Motivation

So the sinus infection finally seems to be clearing up, and yesterday when I got up and was getting dressed to work out I felt different.  Different in a good way, really good in fact.  I had a really good workout yesterday morning (now that I can breathe halfway normally it stands to reason workouts are better) and once I finished my workout, on a lark I decided to hop on the scale.

Normally I just weigh myself Mondays after I'm done working out.  Keep in mind that I'm not just trying to drop 10 or 15 extra pounds, I had become a complete trainwreck over the last 10 years (last 5 especially) due to various medical issues and just being lazy.  So when I blog about this stuff its really important to me, because we're talking not only about quality of life but literally about life itself.  Yeah, I was that overweight and just entering into the world of diabetes.

So anyway I checked my weight.  2 weeks ago I had weighed in at a certain amount, and then last week on Monday I had actually gained a pound.  Meh.  I weighed myself that Thursday and I had gained a couple more.  I was a bit aggravated but shrugged it off the best I could.  I was back on track this past Monday, I was actually down almost 3 pounds from the Monday before.  So when I got on the scale yesterday imagine my surpise to see that I had lost 6 pounds since Monday (2 days prior) and 10 from last Thursday.  I had been averaging about 2-3 pounds in weight loss per week since I'd started hitting the gym and felt that was a good pace, but this was kind of crazy.  And it wasn't water, I could tell from how I felt.  So just to be on the safe side I asked one of the trainers to weigh himself and explained why.  His weight came out dead on, so he grabbed another trainer (a bigger guy) and asked him to check his weight.  His weight was spot on too.

So what happened? 10 pounds in 5 days is a lot to lose, and especially the 6 in 2 days.  Its possible the scale might be off, but I don't think thats the case.  I went out for the first time in a few days and literally could not keep my pants up.  They've been loose for awhile but now they were literally coming down as I walked around the grocery store.  I may not be able to wear these pants anymore.  So the weight loss is real, its not the scale.  My next concern was that I had managed to lose muscle mass, but since I have increased the poundage on most of my lifts in the last week (including yesterday and today) I know that isn't the case.  It could be the fact I'm not sick anymore (or at least less sick) and my body is responding better.  Or it could be a supplement combo I started using last Thursday on the advice of one of the trainers there that features products that help your body break down body fat.  The guy told me he lost almost 10 pounds the first 2 weeks he took it, so maybe that was it.  Both trainers agreed that the jump in weight loss wasn't bad or unhealthy, and they were actually pretty happy for me.

Whatever the reason, it really motivated me even more.  Normally I will take one "cheat" meal a week, just to get any cravings or whatever out of my system, preserve my sanity a little.  Occasionally I have done 2 of those meals in a week.  Back in the day I used to do entire cheat days, where I would eat whatever I wanted the entire day and it didn't really hurt me.  Now limiting the cheating to once or twice a week really isn't a negative.  But with the motivation I gained, I also lost the desire to cheat this week.  You never know, but right now I don't foresee the need to break my diet this week.  Things can change, I might get really hungry even today and lose it a little but I think I can hold out. 

So all told I think I'm on pace (or even ahead of the pace) of next July being down or at least close to my target weight.  I still have a ways to go, don't get me wrong, and I still look like shit.  But I look less shitty than I did yesterday so thats a win.  :)