Well, I wish I could say that I hopped back on the wagon for good after my little setback last week. Sadly, I decided to prolong my temporary insanity a bit longer. As I said last Wednesday, I had decided to give carb cycling a try. And that was great to say on Wednesday, which was a high carb day. Thursday, being a low carb day, was not quite so great. The carbs called to me and I answered. I continued my love affair with them until through Saturday, which was when I weighed in for my new Dietbets. I stepped on that scale and it said that I had gained 5 POUNDS since Wednesday. Now, I try to strike a balance between staying accountable to the number on the scale and also being realistic. Truthfully, I know that it was probably not actually possible for me to gain 5 pounds in 3 days without scarfing down 10 cheeseburgers a day and staying planted on my couch. Yes, I did eat too many carbs, but my calorie count was on target and I worked out like normal. Plus it was, shall we say, a bad time of the month for water retention. But yes, I do think I probably did actually gain a couple of pounds from all the carbs.
So that was the wake-up call I needed. It brought back bad memories of seeing the scale creep up and up and up until it got over 300 lbs. I think sometimes people wonder how you get to be that big. Let me tell you, you don't just gain 100 lbs overnight (although I did see a weird true story medical show where a guy had some crazy fluid overloading and actually did gain 100 lbs in a couple days). Nope, I gained that 100+ lbs 5 lbs at a time. I would step on the scale from time to time and see a number that was 5 lbs more than the last time, and just brush it aside as no big deal. I mean, 5 lbs? I could get that off in no time. Except I never did. So the 5 lbs became 10 lbs, and the 10 lbs became 30 lbs, and the 30 lbs became 50 lbs...you get the picture.
I decided to really think about the carb cycling. As I've said before, if a habit is not something I can honestly see doing the rest of my life, I should usually not be doing it. The truth is that I will never enjoy low carb day as much as high carb day. But this journey of mine does require some sacrifices, and I think this is one that I should make. I am having to WORK to get this last 50 lbs off. It's not coming off easily. I can't deny that having low carb days has been effective for me. So while low carb days may present more of a challenge for me, it is also something I could realistically see doing long term once I get in the habit. After all, it's not so hard to say no to carbs when you know you can have them the next day.
I stowed my scale in my bathroom cabinet Saturday night and vowed not to weigh again until Wednesday since no good could come of that. I worked out extra hard the past few days, got 100 ounces of water in every day, and have had 2 successful low carb days. I stepped on the scale this morning super nervous. What if I had somehow gained weight?!? But thank goodness, the scale read 0.8 lbs lower than what I weighed last Wednesday. That doesn't sound like a lot, but actually the number is 5.8 lbs less than what I weighed on Saturday. Whew! Yes, working hard paid off, but also to be totally fair, there was definitely less bloating when I weighed in today as well. Just like I know I didn't really gain 5 lbs in 3 days without part of it being due to water retention, I also know that I did not lose 5 lbs in 3 days without my lack of water retention contributing. I mean, duh. It's hard for me to lose 1 lb in a week nowadays, much less 5 lbs.
I say with confidence now that I am completely back on track. Those carbs may have tasted good, but not as good as the feeling I get knowing that I am doing what I need to do in order to be successful.
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