The big picture: a step forward is still a step in the right direction

So last week on Thursday when I weighed in at my regular meeting I found that I was up just a little bit. It was only by .6 lbs but it still felt a bit like a failure. I *knew* that I would probably be up just a bit since I didn't track anything all week and had all that Halloween candy in the house. I didn't eat a ton of it, just 2-6 pieces a day, but I didn't track any of it. I also had a massive fast food craving all that week. It is hard to eat out when you are on a diet and you tend to tell yourself certain foods or restaurants are "off limits". Being gluten free doesn't make it any easier to eat out either. I'm a bit limited on what I can order, it takes forever to order unless the restaurant offers a gluten free menu, which most don't. I have to go online and research, or order a salad, read all ingredients in the dressing and get no croutons. McDonald's has a dedicated fryer for their french fries so I can get those.....and I had a huge craving for them all last week. lol so I "paid" for that. Feeling a bit "down" about gaining the .6, I had to stop myself from beating myself up for having "failed" that week. It isn't a huge gain, it isn't like I can't bounce back from that. So why do I have to make it a failure just because the scale was up a little? I was failing to see the bigger picture.

The bigger picture: I learned a lesson...which isn't a failure but a success!

I learned that I CAN have McDonald's french fries, I CAN order fast food with a little thought and planning. I HAVE to allow myself little freedoms within my diet and weight loss goals or I will have major cravings for a week, eat it every day or every other day, throw all my plans, knowledge and motivation out the window and then the cycle will continue. So, the SCALE might not show a success, but last week WAS a success.

Friday:

I had a bunch of dental work down on Friday, including removing a broken crown and finding excessive decay. The tooth (or tooth nub) can be saved and will get a new crown in the very near future, however the neglect I showed my own teeth (let's face it, as parents we worry about our children's teeth first) has resulted in a lot of damage to the surrounding teeth. So by the end of Friday's visit I had had my teeth cleaned (the first time in nearly 20 years....lol but they were impressed at my gum health), I had a root canal and 3 fillings along with the tooth nub build up....all on the upper right side. Needless to say, it was difficult to eat for the rest of the weekend. lol So I resorted to soft easy foods like cottage cheese, refried beans with a little sour cream and pudding. Not really the best choices but at least I didn't just STARVE myself that day. I also found out at the dentist that I have even MORE extra wisdom teeth than originally thought....but the oral surgeon is going to have to tell me exactly how many I had to start with after they remove the ones still in there. (At this point I have had 3 or 4 removed). LOL So I guess I'm extra smart.

Saturday:

Saturday was a bit interesting. I was unsure what I would be able to eat since we had my niece's birthday party and I'm the only one GF in the family.  But my sister in law was great and provided snacks that were healthy (my MIL and FIL are on WW too) and also made sure that she could tell me what was in certain things, even had labels handy for me. :-) I ate a little cottage cheese before we left so that I wouldn't be starving and stuff my face and it also helped just in case my sensitive jaw still wouldn't allow me to put enough pressure on my teeth to chew. We had ice cream cake at the party, and I just didn't eat the cookie center, so that was fairly easy to do. But my tracking was still lacking that day. :-( I ended up feeling like I just didn't eat enough, so I figured I would probably gain.

Sunday:

It was a lazy day around here. I don't even remember what I ate, what we did.....but I know I didn't track. So on Monday I *knew* that scale would reflect my poor choices again......

Monday:

Wasn't so bad. I woke up with a renewed sense of control and determination. I went on my walk with my friend "G" after the kids all were off to school, I tracked religiously, drank all my water and made a yummy dinner. :-) The scale was up that morning....but I'm choosing to focus on the fact that I have to keep taking a step forward, even if it doesn't seem to be making any positive progress, because a step forward is still a step in the right direction...right?

TODAY:

Being Tuesday, I hopped on the scale to get an idea of how yesterday went for me with the choices I made....I do this almost every day (yeah I know people say only weigh once a week but I need that visual to keep myself on track with making better and better choices). I was down 2 pounds from what MONDAY said. Now, I realize that might not be what the scale says on Thursday when I actually record my weight and count my loss/gain officially, but I weigh at the same time, in the same place, in the SAME clothing every day at home....so it is a pretty good guide for me on staying on track.

So, back on track, taking steps in the right direction even when the scale doesn't record that forward motion is still very important. I promised to keep a better blog, write more and even include more meals or recipes...so here you go:

Today's breakfast is 3 points plus on WW, and completely Gluten Free.

Rudi's Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread (2 pts plus), 1 tsp cream cheese (0 pp), 4 scrambled egg whites (1 pp) with a little salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, mandarin orange sections (no syrup or sugar) (0 pp).


"No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everyone on the couch"