R3P2VLCD27 – 163

Weight: 163

Oh, the joys of the scale.  I had anticipated, and have been visualizing, the number going down, but today it was not to be.  Could it be the extra serving of bison burger?  Surely not!  ;-)

I'm not worried about it at all, and that is a good place to be.  I have been visualizing the scale going down, what I will look like, and how I will maintain the weight.  Reinforcement there is that my tummy isn't sticking out like it used to, and I'm fascinated, and motivated, by that!

I have been going over my past progress, and that has been sort of a downer, should I choose to look at it that way.  Back in round 2, I reached 168.5 pounds...hey, wait a minute, that's only 5 pounds difference than I am right now!!  See what I mean?  Downer, dude!

However, when I decide to have a positive attitude about the situation, it just means that, yes, I gained (screwed up?) but I am continuing toward an ever-more-healthy BMI (I am now officially not overweight!)  I need to remember the lessons from those increases and apply them to now, not look back.

So, as Oprah would ask, what do I know for sure?

1. I know that it is up to me to watch what I eat – always
2. I need to continue development of mindfulness
3. I will need to be aware of why I'm eating (see above)
4. I need to stop eating when I'm full
5. I need to enjoy the re-sculpting process I will take my body through next, through exercise
6. Recognize that the reinforcement that I get now for my weight loss progress will subside, then disappear, as it becomes my new normal.
7. My new substitute for this recognition will be more internal, acknowledge by the challenges of how my body changes with exercise, that no one else can really know.

I've done step 7 before; that is, I used to be a power lifter.  I was nationally ranked, in fact, although I didn't know it at the time (I saw it published in a magazine).  What got me there was competing with myself.  When I competed against others, I would fail to reach my potential, but I always could improve on my own accomplishments.

I need to remember that now, too.