Trust the Force...

Today's post is more of a reminder than anything. In reality, it's probably more of a pep-talk to myself.

When it comes to weight loss plans, there are a few things that are important to keep in mind. First of all – understand why the plan you are using works. (That's the reason I spend so much time on the slightly geeky/science side of weight loss). In part, that means understanding how it affects your body and what the likely outcomes are. Basically, I'm saying don't just follow a diet\exercise plan blindly.

That brings us to what might be one of the most important things to keep in mind. While, you should not follow a diet\exercise plan blindly (that is, follow it without understanding why it works), once you do understand why it works and how it is likely to affect your body, you should trust in it implicitly and stick to it.

What does that mean? Well, I had a major let down today. After loosing 15 lbs in 2 weeks, when I stepped on the scales this morning, I had gained 4 lbs. in about 24 hours! Egad! My calorie count for the previous 24 hours had been in the range of 1800 – basically on target for me - and my protein was around 120 grams – a little low for what I like, but more than enough.

After thinking back over the weekend, I realized that I had actually done relatively well. Admittedly, on my Cheat Day I probably added on the high end of what I allowed (say, 1000 calories), but 1000 calories does not a pound make (let alone 4!!). So, I thought through my exercising as well and realized, while I had not been riding my bike in over four days, I had worked out hard with free weights ALL FOUR DAYS! Well, knowing about how my diet and exercise affects my body, I quickly realized that I had probably put on a lot more muscle (those wonderful fat burning friends!) than I usually would in a four day period. Given that muscle is about 20% denser than fat...well, it's not completely surprising that I put on weight.

My gut (and I DO mean GUT) instinct was to freak out and go to an extreme to drop that weight back off, but I reminded myself that I am already wearing smaller clothes and just retired a belt I purchased only four weeks ago. The system is working and I need to trust in it. Understanding how and why my system works, just makes it all the easier to find that trust.

Keep at it – you can do this! As Yoda says, "Do or do not, there is no try."

Let me hear from you.