Day 41:

I cannot believe that I have stayed on this plan for 41 days! It's incredible- thing is I'm not tired of this yet. By this time on Slim Fast I was ready to beat my head in with one of those little cans. (Chuckle) My only wish is that there were more dinners that I liked. A person can get tired of chicken and pizza. I do have the Mac and Cheese and Chili, but at the end of a long work day I like something more than a cup of something. Oh well.

I've been thinking about the weight loss I've been having and how I never see loss or gain until two days after the mistake or exercise or whatever. It occurs to me that if this does happen to everyone then it explains why it's so hard to stay with a diet. Think about it. Let's say I'm on a diet (not much of a reach there) and I cheat a day and get that Carl's Jr. teriyaki burger I love. The next day, I get on the scale and I haven't really gained anything. Feeling lucky, I go back to the diet and I am good all day long. I keep it up for a week and low and behold on day six I suddenly gain two pounds out of the blue. My thoughts are going to be- what? I didn't do anything wrong! I was true to the diet. What I am seeing is the burger from six days ago. That's true for the gym as well! I do a super workout to the point where I can't even walk. The next day there is no change. In fact I don't see the change for six days- after a day of sitting on the couch and watching TV suddenly ta-da two pounds lost! Psychologically this tells you, cheat and don't exercise and you'll lose weight, when in actuality you're experiencing your body's natural delay.

My delay is about two days. I know others in my family have a delay of six to ten days. This is really an important factor for dieting. Given that we think of weight loss as a cause and effect scenario, our mental state when these changes occur is important. I think programs should incorporate this into their plans. It makes it so much easier to see a weight loss and weight gain and think back two days... what did I do? Oh that was the workout in the gym or Oh, that was the donut. :)

I should point out that my weigh-in put me back at 154.2 (which incidentally coincides with my super workout day at school) The pound gain got to me a bit. I'm feeling better now. I know I've promised food reviews, but I have to get ready for school now. It will have to wait. :)

Katie