24.5 pounds of meat

First things, first: since last week, I’ve had a 4.5 pound loss, which carried away the half a pound that made an appearance last week, and four of its fat friends.  Off to the right: 24.5 pounds of rib meat, showing my total loss.

Last week, as in Week 10, was a perfect week; I did everything right — and I mean everything.  Despite that, the evil scales showed a gain.  I knew it would come off, but it was also a reminder that sometimes doing everything right doesn’t have an immediate payoff.  So often, some of the more hardheaded diet gurus will insist that everything comes down to calories in, calories out; and if you haven’t lost during one particular week, it’s because your incoming calories exceeded what your body burned.  (Anyone notice how most of those who insist on this theology don’t have a uterus?)

While I’m a believer in science, and have been successful in the past by approaching weight loss as a scientific method, there are still some things that don’t come with easy explanations.  That would account for this week, during which I did pretty much everything wrong, or at least not according to plan.

Since last Friday, I’ve been sick with some sort of evil Mad Cow Disease.  It’s been an aggressive upper respiratory infection that has kept me drugged up and not functioning at all for almost a solid week.  During that week, I didn’t drink as much water as I should have; not even close.  My food intake was all “legal” foods, but far below where my calories should be for each day.  I didn’t exercise.  In fact, I barely moved.

I had made up my mind that this week’s weigh-in would be a loss, because *scientifically speaking*, the body often retains water as a healing mechanism.  I had convinced myself to be happy with whatever the scale said.  And just when I thought I had things pretty much figured out, I lost weight.

Who knows why, for sure.  Bodies are fickle things.  It could have been that just being sick was enough of a break in my regimen that it startled my body into giving up weight.  Or it could be that the decongestant I took has a diuretic effect.  Who knows, but I’ll take the loss.

The lesson: sometimes what you’ve done weeks ago comes into play when you least expect it.  It’s worth sticking to your plan.