The Cycle

I'm realizing that since last May, I've been very much on a cycle with my weight loss efforts, but I'm trying very hard to get off this not-so-merry go round.

I start off great, highly motivated and ready to make good choices.  This phase in the cycle is easy and feels normal  It usually comes after an extended period of making repeated bad choices and my body is ready for the change.  Usually this phase lasts anywhere from a week to two and a half weeks.  I usually lose a good bit of weight the first week and another pound or so the second week.  Then I get so excited that I've lost that much that I start weighing more frequently.  Right when I start weighing more frequently, my body slows down on the losing, which gets disappointing.  That, in combination with going too long trying to "be good," is usually what leads into the second phase of the cycle.

The second phase in the cycle usually lasts a few days, up to a week.  This is when I start to struggle. The choices aren't easy any more. I still make some good choices, but the bad choices start to creep in slowly, one at a time.  This is where I am right now.

The third phase is something akin to going "hog wild." Bad choices, bad choices, bad choices.  I eat whatever I want, whenever I want and usually a lot of it is chocolate or meals eaten out.  This can last anywhere from one week to one month.  I usually end up gaining several pounds during this period, thus the reason why I've never made it to 100 pounds lost yet.  I want desperately to avoid the third phase this time around and bust on through to my goal.

As of my last official weigh-in last Monday, I am only four pounds from 100. That sounds exciting, but I've been here before and more than once, and I've never been able to hang on long enough to cross that 100-pound barrier.  That's why I need to stay focused, look for good choices and keep working hard.  I've just got to try, cause this cycle is making me dizzy.