If the scales at Jenny Craig were a boat, the counselors and I would all be seasick. I've rocked up and down for the last several weigh-ins: up 3 pounds, down 1, up 2, down 1, down one-half, down .4, and then this week down 3.5.
I am still trying to lose the 9 pounds I put back on in my prednisone-fueled eating frenzy at the first of this year. I'm finding that re-losing is much harder than the first-time loss.
I think that's because when I first started this project for the Shape We're In, I was in the zone: I stuck to the plan religiously and cut my social life to virtually nonexistent by not eating out or going to parties that would tempt me.
I got over that.
Now I'm still following the Jenny plan, but I'm not as strict about foods with which I "supplement" the plan.
Recognizing this, my Jenny counselors have started asking me at each weigh-in what my plans are for the coming week so they can steer me to better menu choices. Then they check that chart the next week and ask me if I followed through.
I call it the calorie confessional.
I asked my counselor, Suzie, if this rocking back and forth indicated I might have hit a plateau. According to her, I was no closer to a weight-loss plateau than I am the Cumberland Plateau.
Her answer to my frustration: drink more water.
(I'm learning that "drink more water" is the cure-all mantra; like when you call IT for help and the tech guys always tell you to reboot.)
But I did drink more water last week while at the beach and I walked every day and, sure enough, I lost 3.5 pounds.
That good-sized loss was just the motivation I needed to start adhering more carefully to the plan.