Bump In The Road

Today, I experienced what my Weight Watchers leader likes to call a "bump in the road"...I gained.  She calls it that because she wants us to expect a few ups and downs in our journey and not get so upset over one little gain.  ;)  Ok, so my gain wasn't so little (1.2 pounds)...but it also wasn't a tragic event.  Can I make up that lost ground in a week?  Probably not...but I'm not going to quit over it, either.  I can't.  I've done that too many times and I now know that's just not working for me.

Sure, there have been many times when I've hit a gain and just thrown my hands up in the air and declared that's one more diet that doesn't work for me.  Then I eat however I please and gain even more.  Now, I've decided to look over what may have caused that bump in the road and figure out what I'm going to do to change it next time.

Now, my 1.2 pound gain wasn't all in one week, either.  Some of you may have noticed that I didn't post a weigh-in last week (then again, maybe you didn't since I haven't been doing the blog that long).  There's a good reason for that...I didn't weigh in.  GASP!!!  ;)  But I have a good excuse...er....reason!  ;)  You see, our family took a trip to Chicago for my brother-in-law's graduation and we left on Friday.  Could I have weighed in a day early?  Sure I could...but I honestly thought I was going to make my meeting.  However, it didn't work out that way.  So, off to Chicago I went without having weighed in and my next weigh-in a week away.  And of course, any trip away from home results in having to eat out at pretty much every meal.  And, there really wasn't a lot of choice where I was...especially considering I was with other family members.  I got off schedule, I made the WRONG choices at restaurants...went for what I WANTED to eat rather than what would have been a healthier choice.  Though I did get in a lot of exercise on the trip...walled 11,412 steps/4.68 miles on Saturday and 14,806 steps/6.07 miles on Sunday...the rest of my week wasn't quite so impressive and even after I came home, I still didn't get back on track.  I didn't track any points all week, and that almost always spells disaster!

So...I'm picking myself up by my bootstraps (as my Grandaddy used to say) and getting myself back on the program this week.  I'm going to track my points and plan to do some sort of exercise every day, even if it's just playing the Wii or going for a walk.  I've also got a goal of getting to the gym 3-5 times this week to really workout.  I always do better when I do that because it gives me more points if I need them (or helps me lose more if I don't)!  I have a friend who has walked this WW journey with me...through both high points and hiatuses!  ;)  Last night, I got an email from her that she was thinking about quitting...and as I read her email, I knew there was a small part of me that was feeling the very same thing.  At that very moment, I was debating whether I was going to go to my weigh-in today, feeling pretty sure I had gained (and thinking it was worse than it actually was)!  But, as I typed a message of encouragement to her to stay the course, I found the determination and courage I needed to get myself up this morning and go to my meeting!  As I told her, the meetings are what hold me accountable...but only if I go!  ;)  So, as long as it is within my power to do so, I'm going to continue going to my meetings.  I may not drop the weight as fast as I would like...but I'm going to learn some valuable lessons along the way...lessons that will help me to keep it off long-term!  :)