Week 8 - That moment when...

So this weekend I went on a date with my husband and I wore an outfit that I had worn hundreds of times. It was a pre-pregnancy outfit.

Let's preface a little: I had my baby three months ago and have lost about 20 lbs so far. I have felt really good about the last few weeks with people commenting on my progress. So when I put on this outfit and looked in the mirror I felt completely deflated when I realized just how far from my goal I still am. I also realized that I was not going to reach my goal by January even if I had mostly perfect days until then (thanks to that break I took in week 3-4). I am still at least 35 lbs from where I want to be.

My feelings right now

It is always kind of depressing to realize that you have climbed so far to not even be half way to your destination. I have seen it with a lot of clients and in past attempts to get to a cosmetic goal. In this instance I may not have liked what I saw but I am actually kind of glad that I had the experience. 

I was getting to a point of complacence. I have seen many clients stop their programs right around this point in their progress because they think, "I've go this." But the reality is that, when you feel complacent, you are in the most danger of starting on the slippery slope back down the mountain. You may dismiss your support group (weight loss consultant, trainer, or other group - why pay the money if you have already gotten into a good routine?), you become okay with missing a few days of food logging or working out and slowly but surely your initial fire starts to die. You have a special occasion which causes a larger-than-usual splurge and then a bad weekend of eating out turns into; "I'll just get back on it when the holidays are over." 

So if you have lost some weight or body fat but are not quite to your goal yet, here are some reasons to stick it out with your method of accountability even if it costs money:

• The tools you have learned so far may not be enough to take you to your goal. Your body is a master of acclamation. Your metabolism will change as will your muscles with an eating and exercise program. You need to know how to follow the principal of overload to avoid plateaus. You will have to shake things up and a trainer or another form of accountability can help avoid the rut. 
• You may eventually get bored. Who hasn't eventually quit a workout program because it was boring or stopped an eating plan because you couldn't eat the same prepackaged meals one more day or you might smash your microwave? Your support system may help you to find fresh ways to stay interested in your program or simply help you suck it up and stick with it. 
• You may need to find more reasons to get to your goal. You were initially encouraged to start a program for a particular reason. Something sparked a flame of motivation. You found a program and the flame ignited. Within a few weeks, that flame might lose fuel and you may need to light another and someone else could give ideas of what and how to keep the fire alive.   

I'm going to have to thank my workout buddy right now for being at the gym EVERY time to support me because if she weren't there to keep me accountable, I would not have gotten my workouts in. I'll also have to thank you readers for giving me a reason to write every week. Thanks!

My Progress: 

Weight: 170.2 lbs 

Successes: I had a full week of calorie deficits! Not a single splurge! I also hit my steps taken (10,000 steps) goal tree times this week. 

Confession: My Basis armband's strap broke so I have three days without an accurate reading of calories burned. That may not be my fault but it is a setback (By the way, I contacted customer service and was blown away by how great they were. Fantastic product!).