Frustrated? Yes. Discouraged? No

Gained a pound this week for a total loss of 23.4 pounds. Phooey.

I did mostly OK this week but I was hungry a lot, despite spacing out my snacks so that I was eating every few hours. I had another cracker attack and that's probably what did me in.

Yesterday (weigh-in day) I didn't eat early enough so when I finally did eat, I inhaled food. Then I couldn't get full. I ate until I felt full, then, of course, I started to feel stuffed and over-full.

Today I continued with my bad habits and threw in some sugar in the form of pectin candy (ooh, that was really worth it because it was very good pectin candy, which is like gum drops but better).

I'm not sure what's going on with me. As much as I detest tracking, I'm thinking about doing some, including using the paper trackers they hand out at weigh-in.

This is the largest of my weight loss challenges. Although I've had a weight problem since puberty, I could always get control of it by tracking and exercising more. Sometimes it took me years to come to grips with the problem, but eventually I succeeded at getting my weight down.

This time around, though, I have a thyroid that doesn't function well, menopause that works against weight loss, and chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia that make it very difficult for me to increase my activity level. I also have other assorted chronic ailments that make weight loss a very difficult challenge, partly because of the medication I take.

I started taking t'ai chi again because I thought it would be a gentle way to get more activity (Karen, one of my favorite leaders, always exhorts us to ease into activity in the coming week). Unfortunately, the instructor is a newbie and is not particularly good. He had us hold our stances for so long with our weight on our left feet while he checked our positions that I injured my left foot and I won't be able to finish the semester. So much for easing into activity.

Today is Zaphod's birthday. Before all my illness I always baked a gooey birthday cake and made his favorite meal (spaghetti casserole, steamed broccoli, and garlic bread). This year, though, I decided I'd make his favorite meal. I rarely spend as much time in the kitchen (anymore) as I have today and I'm already starting to pay for it.

I'm not having a pity party. No, wait, I am.

But I'm truly not discouraged. I've committed to this "journey" and I intend to continue.

Sigh.