How something insignificant impedes my progress...

Wow; I have really been on a plateau lately. I'm not sure why a scheduled day of fasting makes me eat even more than I normally do. Psychologically, I'm thinking that if I do "fat stores", I will be okay the day of the fast. This does not work.

The interesting aspect of this all - I'm not really gaining anything. I just continue to stay at the same weight I've been after gaining nearly 16 lbs., and losing 6. My real plan to is to stay on track and lose more than what I gained. I want to do this as I never really reached the original goal I set for myself. I patted myself on the back for a very long time after losing 50 lbs. That's easy to do when you get a lot of compliments on how you look. Listen, for me, this is not about numbers, but it is about how I'm feeling. I am totally amazed at how just a small number of pounds can make you feel not well again. That was my wake-up call. Stop patting yourself on the back and get in the game again.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was totally excited by the return of "The Biggest Loser". I started watching only last season, but what a season it was! So inspiring! This season, not so much. I began to watch last night's episode, which occured immediately after last week's weigh-in (this is normal, for those of you who don't watch). If the group dropped a total of 150 lbs., no one would go home. They ended up dropping 155 lbs., and they even had a 15 lb. advantage from a challenge. I was excited for them, since they really, really need to be there. This week, however, made me feel like the show is channeling Survivor. When I watched last season, I felt that the challenges were things they could handle psychologically. This season, much like the aforementioned jungle reality show, the challenges are causing them to make choices they are not ready to make, and it is affecting the entire group. Both challenges were won by a woman who began the competition by collapsing during a one-mile run/walk, ending up in the hospital with a still-unknown ailment. Obviously, her weight caused what ever problem she had, but we haven't been told what really happened to her. The two challenges were choice based: "Would you rather ____ or ____?" - first asked to decide whether they wanted a 2-lb. advantage or their trainers, this girl quickly decided she needed the 2-lbs. Problem is, she neglected to discuss this with her partner, and it affected his week. He needed the trainers (although, the way they are acting this year, I could do without them - no need to be so mean). Next, they were challenged to not eat cupcakes. The winner would be who ever could eat the most cupcakes. That person would win, and the prize was controlling who got to be weighed in each team pairing. As I said before, the same woman won. Impulsively, she ate 4 cupcakes. Only one other person ate, and he consumed only two. So, now she controlled the game.

While this may all sound quite tedious, it fully impacts anyone who is on a diet and exercise program. You absolutely cannot make rash decisions. You have to think about everything you are putting in your mouth, and you need to take the time to think about it. In the real world, what you do with your diet does not control the people around you and how they eat. But anyone who watches this show or reads this blog needs to follow a plan. Please don't let the decision made on this show affect what you are doing. I'm trying not to let it affect me. But it is.