Last Updated on February 9, 2023 by Lori Geurin
It’s been one week since I started this weight loss journey to lose the weight I’ve gained during the quarantine. I started this blogging series to share my weight loss journey with you, hoping it will encourage any of you who are going through similar struggles. Committing to this process has given me accountability for the progress I’m making (or not).
I’m not gonna lie. This week has been full of highs and lows. And, even though this process of sharing my vulnerabilities feels a little scary to me, I’m going to face my fears and be honest with you about how it’s impacted me both physically and mentally.
Whether you’re wanting to lose weight or working on other health goals right now I hope you find this series valuable. Keep reading to learn how many pounds I lost this week (if any) and hear my weight loss confessions.
Yes, it’s only the first week, but I’m just keepin’ it real. But, I’d like to address an important question for anyone who’s losing weight.
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How Long Is A Weight Loss Journey?
The short answer to this question is…it’s completely up to you. Only you can decide what your goals are and when you’re satisfied you’ve met them. Ideally, you’re creating healthy habits that you can sustain over the long term.
If you’ve tried losing weight before you know the journey if often full of highs and lows. It’s normal to hit plateaus when your weight loss stalls and that can feel frustrating.
Or you get an intense craving for one of your favorite treats and overindulge a few too many times. (We’ve all been there before.) Then when you get back on the scales you’re discouraged to see that the number hasn’t budged at all.
Or, even worse, it’s gone up. So, it’s important to know something about yourself that you may or may not already know.
You’re More Than A Number on a Scale
Weight loss is about so much more than just a number on a scale. In fact, one of the mantras I’ve told myself over the years is ‘you’re more than a number.’
Maybe you’d benefit from hearing those words too?
As a teenager, I had an unhealthy relationship with the scale. I seemed to believe that if my weight was a certain number (or less) then I would be more acceptable to other people.
And, like some young people today, I felt pressure from society to look a certain way. So I put pressure on myself to be a certain weight and to look a certain way because of it.
It was unhealthy for me physically and mentally. But, honestly, I was doing the best I could at the time with the information I had.
Learning to focus more on how I feel and how that relates to my heart and how I’m able to show up for myself and the people I love has been game-changing in my life.
I no longer measure my worth as a person by a number on the scale because life is too short. If someone doesn’t accept me because I don’t fit their ideal image, then I’m not for them. And I’m grateful to be okay with that now.
Questions To Ask Yourself When Losing Weight
I want to encourage you to embrace all your outstanding qualities as a person and not to get hung up by a number on the scale. If you’re losing weight here are some questions to ask yourself that can help you keep a healthy focus and be grateful for the progress you’re making.
- Do you have more energy?
- Are you feeling healthier?
- Do you have less pain?
- Are you able to do more with your family than you were before?
- Do you feel happier, or less depressed?
- Are you sleeping better?
- Do you like eating healthy foods that you didn’t know you liked before?
- Have you tried some new recipes you liked?
- Have you started some new healthy routines?
- Have you met new friends who share similar goals?
- Are you spending less time sitting and more time being active?
- Have you been able to get off of prescription medications?
Focusing on all these positive aspects of weight loss is an important part of not only transforming your body but also your mind.
My Weight Loss Journey Week 1 Results
Here are some details about how my week went. Keep reading to the end of the week for my total weekly weight loss. This post contains affiliate links. You can read our Affiliate Policy here.
Monday
The first day of the weight loss journey was all about making a plan and setting goals. Even though I’ve gained a total of 17 pounds (above my goal weight) since COVID-19 began I lost 2 pounds a few weeks ago. So I knew that my goal was to lose 15 pounds.
Because I successfully lost and maintained (until the quarantine) 35 pounds several years ago with intermittent fasting (IF) I knew that refocusing my IF would be a big part of my weight loss plan. I’ve done it for years, almost daily, but since COVID my fasting periods have become shorter and my feasting times have gotten longer. So I’m going to work on being more structured with my timing schedule to reboot the success I was having with fasting.
