I was losing weight consistently, then I sabotaged myself but I don’t regret it

For weeks, I was meeting all my goals that my trainer and I had made. I was losing between 1-1.5 lbs a week for over a month! I had done a calculation; if I kept it up, by August 19th, I would be at the goal weight.

But as I continued and did my check-in, which included measurements of my stomach, hips, chest, arms, and thighs, and taking photos, it wasn’t as clearly consistent. Plus, every 4 to 6 weeks, I did an in-body scale to make sure I am indeed losing fat and gaining muscle, it barely moved. They were so slight, sure in the right direction but it could still be disheartening.

In July, I went to NYC for at least 6 weeks. It’s my happy place, I love the city. I was not sure if I could stay for two months or just 6 weeks. I knew I had to come back in September anyway; a lot was in the air.

The proximity to friends, the hustle, networking, being in my favorite place, and of course, some of the best foods in the world, plus the stress of so much uncertainty made me just want to relax on the strict eating habits. So I kept getting my favorite cookies from Funny Face or Chip City. I kept going out to dinner with friends. I also would walk everywhere I could, especially since the damn subway is now $3 each way. With my hourly workouts plus walking 10-20k steps a day, drinking well over 3 liters during the heatwave of the summer in NYC, it brought a learning experience.

With my weekly check-ins, I was a consistent weight, not gaining but also not losing weight for over three weeks. My measurements changed ever so slightly. But when I met with Dino, and he went over the progress photos, he pointed out that it was a successful change since we began. It’s hard when you look at yourself every day, wear the same clothes all the time. I was not taking his comments seriously at first.

“Take the wins, these progress pictures tell the story too, and I see a huge difference and they look amazing!” He also cautioned, “Watch with the cookies!”

So when we met the next week, he asked what I noticed in my photos? I said I noticed my back has gotten tighter. He pointed out that actually, I look smaller and tighter all over. Since we don’t have the in-body scan to calculate fat percentage, we need to go by these measurements and progress reports and it looks like we are going in the right direction. While my measurements, especially in the arms, have stayed roughly the same, he explained, it just means that my fat tends to stay there, which is usually a genetic reason. Overall, the rest in the waist, chest, and hips have gone down.

From my doctor’s appointment, we want to keep visceral fat down and from my in-body scans, I tend to keep visceral fat in my waist and chest. While I don’t have access to an in-body scan, the fact that my progress photos and actual measurements show that I went down in those areas, proves that my visceral fat should be going down too.

Of course, that is if I keep up with healthy foods, protein intake, and limit much of the saturated fat ie cookies. Unfortunately, I had discovered La Mercerie cookies too in Soho. But thankfully, I have been keeping up with my workouts and water intake, and I am not one to want cookies and pizza, it is one or the other.

For the next month, I have to go back to Chicago. I don’t have much here, not many friends to see, limited contacts, etc. So this is my chance to just hunker back down to the gym, stricter diet, and continue the weight loss. I am also going in for my in-body scan. While I have 10 more lbs to lose, since my last in-boy scan, I still had to lose about 4% of fat, which is disappointing.

But as Dino pointed out, take the wins. My mindset changed during my time in NYC. I wasn’t too put off that I was the same weight for three weeks straight. I enjoyed my time in my favorite place, indulged it with a balance of keeping active. It can’t be perfect every day, every week, but I can’t give up. Onwards and inwards, as they say (that is the saying, right?).