An Aha Moment

I have a confession to make.  Going back to my Weight Watcher days and until recently, I would do a huge dis-service to myself in my weight loss journey.  After my weigh-in day, I would eat like there's no tomorrow, knowing that I had the entire week to work it off.  And, I'm not talking just eating a little extra.  I'm talking driving straight from my meeting to McDonald's and ordering a Big Mac combo, complete with fries and a coke.  That was just lunch.  Chocolately snacks, usually a candy bar of some kind, came mid afternoon.  Dinner was a take-out or drive through of some kind ~ with fries or something equally greasy.  Then there was dessert.  Almost without fail, my husband or I would go to the local ice cream store and I'd get a peanut butter cup flurry.  Not a small one either.  All of this thinking that I'd have an entire week to un-do whatever damage I'd done that day.  What a backwards way of thinking!

I still don't know why I would do that.  It makes absolutely no sense.  In my head I could justify it by saying that I had earned it.  I'd worked so hard (or not) that week before, so my reward would be to shovel in as much as I could possibly stand in one day.  Really?  Eat like a pig to reward yourself for eating well the week before?  Huh???

It occurred to my recently just how screwed up that was.  Don't get me wrong, I knew all along it was screwed up.  But, it now makes perfect sense why I kept bouncing back and forth between the same few pounds.  The truth is, I was never losing actual weight.  I spent my entire week undoing what I'd done that one day. How could I possibly lose any new weight if I was continuously working to lose my "splurge day" food?  Duh!!!  I'm embarrassed to admit that this just occurred to me.  I guess I'm little slow.  But, I'm getting there...

Yesterday was another weigh-in day, but I didn't do overdo it this time.  In fact, I was quite good!  Now, I will admit that I wanted to make an ice cream run last night.  I really wanted it.  But, I put some flavoring in a bottle of water and drank that instead.  No, it wasn't the same.  However, after a while, I forgot about the ice cream.  And I feel so much better for it.  Like I said, I'm a little slow, but I'm getting there!