When the going gets tough

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As a teacher, I’m a stickler for fairness. Kids always insist that everything should be fair above all else, and I tend to agree. I feel as though things in life should be dealt out evenly, giving everyone equal shares in the good and the bad. I’ve learned from watching the experiences of others that the old adage is true -- life isn’t fair.

I’m feeling a bit down on my weight-loss progress again. After yesterday’s weigh-in, I’m still stuck with no progress and feeling bloated and uncomfortable in my clothes. I’ve read every blog and article about weight-loss plateaus, and I’d like to believe that I may be comfortably on top of one… until Erik reminds me that I’ve been slacking. He says to me, “You’re not eating badly; you’re just not eating like you were then.” The ‘then’ he’s referring to being the first month of the challenge.

And he’s right. He tells me I bought Skittles at the store last week (almost gone) and snacked on some of his popcorn at the movie theater Friday night. He reminds me I had cheese on my sandwich yesterday and two glasses of wine with friends Thursday night.

Guess I’m not on a plateau after all. I suppose I’m being lazy.

I have a lot of excuses: It doesn’t help that my new lifestyle as student and office-worker means sitting down for extended periods of time. It also doesn’t help that my thyroid is lagging right now (according to the doctor last week) and that my trainer left the gym and I’ve been without one for three weeks. But those are all just that — excuses. They’re not getting me any closer to my weight-loss goal or fitting into my three-inches-too-small wedding dress.

I upped my workout schedule by adding three days a week of running in the morning to make up for this, but it didn’t increase my weight loss. I’ve given up almost all of the toxic foods that I once adored. Erik stops drinking soda and loses five pounds. I haven’t had a soda in a year. Erik dropped 30 pounds a while back by just keeping track of calories for a few months (three months). I’ve kept track of calories on and off for years and have never lost more than 15 at a time. I always want to ask who he thinks he is to comment on my eating, but I don’t -- he’s just being supportive of my goal. Maybe being female and having thyroid issues means it is harder for me to lose weight. Back to that old adage again -- life isn’t fair. No avoiding it or getting around it, it’s just not.

So, what happened when the going gets tough? I suppose the tough stop whining about it not being fair and get moving!

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