End of Week 3 report

I have to say, my scale reading and my clothes o meter are a disappointment today, but truly to be expected with what has happened this past week/weekend. I attribute that to:

1. Not planning ahead for the food I would eat while out of town and bring it myself or make other arrangements ahead of time
2. That 'womanly time' accounts for maybe .5 lbs of that weight
3. Not really getting exercise
4. Not catching myself slipping into the old habit of eating carbs when feeling snacky, especially at night--nothing wrong with carbs, but if you're eating them at night when you are more sedentary (especially after being sedentary all day long at workshops and lectures), your body has no choice but to store them as fat if they are not being used.

As you may have noticed, I have listed 3 of the 4 reasons as things I did NOT do. Part of this experience is learning to be more proactive instead of reactive in many facets of my life. This is just another opportunity to learn, grow, and act. So, down to business:

Last Week's Weight: 200
Today's Weight: 202.8
Difference: +2.8 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 5.2 lbs

I was sorely tempted to feign forgetfulness about weighing in this morning, but what would that really help, besides hiding what would have been a shameful admission in the past? I say it would have been shameful before because I refuse to be ashamed about this when I am still learning. It was not purposeful, and I didn't try to gorge myself on sweets or anything. When I child is learning to walk or speak, we don't make them feel ashamed about the mistakes they make, we encourage them to keep trying until they get it right. I have accepted that I am worthy of the same encouragement; believe it or not, that is the most difficult part of no just getting started, but sticking with it (the habit forming 28 days and beyond) for so many people. This is a journey--when I hit a pothole in the road, I will certainly cringe about it, but that doesn't mean I pull over and stay there, or that I will go back home and hide. You learn from the mistake and drive on--hopefully wiser. Don't give up.

I'll post today's nutritional intake tomorrow.

PS: I'd like to say a quick word about artificial sweetners:
If you can at all avoid them, do. I learned something about myself and sweeteners, having tried many 'lifestyle change' diets. If you are an emotional eater, then the diets that encourage substitutes do not really help with a lifestyle change because you're substituting instead of dealing with whatever is really your problem, not to mention that they contain chemicals that are really bad for you. Example: recently, I had a difficulty with my hubby. All I could think about was ice cream. I could have drowned my issues in no sugar added icecream, but I would have been doing something TO myself instead of FOR myself, which is a habit I'm really trying hard to break.
A better option: taking out your frustration on your treadmill or crunches or jumprope or whatever, and then voicing the emotional eating feelings out loud as well as voicing your frustrations with the person you have the problem with (using the good ol' "I feel..." phrases to avoid opening up a new can of worms).