Cheating revisited and Defining Moments

I'd like to follow-up on my post on cheating from the other day. A lot more folks actually read my Blog than I thought! Based on the comments, it looks like I touched some nerves - and that's why I really think we need to revisit this topic.

First of all, I've always been pretty sure that in the weight loss game, the biggest battle that we fight is the one fought between our ears.

There have been so many times when I've started a diet (in my case, Weight Watchers) when I just wasn't mentally prepared to do it. And as a result, I sabotaged myself by trying to re-write the program to suit me. For example, when calculating points I might use the higher amount of fiber when calculating points rather than limiting it to 4 grams, the way the program is designed. Or when adding up my points with a points calculator, I might round down rather than keeping those fractions of points. Or I might not count all of those little bites, licks and tastes that add up so much when we're cooking. There are a lot more examples, but you see what I'm talking about. And then, I'd be all ticked off and discouraged when I didn't lose weight the way the program said I was supposed to.

The scenarios I just described are what I call "cheating" - I was circumventing the program when I knew I shouldn't. Now in my opinion, there's a difference between "cheating" and "making a mistake". To me, making a mistake is when accidents happen. I made a mistake the other day when I went and got a colonic and didn't realize that some of the substances that they use in the process can cause a stall. Would I have done it had I known that? Certainly not! And I think I'm still paying the price for that mistake.

The HCG Protocol is not a Cheater's diet. In my experience, I have found that it is very unforgiving, and doesn't lend itself to playing fast and loose with the rules. If we deviate, we're gonna pay. However, if we DO play by the rules, the rewards are much greater.

Being mentally prepared is the biggest part of any weightloss program, in my opinion. Many of us have a "defining moment" that really cut us to the core and made us realize in our heart of hearts that "it's time, and I'm not going to mess around this time". I've had many defining moments over the years, but none with lasting effects, obviously. However, my last defining moment was when my mother, who lives 8 hours away, went into the hospital with a whole laundry list of medical problems that had been exascerbated by carrying so much weight. My brother (who lives in the same city) has taken on the responsibility of getting her to her doctor appointments, dealing with Medicare, doing research, etc. I don't want to be sick, and I don't have anyone to take care of me because I got sick and it was preventable. My test results from my doctors appointments were pointing in the wrong direction, and that's when I feel like I finally won that battle going on between my ears!

I love this quotation, which came from a friend on a weight loss message board: "It's hard being fat, it's hard losing weight, and it's hard maintaining. Choose your hardship."

What's your "defining moment"?

VLCD #8: -.8 and some thoughts on "cheating"

I'm down to a new all-time low today at 224.8. This makes a net total of 11 lbs gone since my first VLCD! And that's 34 lbs gone counting my first round of HCG. Woohoo!

Today should be a fairly normal day, except I have a singing lesson right after work at 6:00, and it's going to throw my dinnertime about an hour and a half later than usual. Therefore, I'm going to have to plan how I'm going to handle that meal. I'm thinking that I'll have my fruit, an apple, right before I leave the office - that will get the "heaviest" food consumed and out of the way early. I'll have a "portable" vegetable that doesn't require cooking, like celery, for the drive back home (it's about a 45 minute drive), and then a piece of halibut when I get home. Past history has shown that if I have to eat later, it's best to do it with fish rather than veal or chicken. It's certainly not the ideal situation for a meal, but I'm trying to not have to eat anything after 8:00.

I'm reading a lot on the two HCG Yahoo boards about people "cheating" while on this protocol, and I thought I'd address my personal thoughts on cheating, which are pretty harsh: First of all, the only person being hurt by cheating is the cheater. Most of us who are doing this HCG protocol have tried every diet in the world and have failed. This is the only diet that I have ever tried where we are guaranteed to lose weight in a really short period of time if we can just follow the directions and have a little self-control for 3 to 6 weeks for the injections and then for 3 weeks for Phase 3.

Where's the discipline, folks? The program is pretty clear cut - it's easy to follow, and it's really not open to interpretation if we follow it exactly the way it is written. If we cheat, we're going to gain weight. And you know what? All of the people out there who have seen us fail before are going to say, "I knew (s)he couldn't stick with it!" There are a lot of people out there who think that fat people are weak, lazy, stupid, and have no self control. Why on earth would we give them ammunition to support that thinking? I'm all for showing those "fattists" that they're wrong. And I'm telling you - when you've lost 30 lbs, and people suddenly see the fat melting off and you have to start buying new clothes, there's just nothing like it!

Some of you are thinking, "Who does she think she is? Miss Perfect?" Well, I'm here to tell you that I'm certainly NOT perfect, and have my share of temptations, but have made too much progress to turn back now - after the taste of success that I've had, I have every intention of taking this all the way to my goal, which means I'm going to be at this through the summer. Period.

Here's the inner dialogue that goes on in my head:

• "Wow! I've lost over 30 lbs! Now, instead of having 100 lbs to lose, I only have 70!"
• "I can do anything for 23 days...I can do anything for 23 days..."
• "I've invested too much money in cleanses, doctors appointments, organic foods, etc. to throw it all away"
• "No more cholesterol and GERD medicines - it feels good to be healthy! Plus, now I can spend that money formerly spend on meds on a pedicure or a new top!"
• "I'm going to show XXXX (name your worst critic) that they're wrong"
• "If I have that piece of cake, the scale IS going to go UP. Is it really worth it for that 2 minutes that it took to eat it? Because it's going to take 2 or 3 days to take the weight back off."
• "I have to publicly blog my results. There are a lot of people reading this. I have a responsibility to my sponsors and to the readers to show that this program works!"

Anyway, you get where I'm coming from. Zero tolerance for cheating, and zero sympathy for those who do - when we fall down, we need to quit whining and get back on the program. We owe it to our sponsors who have generously set us up for success, we owe it to the people who are relying on our experiences to guide them through the process, but most of all - we owe it to ourselves to succeed and be healthy and happy!

Time for me to step off of my soapbox and get to work! I hope you all have a wonderful, successful day!