Yesterday when I weighed myself I discovered I had gained 3.5 lbs. This was on the day following a new low weight for me and despite eating essentially the same thing I eat every day for the past 2 weeks and total calories for the day being well below maintenance levels. I pretty much have to figure this is all water weight (or the low from the previous day was due to some dehydration) and my body trying to compensate for possibly being dehydrated and slightly undernourished the day before.
It is in these situations where dieting gets to be a real challenge. Despite what appears to be a setback, I have to mentally tell myself to stick to the plan and let it work. One way to do that is to look to the ongoing trend and where it is heading. In my case it is still downward overall. Even with this apparent setback, I'm still down from just a couple weeks ago when I started my latest weight loss efforts.
That can be one of the biggest challenges for anyone trying to lose weight, maintaining that mental toughness to not get discouraged when you (inevitably) have a bad day or one that seems strange. Trust in the system you are following and stick with it and your body will find its way where you are leading it. Also, don't lose track of the big picture. I know when I was pursuing much bigger numbers a couple years ago there would be times when I might go for a whole month without seeing much progress (or even no progress). I knew what the long term goal was though, so even if I did not hit some short-term target, I would not let that discourage me or cause me to abandon things altogether.
If you are out there reading this and trying to lose weight, keep up the great work and don't get discouraged by little bumps on the path.
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