 I put the words "Weight Loss" into Pixabay's search and this image came up. I went with it because I thought my readers might appreciate him. This post is for those of you who are thinking of starting the New Year doing a weight loss regime. I want to take this opportunity to say – YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. The scale tells you nothing of importance. It doesn’t tell us if you are a good person if you’re talented, and most importantly it does nothing to describe the music in your soul. Increasingly doctors are starting to realize that your BMI (Body Mass Index) is not a good indication of health, especially for women. As I mentioned in a previous post, my own weight loss journey started when I was diagnosed with bone loss and was advised by my doctor to consume 1200 mg of calcium daily. I’m allergic to dairy, and although I take a supplement for 600 mg of calcium (the maximum safe dose.) consuming the remaining 600 mg was a challenge. Eventually, after many allergic hives, I figured that drinking two glasses of soymilk was the most calorie efficient way to go. Fast-forward six months and I were 10 lbs. heavier and none of my clothes fit.  I’m not a great fan of weight loss fads or New Year’s resolutions for that matter, but I have always had success with Weight Watchers. Plus, I needed to figure out how drinking two cups of soymilk would fit into my daily regime.
As I mentioned in my September blog post, I joined Weight Watchers on 19th August 2018. A month later I had lost a total of 3.5 lbs. and I had stalled, which was disheartening considering I stuck to my daily total of 23 points. I used my weekly allotment of 28 points at the weekend, never going over. I religiously weighed myself every Friday morning, hoping the scale had budged just a little. I wanted to have something to show for all my hard work and sacrifice, but it had stopped moving. To make matters worse, I was always hungry, and a hungry me is a cranky me. I seriously thought about giving up. Then one Friday evening I broke down. I ate everything. I didn’t count points. I didn’t work out, and I didn’t stop until Saturday night. I just relaxed, enjoyed the flavors, and the feeling of a full stomach. Come Sunday morning I was ready to get on with counting points and sticking to the Weight Watchers plan. I dreaded my weigh-in the following Friday believing my weekend indulgence would have ruined all my work. Imagine my surprise to discover I had lost 2 lbs. After some researched I discovered I had stumbled onto Cheat Day. This is a concept outlined in a post from Dr. Oz’s blog Cheat on Your Diet and Still Lose Weight Here’s a quote: “Tons of dieting experts agree that you should build in “cheat days” since too much deprivation can actually lead to more cravings, causing you to break from your diet. In addition, going off your diet once in a while stimulates the thyroid gland and can “wake up” your metabolism. Cheating in a sensible way will help steer you toward success in the long-term.” I have now reached my goal. A week before Christmas I was down 10 lbs. I’m not slim, and I most definitely do not weight the same as I did twenty years ago, but I do fit into all my clothes, and that was my goal. If you are planning to diet think about incorporating a cheat day into your week. Comments are closed.
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