Each week when we attend group each member is asked by their consultant what their target is going to be for the following week. Some people never want to promise themselves a number. Other more forthright people, like myself, always state a figure. This can create problems for me the following week. Because other people know what you said and want to know how the week went.
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Port Eynon Beach, Gower
I try to avoid eye contact with certain people when things have not gone well. I make myself a coffee and purposely sit next to people who I don’t know well. Then during Image Therapy, the cat is let out of the bag as everyone’s results are announced to the group. It’s so embarrassing. This week my new group consultant, I’m thinking of calling her Jasmine, was very kind in her words to me and managed not to say how I had done. What a relief. Until another member came over to ask me directly.
“Hi Ken, how did you this week?”
“Oh, hi Shay, thanks for asking” (Yeah Right!”)
“Well I maintained this week, bit of a surprise and a mystery.”
“I hate it when that happens.”
“I call it my Agatha Christie Week when it is a total mystery why I haven’t lost weight”
There was further discussion in the room about non-scale victories and I have decided to focus on these this week in the absence of anything else to brag about. There was a huge Facebook thread last week about non-scale victories but they were all extremely girly and I found it hard to relate to them.
Some Non-Scale Victories Of My Own
Vanity in my dotage - I have become vain in my latter days. Who would have thought it possible? After years of not even looking in the mirror for fear of what I might see, I now don my swimming costume and parade down to the sea’s edge hoping people at least tolerate what they can view.
Swimming in the sea - We went to the beach at Port Eynon on Sunday. I wanted to go for a swim in the sea as it was a warm sunny day. The water was very cold but after 20 minutes of struggle we both got in the water and swam around happily for half an hour. If I had swum in the sea two years ago I would have been completely exhausted. Yesterday I swam around for half an hour and came out feeling alive and invigorated. I had plenty of energy and my mind was in a good place.
Walking – I admit that I am obsessed with walking. I mainly blame my Fitbit and the friends who are on our weekly Fitbit challenges. You know who you are and you know you have wilfully brought this obsession upon me! Most weeks the winner of our challenge will have to walk at least 100,000 steps in five days to win the challenge. In the week I won it I walked 123,346 steps which equates to 58.17 miles.
Winning The Weekly Fitbit Hustle
Clothes sizes - I am now in need of even more clothes of a smaller size as my skinny jeans are too big for me. Last week I had to buy a new belt, medium size. That's the third belt on this diet. I started at extra-large, went through large and now am in medium. I also bought medium sized underwear but I don't feel I want to mention that or discuss it. Naomi tells me that on the weeks we don’t lose weight we often lose inches. Whilst I acknowledge the truth of this it feels like a hollow victory. For me it is all about the weight.
The next few weeks will see me shopping for clothes in the smaller size that I need and I will really enjoy it. I have started paying attention to how I want to look. I also have much more to choose from as everything is available in my size. Such a change from buying the best fitting tent I could find in Sports Direct.
Man boobs - My man boobs (Moobs?) have reduced down to almost nothing, AA minus cup size I reckon at most. I have much to be thankful for.
Tablets – I am on minimal medication having over the last eighteen months got better and better.
My head – I am in a much better place with food in my head. I feel that I am in control of food. It cannot control me. Just occasionally I have a bad day but most of the time I am in the driving seat with my food choices.
Tell Me Your Non-Scale Victories
If you have any non-scale victories I would love to hear about them in the comment box below or in my Facebook group. Hit me with them!
I Want So Much More Than This
I have lost 5 stones nine and a half pounds and I am closing in, ever so deliberately, on my target. But one of my inner voices is already telling me that I want more weight loss than this. I want to be a ‘normal’ person with my weight. My other inner voice is saying that I need to consolidate at seven stones loss before completing the job.
The rigorous determination required for long term, life changing weight loss is a rare thing. It is much harder than training for marathons or triathlons. You can train up for those in four or five months. What I am doing is proper hard.
But my mind is utterly fixated on finishing this, I must have it. There will be no turning back. This is what I want. And when I am done I am going to live life to the full. Yes I am!