Weekly weigh-in: I cheated a little

Last week's weight: 178.4
This week's weight: 177
Difference: -1.4
Total weight lost since January 2010: 94.8

I weighed in a day early this week (Thursday evening) because I was attending a reception for the Wilmington Theater Awards Thursday night. I knew I was going to indulge in some delicious appetizers, and I was worried that the scale would show it come Friday morning (my normal weigh-in time). I felt really guilty about it at first, but then seeing that I'd lost weight this week actually made me feel less guilty about the mini egg rolls, chocolate candy and crab dip I ate at the reception. I did skip the after party, which means I at least managed to avoid the alcohol. I felt much better about my early weigh-in when I did get on the scale at home Friday morning and it read even less than the day before. I'm going with Thursday evening's number on the scale at work just to be as consistent as possible. And I'm thrilled with the result.

Last week, I felt like I should have lost more weight. I tried really hard not to splurge and I exercised almost every day. This week, I didn't exercise a single day and I ate/drank more than I should have, but I lost more weight. I guess that's just proof that it all balances out in the end. Mostly, I'm so proud that I'm losing again. A couple of months ago, I felt like I was ready to give in and stop trying. After a difficult year, I was starting to doubt whether I could achieve my goal. I really thought that maybe I should accept where I was and the progress I'd made and be happy with it. I'm so glad now that I didn't give up. And despite the occasional indulgences, I'm making smart choices again.

I also feel like I'm losing weight the right way. I haven't completely eliminated anything from my diet. But I have severely limited certain foods, such as pasta, starchy veggies, sugar and fat. The biggest difference is that I cook for myself, which means I can control the ingredients and how much I use. When I eat out, I try to carefully choose from the menu. So many times, I see something I really want, but I don't get it because a quick mental calculation of the Weight Watchers points tells me that it will put me over my limit. It really helps to keep track of what I'm eating, and I try to be as honest as possible even when I cheat a little. Now that I'm doing that again, the number on the scale is moving in the right direction.