Yep, but also nope

 229.7

So, I did expect that there could be a bounce back up this weekend, but yesterday's gain did not happen the way I expected. 

I was supposed to travel yesterday to my sister-in-law's for my niece's baby shower today. That did not happen. Literally moments before they were going to start boarding the first group onto my flight to Denver, the FAA grounded all planes due to a failure of their communications systems. I hung out at the airport for over an hour, but when it became apparent that this might but be a quick fix, I left. By the time they lifted the stop much later that evening, my connecting flight from Denver to St. Louis has been cancelled, and there was no flight I could rebook that would get me to St. Louis in time for the shower. So I cancelled my trip. Thankfully I did get my money back, but I am really disappointed. 

Here's how yesterday contributed to the half pound gain. I took yesterday off of school so I could get some errands and chores done in the morning before going out of town. I did get myself McDonald's for breakfast, and I think their previously sugar-free latte option is now reduced-sugar instead, so there may have been additional calories there. When I went grocery shopping that morning, I got some cheese sticks, and I decided to eat a couple in the car on the way home. When I got home, my husband had returned from work so he could take me to the airport, and he ordered Mexican food is for lunch. My chicken burrito was big, and even though I only ate half, it was definitely more than I needed to eat. While I was waiting at the airport, I ate one chocolate and caramel pecan turtle. Then, when my husband picked me up after I gave up on waiting at the airport, we went to the hockey rink for my son's game. We split a small bag of popcorn, but I probably ate more of it than he did. I suspect the salt there had something to contribute to the gain. Finally, we went to Fuddruckers after the game. I just got a side salad with ranch, but I think I just overdid it on the day, especially with sodium. Hopefully the gain is mostly water retention 

Yesterday did have one benefit: I shopped for a pair of jeans. I had wanted blue jeans, but the only pair I found in my current size was black. But I did get them. They're nice and stretchy, and they're size 18. I'm pretty sure I had been up to 24 at my heaviest, so 18 is good. 

Being in the dressing room, though, was a bit of an eye opener, full length mirror and all. I look...deflated, I guess is the word I would use. I'm very flabby and flappy. My upper arms have some batwings developing under them. My apron belly is flattening out, but with the excess skin it hangs down pretty far. I think I need to add in collagen to my supplements to see if I can get my skin to shrink back some. Some weights might help my upper arms too. I need to look closely at the silhouette my clothing gives me. 

Anyway, I'm hoping that at least since I won't be eating with the in-laws all weekend, I might be able to keep my weight loss going. Need to watch the salt intake for sure. I hope that I lose that half pound again quickly.

Another milestone

 229.9

This is a milestone that I may bounce around with the next few days, knowing that I'm going out of town to visit family. They will be food and alcohol, and it's likely I won't come out of the weekend ahead of the game, but I wanted to at least acknowledge that I had crossed the 230 mark, even if I end up dancing around that mark for a while. 

This feels like a significant milestone for me, because I'm back down around the weight I was 16 years ago when I had my older son. I didn't lose much before getting pregnant with my younger son, and then I've only lost significant weight once since having him. 

Back in 2014-2015, my husband and I decided to try keto. It worked as far as weight loss was concerned. I think I got back down into the 170s (I could probably go back in this blog and see if I documented that), but it was unsustainable as a diet. I never did lose my cravings for carbs and crunchy foods, and the weight gradually crept back on.

That's of course what I'm worried about now. I have to train myself to eat right and exercise; otherwise, I'll just gain everything back whenever I stop taking the medication. So I still have a lot of work to do, not just with the went loss but with leaning to have a healthier relationship with eating. 

I am hopeful, though, that I can continue with the rate of weight loss that I've been seeing for a while longer. We have a ski trip planned in March, and if I'm going to survive two or more days of skiing, I'm not only going to need the weight loss, I'm going to need to really strengthen my legs and my core. 

Time to get back to the gym.

Even more huh

 230.8

A pound and a half down from yesterday. I did not see a drop that big, even though I did expect a drop. Mostly I expected one because I didn't really get a chance to eat yesterday afternoon. We were a bit short on time trying to get where we needed to be, so I grabbed a couple of mouthfuls of cottage cheese and headed out. When I got home later, I had a string cheese and a granola bar. Maybe that was enough, it enough of the right mix, to trigger a drop. No idea really; it's so unpredictable where I see gains and losses. I really don't know what helps me lose weight. 

Anyway, tomorrow's weigh-in could be another drop, it could be a plateau, I could bounce back up again, who knows? 

Huh

 232.3

I'm surprised. I thought surely the amount I ate yesterday would equal a gain today rather than stopping me back down to what I was on Saturday.

I wonder if I need to pay more attention to my protein and fiber intake. When I've had food cravings lately, it's been very specific (fried chicken, to be precise, and then the rotisserie chicken yesterday). That definitely feels like a protein thing. I also don't poop at much as I did off the medication (which seems like I should be gaining rather than losing, but I guess it's because I don't have the volume of food to process), and maybe more fiber would help. I do take a fiber supplement, but maybe I need to look at my food choices more closely. 

Anyway, I'm relieved. Next weekend will be a bit of a test. I'm flying to St. Louis on Friday for a very quick trip to visit my in-laws, mainly to attend a baby shower for my niece on Saturday. I'm just flying in Friday night and back on Sunday morning, but I'm sure there will be plenty of food and wine. We'll see how I fair. 

I'm pleased that I'm nearing a 40-lb loss from my highest weight. I'm pretty sure I topped out at 271, although I didn't document it and although I was 266 at the start of August, I'm still counting those extra five pounds. 🤣 Even with the success I have had, it's daunting to think that I still have 60+ lbs to go to reach my target of 170. 

If my weight loss stays at about this speed, I would hit my target right around the time we go skiing in March, but I'm not expecting that to be the case. I need to work out do I can actually survive a couple days of skiing, and I'm pretty sure assuming muscle will have some kind of impact on my weight loss, although I didn't know what that will look like. More muscle means more density, but it also means more calorie-burning potential. 

Tomorrow won't be good

 232.8

I was about half a pound up from yesterday morning. Not sure exactly what I overate, but it must have been something. 

Tomorrow will be worse, though. I have been working a hockey tournament all weekend, and I didn't get anything to eat this morning, just some coffee. So I was pretty hungry when I left the rink, and I hit McDonald's on the way home. Although I did not eat a ton, I did have most of a small McChicken sandwich, a couple of chicken nuggets, and about half a small fry order. More than I would've eaten otherwise. But I was still hungry this evening, and I snacked on done rotisserie chicken while I was breaking it down for dinner, and then I had a bowl of chicken and pasta. So I fully suspect tomorrow will be a gain.

There it is

 233.6

Halle-freaking-luia.

There's the drop I've been waiting for for almost two weeks. And of course, no idea how/why. My eating yesterday was generally unremarkable: coffee and cottage cheese at breakfast, a couple of cheese sticks as snacks during the day, a Healthy Choice meal for lunch, and a small chicken BLT and baked potato from Wendy's for dinner. I also drank a water bottle full of that protein and collagen loaded tea stuff off and on throughout the day. Absolutely none of that is unusual. So I'm not sure exactly what made my body let some weight go, but I'm relieved. 

Now I just need to make sure I don't yo-yo back up tomorrow.

Ugh

 235.4

Again. 

I had hoped I'd drop today, but no. Still stuck. I really need a morale boost. At least I awoke to good election news. 🌊🌊🌊