Losing weight seems to be what most women would most like to change about their bodies. It’s not really that hard, right? Or it shouldn’t be anyway. Burn more calories that you take in. Eat less and exercise more. But it is not that easy. For some, in a life where they have control over nearly everything, weight is the thing that women struggle with most.
It was my third day of a strict eating plan. It was also my third consecutive day of exercise. That day, I endured the killer kickbox class. I pushed my body to the limit as I imagined the pounds melting away from my body like sweat. After class I felt more like passing out or throwing up than energized. I may have pushed myself a little too hard but at least I made it through that class. I managed to crack a smile of accomplishment as I wiped the sweat from my face. Once home and ready to shower, I couldn’t resist the scale that was taunting me from across the room.
I waited for the EEEE and then 0.00, and I lightly stepped on. What? How did I not lose five pounds taking that kickbox class today? In the past three days, I have substituted every sweet craving with a carrot stick. As my family raved about my homemade pasta sauce for dinner, I sat at the breakfast bar sipping a protein smoothie. How can this be? I ate less and exercised more and actually gained a pound.
I don’t care if muscle weighs more than fat. (Although the likelihood of the extra pound is probably not new muscle mass.) I expect to see the scale numbers go down when I sacrifice. No, I really didn’t believe that I would lose much weight in three days but five minutes ago I felt like I accomplished something. Now I just felt like a failure. That’s the problem with a diet.
So what happens when it is not three days? What if it is four weeks? Or three months? What should you do if you are not getting the weight loss results that you had hoped for?
Losing weight should be easy but what happens when it’s not?