First Stall? (and a picture update)

Well I'm pretty sure this is it--my first stall.  I've heard a lot of people say they hit one at around the three to four week mark but somehow I was hoping I'd be exempt from that.  Sigh.  Still, today marks exactly four weeks for me since I was in the operating room, having one of the most important procedures of my whole life.

 I've done well so far.  I'm down 36 lbs in that time frame, so that's an average of 9 lbs a week.  Stall or no, those numbers help put things into perspective.  I've done a TON of diets in the past.  Some of which have even helped me to lose weight quickly...say around two pounds a week.  This is completely different.

While I sometimes miss certain foods or miss the comfort I formerly derived from food, I'm not hungry and I don't feel deprived.  There is a HUGE mental component to all of this but I can honestly tell myself, "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels" and then actually believe that.  I can honestly tell myself, "I am more important than any food I want to put in my mouth" and then actually believe it.

All of this is one day at a time in the most epic sense of that phrase.  Oftentimes easier said than done!  Of course I know better than to attach myself too firmly to the numbers on the scale.  Still, it is a really nice affirmation when they are going in the right direction:  DOWN!  Since Saturday, mine have stayed exactly the same or fluctuated a tenth of a pound in either direction.  Ugh.  I'm so close to being out of the 340s I can smell it.  I so want to get there, like today!  But the scale is just sitting.  My body is likely recalculating and adjusting - dealing with the many drastic changes I've thrown its way.

I know this all takes time and I know that from the outside looking in, it will look like a dramatic transformation.  In the grand scheme of things, the next year is going to FLY right on by like they all do.  Before I know it, I'll be able to report my own success story and huge amounts of weight lost just like all the inspirational stories I see on "Transformation Tuesday."  Logically I know all of this and more but somehow that doesn't make seeing the SAME number on the scale for the 5th day in a row feel any easier or less painful.

Plus that old, familiar yet very unwelcome "friend," Doubt creeps back in and makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong.  I've introduced more than a few new foods throughout the past week since I switched over to the soft foods eating plan.  I'm getting a lot more of my protein through food now and not as much through liquid.  I just hope I don't make a huge mistake.  More importantly, I hope that if I do--no, when I do, I'll be able to figure it out and correct it before a serious problem occurs.  I've heard enough stories to know that things can and do go wrong.  I'm not exactly sure where Jason hit his roadblock or exactly what happened to cause him to derail but I know from watching him that it can happen.

I also know though, that success is possible and within my reach.  I have to be patient and give my body time to adjust.  I have to keep working on my exercise plan and on getting enough fluid and protein in my rapidly adjusting body.  I have to keep working on creating meals that work for our family, that everyone can eat but that are still healthy choices for me.

 ONE...DAY...AT...A...TIME!