Chapter 1

Here we are at the 6 week mark, although to me it feels like it's been months.

All of last week I was in a rut. Not physically but mentally. This rut is textbook for most people's weight loss journeys and I knew that, but it was still hard. What I mean by that is most people hit this point in weightloss where they are doing all this hard work. Saying no to foods that are unhealthy and choosing to work out even though they're tired and don't feel like it; but their body isn't showing the results they feel should be showing.

I knew I was doing something right because the scale was showing it, but when I looked in the mirror I couldn't help but be discouraged. This frustration could have led to a downward spiral but to be honest it actually just motivated me to do better. To run a little harder and to eat a little healthier.

I feel like mentally i'm over that rut simply because I came to terms with the fact that this whole losing 30 pounds thing takes time.

One of the things I do to stay motivated is look at inspiring before and after pictures of others who have lost weight. I have found that this visual motivation really helps me, but there were times when i'd see a before and after picture without dates on it and I would feel discouraged that I wasn't further in my own journey.

example

Then I read something that I really needed to see at that point.

That's exactly what I was doing. These pictures I was seeing with no dates on them could have taken that person years to get to that point so it was ridiculous for me to compare my 6 weeks to their years of hard work.

At the end of the day I simply have to take this whole thing one day at a time. That's not an easy pill to swallow but it's just the reality of weight loss.

Right now I am down 12 pounds (from 167 to 155) and chugging along nicely. My pants are getting slightly more loose which is encouraging and I'm just trying to keep my motivation up.