Weekly weigh-in: I needed a break

Last week's weight: 175.6
This week's weight: 177.6
Difference: +2
Total weight lost since January 2010: 94.2

A week ago, I gave myself permission to basically eat/drink whatever I wanted for a night. I overindulged but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't recover. But then I allowed myself to splurge the next day. On the third day, I vowed to get back on track. It didn't work. Instead, I scarfed down half a pizza. I ate the rest of the pizza the next night.

I realized I simply needed a break. Keeping track of everything I eat/drink is mentally exhausting. I spend hours each week planning meals and snacks. While dealing with lots of stress lately, I just couldn't do it. Of course, the stress also made me want to eat unhealthy foods. Being out of town Wednesday and Thursday and having all of my meals prepared for me also didn't help.

Anyway, I needed a break so I took one. I didn't eat the worst foods possible, but I definitely ate/drank more than normal and didn't worry too much about carbs and fat content. I had decided to skip this week's weigh-in on Friday. I didn't need the scale reminding me of how far down the wrong path I'd gone. By Friday morning, though, I'd convinced myself that there was nothing wrong with a break as long as I resumed my healthy habits with the start of the new week (which is Friday for my weight-loss purposes).

I also decided that weighing in is an essential part of holding myself accountable. When I finally got on the scale, I was pleasantly surprised. I honestly expected to have gained more than two pounds. So I'm glad I weighed-in. And so far, I'm back to tracking my Weight Watchers points and cooking for myself, which usually means eating right.

What I hope to take away from this past week is that I will face obstacles for the rest of my life. There will be times when I want to eat foods I don't normally eat. And that's OK ... as long as I don't make a habit of it.