Weigh-in: Weeks 6 and 7

Sorry I skipped the blog last week. Things have been a bit hectic. And, well, the news isn't good. One month into my renewed efforts and I was feeling pretty good about my progress. I was headed out of town for two days and had agreed to a two-day hiatus. It turned into a two-week detour. I'm so disappointed in myself.

I've gained back nearly everything I lost in August. I'm now down only 1.6 pounds since I started. I have all sorts of excuses, but it mostly boils down to emotional eating, stress and lack of tracking/planning. I'm in the process of selling my house and starting construction on a new house. While it's exciting, it's so overwhelming. We're also undergoing some changes at work, which is more stressful than normal.

I've had too many days recently where I wasn't sure I could get out of the bed. Of course, I did. But then I got home from work and wanted to retreat. I went in the bedroom to change my clothes after work yesterday and ended up curling up in the bed. Stayed there just a few minutes because I knew my boyfriend would start to wonder where I was. Then he'd want to know what was wrong.

It's not one specific thing. My life feels like it;s in constant chaos. As soon as I think I have something figured out or settled, there's a new fire to put out. I honestly can't remember the last time I felt a sense of calm and relaxation. I'm not sleeping well and when I'm awake, I feel constant tension in my muscles.

So, needless to say, I'm overeating and making poor choices. All I can do at this point is recognize the missteps I've made in recent weeks and try to correct my actions. The best place to start is with planning meals for the week ahead.

Weigh-in: Month 1

One month into my renewed efforts to eat better (and lose weight) and I'm feeling encouraged. I lost 4.8 pounds, which is just 0.2 pounds shy of my goal of 5 pounds per month. I still have a long way to go to get back to where I want to be, but at least I feel like I'm making progress. 

The next few months are going to be extremely difficult, though. For those who don't know, my boyfriend and I have put our house on the market and we're preparing to build a new house. We'll likely have to find a place to live once our current house sells and while our new house is under construction. It's all so complicated.

I've already had several meltdowns this week as we've completed paperwork. Having built a house once before, I knew it would be stressful. But I don't know how I'll make it through the next four to six months.

At the same time we're trying to nail down details to get everything moving forward, we're going out of town for a couple of days. We planned the trip before we'd made decided to pull the plug on a new house. It's an expense I wish we didn't have right now, but I'm hoping I can put my anxiety aside and simply enjoy a few days away from it all.

And, of course, I'll end up splurging too much. So I'm giving myself a pass for two days. After that, I'll have to buckle down and be diligent about tracking if I'm going to continue my progress into September.