Riding the weight loss rollercoaster
09-25-07
Well, it’s been an eventful few weeks on the weight loss journey for me. I was thrilled when I got below 250 pounds last month. That was a big mental barrier for me. I guess I thought getting past that point would make it easier to continue on down the scale. I’m afraid what I actually did was let down my guard, just the tiniest bit – and that was enough to keep my weight hovering around 250 for much longer than I had anticipated. It was getting pretty irritating actually, and guess what happens when I get unhappy about my weight loss progress? That’s right, a snack here, a snack there, daily calorie intake steadily higher each day. It’s such a vicious cycle. Get depressed, eat, feel better, gain weight, get depressed, eat, feel better, gain weight, ad infinitum.
The worst week was the week I spent away from home, outside my comfort zone. I had access to Mom’s Home Cookin’, and many wedding-related feasts on which to gorge myself. That week I gained a spectacular 7.2 pounds. That freaked me about a bit, so as soon as I got home I jumped back into my normal routine, and was quickly rewarded by the weight loss gods – 8 pounds lost that week.
So what the heck were those two weeks about?? It doesn’t seem very possible that I actually gained and lost 8 pounds of fat over two weeks. I’m not going to try to analyze it too much. I’m really glad the gain was only a blip on the radar and not, to put it dramatically, “the beginning of the end.”
During the trip back to my family of origin, I saw some things from a new perspective. For example, the excessive pushing of second servings at big family meals. On some level it is considered rude to decline seconds. If I had any doubt about this, I was reminded after dinner when my mother mentioned to me in private in the kitchen that the fish she had prepared wasn’t very good. I thought it had been very good, and told her so. “But nobody had seconds… I was watching,” she responded. Of course I told her that was ridiculous, but sadly I don’t think she was really convinced. On this diet I’ve had to retrain myself about what a normal amount of food to eat is, and for the first time, I’m seeing my previous training as unusual.
I’m closing in on the next weight loss target – my entry into the Century Club – 100 pounds lost! As of today, I’m 8 pounds away from that goal. That will be very happy day for me. This time though, I won’t let down my guard and ride around on that annoying rollercoaster for a month!
Cross-Published on Sucks to be Fat





Man I know that cycle. I happen to be there right now. Glad to hear I’m not the only one, and also glad to hear that your fighting through it.
Good job!!
[...] BANG wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWell, it’s been an eventful few weeks on the weight loss journey for me. I was thrilled when I got below 250 pounds last month. That was a big mental barrier for me. I guess I thought getting past that point would make it easier to … [...]
The hardest part for me was breaking through the mind set of “well, this day (or week) is already shot so I might as well gorge for the rest of it.” One little snack would lead to an entire week of overeating. You’re right, it’s a vicious little cycle.
Gal