From Phylameana lila Desy,
Your Guide to Holistic Healing.
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The Morning After Day 35 - My final weigh in on the morning after Day 35 was a half pound drop from yesterday. I guess I've been forgiven for my Chinese dinner indulgence with serving only a 24 hour sentence. Guess what? Once again I'm staring at the same read out on the scales from the past three weekly readings. I'm continuing to maintain my six pound loss from Phase I.

Total loss for days 1 through 14 (Phase I) of SBD - six pounds.

Total loss for days 15 through 35 of Phase II - zero pounds.

I've learned that cheating is an important part of being on a diet. It's a fact. I'm learning that is okay, everyone cheats. It is how you cheat that is important. Giving in to simple cravings now and again is okay, if you don't ever cheat then an all out binge is likely to happen somewhere around the corner. That could get ugly, and likely feel very self-degrading. For me cheating in games or in life means failure. I don't like feeling defeated, eveyone wants to win. However, cheating to win doesn't feel good. The challenge is not to let my diet indulgences overtake me too often. Certainly, cheating too much will make me a loser--but not a loser on the scales.

On three different mornings, once during week 3, once during week 4, and again in week 5 the scales did drop an additional 1/2 pounds which amounted to a total loss of 6.5 pounds. Those times were my lowest points. But it just so happened that on the final morning of each week those lows were not there for me to report. What is that disappearing 1/2 pound difference telling me? I don't know really. I'm stuck on this plateau for now. But I've become much more relaxed about being in this place since I adjusted my diet goals earlier in the week. My husband has also settled into a plateau. He doesn't want to lose anymore weight anyway. He surpassed his initial goals last week. He is pretty much eating whatever he likes. He did gain a couple of pounds back during midweek. He cut back his intake and it came off within two days.

Perks:

• Weight loss: I'm feeling more and more assured that the six pounds I have lost are gone to stay.
• Exercise: I'm feeling much more confident at the gym, increasing my time spent both on walking the track and on the machines. I'm enjoying my new body. I've noticed a glow in my cheeks when I look in the mirror after my workouts, my circulation is improving as I am able to exercise more.

Downsides:

• Vulnerability: Having my diet log online has been challenging for me. Somedays I have felt embarrassed knowing that readers were seeing that I'm not losing weight faster. My biggest fear has been that someone will see me as a failure because I'm not losing more pounds. I don't feel that way any longer, actually having to report all the food I put in my mouth has helped me stick to my diet more faithfully.
• Tunnel Vision: Another problem I've dealt with is having this diet as my primary focus. I've found some other stuff has fallen through the cracks. I don't feel my daily activities are as well-rounded as they should be. Being on a diet can be all-consuming. Perhaps this is why diets don't work for so many folks, because it can be really difficult to maintain this type of focus.

I plan to continue reporting my ups and downs as my diet progresses week to week. However I will no longer be posting my food consumptions. I will contine to keep a private food diary for my personal use. You can come back and read my weekly summaries. If I discover a yummy recipe along the way I'll share that as well. I'd like to thank everyone who has been following my diet journey. I hope it has been helpful when dealing with your own diet challenges.

Summary: Week Six - This has been an interesting week for me. I've been more relaxed about my diet. My energy level is good and I am continuing to exercise with confidence. I'm more comfortable with my focus on the menu planning aspect of this diet being pushed to the back burner. I did have a couple of days of food indulgences mid-week because of family events. I attended a bridal shower for my niece. My parents and siblings also gathered together at The Olive Garden for a family dinner affair. Pasta and pumpkin pie, oh my! But for the most part I stuck to the diet, I have a pretty clear understanding of what foods to choose to keep me walking the road toward trimmer days. I can also happily report that I've surpassed that stubborn plateau I've been stuck on for so many days. This week I've dropped another two pounds.

End of Week Weigh in: -2
Total Weight loss after six weeks: 8 pounds

Next: South Beach Diet - Seventh through Tenth Week Summaries