Healthy Steps – Week 13

I lost (a frankly amazing) five pounds this week.

While I am thrilled about this, I have to admit to being surprised. While I made some good choices, there were a lot of extremely questionable choices in there.

This got me to thinking that a theme that keeps coming up is that weight removal is not about being perfect; weight removal is about working to make choices that will be reflected in the long term. So, yes, I went out to eat and had a great big salad with bacon and avocados; I didn’t have potato chips. I went out dinner and had a yummy grilled chicken with mayo; I didn’t have the hamburger with cheese.

I know that perfection is one of those themes that keeps coming up for me in my life. Obviously, it’s impossible to be perfect. And every time I don’t hit that mark, I feel it down to my pancreas.

I went to see my therapist last week and she gave me the (somewhat standard) speech about treating myself well. The handouts and words vary, but it’s the same message. I always walk away from this speech vaguely frustrated; I treat myself fine, darn it!

The fact is I’m not perfect and it haunts me. Maybe it’s time to really think about actually taking my therapist’s advice and celebrating the great things about myself and not beating myself up for those things (like my quick temper, over-reactive tendencies, and impatience) that tend to put me in conflict with the world at large.

Obviously, that’s a lot to ask and not always within the scope of weight removal. But it’s something to consider as I move forward.

I am very much still on basics this week; last week was about 50/50 (if that).

  • Tracking (4 of 7 days
  • 1 Frappachino per day (I did 2 each day last week in spite of stating I was going for 1 because it was all just too much)
  • Eating my prepared food
  • Hit 10,000 all seven days, taking at least one break/lunch walk

On a last note, with today’s weight removal, I’m within eight pounds of a big goal: 10% of my body weight removed. At the front of each Weight Watcher’s booklet, you are supposed to state your goal for the 16 weeks that booklet covers. My goal for this booklet was to remove 10% by the end of it. I have 8 weeks to go and I’m starting to believe I might just do it!