Wow, I can’t believe I managed one whole week of food blogging! It was fun! Today was my weigh-in day but l’ll get to that later. This week was about more than the scale, so I actually made myself write up these thoughts yesterday, before my weigh-in results could influence my feelings.
So:
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Two weeks ago I was really struggling. I felt like I’d been losing the same five pounds for three months now. I was frustrated, and I went so far as to consider quitting WW, just to ease some of the pressure I was feeling. But after I posted about it, everyone really came through with suggestions and support. Writing that post and reading everyone’s comments – I don’t know, it felt like it kinda unstuck some things for me. For one thing, it took a lot of the pressure off, just knowing you guys didn’t expect me to be perfect. It also reminded me that I didn’t just have to sit there impotently waiting for the weight to come off. There were still lots of things I could do, like getting back to basics with planning and preparing and weighing and measuring, as well as re-evaluating my food choices.
So that’s exactly what I did this week. I planned out every meal for the week, bought all the groceries, scheduled in my gym time, etc. And you know what? I felt great. Eating well helped (No more saltines! Way more whole foods!), as did getting in some good workouts. But mostly what helped was feeling in control again. I think I had gotten too focussed on results, and not focused enough on the process. And the process is the fun part! Well, sort of. But the process is like your fun basement ‘rec room’, where you can watch TV and have pillow fights and make messes and do crafts. The scale is like the formal living room you gingerly step into once a week, desperately praying you aren’t going to spill tea everywhere.
The living room may look nice to the outward eye, but it’s much too fussy to really live in. You do your living down in the rec room. You do your real living in the process of the weight loss, not on the scale.
This week was a great reminder of that. And you know what? Although the food blogging was a lot of work, it was really fun. It was like showing you guys a glimpse of my rec room. So whatever the scale says this week, I’m happy. If you need me, I’ll be down here in the basement, making a mess and dancing to Madonna.
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So now, I know you’re desperate to hear the results of the weigh-in. Well, last week I dragged myself into my meeting, despite knowing I would be up. I ended up seeing a gain of 1.6, which was honestly not as bad as I’d feared. Aren’t you just dying to know how I did this week? WELL ME TOO. I showed up at my WW meeting this afternoon, only to find out it was CANCELLED! Turns out the facility we’re in booked another group in there today and didn’t give WW any advance notice. So my poor leader just had to stand there and explain to everyone who showed that there was no meeting.
So! I was originally super bummed because I wanted to see how my week reflected on the scale. But then I realized this was totally a blessing in disguise. While I don’t want to quit WW, and I won’t stop weighing myself, I think one week where I was FORCED to concentrate only on the process and not on the scale is actually a great thing for me. Because whether we admit it or not, even the most stoic among us are influenced, to some degree, by that darn number each week. Now I get to enjoy my week for what it really was: a great week of getting back to basics, improving my food choices, and challenging myself.
Amen.
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So now I want to ask you guys a favour. I want to know what you honestly thought of the food blogging / photos. I mentioned that it was a lot of work, but I also enjoyed it and it definitely kept me more accountable in terms of my food choices. So I’m giving some thought to keeping up with it.
But I’m wondering if you guys enjoyed reading it or not. I know my comments decreased drastically, but I also gained quite a few new followers / subscribers. So I honestly want to know how you guys feel, and what you want to see on the blog. Keep up with the food blogging? Keep the photos but ditch the commentary? Drop the whole thing altogether and go back to my regular types of updates? Do regular updates and just include some food photos at the bottom? Only do food posts when I try a new recipe worth sharing?
In the end, of course, it’s my blog, so I’ll do what *I* feel is right for me, but I care what you guys think too. I welcome comments from ALL of you, even all you ‘lurkers’ who never comment. :) Lay it on me!
