Three Pounds Before Bermuda
The first gain in eight months on GLP-1. The worst possible week for it.
This morning I stepped on the scale. Three pounds up from last week. My new bathing suit is on the chair. Jax is looking at my suitcase with worry in his eyes. Bermuda is five days away.
It was supposed to be the first beach trip in years where I would not be obsessing about my weight and what I would look like in my swimsuit. But now I am. It is only three pounds. Why does it feel like I put the whole 28 pounds back on?
It doesn’t make sense. I have been eating my protein, drinking less wine. I have been walking more as the weather has been beautiful. I did not miss my shot. But here I am. Feeling bloated, fat and not ready for a bathing suit.
I know from stalls before that if I focus on the protein, water, sleep and exercise, things will turn around. I have done all of that this week. The scale has not moved in the right direction. I knew something was off when I put my jeans on the other day and they were uncomfortable. I feel fatter. And I am back to obsessing about what I will look like on the beach.
In eight months on this medication I have stalled. I have plateaued. I have switched drugs. I have never actually gained. This is new.
I know I am still 25 pounds down. It is not like I gained it all back. But somehow the three pounds feels enormous.
I never avoided the pool or beach when I was heavier. I just love it too much. But the whole time at the beach I would be in my head thinking about the rolls around my stomach, the thighs jiggling when I walked, how tight my suit felt. I was really looking forward to a different experience this time.
How can a number on the scale make you feel like a different person?
But I am not going to panic and spiral. I am still 25 pounds down. I still look and feel better than I have in years. I will still feel better in this new bathing suit than I did on my last beach vacation. I am going to trust what 25 pounds and eight months have taught me about my own body. Three pounds does not undo any of it.
The scale is just one number. Bermuda is a whole trip.
If this resonated
I am writing every week about what I am learning navigating GLP-1 medications as a woman over 50. The stalls. The protein. The drug switches. The unexpected wins nobody warns you about.
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I give myself permission to do whatever I want on vacation, and sure enough, I gain 3 pounds for every week I'm gone. By the time I get home, I'm usually tired of going to Happy Hour every afternoon and eating too much for dinner, and I think that helps me get right back in line. Concentrate on how much better you feel and you will have a marvelous vacation. Enjoy!
So much easier said than done, but please give yourself permission to just enjoy your trip and sideline the self-critic (or as I call it turn off the ‘NegativeFM’ channel running in my head). I would also encourage you to find something that weighs 25lbs if you can (a bag of soil, free weights) and lift. I find that very powerful as a reminder for what the numbers actually represent. Thanks for your wonderfully candid and relevant posts, I appreciate you. Safe trip!