Project Weight Loss: Week 7

November 9th, 2012 | Posted by Alison Spath in Weight Loss

Week 7.  No change from Week 6.  140.6 this morning, up .2 from last Friday.

Womp womp.

I was feeling bummed and discouraged this morning, but I’m feeling better now that the day has worn on and I’ve had some time to think about where I went wrong this week and what I’m going to do differently next week.

I see two issues from this week:

I didn’t weigh myself all week.

With the exception of Sunday, I didn’t step on the scale once.  I had an excuse every day not to.  I forgot.  I just ate breakfast.  I’m already dressed.  The scale is all the way upstairs.  And while I know that this works for some people – only getting on the scale once a week – historically, this does not work for me when it comes to weight loss.  Keeping a closer watch of the numbers from day to day (ish)  holds me more accountable and keeps me on track.

I ran 6 miles on Sunday.

I paid for those miles on Monday because I was starving/felt like a bottomless pit all day.  I stopped counting calories midday because I was losing track!  I was just hungry all day.  I was annoyed that I broke my little promise with myself to keep all my workouts to 30 – 40 minutes, I should have known better.  It was the perfect day for a longer run though and I took advantage of it, especially because I hadn’t run that far since before I was pregnant last year.  I just felt like going longer, and so I did.

Running long + trying to lose weight = Backfire.  At least for me.

There is absolutely a part of me that wants to put this weight loss project on hold.  That I should hang out at this weight for a while and put it off for another time down the road.  And why not?  I feel much better about myself 10 pounds lighter than I was a month and a half ago.  I’ve got a lot of pre-pregnancy jeans that fit me well now.  I feel very much like myself again.

And so I could stop, but I’m not going to.  Not yet.  I know if I hang in there and keep going, I’ll be very happy that I did.  It’s just another 5 – 7 pounds to get to 135 – 133 range, I’m going to keep on keepin’ on.

Part of me hates to writing about losing weight while I’m in the process of losing weight.  I’d rather write about it after all is said and done.  The reason I choose to blog about it “live” is to show all the ups and downs you can encounter while losing weight.  Well here we are!  Some downs.  It doesn’t feel great to report back about another week of no progress, but I guess it’s good to remind me and anyone else who’s working toward losing weight that weight loss is not always linear.  It’s so easy to forget about the “downs” after the weight is lost and you’re slipping into small clothes and feeling really good about yourself.  How quickly you can forget about the troubleshooting you did when you hit a plateau, dealing with discouragement, all the struggles along the way.  But as a good friend said today (completely unrelated to my first world problems), “through struggle comes wisdom”, and that’s exactly right.  Persist and you’ll figure it out, hopefully a little wiser when you get through to the other side.

I’m a firm believer that “you lose weight in the kitchen” and “you can’t out run a bad diet”.  I’m wondering now if perhaps I’m not burning as many calories as I expect through breastfeeding.  Or perhaps I’m miscalculating somewhere.  Or frankly, maybe I’m just eating too much!  I’m going to play around with the numbers a bit this coming week, weigh myself every day next week to help keep myself on track and NO MORE WORKOUTS longer than 40 minutes!

A short update this week.  We’re out the door for an easy night time hike with friends!  Here’s a run down of my not-so-great week.

Friday, 11/2
Weight: 140.4
Net Calories: 2213
Exercise:  Rest

Saturday, 11/3
Weight: –
Net Calories: 1466
Exercise: Hip Opening Flow #4, 30 minutes

Sunday, 11/4
Weight: 140.6
Net Calories: 1556
Exercise: 6 mile run, 1 hour

Monday, 11/5
Weight: –
Net Calories: –
Exercise: 2 mile walk (wearing Kaz), 40 minutes

Tuesday, 11/6
Weight: –
Net Calories: 1547
Exercise: 3.8 mile run, 34 minutes

Wednesday, 11/7
Weight: –
Net Calories: 1630
Exercise: Rest

Thursday, 11/8
Weight: –
Net Calories: 1505
Exercise: Yoga for Runners, 45 minutes.  2 mile walk, 35 minutes (wearing Kaz)

Friday, 11/9
Weight: 140.6


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 Both comments and pings are currently closed.

10 Responses

  • Lisa says:

    I think you’re SO right about weight loss in general, and it really is helpful to follow along and see how it’s so un-linear it’s really not funny (and frustrating, I’m sure!). It sounds like you’re reflecting on all of it in a really healthy way—and it’s ok to want to lose more weight even when your weight is already “healthy.” It’s all a research study on yourself, isn’t it? Messing around with amounts, types, and timing of food. I know we’ve both done this type of stuff all along (intermittent fasting comes to mind). Lots of things along the way don’t work, but man, when you get into the right groove, does it feel darn good!

    Happy weekend :-)

    • It is like a research study on ourselves. It’s fun to think about it as a science experiment of sorts, especially when it works, like you said! I appreciate your encouragement, Lisa, thanks.

  • Good for you for sticking with it even though you aren’t seeing the progress you want. How’s your exercise intensity? I’ve heard that when people hit a weight loss plateau it’s often because they need to up the intensity of their workouts. Just another thing to think about. 😉

    • That’s a good point Maryea. I haven’t done any Jillian workouts in the past two weeks (i.e., my “high intensity” workouts!) and how interesting that I haven’t lost any weight in these last two weeks either. I’m going to get back to Ripped in 30 this week and see if that helps make a difference… thanks for the thought!

  • Jennifer says:

    I feel like I could have written your post minus a few things. (haha)

    I’m 138 this week but I don’t consider it a weight loss because I was down to 137 last month so until I drop past that, I can’t count it.

    I didn’t weigh myself at all this week either.

    Here’s my theory. I think when we workout the same every day our bodies become used to it and expect that, then we plateau. It’s when we change the intensity of our workouts or workout every other week (which seems to work for me) our bodies don’t know what to expect.

    Definitely don’t give up because even if you have ups and downs you will eventually start to lose again and meanwhile you are maintaining. You will have good weeks and bad weeks but just accepting that and moving forward is key. :) Try changing the intensity of your workouts this week and I think you’ll see a difference.

    Now I need to drag my butt back to the gym because it’s been over a week since I’ve been there. 😉

    • I agree that there is something to mixing up your workouts and keeping your body guessing. Doing different things helps keep me from getting bored too. I’m definitely going to be sure to do a couple high intensity workouts this week for a change from the past two weeks. Thanks for your encouragement!

  • Erin says:

    As hard as it must be to write about struggles and journeys, thank you for being real.

    I’ve nominated you for a Beautiful Blogger Award on my blog (littledutchwife.com), so head over and check it out for more information. Congratulations and keep up the great work!

  • Leslie says:

    I am staying in the weight loss game for sure. It’s been rough going lately. I went on a nine day vacation, 7 of which were on a cruise ship( floating smorgasbord) I somehow came home from all that with no gain, but also no loss which I was cool with. Since being home I have struggled with working out to the level I need in order to lose. I do make it to the gym but sort of half ass the workouts. Eating has not been awful but not great either. I’m am mentally ready to move forward now.
    Love reading your blog. Hope we all have a good week. I am going to weigh daily and record foods this week. That works for me.