I'm Starting to Panic...

When I set my Weight Watchers goal I intentionally set it with a bit of a cushion as I knew there could be a shift in the subsequent few months - I was weaning the little miss, going back to work, etc. I was fully prepared to gain a little bit back, while of course hoping that I would beat the odds and that wouldn't happen. I've been doing everything I can to avoid the "secretarial spread," a bum-enlarging condition my mum told me about years ago and an image that has stuck in my brain ever since. I've made it to gym at least once a week and have been doing early morning lunges, squats, crunches and free weights in my bathroom before getting in the shower. It's not an ideal workout schedule, but it's something. I've taken my lunch all but two days since returning to work, which is a MAJOR accomplishment for me.

I've now been back at work for four weeks. It's been "so far so good" for the last three and a half, with the scale not budging. In fact, I'd lost a couple more pounds and had to wear a jacket at my last Lifetime weigh-in to avoid paying the fee.

This past week was my 35th birthday. I went away on a girls' trip the weekend before and was pretty good food-wise, splurging a little but getting back on track the next day. Mr. Awesome took me out for lunch on Tuesday for my actual birthday, and we had Chinese take-out that night. The next night some girlfriends and I went out for dinner. All these instances are extremely out of the ordinary, and they ALL happened within one week.

A couple of weeks ago the little man was messing about with my iPhone and only the next day did I realize he had deleted my points tracker app, Nutrition Menu. And only when I tried to reload it did I realize that with the app he'd also deleted all my weight loss history and all the custom favourite food items I'd laboriously entered nutritional information for. I hadn't tracked for about a month as I was pretty much sticking to the same things most days, but I REALLY should have been tracking this past week.

For the last few days I've been feeling bloated and not as "trim" as I have for the past few months. Now, there is a good chance this could just be raging PMS, but there is also the very real possibility that the last week's indulgences have caught up with me. And the scale has crept up, getting dangerously close to my actual goal weight (gasp!). I'm starting to panic.

Needless to say, tracking begins today. I am retaking charge of my food. Yes, this could indeed be a nasty case of the monthly bloat, but it's been a big wake up call.

I have a three-night work retreat coming up this week and we're all taking turns cooking for the group. I know the lunch I'm in charge of is WW-friendly, but I've heard rumours of fondues, wifesaver, huevos rancheros... I think I'm going to have to bring my own food for certain meals or things will quickly spiral downhill even further. This weight loss journey is a lifetime commitment and I don't intend to let things get out of control. One woman in our group has some pretty serious allergies so I won't be the only one bringing in my own food. Maybe I can tell them I'm allergic to gaining the weight back. Oh, how I wish that was the case. Yes, if I gain the weight back I will puff up like I've had an allergic reaction to something, but an antihistemine pill won't bring me back down in a matter of minutes.

So, no magic pills for me. Tracking and exercise it is. Onwards.