Resisting Temptation.... But It's Not Helping?

Dear Alice,

I had a busy this week. I had a wedding one night, a Bar Mitzva another night, and went away for Shabbos. I was so proud of how well I did through all these challenges. I didn’t touch cake or desserts, hardly had any Challa, was careful on my portion sizes, and generally felt like I was really watching. I was so excited for my weigh in as I was sure I lost 3 pounds this week. Yet, when I got on the scale, it showed that I had stayed the same. I am so upset. What was the point of all that work if I was just going to stay the same?!

Signed, Surprised
and Disappointed

 - Dear Surprised and Disappointed,

Wow! I really do feel your frustration. This is common - when someone has a week full of simchas, vacations, or other challenges they feel that the scale should reflect how hard they worked. Meaning if you were fighting temptation all week, the expectation might be that iinstead of losing the typical 1 or 2 pounds, you should be down 3 or 4 pounds!

Unfortunately, the  scale doesn’t work that way. Your nutrition counselor definitely appreciates all the hard work that you put in, but the scale only knows what you actually ate, not how hard you worked. And although you may have chosen very well considering the difficult situations you were in, you may not have been as “on plan” as you think you were.

For example, you may have been eating late meals which is not great for weight loss, and is not recommended on our plan. You also may have not had the proper portion sizes and the food may have been prepared differently than you would have done it at home.

Therefore, in a week filled with simchas, you may want to adjust your expectations, with the goal being just to maintain your weight and not necessarily to lose. Do not despair! Had you not been watching carefully you may have even gained a pound or two over the week which would be even more disappointing and more of a setback, Always keep in mind that if you have a busy week full of Yom Tov or simchas it is okay to just maintain your weight.

On the other hand, if your lifestyle is such that you really have week after week of nightly simchas, you may need to make the decision to eat at home rather than trying to choose well at each simcha. Depending on your lifestyle and how often you are out at night, as well as how much weight you have to lose, eating before the simcha may be necessary, and should be discussed with your nutrition counselor.

Good Luck!

Alice