count points ALL week, not just 4 days - to make WW work, I have to stick with it every day and stop assuming what my points will be during the weekend. It’s Thursday, and I’m OVER my points by 16. As in, all of my weekly additional points are gone. And I didn’t even finish tracking my food for Friday or Saturday. So yeah, I think it’s time to suck it up and be good about the tracking thing.
3. Fit the gym in – this has been the biggest struggle. Not because I don’t enjoy working out, but because I’m lazy. I should get out of bed in the AM and hit the gym with friends. But I like to sleep until 7. So if I sleep in, I should go after work… but then it’s just to damn crowded. So starting Monday, the gym or some form of exercise, will be making a regular appearance in my life again.
Needless to say, when I don’t track points, I’m only hurting myself. No one else cares whether I track or not throughout the weekend. They aren’t going to stop me before I devour 4 slices of pizza and say ‘Did you track that yet?’ (Although maybe someone should!).
So tomorrow, I’m preparing myself for the upside of Weight Watchers (and not the fun upside when you lose weight, but the side where you’ve gained a pound!) knowing that tomorrow is also the start of a new ‘week’ and I’ll just rock it next week.
