Weight Loss vs. Maintenance

Just a few thoughts on the topic of weight loss vs. maintenance: which is harder?

I keep going back and forth on which one is more difficult. Obviously I have had great success during the weight loss phase, and maintenance thus far has not been difficult. But in the last few days, I have let out a little more slack in the line, so to speak, and I think I have hit a spot that may turn out to be tougher to navigate than I originally anticipated. I have discovered a few tendencies that I need give more attention as I go through this stabilization process:

1. I have discovered that if I put on an unusually high amount of weight in a very short period of time, it's usually sodium and water retention issues, not fat. I can usually fix this by making sure I get extra water.

2. For me, the discipline of saying "no" is easier than the discipline of saying, "yes, with limits". Refusing to eat certain foods takes a set of blinders, but it's pretty easy to shut that stuff out. Limiting portion sizes, or knowing when to say "when", requires much more focus and discipline. I've mostly done OK with this; this past weekend brought several occasions of eating "freestyle" - a couple of birthdays, an out-of-town trip, and a couple of fast-food meals. I've not made "horrible" choices; but I can notice the cumulative effects of eating some things I have not been eating. Now it's time to see if I can get the train back on track, as I am pushing against the upper limits of where I should be pounds-wise.

3. I have not been burning calories like I was previously - last week we were at camp all week, and then out of town yesterday, and today was pretty ugly as I only got about three hours of sleep last night. So I have not been to the gym in about 12 days, and I can tell it. My energy level is down a little, and my running has lost a little (although I ran in the Six Flags parking lot yesterday, and didn't do too badly, considering I had been walking through the park for 9 hours before that, and it was brutally hot). So tomorrow morning, my schedule will be undergoing an adjustment - up at 4:45, in the gym by 5:30, an hour of work there, then a dash home to get ready for work, take my daughter to her job, and then back to the church to begin my day of work, hopefully by 8:00 AM, or shortly thereafter.

4. The standard has changed a little bit - during ABL, the only scale that mattered was the digital scale we weighed on every Monday night. Now, the only scale that matters is the one scale I totally ignored for six months - the scale at PHC, the weight loss center. I still don't really track that one too closely, because if I keep my scale at home well within my safe weight range, I will be okay at PHC. There was a little panic for me this morning, as my scale got up to around 216, up from 209 just 48 hours earlier. But seven pounds in 2 days is water weight, mostly, and it should come off fairly easily as I up my water intake and tighten the reins back on my diet.

Today, four of us "losers" had to go to a media production studio to shoot video and record a few sound bites for TV and radio spots for PHC. Nandy and I were on the call sheet, of course, as were Lisa and her son Tanner. I hope it went okay... the production people noted that I had "done this before", as my calling as a minister of the gospel frequently puts me in the position of speaking publicly. I also have done some amateur production work of my own, recording narration, voiceovers, and other bits of audio and video for various reasons. I hate hearing my own voice (who doesn't?), but hopefully my efforts were adequate for their purposes. Nandy is so bubbly, and that really comes across well on camera; Lisa is very well spoken, and does very well on TV also. I basically did it all through a walking coma, as I have a total of approximately 6 hours of sleep since Saturday night (it's currently Tuesday). But I was happy to help PHC any way I could; even if I were not contractually obligated to do appearances such as these sessions, I would still do them. These folks gave up a lot of time and attention to make sure that we losers were taken care of, and gave us the knowledge and tools to change our lives. I will be doing some work for them in the future - website updates, probably some graphics work, and hopefully, some opportunities to help some of their clients.