I’ve also eaten keto and/or low-carb in the past for my health because my Lyme doctor had suggested it to help with some of my symptoms. So I decided going keto would be a great way to kick off this weight loss party.
I scheduled a pick-up order on my Walmart app because that’s what you do in a small town in the midst of a pandemic. I stocked up on plenty of vegetables, meats, healthy fats, nuts, seeds and berries.
To see more details about my keto eating plan, you can check out Keto Diet Basics: What To Eat And What Not To Eat.
Tuesday -Thursday
Everyone does this differently, but when I’m losing weight I like to weigh myself daily. This makes me more aware from day to day about how what I’m eating is impacting my weight. Of course, much of your weight loss, in the beginning, can be water weight, especially on a keto eating plan, so keep this in mind and do what works for you.
It was fairly easy to stick with my keto eating plan and IF the first few days because I felt so motivated. I was drinking black coffee in the morning, green tea in the afternoon, and lots of water throughout the day.
RELATED: 11 Steps To Lose Weight Easily: Staying Motivated And Maintaining Your Diet
I started getting a headache Monday afternoon that escalated into the keto flu. By Thursday, I wasn’t feeling so hot – I was irritable, achy, and tired, and the headache had intensified, bordering on a migraine.
I ordered some exogenous ketones from Amazon early in the week, and these helped a lot. Plus, I started adding Himalayan pink salt to my water. I also took extra Magnesium.
By Friday night I was starting to feel better and I took a break from eating keto that when my husband and I went through a drive-through for a Popeye’s fried chicken sandwich, then another drive-through for ice cream.
On Saturday morning (even after the Popeye’s and ice cream) I surprisingly had lost 3.7 pounds.
Saturday – Sunday
I was so encouraged by the continued weight loss that I became a little lax and decided to continue my keto break for a little while longer. (You probably see where this is going.)
Saturday night, David, Emma, and picked up some food from my favorite local restaurant. I had a burger and onion rings.
Sunday morning I’d regained some of the weight I’d lost and felt pretty bummed…so I baked waffles and scrambled eggs for the family. Breaking my normal IF schedule, I ate with the family even though I wasn’t hungry.
Then I went for a long walk around the neighborhood in the 90 degree heat. I love hot weather though.
My total weight loss for the week was 3.5 pounds. I feel pretty good about this, especially considering the way I felt with the keto flu. I’m hope to be more consistent with my eating plan this week. I don’t know if I’ll continue eating a strict keto plan because it can be pretty restrictive and I don’t do well with restrictions overall, lol.
I’ll definitely focus on eating plenty of real foods and avoiding processed foods as much as possible.
Week 1 Summary
I hope you enjoyed this recap (and confessions) of my first week in this weight loss journey. Obviously, some days were easier than others, but such is life and tomorrow is a new day.
If you’re working to lose weight too, please remember that you’re more than a number on the scale. Try focusing on all the positive changes you see happening in your life and keep going!
Elevating the victories and learning from the difficulties is essential.
Check back on Monday, July 6 for the week 2 update. And for more healthy tips, please be sure to follow me on Pinterest.
Are you trying to lose weight or have other health goals you’re working on? How’s it going?
Share with me below in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
XO, Lori
For more on weight loss journey confessions, tips, and tricks be sure to check out:
Yay, Lori! Good job! I’m on Day 4 of a new eating plan, and it’s going great so far. It’s a no sugar, low carb plan as well. No processed foods, heavy on veggies. Sounds like we’re in this together for sure! I’ve been very tired and grumpy, detoxing from sugar and caffeine (wish I liked my coffee black!) but I’m feeling a bit better today. Keep up the great work, old friend!
Awww, thanks, Angela! And thanks for sharing about your new eating plan! It sounds super healthy. I’m happy to hear that it’s going well so far!
I hear you on the feeling grumpy and detoxing…and some days I’m not in the mood for black coffee either. My favorite way to drink it is with coconut oil, a splash of cream, and stevia but I try to drink black coffee as much as possible for clean fasting. Here’s to hoping you continue to feel better, my friend! So thankful we’re on this healthy journey together!