My OperaWeight Loss Report - Week 10: The Motivation Slump
Thursday, March 20, 2008 10:30:00 PM
"Now I want to touch on something that I know a few of you will be suffering at the moment-" (Told you she could read minds) "-Motivation. Our research shows that those of you who start in January and have lost a significant amount of weight already, will by now be feeling pretty good about yourselves..."
Several heads nodded and there were various noises made in agreement. I clamped down on the impulse to punch the air and cry out "Hell, yeah!".
"...Well, that's where the trap lies."
Stunned silence.
"You feel so good about your lost weight that cheating becomes less of a hassle - you feel less guilty about slipping that cake down your gullet, or scoffing that easter egg, because 'hey, you've already lost a stone, or half a stone, so you can take it a bit easier now, right'? WRONG."
By now we were hanging on every word. This was Moses coming down from Mount Sinai. Howard Carter opening the tomb of Tutankhamun. Rutherford splitting the atom.
"We've discovered that motivation does slip around this time, but I'm bringing this up today to tell you all that if you manage to hold fast through the next three weeks then, statistically, you have every chance of reaching your targets. I can't give an exact date for this, obviously-" pauses to accept a round of wry almost-laughter "-but make it through this period and the likelihood of your reaching them becomes far greater."
For the second time in two weeks she was in my head, reading my every guilty thought. I knew my own motivation had slipped. I'm not sure I've even looked in the recipe books all this week, although I've still been careful not to eat anything too fatty. When I queued to stand on the scales I knew I hadn't lost any weight this week - knew it intuitively in the same way you know when someone you love is thinking about you. And I was right - "No Change". My third neutral result in only ten weeks of Scottish Slimming. Gillian always looks disappointed reading that out, too, bless her.
I was happy with that, though. This week I'd have been happy with 'anything but a Gain' (The phrase that repeats itself most often in my head as I await my turn on the scales).
But walking home that night I began to think about my original goals: fitting back into my Kilt, reaching my target near my birthday...and I started to wonder how much time I had left to achieve them. 10 weeks, by my quick mental calculations (11, working it out on a calendar). And to reach target I'd need to lose 22.5 lbs...which works out as roughly 2lbs a week. Looking back at my performance so far I've only lost 15.5 lbs in 10 weeks so if I only managed that again I would still be looking at another stone of weight lost, but a full half a stone or more away from my target. Then again I'd possibly be 13-stone-something....which in itself is still a huge achievement and might be enough to satisfy my birthday goal.
But regardless of which goal I reach it is obvious that my slap-dash approach to Weight Loss won't get me there in time. I need to re-think, start planning ahead much more, start doing more exercise than simply walking in and out of work (The bastards've closed my local swimming pool - nooo!). How I've managed to get so content with my weight loss to date is beyond me - I look in the mirror and can still see all the areas that bother me, despite the vast improvements they're already showing.
I've got Easter Monday off, an extra day to sit and think and plan and do. Here's hoping I don't waste it.
galadriel # Saturday, March 22, 2008 1:29:01 AM
GrantTLC # Saturday, March 22, 2008 9:00:06 AM