Weight Loss: Why You Might Need Greased Pole Insurance

If you’ve been following my weight loss progress, then you have no doubt become very bored waiting for an update. My first article about this was about six months ago. I had lost 22 pounds at that point, and decided I was ready to go public with my progress, and to explain how I was doing it.

My reasoning for going public was two-fold: first, it was in the spirit of sharing, and to lend support and what I hoped would be helpful tips for others who struggle with their weight.

Secondly, I wanted the accountability that posting on high-volume blogs would provide. I went public in a big way: my first weight loss article was published on the Huffington Post.

Go big or go home, right?

I shared how my approach this time was different. Instead of trying to lose weight by going on a diet (eating less and moving more – ACK!), I would do something different. I’d approach it this time like it was a work project, with deadlines and data to propel me forward.

About a month later, I posted a follow-up article, where I shared my progress (28 pounds lost!) and a book I’d found that supported my new weight loss philosophy (100 Small Steps: The First 100 Pounds, by Temple Trotter).

I was on a roll and had really gotten into a rhythm with my body.

At first, I’d forced myself to go to the gym every two days because it was written in my Bible calendar. I subscribed to some amazing podcasts, but only allowed myself to listen if I was at the gym, giving me a little extra incentive.

After about a month, I got to where I hated missing even one day. I’d never felt this way about exercise in my life, even when I was young and trim (ah,the good old days), so I knew I was on the right track.

As far as my eating, I wasn’t strict about a number of calories or anything like that. I just concentrated on eating real food – as few processed foods as I could, and I logged my intake into the LoseIt app so that I’d have a pulse on what I ate throughout the day. I didn’t stray too much from this because I didn’t want my workouts at the gym to have been in vain.

I plateaued at 28 pounds.

But I didn’t worry too much about that because my clothes kept telling me that I was trimming off inches.

A group of friends had a trip to Mexico planned for late July, and I got sick about a week before we left, forcing me to miss an entire week at the gym. I did manage to go the day before we left for Mexico, but all bets were off once we got on that airplane for our vacation.

We were there for a full week, where I drank like it was a full-time job, and I ate like I’d just come off a hunger strike.

When we got back from vacation, I went to the gym a few times, but I still didn’t have my eating back on track. Eventually the gym fell by the wayside, and my eating has continued to decline.

My doctor told me once that weight loss is like climbing a greased pole.

It’s a slow and treacherous climb up, but easy-peasy to slide quickly back down. I think about this a lot lately, because it has been easy for me to slide right back into my old habits.

I haven’t gained back all the weight I’d lost, but I’m back up by 10 pounds.

I was scrolling through my business page on Facebook a few days ago, and saw that someone I didn’t know had posted on my page, asking about my weight loss progress, and commenting that they noticed I hadn’t posted an update in a while.

And here I was, thinking nobody noticed.

I’d started blogging publicly about my efforts in losing weight, but I didn’t really think anyone noticed too much, or paid much attention. It stinks gaining back some of the weight, but whataya gonnado?

But then I saw this comment:

“What is the status of your weight loss journey now? I looked through all your posts and don’t see any more entries about weight loss. Is your mind still right?”

Ack! Me and my bright ideas, posting about something so personal, and so… hard.

Sneaking away quietly from my public attempt at trimming down isn’t going to be easy, apparently.

And, although that royally stinks for me right this second, that’s the reason I posted publicly about it to begin with. I knew I’d end up slipping a bit. I wasn’t being negative and it’s not that I didn’t have faith in myself.

It’s just that I needed to build in a little insurance for myself for the inevitable slip-ups.

Greased pole insurance.

Yay me! It worked! After seeing that comment, I’ve found my way back to the gym (woohoo, I remembered how to get there!) and I’ve started logging my food into the LoseIt app again.

Thanks for paying attention, Facebook commenter, and for checking in with me. I’m gonna do us both proud!

Kristan Braziel

Kristan Braziel is a writer, speaker, and entrepreneur who dabbled in marketing for nearly 25 years. Based in Austin, Texas, where she lives with her husband and their four children (two are human, two are Lab mixes), Kristan – whose goal is to help guide people through all the messy junk life throws our way – writes about weight loss, parenting, and small business.

Connect with Kristan… www.KristanBraziel.com