This was a hard week. Nothing was really different this week. Nothing bad happened. It was actually a pretty good week, besides what the scale told me, which made it a frustrating week. At the beginning of this week the scale went up a pound. The next day, the same thing. I came close to hitting 220 lbs at one point. It was frustrating to say the least.
A week like this, in the past would have most definitely discouraged me to the point of giving up. Well I haven’t given up. Those negative thoughts were present though. The feeling like this is impossible, I’m just destined to be overweight, its just who I am. I know this isn’t true, but it really feels that way when the scale is going the wrong way.
So what happened, why did the weight go back up? Well, one thing, I’ve been focused on the weight. I know the weight isn’t the goal, but it is a pretty easy way to measure my success and it is obviously important to me to loose the weight. Actually, a recent article on Mercola.com stated that “healthy obesity does NOT exist.” So losing the weight is part of pursuing health, but as I’ve said before, my focus really needs to be on pursuing health. When I focus on the weight I end up getting discouraged and thinking that I simply can not eat anything if I want to drop weight.
There was obviously more that went wrong this week than just that. I didn’t cheat the diet, but at the same time didn’t necessarily choose the healthiest foods allowed either. For example, I had made a sugar free cheesecake for my birthday the week before, which lasted well into this past week. After that was gone we tested out our new ice cream maker, again sugar free. The sweet cravings were stronger this past week then they have been the whole diet so far. My assumption is that the dessert a few nights in a row on top of not the best choices for my meals, such as more meat and cheese than usual and less vegetables and salads are what lead to those pounds coming back. I could be completely wrong, but its my best guess.
Anyway, I was able to re-group and get focused for the last few days of this past week. So the week wasn’t a complete loss. I was able to recover those pounds and actually drop 1 from the previous week. This, for me was a huge success. Never before with my weight loss attempts have I had such a discouraging few days that I was able to overcome and still have a mini victory as the result. That puts me at 214 lbs. now. This week was definitely a learning experience. I can’t let myself get distracted or complacent when it comes to my diet. I plan on continuing to stay focused and I’m hoping to do better each week. Thanks for reading.
-Dr. Mark
I have been leading people for over a decade on this path. Mark has it hard, because he isn’t in a class. He doesn’t get t see other people’s stories and thus see that he isn’t alone. The reality is that when we do this the right way, we don’t just lose weight like nothing. But we cycle back and forth. Here he is cycling.
One reason why, is commonly inflammation. This diet focuses on sugar, but I give special instructions for some based on inflammation. He pegged it. His use of xylitol is likely causing inflammation, and that means retained water, and decreased cellular function. It will be wise for him to stay away from all dessert for a week, and to hyper load the veggies, and stay off the dairy completely.
We’ll see if he can heed this advice, and if so, where it takes him.
Be well and Be blessed! – Dr. E