Finding A Happy Medium

Monday, April 30, 2012: 2:59PM: Day..... well the last day to be specific.  Not that I'm walking away from fat camp (Aultman Weight Management), just that as I weigh in today, it will be my last on the weight loss portion of the program.  From here forward I will be in adaptation for six weeks, which is a transition phase to being off of the shakes and bars completely, but locked in to a daily caloric intake and nutrition plan from there forward.

But I am thrilled to begin the next phase, and given where I sit today I can honestly say whatever the scale reads today is completely fine with me.  I truly believe I'll continue to improve, and even lose through the next phase as I am able to increase the burn through workouts now.  I can honestly say that I truly understand what type and level of focus and dedication it takes to maintain a healthy, balanced life.

I noticed something this week.  On a whim I decided to weigh myself every day of the last seven.  I did this for two reasons.  I wanted to understand how the body fluctuates in weight from day to day based on water intake, work out completed for that day, food eaten on that day and stress I happened to remember being under on that particular day.  While this IS NOT recommended by fat camp (Aultman Weight Management), I did it to change my mind set.

Here's what and how I went about this process.  Each morning I weighed myself before getting dressed to get my workout in.  This provided a consistent time to weigh in at, and helped me assess what I had eaten, drank, and done the previous day.  I logged my food, exercise and noted stress accordingly.  I also took a moment to look at myself in the mirror to assess any physical differences that I may have noticed from day to day.

The results were very interesting.  First let me start off by saying I was A.) completely happy because I felt very confident with my look physically each day, and B.) I always made the physical appearance assessment before I weighed.

After checking to notice any major changes good, bad or indifferent (None), I then hopped on my home scale.  This is where it gets interesting.  My weight fluctuated between 203.4 - 209.6.  Two variables to keep in mind are that it was my home scale and not the one I officially weigh in on each week, and also took notice of the other logs I was keeping (diet, exercise, stress).  With the fluctuations being just over 6 pounds in range and my appearance taking on no difference in either direction, I came to the following conclusion.

Regardless of what the scale reads one day or the next, it is the process I need to be committed to, NOT the numbers.  While I would love to see a nice drop for my last weigh in, ultimately I am pleased with the progress I am making and I know I am more fit than I have been in years and ready to attack fitness full throttle without restriction.  I know that am compliant to the types of and amount of foods I take in each day, and have found a very comfortable routine and menu to follow.  I also know, on the two occasions I strayed from what the protocol for the eating part of the program was, I felt guilty and paid the price of weight gain.  I truly believe I am ready to focus on fitness, training for the races and blogging about my progress in those areas.  I am excited to divulge what I learn through adaptation about myself and the increased caloric intake.  But most of all I am confident that the scale is secondary or even third to what my main focus is from here forward, me, not just the number on the scale.

Maybe I lost, maybe I didn't.  Maybe I even gained a pound.  But ultimately I've lost a lot of weight and will continue to do so.  I've gained a lot of knowledge and confidence to be the new me every day without the scale brow beating me every step of the way.  Most importantly, thanks to my wife Jenna, mom - Connie, family, friends, co-workers, general public and of course my dietitians and support system at fat camp, I found me, and I am very happy with who I am for the first time in a long time.

Weigh in results to come, but appropriately so from here forward, it is nothing more than an after thought, not the final grade to my weekly test.  Stay tuned, it's getting good now!

UPDATE:  My weigh in results: loss of 1.4, total loss to date: 69 pounds, current weight: 206.0 pounds.  70 Pounds, I'll see you next Monday!  ;-)